Please do not touch...
Rebecca Atkinson, 02.10.2012
Should we let visitors handle objects?
Should museums let visitors touch objects from their collections? It’s a question that provokes passionate responses from many museum professionals, no matter what side of the fence they sit.
Gloves, replicas and even virtual objects are all alternatives to letting members of the public touch “real” museum objects deemed too valuable or delicate to be handled directly.
The pros and cons of these approaches formed part of discussions at the Power of the Real symposium held by Museums Sheffield last week. There were many interesting points raised and exercises undertaken during the day, and some of these will feature in a future issue of Museum Practice on handling objects.
One of the most powerful parts of the day was the opportunity to handle some of Museums Sheffield’s designated Metalworks collections. As well as touching objects with and without gloves, we also tried pouring water from several of Museums Sheffield’s teapots (which is a lot more fun and insightful than it probably sounds).
My personal highlight was when Lucy Cooper, curator of Metalwork at Museums Sheffield, brought out Hope by the Japanese artist Kyoko Kumai, three woven stainless steel “balls” recently acquired through Art Fund Collect.
The artwork will be used to help mark next year's centenary of the invention of stainless steel in Sheffield. But, as Cooper explained, the objects offer value beyond their potential for display; the durable nature of stainless steel means they are ideal for handling.
As well as illustrating an artistic response to stainless steel, they are really wonderful to touch and are perfectly sized for adult and children's hands. Each one provoked an incredibly tactile response in me and many other people attending the symposium.
Being able to hold the object meant I was able to admire the way the light from the windows was reflected in the metal surface and filtered through each strand – something that wouldn’t be possible if I was simply viewing it in a display case.
The experience sparked discussion about the value of display and raised an important question: is display the most effective way to use objects or are some objects (such as Kumai’s artworks) more powerful when they can be touched and used – in short, “experienced”.
At the start of the symposium, Museums Sheffield posed several questions about touch, a few of which I've reproduced below:
I’d be really interested to hear other people’s opinions and experiences on this issue so please use the comment boxes below.
@rebeccaa_ma
Gloves, replicas and even virtual objects are all alternatives to letting members of the public touch “real” museum objects deemed too valuable or delicate to be handled directly.
The pros and cons of these approaches formed part of discussions at the Power of the Real symposium held by Museums Sheffield last week. There were many interesting points raised and exercises undertaken during the day, and some of these will feature in a future issue of Museum Practice on handling objects.
One of the most powerful parts of the day was the opportunity to handle some of Museums Sheffield’s designated Metalworks collections. As well as touching objects with and without gloves, we also tried pouring water from several of Museums Sheffield’s teapots (which is a lot more fun and insightful than it probably sounds).
My personal highlight was when Lucy Cooper, curator of Metalwork at Museums Sheffield, brought out Hope by the Japanese artist Kyoko Kumai, three woven stainless steel “balls” recently acquired through Art Fund Collect.
The artwork will be used to help mark next year's centenary of the invention of stainless steel in Sheffield. But, as Cooper explained, the objects offer value beyond their potential for display; the durable nature of stainless steel means they are ideal for handling.
As well as illustrating an artistic response to stainless steel, they are really wonderful to touch and are perfectly sized for adult and children's hands. Each one provoked an incredibly tactile response in me and many other people attending the symposium.
Being able to hold the object meant I was able to admire the way the light from the windows was reflected in the metal surface and filtered through each strand – something that wouldn’t be possible if I was simply viewing it in a display case.
The experience sparked discussion about the value of display and raised an important question: is display the most effective way to use objects or are some objects (such as Kumai’s artworks) more powerful when they can be touched and used – in short, “experienced”.
At the start of the symposium, Museums Sheffield posed several questions about touch, a few of which I've reproduced below:
- Should we wear gloves when handling objects?
- How might our response to an object change if we can touch it?
- Does it matter if we use replica objects for handling?
- Is it more important that a few people can touch an object or that many people can view it in a case?
- Is it better to handle objects ourselves or be “shown” them by staff?
- Are there any objects that shouldn’t be touched?
I’d be really interested to hear other people’s opinions and experiences on this issue so please use the comment boxes below.
@rebeccaa_ma
Comments
MA Member
Artist
I would love to have a copy please!
I`d love to get a copy as well.
Thank you, Nicole Schimkus
Access Manager, Pavillon of Knowledge - Ciência Viva
MA Member
Regal Heritage Access Officer, Tenbury Town Council
Access Manager, Pavillon of Knowledge - Ciência Viva
MA Member
Museum Consultant, Colin Mulberg Consulting
When I worked on project teams developing new galleries at the V&A, we incorporated ‘touch objects’ as part of the interpretation of any new gallery.
These were objects permanently built into the gallery that visitors were invited to touch.
Touch objects work best when visitors are directed to explore something specific about the object through touch, to focus on key points about design, materials, construction, etc. and also about history, culture and context.
For example, exploring the tactile quality of a 16th-century imported Chinese porcelain fragment helps visitors to understand the nature of the material. Yet comparing it to the chunkier feel of European ceramic from the period that was trying to imitate porcelain, helps explain why Chinese wares were thought be superior.
Feeling the slight unevenness of a whole Chinese vase gives a sense of high quality crafting by hand. This kind of experience can help visitors to not only study related objects in more detail but also to understand why the imported pieces were so coveted.
There is a surprising relationship between touching and looking; tactile exploration can really bring home elements about shape, form and decorative style. Feeling a spiral twist chair leg or baluster actually helps visitors to understand that element of the style – the act of feeling the curves helps to reinforce what the eye sees.
Similarly feeling carved stone or raised decoration helps visitors to explore its form and meaning. In some situations, it is possible to mount objects on a fixed tether, so that visitors can pick them up for closer study and to feel their weight and then return them to a cradle.
Though replicas can deliver some of this, there is something magical and attractive to visitors in touching original pieces. My experience over a range of galleries is that allowing visitors to touch original objects is particularly powerful as an experience and is something unique that museums can offer.
Though touch objects obviously benefit visitors with visual impairments, all visitors gain from this interpretation. Providing extra resources for visually impaired visitors in the form of Braille or raised drawings supports the idea of integrated provision. It is also fascinating to observe how many sighted visitors also want to feel the raised drawings and Braille.
In curatorial terms, selecting objects to be touched is a rebalancing of the issue of care vs access, weighing down more in favour of access for these pieces. Careful selection is needed, as touch objects need to be relatively robust and carefully mounted. Touch objects are obviously put at risk, but this can be tolerated if there are many better objects on display or the item is not vital as part of a collection. It is a great way to bring things out of store and put them to good use, especially parts of objects, fragments, etc.
In some cases even if the risk of damage is high, it may still be worth putting items out as touch objects and identifying replacements.
As touch objects are designed as part of a gallery, they draw on expertise from across the museum. They involve input from curators, conservation, technical services, security, learning/interpretation, access officer, etc.
Mounting needs particular thought, as touch objects become an obvious target for theft and damage; much effort will be wasted if the object only survives for a few weeks.
Touch objects can be found in a range of V&A galleries, including British Galleries, Architecture, Ceramics, China and Medieval and Renaissance.
Access Manager, Pavillon of Knowledge - Ciência Viva
MA Member
@maritrini84
MA Member
Online Publications Editor, Museums Association
I wrote some articles on providing access to people who are visually-impaired, looking at touch, audio descriptions etc that you may find interesting - http://www.museumsassociation.org/museum-practice/access-visually-impaired-visitors
MA Mo Mi is also a really interesting organisation that runs touch tours - if you don't already know them I recommend a look at their website - http://www.mamomiinitiative.com/
One point that a delegate at the Museums Sheffield symposium raised was that providing touching opportunities require resources, staff training etc. And she was from a national!
At the Natural History Museum they use volunteers, but again this does require a certain degree of staff time in terms of management and training.
I suppose it's a question of how important we think touch is - if it is something that museums do feel enhances the experience, then perhaps this is an area worth investing in (along with areas such as websites etc).
MA Member