Abstract
The spatial arrangement of artworks is recognized as one of the key elements of exhibition design. The underlying assumption is that the layout can strengthen the impact of individual exhibits, because the way visitors visually engage with artworks affects how they are cognitively processed. This paper explores the influence of the exhibits’ visual properties on the visitors’ attention and their memory of artworks. Attention was recorded with the use of mobile eye-tracking and memory was measured by an unanticipated recognition test immediately after the visit. The paper analyses both the total amount of attention spent on interacting with each artwork, as well as the strategy through which attention was allocated: through primarily longer (“diligent”) looks, versus primarily shorter (“distracted”) glimpses. Results of two experiments demonstrate that the visibility and co-visibility of artworks affected the amount of attention allocated to them, and the strategy of attention allocation. While the amount of attention contributed to improving the recognition memory of pictures, the strategy of attention allocation did not. These findings demonstrate the power of the exhibition’s visual properties to influence the experience of museum visitors but also highlight the visitors’ ability to employ alternative viewing strategies without diminishing the cognitive processing of artworks.
Highlights
The unique role of physical art galleries prevails despite the ease of online access to the arts from the comfort of one’s own living room
Recognition memory accuracy ranged from 0.36 to 1.00 when aggregated by-participant, from 0.64 to 1.00 when aggregated by-picture, and from 0.67 to 1.00 when aggregated by-location
In line with the results of Experiment 1, the amount of attention spent on each picture had an impact on its recognition memory, but there was no corresponding evidence for the impact of the strategy of attention allocation
Summary
The unique role of physical art galleries prevails despite the ease of online access to the arts from the comfort of one’s own living room. Exhibiting art in a physical and curated setting must carry a unique value that is impossible to realize with aspatial and self-curated means of viewing art. Key functions of the gallery’s curated spatial layout lie in affecting the visitors’ cognitive engagement (Robinson, 1928; Bitgood et al, 1988; Peponis et al, 2004) and in supporting the interpretation of exhibits (Wineman and Peponis, 2010). It is difficult to quantify the impact of the spatial layout on visitors’ cognitive processes. In controlled psychological experiments that study art viewing on a computer monitor, the challenge is to maintain ecological validity. In real (non-virtual) art exhibitions that are already designed to give more prominent locations to better artworks, the challenge is to isolate
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