Author: Reese Neill

Hokusai: Mad about Painting

The Asian studies section of the Smithsonian Institute presents a digital exhibit of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), which is a rendering of their physical exhibit. The physical exhibit is held in the Freer Gallery, since it was Charles Lang Freer who collected most of Hokusai’s art, realizing its potential long before other collectors. In honor of Freer’s death in 1919, the gallery is hosting a year-long exhibition of Hokusai and his artwork. The collection was curated by Frank Feltens. Generous support for this exhibit and the museum’s Japanese art program is provided by the Mitsubishi Corporation.

Methodology

The accessibility of the site was rather easy, as I mentioned above the viewer can either use links at the top of the page to return to the home-page or may use the back arrow of their web-browser. This does, however, slow down the exhibit and ruin its flow, since it prevents the viewer from moving in a linear fashion. After each page is viewed, the viewer must return to the home-page in order to access the next page. The exhibit itself is not technically linear, the viewer may choose to go in any order they like of the six pages, but they are forced to always return to the home-page. This should be adjusted to fit the flow and style of the material being displayed.

Design

Of the seven pages that the exhibit used, only two contained many images of Hokusai’s artwork (Curator’s Choice and Object Gallery). There were three pages which all had videos of varying lengths discussing different pieces (with the video on Hokusai Talk being the longest and the most in depth of his work/the real exhibit), and one clip discussing Hokusai’s work on a podcast.

The text used throughout the exhibit was plain, thin lettered black against a white background. The exception to this rule is found in the Object Gallery where the names of the pieces are in a larger, red font with smaller, black font beneath the piece describing it. The rule of thumb on the design of this site must have been to use as little text as possible. When videos or images could suffice, words were left out of the equation. In my opinion this allows the viewer to more fully enjoy the work of Hokusai without being bogged down by too much text.

Many of the images do not have narrative descriptions and only use text to describe the dimensions and materials being used in the piece. When you click on any given image more metada is displayed beneath a higher definition version of the image (as seen below).

It would have been nice to see short, narrative captions inside the gallery view and then see ALL of the metadata when the viewer went to the image’s page. This is a personal preference and does not, in my opinion, weaken the structure of the exhibit, only its style in presentation.

Content

The exhibition is clearly about Katsushika Hokusai’s paintings and sketchings and the desire to shed light on his less-known, yet equally astounding, works. The exhibit talks and audio specifically seek to argue that as Hokusai aged he became more and more enraptured with painting and his desire to paint everything he saw grew until his final days. He was, as the title suggests, “Mad about Painting.” The target audience for this exhibit is primarily mature audiences who would be willing to listen to longer videos about his work and those who have the time and patience to appreciate what Hokusai was able to accomplish, even in his old age.

Hokusai was famous for his print “Great Wave off the coast of Kanagawa,” and yet this exhibit seeks to persuade the viewer that he was a much more accomplished artist than the man who created that one piece. This exhibit provides a necessary service in highlighting the life and work of a man who has been so long associated with only one piece, and wrongly so. Hokusai was a masterful painter who created the most beautiful paintings, arguably, in all of the Edo period and even into the nineteenth century. To tie this man’s great work and even his life to the existence of one piece is foolishness. Again I say, this exhibit provides a necessary service in proving, not through words, but through the very brushstrokes of Hokusai himself, that one image does not define the life of any artist.

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An exhibit dedicated to the contributions of Americans during World War II

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/a_people_at_war/a_people_at_war.html

Content

This exhibit highlights the contributions of the thousands of Americans, both military and civilian, who served their country during World War II.

A People at war, introduction

The target audience, I would argue, is the American people in general. The writing is not overly complex, nor is there too much of it. The simplicity of the exhibit makes me think that anyone who knows how to click a mouse could access and appreciate what has been written here. I do think, however, that the American people are the target audience, because the entire exhibit is dedicated only to the contributions made by Americans in WWII.

While the writing is very brief throughout this exhibit, I do think a slight bias is clear. Of the twenty-five pages that make up this exhibit, nine are dedicated to racial or gender minorities who served in the war and nine more are dedicated to people/groups who greatly contributed but are seldom ever talked about when one learns about WWII.

The highlight of subaltern Americans who contributed to WWII has something new for everyone I think. Whether one learns about how Japanese-American soldiers only fought in the European theatre, or how the bombing of Pearl Harbor had been predicted as early as the 1920s; there is something new for everyone. This constant return and refocusing on subaltern history allows us as Americans and as Historians to greater respect and appreciate the sacrifices made by all those who fought under the stars and stripes.

Because of the “big idea” and how the exhibit goes about capturing it, I cannot help but argue how important its contribution is and should be for us. There were people and groups in this exhibit that I had never heard of, and yet without some of them the War could have had much different outcomes. For example, one section titled “Women Who Served” discussed the vital importance that female pilots had during the War; despite their forced status as non-combatants. The female pilots were largely responsible for transporting aircraft, soldiers, equipment, and scouting during WWII; without whose contributions the Allies surely would have suffered.

The second approach to those Americans who greatly contributed to WWII highlights the women who served as non-combatants. The section titled “Women Who Served” highlights the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and First Lt. Annie G. Fox who was on duty during the bombing of Pearl Harbor and was awarded the Purple Heart.

The final approach to the big idea is more traditional in that the exhibit dedicates the remaining pages to “The War in the Pacific,” “The War in Europe,” “Science Pitches In,” and “The War is Over.” In each of these sections the exhibit discusses a mixture of well-known information (such as the production and use of the atomic bombs) and unique, less well-known information (such as the production and use of the DUKW). The exhibit does, however, end on a page titled “Surrender” which very briefly discusses the surrender of the Japanese on board the U.S.S Missouri. This abrupt ending feels awkward and not in stride with how the exhibit began.

Methodology

Because of the use of hyperlinks along the side of the page the viewer is free to move about the exhibit as they wish. Clearly an order is suggested by the organization of the links, but no such is order is mandated by the website. My only qualm with the functionality of the site is that there is no “next” button which takes the viewer from one red topic to the next. Within one main topic, say “New Roles,” all the blue links and their pages can progress linearly with a “next” button at the bottom of the page. However, when you reach the final page in “New Roles” you must manually click on another red link to progress.

Design and Accessibility

Of all the digital exhibits I have viewed thus far, this is the least engaging. There was limited text and even more limited visual stimulation. Each page did have at least one picture, to be fair, but there were no videos or “Tell me More” links. A select few primary documents were scanned and could be viewed, but otherwise the visual elements of the exhibit were painfully limited to small images.

The images themselves were well selected and did enhance the message of the exhibit, it is a shame that there were not more of them. The captions were explanatory of the images and did not offer much aside from that. It would have been very impactful to have a video or audio interview with someone who served during WWII in this exhibit. Hearing or seeing someone talk about these experiences would remind the viewer that they were not so long ago, and that the things discussed in this exhibit were real; they happened because of and to real people.

The color scheme and font is nothing to write home about. The pages of the exhibit remain on a white background and the body text is standard black color. The title of the pages is larger and possibly bold, it’s hard to tell based on the font, with the red subtitle beneath it. The main title of the exhibit, “A People at War” remains at the top of the page in white letters against a grey background. All of this font is easy to read and no colors clash or seem out of place.

The flaws of the design are fairly evident, however. The text and images only account for 1/3 of the screen, leaving far too much blank space. This makes the text and images appear small and rather insignificant. In addition, the lack of color or background imagery feels cold and distant, discouraging the reader from making the connection between the real people who this exhibit is dedicated to.

Final Thoughts

While the exhibit lacked flair and decoration, it did follow it’s big idea and did so well. This project could easily be expanded and follows an attractive pattern of new and unique history. It was refreshing to learn something new about this largely dissected time period, and yet was reassuring to see familiar names and events being talked about. The presentation of information in this exhibit is powerful, even if the design was lacking.

Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa

The Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time exhibit was organized and curated by Kathleen Bickford Berzock from the Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University. The exhibit was made possible by two major grants provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor and Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Studies.

The overall objective of the Caravans of Gold exhibit, is to intentionally place Northern Africa at the center of the world. In regards to trade, international governments, and religion; Northern Africa truly was the appropriate center of the medieval world. It is through video lectures and interviews that the viewer is transported into this Africa-centered model of the medieval world.

 

The target audience for this exhibit seems to be high-school students and older. While there are not necessarily any complicated terms or names, an elementary understanding of how history has been told makes this exhibit come to life. The heavy use of videos and images, while keeping the text to a minimum, keeps the guest engaged and allows them plenty of places to stop and take in what they’ve heard/seen. One of the unique aspects of this exhibit is the clear bias that permeates the entire project. While bias is most often associated with negativity or unprofessionalism, I believe it is absolutely necessary in this exhibit. By slanting the evidence and the story of the world in a manner that places North Africa at the center, we arrive at a whole new understanding of the medieval world.

It is my argument that this exhibit is vital to the future education of all students of history. Not only does this story re-center the medieval world in a more accurate manner, but it does so in a more approachable way than strict lecturing. The use of video and images supported by text allows the guest to experience more opportunities to soak in the message. The exhibit does not dissect the importance of North African culture, trade, and political power. Rather, it interweaves them based on material evidence which has been discovered and presented.

The above coin above, for example, can be found in one page of the exhibit which discusses the value of African salt and gold in the medieval world. In West Sudan salt was used akin to the currency of the day due to its value. West Africa also claimed some of the purest gold mines in the known world at the time, making it a desirable trade partner for most of Europe. At the bottom of this same section in the exhibit we find a video interview of an African salt merchant who still sells the same goods as his forefathers. This powerful combination of imagery and video really grants the viewer a more stimulating teacher than most traditional museum exhibits.

The exhibit itself is set up with one home page and nine other pages, each with images and videos for the viewer to peruse at their pace. The last two pages are “Teachers Guide” and “Virtual First Look” which again call attention to the exhibit’s desire to educate and enrapture their audience. The Virtual First Look is an actual video walkthrough of the exhibit which allows the viewer to walk through the physical exhibit set up. This reinforces the drive of the exhibit to make the data feel legitimate and approachable to all their viewers.

The exhibit features all kinds of items, from gold coins and pieces of gold-inlayed text, to camel saddles and pottery. All of the images are two dimensional however, and do not allow the viewer a proper size understanding. With each image comes a helpful caption stating what the item is, the date it was created (or a guess), who the creator was (if that’s known), and who/where it was found.

I do not think there is anything new about the artifacts themselves, but rather in how they are being presented. While North Africa tends to play a minor role in the medieval world, this exhibit forces the viewer to place it at the center. African gold, rugs, and pottery are removed from our limited definition of “exotic,” and become the norm. This vantage point is what allows the artifacts to speak more clearly to the viewer. They say, “we are not exotic, side-characters in a Eurocentric history. We are our own main characters in an Africa-centric history.” This seemingly radical new vantage points makes the western viewer uncomfortable at being confronted with a world in which Europe is not at the forefront. It is this discomfort and this self-reflection that makes the work that this exhibit does vital to the education of all people. As historians, I believe we can understand and appreciate the work exhibits such as these do in rewriting the history of the world in accordance to material fact, and not through repeating traditional Eurocentric methods.

Despite being virtual, this exhibit does an excellent job in making the viewer feel an attachment and a depth in regards to the objects and the stories around them. Through copious amounts of images and videos, the viewer is more apt to fall in love and feel a deep connection with the goal of the exhibit and those who created it. With this being said, I felt that one weakness of the exhibit was the lack of text. Many images and videos will appeal to people with limited time or shorter attention spans, but deeper knowledge of the materials and concepts could have been displayed through more text. I believe that their amount of text was appropriate, given that their audience is anyone on the internet, yet leaves the academics hungry for more. Perhaps that was the point of limiting the text and allowing the artifacts to speak for themselves!