Experiencing Art

Going to a museum can be a lot more fun of an experience than you might think. Aldo Giannotti will help you look at art with fresh eyes and make your next museum visit a memorable one. 

reimagine your behavior settings in a museum /// Aldo Giannotti (c)

After deciding to spend the yearly Lange Nacht der Museen at the mumok in Vienna, I make my way up from floor to floor while admiring the various artworks displayed on them. I make my way up to floor two, and before getting the chance to be overwhelmed by the open-plan exhibition space displaying all kinds of art mediums, I find myself distracted by two women laughing and jumping in excitement in front of an artwork. I eye them with a sense of amusement, guessing they probably had a little something to drink beforehand; it's Saturday Night after all. I try to focus my attention back on the series of photographs hung along the wall when those same women run across the room laughing again. They lie down under a hanging art piece and invite bystanders to do the same. Soon after, several people are lying on the floor in the middle of the room, looking at an installation from under it as if they were stargazing. 

 Art Speed-Dating

That's when I think of the information sheet I had read beforehand speaking of a crew of artists doing a performance piece all around the museum. It didn't include many details other than "always somewhere in the mumok, let yourself be surprised." As I realize that these women aren't just a pair of tipsy wine moms but are actually in the middle of a performance, I follow them, observing slyly. Intrigued, I watch them approaching visitors making small talk about what pieces are their favorite. They make a speed-round through the art, stopping in front of every piece for a second to yell out either "YES" or "NO" simultaneously. After giving a rating to every significant art piece in the room, one of them comes up to me and says, "We are part of this. When you remember this exhibition, remember us." They roam around a little more, and, as their final act in this room, they stand along the sides of the doorway, applauding to visitors entering the space.

This Intervention by Aldo Giannotti called "The Museum Score" had the goal of making people view the museum experience through a different lens. "These interventions don't scream for attention; they happen in a way that is almost hidden, they irritate without disrupting."

 An invitation for exploration 

Some people still perceive going to a museum as a tedious, uneventful activity. But this performance seems subtly revolutionary to that misconception. It challenged visitors to interact with the art and with each other, to vocalize their impressions of the art experience they share by being in the same space. It makes us rethink the usual social cues and behaviors in museums by "offering us an invitation for exploration." 

Aldo Giannotti (c)

A card game called Performing the museum by Aldo Giannotti was available for purchase that night at the mumok, which contains playing cards with challenges to do in a museum. With tasks like "Gaze at something for as long as you can," "Try to be the last visitor leaving the museum," and "Find a quality in a specific artwork, then translate it into a dance," it encourages the players to stay playful and experience art in a non-conventional way. At the end of the day, it’s you who decides whether your next museum visit will consist of mute, aimless roaming or a fun, interactive experience of the art in front of you.