Technology Wizardry at Cleveland Museum of Art

A couple of days ago the Cleveland Museum of Art opened Gallery One, a unique, interactive gallery that blends art, technology and interpretation to inspire visitors to explore the museum’s renowned collections. This revolutionary space features the largest multi-touch screen in the United States, which displays images of over 3,500 objects from the museum’s world-renowned permanent collection. This 40-foot Collection Wall allows visitors to shape their own tours of the museum and to discover the full breadth of the collections on view throughout the museum’s galleries. In addition, touchscreen interactives and the museum’s new ArtLens iPad application allow visitors to explore how works of art were made, where they came from and why they were produced. At every turn, technology is used to bring visitors back to works of art and to open multiple perspectives on the collection. In case you think this is a second rate experience, David Franklin says: It’s very important to us that visitors interact with real objects, rather than digital reproductions. We want visitors to look closely at original art works and to make personal connections to what they are seeing. ArtLens is a multi-dimensional app for iPads. Utilizing image recognition software, visitors can scan two-dimensional objects in Gallery One and throughout the museum’s galleries to access up to 9 hours of additional multimedia content, including audio tour segments, videos and additional contextual information. Indoor triangulation-location technology also allows visitors to orient themselves in the galleries and find works of art with additional interpretive content throughout their visit. Additionally, visitors will have an opportunity to dock their iPad, or one borrowed from the museum, at the Collection Wall. Visitors who use the Collection Wall to browse the collection can save their favorites to their iPad. These saved objects can then be combined into a customized tour, so visitors can direct their exploration of the collections on view in the museum’s permanent collection galleries. Curated tours by the museum’s director and staff as well as other visitors can also be found on the app.