An Observation of Information Behavior-Pratt Manhattan Gallery

This blog post was written as part of my Foundations of Information class, and captures the various elements facilitating information display within the Pratt Manhattan Gallery during my time there as a gallery attendant. The post was written in accordance with concepts outlined in Buckland’s ‘Information as Thing’, written in 1991. All observations took place during the show ‘The Data We Called Home’ by Hsin-Chien Huang, a Taiwanese artist, featuring virtual reality experiences created by him, and a few collaborations with American artist Laurie Anderson.

Galleries are places that have the potential to trigger a variety of responses, perceptions and emotions. It goes without saying that there is always a huge amount of information up for grabs at any gallery exhibition, but other than the information that is being offered, the way that the information is arranged tells its own story. The story is different to everyone, and that’s what makes the whole experience so mind boggling: how does a static display create such dynamic thoughts? 

I started working as a gallery attendant at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery about a month ago. One of my main motivations behind taking this job was to be able to interact with different people every day, to hear about their experiences and their thoughts while perusing the items on display, and the current exhibition at the gallery has given me plenty of opportunity to do just that. The gallery is currently showing the works of artist Hsin-Chien Huang, a Taiwanese artist who specializes in Virtual Reality creations. There are four different VR works on display, Bodyless, Samsara, To the Moon, and Chalkroom. While Bodyless and Samsara are intense, thought-provoking experiences, To the Moon and Chalkroom are more interactive and relaxed.  

While VR is assumed to be the main attraction for visitors, I’ve observed during my time at the front desk that everyone comes in with a certain intention, specific or broad, and not always related to VR.  A visitors' journey usually starts with them entering the Pratt Manhattan Campus building, looking for a starting point or authority that can tell them where they need to go next. This is almost always the security desk, since the gallery reception desk is mostly not the first thing that people see when they enter the building. Once they get directions and a sense of assurance that they’re in the right place, they come through the gallery entrance and encounter their next information point, the reception desk (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Reception area

There are different ways in which visitors approach the reception desk, depending on their reason for visiting. The visitors who don’t have specific ideas or knowledge on what the exhibition is about (explorative search) mostly go straight for the exhibition introduction visible on the wall as soon as they enter (Figure 2). They see that there is a reception desk when they come in, but in their active search for information, they seem to go for the more readily available source of information before processing anything else they’ve seen. They are then asked to sign in, which they come over to the desk to do, all the while not really taking their eyes off the information display. Once their attention shifts from the display to the sign-in sheet, they either ask the person at the desk for information or look around a bit more, landing on the sculptures belonging to the Cosmonauts of Emptiness display (Figure 3). The path through the gallery is defined by exhibits from there on, giving them a sense of direction. On the other hand, visitors with specific interest in certain works of the artist or prior knowledge about them (targeted search) come straight to the reception desk. They already know what they’re looking for, they just need to find out where it is, and the reception desk is a traditionally known source of information.  

Figure 2: Introductory display in reception area

A certain feature of the reception area that has not been noticed quite as much and interpreted in many different ways when it has is the VR station for Bodyless, set up to the left of visitors entering the gallery and the only part of the exhibition on that side. All stations have decorative curtains marking their designated area. In the case of Bodyless, the image on the curtain is very striking and impactful, leading to visitors perceiving it to be another part of the display (Figure 4). The curtain is still information to them, but it isn’t the same information that the curtain is meant to convey. The prominence of the curtain’s image seems to take away from all other visual cues that hint at the presence of the VR station behind it. (Information-as-thing, expressed as a result of information-of-knowledge; Buckland’s Information as Thing. The knowledge the expression is based on varies)

Figure 4: ‘Bodyless’ display curtain

As visitors walk along the sculptures and enter the larger part of the gallery, they notice curtains marking the VR stations (Figure 5). Most people immediately realize the purpose of the curtains at this point, since the context (the VR equipment) is much more visible in these areas and connect the curtain at the entrance to the purpose it was intended for. Others realize this information by revisiting the information given to them on entrance-that there are four VR stations set up, triggering them to look for the fourth one after they have seen the other three(Information-as-knowledge perceived from information-as-process; Buckland’s Information as Thing).The VR equipment in itself appears daunting to some and exciting to others, making them form opinions without even experiencing it. Some don’t like the idea of an alternate, potentially depressing reality and avoid it altogether. 

Figure 5: Curtains demarcating VR stations

The physical exhibits have features that clearly indicate how they are to be experienced. Audiovisual experiences have headphones along with benches, inviting visitors to sit down and listen to the supporting material (Figure 6). The 3D printed sculptures are placed on a relatively higher circular table, discouraging touch (Figure 7). The Learning Center, containing reading material supporting the exhibition provides beanbags, inviting people to experience it at their own pace (Figure 8). The Chalkroom VR station is at the back of this space, with the potential to go unnoticed the same way Bodyless does. However, in this case, illustrations lining the walls guide visitors to the station by indicating that there is something more to look at (Figure 9) (Information-as-thing; Buckland). 

Figure 6: Projector display with audio support as part of the ‘Omni Channels’ exhibit

The gallery encounters varieties of information behavior every day, through information seeking, information perception and pace of information absorption. Observing these interactions makes it clear that the ways in which people absorb information are so numerous, they can never really be defined. 

References

‘Information as Thing’ - Buckland, 1991