Blog 7: Thesis Progress Over Intercession

Over intercession my plan of work includes the following schedule below:

Plan of Work 
Week of Dec 19th
• Fix suggested changes from the review of Muse Faculty and Advisers
Week of Dec 26th
• Continue research on digitizing bound books
• Research papier-mâché books
Week of Jan 2nd
• Continue research on cradles and how to make them
• Continue conversation with Dr. Galbraith about how to treat the book during the 3D scanning process and if they already have a cradle that can work
Week of Jan 9th
• Research alternative places to 3D print on RIT’s campus just in case the filament at the Construct does not provide a high enough resolution
Week of Jan 16th
• Edit Intro and first body paragraph
• Contact Mike before the start of the semester to schedule some time to come to the archive during early Spring Semester
Week of Jan 23rd (week 1 of Spring Semester)
• Make sure that the proposal, intro, and research are completed before the first day of class

My goal is not to abandon this project during the course of the break and leave everything to the last moment before the first day of school. My plan is to allocate at least two days a week to each bullet point. My goals include to edit the parts of my thesis that already exist, research papier-mâché books and create a work schedule that will orchestrate all the people involved in my thesis. One circumstance that might hinder weekly progress is my possible internship at Kodak; however, I am still able to work on my thesis at night as well as during the weekends. I do not doubt that I will make progress this intercession and I can't wait to experiment next semester.

My Thesis and its Evolution

Going into this class, I had very little idea of just what I wanted my thesis to entail.  Did I want to do research?  Did I want to construct a project or program?  And what topics would I include?  As I researched theses and saw the various kinds of papers previous students had created, I eventually came to the conclusion that my thesis would be best constructed of something that I had interest in, and especially something that would be relevant to my career prospects.  My thoughts often went back to my recent internship at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, where I got a feeling for the type of work environment and museum that I would enjoy working with.  From there, I looked at topics related to aviation that I felt I could do good research on.  I had began my planning looking at things from the perspective of research, and had planned to make my thesis a research project.  I arrived at thinking of a topic that had relevance to aviation yet also contained appeal to people with interest in art or history.  I planned to research military nose art, the tradition of painting the front of an aircraft's body.  My research of the existing literature on this subject went well, and after meeting with my primary and secondary advisors, my thesis plan underwent its main major change.  Instead of conducting a purely research project, I am instead constructing an online exhibition on nose art.  This expanded my reading from the history of nose art outwards into audience engagement and visual interpretation methods.  I feel that my current plan is suitable to move forward with, and look forward to any minor changes that I decide to tweak in regards to my exhibit construction.

My thesis has taken many turns throughout the semester. At the start, all I knew is that I wanted to make it about fiddle music, but to what extent, I had no idea. When I finally had the idea to record a podcast, it felt like a lightbulb came on above my head. Since then, I have decided to not only record the songs, but also to interview people about what this music means to them. I want to show how this music was not only important to people back in the past, but also today. I am envisioning a blog where these podcasts can be found that will also give some background as well as some primary sources (sheet music, dance cards, advertisements, etc...)

The Evolution of My Thesis

My thesis topic thus far has evolved into a completely different and more focused issue. From the beginning, I was focusing on aspects within museums that enhanced the visitor's experience but was more interested in a technical aspect (i.e. applications, tech within the museum, etc.). From there I narrowed my research down to another aspect of visitor engagement -- the way in which museums are engaging millennials with after hour events at their museum. Finally, I have focused my work onto the Rochester area museums that have been participating in these types of after hour events.

As of now, I see my thesis evolving into a more in-depth topic once the observation and survey questions are completed. I believe that it will be a great resource for anyone looking for research into the engagement of millennials in cultural institutions.

Printing Press Thesis Evolution

My thesis has evolved significantly over the last three months. Originally, I had just a rather vague idea of a potential thesis idea - I wanted to utilize my work as part of the Uncommon Press team to approach the subject of a reconstructed printing press from a museum studies perspective. Since then, it has gone through a few iterations. I next thought that I’d focus on the way in which such a press, being held by a cultural institution, could be utilized by a local school as an educational object. As I’ve done more scholarly research & discussed the project with my primary adviser, Dr. Decker, my thesis has changed to its current version, which is to analyze three educational methods utilized by museums, objected-based, interactive-based, and interpreter-based, and to formulate an educational procedure or plan which utilizes the press in a way that offers maximum learning potential for visitors.

Hannah, an interpreter from Edes & Gill, a colonial printing shop experience in Boston, MA, speaking to visitors
while Seth holds up a freshly printed copy of the Declaration of Independence.

As I continue to work on my thesis, I certainly expect it will continue to change, but likely in more subtle ways. Since our thesis proposal is due in a week, it would obviously be best if my focus stayed primarily on the press in relation to the educational methods that I mentioned above. It's quite possible, however, that my ongoing research into scholarly writings on museum education will mean that another useful educational method will become apparent. If that happens, I'll likely incorporate it into my thesis, since my goal is to create the most successful educational plan possible. I mentioned this in our last class, but just over a week ago, we brought back nearly all of the wooden parts of the press from our custom woodworker in Harrisburg, PA, after spending the day working on finishing up a variety of smaller details. We're actively working on getting all of the metal pieces ready, but it's still looking rather impressive.

A sped up video of Seth interacting with the reconstructed press at Edes & Gill, 

and getting to personally print out a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

I mentioned this in our last class, but just over a week ago, we brought back nearly all of the wooden parts of the press from our custom woodworker in Harrisburg, PA, after spending the day working on finishing up a variety of smaller details. We're actively working on getting all of the metal pieces ready, but it's still looking rather impressive.

The press as it currently stands, with virtually all of the wooden parts complete & in place. 

Thesis Evolution

My thesis project has been moving right along, and I am happy with where it is heading. My initial thought process was not very specific, all I knew was that the carousel panel was something that interested me and I thought it would make a good thesis topic. I have honed the research question and have settled on "What are the best practices for displaying or exhibiting racist or offensive objects and memorabilia in museums?" I decided to make the question specifically about racist objects (depictions of African Americans and slave objects in particular) so that my research can be very focused. But, I believe that while this research will be specific, the themes discussed and best practiced devised from it will be able to be applied to sensitive or offensive objects of all facets (e.g. gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc.).

The research I have done thus far has been very enlightening, and the case studies I have looked at have been quite informative. While approaches may differ, there seems to be an over arching agreement that honesty is the most important aspect when interpreting these objects. Being upfront about what they are, what they represent, and their place in our country's history seems to be the way to go. I look forward to continuing my research and watching my project come along. I am excited to get started on my case study at the RMSC and see how a local institution attempts to grapple with this issue that has arisen in our own backyard.

Blog 6: The Continuing Evolution of My Thesis

My original thesis was entitled "The Effect of Accurate Reproductions in the Research Environment: The Use of 3D and 2D Facsimiles in Replacement of Fragile Objects." Over the course of this semester my thesis has evolved to be entitled "The Effect of Accurate Reproductions in the Research Environment: The Use of 3D Facsimiles in Replacement of Fragile Objects." As you can see, there was only one change in the design of my thesis which includes dropping the focus on 2D facsimiles. 2D facsimiles were going to be create and printed in the real world; however, having a 3D facsimile in real life will include printed out pages and a 3D printed cover so I combined the idea. Physical 3D reproductions and digital versions on the computer will increase the object's accessibility and preserve its original form. The focus on digitization and 3D reproductions is still the topic of the thesis; the way it is described in the title is the only change.

Since the summer, I pictured my thesis as one that focused on making fragile objects accessible to the public in person and online. It is evolving through the connections I make. At first, my thesis was an idea formulated through research. It has now expanded to include the Construct, the Library Company in Philadelphia, the Cary Archive and Shawn Foster. These connections are allowing an idea to become a functioning project. Without their help and support my thesis would only be theory based and unable to make concrete determination on feasibility of reproduction creation for a small institution. Choosing the papiermache book has solidified my ideas. I will soon include research on the digitization of books. Similarly, my thesis might change after the first round of testing at the Construct. This week, I went to the Construct to start the tests for 3D scanning and found that the portable scanner is not good at picking up reflections but it is good for picking up detail. If I am able to scan the papiermache book with this scanner the next step is to determine the necessary level of resolution. If these tests do not exhibit the high resolution prints I desire, I may have to find an alternative 3D printing connection to ensure the reproduction can be used as an alternative to the fragile original.

What I've Learned & What I'm Learning

I have finally chosen a thesis topic that I am passionate about and gathered a host of sources discussing best practices for museum professionals engaging with climate change within their institution, how to best contextualize climate change to visitors, how historic buildings are directly effected by changes in the climate at large (as well as how this influences the microclimates which develop inside the building), the structural and behavioral changes seen in buildings affected by a changing climate, and how museum objects respond to shifts in both microclimate as well as the climate at large. My bibliography and sources seem very promising and have my interest in a death grip; I am incredibly eager to dig into these readings and really develop a more fulfilled and full understanding as to how our shifting environmental conditions are directly impacting objects of visual culture such as museum objects and buildings. Research into the ways that local Rochesterian cultural institutions and professionals have engaged the public on the topic of climate change and sustainability as well as how these professionals use climate controls in a museum setting seems both exciting and informative. The interviews, especially, will be very interesting I am sure.

I look forward to beginning writing and continuing research on my project! Please, let me know if you have any questions or if I did not explain a facet of my topic accessibly (or at all).

My Thesis Topic

As per my second post, I have moved my thesis project idea from the realm of social justice to that of climate change. I want to critically engage with the following questions: are museums recognizing the effects of climate change and taking action in regards to their own institution's climate control systems? Are museums and other cultural institutions within the Rochester area making strides to engage and educate their public about the realities of climate change? Are museums entirely devoted to climate change, such as NYC's The Climate Museum project, able to engage in meaningful discussion with the public on the topic of climate change, environmentalism, and on the topic of actually making changes within one's daily routine in response to climate shifts/pollution?

In other words, I want to be able to critically and qualitatively analyze whether visitors outside of New York City (residents of other large New York cities such as Rochester) have heard of the The Climate Museum or engaged with topics concerning climate change through local institutions' exhibitions, objects, or community outreach programming. How do local Rochesterian museum professionals attempt to engage the public with discussion involving climate change? Does the public find these engagements successful and do these museum professionals find their methods of engaging with said public successful? Are local Rochesterian museums making infrastructure, HVAC, or climate control changes in response to major shifts in temperature, pollution, and weather-related phenomenon (i.e. harsher winters, dryer and hotter summers, wilder fluctuating humidity levels)?

In order to do this I will be reading critical articles and literature from museum professionals dealing with the topic of climate change, infrastructure professionals discussing best practices for climate control and building preservation, and the effect that shifting climates have upon museum objects (humidity, mold, etc.). I will also be interviewing local Rochesterian museum professionals, RIT faculty, and RIT students in regards to how they have engaged with the topic of climate change in a professional sense or through museum visits.

What I've Learned and What I've Left to Learn

My research has been going well so far.  Early on, I started out with researching writings on military mindsets, soldiers' psyche, and ethical theory.  As my thesis is shifting to a more applicational study on how best to effectively construct and interpret an exhibit on the history and significance of aircraft nose art in the military, I have begun to research the history of this art.  This is building a good foundation upon which I can lay my groundwork.  I've found books and articles that have thus far done a good job at providing me with details and events relating to this history.  I've still got some reading on history to do, which will no doubt expand my knowledge further on that front.  The main focus of the remaining research that I need to learn from is that of exhibit design and iconographic theory.  Exhibit design is obviously an important topic to research for my thesis, since it will inform many of the decisions I will be making regarding the design and focus of the exhibit.  Iconographic theory will also be a valuable research topic for developing my interpretation plans for the exhibit, as the content of nose art has much to do with the significance and meaning behind symbols and images.

What I've learned so far

So far, in my research, I have learned quite a bit about my topic. The main thing I have learned is there is a lot of case specific information about exhibitions that have displayed culturally sensitive or provocative objects. Not all of them have to do with African American or racist art/objects, but there are many examples to study within the broad spectrum of my topic. I have also learned a lot about the history of African American/racist art/objects. It is quite fascinating to delve deep into this subject, and it is also interesting to look at this topic from multiple view points. I am gathering a lot of good information and I am beginning to formulate an outline of how I want to lay out my thesis. I am also figuring out how to separate my sources according to topics and themes.

For my thesis, I still need to finish my reading and research. I need to learn proper format and citation methods. I also would like to find more scholarship on displaying racist objects. I have attempted to contact both the Jim Crow Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture to see if they have any information for me, but unfortunately, have not yet heard back from either. I am still hopeful that I will though, these requests can sometimes take a bit of time.

Research Update: What I've Learned & What I Still Need To Learn

Currently, the core of my thesis is focused on the use of an English Common Press reconstruction as an educational object. Accordingly, I've been looking into scholarly work on museum-based learning. More specifically, I'm examining methods for & perspectives on education through objects, interactive education, and education which utilizes interpretation. One of the things I've learned is that the museum field’s current perspective on using an object for interpretive educational purposes is essentially a 3-part process. First, one would want to begin by focusing on the physicality of the object. Next, one would use information related to said object to move toward examining the people who would be connected to the object, and these people's actions. Finally, one would transition to examining the broader ideas which are relevant to the object and to the aforementioned individuals.
Throughout this entire process, however, it is important to make a connection with the modern viewer or visitor. This seems to be where my research on interaction and interpretation will be helpful. I've gathered multiple sources which delve into the topic of interpretation, including the types which are facilitated by a docent or a 1st or 3rd-person interpreter. This is also where my investigation into museum theater is starting to help. By creating a reconstructed printing press, we're taking an object that is generally unusable due to its age, and providing one which is fully operational. I'm currently of the opinion that having a costumed interpreter operate the press while engaging with visitors could be quite beneficial for visitor education. We actually had this experience at the The Printing Office of Edes & Gill, where we talked to an interpreter named Hannah about the replica press which she was operating.

Interpreter Hannah with the Ralph Green replica press at The Printing Office of Edes & Gill

One area which I certainly need to explore more deeply is that of scholarly data pertaining to the history and creation of the English Common Press. I have learned some useful information, of course, during my time working on the project, especially when assisting with on-site research at the museums and historical societies we've visited. This was especially true when I looked through & duplicated about half a dozen folders of documents held at the Exeter Historical Society and the Vermont History Museum. During this research, I actually have the opportunity to examine some fascinating primary source materials from both Elizabeth Harris and Clinton Sisson, in which they discussed the provenance of the Dresden Press.

The Dresden Press at the Vermont History Museum

I still need more historical information, however, if I want to provide a sufficient understanding of the press in the earlier, foundational part of my thesis. Currently, I plan to obtain this knowledge and information through various methods. I’m going to interview Seth Gottlieb, another member of the Uncommon Press team, since he has been the primary historical researcher for the project. Seth also has at least one scholarly source that he plans to share with me, which I expect will serve to further enhance my understanding of the subject.

Uncommon Press Team Photo (Seth, Ferris, Veronica, Daniel, Randy)

What I Have Learned

My topic is about the old time fiddle music of Western New York. I (finally) met up with Prof. James Kimball at Geneseo last week, and he will truly be a great source of information. He was able to answer a few questions that I had and also was able to point me in some new directions that I had no previously thought of. He was also able to help me compile a list of local players that follow in this tradition of old time playing. I have learned a lot, it is surprising to me to learn just how many different traditions and songs were popular in New York. There are also some books that I have picked up that have interviews with New York musicians.

Though I have learned much, there is still more to do. I still need to decide specifically what I want to include in the thesis and begin researching those things in deeper detail. As of right now, I have a very broad overview of everything that I want to do, but taking some time to narrow it down will be my next step in research.