Cracking The Code

I had a text from my Uncle the other night, saying that he heard me on the radio. Yeah, it's a new age... 

Time to replace magnifying glass with smartphone?...
“Art Critic,” Norman Rockwell, 1955.
Norman Rockwell Museum Collections.
©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

The occasion was an interview I gave to WAMC, the Albany, NY, NPR affiliate, about local museums' use of technology. It was a perfect time to again highlight our new exhibition, Norman Rockwell: Happily Ever After, which offers visitors the chance to use their phones/tablets to access enhanced content related to the artwork (including my videotaped interviews). This is made possible through QR code links, which really seem to be everywhere nowadays... Sarah was just commenting how she found them on grapes recently in the grocery store. Seriously... grapes?

Anyway, it's an interesting radio segment− you also get to hear a couple of the model interviews I have conducted at the Museum over the years. 

Like the recent Wall Street Journal article, I was interested to hear what other organizations are initiating in terms of technology. The delightfully rural Hancock Shaker Village has even begun installing computer kiosks and renting iPads. I think it must be more of a challenge to preserve the authenticity of a historic site, while bringing in modern tools to assist and engage visitors. Ultimately, it requires good design− it seems pretty obvious when organizations are falling over themselves to bring out the latest technological fad, without any real benefit to the original content.

So what have I been up to this Saturday morning (besides this quick blog post)? Kicking back and enjoying a book. Happy to report that no QR code is required.

Related Links:

"Local Museums Embracing Technology," WAMC Radio, August 15, 2013

"Historical Sites Welcome Kids Who Love to Text," Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2013

Spokesmanship

"Hey girl..." doing my best Ryan Gosling
to impress you. Photo by Ben Garver
for The Berkshire Eagle. All rights reserved.

Ok, it must be pretty evident by now that in addition to writing/video producing, one of my main duties at Norman Rockwell Museum is spokespersoning (Not a word? Should be). Honestly, it's something like performing... and storytelling. I am proud of what I have accomplished in this regard over the past decade, and today comes my second appearance in The Wall Street Journal. 

Norman Rockwell Museum is included in a feature about historic sites/museums utilizing new media/technology to attract new audiences; I was interviewed at length last week about our digital initiatives, and they use a quote in today's paper about our new exhibition, Norman Rockwell: Happily Ever After. This new experiment involves visitors using their smartphones or tablets to access content available through QR codes placed near the paintings. In addition to Rockwell's reference photos, the model videos mentioned in the article were created by me—some are quite old... recorded not long after I started at the Museum in 2001. As you may know, I have been involved with other technological initiatives during my time at the Museum, including exhibition videos, an interactive timeline and Google Art Project, but this is the first effort involving gallery material accessible by portable devices. Anyway, it's a cool idea... we'll see how it pans out. It's also interesting to read about the technological efforts and concerns from other venues listed in the article. On top of that, they use one of my photos on the newspaper's front page (reproduced here)!

Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Of course I wish I had more time to create videos, but there is something rewarding about acting as a spokesperson... makes all those public speaking classes pay off. It's also interesting to see how often I am misquoted or my name is misspelled/mispronounced (eh, that's "Clowe," rhymes with "the show")... you have to let it roll off your back, I guess... ultimately, it is all about promoting the venue and work. 

On that note, here is another interview I gave to The Berkshire Eagle a few weeks back for an article about low-cost opportunities at the area's cultural organizations. Perhaps the best quote in the article comes from my wife's cousin Vicki, who has been a long-time member of the Museum (I actually met her years before meeting Sarah!): "I've been to other museums in different states and countries, and a lot of them are stuffy. The Norman Rockwell Museum isn't like that -- everyone is friendly. They take a personal interest in you." 

Well-said.

Grab a chair! Representing the Museum and Norman Rockwell in the
artist's studio. Photo by Ben Garver for The Berkshire Eagle.
All rights reserved.

Related Links:

"Historic Sites Welcome Kids Who Love to Text," The Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2013

"Norman Rockwell Museum: Where 'everybody is friendly," Berkshire Eagle, June 25, 2013

Media By Design

My SWAP colleague Darian Dauchan passed along this flyer today for The Spoken Word Almanac Project year in review performance. This year's show will once again by held at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, on December 14, 15, and 16, starting at 7 p.m. SWAP is an annual poetry and media extravaganza recapping the news events of the year through the various perspectives of a diverse group of performance poets. I have been working with the group since 2010 as their Media Designer, although this year I have had to scale back on my contributions due to my wedding, moving, and assorted busyness. Nevertheless, I hope to make it out to one of next week's performances... the project is a unique mix of performance and multimedia that I have been happy to be a part of.

The other day I got into a discussion with a couple local artists about the topics of media literacy and the changing dynamic of social interactions, especially among young people. Dare I say, I have started to feel old (make that "older") as I witness the way teens and pre-teens' lives are being shaped by changing technology. There is a definite shift in the way this younger generation socializes... or doesn't socialize. Maybe you've been there... pulling up to the tool booth and finding the attendant with his feet kicked up, texting away, and then realizing he needs to wait on you (begrudgingly)... or failing to find much enthusiasm from students or interns, whose sense of entitlement might be the result of getting everything too easy... Maybe I'm just venting, but there are times that I shake my head, and realize that things are changing at a rapid pace... faster than we may have ever experienced before.

Even before the current explosion of online social networking and smartphones, there has also been a need for media literacy. I studied this subject a bit in my communications courses in college, and its importance was reinforced by the time I started working in TV news in the mid 90s. Anyone who followed this past election could probably sense the very partisan style of reporting that was prominent... and we're not just talking MSNBC and Fox News here. Sound bytes have been overtaking real content in news for some time now, and corporations have wielded an unhealthy influence... Thankfully, there are some outlets that I trust (although even The New York Times has fallen under some criticism in recent years). 

Beyond news, there are the entertainment programs... even though I consider myself pretty liberal and open-minded, the content in some shows airing in so-called "family TV" hours has me shocked! Movies, on the other hand, just get depressing... I had a conversation with a friend last week about some of the crass material that has become commonplace in children's films (even Disney has fallen victim!). 

I know that my head often feels like it will explode from all the information that is coming my way... change is inevitable, but how to digest all this properly... and guide a younger generation?

Hmmm... that's a lot to think about in a simple blog post. Tying it back to SWAP, I have taken great strides to create visuals for the poets' work that avoid a distortion of the facts or appearing too pointed... I like to think I'm an open-minded guy, and even though most of the performers and myself are of the liberal persuasion, I would rather chose imagery that poses questions rather than supposed answers...

I look forward to further study of the media. And the kids... yeah, they're alright... but I'll keep an eye out for them too, all the same.

Most High Def-initely

Tech nerds rejoice! Apple announced the release of its latest iPad today: due out March 16, it will feature a new, sharper display screen and 4G service (that's a lot of Gs). I have been really tempted to buy one myself after hearing all the raves (even from my Mom!). I don't have a laptop, so it would be great to have a portable device that was smaller than my iMac and bigger than my smartphone, that I could work on away from home. I was actually checking out the iPad 2 last night at Verizon, and I do love the interface. The only drawback is that Adobe doesn't seem to offer their products for the tablet... and, of course, once you buy the damned thing, they will announce an entirely new, updated version on the way. Love/hate that about you, Apple.  


Anyway, even Norman Rockwell Museum is trying to keep up with the technology boom... bless 'em. We have been talking about various mobile applications, and next week the Museum will once again offer a workshop on digital animation art. A five-week after school offering, it is being taught by cartoonist Scott Lincoln, who had previously taught the course−a mix of traditional drawing and computer work. I created a promotional video for that last workshop, so in the spirit of social networking/viral cross-promotion, blah blah blah, here's another embedded YouTube clip to share with y'all:





For more information on the class, visit Norman Rockwell Museum's website: www.nrm.org

Related Links:

"New iPad neither dud nor 'revolution,'" CNN, March 7, 2012