LOUVRE - DNP MUSEUM LAB
LOUVRE - DNP MUSEUM LAB
  • Tokyo-Paris: Two LDMLs
Presentation organinzed by :
  • LOUVRE
  • DNP
Thematic approaches
Tenth presentation Louvre - DNP Museum Lab A Masterpiece of Ancient Greece: a World of Men, Gods and Heroes
1.The reinstallation of multimedia displays at the Louvre
The tenth Museum Lab presentation, like the three previous ones, will see three of its displays transferred to the Louvre, this time to the Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities.
The user interfaces were therefore designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of international visitors, and the hardware is robust enough for installation in an establishment that receives over 8.5 million visitors a year while respecting the constraints imposed by the Louvre's status as a historic monument. The aim of these multimedia displays is to enrich the visiting experience while blending as seamlessly as possible into the permanent exhibition space so as not to obstruct the view of the artworks or impede visitor circulation.
Indications about the context of the works on display
The key issues
This display, intended for installation in Room 9, a busy room in the museum, needed to give users, whatever their cultural or intellectual background, quick access to key geographical and historical facts to spark their interest in contextual information. It also had to be designed for collective use by visitors who do not necessarily share the same language.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This display, designed as an introduction to the exhibition, gives visitors the basic elements necessary to understand the historical and geographical context of the works they will see. It also provides a non-textual, visual representation of the geographical and chronological spread of Greek civilization, i.e. of the world and the context in which these artworks were produced. This introductory display is designed to present the information clearly and intelligibly, in a multilingual format.
Intuitive access to information
The key issues
This display was intended for installation in the Venus de Milo room, which can get very crowded; it was therefore necessary to find a way to control the time spent using it and ensure smooth interaction between visitors with diverse cultural backgrounds.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This Museum Lab display features an interactive screen with intuitive access to information via images of the artworks. The goal is to interest visitors in the works exhibited nearby by providing the knowledge necessary to easily identify the figures represented (gods and heroes). The interface aims at a gratifying user experience with intuitive access to relevant information, the system being able to redirect the user in the event of a wrong answer.
What sort of information should be provided in front of the painting?
The key issues
The aim of this display, intended to be transferred to Room 43 in the Galerie Campana, was to provide scientific explanations about a group of works present in this room; it was therefore necessary to develop an intuitive interface that would appeal to users without distracting their attention from the works themselves. The information provided had to satisfy visitors' curiosity while encouraging their desire to look at the original works in front of them. The challenge was therefore to strike a balance between an interactive resource able to generate or sustain interest in an artwork, and the quality and amount of information that should be provided about that work.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This resource teaches users how to look at a piece of Greek pottery. With intuitively accessible explanations, organized by category, it encourages visitors to find information from the iconography on the artwork, and promotes observation of the work itself interspersed with reference to the screen on which a limited amount of carefully chosen complementary information is available. The aim is also to encourage visitors to observe the artwork closely by arousing their interest in the painted details, and to guide their attention to the most significant elements. This approach is the result of Museum Lab's reflection on the best type of explanatory device to install in front of an original artwork.
2.Providing information with a digital caption panel
The key issues
At most temporary exhibitions, a panel at the entrance explains why a particular group of works was chosen for display. However, visitors who have not yet seen the works probably find it hard to fully appreciate the intention,which may not be clear until they have completed their visit. Starting from the hypothesis that it is difficult to grasp the organization of the exhibition and the curators' intentions at the outset, we imagined the questions visitors might ask and the information they might like to have during their visit, and aimed at a more specific explanation of the connection between the works and the exhibition theme. Another goal was to decide on the appropriate amount of information for a display that is presented like a caption panel next to the artwork while guiding the visitor's gaze towards the work itself.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This display is part of Museum Lab's reflection on the role of a digital caption panel. It is designed to answer the visitor's questions about a work by explaining its relevance to the exhibition. The information is presented visually and in narrative sequence, to heighten its legibility and demonstrate its relevance to the overall theme. The system does not merely provide a set of ready-made answers to the questions we imagine visitors will have; it also includes a regular update to reflect the evolution of their interest as they progress. In short, this resource explores the potential of a digital caption panel.

3.An immersive experience to capture the atmosphere of a contextual situation
The key issues
The iconography of ancient Greek vases is a major source of information about daily life in ancient Greece, as few written texts have come down to us. However, it is difficult for neophytes to know which elements of these images illustrate daily life. So the goal for this display was to explain the original purpose of the work and the context in which it was used, with a multi-user resource that provided information in several languages.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This display invites visitors to experience the kind of situation in which the work was originally used. The mise-en-scène uses life-size versions of figures and objects painted on the ceramic pieces, and brings an ancient Greek banquet to life for visitors in an enveloping space with both visual and audio components, providing a lively demonstration of the role of the krater. This Museum Lab resource therefore invites visitors into the world depicted on the artworks; and it is accessible in several languages.
4.Telling a story (and sparking interest in the artwork)
The key issues
Linear, non-interactive presentations are rarely able to meet visitors' diverse needs, while interactive resources may detract from their overall understanding; moreover, there is no guarantee that visitors will receive the information as the designer intended. This was the issue under reflection with this Museum Lab display, which we also wanted to arouse interest in the artworks themselves rather than simply recount the story painted on the ceramics.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This resource, which uses an interactive touch screen, engages visitors in an active experience that offers them freedom of choice while guiding them, with thematic instructions, along the designer's planned path. The resource incorporates highly realistic images intended to prompt interest in the iconography of the artworks.
5.Using one's own body to understand the modes of representation of an artwork
The key issues
Representations of the human figure are intuitively understood by identifying one's own body with painted or sculpted forms, but this approach does not always allow the viewer to appreciate the different possible modes of representation or distortions of physical reality. At Museum Lab, we wanted visitors to be aware of these differences and variations; the display therefore needed to highlight the relationship between the painted representations of figures on Greek ceramics and the reality of visitors' own bodies.

The solution proposed by Museum Lab
This display is designed for physical manipulation using a gestural interface. This type of interaction, involving the user's body, provides an entertaining way of learning about the representation of the human body in Greek art and how it evolved over the centuries. Showing the user's movements on the same screen as life-size reproductions of these sculpted images reinforces the visitor's relationship with the artwork, while the combination of physical manipulation and visual images makes for a more powerful learning experience.
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