#gallery interpretation

Dany Louise 'Interpretation Matters! but can we do it better?'

Art Writing Writing Art was pleased to welcome Dany Louise of Interpretation Matters as our guest speaker for November. 

Dany outlined the four strands of her 'Interpretation Matters' project including the development of her website, workshops for gallery professionals, a forthcoming exhibition and an interpretation handbook. The aim of her project is to research interpretive texts within galleries in order to highlight this important area of gallery practice and kickstart a national conversation.

In this session, Dany Louise led a discussion with AWWA members, University of Bristol MA curatorial students, gallery professionals and History of Art academics on the subject of the merits and shortfalls of interpretive gallery text. We discussed the use of text panels, hand-outs, and mobile and digital technologies, such as apps for smartphones and tablets, as platforms for conveying information on art within a gallery context. Good examples of interpretive text were compared with bad examples, the former praised generally for their clarity, accuracy and stimulating insights, the latter criticized for their opacity, use of jargon and lack of pertinence. 

Our discussion overall centered around a series of questions: how can interpretive text account for varied audiences with varied levels of knowledge? how do we consider the art's ability to communicate? what level of response is dictated by the artwork?  to what extent should interpretive text provide a narrative to the art work? should the text be predominantly descriptive or critical? what ideological view do texts express and what implicit power relations govern them? what is the relationship between texts and the authority of the curator/ institutional view? how can interpretive texts challenge the perception that there is only one form of interpretation? what types of experience are possible and available within galleries?