The display makes a difference

Author(s)
Luise Reitstätter, Hanna Brinkmann, Thiago Santini, Eva Specker, Zoya Dare, Flora Bakondi, Anna Miscena, Enkelejda Kasneci, Helmut Leder, Raphael Rosenberg
Abstract

There is increasing awareness that the perception of art is affected by the way it is presented. In 2018, the Austrian Gallery Belvedere redisplayed its permanent collection. Our multi-disciplinary team seized this opportunity to investigate the viewing behavior of specific artworks both before and after the museum’s rearrangement. In contrast to previous mobile eye tracking (MET) studies in museums, this study benefits from the comparison of two realistic display conditions (without any research interference), an unconstrained study design (working with regular museum visitors), and a large data sample (comprising 259 participants). We employed a mixed-method approach that combined mobile eye tracking, subjective mapping (a drawing task in conjunction with an open interview), and a questionnaire in order to relate gaze patterns to processes of meaning-making. Our results show that the new display made a difference in that it 1) generally increased the viewing times of the artworks; 2) clearly extended the reading times of labels; and 3) deepened visitors’ engagement with the artworks in their exhibition reflections. In contrast, interest in specific artworks and art form preferences proved to be robust and independent of presentation modes.

Organisation(s)
Department of Art History, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub
External organisation(s)
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Journal
Journal of Eye Movement Research
Volume
13
No. of pages
29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.13.2.6
Publication date
2020
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
501030 Cognitive science, 605005 Audience research, 601013 Museology, 604019 Art history
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Sensory Systems, Ophthalmology
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/the-display-makes-a-difference(ac6770bb-bc93-4553-afcc-e49619e9cd76).html