April 2014

gold bug

So, this week we wanted to highlight an artist and work that may not be new to many art museum readers but certainly might be new to some science and history museum people and probably also to many designers out there. The work is called The Golden Roach Project by the artist Miklos Kiss.

 

 

 

Miklos places these in museums around the world, as he states about roaches: “It is found anywhere in the World, considered everywhere as a pest and a source of infections, and exterminated anywhere possible. Opposite to this, the roaches in my creations go through multiple changes. Walking into the culture’s holy space, they turn to gold in the museums, which represent art, and this pushes the question of art. At this point the action is made classic and contemporary at the same time. The smuggling effect is “roachy” and reflects a contemporary approach, while in materials and workmanship it recalls of classic art pieces.”

 

 

He encourages others to take these roaches or buy them, and while almost all are just gold-plated plastic, one is actually pure gold. In addition, people can post images of their roach in various places and, if the citation is tagged correctly, it can go up his website.

Miklos draws attention to how this idea of smuggling could also be considered in reverse – “This should bring the attention to a reverse situation, where an effective and valuable object will be smuggled in on the way in to the museum.”

 

 

 

Here at the studio, we are loving several aspects of this whole concept – making something precious by its material and where it’s places, the sort of “treasure” aspect of the one gold roach, and the interactivity with the viewers in a medium where physical interactivity is not often seen.

It makes us wonder how some of these concepts could be exported and adapted to have visitors in other types of museums create an interactive and dynamic social expression physically. How might this idea be adapted for a science center? A zoo?

What do you think? What does this concept inspire you to want to try?!

 

 

 

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the dark side strikes back

So, as we have blogged about before, our friends in the marketing world often create experiences that inspire us here at the studio. At times these great ideas are even for museums. So this week we thought we would share three projects we found inspirational.

The first is an experience that can bring strangers together for conversation. Meet the Coffee Connector from the Economic Development Board of Singapore.

 

 

 

As you can see in the video, this requires two people to make cups of coffee. The interaction that leads to actually getting a cup of coffee puts users in a position to provide both a name and a subject to talk about. While it certainly affirms our studio’s belief that coffee is the center of the universe in the morning (martinis do that in evening – look for the Martini Connector next), this is a great model to potentially explore for a museum setting. It seems intriguing to create an activity where the payoff is not about the subject per se but instead is about people talking about the subject.

The second is the fun and evocative campaign for the Paris Zoological Park by Ubi Bene,

 

 

 

 

 

 

The idea of three-dimensional “artifacts” or leave-behinds is very interesting… and certainly this is an idea that could be reused for different subjects. Also, it allows for some great photo opportunities that extend the zoo’s impact.

Finally, here’s something about a subject we here in study have worked on quite a bit. Take a look at how food and cooking can be transformed in a film. Film by Blink Productions and Wieden + Kennedy London

 

 

 

This just goes to show that many subjects could be made more interesting and more engaging when humor and theatrics are applied in ways that don’t detract or distract from the subject. Certainly a treatment like this might be a great way to introduce people to a subject before diving into more substantial content. This film did a wonderful job setting a mood.

 

What creative marketing and communications examples have you seen lately? How might those ideas help us create more memorable and engaging experiences for visitors?

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