Communication theory and museum communication

The central theme of this book is museum communication. As an introduction to the topic, it seems appropriate to indicate its place and role among the forms and genres of communication. In the middle of the last century, in 1948, Claude E. Shannon published the mathematical model of communication. (This model is based on the theory of N. Wiener and often referred to as the Shannon-Wiener model, published later in Shannon, Wiener and Weaver, 1963.) This theory introduced concepts that have been used ever since to describe the communication process:

source of information, sender, message, sign, channel, noise and receiver.

This theory, also called “the mother of all communication models”,has often been criticised for describing the process as a one-way alley, disregarding feedbacks and secondary processes directed by the receiver towards the sender or the message. However, if we want to describe models of contemporary social media, we may utilise similar concepts.

2.1. picture: Double feedback: audience dialogue on the pages of an exhibition guestbook.

In order to understand the process of exhibition communication, we can utilise an adapted version of the model where feedback – a feature very often absent or inappropriate in many exhibitions – is also integrated.¹Let us assume that the curator has a message to convey in his or her exhibition. Thus we have amessageand asenderof this message. The sender – or the person on his or her behalf, the exhibition designer –translatesthe message into the language of exhibition communication, and transmits it, using the communicationchannelsprovided by the exhibition, to thereceiver, the visitor. The receiver notices and decodes thesignsandtransformsthem into sensations and ideas. Thus thedecoded messagecomes to life. Let us discuss the elements in the diagram below one by one!

2.1. diagram: Generalised and simplified model of exhibition communication, based on the Shannon-Weaver communication model.

Message: in the case of commercial exhibitions, it may sound like this: “My product is the best: it even enhances your personality! Fall in love with it, yearn for it, buy it!” In the case of a national exhibition boosting the image of a country: “Hungary is the land of classical music (or salami, or any other characteristic national product), we are world leaders in this area!” In the case of a museum exhibition: “Munkácsy²is an outstanding painter, whose amazing oeuvre is generally appreciated.” Or perhaps: “Nature is interesting, beautiful and vulnerable, worthy of our attention and protection.”

2.2. picture: The meaning of the scent of the flower (Oenothera biennis) that blooms after dusk:” I have nectar!”

The butterfly (a Macroglossa stellatarum) feels the scent, and does its duty: the pollination of the flower. This process can be interpreted as the unwitting receipt of an unwitting message - that is to say, there is no direct communication (also, no misleading intent). Similarly, unwitting exchange of messages also often occur among

human individuals. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

Sender: it can be a private person or a company, sponsoring the exhibition. The sender can be a researcher, the developers of the exhibition – usually more than one person. It can be the artists, too, but most often he/she exhibits his or her work in a gallery, so he / she has to rely on museum staff for the transmittance of the message of the artworks. The one (or many) who formulate(s) the message is included in the left part of the diagram above. In this case, the sender is the person who formulates the message.

Aims and objectives of museum communication

2.3. picture: Unambiguous message, unambiguous sender. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

2.4. picture: Above the lamp switch, there is a list of names of exhibition developers. The intended message is a tribute to them. An unknown sender included yet another message, a simple Xerox sheet with a review of the

exhib-ition, thus contributing, anonymously, to the information about the show. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi) Translation: appropriate communication channels and tools have to be found for the more or less articulated message (that is often blurred and only partially formulated). Translation means a different process for exhibition design than for the compilation of the catalogue or family booklet.

Aims and objectives of museum communication

2.5. picture: What can the message of the selection of this tent as an event venue be? Environmental consciousness is better transmitted through collective creation out of discarded materials than the slogan banner in the

back-ground). (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

Communication channel: in communication theory this concept has a rather dry description. „The channel is the phase in the communication process that unites the data source and the data consumer.” However, data may have different characteristics, from easy and simple to complex and sophisticated. Channels of communication in real life are, among others, speech, writing and body language, perhaps also the use of tools for messaging. Forms of communication in dictatorial systems include public punishment or the declaration of regulations. Exhibition communication is also multifaceted: the venue, mood, colours, furniture, objects, images and sound bites (or, less frequently, tactile sensations) all belong to the repertoire of exhibition communication. Supporting documents like the catalogue, leaflet, flyer, task sheet, guided tour, live presentation or a virtual tour accompanying the real exper-ience are also important communication tools.

Aims and objectives of museum communication

2.6. picture: In the Museum of Postal Services, Budapest, many older visitors are nostalgic about old telephone sets and are pleased to use them again. If you pick up the receiver of the “Tell-a-Tale Telephone”, you can listen to folk tales and short stories. It is a well-suited communication channel for the 50+ generation. For children, however, it conveys another meaning: phone receivers used to be heavy and were supposed to be hand-held during

the conversation. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

Receiver: for museum exhibitions, the receivers of messages are the visitors – including professional ones, the reviewers and critics. For trade shows, business partners and customers can be considered the most important re-ceivers.

2.7. picture: It is very difficult to communicate with several generations of visitors at the same time. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

Decoded message:in further chapters, we will discuss the circumstances that influence the types of impressions, assumptions and knowledge elements that are elicited in viewers by an exhibition. As a response to the types of messages cited above, we are likely to encounter the following responses, from sincere acceptance to repulsion:

Aims and objectives of museum communication

coloured daubs!” It is important to emphasize that distorted messages are not only caused by bad exhibition design or interpretation, but also the social surroundings and the mindset of the beholder.

2.8. picture: An evident example of the inappropriate “reception” of a work of art, unintended by its creators and sponsors. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

Noise:this expression for disturbances in the communication channel date back to the early years of landline telephone services. The machine forwarded human voice with scratching noise and distortion. The quality of the sound at the receiver’s end was very different from the voice of the speaker. Nevertheless, speech could still be understood, but the pitch and rhythm of voice was less varied. (This is a situation similar to chatting in a noisy environment.) Noise can occur in many phases of exhibition communication. For example, the viewer hates the hue of the background colour we used for the showcase, so she closes her mind and perceives very little from the objects exhibited. Another problem may be the quality of the text: if it is incomprehensible, the visitor stops reading at once – and she does so if the lettering is too small, too, not wanting to tire the eyes. Another inhibiting factor for messages to get through is the scope of the exhibition. If it is too large, visitors get tired, start to hurry towards the exit and scan objects or read text only superfluously on the way. On the images below, you can see some sources of communication “noise”.

Aims and objectives of museum communication

2.9. picture: Details of an overcrowded, incomprehensible exhibition, the key elements of which (the two giraffes) are tucked away in a corner. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

2.10. picture: Overcrowded exhibition space with a normally frightening dinosaur looking strange, almost ridiculous.

(Photo: Vásárhelyi Tamás)

Aims and objectives of museum communication

2.11. picture: Because of lack of space, three groups of objects of entirely different nature are crammed in a small space by benevolent exhibition developers wanting to display as many items as possible. Decorated cast-iron

Aims and objectives of museum communication

2.12. picture: Images of worn and torn objects are repulsive for visitors if decay is not a natural process of aging.

(Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi)

2.13. picture: Glass surfaces or shiny tiles on the floor reflect light and spoil the homogeneous visual effect. In some cases mirroring makes proper observation and enjoyment impossible. (Photo: Tamás Vásárhelyi) The examples shown above demonstrate to what extent “noise” is able to reduce or even endanger the achievement of our exhibition communication objectives. All these elements will be discussed in detail later in this book.

2.2. The role of exhibitions among museum