Visiting the DAM for the First Time

I've been in Colorado about a week now, and I have seen many things in that short time. Of course, my first stop was the Denver Art Museum in order to get a sneak peek at the environment I will be spending my summer in. Overall, I was very, very, very impressed by the museum's educational components to their exhibits. Innovative, fun and interactive, this museum had more interpretation than I've seen before in any art museum. Be prepared. I've decided to discuss many of these interactives on this blog as I come into contact with them.

To paint you a picture of where the DAM is, it is set amid a bunch of other culturally-centered buildings, including the city's library. All of these structures have very unique architecture. The DAM itself is a combination of the contemporary structure built by Libeskind and the original museum that looks like a medieval fortress (arrow loop windows and all). Very beautiful.

Here is a glimpse into some of the museum's interactives that I so loved:

Sorry for the poor quality! This interactive is located in "The Studio," a little room off of the contemporary Western American art galleries. Using technology in an innovative way, the panel you see is set before a projection screen. Across the top of the panel, there are various questions including the following: what does it feel like to be an artist, how do you start, do you ever get stuck and what do you do, and can you talk about your art displayed at the DAM? By moving a metal cross and placing it on a specific artist's work under a certain question, the projector runs footage of that artist answering that question! Brilliant and thoroughly entertaining! I could have sat here for 45 minutes. What I love about this is that is it allows the visitor to control the knowledge that they are gaining. You can pick and choose what interests you. You can focus on a certain artist or listen to all of them!

Also in the Hamilton Building, there is a room (it looks slightly like a space-filler) dedicated to fostering the conversation "What is art?" Amidst walls covered in quotes by various artists and a video of one of the museum's curators discussing this very question, visitors are prompted and encouraged to write their answers on Post-Its and stick them up on the walls. Here are a couple of my favorites:




What I love about this is that it is an nonthreatening environment to discuss a question that has stumped many individuals. Not only is the gallery physically soothing but the manner in which visitors can comment both by name or anonymously cultivates a sense of comfort. No need to be shy here! One of the best features of this gallery is a little box at its exit that reads "Deep Thoughts." For those more prone to sit, ponder and write, there is an outlet for you here.


More to come!