Ethnographer: Heena Gulati Location: New Museum (235 Bowery, New York, NY, 10002) Dates: Friday, October 14, 2016; Friday, November 4, 2016; Thursday, November 10, 2016; Friday, November 18, 2016. Time Range: Between 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. (for a total of 10 hours).

1. Ethnography Project
Heena Gulati

2. The New Museum
• Combined Field Notes from my visit to the New Museum on:
• 14th Oct’ 16
• 4th Nov’ 16
• 10th Nov’ 16
• 18th Nov’ 16

3. • Through this presentation, I will take
you on a mesmerizing virtual experience
of the New Museum which is located in
the lower Manhattan at 235 Bowery,
New York City.
• When you reach the museum, you come
across this glass door which serves as
the entrance to the world of
contemporary art.
• As you enter the door, you will see
people waiting in queues to get their
entrance ticket for the museum.

4. • These are the clothes on display adjacent to
the entrance door. People were appreciating
the plethora of colors on the dresses.
• People passing by the streets were also in
awe of these captivating dresses. Some
people used to stop and then move ahead
and some used to walk inside the museum.
• There is a souvenir shop right in front of
the ticket counter and a café adjacent to the
elevators.
• The security guards at the elevators are quite
vigilant while checking the tickets of
museum visitors.

5. • This bubble machine was
placed in the center of the
entrance hall. Little kids
were excited to see the
bubbles coming out from
the machine.
• One of the bubble came
to my toe and burst which
was captured by a visitor
in the museum.
• Not just kids, even adults
were getting excited to see
these bubbles and were
taking pictures from
different angles.

6. • This is one my entry tickets to the museum. So I get to avail the perks of being a NYU
student, that is, free entry to the museum.
• The ticket was scanned by the security guard before entering the elevator.

7. • These are the snapshots of the
pamphlets that I took from the
ticket counter.
• Visitors were going through them
and some people took them along,
whereas other left them at the
shelf.

8. • These are the pamphlets for the
Fall/Winter 2016 Exhibitions
which were available at the
ticket counter.
• This was placed at the side shelf,
so not many people looked at
them.

9. Information brochure which talks about history, location and contact details of museum

10. Information brochure for the floor plans which can help visitors navigate through the
museum

11. • These book shelves were placed in the souvenir
shop which is on the side of the entrance hall.
• Some people were just randomly picking books and
didn’t really open them. Some were inquisitive and
took time to turn every page.
• I saw two people discussing about one particular book.
Although I could not see the title of the book but I
saw them focusing on one specific page.

12. • I went through these books and I
was quite intrigued by the way their
aesthetic design and abundant
information contained in them.
• I saw a young girl of about 10-11
years old looking through these
books with great interest and
enthusiasm. She called out her mum
in excitement when she saw a
particular art in one of the books.

13. • These were the items displayed in the souvenir shop. Some visitors were curious to
know their cost price and some just randomly crossed these tables without even
looking at them.

14. • These were the visual exhibits on the walls on the 2nd floor of the museum. The
carpets were put on the floor with comfortable cushions. People were lying down
and listening the audio guides which explained the artist’s vision behind creating this
three dimensional high density representation.

15. • This visual display
was the also on the
second floor. People
were in awe of the
rapturous imagery.
• There was a group of
visitors who seemed
like they were college
students. They were
discussing about their
arts assignments
when they saw these
displays.

16. • There were white
curtains in the
middle of the hall.
• Visual images were
running through
these curtains. This
was a fascinating
experience for me
as well. Wildlife
and underwater
scenes were shown
on these curtains.

17. • The tour guide
explained that these
images are generated
through a complex
pixel resolution
technique which
focuses on enhancing
the picture display.
• This was such an
intriguing experience
for me. I saw people
around me playing with
these curtains and
clicking pictures with
these images.

18. • This model was
displayed on the
other side of the
hall at 2nd floor.
• People were just
passing by the
model but didn't
pay attention to
look at the
exhibit.
• This exhibit was
placed in a glass
box.

19. • This visual display
showed the
underwater coral
life.
• The tour guide
talked about the
aquatic animal life.
• There was a video clip following these images which showed a naked couple
getting intimate with each other while swimming underwater.

20. • This was the exhibit at the 3rd floor
gallery.
• There were wall-to-wall carpets as
well as bean bags and couches.
• People were lying down on the
couches and watching the visuals.
• The visuals were projected on the
walls.
• Some people were fascinated to see
the intimate scenes and some just
looked at them casually and walked
away.

21. “Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest” is the name of the exhibition that was on display

22. • These were the
glass hangings
at the 4th floor.
• The colors of
these hangings
used to change
continuously.
• Visitors
admired these
ambience of the
hall and were
appreciating the
same.

23. • These were
put displayed
on the
corner walls
of the hall.
• Very few
people
actually paid
attention to
the written
material.

24. • Dynamic visualizations
on the walls based on
theme of merging
technology and our
bodies

25. • These were two
display at the
opposite corners of
the hall on the 4th
floor.
• The artist wanted to
see visitor’s
preference between
‘Help Me’ and ‘Trust
Me’.
• Most of the people
didn’t realize until the
tour guide pointed
that out.

26. • These displays were
projected on the roofs
and there were beds for
people to relax and
enjoy the visualization.
• There were visuals
showing the intimate
sexual relationship
between a man and a
woman.
• The tour guide explained that the artist aims to help visitors get into the
superlative meditative state while lying down on the bed and not feel awkward if a
stranger is lying next to you.

27. • This exhibit was placed in a glass box.
Every visitor who crossed that side of
the hall paused for a second to look at it.
• I observed a young girl making notes of
the exhibit. There was also another girl
accompanying her who was sketching
the exhibit in her drawing book. They
were both discussing something with
each other and simultaneously doing
their tasks. I could understand their
conversations since they were talking in a
different language.

28. • I saw a little kid of about 5 years
who got excited to see the tiny
guitar.
• There was another kid who got
excited to see the bed. She said to
her mom that she wants to sleep on
this bed.

29. • I overheard a lady saying this to her
fellow companion, “Look, this is how
hipsters live who have no sense for
them”. Then they both mocked at the
exhibit and moved ahead.

30. • This is a bookshelf that was
placed in the corner of the hall
on the 4th floor. This area is
called the Museum’s Educational
Centre.
• There is a circular table besides
the shelf where you can sit and
read these books.

31. • Mostly visitors just glanced through
these books, except a few who took
the book to the table to read them.

32. • This exhibit was placed in the
Reading Room, right in front of
the circular table where people
were reading books.
• The same girl who was taking
notes of the previous exhibit
came besides me and started
taking notes from it.
• She was designing some
concept maps and I was
reminded of my team-mate
Brittany.

33. • This was placed on the wall of
the 4th floor close to the entrance
of reading room.
• People were so mesmerized by
the huge exhibits placed on the
walls that they didn't’t really pay
attention to the description that
was put up on the opposite end.

34. • The exhibit is the first thing that
visitors get to see as soon as they
off the elevator.
• It’s a huge exhibit and catches the
attention of almost every visitor
on that floor.
• A woman got off the elevator
with me and she said “Such an
artistic masterpiece!” (in an excited
tone).

35. • Several people were drawing
their own interpretations for this
exhibit.
• It covered the entire wall and
had a small description on the
side.
• But nobody looked at the text,
instead everybody was just
discussing different aspects of
the painting amongst themselves.

36. • There was a group of school
students who had come for a
project. Amongst them, one
boy said that this looks like
the school environment. It
covers all the activities that
are done in a school.
Everybody in the group
agreed to his point of view.

37. • The colors of the light lamps over
the paining kept on changing
which also captured visitor’s
attention, particularly young
children.
• There was a little girl who told her
mom to get such lights for
Christmas tree and her mom
agreed to do so. She got so excited
on hearing her mom’s agreement.

38. • The same girl in the previous
instance also got excited to see
the dog in the picture. She
called her mum in excitement
and said, “Look, it’s our
Daniel”. Her mum responded,
“No, it’s not a painting of a
dog, not our Daniel. Let’s go
home!”

39. • A video was being played on the
wall and the English sub-titles
were displayed alongside.
• This was placed besides the
painting exhibit discussed in the
previous instances.

40. • This video was about some sort
of cultural ritual. I heard a couple
saying that to each other but I
couldn’t really get the name of
the place which they mentioned
in their conversation.

41. • This was a
handout
given to the
visitors for
them to
know about
the theme
of the floor
exhibits.

42. • Most
people
just
glanced
at the
handout
and left
it on the
side
table.

43. • The description of the ground floor exhibits which were mostly videos broadcasted
on screens.

44. • This information board was placed
at the corner of the entrance door
for the hall on the ground floor
which had video exhibits.
• Many people stopped to glance
through the description after they
came back from the hall, rather
than before entering it.

45. • This was in
the exhibit
area on the
ground
floor
besides the
café.

46. • These were the video exhibits placed in a
hall made of glass walls right next to the
café. Several video clips were being played
and people were standing in groups to
watch them.

47. • These were
some of the
contemporary
art paintings
that were
displayed in
the next door
art gallery.
• Many people
were discussing
to see this
place after
leaving the
museum.

48. • I heard a visitor from museum ask
the front desk about the difference
in contemporary art in the gallery
and the museum but unfortunately,
she didn't know the answer.

49. • The field notes have been a cumulative account of my experiences in the New
Museum during my visits in the last two months.
• I hope you enjoyed the virtual journey of the museum as much as I did because
it gave me an opportunity to learn a lot about myself and others!
• I would want to thank Camillia for encouraging me to continue with my field
observations at the same time when I was uncomfortable at certain points.
• Thanks to my team-mate Brittany as well for introducing this site for our
ethnography project.

50. Thank You