1. Analytic Memo (Individual) Foundations of Learning Sciences
Ethnography Project Camillia Matuk
Heena Gulati Section - 001
The site chosen for the ethnography project is the New Museum located at 235 Bowery, New
York. It was founded in 1977 with the focus of promoting contemporary art and is a well-
renowned site for professionals from all over the world. It also serves as the cultural incubator
to promote new and innovative ideas for fostering a creative ecosystem in the field of
contemporary art. I visited the museum on four days (14th
Oct’ 16 ; 4th
Nov’ 16 ; 10th
Nov’ 16 ;
18th
Nov’ 16) for approximately two and a half hours each. This was first museum that I
visited after coming to New York City but I have seen couple of exhibitions on contemporary
art in India. So, it was quite an interesting experience to look at cultural nuances and how art
differs in two different demographic locations.
It is a very lively place with a large glass door entrance which is a very captivating feature
because people crossing the street are also able to glance through the exhibits placed inside
the museum. To me, the glass walls served as a connecting link between people and the
museum because even people crossing the museum couldn’t stop themselves from glancing
at the lovely printed dresses displayed at the corner. The following is a snapshot of the scene
described:
2. Analytic Memo (Individual) Foundations of Learning Sciences
Ethnography Project Camillia Matuk
Heena Gulati Section - 001
I saw people coming from diverse backgrounds and varied interests. For some, it looked like
they were deeply interested in the art, but for some it was a leisure or recreational trip to the
museum. There were different tourist groups as well who were fascinated to see such
mesmerizing exhibits. I had various kinds of experiences when I visited the museum in the
last two months, some were good and knowledgeable and some were not so good or rather I
would say made me a bit uncomfortable initially and I will elaborate on those experiences in
my memo.
During one of my visit to the museum, I saw people sitting on carpets and watching the pixel
forest imageries on the wall. A guide was narrating stories to the visitors and the images were
about the underwater life and how the artist conceptualized it in relation with the human body.
Although I could not hear the entire story because by then, it was almost at the end of it. The
imageries changed to a naked man and woman who were swimming and playing with the
underwater species. According to the guide, the two cups reflected the intimate nature of
relationship between a man and a woman.
Thereafter, the imagery showed a couple of intimate scenes between that man and woman. It
was not just on one wall. On the other side of hall, I saw a screen which also showed a
3. Analytic Memo (Individual) Foundations of Learning Sciences
Ethnography Project Camillia Matuk
Heena Gulati Section - 001
different environment but again with the same concept of a man and woman being intimate
with each other. I saw some people looking at the screens with amazement and some didn’t
really pay attention to it. Then I went to the next floor and again I saw that people were lying
on those bean bags to watch the visualizations on the wall. The initial images were of
underwater animals, plants, corals, etc. and then it turned to show intimacy between a male
and female. I was quite baffled because I could not figure out the reason behind these shows.
I moved on to the next floor which was completely dark and had huge curtains. On one side
of the hall, it was written ‘Trust Me’ and on the end, it was written ‘Help Me’. People were
clicking pictures of these glowing boards.
I went inside and I saw there were beds on which were lying down to see the visuals on the
roof. Here the visual started with wildlife and then changed to underwater life. It also had
images of a naked woman in between those transitions. I went to one of the tour guides to
ask her about the reasons for it. She told me that the artist want the viewer to enter a deep
meditative state through these extra-ordinary high resolutions visualizations of pixel forest.
Her main idea is that there is no separateness between the technology and our bodies.
According to the artist, when people enter the deep meditative state and let their bodies
merge with technologies then this union is what brings pleasure. So, the artist wants the
4. Analytic Memo (Individual) Foundations of Learning Sciences
Ethnography Project Camillia Matuk
Heena Gulati Section - 001
viewers to get to a level where even if a stranger comes and lies next to you on the bed, you
should not get uncomfortable with it.
I was quite uncomfortable and felt strange about this thought. I was in a quite awkward
situation but I saw people around me to be quite comfortable. So I went to Camillia to discuss
with her if I should change my site and understand how to deal with my awkwardness. She
encouraged me and told me to continue with my observations at the same place. I felt its
happening maybe because I come from a very different society where it’s considered a taboo
to talk about sex and think about lying next to a stranger on a bed. But I really liked the point
Camillia made that even in this culture people won’t be comfortable with this ideology and this
is the reason why the artist created such a visualization. This made me realize that this is just
the difference in the expression of cultural views and instead of being awkward, I can explore
cultural nuances in such an informal learning environment. So, for the next visit I was more
focused to see how do people from various cultures engage in meaningful learning from
these informal learning environments. I was also curious to explore how the class readings
on socio-cultural perspectives be applied in these learning situations.
Another turning point in my field observation was when I saw people having different
experiences while seeing this exhibit. I observed that little kids used to excited on particular
aspects when they saw a guitar or bed but the adults expressed some stereotypical
viewpoints. For instance, I heard a lady saying this to her fellow companion, “Look, this is
how hipsters live which have no sense for them.”
5. Analytic Memo (Individual) Foundations of Learning Sciences
Ethnography Project Camillia Matuk
Heena Gulati Section - 001
As an observer, I was quite disappointed and at the same time amazed to see how people
stereotype one particular category of people. This made me think about how learning will be
affected if one group of people are stereotyped by another. If it can be negative in such an
informal learning environment, then the students who would be facing any sort of
stereotypical behavior from teachers or peers are at a greater disadvantage because in a
formal schooling environment there are several other parameters as well that can contribute
or disrupt learning such as achievement level gaps, etc. I got more avenues to think when we
had a class discussion on identity formation and how people get stereotyped in different ways
which leads to different learning experiences. So, that helped me connect to my thoughts that
I had while making field observations.
Museums are considered to be places for informal learning and under one roof, you get to
see, meet and observe a variety of people. Some people have such a deep sense of
appreciation for art and some have no interest but come to museums to spend their free time.
As a person, I learnt a lot from doing these observations and I realized how culture influences
learning by being an active participant in that setting. For instance, inspite of being
considered an open-minded and progressive individual in my society, I still had a hard time to
get accustomed to the cultural values or ideas promoted by the artist through those particular
exhibits. But I am glad I continued with my observations because I got to see how people
6. Analytic Memo (Individual) Foundations of Learning Sciences
Ethnography Project Camillia Matuk
Heena Gulati Section - 001
from diverse backgrounds interact with each other and how they engage in meaningful
learning by-constructing their social spaces. It also helped me explore technological aspects
used to display the art, for instance the pixel forest displayed on walls, roof and long curtains.
I saw how contemporary art goes beyond the standard wall-painting format to utilizing digital
media for expressing artist’s creativity and ingenuity. Overall, it’s been a great learning
experience for me and I will look forward to visiting the museum for exploring new avenues of
learning.
For more detailed view of my field notes, please use the following link :
https://docs.google.com/a/nyu.edu/presentation/d/1G85iQa5T4VndVDEtxnB7FbzVy4-
HlecUi1DOLKwk4wY/edit?usp=sharing
