The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

racked.com

Blog: Racked

Yes it’s NY Fashion Week, but don’t settle for the same old fashion bloggers. Introducing Katie, the pint-sized five-year blogging sensation. She may be petite, but don’t be fooled—she’s got a knack for accessorizing, a bold eye for color, and an avant-garde edge (check out those tights!). And she’ll be coming at you every day during New York Fashion Week on Racked National. (via racked.com)

ArtBabble Video: Catherine Opie: American Photographer

Catherine Opie confesses, “I’ve never seen the work together before,” speaking of her Surfers and Icehouses series. Both share the common narrative of “temporary communities,” as she calls them. The exhibition provided audiences with an unprecedented opportunity to examine the many interconnections between her diverse bodies of work, which, as she says, are all characterized by “these little moments that are recognizably human.”

For further information about the exhibition, visit Catherine Opie: American Photographer .

Preparing for the Matinee by Edmund Charles Tarbell

Tweet:

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

List name

List link:

@katefranzman/

Description

Under 100 characters, optional

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Create a new list Update this list

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked — Unblock

Blocked — Undo

Blocked and reported for spam — Undo Learn more

— Undo

Pending — Cancel

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked and reported for spam — Undo

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

List name

List link:

@katefranzman/

Description

Under 100 characters, optional

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Create a new list Update this list

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked — Unblock

Blocked — Undo

Blocked and reported for spam — Undo Learn more

— Undo

Pending — Cancel

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked and reported for spam — Undo

danielincandela: My blog recapping some projects while @imamuseum and the next adventure at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. http://bit.ly/aQpzBN

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

Create a new list

Update this list

×

List name

List URL twitter.com/morningnutbags/

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked

— Unblock

Blocked

— Undo

Blocked and reported for spam

— Undo

— Undo

Pending

— Cancel

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

Create a new list

Update this list

×

List name

List URL twitter.com/morningnutbags/

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?

Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked

— Unblock

Blocked

— Undo

Blocked and reported for spam

— Undo

— Undo

Pending

— Cancel

You may have heard, that we softly launched the new IMA website on Tuesday? Well, we were kind of busy with that recently. But we’ve kept our eyes on a couple of other projects, including a major video documentary. You may recall our first major documentary, on Maya Lin which we debuted on ArtBabble. A pic of Dan on location for that documentary, below.

Senior New Media Producer Dan Dark, on location in Walla Walla

So speaking of documentaries. In December, Danny Beyer and I spent a week in NYC working on our next documentary, featuring the artist duo Type A.  This is a really unique project for us, because we have enjoyed a wonderful working relationship with them – in fact, they’ve become ingrained in IMA’s culture through their work in 100 Acres….even on this blog. We’ve been even luckier in that we’ve received the full support, encouragement, collaboration and engagement from IMA’s contemporary curator, Lisa Freiman. It’s the makings of something special.

Stay hydrated! Simple advice.

In fact, this might be our most prolific collaboration with any artist. We’ve got hours and hours of team building raw footage, a Flickr set, blog posts, hilarious phone calls, hugs, the exchange of gifts and more.  It’s lasted years. They’ve also given us (and ArtBabble) one of the best In the Factory series to date. You can view that below. I implore you to at least watch the beginning…which will prompt you to watch the end.

It’s already become a very special project (and we’re a couple of months away from completing the documentary). Type  A have opened their studio to us, befriended the entire IMA family and been incredibly kind, patient, funny and inspiring collaborators. They even gave us hockey tickets for a Rangers game.

Our week in NYC was intense and we shot hours of footage. Interviewing people is an exhausting process and during the week we conducted on-camera interviews with several different people involved in Type A’s career (you’ll meet them in the video) and we grabbed tons of studio b-roll footage. It was an intense but good time.

The final day of shooting at Type A's studio

We’re a couple of months away from completing this video. Danny is currently editing the piece, sifting through all of the footage and searching for usable nuggets. There are plenty.  Even though it’s not done yet, I can imagine the final product being well over twenty minutes long, in which case, this would be our longest documentary to date. We’ve come a long way.

So while you’re waiting for this release, take time to watch Type A’s In the Factory interview (above) or check out their section on the IMA site and what they’re doing in 100 Acres. We love them.

This is a crown, but not the actual crown that the winning blogger will receive.

And the Nominees Are…

• Jessica Hancock
• Katie Neville
• Crystal Hammon
• Jenni Clarkson
• Heather McAllister
  

So What Happens Next?

Every Wednesday for the next 5 weeks we will post the submission of each of the finalists listed above. On March 3 we will then take it to a public vote in order to let our blog readers decide the individual who gets to be the IMA’s next blogger.

What’s at stake?

For the winning blogger – You will get a free membership to the IMA as well as complimentary tickets to select public programs and events. In addition, you will receive the opportunity to blog on a monthly basis through the end of 2010. As and added bonus, I will also fashion a special crown for whoever wins.* AND as a super special added bonus – The Social Media Committee of Excellence will buy you lunch at Nourish Cafe to celebrate your success.

For our blog readers – You will receive the opportunity to pick the voice that you want to hear throughout 2010. Who makes you laugh? Who intrigues you? Who has a point of view that is unique and relevant? It’s up to you to decide. Choose wisely.

Good luck to our finalists, cheers to our future voters, and let the best blogger win!

Oh, oh. And one last thing…If you aren’t following the IMA on Twitter, I think you should.

*Wearing the crown is completely optional. However, if the winner decides to not wear the crown, I will (obviously) be required to wear it myself.

In case you haven’t heard yet, we’re searching for a blogger. (See instructions for submission.) So far, we’ve received nearly 20 submissions and each is pretty darn good. It’s going to be a difficult process of narrowing down the field. However, I believe that the IMA’s Social Media Committee of Excellence is up for the task, and we hope that our blog readers will in turn be up for the challenge of voting for their favorite in the coming weeks.

Blogging isn’t easy. At least not for me. I’ve been doing it for nearly 3 years (see my first blog) – since the beginning of the IMA blog (read the first post ever) – and honestly, every post is a challenge. Finding a topic and a point of view  is time consuming and hard.

If you’re thinking about blogging for yourself or for the IMA, here are some great tips that I’ve found online:

• Write a Blog You’d Want to Read
• Ten Tips for Writing a Blog Post
• Ten Secrets for Writing Good Blog Posts

Dan Dark, Senior New Media Producer

It’s the first time I’ve been doused by coffee in a creative meeting, but I’ve also been pranked countless times by my colleagues.

1) Phone in the ceiling, ringing incessantly. 2) My door closed and unable open because of a clever door stop. 3) 100′s of water glasses covering my desk. 4) The wheels from my desk chair missing and hidden. 5) Lowering my desk. 6) Co-workers writing down everything I say. 7) And at least ten more. I’ve never snapped.

I’m not trying to tarnish the good reputation of the IMA or new media. And I’m certainly not trying to give the impression that we never work.  We do work, a lot. In fact, it sometimes difficult to find the division between work and our personal lives.  But that’s because we make work a fun and open environment for ideas and expression. That attitude shows in what we produce, and ultimately, we hope our visitors experience the same feelings. It  reminds me of the Jack Torrance quote – “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Our approach to content creation is fueled by a creative environment from within our department and our collaborations with our museum-wide colleagues. We are fortunate to work with every IMA department, producing a variety of digital projects that support their voice. And we are lucky to have the freedom and support to simply be ourselves. Talk about lucky. (and did we really get to produce this video?)

I talk a lot about creating technology with a personality. This can only happen if there is a real personality behind the idea, the development, the implementation of our projects. In many ways, I’m often surprised that we are given the freedom to express ourselves creatively, which often involves a certain amount of humor or cheekiness. It shows tremendous trust by a large organization and I try to never take this leap of faith for granted. Fortunately, the projects usually turn out well.

And really, the reason our projects tend to do well, is because of the content, the voice of the experience – the personality of content.  I look back on all the time, weekend work and late hours, it takes to create some of our work – videos, ArtBabble, this blog, exhibition sites, TAP and so on – and the quality or success always comes down to the people involved. It’s the people we get to work with on a day to day basis (think about all that are represented in this blog), artists (think videos), exhibition teams (think curators, registrars, educators) and so many more talented colleagues in other institutions that provide a unique, honest point of view. This is translated directly into engaging, thought-provoking visitor experiences. Our role in this is to think of creative ways of presenting the stories – hence the soccer ball, coffee on my sweater and moments of spontaneity.

So, I thought I would start 2010, by sharing some of my favorite examples of projects we’ve produced featuring a variety of internal and external personalities. They are the stars.

- One of my favorite blog posts is by Richard McCoy, when he challenged our readers to write wikipedia articles. The result? The participants enjoyed lunch with Maxwell Anderson.  It’s a great example of someone speaking from their own area of expertise, point of view and voice, creatively.

- Still a favorite video of mine – Moving East Gate/West Gate by Helicopter. A massive project and we just showed up with cameras and watched colleagues from security, public affairs, exhibitions, photography, registration, conservation do all the work. It came off beautifully and is one of our most viewed videos on ArtBabble.

- Woody Woodpecker.  Sort of. A bird cam out in 100 Acres? You bet. We’ve been working with our grounds and horticulture team for over a year on this one. But I guess the real stars are the hungry critters.

- And one of the best examples, would be our Director’s Journal video series featuring Maxwell Anderson and interviews with staff from a variety of departments. It brings the world of a museum straight to your video player.  Check out one of my faves below.

So, just a few projects – I could keep going and going and going (ArtBabble is up to 21 partners now!).  But it’s a good indication of what’s around the corner in 2010 and a hint at the types of projects we’ll be producing. You’ve already read about a new IMA website launching in the near future and we have some amazing things planned for 100 Acres.  We’re also developing a brand, spanking new idea called IMA TV. More to follow on that.

In the meantime, keep a close eye on your coffee and feel free to share some of your favorite IMA blog posts, videos and how you get inspired at the office. Or wanna share some good pranks?

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

I SAID... Leggo my Eggo! (thepancakeproject.blogspot.com)

Blog: The Pancake Project

We’re really into food blogs around here, can you tell? Heart-shaped pancakes are for newbs. Take your pancaking skills to the next level… then submit your creations to this blog… and then eat them.

ArtBabble Video: Bari Kumar – The Making of Blind Faith, 2009

IMA Work of Art:

evening ensemble by Norman Norell (Designer)

Tweet:

danielincandela: ArtBabble has made it’s way onto Wikipedia: http://bit.ly/8j6YMM

Hey, you get to hang out with me.

Draw back you say? Yes.  We spend so much time interacting online, we never actually meet the people that read this blog, watch our videos, follow the IMA’s main site, or follow our tweets.  There’s a disconnect of sorts and it’s something we struggle with constantly.  We produce digital content to enhance our visitors experiences with art, artists and exhibitions.  A lot of these people may never visit Indianapolis or the IMA.  But what about our local audience?  We care, we really do.

All museums care.  And some are doing a great job of bridging the disconnect between the online and physical relationships.  The ever impressive Wexner Center in Columbus, OH (my old stomping grounds) has been heavily involved in their local Social Media Cafe.  Brooklyn Museum has pioneered the new model for museum membership with their 1stfans idea – a socially networked membership that brings visitors in to the museum. And the Mattress Factory uses Twitter brilliantly to uninstitutionalize an institution.  Wex, BM & MF are heavily involved in new media projects and publishing online – but they too have addressed the same issue we’re contemplating – it would be great to meet some of you.  (If there are other museums addressing this, I would love to hear from you).

So if you’re free this evening, stop by the IMA.  You can meet some of the museum staff, listen to some music, grab a drink and if you really want, try out our new iPod Touch guide.

TAP into Sacred Spain

Did you think I wouldn’t end by mentioning some technology?

X-Ray of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Way back in September, Charlie initially wrote about TAP, giving our readers an early look at the software.  The application is designed to be extremely flexible, meaning that we will be reusing TAP for future exhibitions both inside the museum and conceivably outside.    Although the IMA attempted a multimedia guide back in 2005 for the American galleries (does anyone remember this?) – this will be the first time we’ve attempted this type of visitor-focused experience for an exhibition. And to think, the entire software development and authoring, content production and implementation was done entirely in-house (check out the video below for a closer look at TAP).

When it comes to new media production, a lot of footage and content goes unused in the final product.  In the case of TAP – we shot and recorded hours and hours of media for the tour.  Once it’s all edited and fine tuned, it boils down to about a 90 minute experience.  What happens to the hours of unused material? This brings me to Easter Eggs.  We wanted to provide some surprises in this tour and make use of content we ordinarily wouldn’t use.  In some ways, Easter Eggs are similar to a cameo by Alfred Hitchcock.  They are little surprises or experiences that were created to augment the real or planned experience.  In the technology sense, they are intentional, additional pieces of content that are hidden, hard to find – but the in the end, result in a funny or unexpected discovery.  What will you find?

The hidden location!

You won’t find Alfred Hitchcock on TAP – especially since he once said “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible” - but you will be able to locate secret 3-digit codes that will lead to you new stories.  How do you find these Easter Eggs?  Well, you can surf around HERE or come to exhibition and investigate.  You might find something – are you up for the challenge?

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

deathbykerning.blogspot.com

Blog: Death by Kerning

In typography, kerning is the process of adjusting letter spacing in a proportional font. In a well-kerned font, the two-dimensional blank spaces between each pair of letters all have similar area. This visually-pleasing blog about design and typography is sure to inspire you.

ArtBabble Video: Mary Temple’s New Installation at MAD

In this video, Mary describes how the piece was conceived and created. The video also features a section of time-lapse photography, taken over the course of two days of her working at the Museum.

IMA Work of Art:

Mochi, Ito Jakuchū

Tweet:

danielincandela Even Stormtroopers Play Art Loud on ArtBabble: http://bit.ly/159vDl

MSTD A414 / A514: Museums and Technology (3 cr.) This course surveys the growing use of technology in museums. It examines applications for information management in collections, conservation science, and archives. It examines critically the use of technology in the service of education both in exhibit contexts and in the variety of educational programs and web-based dissemination of knowledge.

(I would normally put an image here, but I don’t have a good one.  Instead I’m going to plug our latest video, a trailer for our next major exhibition Sacred Spain: Art & Belief in the Spanish World).

Back to the real point of this post.

I’m working on the syllabus as we speak.  For some time, I’ve been mulling over the basic shell of the class and now is the time for action.  I’ve had plenty of ideas revolving around case studies, online publications, blogs, videos, and much much more.  But mostly, I’ve been struggling finding an acceptable balance between theory and execution.  I have respect for both sides, but I would definitely characterize myself as an implementer.  In plenty of blog posts I’ve mentioned launching or publishing incomplete projects (or rather, works in progress) and tried to communicate that mistakes happen, and it will be okay.  So I think one of my challenges will be finding the right balance between the two and communicating that effectively.

Without giving too much away, I do want to share some of the approaches I will be using in this class -

• Readings – online articles, publications, blog posts, tweets, you name it…
• Digital Case Studies – Online exhibitions, Web sites, blogs, Flickr, Twitter, videos, and more
• Usability Analysis – How well do some museum produced digital projects work?
• Live manifestation of class work (whatever that means) – something along the lines of what Nina Simon did for her Social Technology class.
• Guest appearances – Kind of like Arrested Development, but featuring experts from the field of Museums and Technology and content specialists from the IMA
• A Real Project – Students will create digital content proposals for a major upcoming IMA initiative.  If selected, students will get to work directly on that project, publish it and receive full credit for their concept.
• Internship! – That’s right, one lucky student gets to intern at IMA’s Nugget Factory (New Media).  Kind of like a reality show.

So, I’ve really not given anything away.  But if you think there is one site, article, video or project out there I MUST cover, please let me know. And, Museum Studies students, museum colleagues, blog readers, tweeters, and more – anything you’d like to add?