Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

I spent my weekend stumbling around. Instead of writing a blog post, I decided to play with StumbleUpon — since I’m convinced I don’t know enough about all the Internet communities out there using social networking tools such as Delicious, Digg, Twitter and Mixx. Unfortunately, I didn’t come to any groundbreaking conclusions using StumbleUpon. We haven’t discussed StumbleUpon on the IMA Blog yet, but now is as good of time as any. The Wikepedia definition is helpful if you are unfamiliar with this technology and want to learn about its history, how it works and its line of owners. “Stumble Upon is an Internet community that allows its users to discover and rate Web pages, photos and videos. It is a personalized recommendation engine which uses peer and social-networking principles.” (Of note — In May 2007, eBay acquired StumbleUpon for $75 million from the original post-graduate school developers but has hired Deutsche Bank to try to sell it again.)

My first impression of StumbleUpon was that it is a fun tool. Before I had it figured out, (you do literally stumble around for awhile), I spent at least an hour in MoJoe’s looking at animals in love, making snowflakes, gawking at street installations in Washington, D.C., and oohing and awwing over some human creative painting. Most of the reviewed and rated sites are novel — odd and wacky, interactive or display amazing talent. Read the rest of this entry »

In an effort to visually portray my predictions for marketing the arts in 2009, and to solicit ideas, I’m leaving the rest of this post blank.

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Dedicated readers of our blog may recall that I’ve written about the popularity of art hotels around the world and the start of something similar in Indianapolis. On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., I picked the Palomar, a boutique Kimpton Hotel, for my stay for just this reason.

The Kimpton Hotel brand seeks to give each of its hotels a unique personality and story for visitors to enjoy. Hotel Palomar in particular focuses on “Art in Motion” by providing rooms with sleek sophisticated, artsy design, kids’ art supplies and games to awaken creativity and nightly wine receptions at which artists often speak arranged through a partnership with the Smithsonian and Phillips Collection. In fact, the hotel staff has been trained by the Washington DC ballet “to serve you with the utmost grace.” Read the rest of this entry »

I recently checked out the new National Harbor on a trip to Washington, D.C. The highlight of the visit to the harbor was a commercial art gallery filled with marketing magic. The National Harbor is a new 300-acre development along the Potomac River that opened in the spring of 2008. While the towering glass convention center and many of the restaurants, hotels, shops and pier are open, there are still businesses in construction, including plans for the National Children’s Museum.

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In a session at last weekend’s Blog Indiana 2008 conference, a speaker stressed the importance of using our senses to sharpen our observations in order to better share them. Environment is highly considered in many professions such as architectural design, retail and food service. Marketers want to make us comfortable and happy in our homes, stores and restaurants. So why not think in terms of art viewing experiences?

According to a recent BBC News article citing a study by Heriot Watt University, music can enhance wine taste. On the same principle, can music enhance art taste? Does the taste of a one type of wine or the shade of a certain color wall effect your like or dislike for a work of art? Read the rest of this entry »