Annotated Bibliography

BUDGE, KYLIE1. “Objects in Focus: Museum Visitors and Instagram.” Curator, vol. 60, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 67–85. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/cura.12183.

• I believe that this article will be very useful for my research paper. Budge explores how Instagram influences the way museum visitors interact with the art or content in the museum. While many scholars argue that the increased use of social media in a museum context distracts visitors from the art, Budge questions this notion of distraction by suggesting that instagram may lead to more appreciation for the art. Looking at instagram posts from the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, Australia, Budge examines how visitors interact with and engage with the art. This article doesn’t specifically focus on pop-up museums; however, this study of social media use in museums is critical in my arguments about pop-up museums, and how it’s instagram-able aesthetic takes away from the importance of the art.

Codik, Emily. “People can’t put their phones down, and it’s ruining museums.” The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/people-cant-put-their-phones-down-and-its-ruining-museums/2018/05/07/8eed71c2-4fac-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1ca072875044.

• Codik visits various museums and comments on the ways in which visitors interact with art. In this article, Codik is very critical about the use of social media in traditional museums like the Holocaust museums. Codik’s critiques are extremely valid in my opinion. She explores the ways in which museum rules have evolved with social media and how the entire museum going experience has changed due to social media. I think this article can be very useful for my research paper as it is an example of one’s experience going to a museum and how social media can be distracting. Multiple times in the article, Codik comments on how the use of phones distracts from the art, which may be evidence to the fact that pop-up museums don’t contain “meaningful” art due to the encouragement of social media use.

Fletcher, Adrienne1, and Moon J. 1.mlee@jou.ufl.ed. Lee. “Current Social Media Uses and Evaluations in American Museums.” Museum Management & Curatorship, vol. 27, no. 5, Dec. 2012, pp. 505–521. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/09647775.2012.738136.

• In this article, Fletcher and Lee examine the ways in which American Museums use social media to network and market their museums. The study uses both surveys and in-depth interviews to explore the different social media tactics and tools used for museum marketing. The article asses what the most effective social media uses and how successful they are in spreading awareness about a museum.  Again, this article does not directly address pop-up museums; but, it does provide reasoning as to why pop-up museums have been so successful. With basically complete reliance on social media for promotion of the museum, pop-up museums are a strong example for how museums can successfully use social media for marketing. This article can be used in my paper to provide evidence that supports how pop-up museums have gained popularity so quickly  through social media use.

Gurian, Elaine Heumann. “Choosing among the Options: An Opinion about Museum Definitions.” Curator, vol. 45, no. 2, Apr. 2002, pp. 75–88. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.2151-6952.2002.tb01182.x.

• This article explores the different definitions of museums, and how the definition of what a museum is has evolved. While this article was written in 2002, and may not have aspects of social media in consideration, I believe it will be a very critical source in my research. One of the main definitions of a museum in this article highlights the notion of a museum as  “permanent, not-for-profit organizations that contribute long-term value to communities.” This definition is extremely significant because it completely contradicts the idea of a pop-up museum. With this article, I hope to support my own beliefs that a pop-up museum should not be placed in the same category as traditional museums.

Hess, Amanda. “The Existential Void of the Pop-Up ‘Experience?” Breaking News, World News & Multimedia – The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Nov. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/arts/color-factory-museum-of-ice-cream-rose-mansion-29rooms-candytopia.html.

• In this article, Hess visits various pop-up museums and writes about her experience. Hess writes that the pop-up museum experience feels like disneyland, due to the excessive amount of time spent in line waiting. While the museums market themselves as being interactive, Hess argues that the only interaction taking place is waiting in line. In her article, Hess highlights the manufactured, Disneyland-like feeling. As Hess mentions in her article, she really struggles to figure out what the point of these museums are. They look nice in pictures, but in person Hess describes the museums as “cheap” and “grimy.” Hess summarizes her ideas about the museum perfectly in this sentence: “these places are often described as “Instagram Museums,” and the real experience plays out only after we post photographic evidence on social media.” This detailed article really illustrates what the pop-up museum experience is like, and will be a great tool for my research.

Pardes, Arielle. “The Rise of the Made-for-Instagram Museum.” WIRED, 27 Sept. 2017, http://www.wired.com/story/selfie-factories-instagram-museum/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2019.

• Pardes explores the world of pop-up museums, and presents a more positive or alternative way  to look at them. In this article, many pop-up museum creators are quoted and discuss their vision  behind their museums. While some say the museums are not as nice in person, many creators make sure their museums are both enjoyable in person and on social media. I think this article will be very useful for my research because instead of criticizing pop-up museums, the article looks at how pop-up museums emerged and how social media played a role in museums before pop-up museums.  I also think Pardes poses very interesting and important questions in opposition to those who question the meaning and credibility of art in pop-up museums. Towards the end of the article Pardes writes: “Maybe the question is not whether or not these spaces contain art, or even what their relationship to social media says at all, but instead: What do we get out of these spaces? Do they make us think and reflect and see the world differently?” To me, these questions are very important and provide an interesting way of looking at pop-up museums that I hope to incorporate in my own research.