Closing keynote given at the Museum Educators of Southern California Summer Workshop on June 25, 2010. It starts with a nod to John Seely Brown and his wisdom about solution confusion in rapidly changing technological times, then explores the boundaries between traditionally siloed museum departments that are merging/under threat in this new environment. From there a brief history of the role for new media interpretation in museums (art and otherwise), a summary of the Visual Velcro idea, and the role of mobile multimedia in supplying hooks to the hookless. Finally a summary of "Making Sense of Modern Art Mobile," and the implications of taking on publication and distribution of a mobile tour in-house. Ends with future plans and questions about the integration of social media in such publications.

1. Peter Samis Associate Curator Interpretation SFMOMA Mixing It Up with Media @ SFMOMA Museum Educators of Southern California Summer Institute Los Angeles June 26, 2010

2. Today we are at… the Epicenter of Confusion!

3. Opportunity comes fraught with peril: Old structures are dissolving… © Nathan Johansen, Wachovia Implosion, Atlanta

4. Ask John Seely Brown, prof at USC…

5. No wonder he calls himself “The Chief of Confusion!”

6. For example, at SFMOMA

7. even as we prepare to design & build… we’re breaking down boundaries

9. And that’s just talking about the Physical Building.

10. There’s a whole other kind of dissolution going on…

11. lands between departments. At the Boun dary

12. Marketing/PR Media Arts Interactive Educational Technologies Web Publications Architecture & Design

13. For instance, take our blog…

16. Does a new central structure emerge, encompassing all things digital? Was there a department of pencils in the old museum? … or is it small parts loosely joined?

17. [That said, there are economies of scale: think digital infrastructure.]

18. lands Boun dary We’re in the .

19. How did we get here? Once, not so long ago…

20. Educational technologies were there to supplement the White Cube of the gallery.

23. Somewhere along the line that left us to restore the context. Experts … … … … …… Novices

24. Enter docents, & digitally speaking, the kiosk or Web feature

27. Some things have velcro even though they look clean and polished… Mirrors, for instance. Olafur Eliasson show, MoMA

28. Or even moreso, “The Bean.” 36,961 images on flickr. [These 5 by Ken Ilio.]

29. Different objects have different hooks suited to them… urbanmkr , ...in our borrowed tackle box

30. When there’s no velcro, we supply the hooks. [used by Wayne Gretzky as a child]

31. And interpretive resources make a real difference: (Statistics courtesy Randi Korn & Associates)

32. So that is one clear vocation we have as educator-interpreters. Next question: when & how to deliver?

33. When do visitors want to know most about a work on exhibit? [my hypothetical view]

34. Enter: the mobile tour.

35. 2010: A rare opportunity to focus on the permanent collection

38. [Also online for your use at www.sfmoma.org/explore]

39. Videos, yes…

40. But first & foremost, audio… Crafting commentary for just-in-time use, when visitors need it most, in the gallery.

41. Sub-levels allow you to Go Deeper.

43. Followed by a Guest Take in the tradition of SFMOMA Artcasts: Cellist Zoe Keating

51. Robert Rauschenberg, Trophy IV (For John Cage) , 1961 Some things a visitor can’t do… or see:

52. So we’ve brought the audio tour function in-house and made it multimedia.

54. And does all this have to happen at once?

56. “ I’m gonna learn about Technology and he’s gonna learn about Education .” The Two Jasons

57. That’s enough for now. Let’s talk.

58. www.sfmoma.org/explore Peter Samis San Francisco Museum of Modern Art [email_address]