The display makes a difference: A mobile eye tracking study on the perception of art before and after a museum’s rearrangement

  • Luise Reitstätter University of Vienna
  • Hanna Brinkmann University of Vienna
  • Thiago Santini University of Tübingen
  • Eva Specker University of Vienna
  • Zoya Dare University of Vienna
  • Flora Bakondi
  • Anna Miscená University of Vienna
  • Enkelejda Kasneci University of Tübingen
  • Helmut Leder University of Vienna
  • Raphael Rosenberg University of Vienna
Keywords: mobile eye tracking, usability, museum studies, art perception, visitor research, exhibition display, attention, social influences

Abstract

There is increasing awareness that the perception of art is affected by the way it is presented. In 2018, the Austrian Gallery Belvedere redisplayed its permanent collection. Our multi-disciplinary team seized this opportunity to investigate the viewing behavior of specific artworks both before and after the museum’s rearrangement. In contrast to previous mobile eye tracking (MET) studies in museums, this study benefits from the comparison of two realistic display conditions (without any research interference), an unconstrained study design (working with regular museum visitors), and a large data sample (comprising 259 participants). We employed a mixed-method approach that combined mobile eye tracking, subjective mapping (a drawing task in conjunction with an open interview), and a questionnaire in order to relate gaze patterns to processes of meaning-making. Our results show that the new display made a difference in that it 1) generally increased the viewing times of the artworks; 2) clearly extended the reading times of labels; and 3) deepened visitors’ engagement with the artworks in their exhibition reflections. In contrast, interest in specific artworks and art form preferences proved to be robust and independent of presentation modes.

Published
2020-06-19
How to Cite
Reitstätter, L., Brinkmann, H., Santini, T., Specker, E., Dare, Z., Bakondi, F., Miscená, A., Kasneci, E., Leder, H., & Rosenberg, R. (2020). The display makes a difference: A mobile eye tracking study on the perception of art before and after a museum’s rearrangement. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.13.2.6
Section
Special thematic issue "Eye Tracking and Visual Arts"

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>