Feb.17 – Interview Notes

Mattress Factory project | Exploratory Research Interview Notes
February 17, 2008: total of eight (four groups of two) interviewed
Carrie Chan . Natalie Ebenreuter . Miso Kim . Leanne Libert . (Renna couldn’t make it)

GROUP ONE________________________________________
Two females
Both first time to MF
From Connecticut on vacation

INTERVIEW

How they heard about MF

• Googled Andy Warhol museum because they wanted to see it, saw MF in passing somewhere and thought it was cool

How would they describe MF to someone new

• craziest, scariest, weirdest art (in a good way); nothing you’ve ever seen

Emotions going through museum:

• Thrilling, scary (dark floor), not sure what you’re supposed to do
• Didn’t have many expectations coming to the museum
• “Online photos are so different from the actual experience”

What could’ve MF done to make your experience better?

• Could’ve made some things more organized… but not being prepared was actually better maybe

How would you describe the exhibits if they were people?

• Felt lost with the dark room… sort of like torture.
• Most art pieces were both cold and personable; they are easier to approach after you’ve been with them a while
• Felt more connected to the dark room because you had to sit there for 15 min (felt more connected; only you, and the art)

Would you want to know anything more about the art to make your experience more enjoyable?

• Would like to know more process of how the art was made, but only after they’ve seen the art and made their own impressions of it first; they read the sign at the entrance so they knew it was supposed to be a R&D art lab
• “book of reflections would be cool”

What is MF to you?

• “Experimental museum” – it really is art you can get into
• Just “museum” is more like hanging art, paintings, etc., so MF is more like an exhibition than a museum

Other

• forgot all information at reception desk immediately after everything was said, “but that’s okay, we were excited just to push buttons on the elevator to see where it would lead us!”

MAP DRAWING

• after drawing most of the map: “this looks about how we felt!”
• “the map on the 3rd floor mirror exhibit is upside down”
• “we took pictures, we thought they were allowed”
• “you weren’t allowed to touch anything at the Warhol so we didn’t touch anything here”

On the interview itself

• “I like being prompted for self-reflection!”

GROUP TWO________________________________________
Couple
Both first time to MF
From Pittsburgh

INTERVIEW

How they heard about MF

• just knew about it; word-of-mouth

How would they describe MF to someone new

• “different from what most people would call art”
• “more interactive?”
• “it’s different different – matter of taste”

Emotions going through museum:

• liked the mirror rooms and the purple screen room the best
• expectations matched experience
• not hard to get around, but navigation is part of the experience
• lady at front desk was very helpful; information was very useful

What could’ve MF done to make your experience better?

• maps on 2nd floor are spaced weird… spaces on map don’t scale to reality

How would you describe the exhibits if they were people?

• the ones we liked were warm, the ones we didn’t like were distant

Would you want to know anything more about the art to make your experience more enjoyable?

• want to know more about the artists, backgrounds, etc. : gives better idea of the art, makes the visit more personal
• before looking at the exhibit, would want to know more about the artist
• after looking at the exhibit, would want to know more about the process

Other

• “art is subjective”

MAP DRAWING

• no sign at garden; didn’t know what it was
• “black beans on the ground! It was a crazy introduction to the MF”
• the entrance to the building was confusing… where was the reception?
• went to Tom first
• expected the work area in lobby so it wasn’t a problem, nor were they curious
• read signs on 2nd floor about needing to take 15 min to see the exhibit; they had to wait in line 30 min to see it, so “comfy chairs would’ve been helpful”; but in the meantime, they explained to other people going to the exhibit that they had to wait to see it

GROUP THREE_____________________________________
Male (M) and his female (F) cousin
Male is a local Pittsburgher for 1.5 years; cousin was visiting
Male has been to MF about 5 times (studied art); cousin was first time

INTERVIEW

How they heard about MF:

• M knew about it

How would they describe MF to someone new:

• F remembers M describing it to her as “so cool I can’t even describe it”, “installation art – not even going to explain it, you have to experience it”, “experience oriented”

Emotions going through museum:

• disappointed that there were only two floors open

What could’ve MF done to make your experience better?

• F: it really helped that she was with a local who knew the museum; “it’s different; if he wasn’t here, I’d be like “what’s going on?””
• M&F: wish they could have provided another exhibit
• Would you want to know anything more about the art to make your experience more enjoyable?
• M: fun to look at stuff being installed, but would rather just see the complete piece

Other

• F: “of all the other things in Pittsburgh, he was most excited for me to come here”
• “Bodies was crowded”
• M: “love the earthy quality of this neighbourhood”
• “Where can you get Tom museum experience? No where!”

MAP DRAWING

• info from desk was great
• sad on 3rd floor… lots of empty spaces, nothing looking finished
• F: was like “wait! There’s gotta be more”
• On dark room: “a lot of people won’t have patience to wait 15 minutes”; but the cool thing about it was being in the dark, being with strangers, etc.
• the shop was cool

GROUP FOUR_____________________________________
Couple
Female (F): first time to MF; Male (M): been to MF 3 or 4 times – heard through word of mouth
Local Pittsburgh

INTERVIEW

How they heard about MF:

• M: word of mouth

How would they describe MF to someone new:

• F: installation art, not traditional
• M: installation art, something he was enthused about and wanted to share

Emotions going through museum:

• experience was abbreviated; past experiences were fuller, but it was still cool!
• F: was expecting more; was great if all the stuff under construction was finished
• F: was very cautious a lot of the time – wasn’t sure she could get out!

What could’ve MF done to make your experience better?

• M: not terribly interested in process; not that “sophisticated in art”; where as in music, he would want to hear outtakes of bands, etc
• F: would want to see slideshow of process; not the entire thing live (“it would be like watching paint dry”)
• picking up the placard of the pieces was helpful
• M: sign inside elevator was helpful – would have preferred a “catalog” to carry around
• would love a guided tour – would learn more – details about the piece, artist, interpretations
• would love to hear from the artist themselves

How would you describe the exhibits if they were people?

• M: fun, imaginative, someone who’s complex, hard to understand, but that’s good; positive personality traits

Would you want to know anything more about the art to make your experience more enjoyable?

• F: was comforting to go with someone who’s been here

Other

• mirrored rooms were cool; what was the significance of the mannequins, etc
• liked the woman candle

MAP DRAWING

• explanation was good at the desk
• M: disappointed at construction; wasn’t like the last time he was here (the big white sphere was no longer there)
• F: read the sign at the front
• M: didn’t understand the construction on 3rd floor, but stopped to look out the window; nice views
• Wanted more explanation of the books exhibit, didn’t pick up placard
• F: always thought of traditional museums so she didn’t touch anything
• M&F: confused with speakers on lower level, could really hear noise from upstairs, wished it was in a separate room