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Elizabeth Barker, director of the Picker Art Gallery, said the iPod tours give patrons an interesting way to learn about artwork and allows more time to look at the actual pieces, instead of reading accompanying labels.

Have you ever gone into the Picker Art Gallery, browsed the exhibition, and wondered what the artist was trying to convey?  Yes?

Now imagine that while you were studying the various artworks there was a little voice inside your head describing each piece’s origins, the material in which it was constructed, and an art scholar’s interpretation of the work.

No, that little voice doesn’t mean you are going crazy, but rather that you have little white earbuds in your ears that are connected to an iPod containing audio recordings describing each and every piece in the exhibition. 

This merging of art and technology has provided a fuller experience for gallery guests since May, when the first audio tours were introduced with the help of Information Technology Services.

The exhibition titled “Plaster Doors of Pisa:  Solving a Medieval Puzzle”, on display until Nov. 5, was curated by Professor Judith Oliver and five of her seminar students from the Class of 2007:  Matthew Anaya, Alexandra Kislevitz, Jessica Minck, Leslie Petsoff, and Glenna Wiley.

The exhibition features 14 panels cast in plaster from the monumental 12th-century bronze doors of the Cathedral of Pisa, Italy.  

Oliver said her students worked on groups of panels and wrote essays that were assembled in a booklet for museum visitors. But Elizabeth Barker, director of the Picker, also thought it would be an asset to have an audio tour.

With the audio commentary, visitors could listen to the recorded voices of the students instead of having to read - that way they would be looking at the art itself while learning more about it.

“It’s far preferable to having people's eyes buried in a booklet,” said Oliver.

For many years major museums have used recorded tapes or transmitter spots in front of specific works to supplement the artwork. Now, Oliver said, it is becoming more common in smaller museums thanks to the iPod.

Barker added that most museum visitors spend fewer than 30 seconds in front of a piece of art, looking at the art and reading the label.

“With audio tours, we can shift the percentages of reading and looking times from half-and-half to 100 percent looking and listening.  Visitors come to the gallery to look at art, after all, not read the labels. Providing audio commentary is a terrific solution,” she said.

Elderly patrons who have difficulty reading the small print on the labels can stand back and focus on the art while listening to the commentaries. Patrons using wheelchairs sometimes have difficulty reading labels posted high on a wall, and the audio eases that challenge for them, as well.

Barker said she hopes the audio tour is the first of many that will be offered at the Picker in the coming years.