Facilitating Contemporary Art Engagement: A Case Study of an Online Social Object Designed for the Ron Mueck Exhibition at MMCA

From a constructivist perspective, the concept of the participatory museum proposes the enhancement of dialogue and interaction among museum visitors through ‘social objects,’ which is closely related to the ways in which contemporary art is experienced. This study proposes the concept of ‘online social objects’ based on the transition to the post-digital era. An art museum education program for the Ron Mueck exhibition, utilizing online social object was implemented for nine adult visitors at the MMCA. The results are as follows. First, during the group’s self-guided viewing of the exhibition, participants underwent a process of individual meaning-making and sharing. Second, the participants were able to engage in interpretation that overcame spatial and temporal constraints through seamless learning. Third, participants were able to respond to the philosophical questions posed by the contemporary artist in a multimodal and process-oriented manner. Fourth, they were able to connect the artwork to their own lives through others’ interpretations. Although the participants experienced progression in the stages of participation, they held differing views regarding the specific nature of the ideal stage of participation.