![\"Winslow](\"https:\/\/research.bowdoin.edu\/a-world-of-objects\/files\/2013\/12\/1964.69.193.aband1964.69.191.jpg\")
<\/a>Winslow Homer’s Watercolor Box and Brushes, ca. 1900-1910, 1964.69.191 and 1964.69.193.a\u2013.b<\/p><\/div>\n
One of the central aims of the exhibition The Object Show: Discoveries in Bowdoin Collections<\/i> is to share how crucial physical artifacts are to learning and teaching. What do we mean by \u201cobjects\u201d? For our purposes, \u201cobject\u201d is a fairly broad category, meaning anything made by humans that can tell us important things about the culture it comes from and the people who made or used it. An object is only as significant as we decide it is; when people use objects and assign value to them\u2014whether economic or sentimental\u2014that\u2019s when they become interesting! A Styrofoam cup reveals just as much about the culture it comes from as a Greek vase does, if we listen to what it has to tell us.<\/p>\n
A museum\u2019s job is to arrange objects in a way that tells a specific story, and to connect visitors with the culture and history these pieces represent. Museums are absolutely a cultural necessity, since it\u2019s important for people of all ages\u2014kids, adults, and everyone in between\u2014to learn from physical objects instead of just from reading about the cultures they represent. Why? Because objects are fascinating! The scale of an object, whether giant or miniscule, is intriguing; the minute details visible on objects are also captivating. In museums especially, people are intrigued by objects because of their value\u2014we know a curator specifically chose to display them for their cultural value, and that they probably have a high monetary value as well. Objects are also fascinating because of their histories\u2014for example, the watercolor box that belonged to the painter Winslow Homer is captivating because of the wonderful paintings Homer produced with it.<\/p>\n
We do not often take the time to think about Homer\u2019s technique and process, and the paints he used to achieve specific visual effects; the paints also help us consider Homer as a living individual rather than an anonymous figure from the past. Actually taking a trip to a museum and marveling at the objects it contains is such a valuable learning experience that helps history, that of ordinary people as well as of artists, come alive.<\/p>\n
According to the principles of Visual Thinking Strategies, a teaching process developed by Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine, an instructor might begin teaching their students about a specific object by asking a simple question: \u201cWhat do you see here?\u201d and then have students back up their answers with visual evidence. By asking follow-up questions, such as \u201cWhy do you think the artist did that?\u201d and letting students talk for an extended period of time in front of one piece, they can sharpen their observational skills and figure out why the object is interesting or significant.<\/p>\n