Browsing by Author "Rall, Medeé"

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    A multimodal social semiotic analysis of a museum rock art display
    (Common Ground Publishing, 2009) Rall, Medeé
    This paper will report on research on different design aspects of museum displays in a permanent and a mobile museum context. This research has been undertaken in order to understand how different aspects of museum displays contribute to meaning making. It looks at the interrelationship between different design elements and how these influence meaning making. Drawing on Kress and van Leeuwen's (1996; 2001) theory of multimodal discourse and on recent research on communication in museums (Ravelli: 2006; Meng in O'Halloran: 2006), this study considers why it is apposite to consider museums as multimodal, co-deploying different modes to make meaning. The paper investigates the design elements employed in museum displays, which include: linguistic design (labels and captions); visual design (objects on display, photographs and drawings); audio design (video recordings) and spatial design (lay-out of the display). The paper discusses a multimodal analysis of the rock art and rock engraving displays, drawing on inter alia the work of Kress and van Leeuwen (1996; 2001), which is done with the intention of formulating a metalanguage. It is envisaged that this metalanguage will enable museum practitioners and educators to talk about and better understand meaning making in museum displays and contribute to current debates on communication and meaning making in museums.
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    Museums and labelling : differences, discursive influences and professional identities
    (2004) Rall, Medeé
    This study had its origins in the interest of the researcher in the literacy practices involved in the production og museum labels. Three displays at the South African Museum, Go Bats!, Mineral Mania and Fossil Stories, were selected for close study because they presented key examples of the differences the researcher wanted to study. These differences appeared to be present in the language used in the labels as well as in the aesthetics of the displays. The research attempts to explain these apparent differences and attempts to provide an explanation as to why and how differences in the genres of writing and designing labels appear. The research entailed examining the literacy and semiotic social practices implicit in the design activities of different museum professionals - scientists, designers and educators.