Paper short abstract:

Following the creative process of a group of designers at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, this paper demonstrates how various types of models and modeling processes negotiate between disparate stakeholders' desires and the production of an aesthetically compelling exhibit.

Paper long abstract:

A critical part of the designer's repertoire, models exceed visual representation to intervene in the creative process. As design anthropologists observe, modelling is a style of thinking where material engagement pushes back upon the human hand in the pursuit of idealistic dreams. Concurrently, designers work in and for social realities where their aesthetic production have political stakes. How do models help designers negotiate realities of stakeholder demands as they create new worlds? Following the practices of exhibition designers at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, this paper explores the myriad ways in which models interface and construct dreams and reality. The process of creating "The Golden Age of Midas" exhibit in 2016 provides a productive entrée into the unique challenges facing an anthropological museum dedicated to public education and knowledge production. From negotiating politically sensitive loans of archaeological artifacts to prototyping "Blockbuster" shows that draw viewers into a Museum of the 21st century, this paper traces the various contexts in which designers use different models to solve problems and define aesthetic standards. Models emerge as replicas of archaeological sites, mockups of exhibition rooms, and projections of historical fantasies. In these roles, they index and manage competing desires. Budget, time, scholarly validity, and legibility are but a few variables that exhibition designers must consider beyond finding the right color or testing innovative media. In this context, designers use modelling to iteratively test the cultural and aesthetic production of archaeological exhibitions, to see what is beautiful for whom.