Beyond the Horizon: Visitor Meaning-Making and the Vatican Frescoes

During the summer of 2002, thirty-one medieval frescoes went on display at the Museum of Texas Tech University, the only venue in the world for this extraordinary exhibition. This paper summarizes a qualitative research study that focused on the experiences of three visitors to the Medieval Frescoes from the Vatican Museums Collection exhibition. The study applied Gadamer's (1993) idea of horizons to both the visitor-participants and the frescoes to illuminate the interpretive event, the meeting of horizons, and to uncover any obstacles that might hinder the fusion of horizons. The findings of the study are presented in a readers theatre format as an alternative to traditional reporting methods so that the voices of the participants, frescoes, and researcher can be portrayed more clearly. Key words: Horizons, Visitor Meaning-Making, Vatican Frescoes, Museum, and Art Interpretation "Awesome." "Excellent in every way." and "Wonderful, wonderful" are some of the comments made by visitors about an exhibition of treasured art pieces on loan from the Vatican to the Museum of Texas Tech University in the summer of 2002. June 1st to September 15th 2002 provided a rare opportunity to view a set of thirty-one frescoes dating back to the late 13th and early 14th centuries from the Vatican Museums Collection, as well as 17th and 18th century religious artifacts on loan from the Museo Franz Mayer in Mexico City and the Comision Nacional de Art Sacro of Mexico, and 16th and 17th century works from the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation in Houston, Texas. To have artifacts on loan from the Vatican Museums Collection was unprecedented for the Museum of TTU, which was the only venue in the world for this exhibition. More than one hundred and twenty thousand people were expected to view the frescoes during the summer months. With such a large volume of people to process, it might be easy to overlook the individual visitor, which prompted the following questions: How would the visitor connect with something from such a different time period and culture? What happens during the interpretive event, that time when the horizon of the visitor meets the horizon of the fresco? This paper attempts to answer those two questions by summarizing the research conducted with three participant interpreters, or visitors, during their tour of the frescoes. Through separate conversations with each interpreter, I sought to identify and illuminate horizons, and to determine what gaps might exist between the visitors and the frescoes (between our modern western culture and the medieval Italian culture of the frescoes) that hinder an interpretation of the artworks. I wanted to explore the visitors' experiences during the interpretive event as they encountered the frescoes, and how they bridged the gaps between their horizon and that of the frescoes. Prior to presenting the research findings, a brief summary of the mechanics of visiting the exhibition is provided as background, since touring the exhibition was a common experience for all three interpreters. All would have had at least a rudimentary understanding of the art of fresco making prior to their visit, and would have learned more as they toured the exhibition. Visiting the Exhibition Although tickets were free, reservations to guarantee entrance into the exhibition were required; drop-in visitors were accommodated if tickets were available. Visitors were allowed in at the top of each hour. The size of each tour was kept at 200 in order to prevent over-crowding, and to maintain security. The tour began in the auditorium with a brief five-minute introductory video explaining how the frescoes came to be in Lubbock, Texas. Besides introducing visitors to the frescoes, the purpose of the video was to focus attention on the frescoes while quieting people's conversations prior to entering the gallery, and to manage the traffic flow into the gallery. Upon exiting the auditorium visitors could either rent audio headsets with information about the frescoes, interviews, and background music, or move along to the gallery. …