Paintings and Words: Forms of Storytelling in Art Museum Exhibit Labels

Abstract

One of the main tenets of new museology is that museums should serve and develop with the society around them. This affects many principles and practices such as the approach shift from object-oriented to audience-oriented and concept-oriented, which means we also see the paradigm shift from objectivity to subjectivity. This article aims to study and sort the forms of storytelling in art museum exhibit labels; one of the most basic and personal  ways to reach the audience. All 11 of the selected paintings and labels are from the Highlight Tour of Gallery of Honour in Rijksmuseum, Netherlands. The study found that there are mainly 4 forms of storytelling and 2 points of view among the labels; the informative form conveys an objective point of view, while the aesthetic form, guiding form and audience-engaging form conveys a subjective point of view, which helps the audience relate with content. These findings can be used as a guide to  writing labels for art museums.