Identifying a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Visitors’ Verbalizations of Self-Awareness while Exploring Contemporary Art in a Museum Context

Abstract

Abstract:Within the context of a research project in a museum setting where adults are engaged with contemporary art, the purpose of the article is to outline a comprehensive conceptual framework for the identification of moments of self-awareness. In particular, based on the analysis of 70 adult visitors' discourses, we advocate the use of Morin's model of self-information and levels of self-awareness to identify and articulate moments underlying the discovery of self that could contribute to an optimal museum experience. The transposition of Morin's model into a conceptual framework will help researchers pursue their investigation into visitors' art appreciation for the purpose of building authentic dialogues between contemporary art and adult visitors.Keywords: Museum education; Contemporary art; Adult visitors; Self-awareness; Conceptual framework. Purpose of the researchhe purpose of this article is to present Morin's model of self-information and levels of self-awareness (2005) as a feasible conceptual framework for the study of selfawareness verbalizations of adult visitors exploring contemporary artworks in a museum context. From the start, it is important to understand that when a person is self-aware, he or she is in a state where one becomes the object of one's own attention (Duval & Wicklund, 1972). Morin (2011) explains that "in this state one actively identifies, processes, and stores information about the self" (p. 808), that is self-information. These elements of self-information relate to different levels of self-awareness, whether they are private (higher) elements, which are more conceptual in nature or those that are public (lower), which are categorized as perceptual. These concepts will be further explored in this article. Studying the verbalizations of visitors' self-awareness represents an opportunity to better picture the complexity of multidimensional art T