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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2006

PRESS CONTACT:   
Andrea Potochniak
607 254-4563
arp37@cornell.edu

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Presents
Buddhist Art in Asia

Free handheld computer tour investigating twelve works of art
on view from the Museum’s permanent collection

Ithaca, NY—The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents their first handheld computer tour, Buddhist Art in Asia, featuring in-depth information on twelve works of art from the Asian collection.

“We are excited to be able to offer this new technology to our visitors,” said Cathy Klimaszewski, associate director and curator of education. “The initial responses have been very positive. People are having fun learning about the Asian collection on their own in an engaging and interactive way, and discovering how the works of art were made, used, and revered.”

This new tour joins a free audio tour featuring twenty-four works from the Asian collection, which has been offered at the Museum since 2004.

The handhelds, or PDAs (personal digital assistants), are preloaded with a self-guided tour with both audio (via earphones) and text. The program provides detailed descriptions of the objects, including materials and construction methods, a glossary of terms, and related historical context, maps, and images of similar objects from around the world. Visitors can explore the path of Buddhism through the Asian world by following the tour sequentially, or can create their own path by selecting individual objects at their own pace.

The program was developed over a three-year period by the Museum's education staff in collaboration with Cornell's Human Computer Interaction (HCI) group. HCI has worked on similar projects at other prominent museums including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and the Royal Botanic Gardens near London.

The handhelds can be checked out for free at the Museum’s lobby desk. A large-print transcript of Buddhist Art in Asia is available upon request.

Buddhist Art in Asia was created by the Museum's Education Department and Department of Asian Art, in collaboration with the HCI (Human Computer Interaction) Group at Cornell with Spotlight Mobile, Inc. Funds for the tour were received from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the J. M. McDonald Foundation, Inc., and the Triad Foundation.

The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The museum building was designed by I. M. Pei. Funds for the building were donated by Cornell alumnus Herbert F. Johnson, late president and chairman of S C Johnson. The building opened in 1973.

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The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, located on the campus of Cornell University, is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Museum is completely accessible for mobility-impaired visitors, and a wheelchair is available in the lobby. Metered parking is available in the lot next to the Museum. For more information, please call 607 255-6464. Visit the Museum’s website at  www.museum.cornell.edu. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is a proud member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail: www.DiscoveryTrail.com.

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