Date of Award
Spring 5-31-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Exhibition + Narrative Environments
Department
Interior Architecture
First Advisor
Can Altay
Second Advisor
Jehanzeb Shoaib
Abstract
The Asian Arts Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents significant cultural artifacts in a minimalist, neutral environment that disconnects them from their original historical and spatial contexts. By proposing display techniques that emphasize the origin and background of objects, it asks whether audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds can be enabled to connect empathetically with and learn from the heritage represented by these objects displayed out of context.
This thesis explores how exhibition design can reframe decontextualized artifacts to restore cultural meaning. By unpacking the room chronologically and geographically, and drawing from the spatial language of the Yungang Grottoes, this project proposes a design intervention that uses framed views, layered materials, and spatial sequencing to evoke the original atmosphere and enable empathetic engagement.
Recommended Citation
Sun, Min, "Buddha, Resituated" (2025). Masters Theses. 1393.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1393
Creative Commons License
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