Colour laboratory – Museum Reinhard Ernst
Digital Creative Room
Wiesbaden, GermanyWe developed a digital art education concept for the new Reinhard Ernst Museum in Wiesbaden, from the didactic preparation to the actual realisation of the space. The result is the colour laboratory, a digital creative space in which children and young people can playfully discover abstract art at six stations.
We developed a digital art education concept for the new Reinhard Ernst Museum in Wiesbaden, from the didactic preparation to the actual realisation of the space. The result is the colour laboratory, a digital creative space in which children and young people can playfully discover abstract art at six stations.
Touch installations and gamification introduce children and young people to the world of non-representational art. Six stations invite young visitors to get creative themselves and immerse themselves interactively in the design of abstract visual worlds. Here is an overview of the individual stations.
Game “Gesture”
Visitors can create color spots by touching the touchscreen. Full body use: The screen not only reacts to the index finger – it can also be painted with knees and elbows. The intensity of the color stain is directly proportional to the duration of the touch. Based on the color world of an original painting from the exhibition, a new work of art is created.
Game “Dance”
At this station, your own body becomes a paintbrush. Up to 4 visitors can create a picture simultaneously by means of dance and body movement. A motion-tracking camera is used to capture the body movement and translate it into an image.
Spiel „Geste“
Mittels Berührung am Touchscreen können Besucher*innen Farbflecken erzeugen. Voller Körpereinsatz: Der Screen reagiert nicht nur auf den Zeigefinger – es kann auch mit Knien und Ellbogen gemalt werden. Die Intensität des Farbflecks steht im direkten Verhältnis zur Dauer der Berührung. Basierend auf der Farbwelt eines originalen Gemäldes aus der Ausstellung entseht so ein neues Kunstwerk.
Game “Painter”
At this station, a portrait photo taken in the exhibition space can be transferred into different painting styles of the exhibition. The range of different painting styles of abstract art thus becomes visible by means of a selfie.
Game “Throwing colors”
This team game refers to the action paintings of the artist Shōzō Shimamoto, which can also be seen at the Museum Reinhard Ernst. Visitors create abstract art by digitally throwing bags of paint onto a canvas, just like the artist.
Game “See colors”
The color theory of Josef Albers can be experienced by young visitors at this station. The goal is to digitally mix colors and get as close as possible to the color code of an original painting from the exhibition.
A new museum for abstract art
Making art tangible for everyone is the mediating approach of museum founder Reinhard Ernst and his wife Sonja. After around eight years of planning and construction, their new, architecturally impressive museum opened its doors to the public in summer 2024. One of the two art lovers’ main concerns is to promote children’s creativity, as Ernst repeatedly emphasises in interviews. He therefore sees the colour laboratory as the ‘heart of the new museum’. We are proud that we were able to make a major contribution to the success of this heartfelt project with the conception and realisation of the colour laboratory.
