The legacy continues
New MFAH website mirrors Peter Marzio's democratic vision of art for all
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is making a splash on the World Wide Web with its new online presence: A revamped MFAH.org. More than a fresh face for the institution, the new site represents a bold initiative spearheaded by the late museum director, Peter Marzio.
"Peter's vision was to make the museum 'irresistible' and allow the collections' character to come through," MFAH communications director Mary Haus tells CultureMap, explaining that he understood the importance of a premier website in disseminating the museum's holdings.
"The project initially started with the desire to reflect the wonderful collections and programs that we do. The idea was to let the content — images of art — shine through, and really make it visitor friendly," Haus adds.
The new website is punctuated by an image of the iconic MFAH sticker, lending a tactile appeal to the homepage. Gone are the heavy colors and microtype, replaced by clearly delineated graphics about current exhibitions and upcoming films. Prospective visitors and web surfers the world over can get a glimpse of 100 pieces from the MFAH holdings with a single click.
Some of the museum's gems, such as the Iranian film festival, Latin American curatorial department and Glassell School of Art are now more accessible than ever before. A streamlined calendar draws visitors to previously overlooked programming like gallery talks and sketching sessions, luminary-studded lecture series and tours of the MFAH's two celebrated house museums, Bayou Bend and Rienzi.
"We were trying to create something simple for an art lover of any stripe to come to and say, 'Oh, this interests me,' " says Matt Williams, president and co-founder of Mouth Watering Media, the digital media firm that conceived, created and designed the new website for MFAH. (Mouth Watering Media has a partnership interest in CultureMap.)
"The main navigation is first and foremost art-based, while highlighting the calendar of events. Around that, we wanted to create a design that was very white — not noisy or too jarring to the eye. It gives every opportunity to communicate with you visually."
In the months to come, visitors can anticipate live editorial content provided by curators and contributors. Mouth Watering Media worked with ph Design on the graphics for the new design.
Williams echoed the significance of Marzio's vision for the website. "He gave us the impetus: 'Look, we have this great institution with this great art right here in Houston. It's special, and we want the world to know about it.' "
The excitement over the new website is accompanied by disappointment that its champion was unable to witness its launch. But the site is an extension of Marzio's mission to make art available to all.
"Peter was a real visionary," says Williams. "He took a risk, structuring the website for all people. Peter was interested in the transformative power of art, and he wanted to make that accessible for everyone."