The bodily experience of the museum viewer is not dictated solely by vision, but is an inclusive sensorial engagement. Sobchack proposes that “we possess an embodied intelligence that both opens our eyes far beyond their discrete capacity for vision,” and explains “our capacity not only to hear, but also to touch, to smell, to taste, and always to proprioceptively feel our dimension and movement in the world...[is] informed by the full history and knowledge of our sensorium.” 1 In the museum sensorial perception precedes any analytical or reflective thought. However, with fleeting viewing periods there is little time for contemplation of the individual artworks and it is perhaps the total sensorial experience, the feeling of the museum that will be most remembered: the visual confusion of artworks and decoration, the hushed tones of other visitors combined with the shrill beeping of infrared sensors, the texture, substance, and scent of ancient pigment mixed with oil, and the crowds and stifling heat that engender the viewing experience.

1. Sobchack.