Analysis of Judith H. Dobrzynski´s High Culture Goes Hands- On

In December 2002, the directors of 18 museums located throughout Europe and the United States issued the Declaration of the Importance and Value of Universal Museums. The declaration is an attempt, by the directors of major Western museums, to defend against demands for restitution of museum objects by defining themselves as “universal museums” which are of value to all of humanity. This document fails as a convincing defence against restitution claims for several reasons. First, it dismisses circumstances of older acquisitions without considering the ethics or legality of surrounding the acquisition. Second, while it pronounces these museums “universal,” it approaches this from a distinctly Western perspective and perpetuates colonial and imperialist ideas. Finally, it ignores important debates that are occurring between and within scholarly, professional, and activist communities.

Museums have become crucial in society due to the sustainability of Cultural Heritage within the UK. For relevance to future generations, museums and galleries must show their social purpose by becoming increasingly aware of visitors wants need for a valuable experience. Through the development of their customer service roles will help examine the ways in which museums can expand their communication practices and achieve best practice (McLeod, 2012). Per ONS (Office of National Statistics) states that since 2008, there has been 10 million visitors increase in the UK museum market which suggest there has been a positive change in either the consumers visiting or the museum ethos. This essay investigates the power of ethics within the museums setting regarding human remains, the challenges that have arose as well as changes in the Museum sector, specifically the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, that have become apparent over the past decade.

Throughout centuries, museum practices have always been eager to reflect the ever-changing ideas in art and society. In Europe, many artistic, intellectual and literary movements have inspired museum practices, not only in terms of aesthetic values but also in evoking certain philosophies. By 19th century Europe, Romanticism began to shape many institutions outlook on art, specifically the museum’s way of engaging with new forms of themes that move beyond the artworks. The aim of this paper is to analyze the profound impact that the Romantic Movement of the late 1700s and early 1800s had on museums in Europe during the 19th century, thus accepting the era’s emphasis on museums as public, social experience that reflects the feelings and emotions towards society. The practices in museums of the 19th century have been greatly influenced by the ideals of the late 1700s and early 1800s Romantic Movement. In this case, we must begin with what Romanticism is and how the core values enthuse the practices of museums.

The museum in modern society is no longer a place for an unchallenged authority to civilize the barbaric masses, but instead a place fraught with conflicting views. Numerous artists and activists’ groups are performing critiques on museums for the ways they are still upholding anachronistic ideals and remain hegemonic, privileged, and patriarchal intuitions in society. This paper will be looking at these issues through the lens of Feminist critique and Institutional critique. This paper will analyse how Feminist art is de-contextualized and commercialized for use in museum spaces eliminating much of its radical meaning, and the limited successes and the failures of Instructional critique. This paper argues that while both Feminist and Institutional critiques are de-radicalized by being held within institutions, the critically specific and activist nature of feminist critique allows it to retain more power than Institutional critique. Feminist and Institutional critique will be contextualized by a case study in The Tate Modern museum, specifically the “Media Networks” gallery.

Positioned alongside Central Park in the heart of New York City, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the largest and most influential art museums in the world. The Met houses an extensive collection of curated works that spans throughout various time periods and different cultures. The context of museum, especially one as influential as the Met, inherently predisposes its visitors to a certain set of understandings that subtly influence how they interpret and ultimately construct meanings about each individual object within the museum. Brent Plate in Religion, Art, and Visual Culture argues that “objects obtain different meanings in different locations and historical settings.”An object placed on display behind a glass case inside a museum would hold a vastly different meaning if it was put on sale by a street vendor, like the ones who set up their tables in close proximity to the Met. The different meanings that objects are able to obtain is attributed to the relationships that are established between the object itself and the environment that surrounds it. These relationships often involve the kind of audience that a museum attracts, where the work is exhibited, and how the exhibits within a museum is planned out. Museums subsequently have the ability to control how these relationships are established which influences the way a viewer is able to construct meaning. When a visitor observes an object on display at the Met, they instinctively construct a certain set of

Another aspect that I found to be very interesting was the way in which each of the museums offered different multimedia formats to facilitate the visitor’s experience with the artwork in display. I noticed that both museums offered applications for smartphones and tablets, free of charge, to assist the visitors with getting the most possible out of the museum. Visiting a museum can be a very distracting task because there is so much to see and without a plan or a navigating system that helps you make your way towards the museum, it can be hard to gain something from your visit. Both apps are accessible to most people and very easy to navigate through. These apps included audio guides, exhibition information, calendars, events and so on. However, I noticed

I hope to see museums make more concerted efforts to educate the public. Too many exhibits are of the “passive, didactic looking” than like the engaging Object Stories program (Dartt, Murawski). Exhibits should seek to tell untold narratives, and programs should be places of communication and cross-cultural encounters. For too long, difficult confrontations have been avoided, both inside the museum, and by dominant communities

In Steven Lubar’s book, Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present, the recurring idea that museums are “more than the sum of their parts” plays a critical role in the overall argument (329). Lubar notes many aspects that make up a museum, the collection, for example is an essential part of any museum, but the community, as well as the experiences of the patrons create a lasting museum experience. Additionally, Lubar aptly utilizes real-world examples, contemporary and historical, highlighting the work of individuals in museums and establishing a connection between past and current events. Central to this narrative is the example of the lost Jenks Museum. Lubar uses this museum to argue that museums of the past can educate museum goers

Therefore, the museum can thrive. She explains that “identities are performed ideologies interrogated and cultural symbols reinvented” (Autry 60). The author is trying to say that certain items are displayed in a museum for a reason by trying to send a certain message. When she talks about how cultural symbols are reinvented it shows that museums is trying to change the people’s perspectives by creating a new meaning for a certain symbol. Another problem that the author has noticed is that some parts of the African American culture are disappearing because for example there was a “city’s decision to invest in a new commercial enterprise, rather than supporting smaller, more locally-oriented museums.” (Autry 75). The government does not support the local museums than it causes issues because some of the history is lost. The memory is lost from the local regional area, which could have added a new perspective towards a certain standpoint. While the new museums don’t necessarily tell the entire story and focuses on a specific issue that is selected by a group of

In Duncan’s book “The Art Museum as a Ritual” he explains the meaning behind art museums, and how they are like rituals and are “complex entities in which both art and architecture are parts of a larger whole.” In most ways, Duncan is correct about art museums being like rituals. They are typically isolated, quiet, and have strict rules on what you are allowed to bring and do within the museum. Each piece is displayed beautiful in its own exclusive space. They also highly protect their pieces and maintain them on a daily. Most people don’t typically go to museums for a “fun experience” rather they go for a more rich and enlightening experience; almost something you can’t replicate elsewhere because atmosphere and ambience is so important. The reason why I bring up atmosphere and ambience is to connect it to Duncan’s claim that “art museums appear as environments structured around specific ritual scenario.” Ambience and atmosphere are important aspects to museums in order to feel like rituals. The atmosphere is museums often feel like a “pseudo-sacred kind of place filled with a ritual-like atmosphere.” Duncan claims that “it is, in my view, precisely the complexity of the art museum - its existence as a profoundly symbolic cultural object as well as a social, political, and ideological instrument - that makes the notion of the museum as ritual so attractive,” which means he believes that museums act as a cultural object for social and political means. He believes that art museums “constitute one of those sites in which politically organized and socially institutionalized power most avidly seeks to realize its desire to appear as beautiful, natural, and legitimate.” They are incredibly excellent places to study the history of cultural forms. He believes they aren’t ritual structures, but rather they stand “as ritual structures,” since they contain vast

There are three big ideas that I gained from the reading of the article by Sarah Erdman (2016), entitled “Creating meaningful partnerships with museums.” I recognize the three big ideas that I learned from Erdman’s (2016) article on museums will inform my future classroom instruction: (1) the connection of museums to children development, (2) an appreciation and understanding of the purpose and meaning of museums and (3) understanding of the usefulness of museum’s in student learning. In reading Erdman’s article, I was reflected on my own experience with museums as a student. I recognize that the reading made me confront my own “misconceptions about museums” and was left agreeing with Erdman’s argument that “Young children and their teachers

The first thing I noticed at the Huntington Museum of Art was how quiet and empty it was. This was not displeasing however--quite the opposite in fact. The atmosphere was perfect for contemplation and thought, which is exactly what I want in a museum. I was still surprised of course; my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago had been very different. Unlike in Huntington, Chicago’s museum was packed to the brim, and the people within it practically shouting just to be heard. It is very easy to decide which one I liked more, in terms of surroundings anyway. As I walked along, my footsteps echoing, I could not help but feel like there was something missing. The art was perfectly fine, but there was a lack of liveliness to the place, something that Chicago had in spades. I remember noticing that the art only had names, and no descriptions. This was something I disliked extremely. It is nice to look at images I suppose, but I want some history. I want the time period, and a description of the artist, two things that play a huge role in what a painting is actually about. I felt like I should just naturally understand what each piece of art was trying to describe to me, which was an irritating feeling.

Although blockbuster exhibitions inspired by popular culture are moving away from the traditional role of the museum as an educational institution, the blockbuster model can still stay true to the museological goal of education. The First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is an excellent example of how the original concept of the blockbuster exhibition as a spectacular display of the wealth of an ancient civilisation, first seen in The Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum, is still being used by museums today. It is possible for institutions to produce exhibitions that reflect popular taste in ways that continue to create opportunities for learning – be it formal or informal. As argued by O’Reilly and Lawrenson, exhibitions like the First Emperor present “scholarship in an accessible format in a way that people who don’t usually visit museums will

Over the course of many centuries, museums have become public institutions available to all classes, stemming from the emergence of a more influential lower class (Lehman 2009). Prior to this, museums followed noblesse oblige, and believed it was their duty to guide, educate, and demonstrate higher standards for the masses. These notions of class divide have not subsided even since museums have become public, and this tension has transformed and continues to manifest itself today. Since the mid-80s, museums have perceived themselves as businesses and have utilized marketing strategies in order to shift their reputation away from being “marble mausoleums” who are reliant on traditional models of income, and towards a customer-focused approach that seeks to inform, entertain, and preserve. Lehman argues that for museums to succeed, they must establish an ethos that runs beneath, and connects, their marketing decisions and goals in order to change for the public, with the

A greater number of educators are looking to museums to help them attain their educational objectives. Howard Gardner has identified Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood as the perfect environment for stimulating the natural curiosity of a child. Furthermore, in response to demands for new educational approaches, older children are using museums to develop their critical facilities in art and design (Campbell, 1992).