Sam Durant, Artist in Residence at The Getty, is currently engaged in a social Art project aimed at museum goers and asking them to really consider the role of a museum in society. #isamuseum
Is a museum for everyone? I took to twitter for a bite sized reply.
What I did not expect was the response my tiny tweet would get from others.
Some other jokes about Foucault and further discussion by others across the internet ensued. I responded with a silly WTF #WhatTheFoucault joke, but I went to bed really considering my initial response and those of my fellow tweeties.
How to express what I really felt in 140 characters? I can’t. So here we go…
J. Borchert (@KulturWelt) and Catalogue Raisonné (@stephen_revelry) bring up some really interesting points. I agree that there are institutions that were created as a way to glorify imperialism of the ruling class or the wealth and worldliness of an individual collector. But as Chad Sirois (@chadsirois) pointed out, there are institutions, like the Louvre, whose purpose is to create a forum for Art and Culture to be shared with the public.
I really believe that museums have the opportunity to engage with the public, and I see it happening a lot in Los Angeles. Museums like LACMA who offer a wide range of differing Art works and experiences are opening the door for people of all walks to come and enjoy Art objects and experiences that speak to them. Free admission on certain days / evenings, family events, night time programming, cultural events and happenings, collaborations with smaller Arts organizations to create something new in the gallery space. All of this denotes an institution that reaches beyond the status symbols and the role of imposing codes of behavior and instead is asking the public for what it wants.
You don’t want to look at a painting on a wall? How about running through an interactive sculpture? How about watching a film, a dance performance, a musical group? How about having an open public space to have a picnic or a nap?
Museums can be diverse and open to everyone. I think the modern museum is a public space and as such, responds to the public’s need. Right now, I love Los Angeles and all our amazing Art institutions. I love the way we can have a casual Art experience or a formal one, depending on however we, the public, decide.
