From the fifteenth century, museums were collections of random objects showing human achievement and natural wonder. The elite circle welcomed into the home of their adversary would discuss and examine in detail a collection of objects, they were part of a ritual connoisseurship (studiolos previously mentioned in What are Studiolos? A trip to The Louvre…). By the sixteenth century these collections had turned in to whole cabinets of curiosity that were more systematic, with ordered classifications of things such as; gems, coins and medals. Both of these aspects can still be seen into today’s museums, people still go to judge labelled, specifically chosen items. Museums have, however, expanded through the centuries with the focus changing in the twenty-first century. Art galleries were often a part of museums and never on such a grand scale, seen today in places such as the Tate Modern. Today, museums and galleries are more focused on appealing to a wider public, whilst creating their own brand and position in the culture of their surrounding areas and country as a whole.
MOMA – creating a culture
One example of this branding strategy is ‘The Museum of Modern Art’ in New York. ‘MOMA’, according to the art historian Christoph Grunenberg, ‘MOMA’ brought a new way of looking at art for Americans. ‘MOMA’ has a collection of forty-thousand works from 1880 to the present day and is generally believed to be the most comprehensive collection of modern art in the world. As it was the first museum to be solely focused on modern art it brought modernism to America, whilst simultaneously making the museum synonymous with the modernist movement. ‘MOMA’ therefore helped change the path of art for America, rather than showing the artiefacts or informing them of their culture, they helped shape the culture and helped instigate the modernist movement in America. The Bauhaus and private collections shaped the museum in this way. By transitioning from temporary to permanent collections the museum became more of a fixed institution and in turn modern art became more accessible for the American public.
Accessibility and appeasement
The accessibility of museums and galleries also has to satisfy the requests and expectations of whomever funds them. Most European museums and galleries are municipal organisations they therefore not only serve the public but the needs and expectations of the government. As they are accountable to the government funding they need to appear as accessible as possible to justify tax funding. In the United States, however, there is more of a need to satisfy the trustees or corporate sources, as they are usually private organisations. It could be argued then that they are controlled by the tastes of the trustees, to please them.
For ‘MOMA’s’ trustees, like the Rockefellers, the museum was an outlet for their philanthropic needs, a way to give back to the public whilst still having control as to what way. ‘MOMA did come under fire, with regard to the way the artworks were void of cultural context, this was seen as a typical capitalist social order as it encouraged individualism. Such a statement of intent can be seen in ‘MOMA’s’ need to expel a positive and relevant external image and uphold a high standard of involvement to the public as they are used to quality service in other aspects of their lives.
No longer stuffy and old
Museums and galleries have aimed to move away from the stuffy preconceptions of museums being superior and academically elitist. The Tate Modern gallery despite ridding this view of stuffiness still shows the art within to be sacred, in the architecture of the building. Andrew Marr describes galleries to be like a cathedral where art work can be revered and worshipped, the old power station that has been transformed into the Tate Modern, whilst still evoking the industrial feeling of the surrounding areas, exudes this feeling. The Doric cubist column could be seen as a church spire and prepares the gallery goer to understand the contents to be sacred, the dark red brick also acts as a landmark in the otherwise concrete and glass architecture surrounding the Tate Modern.
Museums and galleries were viewed as bastions of knowledge, that were welcome only to the privilege classes, the Tate Modern and ‘MOMA’ are not raised from street level. In the nineteenth century traditionally, museums were elevated above the pavement, representing the museum as a temple of knowledge the visitor journeys up a grand staircase to the sight of the classical architecture of plinths and a intimidating entrance, that looms over the visitor. Such overpowering architecture can be seen in Britain in museums like the original part of Tate Britain and The Ashmolean. The Tate Modern and MOMA create the same response through their presence in their surrounding areas, the intimidating Tate and the bold outside of MOMA.
The Architecture of a museum and relating to the public
‘MOMA’ has a cold façade the use of glass and clean lines, without being intimidating this however helps the inside of the museum seem more intimate as it starkly contrasts the interior. With low ceilings and small rooms the public seem to have more of a relationship with the works, furthering the idea that museums and galleries should be a personal experience. The soft curves and abundance of glass walls helps ease the transition of outside to inside. The outside gets gradually less visible, emphasising that the connection between the outside and inside of the modern world is the public rather than the culture.
‘MOMA’ not only brought a new sort of collection to America it refined a new a way of exhibiting for museums globally, coining the term ‘the white cube’ . The sterile interior helps detach the social and political implications of the period showing that some museums today are attempting to be void of outside influences, and trying to create a purely aesthetic experience. Christoph Grunenberg argues that the use of ‘the white cube’ has been taken in to consideration by modern artists. Knowing that the white walls would be the surroundings of their work artists – such as Ellsworth Kelly – use irregular shapes that would emphasise the essential formal qualities of abstract paintings and sculpture. The museum has therefore become part of the art itself, not only shaping public access but the actual artistic practice.
‘MOMA’ takes this relation to the people further in the architecture. The architects, Philip Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone, made the museum look like a department store. By having the name of the museum blazoned on the outside, it makes an allusion to the department stores of America. The conclusion brought from the outside of MOMA therefore is that it presents modern art as a commodity, something accessible and to be acquired.‘MOMA’ turned modern art into a business, the product being art.
Facilities and interaction
There has been an expansion in facilities in museums and galleries today. They have become more of an overall experience, like a leisure attraction, feeding into all needs of the individual. This could be argued to encourage more of an acquisition of knowledge or to encourage consumerism in the museum. Henry Taylor claimed that museums would one day become like a free informal university for the common man.
Museums have become accessible during weekends and outside of work hours this wider audience has caused ‘MOMA’ to make high art understandable for diverse levels of educated people, which could cause art to become trivialized Museums today have a pedagogic style, where people are participative in learning. Instead of being presented visually with just a display, interactive areas are available for the visitor where they are encouraged to give their opinion or response, making the individual’s importance emphasised.
Enriching institutions
Modern day museums and galleries also helped redefine what could be classed as art. ‘MOMA’ for example, was the first museum to include a film library and architecture and design department. Lessons can be taken by visitors in ‘MOMA’ in discovering the history of modern art, with little option of direction visitors are forced through a specific route showing the development of modern art.
Museums and galleries are themselves generators of income, as they can promote economic growth in areas previously rundown, like Tate Modern for the Borough of Southwark. Tate Modern also strives to make links within the community, as it consults with local groups, appointing a local development officer and created a visitor centre. These additions show the gallery to be more than just a way to present art works, it is a way of developing the surrounding area and enriching the public.
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