Your note on the practice of walking made me think of the Toronto based choreographer Denise Fujiwara (You should ask her to go for a walk!). I am a painter but I used to take her movement/ Butoh based workshops which always begin with us just walking around a large studio in circles. We could vary our walk, fast, then slow, while she asked us to notice the sensations and imbalances in our bodies. People would limp, skip, run, fall.. it was a pretty amazing experience. The power of walking!
The “archaic” rules that you question have logic, at least if you respect other people and future generations. Flash photography harms artwork. Large bags proved to be a liability and facilitated easy theft.
You don’t run in a museum because you respect others’ museum experiences. You don’t speak loudly for the same reason. So, you don’t like it? I don’t like sporting events, they are loud. Should everyone just pipe down? Should we yack in libraries too?
You can’t see art while running. Aren’t there already enough things in the world that are suited for that? Why does the art world need to change to meet people who haven’t taken the time to investigate it? Champion education, not acting like a toddler. Go on a running path, to the gym.
And in galleries, they don’t have to be “nice” to you and make you “feel seen.” People who work there are paid poorly, but it is a tradeoff for not having to be perky and smile, “Welcome to Hooters!!”
Consider time and place. Consider other people who came before you and who will come after you.
Art needs to be “fun”? What? So go to the Disneyfied version of immersive Van Gogh or the like. Christian Boltansky really needs to cheer up. Can’t Pollack have used pretty colors? Why didn’t Rothko paint smiley faces? The museums are designed to protect centuries of culture. So, go to a nightclub, a playground, or an amusement park.
I think you're responding to the fact that I was a bit hyperbolic, which is fair! Of course, we should respect art, along with the artists who create it and the people who take care of it.
But there is an interesting history of how these spaces are used to impart rules and moral "norms" that become problematic once we dig into why these rules exist. On the surface level, they're logical for the points you bring up. But they're also deeper—to teach citizens how to behave in "polite society". I'm thinking about Foucault's concept of governmentality, along with The Birth of the Museum by Tony Bennet, for more context.
How do the rules you mention impact children who want to visit a museum? Why are the museum hours so restrictive for people who work full time? Do these rules create conditions where some people are policed more based on their skin colour? (Yes.)
I think a lot about a Theaster Gates exhibition I saw years ago that celebrated disco through a video and sound installation that allowed viewers to lounge on bean bags, sing, and dance. It felt like such a revolutionary act to introduce movement into the museum, encouraging rule-breaking and shifting the idea of what proper art viewing looks like.
I appreciate your response. However, it is in using Foucault and The Birth of the Museum as references that the whole thing is situated in the world of gatekeepers and their assumed ivory tower, from which they purportedly loudly ignore the masses. The general public, as well as security guards, don't know anything about these gentlemen. I was prompted by your naming them to look into these works. After literally "sleeping on it" I realized I did not want to plumb a text for clues on my museum and gallery going. N/A.
How about this: if you desire to go onto a film set, is it your prerogative to sing and dance at will? If you go to the movies, if you go to a concert, and there is a dramatic pause of anticipation and silence, is it time for making oneself heard/seen? If you go to church, can you change the lyrics to the gospel music... etc.
Regarding the Theaster Gates exhibit: maybe you don't like museums.
In the museum world I currently have readily available the signage is also in Spanish and Haitian Creole. There are weekly attempts to broaden the viewership with DJs and drinks during the supposed post-work hours. Yoga and children's programming are regular offerings, and the exhibitions are frequently of the "underrepresented."
Education is the obvious inroad to demystify. I taught Art Appreciation at a community college and was thrilled to share with the students this world.
To be "policed" in a museum by skin color is effective if the viewer gives it power. I have been shushed, I have stepped over that invisible barrier and set off the beep beep beep and was then instructed by the (mostly black and latino) security guards. Should everything be touchable, like a store? Should we be able to finger ancient Buddhist robes, literally damaged by the oils on the skin? Perhaps art conservation should be taught as part of Art Appreciation.
Why not balk at flagship Prada/Gucci, stores? They are where one is judged by these criteria you mention, yet people are like moths to a flame as they aspire to devour Balenciaga.
The (mostly 20 something) girls and the few boys that are on the gallery floor do not make a living wage. Clothes are bought on sale, taxis are too expensive in the rain, and lunch is brown-bagged. They do their silent work, hoping no one will have to ask a question they can't answer, to use the non-public restroom.
Your note on the practice of walking made me think of the Toronto based choreographer Denise Fujiwara (You should ask her to go for a walk!). I am a painter but I used to take her movement/ Butoh based workshops which always begin with us just walking around a large studio in circles. We could vary our walk, fast, then slow, while she asked us to notice the sensations and imbalances in our bodies. People would limp, skip, run, fall.. it was a pretty amazing experience. The power of walking!
Wow, this sounds amazing. I'm definitely going to reach out, thank you!
The “archaic” rules that you question have logic, at least if you respect other people and future generations. Flash photography harms artwork. Large bags proved to be a liability and facilitated easy theft.
You don’t run in a museum because you respect others’ museum experiences. You don’t speak loudly for the same reason. So, you don’t like it? I don’t like sporting events, they are loud. Should everyone just pipe down? Should we yack in libraries too?
You can’t see art while running. Aren’t there already enough things in the world that are suited for that? Why does the art world need to change to meet people who haven’t taken the time to investigate it? Champion education, not acting like a toddler. Go on a running path, to the gym.
And in galleries, they don’t have to be “nice” to you and make you “feel seen.” People who work there are paid poorly, but it is a tradeoff for not having to be perky and smile, “Welcome to Hooters!!”
Consider time and place. Consider other people who came before you and who will come after you.
Art needs to be “fun”? What? So go to the Disneyfied version of immersive Van Gogh or the like. Christian Boltansky really needs to cheer up. Can’t Pollack have used pretty colors? Why didn’t Rothko paint smiley faces? The museums are designed to protect centuries of culture. So, go to a nightclub, a playground, or an amusement park.
I think you're responding to the fact that I was a bit hyperbolic, which is fair! Of course, we should respect art, along with the artists who create it and the people who take care of it.
But there is an interesting history of how these spaces are used to impart rules and moral "norms" that become problematic once we dig into why these rules exist. On the surface level, they're logical for the points you bring up. But they're also deeper—to teach citizens how to behave in "polite society". I'm thinking about Foucault's concept of governmentality, along with The Birth of the Museum by Tony Bennet, for more context.
How do the rules you mention impact children who want to visit a museum? Why are the museum hours so restrictive for people who work full time? Do these rules create conditions where some people are policed more based on their skin colour? (Yes.)
I think a lot about a Theaster Gates exhibition I saw years ago that celebrated disco through a video and sound installation that allowed viewers to lounge on bean bags, sing, and dance. It felt like such a revolutionary act to introduce movement into the museum, encouraging rule-breaking and shifting the idea of what proper art viewing looks like.
I appreciate your response. However, it is in using Foucault and The Birth of the Museum as references that the whole thing is situated in the world of gatekeepers and their assumed ivory tower, from which they purportedly loudly ignore the masses. The general public, as well as security guards, don't know anything about these gentlemen. I was prompted by your naming them to look into these works. After literally "sleeping on it" I realized I did not want to plumb a text for clues on my museum and gallery going. N/A.
How about this: if you desire to go onto a film set, is it your prerogative to sing and dance at will? If you go to the movies, if you go to a concert, and there is a dramatic pause of anticipation and silence, is it time for making oneself heard/seen? If you go to church, can you change the lyrics to the gospel music... etc.
Regarding the Theaster Gates exhibit: maybe you don't like museums.
In the museum world I currently have readily available the signage is also in Spanish and Haitian Creole. There are weekly attempts to broaden the viewership with DJs and drinks during the supposed post-work hours. Yoga and children's programming are regular offerings, and the exhibitions are frequently of the "underrepresented."
Education is the obvious inroad to demystify. I taught Art Appreciation at a community college and was thrilled to share with the students this world.
To be "policed" in a museum by skin color is effective if the viewer gives it power. I have been shushed, I have stepped over that invisible barrier and set off the beep beep beep and was then instructed by the (mostly black and latino) security guards. Should everything be touchable, like a store? Should we be able to finger ancient Buddhist robes, literally damaged by the oils on the skin? Perhaps art conservation should be taught as part of Art Appreciation.
Why not balk at flagship Prada/Gucci, stores? They are where one is judged by these criteria you mention, yet people are like moths to a flame as they aspire to devour Balenciaga.
The (mostly 20 something) girls and the few boys that are on the gallery floor do not make a living wage. Clothes are bought on sale, taxis are too expensive in the rain, and lunch is brown-bagged. They do their silent work, hoping no one will have to ask a question they can't answer, to use the non-public restroom.
Volley served.
How fun! Thanks.
thank you for reading!