Hi Tim,

>Not everything needs to be explained - especially as far as art is concerned.
>Confusion and bewilderment are also valid responses - indeed that could well
>be the artists intent (not always, but sometimes).  I think this approach is
>certainly an interesting corrective to a pendulum that has perhaps swung too
>far towards the didactic/educational approach

And maybe each child should be locked away in a room with a book until they
learn how to read?  No instruction necessary, right?  Toss all non-swimmers in
the deep end and let them sink or swim, right?

This approach, in my opinion, is the height of elitism.  There is an unspoken
assumption that visitors ought to know what they are looking at.  If they
don't know what they are looking at, they might as well leave because nobody
at the museum is providing explanatory information.

Educational devices (labels, signs, etc.) allow greater access.

Sincerely,

Jay Heuman
Assistant Curator of Education
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
t   435 797 0165
f   435 797 3423
e  [log in to unmask]
www.artmuseum.usu.edu

Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.
Sir Claus Moser (b. 1922)

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