I certainly agree with Marie's response. A museum's
mission has to be their guide to collectons and
exhibitions.
I do fear creeping commercialism, as museums insist on
getting larger and larger--and, hence, need more and
more revenue just to keep the doors open.
In recent years, two museums in Pittsburgh have opened
major sports exhibits, because this brings in paying
visitors. Particularly football and the Pittsburgh
Steelers are revered here almost as a religion
[particularly considering the collapse of the steel
industry and the loss of jobs and people this city has
encountered over the last 20 years], and, hence, this
is a way for these museums to bring in money and
expand.
I am concerned about the trend of establishing
exhibitions just because they will be very popular,
and hence bring in needed revenue.
Now, it can be said that visitors to these sports
exhibitions, who may not have chosen to come to the
museum otherwise, will also sample some of the
museum's other offerings. Hopefully this will occur,
but there are no guarentees.
Now, if there is a demand for a NASCAR exhibition, I
have no problem with a museum satisfying such a demand
PROVIDED it does not, in so doing, significantly
replace its traditional offerings. Certainly, NASCAR
itself has enough money to underwrite such an
exhibition, so traditional museum resources do not
need to be diverted from their regular offerings.
gaw
--- Marie Morgan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:12:31 -0700
From: "Marie Morgan" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] museums catering to the
general public
To: [log in to unmask]
> Attracting wider audiences is something that museums
> struggle with, but museums usually have a mission, a
> narrowed focus of what they are about. Every museum
> is not supposed to cater to every person. Although,
> it seems that we have to do that more now in order
> to stay afloat.
>
> Museums are not commercial. Granted, to survive we
> need to think more that way, but at what cost? When
> you think of a museum you should have a silent,
> reverent feel at the word. Museum. That word should
> mean something significant. It was always meaningful
> to me, even when i was a kid. It was a place of
> learning, wonder, boredom and excitement. I don't
> ever want to feel about museums the way i feel about
> the mall.
>
> And that's a lot of money to spend on the tastes of
> the moment. Why do companies spend so much money on
> consumer testing? Because the fads come and go so
> fast. To sell your products you must stay on the
> crest of that wave. That is not financially feasible
> for museums. Yesterday wrestling, today nascar,
> tomorrow who knows? To me, the job of a museum is to
> preserve what is culturally significant. Is Nascar
> significant? Ask me in 20 years. Museums gamble on
> that every day. What young artist do they invest in?
> Should they accession the old office macintosh? What
> are people going to be interested in years from now?
>
> In this world museums are competing with TV, video
> games, themeparks, shopping centers, and so on. Does
> competing mean we have to emulate them? Every museum
> in America could host a traveling exhibit of the
> newest and biggest sensation, but should they?
>
> I haven't really answered your questions . . . but I
> really don't think there are any good answers out
> there. At the very base, you have to ask: What are
> museums? What do they do? What are they for?
>
> My best answer is that no museum can be everything
> to everyone. Let your mission guide you.
>
> Marie
>
>
> Micah Zender <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Being an
> outsider looking in (a contractor, and corporate
> donor) I find that museums often shy away from
> creating exhibitions that cater to the greater
> publics interests.
>
> I'M GENERALIZING HERE!
>
> Why?
>
> I know that having an "art of Nascar" exhibition may
> not fit well into the lineup of exhibitions next to
> say: Early Female Expressionists, or Decorative
> Indian Pottery. But there's a great following behind
> nascar, and may bring a new audience to the museum.
>
> Some of the institutions see this as petty, or not
> 'culturally significant', but isn't the core mission
> of most museums to bring culture, and appreciation
> for the arts? (Or something close to - I'm
> generalizing again) And isn't part of doing that
> reaching out to people that aren't in the
> upper-income bracket or aren't already artistically
> versed? (Super generalizing)
>
> My corporate clients spend a great deal of time, and
> money on 'consumer understanding) research, trying
> to figure out how to reach their customers
> effectively, do museums not do the same? Or want to?
> Are these practices considered 'dirty' - because
> companies like P&G use this information to sell more
> tampons, or soap, or dishwashing detergent - is this
> research not a fit for museums for moral reasons?
> "We don't want to trick people into coming here"??
>
> I'm interested in your thoughts/oppinionms.
>
> Apologies for the generalizations I write with the
> purest of intentions.
>
> Thanks
>
> Micah Zender
> Micah A T Zender . Com
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
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