Hi Indigo,

Generally, a well-written op-ed piece.  Though I cannot disagree more.
You, after all, are not an average visitor.

Sadly, you fall in step with your criticism.  To be specific, while you
state at the beginning ("it's unfair to stereotype what the museum-goers
want when they go to a museum"), you stereotype art museum workers at
the end ("I just think that museum folk often take for granted that
which they've been entrusted to care for").

Some artwork here has extended labels which are about the artist
(approximately half the text) and about the artwork (approximately half
the text).  Some artwork doesn't get an extended label as there is
limited time I can devote to such research and writing when exhibitions
must be developed and hung, educational programs must be developed,
tours led, meetings attended, telephone calls returned, letters written
and mailed, grants completed, etc.

"Museum folk" are people, with reasonable limitations.  One of those
reasonable limitations is presenting information for the average
visitor.  The average visitor spends little time looking at each
artwork, and significantly less than half visitors read labels.  So, if
the average museum-goer doesn't even care about the artist's name or the
title of the artwork, what should make "museum folk" think the average
museum-goer cares about the complicated symbolism to which you refer?

Eager-to-learn visitors can approach "museum folk" and ask for more
information.  For me, that would be a highlight of my day, my week, my
month!

Sincerely,

j heuman, Education Curator
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Utah State University
4020 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT  84322-4020
t 435.797.0165 | f 435.797.3423
 
Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.
Sir Charles Moser, b. 1922

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