Interpreting the new museology*
Max Ross**
Lichfield
Looking at the study, where perceptions of how the modern museums should be managed to address the needs of the general public, there is some amount of resistance of change in their respective coordination in the manner of how such direction is to be carried out. A general concept of the museum is an institution that manages a collection of artifacts which has scientific, artistic or historical value, displayed in permanent or temporary exhibition. Demographically, if not by deliberate intent, larger museums are situated in major cities around the world, and smaller one exists in smaller cities, to even towns and the countryside.
Initially early museums were private collections hosted by the wealthy and privileged classes, giving importance to their social strata. However since the elitist rule and governance has changed over the century, the mode of museums is now on the direction of educating the masses by educating them into the museum experience. More modes of delivery are carried to museums, from renovating the once mighty and intimidating structure to subtle and accessible areas of space, to digital galleries available in the web.
There has been a move to remove the elitist stigma of large museums, by allowing communal commercial spaces to rise near their exhibit spaces and redesigning their façade to make the common folk welcome to its premises. Strategies like having museums near parking lots and even malls delivers a more acceptable feel for the public, in the progress of eliminating the old sense of high class grandeur.
For the collections to still sustain the perusal, study and exploration, museums now began to redirect its energies and undergo a new museology that wasn’t its aim during the last century. Museology is defined as a diachronic study of how spaces, specifically museums, were established and developed to fulfill the role as an educational tool, given current social and political pressures. The endeavor is to discover catalysts , a difficult task for curators and historians, to produce exhibits and displays that effectively appeals to varied public, withstanding stimulated criticism. The research on the article shows that there are issues to such audiences where exhibits are directed, as well as the change of function and responsibility and its deliberation for the possible future.
The Museum Concept
The new direction, behind the creation of museums is to foremost remove arbitrary private collections and open the open these collections to the public audience, to be appreciated and profit from the experience that is communally shared rather than selfishly confined to a targeted few. The accessibility of these collections, initially for the elite and the privileged will now be shared by the masses. However, as the article suggest, the movement is not an easy task and skepticism arises how this paradigm shift is indeed sustainable even with private and publicly funded by foundations.
The simple task of merely inviting the wealthy and powerful class to private galleries and exhibits has now a new ball game of showcasing the same valuable artifacts to the normal and average modern citizen, who initially may or may not care about the exhibition itself, but will have appreciated the museum experience. The rise of globalization, frequent traffic of various races of different breeding and geographical origin makes the museum concept more difficult, since the market is indeed wider and its tastes varied, to the extent to some may be almost unpredictable.
The question of the paradigm shift is also debatable due to the move of museum funding, which during classical times are from the noble elite and its foundations to now modern private foundations and associations with little or no class distinction. The dependency now lies on the number of visitors, its revenue from the daily entrance fees. The service of museums has now changed, since it is going to be run like a business enterprise targeting its collections to general public. For 1st world nations, the general public is a homogeneous blend of different races and creed, of varied breeding and social class, and of different values and cultural beliefs. This is a different departure for the closed audience of Caucasians nobles which belong to the social A class. Finding ways to attract the attention of varied tastes of a varied audience becomes a real challenge for those managing the museum. For some people as in the article, is simply something that they are not equipped to or not their job. It is a different matter altogether to market the collections and exhibits as opposed to managing its artifacts, preserving, classifying and storing the artifacts. Dealing with the public is an additional item for the job description, to some organizationally is not open for such change.
Bauman’s thesis expresses the role of museum professionals will also change, to an extent of legislator to interpreter. The commitment stems to new methods of representing the artifacts, its labor, technology and finally the product. The classical and old paradigm revolves on physical structures and machinery, where the social elite transcend the behavior, the upbringing, the insights and perception of individualistic values and beliefs that is confined to education for the privileged. The use of museums then was to cultivate the upper classes formation of social context, to intentionally undergo legislative transformation to what they perceive to as the perfect citizen. However the other side of the collections of value and grandeur is the interpretation of these elements, to further strive for excellence and aim for progress, became a loss potential.
There is now a quest for democratic politics of representation needed which departs from the once monocultural ethnocentric perspective which induces this legislative vision of culture in the artifacts they display. Realizing this, there is a move to increase the number of artifacts to include even the popular everyday items and crafts, so that the interest of the general public can be sustained. Pop culture and modern contemporary themes are now included and integrated to the spaces to substitute the classical forms and open an interpretive approach to perception of study, exploration and self-discovery.
To quote one a statement I find in the article quite appealing to the new museology :
“we’re trying to encourage the Asian community to use us as a resource for their culture as well
because their culture is now interwoven with the culture of the city and resources such as ourselves should be open to them, museums and social inclusion has drawn attention to the duality of commitment and resistance to change.”
The shift from the monoculture legislation and grooming to an open multicultural interpretation is the move our exhibits and museums is already apparent in museums today. It is just the continued perseverance, commitment and dedication to the new museology can we really say that these collections are for the masses.
Application to the Design Process
It becomes a conscious effort to communicate thru visual and sensory expression that people, especially the masses can relate to. The question of how these compartments of culture and history can function for the public, if they come from diverse social economic backgrounds. On a local perspective, I would say the only discrimination comes from our social economic classes, its relative number over the huge percentile of C,D, E classes. The restraint of quality education hampers any action for perceptive formation, and on my personal view, an initial legislator mode of action can be made just to drive the masses to a standard cultural state or level.
It will be really difficult to create a substantial progress from masses which need more educational awareness, though it can be debated by exposing the lower economic classes to arts may uplift their way of thinking, mental state and perception. If indeed true, this can change their mental framework altogether, and in some way alleviated them from their current economic state and in a bigger scale cure poverty in general.
The direction is quite a longshot for the 3rd world and the model in a personal sense, be applicable for 1st world countries of the western hemisphere. The degree of democratic rule, the socio-political chastes and rampant corruption are deterring factors that will externally help museums and exhibits go for the new museology.
However all is not in vain. The liberty of expression for the youth and the younger generation is still open and subject for progressive reform. A mental mindset can be infused by using contemporary exhibitions that point into a positive, progressive feel, sublime and incorporated to the showcase of artifacts. This component of democratic intent with a persuasive feel of positivism in a constructivist expression in continued exhibitions may expose the public to a better progression than its demise.
Let me end with a statement I find beneficial to such action in the article:
” may provide for those who go beyond the novitiate stage, order, identity and commitment. For those who do not pass beyond this stage, it can sometimes be wounding and seen as meaningless (what Bourdieu calls ‘la violence symbolique)"
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