Following James Panero’s March issue piece “Future tense, VII: What’s a museum?” describing the deteriorating character of many of today’s cultural institutions, TNC readers have taken to our comments page with their own ideas about what characteristics define (or ought to define) our public displays of history and culture.
In particular, readers have debated the advantages and costs of our museums’ growing focus on fundraising, which has initiated a wave of redesign and renovation of their physical spaces and prompted the frequent sale of work from their permanent collections against public opposition and their own peer standards.
- #13 “I can remember when it was merely common sense to say that tourism or being “discovered” had ruined a place. Today such a statement is considered a form of hate speech. But that is simply what has happened–museums have been ruined by mass tourism. All the economic and political calculations over attendance, access and funding cannot change this reality.” [Richard in Chicago]
- #8 “What a nonsensical argument. As the article points out, museum attendance is booming. If this great free market wanted museums to be halls of elitist culture, then attendance would decrease. They must be doing something right. Because here in God’s own land, the US of A, the only thing that matters is money, so the more people, the more money. And if these so-called problems are what is necessary to keep the money coming in, then any criticism of that is un-American.” [A Patriot USA!! USA!! USA!!]
- #9 “The early capitalist used their money to establish museums, in which you could not buy a burrito and a soda. Today, the museum-class uses the museum to sell burritos and soda (and various bits of tasteful junk) to make money.” [ Harris Tweed]
- #6 “Art museums began as centres of excellence and beauty. Now many modern art museums have become shopping mall carnivals. Aesthetics, hermeneutics, cultural edification and pride are no longer the priorities. Art has been commodified and any commodity has become tradeable and anything accepted for exhibition is an art commodity. The public gets to know the price of art works but the value of few. (Thanks Oscar Wilde).” [Benjamin Randle]
- #16 “‘profiteering of American museums’? No one is profiting but the public, because without the support of government and the waning support of private individuals, these great halls of virtue would be closed. And it is not the museum professionals who are driving the trend of increased earned income, it is the donor/trustees who increasingly want to see “their” museums run like businesses.” [Georgianna de la Torre]
- #15 “Freedom–political, religious, economic, or otherwise–doesn’t spring into existence. And a free market–a level playing field where everyone has the freedom to compete or cooperate–is not an autonomous entity. It’s an environment that’s only achieved with a careful balance, unlike what a typical anarcho-capitalist would believe.” [David Macroe]
Panero followed up the article in a March 29 discussion on WNYC radio’s The Brian Lehrer Show. The conversation, and listener’s comments (both online and calls into the radio program), can be found here.
Continue the conversation by commenting on the original article and The Brian Lehrer Show’s online discussion page. Mr. Panero is available via Twitter at @JamesPanero.