Notes from My VMFA Talk
Page 2

Question

How do we make something attractive and accessible to people who have never encountered this type of work before? There are many who will not know what to do with all of this.

Since we are steeped in the art object, our institutions are geared to work with, collect, and focus on the object rather than the concept. How do you collect, sell, and live off of art ideas? How do you develop a connoisseurship for these ideas? And, is thinking this way too narrow an approach to creating an audience for this type of work?

This is similar to the problem that arose in the 1960s with conceptual art. Galleries were interested in selling conceptual art, but found it difficult to sell the notion of "collecting" documentation or ideas. There is a similarity in structure between that type of art and net-based art now. The big difference, though, is one of access. The net is much more accessible and ubiquitous than an earth work out in the middle of the desert. The means of production are familiar and available to almost everyone and we have viewers (computers) on most of our desks. They are in our homes and our offices.

Audience verses Community

Traditional, industrial age-based art separates the art from its audience. A stereotypical notion of the artists as a "genius," one who is above the fray and dialogue, has served to separate these two.

Given the nature of our information age-based world, where information is easily available and access to traditional gatekeepers is less important, the notion of community is supplanting one of the hierarchical audience.

Example:

Rhizome: a community of New Media artists

So, to begin to answer my question above, New Media suggests we should begin to think in terms of our community instead of our audience.

The traditional role of the museum is to spotlight work that has "risen to the top" in its respective area. However, things are changing so quickly and the object, while certainly not dead in any respect, is now standing next to notions of interaction and idea. How should the museum react to these changes?

Begin By Exploring the Ideas Behind Multimedia

What would you say if I said that the idea of multimedia was first posed by composer Richard Wagner? In an 1849 article entitled "The Artwork of the Future," Wagner introduced the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk, or Total Artwork to describe the integration of all the arts into a work.

The Festspielhaus (Festival House) Theater opened in 1876 in, Germany, where Wagner applied his theatrical innovations including: darkening the house, surround-sound reverberance, and the revitalization of the Greek amphitheatrical seating to focus audience attention on stage. This approach to opera foreshadowed the experience of virtual reality, immersing the audience in the imaginary world of the stage.

See Randall Packer's and Ken Jordan's site, From Wagner to Virtual Reality, for an excellent history of Multimedia.

Consider the museum as an archivist for New Media works:

Walker Art Center: Ada Web

Museum as Community-central:

The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) is developing a virtual community area on our web site. While we are closed we are using our docents to conduct online tours.

Look at what other museums are doing. But don't forget your critical eye. It's okay to question. Despite the newness of New Media, there is still room for thoughtful and thought-provoking criticism and dialogue. In fact, in many respects, that's the point.

A recent article on art, museums, and the web:

Art and Tech, Together Again, Wired.com

Other places to explore:

The Whitney's Bitstream
SFMoMA's Art in Technological Times
Walker Art Center
SAAM's New Media/New Century Awards.

Conclusion

It behooves the museum to discuss (internally as well as with its communities) how artists' work is changing so that it can begin to adjust the way they present, collect, and interpret their work.

Begin to design programs that enhance, educate, illuminate the changes that are entering the art world. Feel comfortable with being an institution that is delivering the forums to discuss these changes rather than the purveyor of what is good or quality art. Encourage development of a critical eye. And realize that we are all in the middle of this process.


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