Grappling With the Quality of the Museum Experience: A Panel Report
By Helen Levin
The 92nd Street Y opened its twentieth anniversary lecture series with a panel moderated by longtime publisher and editor of ART NEWS, Milton Esterow. The museum directors on the panel included Glenn Lowry (MoMA), Kathy Halbreich (Walker Art Center), and Philippe de Montebello (the Met). Although the topic was "What’s Next for Art Museums?" a more suitable title may have been "Grappling (or Not-Grappling) with the Quality of the Museum Experience." The program began and ended with a unanimous chorus agreeing that, come what may, the pervasive concern of the directors remained providing a high quality experience for the ever-burgeoning number of museum goers.
Lowry, for example, acknowledged the record breaking crowds that were attending MoMA’s re-opening in Manhattan, and stated that it was his hope that viewers would still "be able to slow down, think, and contemplate the artwork" in the new, expansive feeling that the architecture generated. He articulated that the museum’s, especially the C.F.O’s (Chief Financial Officer), goal is to "get as many people to come to shows, and still assure the tranquility to enjoy them." Halbreich countered that the Walker Art Center faced less of a contradiction, since it showed artists who are less well known, that it was more of an "arts" multimedia venue, and that the Center was more interested in who, as opposed to how many people, attended exhibitions. For instance, she cited that teens were going alone, as opposed to with school groups, and for this she seemed pleased.
Esterow made reference to the tragedy of 9-11-01, and asked :
"Given what happened, how has your museum’s mission changed in the past three years?" It appeared that as far as each represented museum was concerned, not very much has changed, except, for instance, that the Walker Art Center is now engaged in a building plan that includes an expanded cinema, galleries and performing art center. "I feel the term "museum" is rather dated," Halbreich stated, "I envision the museum today as a center for the arts." De Montebello posited that "despite dismal circumstances of the time, (that the museum today stands as testimony) "for the reassurance of humankind of the ability to renew itself…as a symbol of hope." Halbreich only touched upon the notion of the endangered quality of arts funding when she made reference to her concern over what she described as "right wing censorship" having to do with some of her center’s past programming. Approaching the question of the NEA under the new Bush Administration could have made an important contribution, but I believe that Esterow preferred to keep it more of a "feel good" panel. Nevertheless, he has to be credited with bringing up the very close ties between the art world and commerce, for which Lowry acknowledged that advertising and mass media, theme parks, and fashion values have seeped into the art world. De Montebello may have summarized the antidote when he said, as far as his mission was concerned as a museum director: "The best thing you can do is display art (in a way) to manifest respect,…that the work of art matters,…and to present a deep search for educational purposes."
Other issues that were not addressed: How will museums cope with the logistics and costs of presenting new digital media? How have museum addressed gross disparities that often persist in the inadequate representation of women and minority artists? Do big donors to museums exert undo influence on acquisition policy, e.g. is there a conflict of interest that is getting worse, and how (if so) does this undermine public trust in museum connoisseurship?
