Questions: What observations can you make about this
relationship between what happens inside behind the scenes
The feeling that I got from taking an inside view
Musee de L’art Moderne is that every person in
the MAM is connected with everyone else. To explain this further every
department showed an interest in what is happening in other departments. It's
like walking into a family. Communications knew what was happening with
curatorial, and the director of the museum was in touch with the events
department. It was great to see everyone working together. Pertaining to the
space in the museum it's interesting how space changes so quickly. As one of the
speakers stated in our tour, museums are ever changing and nothing is permanent.
I almost prefer the buzz to an instillation before it is premiered because it
is the excitement of not knowing what to expect versus walking in and looking
at a final project. Being behind the scenes at a museum is like getting a
secret privilege into a world that people don't often see.
How does it relay to what is displayed outside in the
public space?
The public has a perception of what they expect to see
when walking into an exhibit. Clean polished finalized detailed explanations of
each piece along with fully functioning instillations or performance pieces.
Before I took a look into what goes into making an exhibits, I was like the
general public I didn't take the time to wonder how the space came to be or
what was put into promoting art. To me exhibits sometimes felt quite boring,
like I was a product of something that was generically churned out. Like a
mechanic wheel. This is why the most interesting part of our tour was to view
the exhibitions before they became perfect, and to see that there are faults.
How do the contemporary shows that are in the process
of being installed call our attention to the issue of insiders and outsiders
inclusion or exclusion?
Both exhibitions dealt with the themes of inclusion
and exclusion. Bertille Bak’s show
was entitled "Circuits". It’s a
project based exhibition which takes a look into the lives and habitats of
certain parts of society that are not often thought or talked about. The first
being "o quatrieme" is about nuns living in a convent. To even begin
this project there is a certain level of exclusivity. In being in a convent a
nun is giving there life to religion. What Bak is doing is allowing outsiders
to take a look inside. The same goes for her second project which is about
gypsy's she lets us into their lives as we take a look at the traditions and
history that this migrating community has. The whole show follows the theme of
allowing the public to see what was should be private.
What was made visible to you today that is usually
invisible to museum, visitor?
Today we were allowed behind the velvet rope which so
often prohibits the outside from seeing the true inner workings of a museum.
What we saw was the creation of a space, the sound checks, how different pieces
are chose and hung. How the curator decides where certain pieces should be put
and works hand in hand with the artist so the best possible outcome can happen.
We also saw what goes into promoting an artist and how they are chosen. Mostly
I was struck by the amount of security that is put into keeping the work safe
but also exclusive. I felt that I got a better appreciation for the space, and
the amount of effort that is put into promoting and creating a museum.
Especially the premier of the new logo, it was interesting to me how through
communication and keeping the common theme of the logo the museum is able to
promote certain exhibitions.
How does some contemporary art reveal or display what
is often hidden?
The beauty of contemporary art is that there are no
rules an artist can do or create what they please. Often I find with
contemporary art there is always a purpose or a cause that the work is created
for. No longer are the days of pretty pictures but instead artists create
because they have a message. This is why through art we can often learn more about
society than is expected. For example the instillation videos we saw of parents
teaching their children to queue. I was completely unaware that until I saw
this art piece that queuing was a huge part of life in many countries and
learning how to queue correctly and politely was something that all parts of a
community needed to know. Art revealed that to me. Contemporary art is like a game, it hides the message
that it contains, and it is up to the viewer to find the answer.
