MAM

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.