The Loss of the Museum

Once upon a time, museums were centers of intellectual growth and exploration. Children could let their minds wander as they traversed the museum's halls, expanding their imaginations and seeing new possibilities. Lately, museums have not been able to escape the commercialization of the art world. The Guggenheim brand is a perfect example of the transformation of museums into marketable commodities. The Guggenheim name encompasses various museums throughout the world. Each museum has a distinct architectural style inside and outside, and a profound amount of money has been placed into designing the galleries within. As the distressed art critic Robert Hughes points out, the inside of each Guggenheim museum is built much like a department store, designed to show off the art pieces just like department stores show off their goods. Such design certainly implies that the art pieces are akin to marketable commodities, emphasizing their monetary value. This emphasis places the real meaning of art in peril. However, I disagree that “departmentalization” of museums is an entirely negative trend. The architecture of the Guggenheim can itself be viewed as art work. The Guggenheim's commitment to a creative display of its pieces may simply increase the public's interest in art, rather than distract the public from the art itself. The museums offer lectures and tours by experienced artists, critics, and docents, as well as classes for teens and adults. The Guggenheim has certainly invested a great amount of money into increasing the public's participation in its exhibits. I do not believe it relevant that the Guggenheim's directors may have invested so much money to increase their own profit from ticket sales, rather than because of a genuine interest in increasing the public's interest in art. Regardless of their motives, the museum's directors have successfully increased the public knowledge of art. Departmentalization of museums creates the danger of solely emphasizing the monetary aspect of art, but such departmentalization has also helped increase the global scope of art.

-Tina