The Museum as Muse: Artists Reflect

I attended this exhibit at the MoMA and was thrilled to see so many great artists interpreting what museums and "the institution" means. For some artists, the act of collecting is very private...like Joseph Cornell and his many obsessive boxes, or Christian Boltanski and his melancholy installation of forgotten photographs. In another personal piece, Sophie Calle interviewed various staff members at a museum where prized artworks by the Old Masters were stolen about how they now feel in the artworks' absence. The snoop in me wished that the audience could see what all the boxes contained in pieces such as Herbert Dristel's "Museum of Drawers", which houses over 500 miniature pieces of artwork by many of my favorite artists from the 60's and 70's. The Barbara Bloom installation "The Reign of Narcissism" was hilarious and disturbing. It consists of a museum within a museum, with all pieces and decor dedicated to herself and her own likeness. Claes Oldenburg's "Mouse Museum", another amazing installation, consists of various sculptures and found "junkstore-type" objects that the artist has accumulated. The shape of the walk-in structure of Oldenburg's "Museum" is Mickey Mouse's head! An absurd and fun commentary on pop culture! This show would not have been complete without the work of Marcel Duchamp, a pioneer in calling into question the value of "original" artwork and the importance that institutions place on it. "L.H.O.O.Q." (the Mona Lisa with a mustache) and many of Duchamp's Valises containing miniature reproductions of his own work and readymades are represented here. Vito Acconci decided to use the MoMA as a post office and in a separate piece, tried to infringe upon museum-goer's personal space by standing uncomfortably close to people while they were trying to be cultured and study the 'Art'. Overall, it was a fascinating exhibit. The subversive, but good-humored mockery of what humans do with and in the presence of art made me feel somewhat self-conscious as I was wandering the galleries, but that seemed to be the point!

This book's subject matter is right on the money. I haven't read it, but Museums have everything to do with the production of art nowadays. Museums and catalogs or big, glossy ads. Because that's where the authority of the printed page meets its audience. And Kynaston McShine is such a cool name.