Subscribe to RSSWhy Audio Tours Are Ruining Art
And other woes, etc.
Today I had the (painful) pleasure of viewing the Cezanne and Beyond exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It’s a shame really, because the exhibit was beautifully curated, with works ranging from Ellsworth Kelly to Max Beckmann (and beyond!), displayed seamlessly in a breathtaking, open space- complete with complementary pre-recorded messages chattering along in your ear as you moved from painting to painting. In a way, I enjoyed the fact that nine out of ten people accepted the audio tour without question, because that just meant I got an almost silent tour of the exhibit, just me and my thoughts- unless, of course, I was standing within three feet of any given person, because then I could hear the little electronic voices circumventing their ears and bouncing back in the air towards my own. That being said, it was almost impossible to not be within three feet, or even one foot, of any given person because the exhibit was so packed. Let me mention briefly the entire shop dedicated to the exhibit that greeted you immediately upon exit, filled with fashionable items for you to fill your home with to show your friends just how cultured you are. The amount of money that the museum must have made on this one exhibit, today alone, makes me weep. Side note: I have noticed that people are more apt to run into you and not pay any attention at all to where they are going when they are plugged in.
And I wonder- how in the name of all that is good is anyone supposed to enjoy art that way? Packed up against eachother like cattle, breathing in the same preconcieved lectures through our auditory senses? How much more can we be removed from art? I was under the impression that we went to museums to see art for ourselves, to think about art for ourselves, out of the contexts of books and historians and critics telling us how to think about art and what art means. To engage in discussions with eachother, to start conversations. But no, this was art as commodity more than I have ever seen before, a room full of alienated people looking at Cezanne and nodding along to their headphones and I wonder, what did they feel?
Well I feel ripped off. $22 for a ticket where I had to punch people in the face (almost) to get close enough to anything to appreciate it. It’s things like this that question my involvement in the arts. When my art becomes a commodity, I quit.
3 Comments on “Why Audio Tours Are Ruining Art”
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Oh yes. I used those ear phones a couple of times. The only things I enjoyed that way were the ones marked for children…… Don’t use them any more. But, despite the crowds, I never hear the audio from other ear phones. And on the whole, I try to be polite and so do others. I think the crowds just have to be accepted as a given. And you can easily pass by the for sale stuff. But I think we need to remember just how much that these exhibits are costing to bring to us. And it’s not just the cost of borrowing the paintings. It’s all the other huge costs as well. Actually, I don’t even like huge exhibits because I’m too tired after about being half way through to enjoy the rest. My eyes and my head can take in only so much stimulation before they shut down. What I did notice at a recent exhibit, however, was someone standing in front of a painting talking on her cell phone…………..
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Rachel March 30th, 2009 5:10 pm
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I have a deep appreciation to the amount of time, money and research that goes into curating a show and accessing works; this particular show had some pretty amazing stuff that not a lot of people get to see. I think the point I was trying to make in a roundabout way, that maybe didn’t come across one hundred percent, is how this idea just perpetuates the negative ideas that many people have of art, 1) that it is a commodity that is commercialized and 2) how that commercialization of art plays into the “elitist” society of artists, critics, collectors, etc., thereby removing art from the every day, for every person to have an equal chance of appreciating art and having access to it. Something else that I just recently thought about: how much money is made off of artists’ work once they are deceased.
Oh yes. I used those ear phones a couple of times. The only things I enjoyed that way were the ones marked for children…… Don’t use them any more. But, despite the crowds, I never hear the audio from other ear phones. And on the whole, I try to be polite and so do others. I think the crowds just have to be accepted as a given. And you can easily pass by the for sale stuff. But I think we need to remember just how much that these exhibits are costing to bring to us. And it’s not just the cost of borrowing the paintings. It’s all the other huge costs as well. Actually, I don’t even like huge exhibits because I’m too tired after about being half way through to enjoy the rest. My eyes and my head can take in only so much stimulation before they shut down. What I did notice at a recent exhibit, however, was someone standing in front of a painting talking on her cell phone…………..