Monday, September 22, 1997 From ivory towers to hipper hangouts
ACCESIBILITY: Museums hope to lighten image, attract younger
visitors
By Kristin Fiore
Daily Bruin Contributor
Your stiff leather shoes squeak on the linoleum, breaking the
reverent hush. Wisps of timid conversation circle the room as
sterile and white as a hospital bed sheet, then float up to the
20-foot ceiling. Two men in crisp black suits frame the doorway and
caress their walkie-talkies as you pass by. Is this an FBI showdown
at St. Mary’s Church? No, it’s just another Sunday at the local
museum.
The image of the ivory tower on the hill, the sanctuary for the
elite, has plagued museums since their inception. And though
museums are implementing new programs that will make museums and
their art more accessible, the old image still lingers.
"As soon as you go in, you feel like you have to shut up. If
people knew it was OK to at least talk, they might go more," says
Dave Krinsky, a third-year history student.
His concerns echo those of many would-be museum patrons who are
intimidated by what they perceive as a strict dress and behavior
code.
"The new Getty Museum sits on top of the hill like some feudal
castle. It is almost like walking into a temple, and you assume
that kind of reverence and awe," says art history professor Al
Boime.
Even those at the head of these "castles" know the image of the
museum leaves something to be desired.
"We want to get away from the museum as a church or library,
with the librarian shushing everybody all time. We want people to
feel comfortable here," says Los Angeles County Museum of Art
director Graham Beal.
Another barrier museums must overcome is the public’s difficulty
interpreting contemporary art. Between the increasingly personal
themes and diverse media that artists choose, museum visitors are
often confused by the art. People refrain from asking questions
because they don’t want to appear uneducated.
"Often the gallery and museum shows leave me beyond cold. I like
to know what they’re about; I try very hard to understand," says
Harry Blitzstein, who is not just a casual art fan, but an artist
and owner of the Harry Blitzstein Museum of Art.
"I get right in there and ask (the curators), ‘Please. Why is
this important?’ And I come away very unfulfilled. My questions are
not answered. I’ve had responses like, ‘If I have to tell you,
you’re missing the point.’"
If artists feel confused and pushed aside, the public must also
feel this way.
The irony is that museums and contemporary art actually have a
better relationship with the public now than they did a century
ago. People may complain about contemporary art and the forbidding
atmosphere it is couched in, but the fight to familiarize the
public with the art of their time has always been an uphill
battle.
"All art is contemporary at some time, and history implies that
all new art is difficult for people to understand. The most extreme
is the unbelievable outrage that impressionists engendered. It was
so bad the people challenged each other to duels. Nothing Jesse
Helms could come up with could ever compete with that!" Beal
quips.
As the government cuts funding for the arts, museums have an
even harder time getting the public to value and connect with art.
But the chasm between the public and art may be slowly narrowing,
thanks to a weapon that the government, schools and other
institutions won’t spend the time or money to implement – arts
education.
"In the last decade museums have re-evaluated how they present
art," says Henry Hopkins, director of the UCLA at the Armand Hammer
Museum. "Symposiums and lectures raise questions about what’s in
the exhibition. A decade or more ago the art that hung in museums
was the art that had been proven over time and that people should
accept. Now, no one presents art as a Leonardo da Vinci or a
Vincent van Gogh, but as an attitude of current artists so that
people get a better idea of what contemporary is doing at that
time."
Artists formerly needed to be dead to be considered great. But
recognizing current artists is important for many reasons: They are
the masters of the future, they represent the struggles of our
time, and, as insurance costs for artists like Picasso and Van Gogh
rise, the works of contemporary artists may be the only exhibitions
that museums can afford to coordinate.
But because many patrons know and care less about them than they
do about, say, Monet, museums have been spending more time and
money on educating the public.
All of the larger museums have a separate education department
that develops and organizes events like open forums, elementary and
high school field trips and art appreciation classes.
"We have a very active education program – panel talks,
speakers, public forums. We mount a whole series of cultural
programs that deal with changing exhibitions," says Cindi Dale,
director of education at the Armand Hammer Museum.
"A lawyer with no art background can come in and draw upon their
political science background to relate art to his or her own life.
A lot of the shows are very challenging. We’re pushing the envelope
on people’s thinking, which is important as an educational
institution," Dale says.
Of course, the best way to make art an integral aspect of
someone’s life is to educate him or her at an early age. Go to the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art or UCLA’s Fowler Museum on any
given day, and you’re bound to find a busload of students milling
through the museum, chatting excitedly. These are the art patrons
of the future, a fact not lost on the museums.
"We have a public school attendance of 20,000 students per year.
Our largest audience is kindergarten through sixth grade, but we
have children as young as 3 coming," says Betsy Quick, director of
education at Fowler.
"Visits to the museum have been so integral to what’s happening
in teachers’ classrooms, that they incorporate them into their
curriculum. We’re booked. We get two to four busloads per day into
the museum," said Quick.
The museum helps pay bus costs for the poorer areas like South
Central and East Los Angeles, giving children who are least likely
to be exposed to art an equal chance to participate. The students’
involvement often goes beyond admiring the art, though.
Crenshaw High School students are interviewing African American
workers and social leaders for an exhibit on African American
identity, "Rapped in Pride." Other students have internships.
These experiences have an effect that reaches far beyond art
appreciation.
"Many students who come have never been on college campus
before. It opens their eyes to the possibilities in their future,"
Quick says of the thousands of children we have all seen running up
and down Bruin Walk.
"The best audiences are children. They’re very happy with all
kinds of art. Something happens as adolescents, and we become
conservative, terrified of embarrassing ourselves," Beal says.
But with the museum’s changing role from arbiters of culture to
educators, adults will hopefully feel as comfortable asking
questions and discovering new artists as children. Overcoming the
old museum stereotype will take time and effort, but the result – a
cultured public open to the art of its own time – is well worth
it.
"I’d like to see people more comfortable with making museums a
part of their life. The only time many non-art world people come to
art shows is when family is in from out of town. I’d like to see
people take their lunch hour and look at a show. Instead of going
to a movie on Thursday night, why not go to the Armand Hammer
(which is free on Thursday nights)?" Dale asks.
This question is best answered by UCLA students themselves, who
have a lot of ideas for making museums a friendlier place. Food and
music topped the list, of course, as well as adding more
information about the lesser known artists in exhibits.
Micah Jackson, a fourth-year design student, thinks museums are
wise to display ordinary items like cars and miniatures, along with
more traditional forms of art.
She stresses the idea that contemporary art can be made with a
variety of media, from metal sculpture to tennis shoes. It’s the
message that is important.
Rauly Hurtado, a first-year student who plans to major in art
history, thinks museums might draw more teenagers by making the
museum seem like a cool place to be.
"Modern art is extremely important, especially for young people.
Teens feel a need to express themselves. But art can be
intimidating. Museum settings are very rigid and organized, and
young people, especially teenagers, feel they must rebel against
these rigid structures," Hurtado says.
He suggests commercials with a style similar to the anti-tobacco
ads or videos to catch a young eye. Art could also be brought to
the teenagers by displaying modern works in malls, which is already
being done by the Santa Monica Place Mall, or handing out flyers
promoting art discussions.
Krinsky suggests a coffeehouse-style atmosphere where people can
sit and hang out. Films or multimedia information on the
exhibition’s artists would also bring their work to life, he
thinks. Any sort of information on an exhibit’s lesser-known
artists would also help.
But the most important reason students would rather be at the
movies or the beach is that they want to be able to laugh and talk
with their friends in a pair of worn out jeans. A museum just
doesn’t seem to be that kind of place, at least not yet.
Museums are waiting for suggestions like these that will give
them a better idea of what the public wants. In the meantime, they
are focusing on educational programs and aids to help those who do
come get the most of their visit.
ART: MOCA (213) 621-1782, LACMA (213) 857-6000, Fowler (310)
825-2585, Armand Hammer (310) 443-7000, Harry Blitzstein Museum of
Art (213) 852-4830.