Contemporary artists revolutionise museums?

To return to another theme: the way that 'contemporary artists' are transforming museums (not!). Be warned: there is more to come on this subject in later posts.

Contemporary artists are helping museums unlock the potential of their collections and reach new audiences read the headline of an article in the Museums Journal by the usually reliable Simon Stephens. He managed to knit together a disparate set of projects to support the case including: 

• Nottingham where 1000 young artists are working in the New Art Exchange and Nottingham Contemporary Galleries taking part in Young Artists. Might there be a hint here about the word gallery and artists? The title of the project is hardly inspiring but it probably does what it says
• 10 artists matched with 10 museums and galleries for a range of after hours events in museums. We have mentioned this before. Ten of them; hardly a widespread welcome by the museums 
• The Haywood gallery will become a 'school run by artists'. Not surprising in a gallery
• Grayson Perry at the British Museum. This was obviously a terrific success but people with large budgets and lots of spare space like the BM can indulge such projects
• The Museum of London worked with artists to produce four artworks, opening out the debate ... a bonus point for additional jargon  about 'opening a debate'
• Snibston colliery site
• National Trust Trust New Art which was run at five properties
• Alchemy at Manchester Museum
• Welcome Museum
• New Expressions which we mentioned in an earlier posting 

This does not sound as though projects are nearly as widespread as the headline suggests. One would expect galleries to work with artists and large sites like Snibston and the National Trust have spaces ready made for art of one form or another. Most museums are probably quietly jealous of them as good quality narrative art can help to bring spaces alive and give an edge to large spaces. What none of these suggest is that artists were engaged in helping tell the original stories of the objects.

Simon goes on to speak of the 'ability of artists to look at collections in fresh and innovative ways which appeals to curators.'

This sounds like a big love-in which has little core motivation. There is an overtone of misunderstanding, alienation, jealousy of knowledge between artists and historians: a theme that was explored so well in John Fowles' short story Poor Koko in his Ebony Tower collection. A burglar ties up a man in a lonely cottage and then burns his books in front of him because he cannot stand the thought of others having knowledge which is inaccessible to him.

A diary piece in the same issue of MJ took the Mick out of the same thought. Asked what  museums were for, a hapless and fictional museum director replied 'to serve the public' and was told 'No, they are there for artistic excellence'. They were then taken off for re-education.I used to study history. Now I explore art.