The first public art museum was created in France in 1753 when the French nationalized the Louvre following the French Revolutionary War. Since its creation, countless others have sprung forth across the world. Not every museum is the same and reflects different goals. Some museums stem from nationalistic institutes, to being focused on important archeological digs, science, medical, and more. The museum is a symbol of power and prosperity. It started with being nationalistic tokens of power. It created a status for a nation to have museums showing that they are “champions of culture” (Freeland, 2023, p.30). The creation of public museums allowed for different socio-economic classes to view the artworks, which, in hope, allowed for a more civilized man. It is argued that the museum is outdated, and a new museum model is needed. Exploring the legacy and issues that museums present allows for new ideas on how to better art institutions.
Museums have been controversial in that they are viewed as colonialist institutes that have looted art and promoted racial stereotypes. The context of the cultural items is often diminished into obscurity. This can create discord in the visual narrative, such as in the example that many African masks are used for ceremonies and masquerades. This adds to the function and form of the mask, which is lost when it is displayed in a museum. With the protests against museums' colonial past, museums are relooking their own collections and starting to return looted artifacts. For instance, the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris recently returned 26 artifacts to Benin, the first act of restitution by a former colonial power in Africa (Oltermann,2024). Some people say this isn’t enough when the Musée du Quai Branly has thousands of pieces of artwork from Benin and only returned 26. While this is a small start to repatriation, it is hoped it will influence other museums to take accountability for their role in colonialism and return looted artifacts. The British Museum begs to defer its stance in calling itself an “international museum” where it shows art from diverse cultures and refuses to return looted artifacts (Palmer, 2024, p.58). It could be argued that the British Museum symbolizes England’s colonial and imperialistic past. A past that they resist dismantling even with the rising pressure from countries and protestors asking for looted artifacts to be returned.
In addition to this effect, museums have been argued to be capitalist in nature. The irony of the artists who created the artwork is that it is poor and desolate, while later, the artworks are sold for millions of dollars to the highest bidders. While museums were partially created to foster an environment to promote civilized men, the pressure from corporations funding exhibitions creates a power struggle with what and how art is displayed, which can cause censorship (Freeland, 2023, p.32). Corporate backing of “blockbuster’ exhibits like the Treasures of Tutankhamun and Pompeii appeals to broad public and middle-class taste. This does allow for a broader reach in patrons but arguably influences how they view and understand art.
Tutanhamon Exhibit (2020) London
Museums have made changes to be more inclusive and accessible. An example is the “Art/artifact” exhibition curated in 1988 by Susan Vogel of the Center for African Art in New York, which created an exhibit using varied display techniques to showcase African masks in a typical backlit modern museum setting to then in contrast an anthropological human diorama showing the masks on models of human figures ( Freeland, 2023, p.32) This exhibition allows for the viewer to see the context behind the masks in both representations of their culture and in a typical museum setting. Creating environments like “ Art/Artifact” decolonizes the museum model, allowing for the reclamation of culture and creating introspection in the viewer on what and how they view art.
References
Freeland, C. (2003). Art Theory: A Very Short
Introduction. Oxford University Press Academic UK. https://tiffin-bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780191579325
Oltermann, P. (2024, February 18). France should
return much more looted African art, film-maker says. The Guardian. Retrieved
April 2, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/18/dahomey-france-should-return-much-more-looted-african-art-film-maker-mati-diop-says
Palmer, G. L.
(2023). Looted artifacts and museums' perpetuation of imperialism and racism:
Implications for the importance of preserving cultural heritage. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 73(1-2).
https://doi.org/https://doi-org.tu.opal-libraries.org/10.1002/ajcp.12653
[TRT World]. (2022, January 1). France displays Benin artefacts before returning them [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYoTUIZmvsw
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