...MUSEUMS: THEIR ROLES AND IMPORTANCE In this section of our presentation we will discuss the roles and importance of museums in relation to art and the society in general. Museums were an early form of public education intended to enlighten the general population. The creation of the Public Museum was an expression of the 18th century enlightenment which generated enthusiasm for equality of opportunity in learning. According to the declaration made in the Copenhagen 10th General Assembly of the International Council of Museums held in 1974, a museum is defined as “a non - profit making permanent institution, in the service of the society and its development and open to the public, which acquires, conserves, communicates and exhibits, researches for the purpose of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of men and his environment". Generally speaking, museums collect objects of significance that comply with their mission statement for conservation and display. Many assert that the primary function of art museums ought to be research and scholarship, staunch in their pursuit of objectivity, while others insist that it is about pluralism, the fortification of diversity in a pleased and intrigued public. Art Museums, not only because of the scientific and humanistic disciplines practiced in them, such as conservation, art history, archaeology etc., are seen as preservers of the community’s official cultural memory. Consequently, it can be argued that museums should be placed...
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...Haia 1 Timken Museum is a museum that holds many pieces of art from various time eras, cultures, and artists such as Guercino, Francisco de Zubaran, Luca Carlevarijs and much more, which is all located in Balboa Park, San Diego. The lighting of Timken Museum is cold, blue toned feel that makes the exhibit seem much smaller and enclosed than it really is, yet the lighting contracts from the exhibit itself. The atmosphere of Timken museum is very spacious and hushed, yet the lighting makes it feel small. There are two main exhibits that feature many types of art, Timken Museums art is mainly based upon art from the 1200-1900 eras. Some cultures held in this museum would be Spanish, Dutch, Italian, American, and so much more. The exhibits holds...
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...to say that, in the mind of the public, the MMA has no image. There is nothing about this [building] that says, “I’m a museum,” or “Come in.” There are a lot of people that are not interested in high culture and think this is a drive-in bank or an office building. Most art museums in America have a problem with image. One of the things that makes me mad is that people think there is something wrong with the museum. The MMA is one of the most public in the country, and more heavily dependent on the mem- bership contribution than any other [museum]. Like most, it is underendowed and underfunded from reliable public funds. In fact, the American Association of Museums reports that only about 60 percent of America’s 2000-plus art museums have enough income from their endowment to cover their operating costs. Nevertheless, this institu- tion has chosen to be public, with free access, and this is very noble. It is wonderful that the museum has decided not to belong to an agglomeration of very rich people. This museum has more character than it thinks it has. It has the best balanced collection between Western and non-Western art of any museum in the country. We have not chosen to sell or promote the unique aspects of this collection or the museum’s emphasis on historical context.What we have are the makings of an institu- tion that is very different from other museums, and we ought to be able to make that into an advantage rather than apologize for...
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...The museum offers a space to the public for education, meditation, reflection of the self and others. The issue of gender challenges, if not simply questions, an institution with a profound sense of power in deciding what makes history, what is representative of culture, and how individuals can be identified among a greater scheme of social construction. Feminist critique reveals museums to be generally colonising spaces of the female body. In a profession now largely occupied by women, there appears to still be a gender disproportion in directorial and curatorial positions. ‘The women’s movement has largely bypassed museums’ (Glaser & Zeneton 1994). Even with noticeable changes to gender perspectives in Western society, women have much to remodel in a museological world that is still dipped in a long-established and well-governed androcentrism. Museums are extraordinarily powerful institutions across the globe today. They present the past and present in ways that rule entire schools of thought, dictate truth and notions of common sense, and shape the ways in which people perceive and interpret meaning through culture and history. In assessing the status of modern museum culture, it is important to understand the politics by which an institution runs and governs itself. This issue is often overlooked in museum studies; historically museums have acted at their own discretion without much, if any, cultural, political, or social supervision; thus, despite a reputation for being...
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...by visiting a museum of choice and picking a non-western culture to learn about.. For the assignment, the Bowers Museum is chosen for the essay due to its vast quantity of unique artifacts as well as its close proximity compared to other museums with Orange County.. A bit of background, the Bowers Museum was opened to the public in 1936 in Santa Ana by Charles Bowers and Ada Bowers. The missions and goals of the museum are to display the cultures around the world through their arts and artifacts as well as educate the general public about the diverse cultures that can be found throughout the world. The Bowers Museum is open to the public on Tuesday to Sunday from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. and closes on Monday. The Bowers Museum has an extensive collection of...
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...Discussion – Museum Acquisition and Art Theft Part 1: Museum Acquisitions around the United States are very much similar if not the same. Museums make their unique contribution to the public by collecting, preserving and interpreting the things of this world. Per the American Alliance of Museums, “Museums in the United States are grounded in the tradition of public service. They are organized as public trusts, holding their collections and information as a benefit for those they were established to serve. Members of their governing authority, employees and volunteers are committed to the interests of these beneficiaries. The law provides the basic framework for museum operations. As nonprofit institutions, museums comply with applicable local, state, and federal laws and international conventions, as well as with the specific legal standards governing trust responsibilities. This Code of Ethics for Museums takes that compliance as given. But legal standards are a minimum. Museums and those responsible for them must do more than avoid legal liability, they must take affirmative steps to maintain their integrity so as to warrant public confidence. They must act not only legally but also ethically. This Code of Ethics for Museums, therefore, outlines ethical standards that frequently exceed legal minimums.” What is the procedure(s) for the acquisition of artifacts by and for museums today? Just to compare two of many The Museum of Fine Arts Boston and The Metropolitan Museum of Art...
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...Running Head Coleman Art Museum 1 Case study, Coleman Art Museum Bellevue University MBA652: Marketing Strategy Dr Doug Davis 11/04/2011 Running Head Coleman Art Museum 2 Case Recap To start off , the museum has shown a loss for the previous three years, so Mercer and Smith were give the monumental task of finding why and turn it in the right direction. The museum has a good location and convenient parking, and even though the new facility was relatively close to its previous location the move may have changed the demographics plus the museum seems to have not changed their marketing approach. The museum is also faced with a hindrance, they can not display all their collections at the same time and they might want to rethink this process based on the demographics of the immediate areas. Giving more time to the certain displays taking in account everything from age to the ethnic background of the populous of the surrounding area. The bottom line in this entire case is that you have to address the important issues and exhibits that are most important to the community. Problem Identification First off that it took three years to identify...
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...funding of museums and art galleries. While there is an argument that they should be free to the general public and funded by governments, I also believe that there is also a case for saying that they should charge an entrance fee like other attractions. Those who argue that museums should be free typically make one of two arguments. The first argument is that institutions like museums are a public service and therefore there should be free access to the man in the street. If for example there was a charge only the wealthy could afford to enjoy works of art. The second, and related, argument is that if they did levy a charge fewer people would go to museums. This would be serious as they are educational institutions and standards would fall. In contrast, there is only one major argument on the other side of the debate. This is that both museums and art galleries need to charge an entrance fee if they are to survive in the modern world. Governments do not have sufficient funds to subsidize all such institutions and there are other priorities for public money. Therefore these galleries and museums need to charge their customers not only to survive but to update their exhibitions and make new purchases. By way of illustration, the Tate Modern in London could not have been founded without revenue from admissions. My personal position is that there is no clear answer to this question as there are such strong arguments on both sides. Perhaps it is possible for some museums and galleries...
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...better than a museum to see with his own eyes the evidences of all these evolutions? The Tellus Museum, situated in Georgia, is engaged to educate, and inspire visitors to make scientific connections through dynamic exhibits and enriching experiences. It is a Smithsonian Institution-affiliate natural history and science museum. Tellus was founded as the Weinman Mineral Museum in 1983, which closed in 2007 and was reopened as the Tellus Science Museum in 2008. If you decide to go to this museum, your tour will be focus on four permanent galleries. The first one is the Weinman Mineral Gallery to discover how the Earth was formed billions of years ago and to walk among hundreds of beautiful gems and minerals. Featured exhibits include more than fifty cases with a variety of gems, gold, and some Georgia’s most prized minerals. The second one is the Fossil Gallery. Stare into the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus rex, catch a glimpse of a saber-tooth cat and discover how life on Earth began in the Tellus Fossil Gallery. This walk through history will take visitors past millions of years of dinosaurs, reptiles and giant mammals that dominated the land, sea and air before becoming extinct. The third one is the Science in Motion. From Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to the Moon, the Science in Motion Gallery will propel visitors through 100 years of changes in transportation technology. Finally, if you decide to go there with your children the last part of the museum should please...
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...Will Hawkins is the Museum Coordinator at the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art, home of The Westervelt Collection. Mr. Hawkins graduated from Huntington College in Montgomery, AL with a degree in History. After college, he began working in the restaurant industry and continued for 15 years. While working in Tuscaloosa, he began volunteering with the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art, and shortly after, he was hired as a member of the staff and worked his way up to becoming the Museum Coordinator. The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art houses The Westervelt Collection comprised of approximately 1000 works of fine and decorative arts. The collection was amassed by Jack Warner as investments for Gulf States Paper, now the Westervelt Company. Operating under a nonprofit foundation, the museum was asked by the Westervelt Company to share its collection with the community. Being a collection that was pieced together simply by the tastes of one man, the Westervelt Collection is remarkably cohesive. Hawkins stated that's he is always amazed at the story told through the pieces of art. There are four paid staff members at the museum. Mr. Hawkins and Kathy Thurman are the only two professional staff members. The museum employs two part-time college students. Mr. Hawkins’s duties as Museum Coordinator include a very wide range of daily tasks. From handling the art to training docents and from scheduling tours to giving them himself, Hawkins’s day is packed with many different tasks. The museum has gone through...
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...The Ringling Museum of Art was worth the trip to visit. Prior to going to the museum, I assumed it was just a circus museum, but to my surprise, the Ringling Museum was much more to explore. It has a Museum of Art, Circus Museum, a historic home, an 18th-Century Theater and Bayfront gardens. I started my day going to the Museum of Art in the Searing Wing to see a special exhibit called “A Kaleidoscope of Color: The Costume Designs of Miles White.” The Ringling museum knew how to put a show together, but White knew how to convey it to the level of an artistic display using a pencil, a sketchbook, and his creativity. First of all, the first step was what pieces would go in the exhibit and what was the most significant thing to describe Mile White. According to the curator of this exhibit, it took her a couple of months to narrow down the checklist to arrange 48 drawing fit into two galleries. Along with the 48...
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... Art Museum Database By: For the past couple of years, a local art Museum has been collecting different art pieces from various artists. The Museum then displays the art throughout different galleries across town. The collection has significantly grown and it is now complicated for the museum to keep track of the many different artist and their different art pieces and collections, as well as where the art is located, whether it is stored in different galleries or the Museum itself. It is important for the Museum to develop a database that can keep track of the different art pieces, the artists, the different locations the pieces can be located and a total amount of pieces collected since it continues to grow at a very fast rate. The database will help the Museum substantially as well as the artists who create many various art pieces. Problems and Constraints The Museum continues to grow and it has become difficult for the manager and staff to keep track of the art collection. Not having a database that can tie the artist with his art and the location of it has caused the Museum to lose some of the different art pieces which in return equal financial losses to the Museum. Another problem the Museum continues to have is keeping track of when and where the art is being displayed. Most of the art is displayed for a period of time throughout the different galleries then either stored back in the Museum or, returned to the artist. It is important that the Museum is well...
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...The University Art Museum Case Analysis Suzana Duran MNGT 372 Professor Quimei Xu I. Relevant Facts/Background The Art Museum is a building on the university premises that is providing a place for the art collection of a university. The building was given to the university by an alumnus around 1929. The wealthy son of the university's first president served as the museum's unpaid director until his death. He brought a few extra collections to the museum during his service, and while serving as unpaid director, none of the collections was ever shown to anybody except a few members of the university's art history faculty. The university practically gave the position to amateur art supporter, Miss Kirkoff, after the director’s death. She used museum for academic purposes for the university alumni only. Miss Kirkoff cataloged the collections and carried out new gifts. The museum was remodeled to include an auditorium, library, and classrooms. The University Art Museum’s director, Miss. Kirkoff resigned after almost 50 years of working there. In September of 1998 new directorship has been passed on. New director used museum as community resource by which he meant that is open to everyone not just to the students at the university. That was the big problem for the students and the faculty at the University Art Museum. Classes and exhibitions lost interest with the students, and the last director was let go after three years of service. II. Problem Definition-Issues The...
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...The Museum of Fine Art I went to Boston in this spring break and I visited one of the largest museums in the United States, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. The Museum of Fine Art attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas. It is also the 54th most visited art museum in the world, and the twelfth most-visited in the United States, as of 2010. The Museum was founded in 1870 and opened in 1876, with a large portion of its collection taken from the Boston Athenaeum Art Gallery. There are tons of different exhibits; some temporary and some more permanent. I went to see some of the temporary exhibits- Degas and the Nude and Aphrodite and the Gods of Love. The permanent exhibits include items of Paul Revere, silversmith, which are really cool. Their early American collection represents a wide variety of art and arts, craft and crafts. I tend to love their artifacts collections. Their permanent modern art gallery is cool but for me, is not as strong as some of their other offerings, like their collection of priceless musical instruments from around the world, throughout history. Their permanent pan-Asian art gallery is strong for its location. I'm not a big fan of their restaurant, but their cafe is open, airy, and pleasant. The museum hosts art from all over the world and from all different eras like Asia, Oceania, Greece and Egypt, the Americas, and more...
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...Museum Paper Art 101 Starting my visit to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum I was unsure of the artifact that I would choose to write this paper about. I have been to the Smithsonian museums countless times in my life strolling about taking the exhibits for granted like the many other people raised in the Washington metropolitan area having virtiously unlimited access to them. I was prepared for another mundane visit to the museums, however this visit was different I saw many exhibits that I have studied recently in this class such as the Lascaux caves and other prehistoric art. I found myself engaged as never before as I searched the old halls for what would be subject of this paper an ancient artifact of my very own choosing. I decided on the Cypruss crossroads of civilizations exhibit located on the museums second floor. I was drawn to this exhibit mainly due to the two large stone statues at opposing ends of it’s narrow entrance doors. Upon entry I was amazed at all of the ancient original pieces most of which I can recall learning about in this class. I decided that I would pick a piece and snap a quick picture of myself proudly standing next to it, get the dimensions and backround and be on my way to an A paper in no time. I pulled out my digital camera and began to power it up when I was immediately advised by the museum security guard that I was not authorized to take pictures inside the exhibit due to the delicate nature of the artifacts. I...
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