I recently watched a TED lecture * in which the philosopher Alain de Botton suggests that museum art should be viewed in much the same way as art in churches and other places of worship.  I do find the way some museums lay out their art puzzling, particularly those which insist on laying it out in ‘isms’, as some work is difficult to place and label in such a scheme. I like the idea of museums being like churches to art; however, de Botton’s suggestion is not without problems.

Value, Brand and Notoriety

I think the way in which we actually view art in churches and the way in which we view art in museums differs enormously. If I look at art in a church, it is not removed from its context or from the fabric from the building, the purpose of the artwork is clear. The work is usually there to tell the story of the gospels, or as a warning against various sins, etc. The beautiful lime wood altarpiece by Viet Stoss in St. Mary’s Basilica, Krakow is viewed, mainly, as a religious work. Thoughts are not generally turned to wondering what the piece is worth in monetary terms, or wondering about the life of the artist. It is unlikely that huge numbers go to Krakow just to see work by Viet Stoss, as they might if it was in a block buster museum show.  It is a religious piece and mainly viewed as such; value, brand and notoriety do not really enter into the viewing experience.

Viet Stoss Altar piece

In April this year the Tate Modern is to hold an exhibition of Damien Hist’s work. On view (free for the first few weeks) will be Hirst’s in/famous work,  ‘For the Love of God’  a diamond encrusted skull. The work apparently cost £14m to make, the debate goes on about how much it is worth as a work of art as there is confusion about who actually owns the work. No doubt the work will attract visitors to the Tate. The value of the piece (Hirst says it was sold in 2007 for £50m), the notoriety – the amount of media attention the work and Hirst have attracted – and the brand of ‘Hirst the Artist’ will be the main reasons many will take the trip to the Tate. Few will wondering about the meaning of the work.

In a museum setting it is very difficult to separate the artist from the work. The fame of an artist can cast a long shadow over his or her work. Often, the work itself has celebrity standing, this changes our relationship with the work. Would we view the Mona Lisa differently if the artist was unknown, and it was worth £250 ? Of course, we would. I often think that museums should exhibit recently discovered artwork by famous artists as ‘artist unknown’ just to see the media and public reaction, and then reveal the artist. This would test  what they thought of the work without the baggage of an artist’s brand.

Meaning

To look at art in museums in the same way as we look at art in churches would need a huge paradigm shift in our relationship with art, meaning would have to be clearly set out. In a church setting it is usually pretty easy for anyone with a basic understanding of the bible to work out what the art is about. This is not the case with art in museums, particularly abstract art. The French philosopher Roland Barthes claimed that once a work was finished the author/artist was ‘dead’, and that we should not try to guess the artist’s intentions or the meaning of the work. The artist Mark Rothko – labelled as an abstract expressionist – refused to give explanations for his work telling journalists that ‘silence is so accurate’. Placing such work in categories like beauty, love, etc. as de Botton suggests may be problematic as someone has to decide, what each painting means and where each painting belongs. This is very subjective, as my picture for beauty may not be yours.

Block buster art shows mean people go to tick off the art they fleetingly see in over-crowded museums; they go to see what a £30 million artwork looks like. The celebrity culture which now surrounds art, and artists has changed our relationship with secular art forever. We will never be able to see museum art in the same way as we see art in churches.

* http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0.html