Museums Past and Present

Today on NPR, "All Things Considered" examined the origins of the museum in the United States. Even though I am a museum professional, it surprised me to learn that if you added up attendance figures at major leagues sports--about 140 million--it would not top the 840 million people who annually visit museums. Of course, we don't get paid nearly what those professionals get paid! The article goes on to cite the "boring" factor of museums, the ambiguity of their place in the educational infrastructure of the country, despite Philippe de Montebello, the outgoing Director at the Met, calling them the "memory of mankind."

It has been the educational mission of museums, I think, that has in part led to their "boring" reputation. In 19th-century England, art museums were conceived of as educational institutions to improve the lot of the working classes, who were supposed to visit the National Gallery to improve their minds and therefore their stations in life. While the language, and the missions have certainly changed, museums have not quite shaken the patronizing reputation of "we're good for you." We used to laugh, in our Chicago museum education basement, that we were the vegetable at the buffet of recreational choices. Who would come see what was good for them when they could have a tasty hot dog at Wrigley Field? Children are taken on field trips to museums where they are sometimes, even now in what I considera heyday of museum education, subjected to long-winded docents and boring worksheets. Adults, who experienced the same as children, feel as if they don't know enough to go to museums, or, that if they go, that they have to learn something while they are there. Enjoyment, until recently, has played little part. No one questions the enjoyment factor of major league sports; that is one of their primary missions.

But those same working classes who were encouraged to visit the National Gallery in London to improve their minds, also went to have fun. Records indicate that they often picnicked in the galleries or brought their children there to play on rainy days. How do we know this? The people in charge of the National Gallery testified before Parliament about the unacceptable behavior of the working classes. Public exhibitionary culture was in its infancy and what eventually became proper, quiet, focused, "boring" museum behavior had not yet taken hold. Museums and exhibitions (just think of the Crystal Palace of 1851 or the cartoons in Punch) were still very much exciting, social, fun places. But it is happening again, thanks to museum professionals thinking outside of the academic box about exhibitions, audiences, programs, and amenities. Museum professionals are injecting life into these "boring" institutions and obviously the public has responded.