Week 2: The Exhibitionary Complex and Spongebob Squarepants

In “The Exhibitionary Complex,” Tony Bennett describes the two different opposing opinions in exhibiting art and artifacts in museums. One view, also known as the Carceral Archipelago, saw the public gaze as a form of incarceration, similar to people incarcerated in prisons. The other view, the Exhibitionary Complex, views the display of art as a way to educate the public and spread knowledge of the artifacts. It seeks to teach self-regulation through spreading knowledge. While prisons have inmates are monitored but cannot return their own look, the Exhibitionary Complex has it so that everyone is self-monitored, where the subject and object are interchangeable. Museums are like “show and tell” that seek to incorporate the common people into the processes of the state .

Something that I saw that aligns with this article is the Spongebob episode “Band Geeks,” where Squidward and his more pompous rival Squilliam compete to see who can direct the better ensemble to play at the Superbowl performance. Here, Squidward has to expose his less-cultured sea creatures to instruments and the art of performing music, which in this episode has been set up as a skill only for those more educated. In this episode, the Exhibitionary Complex can be seen in action—by teaching his fellow sea creatures how to play instruments—and that no, horse radish is not an instrument—Squidward is educating them and giving them a newfound understanding of something previously seen as exclusive to those of high wealth or status.

Similar to how the Exhibitionary Complex revolves around the art in museums, in this episode, music is the art form that is being showcased. Unlike what Douglas Crimp suggests, the showcase does not confine nor imprison the art. Instead, this showcase opens doors and exposes music as an art form to populations beyond simply the rich and cultured.

Here is the clip of the final band scene from the Spongebob episode, “Band Geeks.” I couldn’t find the full episode, unfortunately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANk8xlsp1pQ

3 thoughts on “Week 2: The Exhibitionary Complex and Spongebob Squarepants”

  1. This was a funny comparison. I do think you have a point that exposing an art form to the populations is a good thing. However if the population of bikini bottom hypothetically practiced some other musical style that was considered less cultured it may lead to some of the issues Bennett discussed. This music style may be exhibited in some kind of museum as other worldly, why Squidward’s band style music would be considered the norm and would be able to be played at a prestigious event like the super bowl.

  2. I’m really digging the Spongebob reference. Perhaps Squidward takes more a Carceral Archipelago approach in his band leadership? I think his conducting is more regimented and disciplinary than a “show and tell” approach.

  3. I loved this episode of Spongebob, and I’ll shamelessly say that I love Spongebob in general (the older episodes that is) and I think it’s really cool that you were able to relate the reading to this. I would have never been clever enough to draw this connection, so kudos to you! You can definitely see the concept of exposing art to unexpected populations.

Comments are closed.