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<\/p>\nThis week\u2019s reading on the Exhibitionary Complex discussed the evolution of museums and its role as a public institution in a position of power to preserve heritage and educate people about it. The article reminded me of the recent appraisal LACMA received for the activity on its Snapchat account, where reporters discussed the comedic approach museum digital strategists used to engage users with their collections. Below are some of the funny snaps from their account:<\/p>\n
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To me, LACMA\u2019s approach to publicity is an extension of the concept of the Exhibitionary Complex. This complex is one that applies not only to museums, but to social media platforms and the desire to build a digital image, reputation and history. In the same way that museums were given a newfound power to \u201corder objects and persons into a world\u201d (pg 98), social media and marketing strategists have immense power to create an image for, and convey information about the organizations they represent. LACMA\u2019s use of slang and humorous references to youth culture arguably made museums more attractive to Snapchat\u2019s young user base, and connected them with the museum\u2019s information economy in an interesting way.<\/p>\n
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In addition, LACMA\u2019s use of Snapchat was a tactic to debunk the myth of fine arts appreciation as time-consuming, irrelevant and inaccessible- while I enjoy visiting museums, several of my friends think it is either boring, too abstract, or something they would simply not prioritize doing on a free afternoon. This reminded me of Bennett\u2019s commentary on the role of exhibitions and events as fulfilling \u201cshort term ideological requirements\u201d (93). Although museums have a fixed role and a permanent collection, they are able to make the institution relevant by putting on new exhibitions (for a limited time) that speak to current trends or recent historical events. This allows museums to be part of a larger conversation going on in the area\/world. Connecting this to LACMA\u2019s use of Snapchat, I think the move was part of the institution\u2019s recognition of trends in digital communication, and the flexibility the museum had to capitalize on such trends in spite of the traditional purpose they have.<\/p>\n
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Finally, LACMA\u2019s Snapchat move reminded me of Barthes\u2019 remark on the \u201chabitual divorce of seeing and being seen\u201d (97). In the article, Barthes describes the Eiffel Tower as the perfect example to illustrate the technology of vision- the site itself can be a site for a sight. Looking at the Eiffel Tower gives us one view, but visiting the Eiffel Tower gives us a bird\u2019s eye view of Paris that we otherwise might not have access to. In the same way, I think that LACMA\u2019s Snapchat account embodies this dual vision. We view museums as a site for the exercise of cultural capital, but social media strategists are using these traditional pieces to exercise their knowledge of youth slang. Attempting to caption the art so casually and unconventionally puts the art in a different light compared to what we might experience in a museum, and allows us to establish a more personal relationship with art even via our phones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week\u2019s reading on the Exhibitionary Complex discussed the evolution of museums and its role as a public institution in a position of power to preserve heritage and educate people … Continue reading “LACMA on Snapchat- an extension of the Exhibitionary Complex?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh150w16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}