Week 2

In “The Exhibitionary Complex” by Tony Bennett, when discussing world fairs there was a quote I found interesting regarding their “function less as vehvles for the technical educaton of the working classes than as instruments for their stupefaction” (22). I think with museums there is somewhat of a line drawn between what is educational vesus what is meant to amuse and entertain the masses. The need for a growth or consistancy in terms of visitorship often means curation of exhibits that will draw in the greatest numbers which does not automatically indicate a loss in educational value and purpose, but can do so. Regardless of the educational value of an exhibit, the self-celebrating quality of musuems which show human acheivments seems clear. The prestge associated with various museums of art and the pieces they display are in themselves evidence of a culture that places value in its own productions. To clarify, the issue of what is art versus what is an artifact is part of this. For example, the museum in my hometown has a number of famous pieces of art and photography from Western artists reflecting the history of the county. In a comletely separate exhibit are the pieces of Native American history that were likely originally taken without permission. The separation of cultural identities to both self-congratulate and almost voyeuristically speculate is definitely problematic. Though perhaps done to educate the masses on the history of the Native American peoples in the are, the exhibit was advertised as something exotic with if I recall correctly a tagline about entering another world suggesting the kind of alien nature of another culture. The need to create the sense of stupefaction to draw in visitors to celebrate what is not their own is problematic and undermines the value of the museum experience.