Midterm Assignment: The Museum Definition
Before hearing about the ICOM dispute, I always believed that museums were simply places to house artwork and historical artifacts for the public to learn about, and had no idea that there was ever an official definition, let alone a call to change the definition to something else. To me, both definitions seemed similar, and the differences seemed trivial. Though, after reading a bit more on the subject, I realized my mistake and found it fascinating. While both definitions might sound similar, they each have major implications for museum institutions around the world.
The main difference between the two proposed definitions is that one places museums in the position of researching, displaying, and educating the public about important artifacts and history, while the other definition suggests adding the burden that museums should be institutions that actively participate in social or political issues. According to Rick West, the president of the Autry National Center of the American West (how fitting a name!), who resigned from ICOM in June, the debate between definitions “reflects … fundamental, transformational earth-moving changes … taking place in museums.”
According to the original definition, which hasn’t been modified much since the 1970s, museums are, in order to qualify for the classification, nonprofit institutions “in the service of society” which exhibit “the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment.”
Polling approximately 900 of the council’s 40,000 members revealed that many institutions wanted an update and had an interest in engaging “with the urgent and global concerns of today” says Jette Sandahl, a museum director from Denmark in a phone interview with The New York Times.
After the committee went through the 269 proposed definitions, they decided on the ideal that museums are “democratizing, inclusive, and polyphonic spaces for critical dialogue about the pasts and futures.” The definition continues by stating that the aim of museums is to “contribute to human dignity and social justice, global equality, and planetary well-being.”
While I absolutely agree with the ideas and values in this newly proposed definition, which promotes racial equality and can foster political and social change, I do not believe they belong in a definition. As such, I think the original definition should remain in place. Just because I believe the original definition should remain intact, however, I do not mean that museums should not try to foster “social justice” and “planetary well-being.” Those are fantastic ways to get more people involved and make positive change.
François Mairesse, a museology professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, said it best when he told The Art Newspaper that he does not object to the values, but he felt that the new proposal “is not a definition but a statement of fashionable values …it doesn’t explain what a museum does.”
According to the Harvard Business Review, the purpose of a company or institution is distinct from its values. Values, typically laid out in a company’s mission statement, “describe the desired culture” of a company or institution, a “behavioural compass,” as Coca-Cola puts it. I think the new definition aligns more with putting up front the idea of values, rather than describing its purpose, as a definition should. “You couldn’t find this [new definition] in a dictionary,” states Mairesse.
Aside from language semantics, there are various practical reasons why this new proposed definition is not the best idea. First and foremost, were ICOM to ultimately decide to use the new definition from now on, it could unfairly affect various museums’ ability to acquire funding. Many government and private funders said that they would be more inclined to give museums money under a definition that clearly explains the museums’ role in global and social issues.
Klaus Staubermann, the head of the German branch of ICOM mentions that the German board had “concerns about the definition,” worrying that if they couldn’t clearly show that their institution was involved in the proposed values, it would leave their museums without necessary funding.
In March, ICOM France held a meeting titled “What Definition Do Museums Need?” in which Turkish museologist Burcak Madran warned the committee that this “polyphonic” definition could pose problems in authoritarian countries. In fact, five years ago, Madran attempted to open a similarly “polyphonic museum with Turks, Armenians, Kurds and Greeks” but things didn’t go well. Their museum closed its doors for good three months later.
Some disregard this new definition as being too political, but museums have always been political, regardless of the ways in which they are defined. A quick look at which cultures, sexes, and sides are represented more frequently illustrates this history. The biggest problem with the new definition is not politics; it’s that what ICOM proposes has the potential to put museums in too small a box, forcing them to fit into the new mold in order to maintain their status as a “museum.”
The word “polyphonic” literally means “consisting of many voices or sounds,” which, in the case of museums, would mean exhibits consisting of various cultures, all depicted in one cohesive collection. While it would be nice to have collections like this, it isn’t always feasible or even appropriate.
For example, Francois Mairesse says that “It would be hard for most French museums — starting with the Louvre — to correspond to this definition, considering themselves as ‘polyphonic spaces.’ The ramifications could be serious.”
The Louvre is a great example of a non-”polyphonic,” but still reputable and educational museum that should not be forced to change just because a new definition tells it to — it is one of the most esteemed, prestigious, and famous museums in the world, after all, with a history that goes back as far as 1190. The Musee du Louvre houses art of various media dating from the middle ages to 1848, as well as some contemporary art on exhibition occasionally.
While the museum houses a multitude of collections grouped into eight curatorial departments, the “Selected Works” on Louis XIV is a great example of how an existing collection cannot simply be made to fit into this new definition. This online collection features artworks relating to the Grand Siecle, Louis Le Grand (XIV), as well as the other major figures who “left their mark on art in the second half of the seventeenth century”
The collection consists of ten pieces in total. Two paintings, six sculptures, and two pieces of “decorative arts.” Seeing as most exhibits throughout the museum are about historical figures and events, it would be silly to say that the curators suddenly have to include depictions of other cultures just to fit this new definition. Specific to this collection, when featuring works depicting a single historical figure, including people, places, or themes unrelated doesn’t make any sense, and dare I say, has the potential to ruin the entire flow, meaning, and execution of the exhibit–online or in person.
Searching the Louvre’s online collection reveals that there are many more works depicting Louis XIV, so why not include them in this collection as well? Because the curators specifically chose these ten works that, in their view, best exemplify the ideas and historical significance of the historical figure. If curators go so far as to exclude works depicting the same person in an attempt to best show off that historical figure, it follows that they would not include a wider array of works showing other cultures, characters, and ideas. To me, at least, it doesn’t make much sense.
That’s just one example of how converting existing, “traditional” museums to be “polyphonic” wouldn’t work, and there are many others. Just look at almost any of the institutions that have been around for hundreds of years. While creating new museums to fit the other definition is entirely possible, obviously the number of existing museums far outweighs the number of potential institutions that would (or could) spring up after ICOM’s final decision.
Of the two, after reading countless interviews, articles, and looking at exhibits from many existing museums, I believe the original definition should remain in place. While the ideas in the new definition are nice, I maintain that they do not belong in a definition — maybe in a mission statement — and that museum institutions should be free to exhibit whatever work fits best, without the pressure of having to match a definition containing certain values that aren’t necessarily always possible to uphold with currently existing collections.
Bibliography
Anderson, Maxwell. “The Private Funding of Museums.” Apollo Magazine, August 27, 2019. https://www.apollo-magazine.com/private-museum-funding-david-fleming-maxwell-anderson/.
Debono, Sandro. “A New Museum Definition?” Medium | Sandro Debono (blog), August 20, 2019. https://medium.com/the-neo-humanist-museum/a-new-museum-definition-bb89bafda079.
Haynes, Suyin. “Why a Plan to Redefine the Meaning of ‘Museum’ Is Stirring Up Controversy.” Time. Time Magazine, September 9, 2019. https://time.com/5670807/museums-definition-debate/.
“History of the Louvre | Louvre Museum | Paris.” Louvre.fr, July 4, 2016. https://www.louvre.fr/en/how-use-louvre.
“How to Use the Louvre | Louvre Museum | Paris.” Louvre.fr, July 4, 2016. https://www.louvre.fr/en/how-use-louvre.
Kenny, Graham. “Your Company’s Purpose Is Not Its Vision, Mission, or Values.” Harvard Business Review, September 3, 2014. https://hbr.org/2014/09/your-companys-purpose-is-not-its-vision-mission-or-values.
Marshall, Alex. “What Is a Museum? A Dispute Erupts Over a New Definition.” The New York Times, August 6, 2020, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/arts/what-is-a-museum.html.
“Museum Definition.” ICOM. Accessed October 8, 2020. https://icom.museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/.
Noce, Vincent. “What Exactly Is a Museum? Icom Comes to Blows over New Definition.” Theartnewspaper.com. The Art Newspaper, August 19, 2019. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/what-exactly-is-a-museum-icom-comes-to-blows-over-new-definition.
“Polyphonic.” In Merriam-Webster. Accessed October 9, 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polyphonic.
Oxford Dictionary, adj. “Polyphonic,” accessed October 5, 2020
Salguero, Brenda. “Defining the Museum: Struggling with a New Identity.” Curator Journal. The Museum Journal, May 22, 2020. https://curatorjournal.org/virtual-issues/defining-the-museum/.
Solly, Meilan. “The Term ‘Museum’ May Be Getting Redefined.” Smithsonian Magazine, August 20, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experts-are-divided-over-proposed-redefinition-museum-180972943/.
Tse, Fion. “ArtAsiaPacific: International Museum Group Cannot Agree On Definition Of Museum.” artasiapacific.com. Art Asia Pacific, August 14, 2020. http://artasiapacific.com/News/InternationalMuseumGroupCannotAgreeOnDefinitionOfMuseum.
