Museums

Museums – over the past twenty years a lot has happened in the museum sector. Challenged by the new media and following the example of Guggenheim in Bilbao, there has been, however, a shift in focus away from content and much more towards iconic buildings as if that message alone is sufficient to attract visitors.

Those who advocate the cultural industries would seize upon Bilbao as an example which points the way forward, in order to have 'success' in terms of revival of local places, and this mainly due to a higher degree of tourist activities. This trend has forced museums to diversify away from their original mission to maintain and preserve the collection, and more towards becoming a place of entertainment. Indeed, cultural information is increasingly replaced by infotainment.

Along with that trend go some powerful claims even if museums cover up the fact of having illegal cultural artefacts in their collections. However, to exhibit stolen goods is like the pirate who cannot contain himself to show off what wealth he has amassed.

There is the case of the British Museum holding onto the so-called Elgin marbles, even though they stem from the Parthenon and have nothing to do with Elgin except that he blew them out of the Acropolis and transported them back to England. It is interesting that this renowned institution would insist on 'keeping' the marbles with the claim of providing better access to world heritage than if the marbles would be returned to Athens and be housed in the new Acropolis museum. Here a European Capital of Culture could look into this issue and mediate for stolen cultural artefacts are a part of Europe's heritage and once reassembled allow for the narration of a common history. Right now things are still broken down in terms of who presumes to be civilized while denying the same category to others. It means repeating the ancient category of the Greeks as to who they considered to be barbaric.

Any European Capital of Culture would have to dig deep into this question of museums as it touches upon what Foucault calls 'the archaeology of knowledge' and which could link to NEMO, the European Museum network ¹, and the two alternate museums being created to house the history of Europe.

Carol Becker would describe her childhood experiences in Brooklyn where she went to the museum as feeling free to roam about and to explore other places of the world. Museums can offer this chance to discover the world at one's own doorsteps.

Andre Malraux spoke about 'the imaginary museum' which each artist creates to make sure his works are shown together with all the other art works from which he received impulses to do his art. That means bringing together dedication and recognition. It can set the premise for a new school of thought about art in museums.

Hence it is a pity that the Museum for Civilization from Europe and Mediterranean opened up in Marseille 2013 ² but did not really initiate a new link between European and Mediterranean cultures. Rather its exhibitions are confined to the typical anthropological and ethnological categories, as if Mediterranean culture is solely defined through agriculture, religion, gender etc. It leaves out what Borges said that the Mediterranean is a part of the world has been a a source of inspiration for world literature. As such this regions contains still many hidden dimensions in need to be discovered.

Hatto Fischer

Athens July 2014

Footnotes

1Network of European Museum Organisers: http://www.ne-mo.org/

2For more information about MUCEM, see http://ecoc.poieinkaiprattein.org/european-capital-of-culture/Marseille-2013/mucem/

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