Amelia Hazen
Museum Or Mausoleum?
Independent Field Study Research
March 2, 2012
Quantitative Research Assignment – In Search Of Gods
Introduction
The Western language of dominance, seen in all areas of past and present colonization, is
tied to a power struggle of spiritual and religious dominance. Western portrayals of
“primitive” societies almost always include the presence of magic, of the occult, of
superstition. In the eyes of Western civilization, this kind of spirituality is inferior to
more secularized, institutional religions. In fact, a common way that Western civilization
exercises its monopoly over culture is by showing other societies “afflicted” with
superstition or archaic beliefs in magic—this is interpreted as a “weak” society, therefore
putting Western society in a position of power by contrast.
This ideology is rampant in institutions such as museums; the De Young Museum
in part has roots in such ideologies. The California Midwinter Exposition of 1894
showcased a nostalgic, empirical, dominant Western creed in response to “the reality of a
continual, stubborn social disorder” that threatened the power structure of Californian
(and American) society in the 1890’s with its increasing economic, racial, and cultural
diversity.1 The De Young itself expresses the representation of the past in harmony with
the present; while honoring their century-old origins, they also sought to construct nonhierarchical galleries of an immensely diverse collection of objects. In its mission
statement, the De Young claims to maintain “a range of exhibitions of highest quality
which serve, are accessible to, and will draw broad audiences” as well as “the
environmental conditions necessary to preserve and protect art.”2 These goals, then could
conflict with the museum’s history as well as the overarching rhetoric of Western
dominance. Is the De Young equipped to deal with the eroding forces of ideas? At what
cost does it serve and provide access for “broad audiences” while still preserving and
protecting art? In other words, how does the De Young, an institution, reconcile an
institutional belief with its modern objective of providing fair representation?
Method
My research focuses on documenting the explicit representations of and references to
deities and religion. I wanted to examine the entire museum’s collection and compare
portrayals of gods and explicit religious context throughout different cultures and eras.
This would take into consideration the total number of pieces in a gallery versus the ones
that portrayed deities. It would also compare percentages of religious depictions between
the different collections in each exhibit. This was driven as a response to the observation
of religious symbolism in contemporary American art; I was curious to see the
differences, quantitative and qualitative, among the De Young’s other collections.
I knew that to examine the differences in these exhibitions, I was going to have to
narrow my focus to a very identifiable, specific quality about the objects that I was
observing. Therefore, I chose to take note of objects that a) specifically portrayed deities,
b) were clearly and expression or object of spirituality, or c) were used for explicitly
religious purposes. This included specific references to gods as well as objects that might
have been used ritually or in conjunction with religion and spirituality. Having already
briefly looked through some of the collections in the De Young, I realized that in order to
keep my research concise, I needed to use only very well known systems of religious
symbolism to identify religion’s context among the pieces I was studying. This was most
employed for interpreting contemporary art, in which there is a mix of abstract and
representational imagery, most of which was Christian. In addition, I considered pieces
about which there was more information provided that indicated if they were spiritual
objects or not. This was most helpful when examining galleries like the Jolika Collection
of New Guinea Art, in which religious symbolism, in the eyes of a Westerner, might not
be apparent.
There are many misinterpretations that it is possible for me to make. In the
context of contemporary art, I immediately recognize symbols that represent Christian
faith, as well as Greek and Roman mythology, because the culture that I have been raised
in has accustomed me to these images. Christianity is the predominant religion in my
culture and our society traces its roots back to Greek and Roman civilization. In contrast,
I am unfamiliar with the symbolic systems of other cultures, such as those in Africa and
the South Pacific. I will indicate the inclusion of “alternative” information, from museum
placards, readings, or lectures, when discussing my research.
Research
Throughout all of the exhibits that I studied, the percentage of god images or religious
objects in the galleries ranged from 5.9% - 24.0%. That means that between a fifteenth
and a quarter of all the objects on display were affiliated with religion or depicted deities.
There was not a wing that did not contain one or more pieces of religious content. The
majority of the museum, however, consists of non-religious imagery, a total portion of
about 74% - 95%.
The collection with the largest contingent of religious imagery was the Jolika
Collection of New Guinea Art, which constitutes the museum’s Oceanic Art Wing. It is
the largest single collection, comprised of 384 items on display, 92 of which containing
spiritual or religious reference, nearly one-fourth of the whole gallery. The objects
included were diverse: “cult hooks”, or tall wood or clay hooks used to keep food and
supplies out of the reach of rats or flooding; masks, which were used in rituals,
initiations, and spiritual ceremonies as embodiments of spirits, and often containing
animal symbolism; sacred flute ornaments and “bull roarers” (small planks of wood tied
to a cord and swung above the head), which were believed to invoke the voices of spirits;
house posts, which functioned like pillars at the corner of spirit-houses and were revered
for their inherent spiritual value; and spirit-boards, which were elaborately carved
wooden murals that depicted mythical scenes or beings. There was very little information
displayed or known about some objects, so some speculation was included in the
provided material, which considered the possibility of religious or spiritual function.
The rest of the galleries included religious imagery in the ranges of 16.4% - 5.9%.
I designated each percentage by the main, overarching collection that I collected data
under. For example, the museum doesn’t have Contemporary Art under a list of their
exhibitions (it falls under American Art) but it’s mainly comprised of private donations
and takes up a large portion of the first floor, a total of 73 pieces. Additionally, the Art of
the Americas wing consists of several different rooms that each displays a different
region of the Americas. There are enough pieces in each to comprise individual
collections in themselves, but I chose to account for them under one category (the 81 total
pieces of Inuit Art and 69 total pieces of Mayan Art are grouped together). The
Contemporary Art exhibits, of primarily American artists, had the highest percentage of
religious images after the Jolika Collection at 16.4%, which is nearly a sixth of the entire
collection. In comparison to the Oceanic Art exhibit, this is almost 10% lower; however,
in comparison to the other exhibits, the Contemporary Art wing is nearly 2% - 10%
higher in content of deity portrayals and religious affiliation than the other exhibits of
African Art and American Art, both located on the second floor. In the context of my
introduction, the Contemporary Art exhibit undermines the postulation that Western
culture contains less religious affiliation in art. That’s not to say that there aren’t
differences between the illustrations of gods or religion in Contemporary Art and Oceanic
Art. Over 50% of the art that qualified for religious content in the Contemporary Art
exhibit was two-dimensional, while all of the religious content in the Jolika Collection
was three-dimensional. Although the museum focused on the “aesthetic” properties of the
objects in the Oceanic Art exhibit, there were many more items for people to physically
engage for spiritual purposes, like flutes, masks, and amulets, than there were in the
Contemporary Art exhibit.
This trend continues in the Art of the Americas exhibits, where gods and religious
imagery was concentrated on functional objects, such as bowls and vessels. There are
very few exclusively two-dimensional representations of spirituality, as religious scenes
and gods are most often painted onto three-dimensional surfaces. In the African Art wing,
the same pattern is seen, with the most spiritual association seen in three-dimensional
objects that are supposed to be engaged physically. This directly contrasts the appearance
of god imagery in the American Art wing, where most of the three-dimensional items
were devoid of religious affiliation (these included silver collections, furniture, and
decorative commodities) and most religious symbolism appeared in two-dimensional art
(like paintings).
Considerations
Where and how religious images appear in these different galleries is important to
how this research is put into conversation with prevailing assumptions about art. It is not
the volume of religious images in each gallery, but rather how these images are
communicated, that determines how they factor into a larger picture. In the Contemporary
Art wing, as well as the American Art wing, most religious symbols were restricted to
two-dimensional pieces. In comparison to the other galleries, in which religious symbols
show up in three-dimensional art, this is a drastic change. It highlights the rigid
designation between function and form that is seen in the Western art displayed, and
which other exhibits were freed from. Western art sets is cultural boundaries between the
spiritual and the earthly by containing most of its spiritual art into two dimensions; most
other “functional masterpieces”, like silver, ceramics, and furniture, do not contain any
reference to gods or religion. In exhibits like the Art of the Americas wing and the
Oceanic Art collection, most explicitly religious objects are three-dimensional and meant
to be used, such as “cult hooks” and masks—which demonstrates a profusely integrated
spirituality within the craftsmanship of functional items.
Despite the research I have done on these collections, I am not claiming to have
found the best angle from which to challenge the institutional belief that non-Western
cultures are subordinate because of their involvement in superstition and spirituality. I
have demonstrated here that the frequency of religious content between Contemporary
Art and collections such as African Art and Oceanic Art is not consistent with this
assumption; if it were, Contemporary Art would contain the lowest amount of religious
representation, and it’s the second highest. However, we should continue to question how
art is put on display at the De Young and other art history museums. Particularly in the
African Art and Oceanic Art collections, it seemed that very little was definitively known
about the objects, so much of the supplementary information consisted of reasonable
speculation. To definitively analyze the relationship of religious symbols between
Western and non-Western art, more research needs to be done to accurately identify
religious symbolism outside of the Western systems of images. This was my primary
obstacle: identifying religious symbolism outside of the Christian, Roman, or Greek
vocabulary that I am so accustomed to. This is also in the De Young’s best interest.
While it is an institution that is supported by an elite culture, and benefits from private
input at a high economic and social level, it also serves the city of San Francisco as a
public arts museum, and therefore should provide ground that challenges Western
normality for an increasingly diverse audience.
Works Cited:
1. Barbara Berglund. “The Days of Old, the Days of Gold, the Days of '49”:
Identity, History, and Memory at the California Midwinter International
Exposition, 1894,” The Public Historian, 25.4 (2003): 27.
2. “About The Fine Arts Museums Of San Francisco,” De Young Museum, accessed
March 2, 2012, http://deyoung.famsf.org/about/about-fine-arts-museums-sanfrancisco