FA 86B Museum Studies
Spring 2015
Instructor: Prof. Nancy Scott
Tu- Friday 12:30 – 2:00 PM Block S3
Scope of the course: This is an Experiential Learning curriculum with research and
writing components. The design and planning also involve many hands-on exercises and
reporting, with writing of analysis and overview essays. Observation and data-collection,
perhaps some interviews, will aid your investigation of the art object in diverse museum
contexts, and the study of the foundation and evolution of specific museum collections.
The course readings place emphasis on historical and theoretical approaches to the nature
and mission of museums both as institutions and as the result of specific donations and
focused collections. We also consider the many ways an audience learns from art. New
practices, such as Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) demonstrate innovative ways of
opening the work of art to analysis, and accommodation of multiple learning styles. Our
goal is to privilege the work of art, and to analyze how these occupy the variety of spaces
we may call ‘museums.’ The course will be an innovative examination of learning by
doing, both in its process and product.
Best preparation will be in the Fine Arts Majors and Minors, or those with a very strong
interest in art from related fields such as philosophy (Aesthetics), European Cultural
Studies, or Anthropology. Some background in art history is critical, however, we hope
to give preference to Juniors, and then other classes. Please discuss your own
preparation with the instructor, as enrollment will be limited to 15.
Process: The objectives: to learn about the history of museums and collections to
research specific works of art in the Rose Art Museum collection; and to make a series of
comparison studies of other museums in the area, with particular emphasis on mission
statements, the scope of their collections, and installation and display methods. Finally,
these exercises and readings will come together in a team-organized thematic grouping of
works of art as planned in mock installations for the Lee Gallery at the Rose Art Museum.
Class time will be filled with on site observation, museum visits, discussion of readings,
viewing of exhibitions, readings and discussion of museum architecture and the
presentation of works of art. We are also privileged to have the close link to the
programs and personnel of the Rose Art Museum, and will have specialists speak to the
class. We have planned three area museum visits during the semester.
Educationally, our common purpose is to see and learn from works of art in their fullest
context, comprising serious scholarship, the art and craft of presentation, care of physical
condition and conservation, and the history transmitted through public viewing in specific
locales.
Product: Grade computation and course requirements: Class participation and one time
discussion/ readings facilitator—10% ; MidTerm Research and Presentation: 30%;
Small Projects—3 papers/ exercises--20%; Final presentation =40% (inclusive of
20% class presentation of project).
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Class readings: Suggested bibliography at end of syllabus; weekly readings in each
module of the syllabus. All articles are posted on LATTE, and there is no set textbook
for the course.
One publication is suggested, but not required for course readings:
Newhouse, Victoria. Art and the Power of Placement ((2004). Readings throughout.
Weekly topics and assignments:
Session #1) Tuesday January 13
Introductory session
Scott
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Module 1
Overview of the course: Description: areas of expertise. Small assignments, midterm
project and the final capstone projects.
Inquiry: Students’ range of experience (index cards);
Final culminating project.
Objectives:
We hope to encourage broad thinking about the role of collections and
objects in museums, the ways museums have been formed historically; their stated
mission and purpose; writing about art, museums and the architecture of museums.
The student in this class should learn about the care, conservation and storage of art
works; about installations, curating, and how to research specific works of art in the
collection—related to this: the importance of authentication and provenance; archival
research.
We will explore the ‘presence of art’: from the artist’s studio to the vault/ storeroom/ to
the museum wall: “Every picture (or object) has a story to tell.”
Topic A) The Object and its Context: -Detection, examination (examples of close
looking, material and visual analysis; starting with the object, posing questions.
slow analysis, posing questions to the object--what is it? what does the artist tell us? what
are its origins?
[NS] Presentation on Edgar Degas, The shoals of interpretation:
Mon tableau de genre (Le Viol) 1868.
Friday January 16
Module 1
Reading Assignments: For class discussion:
On Museums. Kim Rorschach, Director Seattle Art Museum.
‘Why do Universities have Museums?’ PDF of lecture delivered in Nov. 2004.
NS lecture “The University Art Museum: Archive, Laboratory or Mausoleum?”.
First delivered at Oxford University, Lady Margaret Hall, July 2007.
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Weekly topics and assignments:
Scott
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January 20-23
Jan 23: Meet at the Rose Art Museum.
Museums, collections and their mission.
*Carol Duncan, “Art Museum and the Ritual of Citizenship,” from Karp and
Lauter, Exhibiting Cultures (1991), pp. 88-103.
Friday: Origins and Objects – What makes a museum?
*Elaine G. Heuman, “What is the Object of this Exercise?” In Reinventing the Museum,
Ed. Gail Anderson, pp. 269-83. On LATTE.
*Bredekamp, Horst. The Lure of Antiquity and the Cult of the Machine: The
Kunstkammer and the Evolution of Nature, Art, and Technology.
Chain of History, pp. 11 -36.
● Wunderkammer to the art museum. Purposes and vision of assembling
collections; local or national pride? Princely, ethnographic or other treasures?
Reading: *V. Newhouse, Art and the Power of Placement Introduction pp 8-41.
Week 4-6) TOPIC B History of Museums: Public, Private collection, University art
museum.
January 27-30
Origins and History of Museums
Tuesday January 27th Professor Charles McClendon “Rome, Museums and
Politics”
Reading: William Tronzo, "The Cortile delle Statue: Collecting Fragments,
Inducing Images," The Fragment: An Incomplete History, ed. W. Tronzo (Getty Research
Institute: Los Angeles, 2009) 39-59.
Friday, January 30th. [NS]; European Museums; The American Museum Movement,
part 1.
● ‘First’ 19th century American auction: Early history of American museums,
foundational programs of the Boston, New York and Washington DC museums—
how the collections started, and what were their aims?
*Calvin Tomkins, Merchants and Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum, pp.
15-59.
February 3-6: Private collections become public
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1) The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boston (opened to the public 1913);
Weekly topics and assignments:
Scott
p. 4
2) The Frick Collection New York (open to the public in 1931); 3) The Barnes
Foundation “Art is no trivial matter...” (Dr. A.C. Barnes quote; opened, then closed to the
public 1925).
Anne Higonnet, A Museum of One’s Own: Private Collecting, Public Gift (New
York, 2009), Ch. 3
“Homes for History,” pp. 81-96.
An Educational purpose: The Barnes Foundation in Merion, PA, is today re-built
and re-installed in Philadelphia. A foundation for education, not intended as
museum. History, origins, the controversy.
Readings: *Panero, ‘Outsmarting Dr. Barnes,’ Philanthropy 2011, pp. 12-19, 64-67.
Wattenmaker, ‘Introduction’ American Paintings in the Barnes Foundation, 1251.
*Newhouse, Victoria: Art and the Power of Placement. “Complexities of Context,
pp. 42-107.
Forming collections:
*Cynthia Saltzman, “C’est Mon Plaisir”, chapter From Old Masters, New Worlds (2008).
Optional chapter: Gardner Museum, and the acquisition of Titian’s Rape of
Europa.
Recent paradigms: Sharing collections: Fisk University, the O’Keeffe bequest of the
Stieglitz Collection in 1949, and the current controversy: Enter the Crystal Bridges
Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.
February 10-13:
Conservation, the siting of sculpture, current installations, the Light of Reason project
(Chris Burden).
Rose Art Museum (Talks by Chris Bedford and Mei An (brief intro by Kristin Parker.)
- Demonstrations of the object in its various roles as studio production, in the exhibition
context; artists transcending traditional ideas of object-hood, site specificity, relational
aesthetics, etc.
Reading Assignment - preparation for Rose Art visit.:
*Bourriaud, Nicolas: Relational Aesthetics. “Relational Form”, pp. 11-24.
Museum trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on February 13th. Van leaves
campus at 12:20 PM sharp. Museum Visit
Friday—class visit to the Gardner Museum, Boston, including new addition by
Renzo Piano.
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Weekly topics and assignments:
Scott
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Assignment #1: Due Friday, February 13th. Choose a work from the Rose Art
Museum permanent collection on view in the Lee Gallery (COLLECTION IN
FOCUS), or from a selected list.
. Read and analyze the object file. * Guideline details to be posted on Latte.
Response paper.
* Conservation notes & re-framing; condition reports and care; travel, expense;
correspondence; provenance; notes from the artists. Explore and describe the
responsibility of the museum.
Winter Break : February 16-20, 2015
O’Doherty, Brian. Inside the White Cube; The Ideology of the Gallery Space.
Introduction, pp. 7-12; I: Notes on Gallery Space, pp. 13-34: II: Spectator and
Eye, 35-64.
TOPIC C Learning from Art. Visual Thinking in the Museum: Analysis and Skills.
February 24-27th : What are the different aspects of interpretation in museums? How
does the museum context inflect the reception and interpretation of works of art? How
does a work in context “tell a story”? How does the museum shape various messages?
we will explore the different aspects of interpretation in museums and discuss major
principles underlying interpretation in the museum context. We will also experience and
reflect on a major inquiry-based educational method, Visual Thinking Strategies, and
discuss museum interpretation and education broadly.
(* Reflections on the gallery files assignment. Tuesday, February 24th after the break. )
Suggested: Victoria and Albert Museum, British Gallery Text Guidelines, pp. 449 (within larger pdf file). * Alternate text may be added.
*Philip Yenawine/ Danielle Rice, “A Conversation on Object-Centered Learning
in Art Museums,” Curator October 2002 (45/4).
March 6th (*Tuesday Mar 10th class saved for any overtime presentations)
Friday class will be devoted to oral presentations; papers (5 pages length) to be
submitted at this time.
Detailed guidelines on LATTE: Teams of two students pair off to research and gather
information on one civic museum and one college or university museum. An extensive
checklist for this investigation will be posted.
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Weekly topics and assignments:
Scott
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You might consider either recently opened to the public (Colby College, Maine) or one
with recent renovation or re-construction (Harvard Art Museums, MFA, Gardner). For
the civic museums, you can choose from a wealth of those recently opened within the last
five years in the Boston area, such as the MFA American Wing or the ICA.
Your mission will be to collect data on the architecture, the museum mission, the size of
projected audiences, the permanent collection, size and exhibition visibility; purposes of
new construction; how mission/ programming needs are highlighted for space design.
Reading Assignments prior to first museum visit:
*Peter Linnett, “Focus on the Detroit Institute of Arts: Reinstallation Rorschach,”
Curator 33/1 , pp. 5 -12.
March 20th - Class visit to the ICA, Boston.
Readings: Reflections on Linnett, and the MFA tour.
*Terry Barrett, Interpreting Art. Reflecting, Wondering, and Responding. (New
York: 2003), ch. 8.
Assignment #3: Due Tuesday March 15: using a work on view in the Rose,
write a wall label according to the distributed guidelines. Evaluate each other’s labels in
class.
TOPIC D) Museums and Ethics
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Museums and Ethics
Part I Who owns the past? Models for histories of marginalized people, ethnicities.
Higonnet, pp. 104-06; 117-121.
*“The Plundered Pot: Euphronios Krater” and the Metropolitan Museum (1970s);
with a 2008 finale.
Part II Who owns the museum? Provenance studies, de-accessioning issues.
N. Scott, “When the Unthinkable Happens: Fault Lines and Horizon Lines at the Rose
Art Museum,” Academic Museums and Beyond: Campus and Community, VOL II.
Current news items on the Detroit Institute of Arts.
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Weekly topics and assignments:
Scott
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Week 12 “Ethics and Conservation”
READING: *James Janowski “The Moral Case for Restoring Artworks,” Ch10, in
E King and Gail Levin, eds. Ethics and the Visual Arts (New York, 2003).
Museums and Ethics— Part III: Four case studies (two to be chosen by students for
discussion)
- Breaking the will or indenture of famous collections left to the public (Barnes/ O’Keeffe
at Fisk); Video: Art of the Steal on the Barnes Foundation prior to the new museum.
Fakes and stolen art: Hans van Meegeren video;
Looting and sales of art in France at the onset of WW II; * Lynn Nicholas, The Rape of
Europa, ch 5 on France, “Lenity and Cruelty,” pp. 115-151.
Current debate in antiquities (Getty, MMA, Boston MFA, etc.)
*Related topics to be explored: fate of the Elgin Marbles—who should own
antiquities? —British Museum or the new Greek museum on the Acropolis, designed by
B. Tschumi. Marion True essay -the Getty Kouros.
Assignment #4: Due March 31st. Analysis: objects in context.
Choose two work of arts, and examine the museum’s choice in displaying two works of
art together in a wall installation. Are the works installed in different contexts to convey
a range of meanings? Write a visual analysis of a section of the installation. Use the
tools of analyzing the individual work of art, and evaluate the dialogue between works.
Topic E) Museum spaces and architecture: ideology of presentation
Week 13 (Week of Assignment 4).
- The clean well lit space; narrative histories; ‘open ends’
Reading Assignments:
*Carr, “The Museum is an Open Work,” on LATTE.
V. Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, “Chinati Foundation,“ pp. 113-18;
[See also www.chinati.org]
“Museum for Jackson Pollock,“ pp. 130-32.
Museum Visit-- the new Fogg Art Museum. Third visit on Friday April 17th.
Museum Design
- Case study [NS]: MoMA, its original design and evolution—From the Alfred Barr ‘flow
chart’ to installations of the Rubin and Varnedoe years, to today’s new Yamaguchi
building and global presentations—undermining hierarchies—institutionalizing the
‘modern’; Controversy over the projected MoMA destruction of the Museum of
American Folk Art by Tsieh and Williams (won 2001 design award).
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Reading Assignment: The MoMA controversy up to the current time.
*Jed Perl, “Arrivederci MoMA” The New Republic, February 6, 2006.
Weekly topics and assignments:
Scott
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*Brian O’Doherty, IV: Gallery as Gesture, 87-108.
- Part two: New museum buildings around the globe- Bilbao to the ICA: Architects
Gehry, Diller + Scofidio, Zaha Hadid.
*Newhouse, Victoria. Towards a New Museum, ch. 6, “Museum as
Entertainment,“ pp. 190-216 [focus on Getty Museum].
*Article: Sirefman, Susanna: Formed and Forming: Contemporary Museum
Architecture.
Spring/ Passover Break – April 3-10, 2015
Week 14 April 14-17
- Part 1) New paradigms and the role of the contemporary museum: Artists reflecting
upon museums.
- Part 2) A look at international art exhibits, -- Documenta, Biennales, art fairs, etc.
-Part 3) Art fairs.
Guest lecturer (tba): Director Rose Art Museum: Art biennale and fairs.
Reading Assignments:
*V. Newhouse, “Museum as Environmental Art,” pp. 220-59 [focus on Libeskind,
Berlin- Gehry, Bilbao].
Week 15 April 21-24
- The new roles of the museum within society: curricular focus, education outreach, and
community programs
Friday- Tuesday Possibly dates April 24th and 28th (or one longer consolidated class,
to be decided): Last week of instruction. Presentation of term projects,
See Final Guidelines posted on Latte/ Module 15.
The final assignment will require that you combine the organizational and conceptual
skills inherent to mounting an exhibition with the theoretical and historical research skills
required for writing a catalog essay. The class will divide into two groups, and each
group will plan a small exhibition for the Rose's Lee Gallery drawn from the museum's
permanent collection. Each exhibition will be presented on paper in the Lee during the
last two meetings of the course. Details are in the guidelines for the final assignment.
This assignment will have component parts, and there should be an ongoing portfolio that
documents the works of art you have prepared, with accompanying essay, and
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bibliography consulted. Each student should design, in discussion with the instructors, a
thematic, analytic focus for her/ his exhibition.
Portfolio: All students must turn in final portfolio by presentation day on April 28th, or
the Study Day of the Spring semester term. Major project should reflect an exhibition
theme or focus. Guidelines posted on LATTE.
For the rest of portfolio: This should be a summary compilation of the specific
assignments, plus any blogs or journals written in response to class trips, independent
observations or discussions. Collection of all the various assignments, plus documents on
object observation, museum pamphlets with commentary, ideas for future exhibits may
be portfolio material.
Details of course requirements:
Class participation—10% Good attendance and active participation are key to keeping
your grades high. Each assigned reading in the syllabus will be available on LATTE, and
will be discussed in class; ideally with a student discussion leader for each reading. The
assignments will be matched with discussion leaders who work in conjunction with the
instructor. Key questions about the assignments will also be posted in advance on
LATTE, and you will be responsible to respond with your answers and concerns in
advance of the class meeting.
Discussion leader/ readings: 10% Each student will take a turn helping to organize and
lead the class discussion on specific readings. The goal is to provide a student’s view of
the key ideas that emerge, to anticipate questions that may arise among the class, and to
evaluate the importance of the reading.
Small Projects—There are 3 small papers/ exercises-- due throughout the semester.
Total percentage—20%
Final Presentation—Due April 28th. The final portfolio of your ‘exhibition’ will be the
culminating product of the semester’s work. Due with the presentation by Friday April
25th or Tuesday April 28th. This should be an ongoing portfolio that documents the
works of art you have prepared, with accompanying essay, and bibliography consulted.
Each student should design, in discussion with the instructors, a thematic, analytic focus
for her/ his exhibition.
Detailed guidelines to be posted on LATTE.
Total percentage-- 40% (inclusive of 20% class presentation of project)
Summary Requirements= completion of all requirements needed for course grade:
1. Final project consisting of museum essay, and group presentation of your virtual
exhibition.
2. class attendance—no more than two cuts, please: Planning for our museum visits
is particularly dependent on an accurate attendance list.
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3. Midterm comparative study on types of museums, and in-class brief report.
4. Submission of all three short assignments.
5. Leading class discussion at least once--relevant reading assignments have an
*asterisk in weekly readings.
Course Regulations:
Regular attendance is crucial to the success of this course. Please notify me beforehand
(preferably at least a day ahead) if you are not able to come to class. Absence will be
excused only by a family emergency or medical reason. More than one unexcused
absence will seriously affect your grade. The same holds true for weekly assignment
deadlines.
Plagiarism is not tolerated at Brandeis University. You are responsible for
understanding what constitutes plagiarism as stated in the University guidelines published
in the Bulletin. This definition comprehends turning in the same work for two different
classes, and that is certainly not allowed under our University regulations.
N. B. Extensions will not be granted via e-mail; you must speak with the instructor in
person about any missed deadlines, or anticipated issues involving an extension. Should
you have an unavoidable medical or family emergency, please present a written note with
your stated reasons. This will protect your privacy as well as keeping us informed of
conditions.
Bibliography
Anderson, Gail. Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on
the Paradigm Shift. Lanham, Maryland: Altamira Press, (a division of) Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004.
Barrett, Terry. Interpreting Art. Reflecting, Wondering, and Responding. New York:
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003.
Bennett, Tony. The Birth of the Museum; History, Theory, Politics. Milton Park,
Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2005.
Bourriaud, Nicolas: Relational Aesthetics, Les presses de reel, 2003.2
Bredekamp, Horst. The Lure of Antiquity and the Cult of the Machine: The Kunstkammer
and the Evolution of Nature, Art, and Technology, [M. Wiener Publications, 1995].
Buskirk, Martha. The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2003.
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Carbonell, Bettina Messias. Museum Studies; An Anthology of Contexts. Malden,
Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004.
Higonnet, Anne. A Museum of One’s Own: Private Collections as Public Gift (2009).
McClellan, Andrew. The Art Museum: From Boullée to Bilbao. (2008).
Newhouse, Victoria. Art and the Power of Placement. New York, New York: The
Monacelli Press, Inc., 2005.
________________. Towards a New Museum. New York, New York: The Monacelli
Press, Inc., 1998.
O’Doherty, Brian. Inside the White Cube; The Ideology of the Gallery Space. London,
England: University of California Press Ltd., 1986.
Putnam, James. Art and Artifact; The Museum as Medium. New York, New York:
Thames & Hudson Inc., 2001.
Reff , Theodore. “Degas: ‘Tableau de Genre’ [orig: The Art Bulletin, Vol 54, no. 3, Sept.
1972, pp. 316-37. Reprinted in The Artist’s Mind pp. 200-38 (Harper: 1976).
EXTRA READINGS cut from last syllabus:
S. Sidlauskas, “Resisting Narrative: The Problem of Edgar Degas’s Interior,”
The Art Bulletin, Vol. 75, no. 4, Dec. 1993, pp. 671-96.
NS “Submerged: Arthur Dove’s Goin’ Fishin’ and its Hidden History”
forthcoming in Word & Image (2007).
[Alt: A. Frankenstein. After the Hunt, article on mixed hands of Peto and
Harnett.]
Fun article!
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