I was recently in a museum committee meeting discussing acquisitions of art to the collection. A member stated we should acquire, “art that people want to see.” (I may be misquoting but it was something similar.) That statement stuck in my head and got me thinking. It also stimulated my tendency to overthink some statements—deconstructing the sentence and then analyzing each word and its potential meaning. As a museum Director and Curator, I know that such a requested task is riddled with both objective and subjective decisions. Follow my line of thinking here…
“Art”
Every person has their own parameters as to what they “like” or even what qualifies as art. It reminds me of a project created by the dissident Russian artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid as they attempted to discover what a true "people's" art would look like. Through a professional marketing firm, a survey was conducted to determine what Americans prefer in a painting; the results were used to create the painting America's Most Wanted—as well as least wanted. The project also studied other countries to determine what they did and did not prefer in a painting. It’s very interesting and you should check out the project at Dia Foundation’s website. https://www.diaart.org/exhibition/exhibitions-projects/komar-melamid-the-most-wanted-paintings-web-project
“People”
What people? Are they those that have the same background, beliefs, or race; from the United States; age group; educated in art or those who are less so; socio-economic status; or some other demographic? I hope you see my point.
“Want”
Often what we “want” or seek is that which is familiar. Personally, I like to be introduced to things that challenge me and surprise me, or see and experience things I did not anticipate. When I was a child, I wanted M&M’s and chocolate milk for dinner…to my delight and wellbeing, my parents introduced me to other things.
“See”
I like to think we see art first and then hopefully experience it second. Otherwise, it’s just eye candy.
Determining what art people want to see is a monumental, and perhaps, unattainable goal. It involves exposing people to a variety of art forms, perspectives, and even things that they didn’t think they even wanted to see. Who knows…they may like things other than sweet chocolate, if you offer it to them.
Patrick Kelly
Executive Director and Curator