My visit to the Guggenheim reminded me of an opinion that I expressed of museums in one of our previous seminars. I said that after the visit to the Brooklyn museum my group member’s opinion shaped my own and I ultimately believed that museums were scams. I would like to take back what I said. I believe my change in heart stems from what I saw in the Guggenheim v. what I saw at the Brooklyn museum. Like I mentioned, at the Brooklyn museum most of the exhibits seemed the same, it was as if they were all there to attract tourists rather than celebrate art. I noticed also that the Brooklyn museum emphasized certain cultures while ignoring others. Coincidentally the specific cultures that had their own rooms where one’s we are all familiar with, because we’ve learnt about them in school for the most part. This is one of the reasons why I felt the Brooklyn museum was just trying to get peoples’ money rather than honor the artist and their respective works of art. At the Guggenheim my faith in museums was restored. While observing the art I noticed that no one artist or theme was emphasized over another. Each floor spanned a number of artists using various styles of art. There was variety, and that is what I enjoyed most about the Guggenheim.

On a side note though, I have to agree with Christina and Anastasia about how some of the pieces didn’t seem like art because they were either unaesthetic or puerile in what they depicted. But on the other hand, in an odd interpretation, they are art. These pieces, as simplistic as they may seem, go against norms and are thus an innovation. Isn’t that sort of what art is?

Going back to my initial point, there’s something I noticed on the Guggenheim website which I found pretty commendable. It stated:

“Unlike most institutions dedicated to the visual arts, the Guggenheim does not divide itself into departments devoted to specific mediums or eras. Rather, the collection is conceived as an integrated whole that may be continuously enhanced in response to emerging talent as well as a mandate to fill in critical historical gaps.”

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/about-the-collection

If you asked me what art was right this moment I’d say the Guggenheim, and it is because of this quote. I personally believe that art is infinite, and once you start to constrain it to one style in a particular era than you have misrepresented art as a whole in that era. The fact that the Guggenheim is “continually enhanced to fill in gaps” shows that it celebrates the ever-changing nature of art. The Guggenheim is therefore an accurate embodiment of art itself.