Where Art is Now.

Not what, not who, not how, but where. Where Art is Now.

The MCA’s tagline is quick and cheeky—a definition of the contemporary that is comfortable, explicit, accessible, and, well, objectively true.

In 2011 the MCA Vision Campaign reformulated the museum’s mission to engage a wider public and include all visitors in contemporary art dialogues. The last paragraph of the recently revamped mission statement boldly dreams, “The MCA aspires to engage a broad and diverse audience, create a sense of community, and be a place for contemplation, stimulation, and discussion about contemporary art and culture.”

All the parts are there for a successful, radical contemporary by Bishop’s standards. The MCA will reach the people, not just the elites, and democratize not only the art itself, but the ideas, the concepts, the politics, the impacts that accompany each and every piece. The MCA marches alongside Bishop with fervor proclaiming the museum as the great convener. After all, if museums are “a collective expression of what we consider important in culture [offering] a space to reflect and debate our values” there must be a collective and present-minded our at the heart of its mission. The sweet, sweet contemporary discourse will not merely be generated, but be exchanged in a communitas unlike any other manifesting where else but…where art is now.

But the where is flawed.

What happens to discussion when the where amplifies any conversation to an uncomfortable echo suggesting whispering instead?

What happens to contemplation when the where’s clinical inaccessibility only furthers the viewer from the work, from the artist? How does one insert contemporary ideas and concepts in the liminal “unanchored hyper-reality of [the] architectural container”?

What happens to stimulation when the where’s temple-like staircase proves too intimidating? When the cold white walls are unwelcoming to touch, to lean on, to linger around?

Exterior View of the MCA Chicago

Exterior View of the MCA Chicago

These are the questions both the MCA and Bishop must eventually answer. Bishop begins to unpack what role architecture plays in the grand scheme of the contemporary describing the decrease of the architecturally determined museum as well as the concept of ‘starchitecture’ defined as when “the museum’s external wrapper [becomes] more important than its contents …leaving art with the option of looking ever lost inside the gigantic post-industrial hangars, or supersizing to compete with its envelope.” However, without positioning the function of architecture in relation to the contemporary approach/method, or its direct effect on the visitors, the new museological ideology cannot be fully realized, and more importantly, cannot be fully mobilized.

The paradoxical idea of the defetishized museum object is central to Bishop’s contemporary approach. In a promotional video for the museum, MCA trustee Helen Zell explains:

“[In the 1970s] I thought about the institution as a place I would go to passively look at pictures on the wall. Nobody talked to you, nobody engaged with you, you were just there with the art and that was nice. Back in 1970 that was fine. It’s not fine anymore…the 21st century museum is a whole different animal. It’s not just a place where you engage passively, its active, it’s exciting.”

As the MCA changes–as well as the concept of a contemporary museum–so too do the responsibilities of museums and the expectations the public places on museums. The contemporary cannot be the monologic, didactic history of museums, but rather the active, infinite experience of the viewer. For most exhibitions, the museum should read as a person not an authority, a possibility not a fact. This new found methodology grants agency and power to viewers, enabling them to introduce their own personal experiences and social knowledge into the pedagogy. While this shift from instilling knowledge to producing narratives is a beautiful output of radical education and an important repositioning of the viewer as participatory, the elitist and hierarchical environment of museum architecture does not reflect these values and movements. Rather, it only serves as a reminder of the hegemonic emergence and history of the museums.

Just as art is liberated from the silos of canon and chronology through contemporaneity, the viewer must be liberated from the hyper-formalized, historical environment of the museum to be fully contemporary. By no means must every white cube, wall, and plinth be destroyed or every temple-like staircase converted to an escalator. But what’s really radical about the environment of a museum like the MCA? As we end and begin a new mode of the contemporary each day, museum architecture emerges as the final frontier.

511 Comments

  • annareishus commented on November 12, 2016 Reply

    I love your final sentence: “museum architecture emerges as the final frontier.” I think that is an interesting and unique perspective relating to how museums view the contemporary. As the people and spaces strive to be more inviting, the monolith buildings that remind visitors of their unimportance seem to hinder the welcoming environment inside. Before you can taste the interactivity you must first muster the courage to step inside the temple doors, and I think the MCA is a particularly extreme example.
    The curation and presentation of art has changed so that the contemporary art gallery is more of an experience than a passive exhibition. In this definition, not every gallery at the MCA is contemporary; the art may be recent, but this quiet passive experience still exists. However, more and more exciting, performative, and interactive exhibits are creeping in to appeal to a generation of people who can’t be passive. In my opinion the internet has something to do with this; information is not one way anymore. People online can absorb and contribute information, so the antiquated one-way nature of museum galleries is breaking down as well.

    • Hadiya Sultan commented on September 14, 2023 Reply

      I completely agree with you, if we see today’s artwork there is a new perceptive of art now. Everything has changed with time and when I was in university I was used to participating in each art event and exhibition but now I have seen students are more into just competing for their number of assignments. Hence those students who are really interested in art prefer using Malaysia Assignment Helper so their academic work will be managed by experts and it will reduce the workload a lot so students can easily take art other activities like art exhibition and events.

  • Daniel Fernandez commented on November 15, 2016 Reply

    Solid analysis, Jane!

    I think your focus on architecture is well-founded, but I wish you would have talked a bit more about the internal vibe of the MCA. I seem to recall us having a conversation about how absurdly expensive lunch at the restaurant was, along with concerns that taking home part of the museum can often be an expensive prospect given the gift store prices. I wonder how those less explicit features may also undermine or complicate the MCAs vision of engaging a broad and diverse audience and engaging in a long-term discussion, contemplation and stimulation about contemporary art and culture more broadly.

    Overall, though really interesting read. You have such a wonderful writing style and do a great job of making complex, convoluted topics appear simple and digestable, hardly an easy feat!

    • Bussiness Sale commented on March 8, 2024 Reply

      This is a fantastic analysis, Jane! Your focus on architecture is insightful, and I especially appreciate your clear and engaging writing style.

      Strengths of the Analysis:
      Focus on Architecture: You acknowledge “the well-founded focus on architecture”. This validates Jane’s approach.
      Clear and Engaging Writing: You praise Jane for her “wonderful writing style” that makes complex topics “simple and digestable”. This is a significant strength.
      Adding Your Perspective:
      Internal Vibe: You share your interest in exploring the “internal vibe” of the MCA, including your conversation about “expensive lunch” and “gift store prices”. This adds a personal touch and raises an interesting point about accessibility.
      Accessibility and Engagement: You pose a thoughtful question about how these “less explicit features” may “undermine or complicate” the MCA’s goals of inclusivity and audience engagement. This opens the door for further discussion.
      Overall Positive Review:
      Interesting Read: Despite raising a critical point, you maintain a positive tone by acknowledging the “overall really interesting read”.
      Recommendation: The comment implicitly recommends the article by highlighting its strengths.
      Overall, your comment is insightful and engaging. It balances praise for Jane’s analysis with your own perspective, raising a thoughtful question about accessibility. This creates a well-rounded and interesting contribution to the discussion

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  • Carolyn Twersky commented on November 17, 2016 Reply

    “For most exhibitions, the museum should read as a person not an authority, a possibility not a fact.This new found methodology grants agency and power to viewers, enabling them to introduce their own personal experiences and social knowledge into the pedagogy”

    I found this line to be very interesting and something that we have looked at many times throughout the course. Where does the viewer come into all of this? Where does he/she belong in this new contemporary museum? I find the idea of humanizing the space to be more welcoming to the viewer very interesting. Good job.

    • Lowell Gibbs commented on October 20, 2022 Reply

      The curation and presentation of art has changed so that the contemporary art gallery is more of an experience than a passive exhibition. In this definition, not every gallery at the MCA is contemporary; the art may be recent, but this quiet passive experience still exists. However, more and more exciting, google

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  • Michael Kramer commented on November 22, 2016 Reply

    Jane —

    Personal confession: I loathe that marketing tagline for the MCA. But never mind, here’s a more important question that Lane Relyea might want us to consider: what are the deeper political and ideological urges lurking behind the new imperative to be active and engaged? Is it part of a radical democratization of the museum as an institution or a strange kind of new aesthetic that reinforces larger ideals of always having to be busy, productive, and active that arise within corporate capitalism. Is the MCA of the future to be a commons for civic engagement with art or an open-floor plan office from Silicon Valley? Some combination? Something else? I’m playing devil’s advocate here, but is there something lost when we give up on the museum as something more like a temple for more rigorous, serious, and stern contemplation? Finally, I am struck at the question of cost. A building, architecture are very very expensive. And necessarily set in place certain ideals. As the MCA undertakes a renovation in the coming years, it will be interesting to see what choices they make and how those choices play out ideologically as well as spatially.

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