Museums Matter
In Praise of the Encyclopedic Museum
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
The concept of an encyclopedic museum was born of the Enlightenment, a manifestation of society’s growing belief that the spread of knowledge and the promotion of intellectual inquiry were crucial to human development and the future of a rational society. But in recent years, museums have been under attack, with critics arguing that they are little more than relics and promoters of imperialism. Could it be that the encyclopedic museum has outlived its usefulness?
With Museums Matter, James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, replies with a resounding “No!” He takes us on a brief tour of the modern museum, from the creation of the British Museum—the archetypal encyclopedic collection—to the present, when major museums host millions of visitors annually and play a major role in the cultural lives of their cities. Along the way, Cuno acknowledges the legitimate questions about the role of museums in nation-building and imperialism, but he argues strenuously that even a truly national museum like the Louvre can’t help but open visitors’ eyes and minds to the wide diversity of world cultures and the stunning art that is our common heritage. Engaging with thinkers such as Edward Said and Martha Nussbaum, and drawing on examples from the politics of India to the destruction of the Bramiyan Buddhas to the history of trade and travel, Cuno makes a case for the encyclopedic museum as a truly cosmopolitan institution, promoting tolerance, understanding, and a shared sense of history—values that are essential in our ever more globalized age.
Powerful, passionate, and to the point, Museums Matter is the product of a lifetime of working in and thinking about museums; no museumgoer should miss it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In these elegantly composed and provocative essays (which originated as lectures at Rice University), Cuno, CEO of the Getty Trust, takes on postmodern and postcolonial critiques of the encyclopedic museum as instruments of imperialism and state control to argue that, on the contrary, museums such as the Louvre and the British Museum are rooted in the humanistic, cosmopolitan values of the Enlightenment. They are treasure houses of art and artifacts representing cultures from around the world, encouraging viewers from diverse backgrounds to understand varied cultures. For Cuno, the encyclopedic museum is a place for individuals to find the unexpected and understand the context in which it was created. He makes his case persuasively, and in the last chapter deftly counters ideological critiques of these museums as symbols of state and imperial power. As in his previous book, Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage, Cuno views art as our common cultural heritage, to be seen in the context of human values rather than theoretical academic critiques. 4 color and 10 b&w illus.
