Immersive ‘Art’ Museums: Cultureless Playgrounds
The many roles of art museums has always been to display, preserve, educate, and interpret works of art. Depending on the type of museum (i.e. contemporary, modern, Latin-American, etc.) the interpretation and type of collection varies, yet the concept of creating a space for the public to reflect, learn, and discover still stands.
The introduction and popularity of ‘immersive museums’ is an indicator that art museums are no longer an interest to the general public. Immersive museums like Superblue or the new Balloon museum in Miami are gaining more traction. Why is this? And why is it even called a ‘museum’?
Immersive museums do not teach anyone anything. They are mindless photo-op playgrounds.
The concept of a museum, which this ai generated definition missed, is the concept of escaping said society. A museum, much like a place of worship or library, is a space that allows for an easy escape from true society. When you step into a museum, no matter what era, country, or medium the museum specializes in, you are escaping true society and stepping into a curated reflection of a society. This, in theory, is supposed to change your view on at least one aspect once you step back into true society.
Curators, for the most part, are now hanging works of art in a blank room and writing a curatorial statement that the general public can’t understand, let alone the art school kid who pretends to understand it.
The Rubell Museum, a collection I respect, has tried to compete with these immersive art museums; The Yayoi Kusama mirror room in 2017 was popular for a bit.
I mostly blame curators for this. Curators must curate the space and the art; not either or. As for the curatorial statements, most gravitate towards political and cultural concepts the general public does not acknowledge, while the language is almost always written in a way that no one can fully grasp.
The Futurist Manifesto of 1909 stated museums are graveyards. While I usually don’t agree with fascist, that outlook could not be more relevant today.
Immersive museums, and museums that pretend to be immersive are money grabs.
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