Misunderstood art, misunderstood guides

Today's NY Times has an article on the Guggenheim's gallery guides, who float around the galleries and engage visitors in a sort of informal and ad hoc educational program. The article notes that the program is unique among New York City museums, but it is hardly so nationwide. And outside of museums, volunteer guides routinely buttonhole unsuspecting visitors at zoos, botanical gardens, historic houses, and the like.

An interesting twist on a sentiment expressed by one of the guides interviewed ("Some people are really angry at contemporary art") comes from Ann Althouse, writing over at Instapundit, whose own writeup betrays more than a touch of the negative in jumping to the conclusion that the Guggenheim is trying to pull something over on its patrons:

So the modern art keeps pissing people off, and they've hired people to pass as ordinary museum-goers and try to manage the mood.

But while the guides aren't in uniform, there's never any doubt they are museum employees: they prominently wear their museum ID cards, along with glaring green "Gallery Guide" badges.

There's certainly enough unwarranted pretension in contemporary art, and much of it is excessively self-referential or deliberately obscure. But the fact is that museum visitors themselves often need a bit of help, in that many haven't learned -- or have forgotten how -- to look. It's as much a matter of impatience as anything else, though overly rigid preconceptions about art can get in the way, too.

Posted by David on August 6, 2006 10:09 AM