Back in January, I asked the question off the back of a Museum Association youtube video; What is the single most important function of a museum?
From the responses of my twitter followers and blog comments, I made a list and made a Wordle that turned out to be quite popular.
Earlier this month, Bruce Sterling linked to it and almost melted my servers, but also brought a whole bunch of new readers.
I want to ask the question again. When I first did it, I had about 400 twitter followers. Now, I’m pushing 1800. I figure it’s time to update the Wordle diagram, this time with more people adding to it. It would help if this was RT’d a bit.
@ reply on twitter or drop a comment here. You don’t have to do it again if you gave an answer first time around, I plan to put them all together. Hashtag for this is #musefunct. Put that at the end of your answers.
What is the most important function of museum?
I think the single most important function of a museum is to promote the artists who are still creating and visiting your museum. I totally understand wanting to preserve the past. However while we are all doing that, the present is slipping between our fingers!
Sheree Rensel
wizzlewolf.com
A difficult question… I’d rather talk of complex functions. It would also somewhat depend from the kind of museum we are talking about: a contemporary art museum would possibly require answers differing from those, a science or a palaeontology museum would find satisfying. Maybe, the documentation/interpretation function(s) could however be pretty much in common: documenting the artefact (or other kind of object on show) and its context would be a key-factor to interpret its message and/or disseminate knowledge to an audience that is generally pretty far from the original communication intent – on the other hand, correctly interpreting the original message could foster independent thought, research and (why not?!) creativity in (at least a portion) of the audience. #musefunct
…any chance of getting a single sentence out of all that?
Ok, I’ll try… :-)
Documentation/interpretation (complex) function, fostering knowledge, independent thought, & creativity. #musefunct
Surprise.
The most important function of an art museum is to foster the development of creative thinking skills. We do this in part by exhibitions of artifacts that are the product of such skills, but this is only a part of the job.
Inspire. A visit to an art museum won’t make one an artist, nor will a science museum visit turn one into a scientist. A museum visit can inspire one to see beyond one’s everyday existence into the wider world, across space and time and dream larger dreams.
In my opinion, the most important function of a museum, any museum, would be to present the opportunity for an individual to experience something in a totally new way. The right presentation of an object, being a thought or physical object, past or present, would allow a new thinking process to unfold creating the opportunity for that individual to reach another level of intellect. This, which would be exhibited correctly would push the individual to challenge their present thought patterns and strive to reach a better solution or understanding no matter what the subject. #musefunct.
I work in the museum sector, in natural history. It always comes as a surprise to me when I see discussions about museums that focus on arts and fail to acknowledge the important impact of science on our culture.
To my mind museums fulfil a variety of important functions.
First and foremost they are repositories of physical information (in my field public museums are essential for holding type, figured and voucher specimens from biological or palaeontological research). Without museums we wouldn’t have a systematic method of naming and describing the species on our planet. Such information held in museums is preserved for posterity, so much is historical – it provides a base-line against which the modern world can be compared. How can we tell if global warming is impacting on animal and plant species? Compare what’s present now with what was collected and stored in a museum 150 years ago.
Beyond this very practical function, museums also provide an interface between expert knowledge and the public. Universities and learned societies are notoriously bad at filling this role, partly because it has historically fallen to museums – we in museums hold open the doors at the base of the ivory tower. The internet and television may have taken on some of this role, but there are substantial limitations that arise from the drive for popularity and a perceived need to dumb down.
Finally, I also consider museums to fulfil an inspirational role. This goes beyond education, it is a culturally immersive experience that increases our appreciation of the wide and diverse world that surrounds us. Photographs and television are all well and good, but they lack the tangibility of a real object. Despite the current trend towards virtual experiences, many feel the need for something real to interact with – even if only as inspiration for their own creativity or desire to understand more about their world.
Again, single sentences would be good
you’ve asked such a hard question! i want to argue both for and against cultural preservation as the most important function of museums in general…perhaps, to make it succinct, i would say that museums should preserve cultural heritage while encouraging us to think critically about the past and present and offering inspiration for the future.
OK, single sentence.
Museums maintain the physical and intellectual integrity of our natural and cultural heritage, whilst providing access to that heritage for research, education and personal intellectual and aesthetic enrichment.