“Occupy Wall Street Movement Declares War on NYC Museums as “Temples of Cultural Elitism”
This recent headline and article from one of my favorite sources, Artinfo News, brings to mind a phrase of outrage from the protest movements of the 1960s (and one that puns well with the architecture of said museums):
Up against the wall, M*****F*****!
To wit, one of the points of the sub-group Occupy Museums! ”is a protest call to fight the “intense commercialization and co-optation of art” that has occurred in recent years.” The fact is, unless you are a blue-chip artist, the chances of your art being on the wall of a major museum are as slim as a Hard Tail model in a (major) yoga magazine, and the vast majority of arts funding is going to institutions with budgets in excess of $5 million. Once again, my eyes cross into shambhavi mudra over how closely these words about art reflect the yoga world, “intense commercialization” absolutely included.
“We’ve got the vast majority of resources going to a very small number of institutions,” said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. “That’s not healthy for the arts in America.” Continues Dorfman:
“Most of your museums, symphonies, opera houses — large established cultural institutions that are promoting the European cannon,” he says. “The audiences for those institutions continue to be predominantly upper income and white. So what it means is that this funding is not really benefiting everyone in our society.”
Even when lesser known artists are granted exhibition space, the proverbial “white cube” of walls that constitute the typical museum gallery present a paradox. If one artist is moved to the top of the fund chain, does this suggest acceptance of “the system?” Is it…prostitution?
And what about we innocent, head-by-standing yogis? We’re bringing yoga to the streets. We’re occupying our respective cities and bergs in support of the 1% (or whatever the correct percentage may be). For the most part, we are that tinier percent. As YM has been (thank all forms of goodness) ratifying, it is the yogi’s responsibility to practice for justice. As a population that goes into its own way to shed the barriers to consciousness, it is our duty to offer a “place of reflection, a place to find solace and to go inside.”
photo credit: Average Jane
(Sound of screeching brakes.) This journalist is busting herself for taking a quote out of context, the little one above, about reflection and solace. Here’s the full quote:
“The art museum is a place of reflection, a place to find solace and to go inside as you look at the beauty around you. What better place to pair these two art forms [yoga and art]: going inside to see the beautify within and coming into the space to see the beauty around you?” Regina Carswell Russo, Cincinnati Art Museum
Russo is referring to the Cincinnati Art Museum’s joining the trend of yoga in museums. What a brilliant notion! Yoga in creative spaces; cross-cultural history lessons in magical settings; moving your body into positions inspired by the surrounding sculpture. I had been loving this idea, it seems like such a win-win. Until I read the blessed news, and as Contributing Arts Editor am reminded of the equation of the art market with capital.
Are there political implications of practicing yoga in the rarified “temples of cultural elitism?” Can I in all good yogic conscious go into handstand up against the museum wall, the very walls that might deny the display of your average artist’s work?
What do you think? Does it strike you as it contradictory to practice yoga in museums one day and then go out to protest Wall Street the next?
I'm not so sure about Mr. Dorfman's comment that the majority of museum goers are upper middle class and white. Maybe he should visit the Detroit Institute of Arts, with its Diego Rivera murals, and mingle with the diverse crowd. Also, I for one am thrilled about the Met's new Islamic art exhibit, which I hope to see on my next trip to New York. Come to think of it, my last visit there I spent a lot of time in the East Asian wing, and hardly heard a word of English spoken. And at the MOMA, wow, they had a fantastic exhibit, Talk to Me, and the variety of ages, colors, and languages there was terrific. http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/10…
It's all individual, of course, but I personally would have a grand time doing sirsana at a museum, for just the reasons you mention in your post.
It would be interesting to get some actual data about the ethnicity, age, and economic status not only of contributors, but also of museum goers. THe picture might prove to be somewhat more nuanced than Mr. Dorfman implies.
Thanks, Shelley, for your mindful questioning…It is a complicated matter, indeed. I just read an thought-provoking post by Ben Davis, deputy editor of ARTINFO, entitled "Why I Support the Occupy Museums Protestors and Why You Should Too." http://bit.ly/s0LvVp (Rather demanding title!) In it he references the fact that many large museum boards are governed by those connected to major corporations, such as Kathleen Fuld, wife of Dick Fuld, the final CEO of Lehman Brothers.
Not uncommon. In this museum boards, as well as other cultural institutions, are at times a reflection of corporate sway over the government and political parties. Decisions are often made based on what plumps rather than ruffles the feathers of the "1%."
What I especially appreciated reading in the "Why I support" post is a historical outline of artists' protests in the late 1960s, and how they did make a difference, such as a number of NYC museums and galleries closing for a day in support of a moratorium to end the war in Vietnam. Sweet persuasion!
Barbra, you raise an interesting question. In this time of world revolution against corporate infringement born by frustration of the masses that the world has been hijacked by these powerhouses, do we want to do away with largess?
I grew up in a suburb of Manhattan and later lived there. I loved the spectacular show interspersed throughout of the city as well as the many smaller enclaves. There was a lovely balance of both. I understand that has changed a bit in the last 30 odd years. Our East Village apartment which we rented for 160.00 a month is now 1500.00!
I see no reason to boycott museums that have been funded, whose collections have been curated to showcase favorites. Although some say these offerings are smokescreens and buy-offs (did someone say "put make-up on a pig"!)these places do contribute to the greatness of a city.
I do see a problem, however, if the "regular" folk cannot afford a place to show their work because only the wealthy and chosen can afford any NY rent or because an artist cannot maintain a life due to excessive overhead and expenses such as food and shelter, etc.
I think we need both and people need choices. As for yoga, if there are factory or chain studios and there are also smaller independent studios and the students choose the factory or chain studios then we get what we wanted. Perhaps the problem isn't what's out there but how much we understand about what we're buying and the choices we make.
I don't know why yoga is in museums now at all but I do teach in a place that was a gallery for awhile and the artwork did enhance the quality of the experience. Jury is out for me. I want the opportunity for all experiences but I want to do it with my eyes wide open.
Thanks, Hillary. In reading your response, I am reminded: I shop at Target. It is affordable for me, and has cool stuff. I understand their politics and their capacity to pump mega-funds into supporting policy quite against mine (same-sex marriage for starters) goes against my grain. Yet I shop there.
Just pointing when and where we might give ourselves pause…and how the trickle down effect of what we frequent for our own pleasure/needs might end up supporting something completely at odds with our own values…