Museum Musings

Currently watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the...

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:29:00 -0400

Currently watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) for the first time.

I currently work at Tellus Science Museum where we have a big event each year that was inspired by the films. Our fourth annual Night at the Museum is coming up at the beginning of August and will feature lots of actors (though, unfortunately, not the likes of Robin Williams or Jon Bernthal ;)) dressed up as science and science fiction characters.

I’m watching the movie on FX so they are showing some bonuses and behind the scenes DVD extras. I’m planning on writing a review of the movie in relation to my personal experiences and rather limited understanding of museums. Hopefully the review will be up in a more timely manner than my other updates!

Australian museum holding naked art tours

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:40:00 -0400

Australian museum holding naked art tours:

Nudity in art is as old as civilization itself. But nudity while viewing art? That requires a bit of an explanation.

Australia’s Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney will be holding tours in which participants are required to shed their clothes and wander the galleries completely naked.

I know what museum tour I won’t be participating in anytime soon!

Robbery at Ancient Olympia museum

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:40:00 -0500

Robbery at Ancient Olympia museum:

Armed robbers have stolen dozens of artefacts from a museum in Ancient Olympia - the birthplace of the Olympics, Greek officials say.

They say two masked men smashed glass displays after overpowering a guard.

Local mayor Thymios Kotzias said items of “incalculable” value had been stolen, but gave no details.

Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos…

A few weeks ago, the National Gallery in Athens was also broken into and thieves stole a Picasso painting. The National Gallery and the Ancient Olympia museum are both government run and funded institutions.

These two unfortunate heists resulted from the massive budget cuts Greece has had to undertake because of their economic crisis. According to the AFP newswire, Greek museums as a whole are short nearly 1,500 security staff.

Such a sad situation overall. The Greek government has obviously prioritized other needs over museums and, while those may have been the right decisions, what will the costs be in the long run?

Security: Friend or Foe?

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:14:00 -0500

metamuseums:

Would you prefer that museum and gallery security guards not wear “intimidating” uniforms?

I think it depends on the museum audience and collections. For art galleries, I would prefer uniforms a la The Maiden Heist. The swanky jackets and suits that I’ve seen in most galleries, from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri to the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England give off a vibe of authority yet openness. After all, from what I understand, security at most museums perform the dual role of supervising the galleries while serving as on-staff docents.

On the other hand though, the museum where I currently work, the Tellus Science Museum, targets mostly children and families. At Tellus, security mainly enforces the no food/drink policy, answer guest questions, and works as loss prevention staff in the store. The security here and at similar museums should lean more toward the approachable side, rather than maintaining a stern and somewhat intimidating appearance.

Furthermore, security guards’ attire and behavior should really be based on the value of the collections, along with the likelihood of something happening to the collections. Obviously, galleries like the section of the Tower of England that displays the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom merit heavy security.

All in all, security attire and behavior should really be decided on a case-to-case basis, keeping museum/gallery missions and values in mind.