Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course Code
Date
- Should the museum have caved to some opinions and modified or closed the exhibition?
The museum should have closed the exhibition since it stirred so much fuss from the public. First, the show included an insubstantial picture and the work was about a particular use of gamesmanship and language on Ofili’s part; the artist was playing with the ideas of religion, race, worship and blasphemy, (Kimmelman). The artist was toying ironically between personal expression and public outrage to make his spiritual statement which many considered as not original. Moreover, the name of the art wanted since its title, “Holy Virgin Mary” and its physical appearance was directly attacking the catholic religion. For instance, many people claimed that using dung and some pornographic magazine cutouts to create the art was offensive to the public. Second, the art was causing a fuss for the second time in another exhibition where people termed it as blasphemous and outrageous. The image showed that some artists were irrelevant by design or accident tested the limits of the public opinion and law in ways that put them in disputes.
- What (if anything) should the museum have done differently to the exhibition to make it more acceptable to the general public?
The exhibition should have modified the images that were contributing to fuss or altogether remove these images from the display. For instance, they should have removed some of the items that were making the Ofili’s image insubstantial by either requesting the artist to consider another title or pushing the idea more appealing to the public viewers. He should have removed the pornographic magazine cutouts representing the virgin’s Mary buttocks and replaced it with something decent that respects religion. Moreover, the museum should have used better means of creating awareness about the exhibition to the public; it should have avoided using words like “be warned” since the people knew that there was something odd about the collection from such ads.
- Based on this quote from the textbook, what is your responsibility as the viewer when you see an exhibition like this? (“This type of art demands a capability on the viewer’s part to be moved by many sentiments of the artist.”)
My responsibility as a viewer would be to understand the various viewpoints that the artist is trying to depict through the art. I have to use my capacity to think or to feel about the art rather than just making a single comment and then proceeding on other errands. I should understand that such an exhibition may comprise many skills from various artists with different viewpoints, and I must know the crucial messages the art is communicating and allow them to inspire my thoughts and actions.
- Explain how changes in societal values have impacted the acceptance of this work today.
Change in societal values has transformed the way people view unique art due to the emergence of new ways of doing things and influence from technology. Social values form an essential part of our culture in the contemporary society, changes have influenced people to accept arts that align to their new ways and addresses their current issues such as community-building, justice, advocacy, and other critical social problems. Therefore, they have influenced the acceptance of this work today. Moreover, changes in societal values make it difficult for the public to understand the significant project and get an informed understanding of the specific art form being used, thus influencing its acceptance.
- As guardians of culturally significant objects, what obligations do museums have to protect and exhibit these works?
Museums are responsible for doing more than just avoiding legal liability; they must take affirmative procedures to manage their integrity to guarantee public confidence and protect their works. Museums should act both ethically and legally; their behaviours and practices should encourage the public to for the common good and beneficially towards protecting and exhibiting these works. They have a duty of acquiring, preserving and promoting their collections as a contribution to safeguarding the scientific, cultural, and natural heritage, (Amineddoleh). Thus, museums should play a significant role in ensuring the works have rightful ownership, documentation, permanence, responsible disposal, and accessibility.
- Give at least one example of another work(s) of art from the text or that we discussed in class this semester where personal moral issues came up. How does it relate to the exhibition you chose?
Another work that had moral issues is the Robert Mapplethorpe “the perfect moment” art which was charged for having obscene materials. The art stirred a fuss in an exhibition from the public for promoting and displaying obscenity. This exhibition relates to “sensation” presentation since they both attracted adverse public reactions for going against social norms.
Works Cited
Amineddoleh, Leila. “Protecting Cultural Heritage by Strictly Scrutinizing Museum Acquisitions .” Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal (2015): 24(3),1-55.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1572&context=iplj. Document.
Kimmelman, Michael. Of Dung and Its Many Meanings in the Art World. 05 October 1999. Web page. 16 November 2020.