The Contemporary Visual Art Audience: Space, Time and a Sideways Glance
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Contemporary Visual Art Audience: Space, Time and a Sideways Glance Janine Fenton Sager A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Western Sydney November 2008 Janine Fenton Sager This thesis is dedicated to my mother, Elsie [Chant] Fenton (1927 - 2004) Her life was an amazing example of both professional and personal achievement in an era when women were not expected nor encouraged to do so. She provided the inspiration for the next generations of women who dare to achieve beyond even their own expectations. Acknowledgements My sincere gratitude to Dr. Pam James for her perseverance, diligence and dedication to both guiding and propelling me toward the final goal of completing this thesis. Thank you for believing in me, and in the importance of this research and its application. My husband Roger, who has always been supportive, and at times even enthusiastic, thank you so much because without your support this would not have been a possibility. Our four daughters, Hannah, Georgia, Cate and Ann who have lived every day for the past four years with me and my thesis, thank you all for sharing every one of those days. To Celia Featherstone for her generosity, listening endlessly to the latest rewrite and offering practical advise, I cannot express enough my boundless appreciation. A dear friend and neighbour whom my children have come to refer to as ‘mummy 2’ because, when my priority has been this project, she has been the one to take care of their every need. My gratitude to my father, brother, and all my friends who have allowed my priority to be this thesis and still talk to me, and especially to those friends who answered endless questions and even acted as willing research subjects. The School of Humanities, University of Western Sydney for recognising the importance of international research through their generous support. Many thanks to Dr. Elaine Lally for her help and advice, and to Loelene Harrison and Kris Magnoli for answering all those obscure administrative questions. My appreciation of Matthew Richardson’s valuable advice on editing, and Caroline Richardson’s help with transcription. My appreciation to Nathan James (Visitor Services Officers Co-ordinator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney) for his assistance, and to the Visitor Services Officers who offered insightful information. Thank you to Ulrich Schötker (Head of Education for Document 12, Germany) for the interview in which he most generously provided insightful and astute knowledge on the Documenta 12 project and also a wealth of knowledge on education in the arts in general. I would also like to thank Lee Weng Choy (Director of Sub Station, Singapore) and Low Kee Hong (General Manager, Singapore Biennale 2006) for their cooperation, assistance and generosity. I would also like to acknowledge the staff of City Hall, Singapore for their help and support during fieldwork at that location. My thanks to Ingrid Hoffman and Kath Von Witt (past and present directors) and all the volunteer staff at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery for the help they offered freely and without hesitation. I would also like to thank my students for their thoughtful comments and to Sarah Warby for generously providing the photographs of herself with Jeff Koons, Puppy. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the gallery staff and the many audience members whose comments and actions contributed a wealth of knowledge to the construction of this thesis. Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. ……………………………….. (Signed) CONTENTS The Contemporary Visual Art Audience: Space, Time and a Sideways Glance I CONTENTS I TABLE OF FIGURES III ABSTRACT VII INTRODUCTION 1 Terminology 6 The Focus is the Audience 7 Chapter Content 9 Locating Research Results 14 CHAPTER ONE 20 A Cross Disciplinary Approach to Visual Art Audience Research 20 Observation as the Primary Research Tool 22 Retail Research / Ethnomuseology 26 Fieldwork 39 Conclusion 43 CHAPTER TWO 45 The Art Museum: If These Walls Could Talk 45 Architectural Framework 50 Public Response to the Art Gallery 57 Relating to the Art Object 62 The Artist as Proponent of Change 69 The Viewing Public 73 Conclusion 77 CHAPTER THREE 79 The Zone of Interaction: Considering the Heterotopia 79 Spatial Theories 81 Recognising the Art Museum 90 The Exhibitions 104 CHAPTER FOUR 115 The Aesthetic Experience: Understanding the Invisible 115 Promoting Aesthetic Experience 122 Conclusion 138 CHAPTER FIVE 140 Contemporary Museum Culture: Viewers Making Meaning 140 I Visual Culture 141 Accessible Versus Inaccessible 146 The Welcoming Gallery 158 Conclusion 168 CHAPTER SIX 170 The Social Life of The Art Museum: Mediating Viewing Experience 170 The Photographer/Viewer 174 How Do We View 177 The Significance of Seating 180 The Experience of Space 186 Conclusion 200 CONCLUSION 201 Things and People Make Space Happen 201 Signage, Seats and Smiles 215 BIBLIOGRAPHY 222 Books 222 Newspaper Articles 234 Papers, Theses 239 Published 239 Unpublished 240 Commissioned Research Publications 241 Exhibition Catalogues 242 APPENDICES 243 APPENDIX A 243 Image and Video Files: 243 II TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1 Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Museum of Contemporary Art, Wrapped, Chicago, 1968-69. Photo: Harry Shrunk ©1969 Christo 1 Figure 2 J. Faulk and L. Dierking: The Interactive Experience Model. 16 Figure 3 New York street scene. Photo William Whyte from The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 1980. 23 Figure 4 View of shopping mall and entrance to retail outlet. Photo J. Sager 24 Figure 5 A shopping mall and art gallery interior and public, 2008. Photo J. Sager 27 Figure 6. Melton’s floor plan and visitor routes in the Flemish-Dutch Gallery of the Pennsylvania Museum of Art (from Hans-Joachim Klein, ‘Tracking Visitor Circulation in Museum Settings’) 35 Figure 7. An example of the floor plan from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay, Sydney. Image by Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. 38 Figure 8. Museum of Contemporary Art, Ground Floor Plan with tracking overlays. Arrow pinpoints MUMMP point described below. Copy of original fieldwork diagrams by J.Sager. 38 Figure 9 Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay, Sydney. Photo: J. Sager 52 Figure 10 City Hall, Singapore. Photo: J. Sager 53 Figure 11 Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 54 Figure 12 Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Kassel, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 54 Figure 13 Neue Galerie, Kassel, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 55 Figure 14 Aue-Pavillon, Kassel, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 55 Figure 15 Deerubbin Centre, George Street, Windsor. Photo: J. Sager 56 16 Guards in Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 60 Figure 17 Viewers at Documenta 12 , Kassel, Germany Photo: J. Sager. 62 Figure 18 Viewer in Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France, 2007. Photo: J. Sager 63 Figure 19 Lines marked on the floor of documenta-Halle indicate the works of different artists, either installed overhead or placed on the floor. Photo: J. Sager 64 Figure 20 Detail from Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Galerie de vues de la Rome moderne, 1799. Photo: J. Sager 70 Figure 21 White walled gallery space at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery. Photo: J. Sager. 71 Figure 22 Advertisement from Blue Mountains Life, Dec 2006. Australian lifestyle magazine. (Inside front cover, full page). 76 Figure 23 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery. Photo: J. Sager 84 Figure 24 The walls on each floor of Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, were painted a different colour as a visual reminder for the audience. Photo: J. Sager 89 Figure 25 Sainsbury Wing to the left and the National Gallery, to the right, London. Photo: J. Sager 91 Figure 26 Front aspect and main entrance of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Photo: J. Sager 92 III Figure 27 Museum of Contemporary Art with Sydney Harbour Bridge to its right, and the cityscape to its left. Photo: J. Sager 93 Figure 28 Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay, Sydney, exterior views. Photo: J. Sager 94 Figure 29 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Northern entrance. Photo: J. Sager 95 Figure 30 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Northern entrance from George St. Photo: J. Sager 96 Figure 31. Deerubin Centre foyer (interior and exterior views). Photo: J. Sager 97 Figure 32 Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, front door. Photo: J. Sager 98 Figure 33 Map showing the location of gallery sites used for Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany, 2007. Map from www.documenta12 99 Figure 34 Images of Aue-Pavillon in Karlsaue Park, detail of Aue-Pavillon main entrance, interior view, and detail of curtains in Aue-Pavillon. Photo: J. Sager 100 Figure 35 Museum Fridericianum, Kassel. Photo: J. Sager 101 Figure 36 Museum Fridericianum, detail of front portico. Photo: J. Sager 102 Figure 37 Iole De Freitas, Untitled, Museum Fridericianum. Photo: J. Sager 103 Figure 38 Logo of Documenta 12 105 Figure 39 Audience at Documenta 12, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 106 Figure 40 Audience at Document 12, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 107 Figure 41 Logo of 2006 Biennale of Sydney 108 Figure 42 Logo of Singapore Biennale 2006 109 Figure 43 An audience member at the Singapore Biennale 2006. Photo: J. Sager 110 Figure 44 Logo of Western Front: Contemporary Art from Western Sydney 111 Figure 45 Audience at Western Front, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor. Photo: J. Sager 111 Figure 46 Audience member examining Mary Kelly’s Love Songs, 2007, at Documenta 12, Germany. Photo: J. Sager 127 Figure 47 Jane Alexander, Verity, Faith and Justice, 2006, installation views. Photo: J. Sager 128 Figure 48 View of Sydney Prints, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor.