Interpretation in the Art Museum: Authority and Access Sylvia Lahav 1
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Interpretation in the Art Museum: authority and access Sylvia Lahav PhD thesis 2011 Supervisors: Dr Pam Meecham and Dr Nicholas Addison Institute of Education, University of London 1 Declaration of originality: I hereby declare that, except where explicit attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Word count: 65,007 words (exclusive of appendices, list of reference and bibliography) 2 Dedication For my family and for Nick, who allowed me the time and space to continue with my studies and to follow my passion and to the many colleagues and friends with whom I have been able to engage in an ongoing conversation. Abstract The thesis investigates the rise of wall texts and display captions positioned alongside paintings in Tate Britain between 1987 and 2007 and considers possible reasons for this increase: the return of philanthropic attitudes of 19th century social reformers; changes in the national curriculum for art and design; partial devolution of financial responsibility from government to museum bodies; income generation, funding and sponsorship; increasing inclusion and access policy and internet use. All of these factors have changed the manner in which museums see themselves and address the needs of their visiting public. However, the principle focus of the thesis is the text itself and asks what it means to write words intended to inform, explain and interpret artworks. Using filmed interviews the research investigates differences in the manner in which people describe a painting in the gallery after they have read accompanying text with descriptions they give from memory i.e. seeing a painting in their mind's eye. Archive research tracks the authoring and institutional positioning of interpretative text from its original home in the publications department, to the curatorial team, as part of education and currently provided by a dedicated team. It asks whether the function and nature of such text is best described as literature, marketing, promotional or a tool of access and asks whether it would help its development if it had a dedicated theory to govern and structure it. Throughout, the issues raised are complex and cross many disciplines. To acknowledge this, I organised an international conference at Tate Britain with speakers who approached the subject from literary, philosophical and sociological perspectives. I conclude that the phenomena of text based interpretation in museums needs to be re-examined, that text should be repositioned away from art works and that visitors should be given more opportunity to bring their own personal, corporeal experience to looking at art. 4 Contents Word Count 2 Dedication 3 Abstract 4 Contents 5,6 7 Chapter 1: Introduction and rationale for the thesis 8 1.1 Rationale for the thesis 9 1.2 Why this place? 11 1.3 Education by any other name 11 1.4 Why me? 12 1.5 Thinking about a methodology 13 1.6 The Tate conference: Interpretation, Theory & the Encounter 15 1.7 In defence of the thesis 18 1.8 The research question and sub questions 19 1.9 Venue and art form 20 1.10 Chapter One: Introduction 21 1.11 Chapter Two: An investigation into the history of Tate education and interpretation: history, policy, aims and objectives 21 1.12 Chapter Three: Interpretation and access: with and without text 24 1.13 Chapter Four: Revisiting the research questions and concluding remarks 25 Chapter 2: An Investigation into the context, background and history of Tate education and interpretation Part one: Background and context 27 2.1.1 Bourdieu's use of the term 'field' 29 2.1.2 Free Entrance for Museums 32 2.1.3 Impact of the debate on Tate 1987-2007 33 2.1.4 The new National Curriculum 37 2.1.5 Institutional Change: a new director, new sites and new buildings 39 2.1.6 New Displays at Tate Britain and a new hang at Tate Modern 40 2.1.7 The hierarchy of Tate's Departmental structure 44 2.1.8 Understanding the new hang 45 2.1.9 Income generation, marketing, funding and access 46 2.1.10 Audience surveys and evaluation 52 2.1.11 A question of access 54 2.1.12 The New Art History 57 2.1.13 Cultural Capital 59 Summary for Chapter two: part one 60 5 Part Two: History of Tate education and interpretation 65 2.2.1 A semantic shift from information to interpretation 66 2.2.2 Traditionally who has written museum text? 67 2.2.3 Who should write museum text and what should it be called? 68 2.2.4 Who writes? 72 2.2.5 Departmental structuring and titles 72 2.2.6 For whom is text written? 73 2.2.7 Do visitors read text? 74 2.2.8 Do visitors like text? 76 2.2.9 Who is interpretative text for? 76 2.2.10 Under what circumstances is text produced? 79 2.2.11 Comprehension and readability tests 80 2.2.12 Analysing wall text and display captions 82 2.2.13 What kind of text is museum wall text? 83 2.2.14 An analysis of three texts 85 2.2.15 Patrick Heron 88 2.2.16 Joseph Mallord William Turner 95 2.2.17 Mark Gertler 98 2.2.18 Lucian Freud 100 2.2.19 Comparative analysis of two texts 102 2.2.20 Max Ernst 103 Summary for Chapter two: part two 104 Chapter 3: Interpretation and access 110 Part one: with text 112 3.1.1 The nature of the relationship between context and text 113 3.1.2 The what and what about: full or fuller meaning 115 3.1.3 Is context easier than text? 117 3.1.4 Is text 'as context', objective or subjective? 117 3.1.5 Text is objective 118 3.1.6 Text is subjective 119 3.1.7 The authorship of text 119 3.1.8 Archiving Tate 122 3.1.9 How visitors use text 123 3.1.10 The meaning of paintings 124 3.1.11 Interpreters as newsreaders 126 3.1.12 Who owns meaning? 128 3.1.13 The art museum 130 3.1.14 Galleries without interpretative text 135 3.1.15 The politics of interpretation 137 Summary for chapter three: part one 140 New interpretative materials at Tate 144 6 Chapter three: part two: without text 148 3.2.1 The filmed interviews: why a film and why interviews? 148 3.2.2 The interview question, location, equipment and approach 150 3.2.3 Pattern of behaviour and first reactions 153 3.2.4 Is the film scientific and can it be described as an experiment? 161 3.2.5 Merleau-Ponty and phenomenology 162 3.2.6 A phenomenological reading 162 3.2.7 Is it appropriate to use a phenomenological reading? 166 3.2.8 The second film and general observations 167 3.2.9 Visitor behaviour 168 3.2.10 Afterthoughts regarding both films and questions of a phenomenological nature 170 3.2.11 A question of seeing: Descartes or Merleau-Ponty 171 3.2.12 The museum space 175 3.2.13 The contested space: a space for the aesthetic 178 Summary for chapter three: part two 180 Chapter 4: Revisiting the research questions and concluding remarks 181 4.1 Revisiting the research questions 182 4.2 Concluding remarks 193 Bibliography 198 Appendices 204 Endnotes 276 7 Chapter 1: Introduction This thesis investigates the way in which written text in the art museum changed in both name and character: initially providing basic information i.e. facts about the painting and the artist, medium, dates and provenance etc., then later as it became known as interpretation, used as a description for all text: wall panels, display captions, labels etc., with greater emphasis on context, meaning and artistic/curatorial interpretation. The thesis explores the possible reasons for the expanded use and specific nature of this form of text and begins with a proposition, that during the period 1987-2007, particular social, political and cultural triggers may have contributed to its development in UK museums of art. After looking at the context and background of the chosen period, the thesis considers the main interested parties: the chosen institution, Tate Britain and the museum visitor. The research examines how those who write wall text in the art museum, that is text written for, and positioned alongside works of art, (specifically for my thesis, paintings) make decisions about what form this text should take and how it should be structured, what information, explanation, interpretation it should include and the expectations visitors have of museum text. Throughout my museum career, I have become aware of the dual focus of text. It has a responsibility to serve the museum visitor: to reveal, to clarify, to facilitate access and aid understanding, but it must also show its allegiance to the inanimate object to which it is inextricably connected and without which it would have no reference point: the work of art. As such, text must be servant to image/artifact and servant to viewer. It must successfully elucidate, explain and expand upon the visual but also allow space for the work of art to have a life of its own. 8 A thesis such as this, which necessitates reference to many other disciplines: history, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, art history and sociology, presents the researcher with a challenge: needing to acknowledge the complexity of the subject and raise the level of debate, but also accepting that constraints of time and knowledge may mean that many of the more expansive ideas are only briefly touched upon.