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Touching the Void: The museological implications of theft on public art collections Jillian Seaton Ph.D. University of Edinburgh 2014 Abstract Of central importance to this thesis is the way security measures contradict the process through which museums have been seeking to divest themselves of theoretical hierarchies and value judgments in recent years. A context for investigation is established that considers how a perceptible increase in art theft, complicated by the escalating value of individual objects and the proliferation of museums as represented by a rise in attendance figures has produced a climate of vulnerability for arts collections around the world. In response, museums are installing unprecedented levels of security that are having a significant impact on established viewing conditions and redefining museum space. Further hindering this situation is the disparity between the fields of museology and museum security. These two fields have grown simultaneously, yet independently of one another producing a significant paradox between museum rhetoric and practice. To address the disconnection, this thesis seeks to make museum security relevant to academic discourse by aligning features related to the safeguarding of collections with contemporary museological considerations. Taking the void left behind by a stolen object as a point of departure, this thesis examines the ways in which theft alters the relationship between viewer, object and space in the museum setting. Three major case studies each form a chapter exploring the impact of the theft on established viewing conditions. As the first art theft of the modern era, the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, Paris (1911) creates an historic precedence for this investigation allowing for the examination of how conventions based upon exclusivity were dismantled by the theft, only to be reproduced by a legacy of increasingly prohibitive security measures. The theft of thirteen objects from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (1990) is used to address the implications of theft on a fixed and introspective collection, and in particular upon institutional identity and public memory. The theft of the Scream and Madonna from the Munch Museum, Oslo (2004) and its subsequent security upgrade reveal a negation of institutional transparency and the birth of a new security aesthetic. An analysis of each space is balanced against material gathered from a variety of visual, textual and ephemeral sources to produce a developed understanding of affected space. For My Boys Thank you. Acknowledgements An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to a number of people who supported and contributed to this project. This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance, support and friendship of my supervisor, Professor Richard Williams. How you managed to put up with me I’ll never know, but I am eternally grateful. My sincere thanks also go to Professor Helen Rees Leahy (Manchester), Professor Martin Hammer (Kent) and Dr Frances Fowle (Edinburgh) for their contributions that made this a better piece of work. I am also very grateful to have received a bursary from the University as well as several Small Project Grants allowing me to conduct research in Oslo and present papers at the Courtauld Institute and Tate Britain. I am very fortunate to have been surrounded for so many years by the stimulating research culture at the University of Edinburgh’s History of Art Department and would like to thank colleagues, friends and students for the inspiring example you set. To my colleagues and friends at the National Gallery of Scotland, working with you in one of the best collections in the world has provided me with a learning experience that will remain unparalleled. I am particularly grateful to staff at the Louvre, Munch Museum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for welcoming me into your collections to discuss uncomfortable topics. In Oslo, a special thanks to curator Lill Heidi Ophsal for the hours you spent taking me though the collection and security apparatus which proved invaluable. In Boston, I am indebted to Gardner Director Anne Hawley who shifted very important personal commitments for our meeting in which the information she provided surpassed all reasonable expectations. My sincere thanks are also extended to those who shared information with me during the course of this project in what is, for obvious reasons, a very tight-lipped field. Your willingness to disclose things you probably shouldn’t have to further my understanding was not only instrumental to developing this project, but very kind. You shall all remain anonymous. Closer to home, special thanks goes to Dr Amy Orrock and David Taylor whose unfailing support and phenomenal capacity to enjoy the ridiculousness of art history keeps it rocking. Dr Kerry Kirk – you make Edinburgh my second home. Your obnoxiously logical approach to my thesis, robust G&Ts and unwavering belief in my ability to see this through actually worked. To my mother, whilst you should be the easiest person in the world to thank, I know not where to begin. I am truly humbled by the depths of your love, support and generosity. Brent, Thomas, Edward and George, not only would I be unable to do this without you, I wouldn’t want to. 5 Table of Contents Abstract....................................................................................................................................2 Declaration of Own Work......................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................4 Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................5 List of Illustrations..................................................................................................................8 Chapter 1 Introduction.................................................................................................23 Methodology Literature Review I. Museological Literature II. Museum Security Literature III. Art Theft Literature The Vulnerability of Public Art Collections I. Increasing Value of Individual Objects II. Increase in Museum Attendance III. Increase in Art Theft Chapter 2 Louvre, Paris...............................................................................................89 Source Material Literature From Museum to Crime Scene: Urban criminality at the Louvre Empty Space: The exhibition of art theft and the dismantling of convention Mass print culture and the interrogation of museum practice Irreverent parody of the theft The theft and popular crime narratives The theft and local anxieties: American conspiracy theories Curating the empty space: difficulties of display 6 Security as a Reproduction of Institutional Hierarchies I. Display of the Mona Lisa 1516 – 1911 II. Recovery of the Mona Lisa: 1913 III. Post-theft critical reception of the Mona Lisa IV. The security of the Mona Lisa during World Wars I and II V. The Mona Lisa Abroad: 1962-63 and 1974 VI. The Mona Lisa today Conclusion Chapter 3 Munch Museum, Oslo...............................................................................183 Methodology and source material Anxiety and Architecture: The history of the Munch Museum The Original Display of the Collection: Informing Principles Theft of The Scream and Madonna: 22 August 2004 Fortress Munch: Security Upgrade 2004 – 2005 I. Accessibility II. Display III. Recovery of The Scream and Madonna: 31 August 2006 Conclusion Chapter 4 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston............................................217 Methodology and source material Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Fenway Court: Taste and sentiment Security and public access at the Gardner Museum in the early 20th century A Fixed and Introspective Collection The Theft, 18 March 1990 Post-theft Implications for the Gardner Museum: The first wave Post-theft Implications for the Gardner Museum: The second wave The New Gardner Museum 7 Conclusion Chapter 5 Conclusion..................................................................................................267 Historical Tension within Museums Museological Responses to Threats are Varied Armed Robbery New Security Aesthetic Going Forward Bibliography.........................................................................................................................277 Illustrations..........................................................................................................................295 Tables Appendix 1: