Experience or Interpretation: The Dilemma of Museums of Modern Art (Twenty-Eighth of the Walter Neurath Memorial Lectures)

How do we see art? How is it displayed? One hundred years ago, the way art was shown was intended to educate. Galleries reflected the curator's view at the expense of differing viewpoints. Today, not only do museums and galleries celebrate differences of expression, they welcome the collaboration of living artists, promoting an active dialogue between the present and the past. Museums are no longer just repositories, but rather sites of experience where the mind is often engaged as much as the eye. This is the first coherent account of the changing attitudes to the way art is presented in museums of modern art. Nicholas Serota examines the relationship between the artist, the public, and the curator. He takes us into the artist's studio, itself a paradigm of display, and then on a knowledgeable and wide-ranging international tour of museums, galleries, and installations. With authority and insight, he provides an expert view of the ways we can expect art to be displayed in the twenty-first century. paper ISBN 0-500-55029-8 6-1/4" x 8-1/2"