Avant-garde on museum culture and viewing experience

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Arts

Document 1

Various forms of arts which are designed in this form have been seen as radical and promoting innovations. Avant-garde dominated the artist industry during the 19th and 20th centuries. As such, many artists adopted the style to promote their talents as well as the progressive agenda. Among them were the most outstanding individuals such as Marcel Duchamp, Brian O’Doherty, and T. J. The artist is also recognized for his contribution to the discipline of plastic arts. Additionally, Marcel Duchamp is known to have made a seminal influence in the creation of conceptual art. One of the notable works of Marcel Duchamp is the Fountain which was completed in 1917. This artistic creation is a piece of porcelain plumbing representing a urinal which has been inverted upside down.

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Even though the work was submitted for the auditions, it was not displayed during the exhibitions. Other critics also said that Fountain resembled a seated Buddha, while another interpretation held that the art was an erotic form displaying Brancusi. According to the three evaluations conducted on the photo, the bottom line still remains that Marcelo Duchamp was targeting to provoke the leaders. Another point of analysis of the Fountain pointed out to the writings seen on the porcelain urinal. ‘R. Mutt’ written on this piece of art has actually attracted the attention of art historians and analysts even though a conclusive meaning has not been agreed on. Therefore, it can be argued that Marcelo Duchamp used the freedom brought by the avant-garde to change the museum culture and viewing experience.

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Traditionally, the museum was considered as a collection of artifacts which revealed artistic and cultural significances (Mitter, 2008). People could visit such places to observe the traditional tools and historical weapons which were used by the earlier generations. Museum was also a place for appreciating arts which had been passed from one generation to another. However, artists who embraced avant-garde techniques had completely changed their perception. His distinct style of alter egos became known in the 19th century when he ventured in the arts industry. Brian worked closely with Roland Barthes who he helped to complete his works on the essay called ‘Death of the Author’. As a revolutionary artist, Brian assumed a false name as Patrick Ireland and signed many works which he used to criticize the Bloody Sunday.

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The artist was inducted into the National Endowment for the Arts committee where he provided useful insights to the team. In changing the museum culture and viewing experience, Brian O'Doherty has impacted his audience by encouraging critical thinking and in-depth analysis of arts. The progressive agenda rapidly gained relevance among the local populations hence prompting leaders to transform their leadership. The museum culture quickly acquired a new perception because Brian O’Doherty was regularly providing critiques in his column published in the Art in America Magazine. From here, it was very clear that the author was promoting a revolutionary agenda which emphasized the transformation of arts. In this campaign, Brian O’Doherty was aiming to convince as many artists as possible to start using their talents for revolutionary purposes other than focusing on entertainment only.

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While many people had also perceived the museum as a place of leisure, these critiques would eventually transform their narrations into a more elaborate perspective. One of these works is called ‘The Migrant Image; The Art and Politics of Ecology. With his current commitments at the University of California Santa Cruz, the artist has managed to promote the progressive agenda by nurturing students to be opinion leaders in their societies. As can be seen, T. J Demos is using arts to influence his audience to adopt safe practices which are aimed at conserving the environment. As opposed to traditional artists who were only focusing on the visual impression created by their works, people like T. There are also visual graphics which can give impressions concerning these two scenarios.

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In another article called ‘The Migrant Image’, it is seen that T. J. Demos is trying to embrace migration by urging his audience to peacefully coexist. The artist has compiled a history of native settlers and how people moved from one place to another. J. Demos which are recognized for their progressive movements include; the discussion about a return to post-colony and Dara Birnbaum. In each of these discussions, the author is trying to transform the perceptions of his audience to be subjective and critical in their thinking (Roth & Katz, 2014). This way, many people have come to appreciate arts not only as a form of talent and entertainment but also as a medium for protecting the civil rights of citizens (Demos, 2003).

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For instance, in the book which discusses the return to post-colony, the author is very categorical that many artists are only recreating the tools and items which had been used by the early generations. The concept of technological innovation is known to have changed so many aspects of the traditional museum setting. For instance, viewers could be treated to a traditional dance whereby actual dancers were organized to perform and entertain the visitors. However, since the advent of avant-garde museum culture has undergone a series of changes hence influencing even the way audiences can view the items displayed at the location (Panofsky, 2003). One basic example is that technology has resulted in the creation of software, mobile application, and other digital tools which are useful in refining the items finally being assembled for display.

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