Symposium at The Phillips Collection

On Saturday, September 15, The Phillips in conjunction with the University of Illinois, hosted an all day symposium on the topic of Museums of Modern and Contemporary Art Today. Benjamin Buchloh from Harvard began the discussion. His thought provoking lecture raised many issues, among them "Does the museum stand for nothing?" Following was Suely Rolnik who addressed the issue of cultural capitalism through the metaphor of Lygia Clark and the struggle museums face in representing works, especially during a time of military and political unrest. Borja-Villel, head of the museum of contemporary art in Barcelona illustrated how his museum has moved from a classical model of the white cube, through various post-modern ideas, to an explanation of how his museum operates in a democratic milieu where the museum serves as the custodian of the work of art that ultimately belongs to the people.

The afternoon included a panel with Neal Benezra from SFMoMA, to Lisa Phillipos from the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, to Kathy Halbreich, late of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and Jay Gates from the Phillips.

So what were the issues raised:

* judgment and expertise--who decides, what role do curators and "experts" play, to what role is played by the audience

* diverse audiences -- those in the "know" and all others

* funding and staying afloat

* collecting art that is ephemeral, happenings, performance pieces, conceptual

What was not discussed:

* globalization of art

* representation of the other

* the death of museums as we know them

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.