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| Pilgrimage to the Mona Lisa? (Photo credit: https://richardtulloch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/) |
“Art lifted up her
head and was seated on her throne, and said, All eyes shall seem me, and all
knees shall bow to me… There she had gathered together all her pomp, there was
her shrine, and there her votaries came and worshipped as in a temple.”
–William Hazlitt after visiting the Louvre in 1816.
I have recently read an article by Carol Duncan, ‘The Art
Museum as Ritual’ taken from her 1995 book Civilising
Rituals. In it she discusses the similarities between a visit to an art gallery
and a visit to a religious temple. Starting the chapter, I wasn’t convinced.
After all, art galleries are secular buildings with paintings hung up by
various employees. There isn’t a bible, a religious figure to worship or any
commandments to keep. And yet, hearing her arguments and comparisons, I have to
say: I’m sold.
Reading this over the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah, I’ve
recently spent a lot of time in Synagogue, so it seems strange, almost
offensive in some ways, to compare this place of worship with art galleries.
Temples such as Churches, Mosques and Synagogues have centuries of history,
community, and spirituality behind them. For many people, the teachings inside
are the very centre of their lives. Visiting art galleries could surely just be
reduced to a hobby or a cultured privilege.
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| The Munich Glyptothek- the layout invites inner contemplation |
It occurs to me whilst reading these articles that I do take
art galleries and museums for granted. For many of us –particularly those who
live a few stops on the Northern line from the world famous museums of London-
visiting museums with parents and grandparents was a right of passage. I
definitely can not remember my first visit to a gallery or art museum. We see
galleries and museums in postcards and as dull backdrops in tv shows and films.
I think it is because of this desensitisation that we would now find it hard to
think of these visits as religious or spiritual. And yet, there was of course a
time when art was confined to private collections. In the late 18th
century, art museums began to be open to the public and writers of the time
were spellbound by the experience.
The German writer, Goethe, first visited the Dresden Gallery
in 1768 and wrote:
“The profound silence
that reigned, created a solemn and unique impression, akin to the emotion experienced
upon entering a House of God.”
It is clear therefore, that there was a time when entering an art gallery was a spiritual experience. Despite my love of art, I don’t think I’ve ever thought of the enjoyment as anything more than the painting itself. But Duncan argues the case that it is the building too, the very layout of the architecture and the composition of the exhibitions, that creates a narrative throughout the museum. Until recent more modern designs, most art museums were based on ancient temples. One just has to look at the structure of the Munich Glypothek and the National Gallery of New South Wales. Huge columns create a grand entrance, instantly drawing visitors away from the everyday and into a more divine experience. Impressive entrance halls and expansive staircases always create a long introduction to the building before any artworks are even seen. It is how people would have approached the gods of their ancient temples. Thus, it was not simply the paintings that would have spoken to visitors in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also the very layout of the museum, making them seem smaller and more humbled.
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| Dresden Gallery (Photo Credit: www.best-museums.com) |
It is clear therefore, that there was a time when entering an art gallery was a spiritual experience. Despite my love of art, I don’t think I’ve ever thought of the enjoyment as anything more than the painting itself. But Duncan argues the case that it is the building too, the very layout of the architecture and the composition of the exhibitions, that creates a narrative throughout the museum. Until recent more modern designs, most art museums were based on ancient temples. One just has to look at the structure of the Munich Glypothek and the National Gallery of New South Wales. Huge columns create a grand entrance, instantly drawing visitors away from the everyday and into a more divine experience. Impressive entrance halls and expansive staircases always create a long introduction to the building before any artworks are even seen. It is how people would have approached the gods of their ancient temples. Thus, it was not simply the paintings that would have spoken to visitors in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also the very layout of the museum, making them seem smaller and more humbled.
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| The Munich Glyptothek- Architecture clearly based on Ancient temples |
I think this is true even today. Everyone enters art
galleries with the same expectation of seeing art and feeling moved or educated
by it. Much in the case of a religious ceremony, there is the expectation of
enlightenment and a spiritual uplift. There is a certain decorum as well which
is similar to temples. No loud talking, no eating, no playing music, no
running. It all demands inner contemplation and a different approach to the
world around you than out on the street.
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| The crowds surrounding the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Visits to the painting seem like a pilgrimage. People enter expecting to be overwhelmed by the experience... (Photo credit: https://www.travelblog.org/Photos/1679980) |
Duncan describes this as ‘liminality’, meaning a mode of
consciousness outside of the day-to-day cultural and social state. Often used
to describe religious consciousness, this clearly also applies to the
state-of-mind people have upon entering art galleries. This is why in the
liminal space created by the museum, everything and anything can become art
“including fire-extinguishers, thermostats, and humidity gauges.”
This made me think about a recent viral story about two
teenagers who pranked gallery-goers in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Kevin Nguyen, 16, and TJ Khayatan, 17, put a pair of glasses on the floor of
the gallery and were delighted when people began to treat them as part of the
exhibition, stopping to take photographs. Nguyen commented “is this really what
you call art?” People who are critical of modern art loved the story and
thought it proved how ridiculous art-lovers are. I think this links to the idea
of liminality in the art museum. It wasn’t a case of Art Is Stupid and Gallery
Goers Are Gullible, it was more about the way gallery-goers are told to open up
their minds to what the museum has to show them.
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| People reacting to the glasses prank in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. |
Much in the same way temples ask their congregation to allow
their minds to be open to the religion and to reach spiritual heights, art
museums ask their visitors to allow themselves to be inspired, intrigued and
educated by what they see. Rather than a joke, I think it is quite a magical
thing that museums accomplish by making everything seem worth viewing and
contemplating. Even if it is a fire-extinguisher or a pair of glasses.
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