Abstract
The aimsof this article are to discussthe functions of the
traditional museum that are influenced by the Enlightenment, theprinciples of new museology and the reasons why many museums implement thesechanges. Firstly, this paper points out that collecting, research, display andeducation are main functions of the museum during the 17th-19thcenturies. In addition, it analyses the concept of new museologyderivesfromthe four basic functions but the essence of each function is alternative in thecontext of new museology. Finally, it also explains that the government policy,the diversity of studying model, viewers’ necessities, environmental problemand the criticism from the perspective of the traditional museum are mainreasons that motivate many museums to implement the methodology of newmuseology.
Keywords:museum, new museology, the Enlightenment
Introduction
The enlightenment is a mind movement during 17th-18thcenturies (until 1789, the year of France revolution) in Europe. Museum seemsas an outcome of the enlightenment because the functions of museum originatefrom the principles of the enlightenment. The four functions of museum arecollecting, research, display and education. Correspondingly, the principles ofthe enlightenment are sovereignty, individual, freedom political and legalequality andreason. According toA little History of the World, theprinciples of the enlightenment are tolerance, reason and humanity. The contextof the 20th-21stcenturies in which a percentage of museums cannotmap their social position correctly is complex. New museology is a new conceptto guide museums to map themselves in this context. From a historicperspective, if people intend tointerpretthe essence of museum, theyshould not only need to predict the future development of museum but also knowthe origin of museum.
1.The functions of the museumduring the 17th-19thcenturies
The primary definition of museology is from a Germancollector, C.F. Naik Pretorius who published a book ofMuseographiain 1727.
1.1 Collecting function andclassification
Collecting the artworks is the privilege of
nobilities and the royal familiesin the 17thcentury in Europe (Gaehtgens, 2011).According to Huizinga (1996), artworks were treated as treasures and thus, becameprivate collections for nobilities. Private collectors or nobilities collectedartworks or antiques in order to flaunt their wealth and social status ratherthan appreciate the collections. The palaces of Europe only be opened to nobilitiesand the privileged stratum who associated with them closely, church and army during17th-18thcenturies. Kings and nobilities showed their privilegethrough displaying the collection of artworks, which means that the nobilitiesenjoy the sense of that the value of collections is recognized by others. Inother words, artworks are displayed in salons or royal galleries in the Palacesso as to improve the nobility’s reputation.Thus,the early museum, as the private cabinet of curiosities, is not open to thepublic in this context. Also, a part of private collectors are capitalistclasses who also aim to promote their reputation in comparison with the royalfamilies.
The
function of collecting has two parts, conservation and classification. As the
wealth of upper classes increased,the necessities ofartworks and antiques are
expanding. Meanwhile, in terms of the number and category of royal collections
increased, the collections need to be classified in order to conserve reasonably.
As anage of reason, reading the books written by the Enlightenment writers, such as
Kant and Rousseau was very popular. Upper class regarded reading the books as a
fashionable behavior. Louis XV even educates his son, Louis XIV based on Rousseau’s
theory,the book ofEmile. Louis XIV is interested inworking as ablacksmithbecause Rousseau told inEmilethat agood youngster should master a sort of technique. The subject of classificationbegun to develop at that time. For example, August II. der Starke wasfascinated by collecting artworks and greatly expanded the collections at thattime. With the increasing number of collections, he designed a drawing toclassify the collections in the palace according to the characteristics of thecollections. The designed drawing is a cognitive order for the treasures.
Theimportant theory relating to classification at that time wasthe encyclopediathat was compiled andwritten by the encyclopedists, a group of writers in the 18th century, such asDenis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Since classification was connectedwith museum, the essence of museum begun to change. Bann (1998) claims that theideologyof artwork collection and display wereshiftedsincethe 18thcentury. A sort of traditional and mixed exhibition modelin the cabinets of curiosities was transformed relativespecific and systematic classification method.
1.2 Research function and the age ofreason
Since artifacts
and non-artifacts arebeingcollected and classified in museum, it provides the
possibility of specialized investigation for researchers. In addition, it is obvious
that as specialized conservation and the planning to categorize collection, these
cabinets of curiosities or the galleries in the Palace could be converted into specific
buildings that could provide independent space for displaying and conserving
artworks reasonably. This caused the advent of museum building. Giebelhausen (Marstine, 2008) claims that the building is a museum.
In this context, the concept of museum istangibleand materialized.
With
the prevalenceof theideologyof the Enlightenment, the public thought they had right toaccess these collections, which contributes that the royal collection were openedthe general public. In fact, for example, Louver had being opened to thegeneral public partly because of Louis XIV’s permission before FranceRevolution. Obviously, art not only satisfy the needs of nobility but also couldbenefit the improvement of aesthetic and knowledge education for civilians.
Interms of the museum in 18th century become a separate organization, the museumscould not only provide enough space to display collection but also becomeacademic institutions. The principle of ‘Reason’ is connected with the researchfunction of museum because a plenty of collections in museums provide the researchersto investigate and the researchers intend to comprehend the stories ofcollected artworks and the natural characters of non-artifact collections.
1.3 Display function and platform for
thinkers
Due tothe impact of the Enlightenment,the public insisted
that the royal collection should be accessible.In the middle of 18thcentury, Paris is the most active arts centre in Europe. Thus, the French RoyalAcademy of Painting and Sculpture held salon regularlywhichdisplays artists’ latestcreations andprovide the opportunity forartists to publicize their artworks for the general public. In this case, thesocial position of artist begins to be changed. In this progress, the artistscould focus on the mass consumer market rather than the noble customer.
Furthermore,in this context, the display way of artworks has changed.Collectorspay attention to the position of eachpainting and place them in the right position separately rather than filling paintings on wall directly as before. Meanwhile,
they also designed innovative elementsto stimulate the participationenthusiasm of visitors. Although this is a simple display method, the displaymethod as a sort of knowledge begins to develop.
1.4 Education function, accessibility,political rights
With the
influence of ‘Enlightened Despotism’, the sovereign realized the necessity to
open the royal collection to professionals and audiences who are interested in
artworks. They consider that the collections are not only to entertain
themselves, but also to improve the general public’s artistic taste generally
in order to maintain their ruling. Furthermore, the monarchies intended to
infuse their ideas through the museum. The ideology of ‘Enlightened Despotism’
is put forward by Voltaire (French:François-Marie Arouet), aFrench Enlightenment writer and philosopher. Because Voltaire spoke highly ofChinese political system (Qing dynasty, 1644-1912) and the empire, Kangxi, hethinks the monarchy should apply an enlightened policy to regulate the publicand not ignore the legal and political equality. For example, the new museum inBerlin was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841). The purpose on the constructionof the new museum is to transfer the royal collections from the palace or royalshowrooms to civilian educational institution.
Thus,
the appearance of salonchangedthe orientation of artmarket. In this context, museum as public education institution appeared, whichaims to cultivate personal appreciation of art. In this process, artwas endowedwith the extremely important role,then a new discipline---art history formed.Thepublic who thirst for knowledge could appreciate the artworks of different periodsor types in museums (Gaehtgens, 2011). Art plays a decisive role for socialchange. Meanwhile, the Enlightenment also contributes to the advent of museumas education institution to some extent.
Withthe development of Enlightenment, the thoughts of equality and freedominfluenced the position of the feudal privileges in the public. A part of theownersgradually realize that theprivatecollections should be opened to the general public.
Frenchis a country that could not balance the noble right and the public right. Thus,it is widely accepted that the French Revolution is the outcome of theEnlightenment. Then, Louver as a public museum has being opened to the publicsince 1793 (four years after France revolution), which means that thetraditionalhierarchy wasbroken due to theinfluence of the Enlightenment. In this context, these royal collections areaccessible for the general public.
Later
inthe19thcentury, Poynter argues that ‘the display of past artifacts in museums andgalleries as a way in which it would be possible to raise consciousness aboutgood design, and influence the aesthetic standard of manufacturing production’.The educational function of museum could not only improve the publicconsciousness of beauty but also bring the professionals of arts new ideasduring visiting museum.
2. New museology
Quebec Declaration(1984)in which museums are regarded as the tools in social function and promoting
social cohesivenessis
a milestone in the development of new museology (Yu, 1995). The focuses of
museum shift from the collection-oriented perspective to paying attention to people-oriented，sothe concept of museum becomes broader and more complex rather than a physical
space to conserve and display collections.Aspreviously mentioned, the concept of traditional museum as the buildings istangible. Conversely, the concept of new museology, in which the socialfunction occupies an essential role in operation is more intangible.
2.1 Diversity of collection andnon-material collection
Themain character of new museology is diversity. As the types of collections inmuseums become diversify in comparison with the traditional museology that onlyfocuses on collecting and protecting antiques. In addition, because of a lackof space, non-material collection is becoming popular. Meanwhile, non-materialcollection could record the cultures of marginal community and the materialcollection belongs to the people in community. In this context, the managers inmuseum ought to master cross-disciplines working skills rather than be equippedwith historical knowledge merely. Moreover, traditional museology emphasizes onprotecting precious cultural relics and ignores the management of marginalculture and common artworks. However, new museology encourages establishing adiversified and multifunctional culture institution rather than a simplemuseum, which only focuses on collecting, protecting and investigating thecollections. According toMuseums in Australia: from a new era to a new century(2014), the galleries and museums in
Australia regard indigenous culture as one of three main collection categories.
In old days, the museums only focused on European man and Oceania environment.
2.2 Research and contemporary society
Newmuseology indicates that the museum should be in relation to many subjects,which may include history, ethnonymics, sociology and other disciplines sincethe situation of museum has changed. Museum should relocate its socialposition, map the market and target audience. In many cases, the museum thatonly focuses on academic research (collection-oriented) would result in adecline of visitors.
2.3 Interactive display method
In the
Age of social media, the network digital devices promote the formation of new
museology to some extent. The types of museum becomediversified, such as Digital Museum(virtual museum), Electronic Museum or On-line Museum, which could providea comfortable visiting experience and interactiveopportunities to the public with new technology. In order to break thelimitation of traditional museum construction entity in space and time, museumsare mostly using multimedia tours method through computer network media thatprovides free, independent participation opportunities and the diverse accessibleforms to the public.
The
fundamental objectives of museums are to file, protect, research and display collections
for a long time. Collections are important material basements for museums, but
displaying collections is not the unique purpose for museums. New museology is
more paying attention to the idea of people-oriented.Targetingthe public isthe priority of museums.In fact, the establishment and development of museum relies on the generalpublic’s appeal, so it must engage with broader viewers. New museologyadvocates to curate exhibitions or activities, which can attract people’s appetiteto participate in order to build up an ideal relationship between the museumand the public.
Kisho
Kurokawa thinks that the essence of museum is not a building（Sekkei, 2013）. The design of the museum buildingshould coordinate with the collection. This is a new concept in what is arelationship among the building, the collection and display.
2.4 Education and entertainment
Thetraditional education model of museum is to display the collection. Narrativemodel of display the collection is linear and chronological. To some extent,this education model is boring but useful. As previously mentioned to labelentertainment feature with exhibitions could engage with audiences morefeasible. New museology is referred to that an education project should notonly be useful but also interesting.
3.0 The reasons of that many museumsimplement these changes
3.1 The government has reduced thefinancial support towards to the museum
From the government’s viewpoints, attendance is a key factorthat indicates the level of public partition in arts. For instance, accordingtoMore than bums on seats: Australian
participation in the arts(2010), the investigated data is relating to theattendance that is the essential factor in apply government funding. In theUnited States, the museums are more commercialized, and seeking fundingabilities would determine whether the museum could survive in marking economy.Also, in China, the central government intends to reform the infrastructure ofthe museum industry in order to improve the level of public participation.Furthermore, the significant phenomenon of the reform is that government cut apercentage of funding relating to the museum. It seems that a lack ofgovernment funding is a common phenomenon worldwide.
3.2 The diversity of learning methods
The adventof Internet as methods of social media has brought significant changes instudying model as previously mentioned. In this context, the public recognizesthat the museum is no longer the only way to acquire knowledge. Abundant networkresources provide an interactive learning mean conveniently and interestinglyfor the public ratherthan display educational modelin themuseum simply. In addition, the generalpublic prefers to study at home through the Internet because of the cost of timeand money.Therefore, the manager andresearchers of the museum have to develop new education model of museum inoperation in order to target the general public’s interests. Consequently, themuseum should change their development strategy to meet viewers’ necessities.
3.3 Viewers’ new necessities
It iswidely accepted that the concept of people-oriented has been growing attentionby people, which also influences the development of new museology. Thetraditional museum emphasis on display means of the collections and ignore thedisplay purpose. The viewers’ requirement is the major development objectivefor the museum. Interesting and useful display educational ways could meet theneeds of viewers, as they desire to experience the combination of educationaland recreational display way in museums. In this context, the purpose ofmuseums is to achieve the public’s goals rather than focusing on thecollections. Consequently, the museum should change their development strategyin order to meet viewers’ necessities.
3.4 Environmental issue
Peoplegradually realized the importance of dealing with the relationship betweenhuman and environment because of environmental deterioration. In this context,the concept of ‘green revolution’ is emerging in the 1970s. As the socialeducational institution, museum should guide the public to understand thatprotecting the environment is responsibility for humanity. Europe and theUnited States started to set up econmuseum in order to improve the awareness ofprotecting the environment for people for a long run through exhibitions orlectures in the museum. Therefore, improving quality and focusing on life-longeducation for the public are significant missions of new museology.
3.5 The criticism to the context of thetraditional museum
Themuseum can be treated as a journey for people who cannot travel through collectingand display the historic stuff or the reproductions from all over the world (From a World in a Box to a World without
Borders: Art Museums, 2013). The advent of reproduction makes moreconvenient to visit the world for people, but the story of the reproduction isfraud. In many cases, the authenticity of the context in the museum is anissue. Non-material collection never faces this issue because these collectionsare produced in museum.
Conclusion
Museologyas a discipline has developed nearly four hundred years since the upper classbegan to collect antiques and artworks in Europe. Meanwhile, the museum aspublic institution encounters internal and external issues in the complexcontext of the 21stcentury. The complexity of the contemporarymuseology differs from its primary situation. The museums in the context of newmuseology not only are the educational institutions but also they need to maptheir social position correctly. Although the function of museum is changing,the basic functions of museum are still collecting, display, research andeducation. However, these four functions should use a diversified method toengage with the public.
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