If you've ever considered going to an art museum and then thought, errr, I'll do something else ... If you've ever arrived at one and left a little glazed and confused ... If you've ever thought, I might read an eight-page article about art museums but not a whole book ... Then this is your story. Museum Legs -- taken from a term for art fatigue -- starts with a question: Why do people get bored and tired in art museums and why does that matter? "Amy Whitaker's sparkling meditations on the museum are both delightful and pressing" (Jonathan Zittrain, professor and author), and in this incisive collection of essays, she shows that museums matter for reasons that have less to do with art as we know it and more to do with business, politics, and the age-old question of how to live. Maybe the great age of museums will yet be a great age of creativity and hopeful possibility in everyday life. -- "It is so extraordinary to ask these simple questions and to have the courage to look for answers. Museums would be a better place to visit if they questioned themselves as Whitaker does." (Alfredo Jaar, artist)
If you've ever considered going to an art museum and then thought, errr, I'll do something else ... If you've ever arrived at one and left a little glazed and confused ... If you've ever thought, I might read an eight-page article about art museums but not a whole book ... Then this is your story. Museum Legs -- taken from a term for art fatigue -- starts with a question: Why do people get bored and tired in art museums and why does that matter? "Amy Whitaker's sparkling meditations on the museum are both delightful and pressing" (Jonathan Zittrain, professor and author), and in this incisive collection of essays, she shows that museums matter for reasons that have less to do with art as we know it and more to do with business, politics, and the age-old question of how to live. Maybe the great age of museums will yet be a great age of creativity and hopeful possibility in everyday life. -- "It is so extraordinary to ask these simple questions and to have the courage to look for answers. Museums would be a better place to visit if they questioned themselves as Whitaker does." (Alfredo Jaar, artist)