Is it just a popularity contest?

Jeffry Cudlin's take on the year in art in DC:

This was the year that D.C. art museums decided they wanted to become relevant, topical, and just plain popular. The question of what art museums have to do with contemporary life, and how to convey that relationship to newer, larger audiences, seemed to be first and foremost on the minds of curators and administrators. This was reflected in new programs, panels, and initiatives—extracurricular activities, basically—and in a recent announcement of big physical changes to come for at least one venue on the National Mall.

Jeffry Cudlin's take on the year in art in DC:

This was the year that D.C. art museums decided they wanted to become relevant, topical, and just plain popular. The question of what art museums have to do with contemporary life, and how to convey that relationship to newer, larger audiences, seemed to be first and foremost on the minds of curators and administrators. This was reflected in new programs, panels, and initiatives—extracurricular activities, basically—and in a recent announcement of big physical changes to come for at least one venue on the National Mall.

Not exactly the "slow, serious, long contemplation" recommended by The Washington Post's lead art critic as one of the primary reasons for the existence of art museums.  That kind of meditative reflection about art should remain the primary purpose for museums, but not the sole purpose.  Given that fewer and fewer people are even going to museums according to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts, I applaud these institutions for their efforts to bring people inside to experience the art. Next step: teach this new audience how to slow down and think about what they see. That takes education and conversations about the art and that should take place inside the museum too.

Cudlin continues:

But museums thrive on exchanges of energy, information, and influence. They crave audiences and exist to create a conversation with them. In the case of museums of contemporary art, that conversation should be about what sort of people we are, what sort of historical moment we’re creating together—and what sort of art we all deserve. In 2009, we got a chance to figure out at least a little bit of that.

Read the rest of his article in the City Paper HERE.