The concept of a museum originates from humans’ strive to create, collect, and admire the works of art, with some examples being the Lascaux Caves and The Ajanti Caves. The four types of museums that are mentioned in the video are warehouses, shrines, cultural environments, and objects of desire. One understands the difference between these types through the purpose of a museum. For example, from a perspective of a warehouse, museums serve the purpose of a place where art is collected and stored. As a shrine, a museum represents a collection of the best artworks of a certain nation. As a cultural space, the building of the museum and its objects are of interest to visitors. As an object of desire, museums offer their visitors the opportunity to enjoy the visual and embodied elements of art.
Museums as objects of desire can be explained through the fascination of the works of others. The concept of a “container becoming the content” refers to museums becoming admired spaces as much as the artwork they should display and the architecture and design of a museum being worshipped. Next, non-Western Museums differ from Western museums since they show how traditions and progress can be viewed in the modern and globalized world. The most interesting example from the video is the project by Rogers and Piano because their building challenges the traditional view of architecture, both in the West and in France in particular (csxlab, 2011). Architecture as an object of desire can be examined through the architects’ work on designer shops, stores, pavilions, and other objects. They create buildings that have not only a practical value but also an artistic one. The relationship between capitalism and architecture can be understood through the examples of the Prada and Chanel buildings. Capitalist companies provide architects with an opportunity to create art objects.
Reference
csxlab. (2011). Renzo Piano-Centre Georges Pompidou | 05/23 [Video]. Web.