▲ Research on the Theory and Methods of Art Museum Science
Recently, the collection of essays "Research on the Theory and Methods of Art Museum Studies" launched by the Central Academy of Fine Arts was published. Compared with museums, the development history of art museums is not long, for China, art museums have developed by leaps and bounds after the new century, from the initial display and research, to the development of a public cultural space integrating display, education, collection, research and service, etc. Art museums have developed with the times. Nowadays, art museums have entered the theoretical research level more systematically from the practical level, which undoubtedly has positive significance. How to rise from the development of art museums to academic research, discipline construction, and then cultivate more professional talents, which in turn promote the development of art museums, deserves in-depth consideration.
"Art Museum Studies" and the Academic Community of Art Museums
The construction of the National Art Museum of China has gone through several periods since the founding of New China, but from the perspective of truly promoting the current cultural scene and art construction, it is only 20 years. He Guiyan, director of the Art Museum of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, said frankly that in the past 20 years, the art museum has faced a most basic problem in the process of development, that is, whether the construction of art museums and the construction of art museum science can form a basic academic community. "In fact, most art museums have not yet reached the height of constructing art museums." He Guiyan said that the art museum industry should form a local system with contemporary discourse power and its own genealogy and value judgment in art history.
In the view of Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China, it is very necessary and urgent to establish China's art museum studies. "How should China's art museum cause be built and developed?" When we ask such questions, a series of related questions also arise: What kind of historical stage is China's art museum business in now? What kind of history has China's art museum industry gone through to reach this stage today? Have we gone the same way as art galleries in other parts of the world and other regions? Wait, we can make a list of such issues. The issues on the list will become more basic and more important. In order to answer these questions, but also in order to make the efforts to build the National Art Museum of China clear and targeted, so that all art museum people are more aware of where to go in the face of opportunities, we should and must truly establish a discipline: Chinese art museum studies. Wu Weishan said. In fact, the National Art Museum of China is also actively promoting the development and establishment of art museum science. In 2020, the National Art Museum of China set up a postdoctoral research station with approval. Three postdoctoral applicants have obtained postdoctoral admission letters, becoming the first batch of postdoctoral researchers in Art Museum Studies in China.
The history of the development of art museums is the foundation of the establishment of the discipline
Fan Di'an, president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, said that thinking about the history of art museums is the foundation and important part of art museum research. "The development of art museums in modern China has been quite complex, and its many efforts in ideals and practices have laid the cornerstone of the cause of new Chinese art museums. Therefore, it is extremely important to sort out the history of the development of Chinese art museums in modern times, and it is a basic project for the field of Chinese art museum science. Van Dean said.
Lu Yinghua, director of the Middle Art Museum, also said that attention should be paid to sorting out the basic concepts and historical origins of art museum science. "At present, a very large number of art museums have come into being, more people have devoted themselves to the work of art museums, and the origin of the history of art museums, the practice in art museums, the changes in different historical periods, including the social background, political context and ideological motivation behind these changes have become very urgent, because many people who devote themselves to the construction, establishment and practice of art museums today do not understand what art museums are." Lu Yinghua said.
▲ "History of Art Museums" by Li Wanwan
In fact, there have been some studies and works published on the history of the development of the National Art Museum of China. For example, the young scholar Li Wanwan's "History of Art Museums" incorporates the history of the occurrence, formation and development of Chinese art museums into the cultural picture since modern times, discusses the past and present lives of art museums in China from a macroscopic point of view, and hooks up from the perspective of the ontology of art museums, collects a large number of documents, historical facts and image materials, and comprehensively and clearly presents the development process of Modern and Contemporary Art Museums in China. This work has played a positive role in promoting the study of the National Art Museum of China, and has also laid a cornerstone for the construction of Chinese art museum science.
An exploration of new art museums
The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts has also made efforts to promote the development of art museum studies. In 2020, the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts established the New Art Museum Research Center. What is New Museum Studies? Wang Huangsheng, director of the Art Museum of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, said that the new art museum science specifically proposed to "pay more attention to the thinking of people, space and mechanisms". "New art museum science is a new culture or contemporary cultural vision, or an open theory, it is not a relatively formed, has been very clear theoretical expression, but more partial to the cultural vision and a more open theory, more is to advocate a reflection, questioning, criticism, pioneering, creative cultural spirit, because in the process of the development of the Art Museum of China, although the theoretical construction of art museum itself or the entire system construction and professional construction of the art museum is still in the process of continuous development, but for such a development process, We should have a more forward-looking spirit of thinking, criticism, pioneering and creativity. Wang Huangsheng said.
In China, after more than 20 years of development, the art museum is moving from the level of seeking survival and emphasizing practical operation to the stage of exploring its social functions and knowledge production. The proposal of "New Art Museum Science" conforms to the trend of "new museology" and "new institutionalism" in the international museum community and the field of contemporary cultural theory, and tries to develop China's own discourse and cutting-edge theories. The core issues involved in it include three aspects: institutional criticism and power reflection on "people" as subjects, multi-dimensional "public space" and institutions. The research of "New Art Museum Studies" aims to critically criticize the mature thinking and innovative research of the art museum system in the academic circles at home and abroad under the pan-disciplinary perspective of the current thinking mechanism and cultural research, and at the same time establish an effective dialogue with the cutting-edge cultural theories and practices of the international art museum academic community.
▲ New Museum Studies
At present, there are more and more anthologies and works on the study of art museums. For example, the "New Art Museum" research anthology (the first issue) launched by the New Museum Research Center has been published and distributed in September 2021; Liu Xiyan, director of the Academic Department of the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts: Research on the Art Museum Display Methodology", and the "Research on the Theory and Methods of Art Museum Science" launched by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, are all discussions on the theory and methods of art museum science by domestic art museum practitioners and art museum science experts. In this regard, Fan Di'an said: "From the theoretical prescience to the practical level, the thinking and discussion of new situations, new problems and new constructions of relevant researchers and workers have yielded fruitful results, and peers have shared practical achievements and development experience, and formed references and beneficial discussions with each other, which is of great benefit to the construction of art museum disciplines and the development of the art museum industry." Standing at the level of such a discipline as art museum science for systematic construction, there is still a long way to go, and there is still a long way to go for art museum scholars to invest more enthusiasm and energy, and there will be more fruitful achievements and contributions in the construction of China's art museum theory and methods. ”
January 23, 2022 China Culture Daily
The 2nd edition featured a special report
"Reflections from Art Museums to "Art Museum Studies""
Editor-in-charge: Chen Xiaoyue