Rethinking the Museum
Many argue that museums, as institutions dedicated to the collection and exhibition of art treasures, are no longer relevant today. This assertion contradicts the ongoing renewal processes of existing museums and the establishment of new ones worldwide, often housed in impressive architectural structures with substantial budgets. Furthermore, the millions of visitors to both renovated and new museums demonstrate that these institutions continue to remain relevant.
Rethinking the Museum examines the changes that museums are undergoing and proposes viewing many of them as reflections of paradigmatic transformations originating from the cultural effects of new technologies and the subsequent adjustments of museums to their target audiences. The book suggests considering museums as hybrid spaces where the real and virtual are inextricably intertwined. The analysis presented in the book is grounded in the study of art history and museal culture, theories of new media and digital culture, and critical approaches from the social sciences and humanities.
The changes museums undergo are examined in relation to seven “envelope concepts” from the field of museology. The changes imprinted within can be understood through various processes of hybridization that characterize today’s museum: museal space and new space-time relationships, mechanisms of representation, museal objects, collections and archives, methods of structuring narratives, sight and vision, and concepts of bodily experience and presence. The book proposes viewing these processes as opportunities for social reflection and the preservation of local identity, even in an age of globalization with its mechanisms of cultural automation.
The final section of the book addresses the two major museums in Israel: the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Museum. In recent years, both institutions have undergone significant renovations aimed at aligning with a new perspective on the character of museums and the implications of this shift.