Dumb and Dumber

Is it so wrong to at least consider people's subjective experience at museums? Visitors aren't reacting badly to learning new words or seeing the names of unknown artists. They are reacting to the often superior and precious tone of so much art museum interpretive content.

Curators write for their peers and colleagues - i.e., other people with PhDs in art history. Having an advanced degree in art history does not guarantee that you can write in plain English. Sure, the word "Baroque" may not scar any visitors, but must we insist on including terms like "nature morte" and "repoussoir" and then complain that no one is reading our precious gallery text?

At a contemporary art museum the other week, I stood next to an affluent-looking couple reading the introductory wall text, which was full of references to semiotics and reinterpreting the canon...finally the husband turned to the wife and said, "What the hell are they talking about?"

When you deconstruct sentences with enough big words in them, sometimes there is nothing being said at all. Give me plain and simple any day. If you can't articulate it simply, perhaps you don't know what you are trying to say in the first place.

I for one would really appreciate strategically placed cards that explain the terminology.

I grow up in Lebanon and went to one of the best schools in the country. But, because of the war, art, music and sports were cut off our curriculum since we often had to deal with 5 month school years.

I am not ashamed that i don't know much about art. There are important things for me to be grateful for. I am alive.

Actually, my comment, quoted by reporter Stryker and again by blogist Lacayo, referred to labels that did not provide any information beyond artist's name, title of the work, and an accession number. New labels will provide accurate and useful information. What is Mr. Lacayo worried about? That we do not respect the intelligence of museum visitors? The fact is that we demonstrate that respect by listening closely to the people who visit the museum, and incorporating that feedback as one of many factors that has shaped our decision-making. I would suggest that Mr. Lacayo visit the DIA and read our labels before making pronouncements on something he has yet to experience directly. Perhaps he should take a “byte” from Lee Rosenbaum's blog, http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2007/05/memo_to_detroit_detractors_all.html, and hold his critiques until he has visited the DIA.