# Is the art in art museums art? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-art-in-art-museums-art/354888 "2006-04-30T23:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-art-in-art-museums-art/354888/21 "2006-05-03T06:32:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Can you name an non-representation work of art that you know is art? I know this wasn’t directed at me, but since I expressed similar opinions to **Purl** (though perhaps not quite so strongly), I’ll answer this. In the Contemporary Art section of the Cleveland Museum of Art, there is a wall hanging. It’s made of wrought iron, and it’s about 4 feet square. And it scares the bejeezus out of me. I don’t know what it’s called, and I don’t like it. But it most definitely manages to very effectively convey emotion, and it is therefore unambiguously, by my standards, art, and in fact very good art. Not that this is the only example of non-representational art, of course. I just mention it specifically for two reasons. First, as I said, it really is exceptional in its ability to convey emotion. And second, it puts to rest the strawman that the standard is “if I don’t like it, it’s not art”. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-art-in-art-museums-art/354888/22 "2006-05-03T11:24:28Z")
This reminds me of a visit we made to a local art museum recently. We were looking at a collection of collages, when suddenly an elderly woman came up to us and went into an obviously rehearsed lengthy spiel on the artist and her methods and the story behind the work we were looking at. We had enjoyed the piece, until hearing that it was based on a car crash and had pieces of the bloody kleenex and so on and so on, until we finally managed to pull away from her and leave the exhibit. Because the speech was so well rehearsed, she completely ignored our questions and refused to go off script. It really soured us on this museum, which sucks, since it’s only a mile from home. But we like to just absorb the art. Is that a bad attitude? Are there a lot of these kinds of art matrons around? And to the OP, I also don’t get why each piece requires such massive space. I don’t think a museum should be cluttered, but a tiny display in a huge space just looks sad to me, and seems to diminish the work. But then, maybe that’s part of what makes it art. I’ve always wanted to paint my palette and brushes and glass as a still life - does that make the tools of art art? ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-art-in-art-museums-art/354888/23 "2006-05-03T13:10:32Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > Are there a lot of these kinds of art matrons around? Your experience is unfortunate. Old ladies with nothing else to do but who desire to remain involved in cultural activity sometimes become unpaid docents at those museums who don’t mind having them around as free guides and auxiliary security (not to mention as a fundraising network). They are volunteers trained in workshops to spiel their spiel. Chances are she wasn’t too thrilled about the car crash piece either, but she was trying to be helpful, in a busybody sort of way. My way of dealing with these people is a quick, curt smile and a walkaway, no words. > [@singular1](#): > > I also don’t get why each piece requires such massive space. The idea is to remove an item so that it can be appreciated on its own merits, without a riot of sensation and clutter all around it, although it must be said not every museum or exhibition does this. I have seen both extremes. Sometimes an artist will be commissioned to do a piece for a particular space, in which case he or she generally fills (or not fills) the space as they see fit. > [@Can I change my answer?](#): > > I read about “major collectors” who have their works chosen by personal curators and then packed into vaults. True. Other “major collectors” open their own museums, and show their collections on a rotating basis. > **[Rubell Family Art Collection](https://www.southbeachmagazine.com/rubell-family-art-collection/)** > > One of the city's most acclaimed treasures, and best-kept secrets, is having a seismic impact on its evolution as a cultural center ... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-art-in-art-museums-art/354888.md?page=1)