Beyond the museum as muse: collecting, classifying, and displaying objects in contemporary artistic practice

• Author / Creator

  Bertagnolli, Megan

• Working within the framework of the museum rather than attempting to resist it, Karsten Bott, Portia Munson, Kelly Mark and Jac Leirner represent the current generation of artists who are critically engaged with the museum. In this thesis I will make the case that by using their own collections, rather than existing ones as previous generations of artists had done, these artists actively enact the traditional museological practices of collecting, classifying, and displaying objects as well as the related archival functions of storage and preservation. The work of these artists is reliant upon the museum as a site and draws attention to the institution’s capacity to legitimize art. The result is a diverse set of works that raise questions about what kind of objects, people and experiences are recognized by the museum.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Munson
  • Contemporary
  • Archiving
  • Mark
  • Art
  • Leirner
  • Museums
  • Collection
  • Collecting
  • Bott
  • Institution
  • Displaying
  • Archives
  • Classifying
  • Gallery
  • Frame
  • Display

• Graduation date

  Fall 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3DC9S

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.