MoMA/Newark Museum Report

- Newark Museum

Visiting the Newark Museum for the 1^st time, I was very curious about what I would see, and ended up learning much about its history and how it is run. Like many major art museums the Newark Museum has multiple galleries, each representing a culture or time period, going as far as Egyptian art all the way to contemporary works. The Newark Museum isn’t just an art museum though as it also contains a planetarium, a science wing, an historic Victorian home, and at one point the museum even had its own mini zoo. Along with all this the museum goes through great lengths in taking part, in the community. Located at the center of Newark and just steps away from both a university and a school, the museum has multiple different education programs for children, special events and tours for seniors, and hopes to one day be able to grant high school/university students free access.

The Newark Museum has gone long way since its beginnings. What once began as a collection in the Newark library moved into the museum’s original building, and eventually through various acquisitions of local buildings around it, has led to the institute being what it is today.  The museum is funded through various different companies and donors, and also is dependent on its income from memberships and entry fees.  Despite its various forms of income though, the Newark Museum has gone through many different hardships over the years as it cut back on spending, by cutting both employees and programs like the mini zoo. One thing that surprised me though, was how a museum like the Newark Museum is forced to charge a “suggested amount” for its tickets, despite its current financial situation.  It’s hard to justify paying the “suggested amount” to a more funded museum like the Met, but I have no sense of appreciation now to give the full amount to smaller less heavily funded museums.

    

The Arch of Titus

George Peter Alexander Healy, Frederic E. Church, Jervis McEntee

The museum’s galleries are very traditional in how the work is displayed, placing each work in chronological order. One thing that is done uniquely though is how some rooms are set up. Take the romantic American western painting wing for example, in this particular location lie multiple works showing life in the West, and placed alongside these works, are Indian tools and garments. Then there are the romantic paintings of ancient ruins found throughout Italy and other parts of Europe.  While the room is filled with just paintings, one particular work The Arch of Titus is accompanied by two Roman statues that lie side by side next to it. In a way the museum goes beyond just showing paintings, but when possible it uses other artworks from other time periods or cultures that in a sense are related to the works on display.

- Museum of Modern Art

While no stranger to the halls of the Museum of Modern Art, after everything I have learned so far, my trip proved to be very informative in understanding how the museum at such a grand level is run. Unlike other museums, that divide all its artwork based on its cultural background, the MoMA on the other hand splits its artworks based on its medium.  But regardless of that, the museum still keeps the work organized in chronological order.

When dealing with so many contemporary and modern artworks the MoMA challenges the traditional style of hanging work, as it deals with an abundance of artworks that cannot be hung against a wall or placed on a pedestal.  One such work like the MoMA’s recent acquisition of multiple video games, goes beyond simply hanging the work for display, but makes it interactive experience, as it gives visitors the chance to play the games themselves.

Mine Kafon wind-powered deminer

Massoud Hassani

Acquired by the MoMA on September 23, 2012

All this does not come together though by just one person, as the MoMA is composed of nearly 800 employees, each with their own individual task to keeping the museum functioning. This along with the cost of bringing in new artwork, maintaining the artwork, and paying for the museum’s maintenance can lead to huge expenses. Despite this, in a bad economy, the MoMA is heavily funded through various sources, such as private donors and grants. When necessary the MoMA will even sell some of its own art from its collection, not because they have to, but because they feel the artwork no longer fits the museum’s needs. Afterwards the money collected from the sold artwork is not used to pay for expenses like rent, but for acquiring newer works into the collection. 

Inventing Abstraction, 1910 - 1925

When it comes to the exhibits, so much thought is placed into it by the museum’s curators who have to come up with the ideas years before the exhibit is even opened. Some exhibits like the museum’s current one Inventing Abstraction 1910 – 1925, is based on a theme, in this case being abstract art. Other exhibits like Cindy Sherman’s 2012 solo show are retrospectives on a single artist and show their work in chronological order. The curator is responsible for selecting which specific artworks should be displayed, and then justifying why they want to exhibit the work to the board of trustees who have the ultimate say. Once given approval the curator begins mapping out a floor plan of how the exhibit will be set up as well as the long process of shipping the work to the museum and dealing with the artworks insurance.  Besides the exhibits, the curator is also responsible for the museum’s collection, as they are constantly searching for new artworks or artists, which they feel can contribute to their collection.

Along with the curator there many other important positions, like the registrars who is in charge of the safety of the artwork, the art handlers who are the only ones who can hang and take down the artwork, and the conservationists who are responsible for fixing any damages done to the artwork. Then there are volunteers who essential in performing multiple different tasks for the museum and the security personal who are responsible for protecting the artworks from the public.

The MoMA is like a well oiled machine one that requires every department to run on schedule with everyone else in order to function. Compared to the gallery which only has a small set of employees and requires them to do multiple different tasks at once, the museum has abundance of workers and funds to keep it at the grand size it is today. The museum much like a gallery both display works but there reasons for doing so are completely different. What the museum displays in hopes of educating the public the gallery sells in order to make a profit. The MoMA’s overall goal as an institution is to educate, and like the Newark Museum and others it accomplishes that through various different program for children and adults alike.