StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Why is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums so controversial - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Universal design envisages a world where shared involvement is possible, where special effort to have full access to facilities and programming is never needed. As stated by the National Endowment for the Arts, universal design goes past the mere delivery of special features for…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.7% of users find it useful
Why is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums so controversial
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Why is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums so controversial"

Why is the “Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums” so controversial? Universal design envisages a world where shared involvement is possible, where special effort to have full access to facilities and programming is never needed. As stated by the National Endowment for the Arts, universal design goes past the mere delivery of special features for various sectors of the population. Instead it highlights a creative approach that is more comprehensive, one that asks at the onset of the design process how a graphic communication, product, landscape, or building can be made both artistically pleasing and functional for the greatest number of users (Flynn, 2011).

Designs ensuing from this approach are more likely to serve a wider range of people: people with permanent disabilities, individuals who have temporary disabilities and everyone whose abilities change with age. As public art transfers into the twenty-first century, the message universal design advocates would like to send is that far from a restraining burden, its principles offer an unparalleled creative opportunity for the advantage of the broadest audience (Flynn, 2011). Ominously, universal design goes well outside providing mere access.

When it works, it does so through well-conceived buildings and spaces, easy for all to use and stunning to behold. According to Flynn (2011), one of the most persistent problems in the world is the need to create and promote universal normative values which protect persons and communities from oppression, enabling them to comprehend as much of their potential as possible, while at the same time respecting certain cultural traditions. Despite the fact that for most of their being the participants to the universal museums Declaration have fed the justification for colonial authority, their great collections do present unequalled opportunities to uncover the relationship of the universal and the particular.

If they were to hold rather than ignore the fact that the superiority of white, male, Western, academic viewpoints is being challenged, predominantly in their authority to speak about and on behalf of ‘the other’, they might be able to contribute to this exploration. Displays could begin to redress the essentialist propensities of museums and recognize the importance of interactions between cultures as well as their uniqueness. This would include interactions involving armed conflict and takeover as well as trade They could characterize in the galleries historical and contemporary voices from the cultures being interpreted and the setting of the production and use of the objects.

They could draw on the powerful analytical notions and inspirational values of the Enlightenment to promote a common understanding and respect amongst peoples, rather than use them as a teleological justification for the disparities of the status quo. And perhaps above all they could put the collections in their Imperial as well as their Enlightenment contexts. Meanwhile the displays continue to communicate their old message – the dominance and untainted goodness of the collecting, appreciating, displaying, judging civilization (Flynn, 2011).

McGregor makes an ethical argument based on the practical value of the greatest good, achieved in this case by comparing cultures, but there is no epistemological basis put forward or implied to support this. What are the benchmarks of comparison? What is the basis for the kind of history which faults modern Greeks for their slave-owning past, but absolves Britons? How are the benefits of objects being reserved in large western conurbations to be measured against the loss to their instigating cultures?

How are historic collections and the power relations they personify to be related to contemporary international issues? What ideologies can be derived from cross-cultural comparisons which could help solve current cross-cultural conflicts and misunderstandings? What is the foundation for claiming that universal museums promote tolerance when their display philosophy, underdetermined and shaped by a modernist Euroamerican aesthetic which still views the objects as ‘speaking for themselves’ and areas open to a BNP as to a liberal understanding (Flynn, 2011)?

What universal values can be signified by a museum when the whole point of its existence is ‘that high rational one of showing that truths are always relative’ (Flynn, 2011)? A universal museum would, by definition, create displays which addressed the realities of power relations, past and present. Without facing up to human harmfulness in displays, ‘seeing the world as one’ achieves little more than a Coke or Benetton advertisement, describing humanity as one big happy family. The world is haunted by terror and violence because there are many bad as well as good ways of shaping society.

Nor is there any clear connection between those cultures which were good for people and those which were good at art. But none of the universal museums recognizes that, in the words of Walter Benjamin, the great artworks in museums owe their actuality not only to the efforts of the great minds and talents who have created them, but also to the unspecified toil of their generations.Works CitedFlynn Tom. The Universal Museum- a valid model for the 21st century. 2011. PDF file.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Why is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Essay, n.d.)
Why is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Essay. https://studentshare.org/literature/1760753-why-is-the-declaration-on-the-value-and-importance-of-universal-museums-so-controversial
(Why Is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Essay)
Why Is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Essay. https://studentshare.org/literature/1760753-why-is-the-declaration-on-the-value-and-importance-of-universal-museums-so-controversial.
“Why Is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Essay”. https://studentshare.org/literature/1760753-why-is-the-declaration-on-the-value-and-importance-of-universal-museums-so-controversial.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Why is the Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums so controversial

Controversial Artwork

While photographic paintings and other performances that are aesthetically applauded are generally considered acceptable and commendable, those… Sometimes, it could be considered that what makes a modern artwork successful is the lunacy expressed in it that generally draws criticisms, consequently making an artwork famous, although not in a Making controversial Artworks Full Ideas expressed through artworks beyond what is normally considered moral probably are the most controversial in the field of Arts....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

1.Visit a museum or gallery exhibition or attend a theater, dance, or musical performance

This artwork is so widely praised, and I had the chance to confirm the superiority and expertise of Leonardo da Vinci.... Culture,… The Louvre Museum is obviously one of the most visited museums in the world.... he Louvre Museum is obviously one of the most visited museums in the world.... museums in motion:An Introduction To The History And Fuction Of museums.... These artworks have a universal appeal....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

South Platte Valley Historical Society trader store and museum

It has a lot of resources that help researchers and students to construe the historical evidence and educate them of the importance of their values.... The museums are continuously providing a way of guiding, educating and informing people about the ancient cultures, arts, crafts and living standards of people.... South Platte Valley Historical Society Fur Trader Store and Museum The museums are continuously providing a way of guiding, educating and informing people about the ancient cultures, arts, crafts and living standards of people....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

The Importance of My Values

Self-control is a moral value the helps me to take charge of my actions, emotions and thoughts.... Reputation is another non-moral value that I cherish and it pleases me when I meet renowned people and I aspire to be like them.... Appreciation is an integral non-moral value in me and I take pleasure in acknowledging other people when they do something good and when other people compliment me.... The non-moral value of money makes me endeavor to earn enough money to support others who may depend on me and me (Keech, 2000)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Business Memo: The Theory of the Declaration and the Constitution

However, when it comes to the value of human life, the constitution, through the declaration of independence asserts that all human beings are equal as they are all rational creatures, superior to mere beasts of the earth.... This class provided for a general overview of the history and foundations of the constitutions as embodied in the declaration of independence.... the declaration of independence was signed… the declaration of independence was the conceptual framework on which latter American laws, rules and regulations were to be formulated....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Explain the drafting process behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The drafting process of universal Declaration of Human Rights is very complex in the sense that the summary of the Preamble has to be aligned with the UN Charter on human rights.... Basically, the drafting process of universal Declaration of Human Rights has to go through seven (7)… Right after passing through each of the seven (7) major steps when drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the committee assigned in making the draft had to listen to Universal Declaration of Human Rights The drafting process of universal Declaration of Human Rights is very complex in the sense that the summary of the Preamble has to be aligned with the UN Charter on human rights....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Interpretation and Judgement: Controversial Art

Fundamentally, I had assumed many things about him, making me to Interpretation and Judgment: controversial Art Now that I have received broad information about Ofili, I feel that it is never possible to judge a person before one gets all the information about him.... Overall, I feel enlightened in the area of controversial arts and the role played by Chris Ofili in advancing controversial arts.... oncerning the controversies that occurred, it is worth noting that Chris Ofili was both explicit and implicit in his controversial work, especially the religious controversial works....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Argument for the Return of Elgin Marbles to Greece

he British lawmakers handed over the Parthenon sculptures to the British Museum because they had the powers to do so.... Therefore, what is useful is for the sculptures to be returned so that they can be housed in a new state-of-the-art Acropolis Museum.... Returning the Parthenon sculptures to Greece need not create a standard, leading to claims for the universal restoration of cultural assets to the countries of origin and thus depleting the great museums of valuable exhibits (The British Museum Web)....
3 Pages (750 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us