Answer 3 questions about art museums - Essay Example

Art Museums One of the prominent questions regarding art is the extent that it is possible to view art without being influenced by the commercial value of the artworks. It seems that it is nearly impossible to do so. For instance, one considers attempting to judge Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa without considering its fame. While the artwork may exemplify great aesthetic skill as determined by the art-historical and critical community, it seems that embedded in the very interpretation of this work is the notion of its central position in the canon of Renaissance art.

The presence of the museum shop should affect our sense of the art in a variety of ways. The museum shop reminds patrons that the art works they are seeing are displayed by an organization that is reliant on funding and profit. This is a significant realization as it necessitates that the museum be considered with the same analytical lens as one would apply to traditional businesses. This has implications for nearly all decision-making in the institution. Another question is whether artists should strive to make art that resists being commercial.

In these regards, it seems that there is nothing inherently wrong with being commercial, or using a commercial aesthetic. Artists that specifically attempt to cultivate commercial values, however, are witnessed as suspect compared to artists that more naturally and authentically produce their art. The notion that art can be produced naturally, or rather can be produced ‘natural’ and ‘authentically,’ however, is not entirely understood as even being possible.