Museum Culture: Histories, Discourses, Spectacles

Museums display much more than artefacts; "Museum Culture" takes the reader on a tour through the complex of ideas, values and symbols that pervade and shape the practice of exhibiting today. Bringing together a broad range of perspectives from history, art history, critical theory and sociology, the contributors to this collection argue that museums have become a central institution and metaphor in contemporary society. Discussing exhibition histories and practice in Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, Israel and the United States, the authors explore ways in which museums assign meaning to art through various kinds of exhibitions and display strategies; at the same time, they examine the political implications of these strategies and the forms of knowledge they invoke and construct. They also discuss alternative exhibition forms, the involvement of some museums with the more spectacular practices of mass media culture, and look at the ways in which museums consider their public.