The concept of an encyclopedic museum was born of the Enlightenment, a
manifestation of society's growing belief that the spread of knowledge
and the promotion of intellectual inquiry were crucial to human
development and the future of a rational society. But in recent years,
museums have been under attack, with critics arguing that they are
little more than relics and promoters of imperialism. Could it be that
the encyclopedic museum has outlived its usefulness?
With Museums Matter, James Cuno, president and director of the Art
Institute of Chicago, replies with a resounding "No!" He takes us on a
brief tour of the modern museum, from the creation of the British
Museum--the archetypal encyclopedic collection--to the present, when
major museums host millions of visitors annually and play a major role
in the cultural lives of their cities. Along the way, Cuno acknowledges
the legitimate questions about the role of museums in nation-building
and imperialism, but he argues strenuously that even a truly national
museum like the Louvre can't help but open visitors' eyes and minds to
the wide diversity of world cultures and the stunning art that is our
common heritage. Engaging with thinkers such as Edward Said and Martha
Nussbaum, and drawing on examples from the politics of India to the
destruction of the Bramiyan Buddhas to the history of trade and travel,
Cuno makes a case for the encyclopedic museum as a truly cosmopolitan
institution, promoting tolerance, understanding, and a shared sense of
history--values that are essential in our ever more globalized age.
Powerful, passionate, and to the point, Museums Matter is the product
of a lifetime of working in and thinking about museums; no museumgoer
should miss it.
