Considering Museums with Duncan and Bennett

Museum origins are based, according to Carol Duncan and Tony Bennett, on a multifaceted rationale, involving the use of museums for purposes of nation-building and constructing a cultural identity, the pursuit of cultural legitimacy by reflecting the perspectives of elites, and enlightenment through the preserving and showcasing cultural heritage, in addition to the political considerations of the museum as tools for power and control.

Initially, the book can be difficult to read. Bernhard’s style, characterized by long, unbroken paragraphs and sentences that sometimes extend over several pages, mirrors the intensity and relentlessness of Reger’s thoughts. The narrative, free from chapter breaks or dialog tags, flows as a continuous stream of consciousness, delving deep into Reger’s critical ruminations on art, society, and life. His incessant criticisms of everything from the state of government to the mediocrity of artists and intellectuals can seem overwhelming and even tedious at times.

Both Duncan and Bennett establish that one purpose of early museums was to serve as nation-building and identity-shaping tools, promoting proper social behavior, and highlighting the past successes of the state for its people to see. Duncan also expands on museums, particularly those in America, as being used to enforce the perspectives and power of the elites involved in managing the museum, using this highlight of culture as a tool of enlightenment for members of society to aspire to, while having to remember their own place. Both also focus on the ways museums were formed to be a source of power and control, for Duncan this presents in the governments in Europe, such as the example of the Louvre in post-revolutionary France, and the elite in Gilded Age America, with their funding of large museums in the cities, while Bennett highlights the influence for the state and its rulers.

The arguments they present are certainly evident, even today, in how museums operate and the conversations surrounding the need for changes in museums. The focus of museums on highlighting the superiority of established cultural identities could be seen in the positioning of various cultural works, with European arts being exalted in many Western museums, while Asian or African works, for example, were othered, placed as a contrast to the “civilization” of the Western world. Today conversations around diversity in museum representation focus on this history, wanting museums to more equitably display and present various cultures and identities. The use of museums for nation-building also remains apparent in similar ways, such as the use of museums to display the works supporting the legitimacy of the state, or its strength through conquest. The same could be said about the power of elites – Duncan focuses quite a bit on the involvement of the elites pushing the museums and their collections in America. The collections of the wealthy have remained a display of American identity, as a symbol of what Americans could be if they merely worked hard enough, or were more successful, a symbol that has continued the power, even if shifted in function, of the obscenely wealthy in America.

Without these factors, we would not have the museums we have today, and the opportunity to see these great works of art or history, but they do not come without their challenges. This history not only highlights the reasons for museums, but also showcases the somewhat “sticky” ways museums and their collections have contributed to what can be considered ethical dilemmas: the purposeful use of selective narratives or cultural exclusion, the inaccessibility or lack of equity in representation, and the political instrumentation of museums – such as the Louvre to push the new French government at its founding, or the museums of London to highlight the benefits and might of the British empire.