Is this the future of the visitor experience? Or a bit of disposable pop culture? Having said that, for the collectors of the cultural 'disposable' pop (ephemera?) culture is now big business, and most likely the exhibits of tomorrow.
Should we look at our museum and gallery displays, and consider their representation of cultural progression? Do they actually help us to understand how we got to where we are now? Or are they locked in time, and therefore largely irrelevant to contemporary (and young) visitors in the 21st century?
In considering whether "museums have become our home from home?" the works of Ray Oldenburg ("Celebrating the third place") are perhaps worth visiting.
It's interesting that the remit of this display is essentially the same as the former National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield. Would it be allowed to fail in the same way? (It almost certainly won't be turned into a students' union if it does). Or could it be a loss-leader for the O2 as a whole enterprise? As an exhibition it seems dated - perhaps because it has the look of a large branch of the Hard Rock Cafe.
ReplyDeleteI remember an ill fated visit to the National Centre at Sheffield, with an American friend who was visiting us. Upon arrival, we were informed, in no uncertain way, that we perhaps should think twice about paying the entrance fee. This by the box office staff. They had received so many complaints from visitors that it was not an exhibition of Popular Music, but a more diverse and conceptual approach... if the staff were not supporting it, no wonder if collapsed.
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