Stewart Parr Student No.

PAR12097302

Discuss the visible and invisible shift

from modernism to postmodernism and

Internet culture demonstrated by a

museum or gallery. What are the

implications of the shift to a

postmodern, post colonial and Internet

culture for the museum and educator.

Lis Rhodes, The Tanks @TM November 2012

Word count 5072

Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Enlightenment

3. Modernism

4. Postmodernism

5. The Shift

6. Research into Audience

7. The Internet and Technology

8. The Postmodern Museum

9. The Tanks

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10. Social Media

11. The Educator in the Museum

12. Museums following the Trend

13. Digital Technology

14. Conclusion

15. Bibliography

Introduction

During the course of this essay I will analyse the shifts

from modernism to postmodern in museums and use The Tate

Modern as my primary source. I will demonstrate how the

Internet has reshaped the way we now visit museums. However,

before this I will also analyse how The Enlightenment played

a role in the shift of social and educational change in our

society that enabled us to progress into modernism and

furthermore how social unrest and technology shaped

postmodernism.

The Enlightenment

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The Enlightenment brought attentive intellectuals into

direct conflict with the political, monarchical and

religious establishments and some have been described as

philosophical fanatics against what was inbred since The

Renaissance. They challenged religion with the scientific

method, often instead favouring history. The Enlightenment

thinkers wanted to do more than understand, they wanted to

change the way we looked at the world as they believed, the

better they thought, then reason and science would improve

lives (Porter 2001).

The Enlightenment was a philosophical, intellectual,

cultural and moreover an educational movement of the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It emphasised reason,

logic and freedom of thought over belief, faith and

superstition. The belief that human life could reveal the

truth behind human society and self worth, and that the

world was deemed to be rational and understandable. The

Enlightenment envisaged that there could be a science of

mankind, and that the history of man was one of progression,

which could be continued with the right thinking. The

Enlightenment also argued that human life and character

could be improved through the use of education.

Enlightenment thinker’s thought that the arts and the

sciences would further the understanding of the world and

that it would show the progress of mankind (Porter ibid).

Furthermore when we translate this to modernist art then we

see a shift from the ancien régime to more aesthetic

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experiences in art.

‘The German theorist Jurgen Hebermas located theorigins of the modern period in the Enlightenment, inhis influential paper ’Modernity – An IncompleteProject (1990). He saw modernity as a continuation ofthe belief in an ‘illumination’ age in the power oflogic to solve problems rather than belief in a deus exmachina.’

(Meecham & Sheldon2005: 24)

Here we see his argument suggest that we are beginning to

shift thinking even more to rational ways of mankind rather

than being driven by religion.

‘The last decade of the 19th century alone witnessed theerection of the first electric lights on the Kohlmarkt(1893), the advent of the tram (1894), the vaulting ofthe river Wien and the regulation of the Danube canal(1898) and the construction of the metropolitan railwaynetwork…. The typewriter and the telephone. Life becameeasier.’

(Vergo2007: 9)

This also indicates that as modernisation progressed the way

of life changed, it became easier. As the world became

smaller through transportation and media, so museums,

institutions and galleries became more accessible to the

masses and therefore so did art.

Modernism

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The history of modern art can be linked with changes in a

space and the way we see it portrayed. For example painters

such as Otto Dix concentrated on the many human sacrifices

made by many in WWI. His works were considered ruthless and

harshly realistic which was a break from tradition.

Modernist art rejected traditional forms of art and also

reacted to technology. Dadaism attempted to escape the

fundamental meaning of work and that ugliness means nothing.

Modern art is considered to come from ‘…the old masters,

Cézanne, Monet, Picasso…’ (Meecham & Sheldon Op. cit: 12).

Mark making and brushstrokes were now taken into

consideration for effect and internal meaning, also art was

being created out of artist’s own feelings. The canon of

modernism is still debated today by art historians to enable

us to see the developments of the various art forms. Alfred

Barr who was appointed Director at The Museum of Modern Art

(MOMA) New York City (NYC) in 1929 conceived the idea that

art needs to consider a contemporary society. He wanted to

house a permanent home for the world's greatest modern

artists and thereby sought to present modern art and

sculpture in the greater cultural context of modern society.

His exhibition on The Development of Abstract Art at the MOMA in

1936 was groundbreaking and a fundamental explanation of

abstract art and its influence on modern art (See diagram

below).

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Source: http://theartobject.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/alfred-h-barr-jr-part-v.html

The chart signifies the key masters of modernism…and is

crucial defining the many elements of modernist art (Ibid).

Postmodernism

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Now I will attempt to define that postmodern art was

characterised as a rebellion against the modernism.

Postmodernism was not a style; it was a wide spread social

and cultural phenomenon and is regarded as a rejection of

modernist principles. Abstract Expressionism, minimalism,surrealism and impressionism, all affected postmodernism

which arguably began in around 1960s. Postmodern art

rejected illusionism and explored the properties of each

artistic medium. Thus, to achieve this, artists had to

remove illusion and embrace abstraction (Ibid).

The sixties was a stormy decade of radical social upheaval.

The Civil Rights Movement exposed racial tensions in many US

individuals and institutions. Student riots in Europe and

the Americas saw young people protest against the military

and the commercial malpractice of power (Bauml Duberman

1994). The Woman’s Movement encouraged many women to seek

greater satisfaction of their individual ability rather than

what they had done in their traditional roles. Gay men

joined together to fight police at the Stonewall Inn Bar in

NYC. ‘It is widely considered to be the single most

important event leading to the gay liberation movement and

the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United

States’ (Ibid: 287). Post war economic stability in the USA

moved art from Europe to America where artists were at the

forefront of postmodern art. Some of these artists included;

Andy Warhol one of the leading figures in pop art, Jean

Tinguely, noted for his self-destructive kinetic art and

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Nobuyoshi Araki, a controversial Japanese postmodernist

photographer specialising in erotic imagery involving female

nudes. These artists were ground breaking with their work

and embroiled in postmodernism, which shows a visible shift

from the modernism that came before. The idea was before

postmodern art, art was separate from much of society; it

was for elite classes and did not reach certain social

classes. The postmodern ‘movement’ changed that forever.

Postmodern architecture was a reaction to modernist

architecture and the formalisation of its past. Art and

beauty was now an integral part of postmodern architecture.

A large-scale example is the Sony Building in New York as it

was seen to challenge architectural modernism's demand for

desolate functionalism and focus purely on design.

Therefore, when the building was completed the effect it had

on the public was accepted as postmodern architecture.

Architecture also played a role in the visible shift from

modernism to postmodernism, as ‘…museums built in the

classic period of modern architecture became containers of

art’ (Macdonald 2011: 246). Hence, the emphasis shifted to

the building as a piece of art rather than what it

contained. In Paris The Pyramide du Louvre was seen as too

revolutionary and it looked out of place in front of the

Louvre Museum with its classical architecture. Therefore, it

could be argued that architecture became outstanding and

certainly aesthetic.

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Also the interiors of galleries have evolved: ‘We have now

reached a point where we see not the art but the space

first’ (O’ Doherty 1999: 14). Previously, a gallery appeared

to be a space governed by its own laws. Walls tended to be

painted white with polished wooden floors and an expectation

of silence. Therefore, an artificial space formalised by the

mode, which was modernism, and by the institution itself.

‘This, of course, is one of modernism’s fatal diseases’

(Ibid: 15). An empty space filled with one object is indeed a

thing of the recent past. Nowadays galleries are more

interactive, perhaps more fun and certainly more colourful.

Curators and museum staff are putting more emphasis on the

interactive displays which technology has allowed us to do.

Therefore, educators can be more creative with their

displays. So we have a shift in the way museums wish to

display their objects and the new type of contemporary

audience alongside technology, largely drives this.

The Shift

The traditional museum’s primary function was to collect,

collate and document objects and put them on display. It was

a place of unobtrusiveness, middle class and upper class

learners. The teaching in a modernist museum was to teach

‘one’ programme to ‘one’ audience however; Anderson argues

that we need to consider all of our different audiences and

their different learning styles. His ‘A Common Wealth’

report in 1999 recognised that museums are indeed cultural,

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social and viable ways to learn and that they have begun to

emerge as educational providers for all. …’Few museums

include education in their mission statements. To become

centres for learning, museums themselves need to become

learning organisations with education central to their

purpose’ (Anderson 1999: 3).

As Black has argues… in order to survive in a challenging

economic climate, where museums compete with many other

forms of entertainment they need to appeal to a wider

audience and many now recognise that they should be audience

centered and they should provide a multitude of learning

concepts. They should move away from traditional ways of

Victorian teaching and include as many different types of

visitors from society as they possibly can (Black 2005). A

modern outlook should initially include the community it

primarily surrounds. Once the visitor is inside then they

need to feel engaged and enriched by the collections.

‘This will increasingly mean offering a range of

experiences, both to meet the varying needs of different

audience segments and individuals, and also to reflect

the basic fact that most visitors will seek a multiple

range of experiences during their stay.’

(Ibid:

267)

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Nonetheless, one particular difficulty for a museum in

providing a wealth of experiences to the diverse audience is

its ability to raise revenue. Many museums have free

initial entrance costs here in the UK and this clearly

attracts many visitors, including tourists. They also need

to extend their audiences in the initial stage and they are

able to do this from outside funding. The Heritage Lottery

Fund (HLF) is one example and has enabled many to grow and

in turn this funding has helped smaller museums to become

more forward thinking in their exhibitions. Burwell Museum

Trust (Cambridgeshire) has recently appointed an Education

Officer who will develop an outreach programme for the local

(and wider) community. (Before it relied largely on

volunteers). Its purpose is to include young people to

understand the function of the mill in its past rural

economic setting. It will also showcase the interwar years

and WWII. The trust will allocate funding for two young

people to study apprenticeships at the museum over the

course of two years, thus providing employment

opportunities. It does appear clear that the trust is

addressing a wider current economic issue as well as an

educational one. Nonetheless, bureaucracy may prevail, as I

understand much of the time spent in delivering this

programme will be spent on reporting back to the HLF on its

development. On a much grander scale the Tate Modern’s

funding for its inclusion in its young persons learning

programme has come from private donors without the need for

constant updates and reports to its funders. So while we see

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a shift in visitor numbers, funding is a key factor in the

rise. Funding also allows the extension of museums’

resources and collections. Also the demands of the public,

who want to see new exhibitions in schools, wish to see

better outreach and educational development. Museums have

also put much emphasis into marketing, ‘…such as web sites,

brochures, videos and even the museum related merchandising’

(H. Falk & D. Dierking: 220).

These examples have illustrated the visible shift from

modernism to postmodernism. The invisible shift concerns the

dimension of the audience who can’t initially see it.

However, attitudes from post colonial forward thinking staff

and how museums approach audience development, using

emotional value to get the cultural customer in, has been

prevalent for the last ten to twenty years. The reason why,

and the nature of this invisible shift that took place, is

the focus of the following examples.

Research into Audience

Market research of visitor surveys was first carried out in

the USA some eighty years ago. However, in the last twenty

years, ‘The Royal Ontario Museum in Canada is generally

acknowledged to be the first systematic visitor surveys

undertaken in Museums’ (Black Op. cit: 9). In part its findingswere; that rather than be curator centered, museums needed

to be audience focused. So museum staff began to analyse

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demographics, geography, socio economics, structured

educational use, special interest, psychological

segmentation (Ibid), and in my example the social and

political objectives coming through the local community in

Southwark and moreover The Tate’s engagement in it. Also…

….’In April 2006, the museum's board (in the US)requested a change management update, exploringfeedback about how to enhance the museum's presence onthe community's social radar screen (Suchy, 2004B). Thereview process encouraged the museum to considercreating a context for community healing, a safe placefor personal histories with sections of the communitywho may feel they do not belong.’

(Suchy2004B: 5)

Moreover, museum staff, museum director’s, politicians and

stakeholders recognised that a wider audience needs to be

included and acknowledged. In this case the Hispanic

community in the USA was asked to come and participate.

Also The Science Museum in London have recently employed a

team of staff to constantly monitor its audiences needs and

in turn give continuous feedback to its educators in order

to continue a cutting edge learning programme. This involves

a continuum of adaptation from museum staff. Now we see a

visible shift within the community itself and in the museums

inclusion of it’s own neighbouring and wider community.

The Internet and Technology

14

The Internet is also a visible shift and it allows you to

explore, research and discover a collection without leaving

your house. It could be argued that the many of us who live

in fast paced cities or rural areas don’t have the time to

physically go and see a collection. Therefore, the Internet

allows the collection to be brought to life in your own

home. It could help all learners, especially young students

with homework, people with learning difficulties or who are

disabled and have difficulty with access to a museum with

limited disabled facilities. On the other hand museums may

lose revenue in their café culture, merchandising and gift

shops, which is an integral part of a museums makeup today.

It is certain that the use of an Internet site does offer an

opportunity for museums to take advantage of an excellent,

ever-growing advertising opportunity. Not only is the use of

the Internets budget effective when compared to other

mediums, but also it is also undergoing impressive growth

(Hooper-Greenhill 2002). The audiences reached can be

global as well as local, ethnically and culturally diverse,

and demographically different from the market section

normally supporting a museum. Ethnic and cultural groups,

who feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in cultural resources

such as museums, may find additional opportunities to visit

these institutions in the privacy of their own homes.

Therefore, museums can benefit from a wider audience, they

can create a desire to visit, expand the gift shop with

online sales, also sell memberships and advertise special

events at short notice with minimal cost. What the Internet

15

does do is; once the learner or researcher has discovered

the collection online then they can make plans to visit it

in person (Ibid). It also allows prior knowledge to be

strengthened, which in turn gives a greater understanding of

the collection, its meaning and purpose. It also creates

debate, discussion and arguments for the benefit of the

learners and the educators. And in The Tate’s case its

inclusion of young persons in its exhibitions.

‘…Intelligent museums in Japan, Ottwa’s Canadian Museumof Civilisation, London’s Museum of Moving Image, andheritage operations such as Dover’s White CliffsExperience are alive with gleaming control rooms linkedby fiber optic channels to omnipresent computerterminals and interactive stations.’

(Ibid: 109)

Although these installations may be in their infant life

however, they may spearhead the possibilities of virtual

exhibitions. ‘Experts recently reconstructed the original

eleventh century Cluny Abbey - which had been destroyed

after the French Revolution - and allowed virtual viewers to

wander about inside its hallways’ (Ibid: 109). These examples

demonstrate a shift from postmodernism art and its limited

technology, to the technology revolution that we live in

today. Another prime example is the Google Art Project, an

online collection of art with 17 international museums

taking part. Here users can take a virtual walk through a

gallery using Google’s street view technology. Additionally,

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Google have launched a second, improved version featuring

different enhanced search capabilities, and a series of

educational tools. The educator or teacher can capture their

students learning capabilities with this technology and also

introduce them to the varying art available with the click

of the mouse.

The Postmodern Museum

The Tate Modern sits on a site with a long history of

industrialisation dating back to late Georgian times. Since

the 18th century it has developed industrially with the

docks playing a role in its urbanisation (glias.org.uk). In

more recent times the new Millennium Bridge and Globe

Theatre have helped this run down region to prosper, as

throughout the eighties this area of London was very ghostly

and unwelcoming for many years. Bankside, ‘The Cultural

Quarter’, a refreshing pedestrian riverside location, which

attracts millions of visitors each year, is now a popular

local and tourist attraction itself. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott

who also designed the well-known red telephone box and

iconic Battersea Power Station designed what we now know

today as The Tate Modern. In 1993 The Tate decided that they

would turn the building into an international modern and

contemporary art museum. Its objective was to focus on

significant moments of British twentieth-century art. The

Tate Modern has gone further and pushed the boundaries of

its contemporary collections to include new types of art.

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Performance, live, visual and audio art and examples of all

of these combined. This is the shift not just from a

traditional museums collection but a shift from within. It

is clear that The Tate Modern has included a wider audience

than the traditional visitor as it advocates young people to

participate in the art. Crucial to its philosophy is

‘social cognitive learning’ and allowing young people to

participate. Nonetheless, the ideas must come from these

young people and in turn they must understand their purpose

and the environment they are working in (Miller lecture at

The Tate Modern: October 2012). Mark Miller, convenor of

The Young People’s Programme at Tate Britain and Tate Modern

is responsible for creating programmes and events, which

enable young people to interact, contribute and participate

to British culture through contemporary art performances.

The Tate is using exclusive collections and new services to

address social issues allowing the community to have a say

in art. ‘British History,’ which took place last year,

explored the last two centuries of British visual culture.

To spearhead part of the exhibition, works were shown by

Christopher Ofili, the Turner Prize winner best known for

his creation No Woman No Cry incorporating elephant dung. An

evening of discussion was heard with young artists involved

called, ‘Talk it Up.’ The panel raised the questions; ‘does

religion and blasphemy affect art and indeed is it

present?’, ‘Does Christopher Ofili’s use of the female

figure in his work represent beauty, power or exploitation?’

and ‘do artists need to define their Britishness through

18

their work?’ (tate.org.uk). It was argued that Ofili is

expressing himself through his religion and his life in

London. However, it was also said that he explores the power

of a women’s figure. Many of the young artists also argued

that their art is not to provoke, it is to create pluralism,

diversity and dialogue and is somewhat a sign of new modern

technological art using audio and video. Young people are

beginning to express themselves and their culture through

art and The Tate has opened that door. ‘Talk it up’

encouraged young artists to participate in the content of

the art itself.

Also to enhance its audience a 40-meter timeline by Sarah

Fenelli’s is a graphical explanation of modern art and it is

permanently housed at The Tate Modern. It attempts to draw

the visitor’s environmental experience of modern art and to

make it appear more accessible. The Tate modern is

showcasing this as defining itself as a contemporary museum.

The Tanks

The Tanks at The Tate Modern were the fuel storage

containers of the original Bankside Power Station. The Tate

decided to open them up for use as a galley and a ‘social

space’ from July to October 2012. This area has

concentrated on art in its social performance and will steer

The Tate to redefine itself as a forward thinking museum. It

argues that the space will not be a white cube and it will

19

open new possibilities for artists and its audience. Museums

often miss ‘…movement, activism and physical action’ (Dercon

2012: 2). The Tanks will provide the opportunity to place

history centrally, and stimulate new conversation on live

art. They will attempt to address the audience directly by

including the visitor’s physical presence (Ibid).

On my visit I was most inspired by Lis Rhodes, ‘Light Music.’

The room was virtually empty, dark and slightly smoky with

two projectors that faced one another with beams or bars

through the light. The light or line patterns are varied

which an oscillator controls. The atmosphere instantly

captured me. The audiences are encouraged to participate and

in my viewing two young teenagers were making silhouettes

through the beams of light (see front cover). It appeared as

if they were dancing (performing) as the low frequency

subliminal bass line ripped through the bottom of the

building. In part the light and noise made it difficult to

focus but these young people were clearly creating their own

display within a display, the visitor’s who enter the room

next will change the art again and, why because the

participants are contributing to The Tate’s ideologies in so

much as including them in their forward thinking platforms.

This is surely ingenious because the audience has understood

the direction of The Tate and embraced it.

Social Media

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Social media websites are an access point for many young

people as they often have their accounts set up for alerts,

which allows the sharing of an exhibition to be instant. In

The Tanks there is ‘live twitter board’ so visitors can see

their tweets before they have left the building. This

creates a culture of worth and self-belief in participation

that rolls across the various social classes. It also

creates discussion, continues the debate and extends the

exhibition, drawing in a global audience. The continuation

of ‘live art’ at The Tanks strengthens The Tate’s’ goal to

redefine postmodern or even technological art as the best

way forward. It will enable its newer audience to continue

with their vision and facilitate the local and wider

community.

The Educator in the Museum

The implications of the postmodern museum at The Tate are

therefore, a wider audience will now embrace postmodern art

through its cutting edge ideologies. (Which has always been

the case at Tate Modern). The educator needs to have a

constant evolving cutting edge educational programme and

needs to include the community. This is indeed the case as

we have seen from Mark Millers’ forward thinking programmes.

Therefore, a museum educator/learning manager faces new

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challenges. Its ability to include local and wider audiences

especially young people from Southwark is a visible shift.

Tate Modern is part of its surrounding neighbourhood and its

existence has made key involvements to the continuing

revitalisation of Southwark, it also recognises the

significance of building strong links with that local

community. The Tate Modern is undergoing the building of a

new wing that will include ‘educational pods’ placed at the

end of each corridor. (Traditionally educational areas are

placed out on the peripheral or in The British Museums’ case

in the basement). The new wing will transform The Tate

Modern and will be a catalyst for engaging local audiences

more deeply and broadening contact to the museum (Ibid). This

is certainly needed by the younger people who are far

greater moved by social and political change in Southwark

and beyond.

The postcolonial educator has now recognised the

significance of learning through experience. The educator

should consider the visitor experience and the importance of

his role within its own institution and its surrounding

community. The education department must also consider its

relationship to schools and the National Curriculum…. The

Anderson Reports’ title ‘Museums in the Learning Age’ was an

indication that the learning departments needed to be more

on track with what the visitor wants. ‘Museums should make

education an integral part of their forward plans and

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publish strategies for their implementation’ (Anderson Op.

cit: 48).

Museums following the Trend

Other museums are also following The Tate’s ideologies… The

Design Museum (which is about to move to West London in

2015) will draw new audiences in initially, as it will have

no admission charge. The local community will be included in

its learning policy and it aims to inspire the next

generation of designers. Creative professionals and critical

consumers can develop their design skills, knowledge and a

lifelong passion for design in today’s complex and rapidly

changing world using the museums resources. It aims to

connect the professional world of design with the lives of

young learners. It will also enable learners to participate

in the design process and the life of the museum so that

learning creates an individual agency that happens at a deep

level and brings about change (Charman Learning Policy 2012-

15).

Museums have clearly embraced new technologies and their

audience will be varied and socially diverse which may not

have been the case some 20 years ago. The Museum of

London’s’ Doctors Dissection & Resurrection Men exhibition

has interactive books, videos of The Italian Boy Murder by

23

The Burkers in 1830. Also comment board for feedback, which

will allow future educational development. These types of

technologies allow its audience to be captured and inspired

instantly without reading through information labels.

Therefore, very young audiences could benefit through this

type of new media. Internet culture plays a huge role in the

deliverance of educational recourses as most large

institutions have various educational packs/links on their

sites both for the informal learner and in many cases for

the National Curriculum. The government has invested large

sums in providing IT connections in schools intranet systems

and connections to the Internet allowing teachers and

students to capture the rich resources that museums provide

(Lang et al. 2006).

Lang et al argue that the Internet should extend and enhance

the visitor experience and not necessarily be part of the

physical experience. It should be a digital tool allowing

the end user to experience something different (not

entirely) however; it should capture and facilitate that

audience. It should have a large database so the audience

can choose which exhibition they wish to see with a few

clicks. Also the educator should work closely with the web

developer to give a rich educational experience (Ibid). This

is certainly the way forward for many museums and as the

capabilities of the Internet grows then so will it reach a

wider audience.

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Digital Technology

Digital technology is certainly beginning to make a stand

and is at the forefront of the new audience agenda. ‘The

Space’ has attracted more than 900,000 visits and over 2

million page hits since it was launched in May with very

little marketing. It is a collection of different

exhibitions under the same Internet umbrella allowing the

visitor to choose the subject area. What ‘The Space’ has

achieved is a balanced and informative way to exchange

information on the arts in general and to showcase some

collections and create debate (Stephens November 2012: 37-

39). The Arts Council England (ACE) is very keen to push

this digital sharing of information and have bankrolled it

to the tune of 3.5 million (Ibid). As for the future ‘The

Space’ argue it will be more ambitious and will be more

forward thinking and involving. It will also work with other

organisations including the BBC to experiment with new

digital art forms. This indicates a greater shift from wider

ranging museums and galleries, as it will allow a global

audience to take virtual visits to its exhibitions (Ibid).

Conclusion

The Enlightenment was a period that changed the way the

world was perceived and this was brought about through

several influential philosophers, for example Immanuel Kant,

Voltaire and Rousseau in the seventeenth and Eighteenth

25

centuries. These philosophers believed in individualism,

they underlined the importance of science and the

experimental process; the use of reason, and that education

could help to bring about social change. Therefore, as we

began to rationalise, mankind could evolve and then

modernism started to appear real.

When we consider art during the Enlightenment we see how

Greenberg highlights that autonomous art was the creation

without purpose and in part was present during the

enlightenment and moreover was more prevalent as modernism

evolved. Art during The Enlightenment was probably regarded

as a synthesis of nature, and as far as it was concerned;

this process of imitation should be seen by an intellectual

grasp used to produce classical art (Meecham & Sheldon Op:

cit). Therefore, artists started to define their own styles

and this was driven by the climate during The Enlightenment.

Modernism was built on using balanced, logical means to gain

knowledge while postmodernism denied the submission of

logical thinking. The thinking during the postmodern era was

based on unempirical, irrational thought process, as a

reaction to modernism. We have seen more aesthetic buildings

built between the post war period and the eighties, which

also replaced modernist architecture. And postmodern

museums adopted this architecture such as the Guggenheim

(NYC) and although The Tate Modern was not initially

conceived to be a museum it certainly is a postmodern

26

building.

When we consider the leaning procedure Palmer suggests that

there needs to be a process of learning and the educators

need to consider, ‘…education from a cross-cultural

prospective’ (Gardener in Palmer: 91). So anyone visiting a

museum to learn or otherwise needs to be reflected. The

background of their culture needs to be addressed and this

will only be possible from the museum, if the staff are able

to draw on their constant education of life long learning.

Also the educator must include the social relations, which

involve political choices so the political climate must be

included which is often the case in art. Also Elliot Eisner

was concerned that many institutions were failing to address

the significance of art and were offering an unnecessary

limited and an unbalanced approach to education (Eisner in

Uhrmacher). This illustrates that many of the then current

conceptions of learning lacked proper attention to artistic

modes of thinking and were inadequate. He argues that we

must include the arts in our cognitive learning. Gardener

suggests that for the cognitive process to take place in the

best possible direction then, it must include other skills

like music, art, literature, and performance (Kornhaber in

Gardener). Hein also argues that the learner is ‘individual’

and the educator should also consider this and not

necessarily the subject he wishes to teach. Again this draws

the social elements of the learner and Hein describes this

as ‘constructivism’. Therefore, the educator must draw on

27

his educational expertise, colleagues, and his audience and,

then consider all of these implications to give the best

experience that he can and this involves adaptation and

endurance.

The shifts have been highlighted from museums in the changes

in art in modernism and the more aesthetic art in postmodern

era. Museums including the MOMA and Tate Modern have

embraced this. Also the use of digital technology has

enabled museums to move forward with its audience and this

will be forever evolving. Social media is an accessible tool

for us all to use, learn and share knowledge from an

exhibition.

In my example I have demonstrated that the postmodern museum

places emphasises on the user education, relevancy and

accessibility. And is often described as a place of life

long learning, rather than more formal education in a

school. Unlike the modern museum, which might be

characterised by didactic pedagogy, learning in a postmodern

museum is experiential and accounts for different learning

styles. The Tate Modern have realised the need to include

younger people in art and The Tanks will allow its learners

to see history. It will also showcase what is happening now

in the rich cultural society that surrounds it. The Tate

Modern is at the edge of a forward thinking learning style

and will drive the shift further from modernism using its

resources, educators, visitor’s and the Internet to educate

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and include its new audience.

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