More and more museums are opening stores – often in malls and shopping centers far away from their homes. “Totaling more than 1,800 nationwide, such stores generally offer a range of products tied to their museums’ missions. You typically don’t need to pay admission to shop, and purchases help provide vital financial support, up to as much as a third of some museums’ operating budgets.”
Tag: 12.07.03
Overlooking Dali’s Fascism?
The 100th anniversary of Salvatore Dali’s birth is coming. Vincente Navarro writes that: “The Spanish establishment, with the assistance of the Catalan establishment, wants to mobilize international support for their painter, Dali, portraying him as a “rebel,” an “anti-establishment figure” who stood up to the dominant forces of art. They compare Dali with Picasso. A minor literary figure in Catalonia, Baltasar Porcel (chairman of the Dali year commission), has even said that if Picasso, “who was a Stalinist” (Porcel’s term), can receive international acclaim, then Dali, who admittedly supported fascism in Spain, should receive his own homage.”
Museums And The Issue Of Who Owns Culture
Western museums have traditionally resisted requests to return cultural heritage to their countries of origin. “Yet museums and claimants may be inching toward some common ground. American museum directors said recently that they are revising guidelines for addressing repatriation claims. And some combatants are working toward creative solutions. Even the Elgin sculptures could make a visit home for the Olympics. Greece and the British Museum reportedly are discussing a possible loan. And while they defend the idea of a ‘universal museum’ with the common heritage of humankind on display under one roof, museum directors are looking for new missions.”