“What We Talk About When We Talk About Museum” is on view at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul through April 6. The exhibition features five documentary films that explore the different perspectives of visitors, staff, and others surrounding art museums.
Frederick Wiseman, ‹National Gallery›, 2014 ©MMCA
< National Gallery > (2014) by Frederick Wiseman focuses on the British art museum itself, the National Gallery. Frederick Wiseman spends 12 weeks at the National Gallery, and the film unfolds over three hours, showing the actual workings of the museum and the institution, including the lighting of the exhibition halls, the treatment of artworks in the conservation room, and the work of the docents.
Ran Tal, ‹The Museum›, 2017 ©MMCA
< The Museum > (2017) is a video of Ran Tal’s observations and interviews with various people he met at the National Museum of Israel. The employees of the National Museum of Israel come from different ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds, and disagreements often arise between them over the selection and explanation of exhibits. The museum depicted in this film is a tense battleground with the potential for greater understanding.
Oeke Hoogendijk, ‹The New Rijksmuseum – The Film›, 2014 ©MMCA
Oeke Hoogendijk’s < The New Rijksmuseum – The Film >, (2014) is a decade-long documentary film that follows the construction of a new addition to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which houses works by some of the world’s greatest masters. It follows the professional concerns, lives, and conflicts of several characters who work in or around museums.
‹White Balls on Walls›, 2021 ©MMCA
< White Balls on Walls > (2021) is a year-and-a-half-long documentation of the Stedelijk Museum’s new director, Rein Wolf, as he attempts to introduce “diversity and inclusion” into the museum’s operations in 2019. The film captures the variables that arise in the process of purchasing works by artists of color and introducing diversity in staff hiring.
‹Blind Mr. Shiratori Goes to See Art›, 2022 ©MMCA
Finally, < Blind Mr. Shiratori Goes to See Art > (2022), directed by Ario Kawauchi, follows blind art lover Kenji Shiratori as he tours museums.
What these films have in common is that museums are spaces where “conversations” between people take place. The characters in these films are engaged in intense conversations about how to make museums better and become better people for their reasons. These videos will give visitors a chance to join the conversation.
