How to Visit an Art Museum: Tips for a truly rewarding visit

by Johan Idema

Overview

Stop wandering, start acting! Find out how museum guards can be to your advantage. Learn the rule of thumb to distinguish good art from bad art. How to Visit an Art Museum is a short, fun, and rewarding read, full of tips and inspiring illustrations to get the most out of your museum visit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789063693558
Publisher:	BIS Publishers
Publication date:	10/14/2014
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Johan Idema is an independent writer, advisor and initiator of cultural innovation. He has has extensive experience as an arts consultant at Dutch art consultancy firm LAgroup, specializing in strategic planning, concept development and innovation management.

He has worked at several cultural institutions and obtained a Master's degree in Performing Arts Administration at New York University. Johan is a fierce promotor and initiator of innovation of cultural institutions. Most recently, he published Beyond the Black Box and the White Cube, introducing new and fresh ways of thinking about the architecture of museums, theaters and concert hall.

Table of Contents

He enters the gallery, sits down in his chair and awaits
the things to come | The Museum Guard
No flash please | Taking Pictures
Untitled #3, 1984 | Art labels
Should I stay or should I go now? | Slowing down
Debby was here | The Guest Book
Wow! Huh? | Good versus Bad Art
Look into my eyes | The Portrait
Fruits, lobster and a skull | Still Lifes
This painting looks happy | Your Kid a Guide?
The best of the best | Masterpieces
What you see is what you think | The Museum Mindset
Don’t disturb the art | The White Cube
Reality is my field of action. | Artspeak
The news from here | Where to Stand
There’s others here with us | Co-Visitors
1 + 1 = 3 | The Collection
Stop looking at the walls, look out the window | The View Outside
Any questions? | Guided Tours
The End of a Painting | Frames
Also available as postcard | The Museum Store
Food for thought | The Restaurant
People who make art | Artists
It reminds me of my trip to Alaska | Personal Favorites
Neo-Dada Expressionism | Art Genres
Lazy painting | Photography as art
Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue | Color Fields
Mountains, valleys and happy little trees | Landscape Painting
To collect, preserve, exhibit or ….? | Museums with a Mission
My kid could do that | Definitions of Art
Flesh on the canvas | Sex and Nudity
The writing on the wall | Exhibition Introductions
Three basketballs floating in distilled water | Absurdist Art
Warhol and the Sex Pistols | Music in the Museum
Please ask me questions | The Gallery Guide
Sit and see more | Museum Benches
Look how they look | People Watching
As if the painting glows | Museum Lighting
Where art sleeps | The Depot
What, how, and why | Essential Questions
What art can do for you | Visitor Motivation
What museums don’t tell you | Reviews
Skill, ideas and appearance | Looking at Art
Facts, figures and funny questions | The Box Office
Between inside and outside | The Lobby
From saints to nipples | DIY Tours

Editorial Reviews

Idema challenges us to shape our own view, rather than to necessarily agree with him. After all, sparking the right questions is much more inspiring than providing clear-cut answers.”
• Wim Pijbes, General Director Rijksmuseum

From the Publisher