Appreciating contemporary art is often not an easy task. Then how does a museum educator approach the subject? What questions and methodological solutions can they turn to in order to assist visitors – who may become regular ’museum-goers’ in time – in better understanding the artworks as well as the artists’ motivations and thoughts?
This exhibition was brought about by frequently asked questions about art, especially contemporary art. The selection from the museum’s collection takes these often seemingly banal questions as its point of departure, bringing them into focus, augmenting them with interactive elements and offering new perspectives to encourage spectators to interpret the artworks for themselves thereby gaining a deeper understanding of art and to connecting to it on a personal level.
As a contemporary art institution, it is crucial that we respond to expectations urging museums to cater to the demand of broad access to contemporary art. This is why the selection highlights issues questions that explore the relationship between modern and contemporary art on the one hand, and the classical traditions of art on the other. In our experience, a significant proportion of museum visitors approach modern and contemporary tendencies from the perspective of classical art, and our aim is to promote openness to new tendencies. At the same time, we endeavour to formulate questions related to the functioning of the museum in general, museology, the accessibility of the museum, and to look for answers together.
The best points of departure for interpretation are of course the exhibited artworks themselves. This time, however, the focus is on questions and questioning techniques related to contemporary art. Emphasis is placed on methods and techniques that facilitate active dialogue and assist interpretation and reception as well as learning to understand and appreciate the artistic mindset.
The exhibition is recommended for school and university groups, teachers and museum educators alike, but knowledge of art history and contemporary art is not a prerequisite. The exhibition is also aimed at people who are themselves not creative artists, who have not studied art history or who are not regular museum-goers. At the same time, we are also expecting the broader professional audience – artists, art educators, curators.
The exhibition is associated with the book Proc umeni? (Why Art?), compiled by the organisations involved in the international platform for contemporary art education Máš umělecké střevo? (Do you have a knack for art?).
Curators: Bettina BENCE, Barbara NAGY
Pedagogical concept: HEMRIK László
Exhibiting artists
Imre BAK, Georg BASELITZ, Joseph BEUYS, Emese BENCZÚR, Mária BERHIDI, LŐRINC BORSOS, Alexandr CHEKMENEV, István CSÁKÁNY, Róza EL-HASSAN, Anna FABRICIUS, László FEHÉR, Ion GRIGORESCU, Keith HARING, György JOVÁNOVICS, El KAZOVSKY, Katalin KÁLDI, Ilona KESERÜ, Tamás KONOK, Antal LAKNER, András LENGYEL, Zbigniew LIBERA, Nedko SZOLAKOV, Claes OLDENBURG, Roman ONDAK, Valéria SASS, Stoph SAUTER, SOCIÉTÉ RÉALISTE, Daniel SPOERRI, Mladen STILINOVIĆ, Ágnes SZABÓ, Dezső SZABÓ, Eszter Ágnes SZABÓ, Olekszij SZAJ, János SZIRTES, Endre TÓT, Beáta VESZELY, Erwin WURM, Dmitry ZHILINSKY, Bence ZSIN
