An Investigation into How Greater financial Stability Can Be Achieved for Portugal’s National Museums Under Management of The Portuguese Institute of Museums and Conservation (IMC)

The European sovereign debt crisis has led to considerable cuts in public funding for the arts. Portugal, one of the countries most affected by the crisis has recently seen consistent public cuts for its cultural organizations. With the prospect of continued budget cuts, this paper seeks to examine how Portugal\u27s largest public institute for the management of museums and built heritage the IMC (Instituto de Museus e Conservação) can seek to generate more private revenue and lower its costs in order to garner greater financial stability for itself. The research, based primarily on financial information dating up to 2010 looks predominantly at issues regarding ticketing policy and what affects how money flows in and out of the organization and its museums. The thesis also looks at how certain improvements can be made in the fields of branding, museum shop management and other general cost cutting measures

Disobedient Video in France in the 1970s: Video Production by Women’s Collectives

The ongoing reconstruction of early video’s history shows a wider usage of the medium at its start than previously thought, and particularly an expanded relationship to performance, documentary and archives. Also coming to light is the sociopolitical substance of its content, and the leading role of women in exploiting video as a new audiovisual medium. In France women developed a militant practice with video soon after the Sony Portapak camera became available in 1968. Their production and activities remain, even today, almost undocumented, and to a certain extent this stems from their anti-institutional and anti-establishment position. However, these collectives, whose members rarely identified themselves as artists, created the majority of the video produced in France in the 1970s, and arguably represent the first generation that truly and independently used video. Their example brings up several questions, such as why video became such a privileged medium for collectives, especially those composed of women.1 Was video instrumental in the process of women’s emancipation and self-representation and, beyond, in the constitution of themselves as individuals and as a collective unit? And finally, how did early video cope with the limited conditions of distribution available at the time, and what is the current status of this production

American Art Museum Architecture: Documents and Design

Exploring the intersections of art, architecture, and design, at both renowned institutions and cutting-edge contemporary collections. Museum interior spaces must be as carefully designed as their façades―if not more so―to meet the needs of both the art on display and the viewers. The design and construction of art museums in America thus is a complex process, and one rarely undertaken lightly. The architect must design a building that effectively supports the art exhibited. The museumgoers’ interaction with the art must be enhanced by the architecture, while amenities such as restaurants, cafes, gift shops, and accessible and convenient restrooms ensure their comfort. Finally, the storage of works of art not on display must be accounted for in the building design. American Art Museum Architecture: Documents and Design explores all aspects of, and approaches to, museum architecture―the aesthetic, the practical, the innovative, and the functional. Architectural historian Eric M. Wolf delves into the archives of some of the country’s premier institutions not only to explore the design decisions made at their founding, but also to understand how those institutions have continued to evolve along with their collections, up to the present day. Wolf examines the gradual development of six major museums: the Frick Collection, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Menil Collection in Houston, the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He explains how each museum was originally conceived, how the architecture reflected or modified that original conception, and how the buildings have been reconsidered or revised in later years, as the nature of art, art display, and museum-going has evolved. Extensive archival plans, documents, and photographs enhance the narrative. American Art Museum Architecture also considers the unique architectural challenges often posed by contemporary art. Conceptual art, video installations, and large-scale pieces are increasingly found in permanent collections, at small galleries and encyclopedic institutions alike. Museums built decades ago may have to renovate in order to accommodate such pieces, while newer museums devoted to contemporary work must tackle new architectural challenges when considering how best to house this work. Encompassing both grand nineteenth-century institutions and avant-garde contemporary art collections, American Art Museum Architecture is a timely and fascinating exploration of the ever-changing relationship between architecture and art. 46 color and 116 black-and-white photographs and illustration

L\u27utilisation au musée des equipment à eclairs electroniques

Research on the effects of flash photography on paintings conducted at the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Published in Techne, no.4, (1996). 128-36