Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 7–8:30 pm

The roots of the word “museum” can be traced back to Ancient Greece and the word “mouseion,” which, translated, means “seat of the Muses.” The first lecture in this series will explore the origins of the present-day museum, from its ancient role as a place of philosophical discussion and contemplation through its progression to a means of displaying the private collections of pioneering Renaissance citizens in wonder rooms or cabinets of curiosities. Topics explored will include the evolving definitions of art over the ages and the institutional relationship between visual culture and religion.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013, 7–8:30 pm

A quest for knowledge, the aspiration to create new types of educational systems, a desire for taxonomy and classificatory systems, and many other scientifically oriented thought patterns, are all facets of the European and American Age of Enlightenment, which also witnessed a proliferation of books. The second lecture in this series will explore how, during the Enlightenment, museums evolved into increasingly public spaces with specific systems for presenting and archiving material artifacts. Topics explored will include the birth of art criticism, art history, and the Salon system of the ancien régime in France.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 7–8:30 pm

The American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783 and the French Revolution that erupted in the summer of 1789 were informed by Enlightenment ideals and a burgeoning psychosocial sentiment, on both sides of the Atlantic, that government should exist for the good of all people. During the Age of Revolution, the traditional systems of cultural ownership were radically transformed and the modern museum institution was born. This lecture will explore the impact that the revolutions, spreading across Europe during this time, had on the development of museums. Highlighted topics include the creation of the Louvre in Paris as the world’s first truly public museum, and the impact that war, conquest, and an evolving sense of history had on nineteenth-century cultural institutions. New practices of collecting art are also explored.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 7–8:30 pm

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the idea of a museum accessible to the public had spread across Europe and into America. During the age of nation building, from the mid–nineteenth century to the end of World War I, museums became instruments through which governments and wealthy patrons narrated cultural identities for communities and entire nations. The modern art market, the discipline of art history, and the concept of the modern artist-hero were also born during this period. While the operation of museums professionalized between 1870 and 1920, cultural institutions also became axiomatic political instruments of and for fledgling democracies and the social elite. Topics explored in this lecture include the modern synergy among art, cultural institutions, and nationalism and the creative tension between the “academy” and the “avant-garde.”

Tuesday, March 11, 2014, 7–8:30 pm

The definition of what is a museum has changed over time and is infinitely mercurial. The twentieth century witnessed the proliferation of a vast array of different types of museums, ranging from encyclopedic institutions such as the Louvre and the Metropolitan to others dedicated to specific periods or artists such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York or the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The twentieth century was also the heyday of modernism—a cultural trend that defies definition—and the modern artist, who presciently assumed different identities in diverse contexts. This lecture explores, for example, how the dialogue between artists and museums has shaped institutional identities and aspirations and how World War II transformed the field of art museums.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 7–8:30 pm

The advent of the Internet and the rise of the global art market, along with dozens of art fairs and biennials, have radically changed the ecosystems in which art museums operate. The final lecture in this series explores the possibilities and challenges that the digital age poses and presents to art museums that often have long historical legacies and are steeped in their indigenous communal and institutional histories. Questions explored include how virtual realities impact the aura of artworks and art spaces, how the local becomes global, and what is the purpose of the art museum in the early twenty-first century. This lecture will also examine contemporary trends in the art world and their impact on curatorial practices and museums.

A reception will follow the final lecture.