Page 168 - Museums, Media and Cultural Theory In Cultural and Media Studies

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of museums on a global market. Together with the use of new media kiosks to
give visitors greater access to collections, open storage suits the shift toward
visitor choice and the emphasis on personal selections associated with con-
sumer culture (Hooper-Greenhill 1992: 211–15; Hein 2000: 65–87). This trans-
fer of responsibility from author or media provider to readers or consumers is
similar to that found elsewhere in the media: in interactive media generally, in
‘interactive TV’, and in the relaxing of certain forms of media censorship. The
privileging of the reader in interactive media is comparable to how large cor-
porations pass costs and labour from the company onto customers (Manovich
2001: 44). Flexibility in the museum is linked to increased flexibility in capitalist
labour relations and production, which is associated with demand-driven (‘just-
in-time’) small batch production, subcontracting and the rise of sweatshop and
temporary labour (Harvey 1989: 173–97).
Flexibility is also connected to the ‘hybridization’ of the museum, as
museums increasingly find that the way to compete in a global marketplace of
attractions is to ‘exploit the plasticity of the museum idea’ by combining ‘wide-
ranging collections with spectacular architecture and elaborate settings – places
to eat and loiter as well as to view the exhibitions’ (Prior 2003: 64–5). Con-
temporary museums are now hybrid spaces, incorporating numerous shops,
information centres, restaurants and cafes, and even (at the World Museum in
Rotterdam) travel agents. They are hybrid too, in their use of display techniques
and the range of exhibits and events on offer, including corporate events, rooms
available for private hire, permanent and temporary exhibitions (Rectanus 2002;
Prior 2003; Noordegraaf 2004). The museum becomes ‘something like a tele-
vision station producing different programmes for different audiences’ (Barry
2001: 141). Marketing and corporate branding have come to dominate
museums (Macdonald 1998: 118). It is now extremely difficult to disentangle
the institutional, corporate and state interests shaping exhibitions. Subject spe-
cialisms become less significant as museum directors and other workers move
from ethnographic museum to science centres and art museums to natural
history museums. A limited number of design companies and specialist con-
tractors produce costly and spectacular one-off designs for large museums
worldwide. Consequently there is greater diversity in each museum, but more
homogeneity across museums, even whilst each museum emphasizes its distinct-
ive character.
It is clear that there are (at least) two possible perspectives on some of the
recent developments in museums: one sees the museum as shaped by global
markets, where diversity and multiple stories are a means of attracting audi-
ences; the other sees the museum as something which has become increasingly
accessible and democratized, committed to pluralism and addressing a more
diverse audience. It is not a question of choosing between these two views.