Revealing the Silent Message of the Museum: The Legacies of Institutional Critique

Abstract

Joining reflections examining the legacies of institutional critique, this thesis focuses on the transforming roles of its producers, consumers and targets. A theoretical thesis emerging from desk-based research, it uses Pierre Bourdieu’s Field Theory to examine agents in the cultural field. It argues that the public enactment of institutional critique contributed to the expansion of the roles of artist, visitor and the institutions themselves. Examples of the practice are provided, ranging from the contemporary artworks of Fred Wilson and Andrea Fraser, acts by the Guerrilla Girls to internal, institutionally-produced critiques in the form of exhibitions and display methods. By examining the forms it takes, it maps the reception and transformation of the practice itself in the context of the changing museal landscape from the 1960’s to today. Expanding from its original, largely external methods, contemporary institutional theory now internalises institutional critique. This thesis argues that by drawing the public’s attention to the museum’s framings (or ‘silent messages’), they can critically - and more independently - consider the narratives they receive. In this sense, institutional critique is internalised once again with the potential for use by visitor-agents. In doing so – and by holding museums accountable to their ideologies - it offers a valuable tool for the benefit of agents within the museal field.