{"id":1024,"date":"2025-05-21T19:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T19:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/?p=1024"},"modified":"2025-09-24T12:43:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T12:43:04","slug":"thomas-campbell-weaving-narratives-in-museum-galleries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/?p=1024","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Campbell – Weaving narratives in museum galleries"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/thomas_p_campbell_weaving_narratives_in_museum_galleries<\/a><\/p>\n

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I found this talk fascinating. Thomas
\nCampbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, spoke
\neruditely and hilariously throughout. <\/p>\n

He reflected on the dangers of the jargon often used by
\nclassically trained art historians in curatorship. This kind of lens ignores
\nthe reality that all art was once contemporary. And that to deny this, removes
\nthe power and value of the work.<\/p>\n

He encourages us the viewer to ask basic questions of art
\nand historical objects as a challenge to this more formal and academic
\napproach: what is it, what is it made of, how was it used and who by?<\/p>\n

He expanded on this by talking about his studies on
\ntapestries. He explained that the reason they were so popular is because of
\ntheir ergonomics. They are portable, they are large, and they were hugely
\nexpensive to make. And so at a time where visual imagery was rare, tapestries
\nthrived because they were transportable forms of propaganda that also served as
\na clear status symbol. <\/p>\n

He then went on to explain his role in the Alexander McQueen
\nexhibition, following the designer\u2019s death. One of his curators went to London
\nfor a summer to collaborate with those close to the iconic fashion designer on
\nhow best to share his collection. This resulted in a total structural rework of
\nthe Met galleries, so that they could recreate McQueen’s first studio. They
\ngenerated a totally immersive experience that made his pieces feel like living
\nsculpture.; fusing fashion with installation, sound and light He lays the
\nsuccess of the show at the feet of its curator, whose time connecting with the
\nMcQueen designers had allowed them to create a transcendental experience that
\ntruly honoured the rawness, and the brilliance of the work displayed.<\/p>\n

His enthusiasm and expertise is captivating. Hearing him
\ntalk so passionately about his work, and his commitment to empowering the team
\nof curators he works with, illustrates succinctly why he holds the position
\nthat he does. He derives genuine pleasure from sharing art with audience and
\ntakes his role as a curator to an almost religious level. I really resonated
\nwith his take on how important it is to unpack the objects on display so that
\nthey are accessible to a general audience, free from distraction.<\/p>\n

He spoke passionately about breaking down the elitism and
\nthe other barriers that exist for some in relation to gallery space. He strives
\nto create spaces that prompt curiosity and invite audience to be vulnerable and
\ntherefore touched by the art on show.<\/p>\n

His talk left me feeling thoroughly emotional. His ending
\nstatements about how galleries are portals for humanity, full of people long
\ndead but who also held dreams, hopes and frustration just like our own, was
\nincredibly moving. Because, as he said the process of connecting with them
\nmakes us immortal and helps us better connect with our own lives, rich and
\nembedded in our own specific version of reality as they are.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

What a privilege to have your work in the care of such a
\nvisionary and considerate curator team. It makes me reflect on my own desires
\nto exhibit as an established artist. I would feel lucky to collaborate with a
\nhuman half as generous in manner and skill as Campbell.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/thomas_p_campbell_weaving_narratives_in_museum_galleries I found this talk fascinating. Thomas Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, spoke eruditely and hilariously throughout.  He reflected on the dangers of the jargon often used by classically trained art historians in curatorship. This kind of lens ignores the reality that all art was once contemporary. And that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1024"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1026,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024\/revisions\/1026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethanhemus.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}