Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: My first visit to the Carnegie Museum of Art in months is relatively quiet. It's a Wednesday afternoon, and I'm the only person in the An-My Lê: On Contested Terrain exhibit. I had been looking forward to the show and planned on seeing it when it first opened in March, before the pandemic changed everything.
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Even before the pandemic mandated fewer numbers in museums, I remember visiting when it was just me in a wide empty gallery. Something about being able to actually take your time observing and walking around makes it feel like the trip was worthwhile. I mean, if you’re taking the risk of going to a public space, you may as well feel as though the trip was worth it. I’ve been to other, bigger, more popular museums that regularly bring in thousands of visitors daily and always feeling rushed. Sometimes I wouldn’t even get to see a really cool painting or diorama because there were always people crowded around. The upside to this is that by making a commitment to the museum you can come and experience it without having to worry about not seeing something, or having to beat a rush. However, on the other hand I do understand the worries that the community that a lot of museums cultivate will not be the same. A quiet art gallery is serene, but an empty Children’s Museum is sad at best. I am glad that they are taking it as slow as they can, because the future is so uncertain.
This article speaks about the situation of museums very counter to what I imagined. I really enjoyed the point brought up that while Museums really want to bring in as many people as possible, this new flow of guests has turned out to be quite the positive. Whenever I enter a museum I am generally there to experience and learn. Most of the time I end up caring less about the art and more about seeing everything and moving on with my life. This is also true for other museums like natural history, etc. This likely stems from the disruptive nature of many guests in being around. Even if all the guests are silent, there is a noise like a living vibration that makes me want to move on, not stay anywhere too long and then when I do find any empty portion I feel like something is wrong. Being able to enjoy the serene quiet and meditative nature that this new environment fosters through ticket limitations and other safe practices, it sounds like a wonderful experience.
This is yet another instance where COVID-19 has had huge implications for the arts; galleries and museums are just now opening with limited occupancy in Pittsburgh. I think this article makes an interesting observation, in that for some museums it is actually much a more meditative and intimate experience to have the entire floor to yourself. This allows for focused interaction with the art (all mental, no physical touching of any pieces of course), and a more relaxed experience if you ignore the global pandemic and constant need for cleaning of public areas. While these galleries and museums are looking for ways to keep their doors open post-pandemic, I think that the ability to find the small unintended benefits of the current circumstances is a recurring theme in the arts community, and beyond. Of course, with that said, the museums do need the revenue to keep their doors open and hopefully they can continue to increase their number of visitors allowed in at a time. Until we are in the post-pandemic world, everyone is going to need to continue finding new solutions to support our communities and unintended benefits that may come from them.
After months of my favorite museums and gardens being closed, it is nice to finally be back. Although, the environment has drastically changed. In addition to social distancing and mandatory masks, most places have had to limit visitors and require appointments. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I remember months ago, I felt a sense of urgency when walking through exhibits and an awareness of if I was in someone’s photo. There is something really nice about getting to experience art alone without judgement in this new set up. This article introduced a new perspective that I have never thought about, the impact on new art, exhibits, and community. Most interactive pieces had to be reimagined or completely shut down. In addition, many events which help connect people have been moved online. It will be interesting to see how artists and curators deal with new obstacles and navigate the upcoming months.
I will admit, despite (nearly) a full year in Pittsburgh as a CMU student, I only visited the Carnegie Museums once. However, when I went, it was empty upon arrival. I maybe saw 3 other people in my trip through the museum of natural history. Though it is unfortunate that these fantastic spaces are not able to accommodate more visitors, it allows those that do visit to become more intimately acquainted with the exhibits. I, personally, love the feeling of being able to explore spaces like these museums without too much overcrowding. I think it is very cool how these artists are developing and innovating new ways to showcase their art as well. Sometimes we are so rooted in the tradition of "going to a museum" that we don't realize there are so many other (and arguable betters) ways to see these things.
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