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Macalester College

DigitalCommons@Macalester College Art and Art History Honors Projects

Art Department

5-3-2010

Universality and its Discontents: the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as a Case Study in the Future of Museums Catherine R. Skluzacek Macalester College, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/art_honors Part of the Architectural History and Criticism Commons, Art Practice Commons, Modern Art and Architecture Commons, and the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons Recommended Citation Skluzacek, Catherine R., "Universality and its Discontents: the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as a Case Study in the Future of Museums" (2010). Art and Art History Honors Projects. Paper 1. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/art_honors/1

This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Art Department at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art and Art History Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Blueprint Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................ii Introduction: Imagining the Possibilities of the Universal ........................................... 3

Chapter 1: History of the Museum Institution (Re)contextualizing: From Private Delectation to the Museum of the Future ........... 9 Betwixt-and-Between: Liminal Spaces Signal a Museum’s Values ..........................13 The Museum’s Public: Anticipating and Responding to Visitors’ Demands ............16

Chapter 2: Theorizing on the Sustainability of Universal Practices Rapid Response: The Death Knell of the Insulated Arts Institution .........................19 Cosmic/Terrestrial: The Universal and the Global in Museology..............................22 Universality: The Museum’s Discontents and Opportunities ....................................30 The Largest Growth Industry: (Cultural) Tourism and Financial Benefits.................33

Chapter 3: Case Study of the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Bridging a Cultural Divide: East Invites West .............................................................36 Power Dynamism: West Meets East ...........................................................................38 Plan Abu Dhabi 2030: Abu Dhabi and Saadiyat Island.............................................40 Masterplan: The Island of Happiness.........................................................................42 The Louvre in Abu Dhabi: Jean Nouvel .......................................................................44 Bigger than Bilbao: Frank Gehry and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi...........................46 Trending Upward: Constructing Cultural Opportunities.............................................48 If Walls Could Speak: Talking Art in the Louvre Abu Dhabi.......................................52 Conclusion: Realizing the Possibilities of the Universal ............................................55

Additional Resources Bibliography..................................................................................................................60 Web Resources ............................................................................................................62 Appendix A: Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums ......65 Appendix B: The Legacy of Sheikh Zayed...................................................................66 List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………………….70

Acknowledgments This honors thesis, and project in politics and culture of not only Europe and the Middle East, is for my cheerleaders. My adviser, Winston Kyan of the Art and Art History department, brought me out of the dark last fall.

His suggestions and enthusiasm

allowed me to explore a highly interdisciplinary topic that perfectly matched my interests. I think the only thing that he couldn’t do was to get me a personal invitation to Abu Dhabi. We can still work on that though. I would also like to thank my reviewers, Amanda Ciafone of the International Studies department and Kristin Lanzoni from the Art and Art History department. Their comments and suggestions truly helped polish my paper and made it ready for submission. My cheerleaders outside of the faculty are equally responsible for helping me finish my project. Even though they didn’t know about it immediately, my parents took it in stride that I was turning my capstone into an honors project, forgiving the frantic phone calls and high stress of fall semester. Then I have my Board. MacMUN Board, that is (listed in first-name alphabetical order): Elias, Helena, Joanna, and Kaitlin – you made my year great. Cheers to late-night runs to the Uptowner, writing parties at the ICU, and every Thursday and Sunday from here to eternity. DH and ABW, you know who you are. Your collective passion for Honors inspired me to keep going. Finally, a special thanks to Miss Joanna Baldwin Clark for her technological savvy and willingness to share it until three in the morning on the day this was due. I had no idea how long it took to change fonts, re-format the table of contents, and find URL locations for images that had seemingly disappeared from the interwebs.

Miss Helena Ruth

Swanson-Nystrom, the chocolate cake we shared earlier that evening is what kept me awake during this grueling process and you missed us in our glory. Please note that I am permanently speaking tongue-in-cheek. ♥

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Introduction: Imagining the Possibilities of the Universal Imagine a natural island... Home to seven distinct districts 500 meters off Abu Dhabi’s coast. Imagine Saadiyat Island Cultural District. See, hear, feel. A pulsing cultural hub. And beacon of art and culture. Embracing a bond of creativity. And fueling the imagination. “For the visitor it will also be enlightening, informing, enjoyable.” “I want the building to engage people emotionally.” “I want to create this feeling of discovery in something.” 1 Continue to imagine partnerships between architectural firms, museum institutions who brand themselves like multinational corporations, and developing local governments who are capitalizing on their natural resources. As this vision becomes reality, fantasy is brought to life in sensational design projects that attract visitors from all over the world who come to discover ... the future of the museum.

The frontier of innovation in the museological

community currently resides in the development program being executed in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.2 President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has assembled some of the world’s finest architects to design museum structures for the city’s Cultural District, a key feature in Abu Dhabi’s urban renewal plan.3 These structures will house the fruits of the collaboration between the government of Abu Dhabi and two premier arts institutions: France’s Musée du Louvre and New York’s Guggenheim.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi and

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as they are known respectively, are the first branches of their parent museums to be built in the Middle East. As self-designated “universal museums,”

Quotes from Lord Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, and Jean Nouvel, respectively, in a video distributed by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). TDIC is the government-owned master developer of major tourism sites in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Transcript of Saadiyat Island Brand Film English. [Video]. (2009). Retrieved April 23, 2010 . 2 Abu Dhabi is both the capital city and an emirate within the United Arab Emirates. 3 “Urban renewal” in the case of Abu Dhabi suggests that the city is updating its image as an attractive destination for many kinds of visitors - business and pleasure alike. Traditionally, renewal is associated with a city’s departure from a defunct industry. 1

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the Louvre and Guggenheim’s expansion has given new meaning to the controversial practices shaping the future of the museum. Being a relatively new invention, the “universal museum” prompts many more questions than it can seek to answer as the current trend in the museological community. The concepts of “universal” and “museum,” separately, are so vast that it is perhaps easier to define them by what they are not rather than to risk misrepresenting their nature. By “universal,” one can only be referring to that which is not site-specific or unique. Similarly, a “museum” houses objects (a decidedly vague term) that are revered for not being ordinary. In this context, it is difficult to intuitively describe what function a universal museum serves and what kind of objects it contains. Yet at least 18 museum directors are willing to stake their institution’s reputation on the assertion that there is indeed importance and value to such a designation. In 2002, the aforementioned directors of some of the world’s leading museums published a documented entitled, Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums [Appendix A].4 From this document, the museological community and the publics served by these museums mainly gathered one thing: a universal collection contains objects from many different cultures and those objects should stay where they are. As one may guess, this declaration was a response to the increasingly vocal calls for the repatriation of objects from cultures suppressed under colonialism and victims of “public collecting.” Directors who became signatories, possibly fearing a run on their collections that would leave their galleries empty, assured readers that their institutions provided a context that was equally valuable to the objects’ original sources. To conclude, the directors reminded

Please find an electronic copy posted here: International Council of Museums. "Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums." ICOM. 1 December 2009 . 4

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their peers that, “We should acknowledge that museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation.” These sentiments, while egregious to the citizens of places like Greece, allude to greater forces that have fundamentally altered how cultures interact both within and outside the museum.5

I refer to the omnipresent forces of

globalization that challenge the museum’s claims of social relevance and offer solutions for a model to sustain the institution into the future. Previously, the “universal museum” was understood to be a well-established Western institution whose vast collection contained artifacts representing many cultures, time periods, genres, and artists.

In contrast, the universal museum that is setting the

institution’s trajectory into the future retains a limited resemble to this original conception.6 Instead of justifying a collection that has incorporated objects with dubitable provenance, the “new” universal museum is far more concerned with its public that hails from every nation. This transition to focusing on the public was partially motivated by increasing economic pressures in the global marketplace, thus making the museum’s public into consumers of its product.7 The universal museum, used here to encompass both the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi projects, is the result of a progressive campaign to find a

5 The Declaration specifically cites Greek artifacts, particularly sculpture, as examples of objects that have benefitted from public collecting. According to the signatories, these objects enjoy greater attention and appreciation scattered throughout public museums and have been assimilated into the heritage of the nations that house them. 6 Here, it is necessary to distinguish the universal museum from the encyclopedic museum on the basis of cultural interaction versus essentialism. In an encyclopedic museum that perpetuates cultural essentialism, art from marginalized cultures is a minimal aspect that serves mostly to reinforce the notion of the West’s superiority in defining taste and achievement in all artistic traditions, genres, and periods. 7 “Products” of a museum include its collections, administrative expertise, and the overall visitor experience that the staff is able to cultivate in the institution’s physical space. By considering the museum’s social service as a product, it is easier to comprehend the possibility of branding institutional functions and replicating them in franchises.

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sustainable model of growth for the museological community.8 Implicit in this new form of a “universal museum” are several critical developments. First, it is essential to recognize that the Abu Dhabi branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim will bear no visible resemblance to their parent institutions [Figures 1, 2]. Architects Jean Nouvel and Frank Gehry have provided visually spectacular designs, which set the forthcoming museums apart from any structures that have come before them [Figures 3, 4]. Second, the Musée du Louvre and Guggenheim have cultivated an image for themselves that has been branded to represent the “best practices” implemented in the museological community.

Third, museums’ reputations have successfully attracted

developing local governments who wish to harness the power of these brands to elevate their own cities’ images.9 These three factors combined have given way to what is now known as the expansionary model. The “expansionary model” is the most succinct description of the current trend in museological practice, which also produced the notion of the “universal museum” that will be used here. This model was born in response to decidedly practical concerns that plague the museological community in its efforts to justify the social relevance of the museum institution. Globalization, a phenomenon characterized by increased immigrant and capital flows through cultures around the world, has created an economic environment ripe for the expansion of museum institutions. Introducing financial concerns into the non-profit world has polarized the museological community into theoretical idealists and pragmatic

Though both museums will feature a broad representation of cultures, genres, and artists, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is the only one of the two institutions that is being recognized as a “universal museum.” The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi may still be considered part of this designation as an accurate portrayal of the practices that led museums to adopt the designation of the universal museum as it was originally conceived. 9 Here, I refer to Spain’s partnership with the Guggenheim to create a branch in Bilbao. Other examples include “blockbuster exhibitions” that feature objects of a certain genre or from a specific museum’s collection, such as the Louvre’s collaboration with the High Museum in Atlanta, GA. 8

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capitalists. Initially, the Musée du Louvre criticized the expansionary model for corrupting the social contract between museums and their publics.10 Now, however, administrators of the Louvre are following the example of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, who established the expansionary model and departed from traditional museological practices.11 These museums still justify their relevance by serving as vaults for their national and cultural heritages. Some museums do this by providing a space in which to celebrate and preserve the unique identity of a nation’s citizens and ideas. The (new) universal museum, however, recognizes the increasingly diverse publics that the institution must serve. This is mainly a result of accelerated globalization, with generations of people experiencing increased autonomy to live, travel, and work across national boundaries. National identity now reflects more than a single geographic territory and the increasingly frequent instances of cultural interaction and exchange between nations. Museums, as they are now being constructed, reflect this multifaceted narrative of assimilation and seek to provide a space of social inclusion for the citizens, nationals, and visitors of their host countries. For a developing local economy like the one in Abu Dhabi, the expansionary model is an attractive tool to reach its goal of participating in the open, highly competitive global economy. Through the model, Abu Dhabi can invest its vast wealth in partnerships with leading museum institutions that promote an image of sophistication, which lends itself to attracting visitors to the city. The museums, in turn, receive significant financial benefits from these partnerships that allow them to pursue other projects and build their brand For further reading on this topic, please refer to: James B. Cuno and Neil MacGregor. Whose Muse?: Art Museums and the Public Trust. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. This book compiles the opinions of five (American and British) museum directors about how to maintain the public’s trust in a time of increasingly economically based decisions within the museological community. 11 The greatest oversight of traditional museological practices (those preceding the universal museum) was that the museum was largely dependent on outside sources of funding to maintain even basic operations. Administrators of universal museums contend that this trend is how they will develop self-sustaining institutions. 10

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name based on best practices. Considering the current state of the global economy, and particularly the situation for many developed players, it is no wonder that one of the defining features of the expansionary model is its appeal to developing nations. Yet as the expansionary model and its subsequent universal museum grow in popularity, persistent critics question the precedents that allowed this trend to become the future of the museum. The following discussion will address the political maneuvers that situated the museum as an agent for social change, how the museum’s architecture has assisted this role, the opportunities and challenges presented to the museum by the emerging forces of globalization, and the changing power dynamics between developed and developing countries as a result.

Museums, and their curators and directors, situate

themselves at the heart of these issues by reflecting civic agendas. These topics will be presented in the order of their specificity with regards to the progression of the museological community toward realizing the (new) universal museum. A brief history of the museum institution will ground the commentary on the sustainability of the expansionary model, which is being carried out for the first time in Abu Dhabi. As the world adapts to the forces of globalization, and grapples with the universal, the question then becomes: will universal museums like the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, who depend on the forces of globalization, be the most appropriate institutions to celebrate and educate the public about artifacts of the diverse cultures they exhibit? I will argue that, at this time, the universal museum is the best museological trend to reflect the economic pressures that increasingly define cultural interactions across national borders.

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Chapter 1: Histor y o f the Mus eum I nsti tution

(Re)contextualizing: From Private Delectation to the Museum of the Future The universal museum trend, while alarming to many members of the museological community, has its roots in the history of both the developed and developing world. Indeed, the year 1791 arguably marked the end of an era and the beginning of the future of the museum. In this year, the Assemblée Nationale decreed that the “Louvre and the Tuileries together will be a national palace to house the king and for gathering together all the monuments of the sciences and the arts.”12 For 700 years prior, the Palais du Louvre had served exclusively as a residence for the king of France. King Louis XVI’s palace, however, became a monument to democracy in the post-revolutionary nation when it was transformed from a royal collection into a national treasure open for public visitation. That same year, several thousand miles away across, land, sea, and sand, the Bani Yas Bedouin tribe settled around a freshwater spring on the coast of the Persian Gulf that later became the emirate of Abu Dhabi. These two events, seemingly disparate in any other context, take on new meaning in the discourse on the future of the museological world.13 Over 200 years later, the forces of globalization and industrialization have fostered the unlikely alliance between the Republic of France and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Cooperation between the nations originally developed through trading channels. Now, under the auspices of the expansionary model, their partnership extends to the cultural sector as Abu Dhabi wishes to create a world-class destination for business, culture, and leisure. To appreciate the results of the expansionary model as the current trend in the museological community, it is imperative to understand the broader context of how the

12 The Assemblée Nationale is the lower house of the French Parliament. The Louvre Museum. "The History of the Louvre: From Château to Museum." Musée du Louvre. Available from 15 December 2009 . 13 This coincidence of dates was originally discovered by Heiko Klaas in his 2007 article "Abu Dhabi Museum Project: a Desert Louvre?"

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museum became a public institution. Defining that progression are the practices that fostered the image of the museum institution in all of its various incarnations. Be aware that the “museum” has taken many different forms at any given time in its history. Therefore, any discussion of the context of museums necessitates consideration of the nature of the institution as an easily digestible definition simply does not exist. In the broadest sense, the museum began, and continues to some extent, as an organizational system and repository of knowledge. collection are tools.

The objects kept in a museum’s

Already though, one begs the question (an enduring one in the

museological community): to what end are the objects being used? Posing this critical question marks a shift into the discipline Peter Vergo calls “the new museology.”14 Juxtaposing the “new” and the “old” in museum studies, Vergo contends that the new museology is concerned with the purpose of museums as a way to define the institution. Previously, studies focused on the operational methods employed by a museum to define the idea that form follows function. ‘Old’ museologists focused on the museum’s administration, financial well-being, and ability to attract visitors. These methods were critical to achieving the primary objectives of the museum: collecting, conservation, research, and exhibitions.

Arguably, the collecting and exhibitionary functions of the

museum are the primary driving forces behind the evolution of the institution into the discussion of new museological study. The exhibitionary function in particular underscores the importance of spectators or visitors, as they are more commonly known in a museum. Contemporary museums survive at least in part by their usage statistics, the sheer volume of visitors they attract each year,

Peter Vergo, at the time of publication, was Reader in the History and Theory of Art at the University of Essex. Peter Vergo. The New Museology. London: Reaktion Books, 1989.

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to justify their cultural relevance and compete for funding. It is then vital to note that the earliest collections were far more selective in allowing people to view their contents. Take, for example, the studiolo, or small cabinet room found in many Italian Renaissance homes [Figure 5]. These were rooms in the homes of royals, nobility, and occasionally wealthy businessmen. They were filled with any kind of object that was relevant to study, such as manuscripts, fossils, scientific and musical instruments, as well as art objects.

Art in

particular demonstrated the patron’s good taste and demonstrated an understanding of Classical subjects and human phenomena. Individuals composed these collections on the whim of their own curiosity, making collecting methods largely unscientific. The purpose of building these collections was for mostly selfish purposes, acquiring objects that provided personal pleasure and enhanced their family’s image when shared with privileged guests to the home.15 Built primarily for the purpose of study, these early collections reached the heights of sophistication in the private contests of collecting, a tradition that continued in the practices of the earliest public museums. The first public museums, places for study and the display of precious objects, also inherited the tradition of using their displays to show wealth, power, and privilege. This tradition, however, was put to a fresh end in response to the growing concern for general public welfare.16 Beyond the Louvre as the first national public art museum, Paris’s Royal Academy exhibitions and Luxembourg Gardens were some of the first institutions to serve this function.17

This transition marked an institutional shift from glorification of the

individual to showcasing civic pride and edification. To do this, the Louvre refashioned the

Peter Vergo. The New Museology. London: Reaktion Books, 1989: Introduction. John Cotton Dana. “The Gloom of the Museum,” Anderson, Gail. Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift. Walnut Creek, Calif: AltaMira Press, 2004. 17 Bette Wyn Oliver. From Royal to National: The Louvre Museum and the Bibliothèque Nationale. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2007.

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king’s impressive collection into a display of national treasures for Napoleon’s pan-European empire.

Still today, the collection in the Musée du Louvre represents the highest

achievements from each period.18 Its challenge was to celebrate not aristocratic superiority, but the democratic principles of liberty, equality, and brotherhood. In the new décade, a ten-day week that replaced the seven-day unit of time in postRevolution France, access to the Louvre was permitted to individuals according to their constituent group: five days were reserved for artists and copyists, two days for cleaning, and three were open to the general public. When this open access was granted it was, however, proscribed with the caveat of elevating the visiting public to an appropriate level of decorum.19 As Kenneth Hudson points out in A Social History of Museums, visitors of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries were admitted to museum institutions as a privilege, not a right. Therefore, exhibitions demanded gratitude and admiration from their visitors while discouraging criticism.20 To avoid inciting any such criticism from their newly acquired publics, museums adopted the additional goal, beyond serving knowledge seekers, academics, and artists, of engaging in mass education. Museums continued to attract visitors by becoming places of public diversion and entertainment. Such a goal is at once a natural extension of the museum’s survival strategy: to incorporate the general public, while also having to maintain

18 Former Louvre curator of paintings, René Huyghe, also of the French Academy, contends that this challenge still faces the museum though its implication reflect modern concerns. Today, the Louvre is still committed to exhibiting art that has withstood the test of time and does not seek to speculate in uncertainties. However, this complicates the notion that the Louvre can use its resources to acquire the “best” objects. One must wonder why the Louvre is qualified to make these judgments. Gigetta Dalli Regoli. Louvre, Paris. New York: Newsweek, 1967. 19 It has been documented that the first public visitors to Versailles were required to rent a plumed hat and sword from the caretaker to be able to walk the grounds. Edward P. Alexander. Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1979: 22. 20 Kenneth Hudson. A Social History of Museums: What the Visitors Thought. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press, 1975.

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a sacred treasury of knowledge.21 One way in which this disparity was resolved was to incorporate the very structure of the museum into its appeal. By looking at the Musée du Louvre, for example, one sees how architecture functions as a signaling device for the institution [Figure 6]. In a building such as the Palais du Louvre, where the complex literally envelops the visitor, the approach conveys awesome grandeur and intrigues the visitor as to what the famed halls contain. It may not even be too bold to say that the facade originally sought, and continues to engender, gratitude from visitors that they are even being allowed inside.

Betwixt-and-Between: Liminal Spaces Signal a Museum’s Values Throughout history one finds evidence of how the physical museum structure reflects a museum’s social intent. Honoring the invaluable nature of the masterpieces that made up collections, the first public museum structures took cues from the palatial architecture of the royal residencies where they were first kept. In “The Art Museum as Ritual,” Carol Duncan further asserts that a museum’s design echoed temples and churches as the symbol and container of civic authority, and the preserver of secular truth.22 An earlier architectural study of the British Museum by J. Mordaunt Crook imagines the museum as a mirror for “Renaissance humanism, eighteenth-century enlightenment and nineteenthcentury democracy.”23

This follows the Enlightenment project, when secular truth

supplanted religious authority, and scientific methods and catalogues that ordered nature Another author who addresses this idea is Andrea Fraser. In her analogy, the public wandered the streets as unruly crowds and admission to the museum constituted (and required of them) an orderly audience that could enjoy orderly displays. Fraser, Andrea. “Isn't this a wonderful place? (A tour of a tour of the Guggenheim Bilbao)”. In Museum Frictions, edited by Ivan Karp, 138. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006. 22 Duncan, Carol. Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums. Re visions (London, England). London: Routledge, 1995. 23 Alexander, Edward P. Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1979: 8. 21

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found a home in the museum.

As collecting and classifying processes became more

refined, the exhibition of natural specimens and artistic production reflected the advancing idea of human perfection. Thereafter, museums were the sites of scientific and humanistic inquiry, that protected society’s collective values and memories. Just as a place of worship narrates beliefs about the natural order of people, objects, and events, so too does the museum. Once inside, the viewer feels reverence for the cosmic organization these spaces describe. To prepare visitors for this experience, the aesthetic of the entrance prescribed expectations and behaviors conducive to digesting the works of art within. Grand stairways leading up to doorways flanked by sculpted lions and towering columns set at the edge of novel green spaces were all design cues to the visitor that what you find here is important, extraordinary, and even sacred. The intended effect of such architecture would naturally arouse the concept of liminality, invoking what anthropologist Victor Turner described as a consciousness “betwixtand-between the normal, day-to-day cultural and social states.”24 Although liminality is often associated with ritual or religious practices and spaces, Turner also characterizes aesthetic experiences, such as visiting an art exhibition, with the same power to motivate viewers into thinking or feeling in a different way about themselves and the world. However, after more than two centuries of classical architecture, these canonical edifices have lost their potency. Facing an increasingly competitive global market, the museum structure as temple or palace no longer signals an extraordinary experience to its visitors. Spectacular design schemes with fantastical silhouettes now mark the liminal break that transports visitors from the mundane details of their lives into the transcendent world of the museum. Visitors will enter

Carol Duncan. "The Art Museum as Ritual." The Art of Art History. Ed. Donald Preziosi. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009: 427. 24

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a space where art objects present a cross-section of not just one culture, but the entire universe. This leads modern museum-goers to wonder: what do you find inside a building with few square angles or one that is united with the landscape? Considering these references to Gehry and Nouvel’s projects, architecture’s role is essential to the new trend of expansion and the creation of “universal museums.” As it is currently the most tangible asset of the project, designs for the Saadiyat Island Cultural District illuminate the social, political, and cultural ramifications of such developments. Architects and patrons realize the enormous potential of the museum’s exterior to mediate visitors’ first and last impressions, which provides a visual summation of their experience. Thus, with an accumulated team of today’s greatest architects, TDIC is capitalizing on the physical museum structure to successfully execute “Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.”25 Moreover, to be truly successful the designs of Nouvel and Gehry must trigger the “Bilbao Effect,” when the structure elicits a magnetic visual and emotional response from visitors as the centerpiece of urban renewal. Within this liminal break, museums walk a fine line between entertainment and education.

Innovative

architecture signals a departure from the traditional, intimidating arts institution experience. Abandoning the sculpted lions and columns, twenty-first century museum projects transport visitors from the ordinary into the fantastical experience inside. Museum architecture has become a critical element in the institution’s campaign to legitimize its existence to its public as a unique social space by heightening its spectacular image.

25 TDIC is a public joint stock company whose sole shareholder is the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. After “Plan Abu Dhabi 2030” was released in 2006, a government entity known as the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) became the developer of Saadiyat Island. Please also refer to a video summary of the government document put forth by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council: Squint/Opera. (2008). Abu Dhabi 2030 [Video] Retrieved April 27, 2010, from .

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The Museum’s Public: Anticipating and Responding to Visitors’ Demands In understanding a museum’s audience, unless one is in marketing, it is far less important to identify the public’s demographics than to synthesize the visitors’ desires and needs with institutional practices. At this time, however, there exists no formula to prescribe how a museum handily conveys a message of authenticity and magnificence. Instead, museums have been distracted by overcoming the public’s prevailing distrust of the institution’s role and usefulness. Jean Chatelain, former Director of the Museums of France, believes that ignorance and the fear of appearing ignorant motivates this uneasiness.26 A recent study of history museums established a useful position of the museum, whose purpose is to educate and entertain, on a spectrum relative to other social institutions.

This spectrum, though it references to a specific genre of museums, is

increasingly relevant to the entire museological community as art museums evolve in the quest to attract visitors and define their function.27 Renowned anthropologist and former director of the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Michael Ames, justifies the museum’s unique position on this spectrum in his 2005 article, “Museology Interrupted.” On one end, Ames places theme parks, from which museums differentiate themselves by claiming to exhibit the ‘real thing’. The spectacle and beauty of the display derives from lived history - not an extrapolation of history onto a fictional world.

Unlike

adventures in a magical kingdom, museum visitors can, for example, see and experience artifacts of the life that royals once led. At the other end of the spectrum are universities or Gigetta Dalli Regoli. Louvre, Paris. New York: Newsweek, 1967: 9. Previously, the “history” museum has differentiated itself from other specialized museums (art, science, etc.) by presenting a strong, informational narrative of historical events. Contrast this, for instance, with an art museum’s focus on an aesthetic narrative that may prioritize visual effect over conveying knowledge about the objects in its collection. To achieve a respectful dialogue between objects that represent different cultures, a universal (art) museum must assimilate more of the educational practices of a history museum into its displays. Study conducted by: Richard Handler and Eric Gable. The New History in an Old Museum: Creating the Past at Colonial Williamsburg. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997: 242-3. 26

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libraries, institutions dedicated exclusively to education, the original home for primary documents.

In response to academics’ claims that museums trivialize the message

conveyed by their exhibits, the institution must also claim the authenticity of their objects, the ‘real things’.28 While some libraries host valuable objects, such as ancient manuscripts, these are inherently quite rare and largely withheld from public consumption. In the middle of this spectrum is the museum, where visitors are encouraged to look at and imagine the meaning of objects that are being protected for their great intrinsic value. Given that objects, or things, are at the heart of the museum’s four original functions - collecting, conservation, research, and exhibition - it has been in the interests of the institution to magnify the authenticity and importance of its collection.

By doing so,

administrators and staff of the museum unavoidably become the final authority in determining an object’s value. After an object is admitted to a museum, its subsequent interpretation is solely at the discretion of those administrators and staff. Efforts made to neutralize the environment in a museum actually magnify the institution’s value judgments and subjectivity of its collection as objects are often completely divorced from their original context.29 As this dilemma was especially prevalent in the second half of the twentieth century, the idealism and academic integrity at the foundation of museum collections walked a fine line between being spectacular and dogmatic.30 Hand in hand with this notion is the widespread belief that museums are the best place to conserve these valuable objects that Michael M. Ames. "Museology Interrupted". Museum International. 57, no. 3 (2005): 44-51. In a “neutral” museum environment the idea of art for art’s sake is celebrated. Visitors see art objects that are supposedly the best examples of artistic development for a certain artist, period, or geographic area. Often, the only exhibitionary practices that suggest an object’s historical or cultural context is in a paragraph of text on a placard. 30 The dilemma refers to exhibitionary practices that disregard the need for context to create a visually spectacular display. Charles Saumarez Smith. “Museums, Artefacts, and Meanings”. The New Museology. Ed. Peter Vergo. London: Reaktion Books, 1989: 9. 28

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narrate a history of the museum’s specialty.31

Given these circumstances, one must

question a given institution’s ability to be the supreme authority on the value and display of an object. Like in any field, within the museological community there exist leading museums who appear eminently qualified to make such decisions regarding collecting and exhibition practices.

One such museum is the Louvre while another, perhaps, would be the

Guggenheim.

With their vast resources and renown that attract experts from many

disciplines, museums capitalize on their

reputation to make these decisions about

aesthetic and cultural value.32 Yet the power of supreme authority runs counterintuitively to the Louvre’s designation as a national collection, steeped as it is in French history and culture. As late as 1996, the Louvre resisted attempts to make its collection more ‘universal.’33 During his terms in office, President Jacques Chirac promoted a campaign to introduce les arts premiers, or first (primitive) arts, into the French museum system.

Famously, Chirac

announced in a 1995 campaign speech that, “[The first arts] must be at the Louvre, which cannot remain a great museum while ignoring the arts of 70% of the world's population. I will make it so in the coming year.”34 Chirac’s second term saw to that end in multiple venues. First, the Louvre’s Pavillon des Sessions was cleared to make way for permanent gallery space dedicated to 100 pieces representative of les arts premiers.

Finally, Chirac

negotiated the creation of the Musée du quai Branly, a museum dedicated to the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

Of greater significance to the museological

Examples of specialty: contemporary art, objects of a certain medium or geographic area. “Cultural value” describes an object’s use as a representative artifact of a particular geographic area or social organization of people. Often, museums who claim to implement best practices regard the objects in their collection as the eminent examples of these cultures and areas. 33 Alan Riding. "For Chirac's Mark On Culture in Paris, An Ethnic Museum." New York Times. October 9, 1996, late ed: C13. 34 Elizabeth Harney. ""Les arts premiers" in Paris: le monument de l'autre" The Free Library. December 22, 2006. 20 March 2010 . Hope, Bradley. "'Rain of Light' for Louvre Abu Dhabi." The National. 14 December 2009 . International Council of Museums. "Declaration on the Value and Importance of Universal Museums." ICOM. 1 December 2009 . International Council of Museums. "ICOM Mission." The International Council of Museums. 14 December 2009 . Klaas, Heiko. "Abu Dhabi Museum Project: A Desert Louvre?" Speigel International Online. 24 September 2009 . Krens, Thomas. Intervew by Ulrike Knopel and Ariane Von Dewitz. Spiegel International Online, 27 March 2008. 1 November 2009. . The Louvre Museum. "The History of the Louvre: From Château to Museum." Musée du Louvre. 15 December 2009 . Nambiar, Sona. "Transparent Film to Protect Louvre Abu Dhabi from Rain." Emirates Business 24-7. 7 December 2009 . "Nathalie Criniere Chosen to Create the Design for Louvre Abu Dhabi." Gulf News, January 7, 2009. 2 November 2009 . Oxford Business Group. "Emirates: Abu Dhabi: Country Profile." 26 October 2009 . Ravenhill, Philip L. 1993. "Review of Mining the Museum". African Arts. 26, no. 3: 72-73. Riding, Alan. "The Louvre's Art: Priceless. The Louvre's Name: Expensive." The New York Times. 24 September 2009 . Saadiyat Island Brand Film English. [Video]. (2009). Retrieved April 23, 2010 . Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. "About Us: Guggenheim Foundation."; "Chronology: 1920s-1960s."; "Thomas Krens to Step Down as Director of Guggenheim."; "Guggenheim Abu Dhabi." Guggenheim. .

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Squint/Opera. (2008). Abu Dhabi 2030 ‫[ ماعل يبظوبأ ةطخ‬Video] Retrieved April 27, 2010, from . Thomas Krens. Intervew by Ulrike Knopel and Ariane Von Dewitz. Spiegel Online, March 27, 2008. 1 Nov 2009. . Tourism Development Investment Company. "Cultural District." Arts Abu Dhabi. 9 November 2009 . Tourism Development and Investment Company. "Louvre Abu Dhabi: The Building"; "Louvre Abu Dhabi: The Concept"; "Louvre Abu Dhabi to be Created Within the Saadiyat Island Cultural District." Saadiyat Island- Island of Happiness. 2 November 2009 . Young, Niki May. "Louvre Abu Dhabi Exhibition Architect Announced." WorldArchitecture News, January 6, 2009 .

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Appendix A: Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums The international museum community shares the conviction that illegal traffic in archaeological, artistic, and ethnic objects must be firmly discouraged. We should, however, recognize that objects acquired in earlier times must be viewed in the light of different sensitivities and values, reflective of that earlier era. The objects and monumental works that were installed decades and even centuries ago in museums throughout Europe and America were acquired under conditions that are not comparable with current ones. Over time, objects so acquired—whether by purchase, gift, or partage—have become part of the museums that have cared for them, and by extension part of the heritage of the nations which house them. Today we are especially sensitive to the subject of a work’s original context, but we should not lose sight of the fact that museums too provide a valid and valuable context for objects that were long ago displaced from their original source. The universal admiration for ancient civilizations would not be so deeply established today were it not for the influence exercised by the artifacts of these cultures, widely available to an international public in major museums. Indeed, the sculpture of classical Greece, to take but one example, is an excellent illustration of this point and of the importance of public collecting. The centuries-long history of appreciation of Greek art began in antiquity, was renewed in Renaissance Italy, and subsequently spread through the rest of Europe and to the Americas. Its accession into the collections of public museums throughout the world marked the significance of Greek sculpture for mankind as a whole and its enduring value for the contemporary world. Moreover, the distinctly Greek aesthetic of these works appears all the more strongly as the result of their being seen and studied in direct proximity to products of other great civilizations. Calls to repatriate objects that have belonged to museum collections for many years have become an important issue for museums. Although each case has to be judged individually, we should acknowledge that museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation. Museums are agents in the development of culture, whose mission is to foster knowledge by a continuous process of reinterpretation. Each object contributes to that process. To narrow the focus of museums whose collections are diverse and multifaceted would therefore be a disservice to all visitors. Signed by the Directors of: The Art Institute of Chicago Bavarian State Museum, Munich (Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek) State Museums, Berlin Cleveland Museum of Art J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Los Angeles County Museum of Art Louvre Museum, Paris The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Modern Art, New York Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence Philadelphia Museum of Art Prado Museum, Madrid Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

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Appendix B: The Legacy of Sheikh Zayed Despite initial financial and political setbacks, Sheikh Zayed’s reign, ending upon his death in 2004, is a testament to modernization and diplomacy in the Middle East region. Much of Zayed’s legacy and his relatively smooth transition into power were made possible by encouraging foreign entities to prospect in the newly discovered oil reserves. At the same time, Zayed fiercely protected the rights of the Emiratis. To curb the domineering influence of outside investors, legislative policy prevented them from owning land.

A sparsely

populated country, the UAE has drawn an enormous immigrant labor force with their massive building projects.137 These workers, like outside investors, also could not purchase land, leaving wealth and influence in the nation mainly in the hands of the minority. Structured as such, the United Arab Emirates is cited as “the best example of a capital-rich state suffering from severely limited indigenous human resources, but experiencing spectacular economic growth.”138 This structure has contributed to statistics showing the UAE as one of the wealthiest countries, especially in terms of GDP per capita.139 Under the loose political structure of Sheikh Zayed, Dubai was free to implement its own land ownership laws. In 1997, Dubai legalized property sales to nationals of the UAE and five years later established districts where foreigners could buy as well.140

This

fundamental difference in attitude toward nationals and non-citizens set Dubai apart as a fully developed urban landscape, despite Abu Dhabi’s vast wealth and resources. Dubai was able to offer a significant investment opportunity for nationals and residents, the

Workers have primarily immigrated to the United Arab Emirates from the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia. 138 Birks, J. S., and C. A. Sinclair. Arab Manpower: The Crisis of Development. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. 139 In 1990, Abu Dhabi in particular was exporting oil for a profit of more than $50,000 per citizen. "Sheikh Zayed." The Economist 20 Nov 2004: 90. 140 Gimbel, Barney. "The Richest City in the World." Fortune 19 Mar 2007: 168-76. 137

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domestic impact of which cannot be underestimated.141

A subsequent massive

development project allowed Dubai to become a high-class international tourist destination. Critics of Sheikh Zayed’s conservative protectionism blamed him for restricting Abu Dhabi’s property laws that held the city’s growth behind that of its neighboring emirate. The impetus behind such a policy change was an effort to diversify the economy. By the 1990s, the emirates began to recognize both the finite quality of oil and its allied products as well as advancing technology to curb oil consumption. Dubai was the first to capitalize on its other resources, namely its good weather, well-developed infrastructure, and policy for competitive pricing in hotel accommodations.142 Regional stability to promote a secure destination precipitated the foundation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 1981.143 These factors naturally led to the emirate’s movement into the tourism sector. Initially, Dubai marketed itself as an ideal European winter retreat and that focus has expanded to a worldwide clientele.144 The state, however, found its greatest success in attracting business visitors and exposed itself to significant debt to financially support development projects aimed at increasing tourist traffic.145 If Zayed’s policies are to be admired, it is for preventing Abu Dhabi’s demise like the one witnessed by Dubai. Preceding the complete financial meltdown revealed this year, Dubai was plagued by overtaxation, inflation, crime, and even prostitution.146 The emirate’s

141 Dubai’s role in the economy is similar to how Singapore positioned itself as the site of commercial, financial, and recreational center to intercept the profit transactions related to more industrial sectors. 142 M. M, Ali. Trade and Industry (Dubai), vol. 14, no. 157 (1989): 10-6. 143 GCC also incorporates the member states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Yemen has been introduced as a limited partner with the goal of eventual full membership. Features of the cooperative promote: internal free market trade in agricultural and industrial products, lower internal trade barriers, establish common external tariffs (of 5%), and develop institutions to organize investment and industrial practices. 144 Trade and Industry (Dubai), vol. 15 nos. 175-176 (1990). 145 “The Making of Dubai’s Success Story.” Middle East Economic Digest, vol. 39, no. 14 (1995): S6-S8. 146 In relation to social issues, Dubai is also famously tolerant of Western decadence: liquor is served in many hotel bars and the dress code adheres to low standards of coverage necessary for women. Often, liberalism

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resulting bankruptcy is nothing if not a lesson for Abu Dhabi. Already the tone of Abu Dhabi’s urban development program sets itself apart from anything that has come before it. Financially, Dubai’s expansion was poorly planned, driving the emirate deeply into debt with creditors for total liabilities of nearly $100 billion. Currently, expired loans require a $10 billion bailout, which was granted by Abu Dhabi.147 The bailout signals a new era for the country, one in which the emirates are more firmly aligned politically and financially. International markets were surprised and relieved by Abu Dhabi’s swift response to the crisis.148

The efficiency with which the decision was made is a hallmark of the

administration since 2004. Moving forward, Abu Dhabi’s tourism base is forecasted to be more stable than Dubai’s. If there is political instability in the region, Western consumers are likely to react more strongly and negatively. Arab visitors suffering a similar “home bias” in that instance will still feel secure in the area. Christopher Davidson, a political science professor at Durham University in Britain, predicts that the demographic base of Dubai’s visitors would lead to its destruction under those circumstances.149 At the same time, Abu Dhabi’s quest to become a leader in cultural tourism and international business is fraught with peril when interactions between local and regional institutions attract global interest. Particularly in the case of Saadiyat Island, the deep religious beliefs of the native population contrast sharply with the largely liberal, tolerant, and exuberant art world. Cultural biases threaten to divide the project philosophically while

attributed to Dubai mistakenly refers to these oversights of tradition rather than supporting the formation of working standards, unions, or disagreement with the government. 147 Cummins, Chip. "Dubai Gets $10 Billion Bailout to Ease Debt." Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2009: A1. 148 Thomas Jr, Landon. "Abu Dhabi Tightens Its Grip as It Offers Help to Dubai." New York Times, December 14, 2009, New York: B1. 149 Gimbel, Barney. "The Richest City in the World." Fortune 19 Mar 2007: 168-76.

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practical differences suggest that the users and providers also disagree about the eminence of economic or esthetic interests.

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List of Figures http://solutions00.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/louvre20at20dusk.jpg Figure 1 Louvre Museum in Paris, France. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/flw/guggenheim03.jpg Figure 2 Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim in New York. http://78.31.106.173/_uploads/saadiyat/gallery/2_291447GUGGENHEIM_ABU_DHABI_I MAGE_17.jpg Figure 3 Guggenheim Abu Dhabi design by Frank Gehry (computer generated). http://78.31.106.173/_uploads/saadiyat/gallery/2_291633LOUVRE_ABU_DHABI__JEAN_ NOUVEL_DESIGN_06.jpg Figure 4 Louvre Abu Dhabi design by Ateliers Jean Nouvel (computer generated). http://arssecreta.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/studiolo.jpg Figure 5 Example of a studiolo. Commissioned by Francesco I de’Medici, in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Cour-carree-du-louvre-verslouest.jpg Figure 6 Palais du Louvre. Paris, France. http://images.artnet.com/images_US/magazine/reviews/weishaupt/weishaupt8-22-1.jpg Figure 7 Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, Germany. http://images.smh.com.au/2009/03/20/425407/Emirates-Palace-External-Fr600x400.jpg Figure 8 Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE. http://www.shinesforall.com/images/MiddleEastMap.jpg Figure 9 Map of Middle East region. http://www.dubaipropertylist.com/images/ad_map.gif Figure 10 Map of United Arab Emirates.

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http://78.31.106.173/_uploads/saadiyat//content/projectupdate/culturaldistrict/saadiyat _may_2009_1000ft0317.jpg Figure 11 Saadiyat Island, off the coast of Abu Dhabi. http://78.31.106.173/_uploads/saadiyat/gallery/2_291155AERIAL_SHOT_OF_CULTURAL_ DISTRICT_2.jpg Figure 12 Saadiyat Island Cultural District (computer generated). http://78.31.106.173/_uploads/saadiyat/gallery/2_291954PERFORMING_ARTS_CENTRE_ 07.jpg Figure 13 Zaha Hadid’s Performing Arts Center. Saadiyat Island Cultural District, Abu Dhabi. http://www.uaerush.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/louvre_aerial.jpg Figure 14 Aerial view of Louvre Abu Dhabi design by Jean Nouvel (computer generated). http://www.usefilm.com/images/4/0/4/6/4046/1036019-medium.jpg Figure 15 Example of a mashrabiya. Photo courtesy of Wael Hamdan. Copyright 2006. http://lighthouseabudhabi.com/hirek/altalanos_hirek/108/210/210_rainfilenamelouvre.jp g Figure 16 Chairman of TDIC, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan and Jean Nouvel beneath a model of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s dome. http://shewalkssoftly.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/louvre-1_kpkku_17621.jpg Figure 17 Under the dome of Louvre Abu Dhabi (computer-generated). http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/arab_institute/arab_institute.jpg Figure 18 Façade of Jean Nouvel’s Institut du Monde Arabe. http://www.shift.jp.org/ja/archives/2008/02/13/IMG_7319a.jpg Figure 19 Scale model of Frank Gehry’s design for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Notice conical wind towers. http://www.biocrawler.com/w/images/d/de/Guggenheim-bilbao-jan05.jpg Figure 20 Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain. http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files2009a/Manet_The_Bohemian.jpg Figure 21 Édouard Manet,The Bohemian (1861-62). 71

http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files2009a/Manet_Still_Life_with_Bag_and_Garlic.jpg Figure 22 Édouard Manet, Still Life with Bag and Garlic (1861-62). http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files2009b/Edouard_Manet_The_Gypsies.jpg Figure 23 Les Gitanos (1862). Etching http://www.paul-cezanne.org/Rocks-Near-The-Caves-Above-The-Chateau-Noir.jpg Figure 24 Paul Cézanne, Rocks Near the Caves Above Château Noir (1904).

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