Over the last two decades, the encyclopedic museum model has been praised, defended, and criticized for its Eurocentric bias. Debates on provenance, cultural origins, and restitutions have exerted pressure on encyclopedic museums, and indeed on all manner of museums. Is there still a place for an institution dedicated to gathering, preserving, and showcasing all the world’s cultures? What can they contribute when the Internet now seems to offer the greater encyclopedia?
In Under Discussion: The Encyclopedic Museum, Donatien Grau argues for a geographical shift out of the Western-centric encyclopedic museum towards an “encyclopedic method for museums.” He discusses this concept, its reality, challenges, and potentials, with some of the art world’s most preeminent thinkers, including museum leaders such as Kaywin Feldman, Max Hollein, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Mikhail Piotrovsky and Hamady Bocoum; artists and architects, like Camille Henrot and Jean Nouvel; scholars, such as Kavita Singh, Bénédicte Savoy, Homi K. Bhabha, Bachir Souleymane Diagne, and Anthony Appiah; journalist Fiammetta Rocco; political leaders such as Irina Bokova and Zaki Nusseibeh.
Under Discussion: The Encyclopedic Museum (Getty Publications, $35.00) includes revealing and unexpected conversations on the past, present and future of the encyclopedic museum—with and beyond preexisting institutions. This book is an invaluable addition to these critical conversations, and offers brilliant insight into the ever-evolving world of art and museums.
Includes interviews with:
- George Abungu, National Museums of Kenya
- Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York University
- Homi K. Bhabha, Harvard University
- Hamady Bocoum, Musée des Civilisations Noires, Dakar
- Irina Bokova, UNESCO
- Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University
- Thomas Campbell, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
- James Cuno, J. Paul Getty Trust
- Bachir Souleymane Diagne, Columbia University
- Kaywin Feldman, National Gallery of Art
- Marc Fumaroli, Collège de France
- Massimiliano Gioni, New Museum
- Michael Govan, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Camille Henrot, artist
- Henri Loyrette, Musée du Louvre
- Philippe de Montebello, New York University
- Jean Nouvel, architect
- Zaki Nusseibeh, United Arab Emirates
- Mikhail Piotrovsky, State Hermitage Museum
- Grayson Perry, artist
- Krzysztof Pomian, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
- Mari Carmen Ramírez, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- Fiammetta Rocco, The Economist
- Max Hollein, Metropolitian Museum of Art
- Sabyasachi Mukherjee, CSMVS Mumbai
- Jean Nouvel, architect
- Bénédicte Savoy, Collège de France
- Kavita Singh, Jawarhlal Nehru University, New Delhi
- Amit Sood, Google Arts & Culture