People Behaving Appropriately in Art Museums

People behaving appropriately in art museums seems to be a dying art, as evidenced by this Elizabeth Hurley photo of her sitting on the Great Bed of Ware at the V & A. Obviously a case where no barrier would have stopped a determined celebrity.

And while we’re lamenting the decline of appropriate behavior, can we weep a moment for the word “selfie” which has now apparently become a synonym for any photograph with a person in it. In case this is news to you, as it was to the author of the Observer writer who reported on the incident, a “selfie” is photograph one takes of oneself. That’s why you often don’t see both of the subject’s hands, since they’re holding the camera, or the (gulp!) selfie stick. Unless Liz has really flexible, longs toes, this isn’t a selfie. 

Here’s an edge case, readers, submitted by Niall and Lucy from far-off Carolina. The backpack would normally be an immediate disqualification, but in this case it might provide a welcome counterbalance when leaning over the stand-offs, which I’ll admit are remarkably far away. Appropriate, or not?

And when you consider the Donald Judd next to it with *no* barrier around it, the situation gets even more fraught. Judd’s are world-renowned climbing structures, as evidenced in this photo from last year at the Tate Modern:

You can feel them judging you, can't you? Yes, and found wanting...

Joint Statement from Museum Bloggers and Colleagues on Ferguson and related events

In the mad bustle of Art Basel Miami Beach (more on that later, hopefully…) a group of thoughtful friends started discussing the roles of cultural institutions in the wake of police killings in Ferguson, Staten Island, and elsewhere. The following statement is a result of those conversations and hopefully the beginning of longer ones. The question of what our response should be is already…