Hour

October 2001

 

Drawing in people

New Detroit Museum makes viewers part of its exhibit

By: Susan Howes

 

            After several years in planning, the Museum of New Art (MoNA) opened its 10,000-square-foot space in Detroit’s historic Book Building last month with an exposition as avant-garde in concept as the “museum” itself.  The non-profit, tax-exempt MONA was established under the direction of Jef Bourgeau “to present and examine current art as a resource for and expression of the present culture.”

            MONA’s inaugural exhibition, Documenta USA, attempts to incorporate the audience as an integral part of contemporary art.  The viewer is invited to explore the materials used in deciding how to assemble an exhibition --- to assume the role of curator and examine the slides, biographies, catalogues and critical reviews.  At the same time, the museum will record and photograph visitors to Documenta USA and include these images in the exhibition.

            “We believe that the museum visitor should not be half at arm’s length from art, but be able to literally jump in and actually touch and handle the work,” Bourgeau says.  He adds that about 2,000 artists are participating in the exhibition that “refreshes and renews itself every 100 minutes.”

            A video component, Fifteen, includes a series of self-portraits in which artists speak to the camera about their art.  A third component, called Aperto, runs non-stop for two days (from 1 p.m., Oct. 5 to 10 p.m., Oct. 6) and allows any artist to hand his or her work in the main gallery until the next artist arrives to take that place.