The Futurist Manifesto of 1909 declared a wish "to demolish museums and libraries". For the Futurists, museums were akin to cemeteries - an idea echoed by Theodor Adorno (1903-69) who equated the museum with the mausoleum: "Museums are like the family sepulchres of works of art" (cited in Hal Foster (ed.) Postmodern Culture. London: Pluto Press, p.43).
But recent events in Edinburgh suggest that these "dead" places are very much alive. Over 22,000 people visited the National Museum of Scotland on the day it reopened following a three-year, £47m refit.
Adorno and Futurists like Filippo Marinetti (1876-1944) must be spinning in their graves!
See: Donnelly, Brian (2011) "Museum's makeover sees visitor numbers rise 10-fold", Herald Scotland, 30/07, accessed 30/07/2011 at, http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/museum-s-makeover-sees-visitor-numbers-rise-10-fold-1.1114857
But recent events in Edinburgh suggest that these "dead" places are very much alive. Over 22,000 people visited the National Museum of Scotland on the day it reopened following a three-year, £47m refit.
Adorno and Futurists like Filippo Marinetti (1876-1944) must be spinning in their graves!
See: Donnelly, Brian (2011) "Museum's makeover sees visitor numbers rise 10-fold", Herald Scotland, 30/07, accessed 30/07/2011 at, http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/museum-s-makeover-sees-visitor-numbers-rise-10-fold-1.1114857
