"Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art." -Andy Warhol

Currently, there are two Andy Warhol exhibitions being put on by the Smithsonian, one at the National Gallery and one at the Hirshorn. I saw both of these shows in the same day and probably the most memorable thing about both of them was the explosion of Andy Warhol merchandise spewing from the gift shops.

At the Hirshorn, a display was set up leading into the gift shop offering/pushing merchandise that was endorsed by the curator, resting under a sign reading, "Curator's Pick!" Things were even more eerily consumption-focused at the National Gallery. Besides having to walk through three gift shops (all overflowing with Warhol memorabilia) on the way to see his work, there was a case placed at the end of the exhibit full of notebooks, coffee mugs, etc, all carefully arranged and displayed in a softly lit case serving to remind visitors of what they could buy on their way out (in case they forgot about the three stores or what was for sale in them). At first I thought, "Oh, here's more of the exhibit," which I think might have been the museum's creepy intention. They used the integrity of the gallery space and the significance of a glass case to pimp out Andy Warhol stuff. And the merchandise for sale was not representative of the work of Warhol's that was exhibited. So if I had bought said merchandise, it would not technically be a souvenir of the experience. Instead, it would mark participation in commodifying the art and branding the artist. 

I suppose this product pushing especially stood out to me because Andy Warhol is obsessed with issues of commodification and branding in his work (especially in the work displayed). In fact, Warhol himself said, "When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums." I'm pretty sure selling Andy Warhol tote bags was not a creative decision that extended from the exhibition or from Andy Warhol, but the National Gallery could have played with that idea a little. 

But anyway, how does this commercialism affect museum audiences?  To quote Carol Duncan, "The ever greater and more visible amounts of museum space given over to commerce has the effect of eroding the museum's special status as a commerce-free zone." And I agree with Duncan. Museums "must be expected to observe the boundary between 'high' and 'popular' culture." Otherwise, we would lose faith in museums as educational and cultural protectors and transmitters. We would be scrutinizing the motives of museums and questioning the messages they transmit the same way we do with corporations. 

And related to last week's post, here is a hilarious bit from The Onion that perfectly sums up my points.