Thomas P. Campbell: Weaving narratives in museum galleries

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevodilac: Tatjana Jevdjic Lektor: Bojan Mijić

When I was considering a career in the art world,

Kada sam razmišljao o karijeri u svetu umetnosti,

I took a course in London,

upisao sam kurs u Londonu

and one of my supervisors was this irascible Italian

i jedan od mojih profesora je bio naprasiti Italijan

called Pietro, who drank too much,

Pjetro, koji je mnogo pio,

smoked too much and swore much too much.

previše pušio i preterano mnogo psovao.

But he was a passionate teacher,

Ali on je bio strastven učitelj,

and I remember one of our earlier classes with him,

pamtim jedan od početnih časova kod njega,

he was projecting images on the wall,

projektovao je umetničke slike na zid

asking us to think about them,

pitajući nas

and he put up an image of a painting.

šta mislimo o njima.

It was a landscape with figures, semi-dressed,

Bio je to pejzaž sa figurama, poluobučenim,

drinking wine. There was a nude woman

kako piju vino. Tu je bila naga žena

in the lower foreground, and on the hillside in the back,

u donjem prednjem delu, a na brežuljku u pozadini

there was a figure of the mythological god Bacchus,

bila je mitološka figura boga Baha

and he said, "What is this?"

i on je pitao: "Šta je ovo?"

And I -- no one else did, so I put up my hand, and I said,

I ja – niko drugi, podigao sam ruku i rekao:

"It's a Bacchanal by Titian."

"To su Ticijanove Bahanalije."

He said, "It's a what?"

On, na to: "To je - šta?"

I thought maybe I'd pronounced it wrong.

Pomislio sam da sam možda pogrešno izgovorio.

"It's a Bacchanal by Titian."

"To su Ticijanove Bahanalije."

He said, "It's a what?"

On reče: "To je - šta?"

I said, "It's a Bacchanal by Titian." (Laughter)

Rekoh: "To su Ticijanove Bahanalije." (Smeh)

He said, "You boneless bookworm!

On reče: "Ti beskičmeni knjiški moljcu!

It's a fucking orgy!"

To je jebena orgija!"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

As I said, he swore too much.

Kao što rekoh, mnogo je psovao.

There was an important lesson for me in that.

Bila je to važna lekcija za mene.

Pietro was suspicious of formal art training,

Pjetro je bio sumnjičav prema formalnom umetničkom

art history training, because he feared

obrazovanju iz istorije umetnosti, plašio se

that it filled people up with jargon, and then they just

da ono puni ljude žargonom i da oni potom klasifikuju

classified things rather than looking at them,

stvari bez posmatranja, a on je hteo

and he wanted to remind us that all art was once contemporary,

da nas podseti da je sva umetnost nekad bila savremena,

and he wanted us to use our eyes,

hteo je da otvorimo oči,

and he was especially evangelical about this message,

posebno je bio pobožan u vezi sa tim

because he was losing his sight.

jer je gubio vid.

He wanted us to look and ask basic questions of objects.

Hteo je da gledamo i da postavljamo osnovna pitanja o predmetima.

What is it? How is it made? Why was it made?

Šta je to? Kako je napravljeno? Zbog čega je to napravljeno?

How is it used?

Kako se koristi?

And these were important lessons to me when

Ovo su mi bile važne lekcije kasnije, kada sam

I subsequently became a professional art historian.

postao profesionalni istoričar umetnosti.

My kind of eureka moment came a few years later,

Moj eureka momenat je nastupio posle nekoliko godina,

when I was studying the art of the courts of Northern Europe,

proučavao sam umetnost u sudnicama Severne Evrope,

and of course it was very much discussed in terms of

o njoj se mnogo govorilo u vezi sa

the paintings and the sculptures

slikama i skulpturama

and the architecture of the day.

i arhitekturom toga doba.

But as I began to read historical documents

Ali kada sam počeo da proučavam istorijska dokumenta

and contemporary descriptions,

i opise savremenika,

I found there was a kind of a missing component,

otkrio sam da jedna komponenta svuda nedostaje,

for everywhere I came across descriptions of tapestries.

gde god sam naišao na opise tapiserija.

Tapestries were ubiquitous between the Middle Ages

Tapiserije su bile sveprisutne u srednjem veku

and, really, well into the 18th century,

i do dobrog dela 18. veka,

and it was pretty apparent why.

bilo je jasno zbog čega.

Tapestries were portable. You could roll them up,

Tapiserije su prenosive. Mogu se urolati,

send them ahead of you, and in the time

poslati unapred, mogu da stignu na vreme

it took to hang them up, you could transform a cold,

da bi se okačile, možete transformisati hladan

dank interior into a richly colored setting.

vlažni enterijer u bogato obojenu prostoriju.

Tapestries effectively provided a vast canvas

Tapiserije su bukvalno bile velika platna, na kojima su

on which the patrons of the day could depict the heroes

tadašnji pokrovitelji mogli da prikažu heroje

with whom they wanted to be associated,

sa kojima su hteli da se identifikuju

or even themselves,

ili čak sebe,

and in addition to that, tapestries were hugely expensive.

a u prilog tome, tapiserije su bile veoma skupe.

They required scores of highly skilled weavers

Bili su neophodni vrhunski vešti tkači,

working over extended periods of time

koji su radili u dugim periodima

with very expensive materials -- the wools, the silks,

sa vrlo skupim materijalima – vuna, svila,

even gold and silver thread.

čak zlato i srebrni konac.

So, all in all, in an age when the visual image

Dakle, u periodu kada je bilo kakva vizuelna slika

of any kind was rare, tapestries were an incredibly potent

bila retka, tapiserije su bile neverovatno moćno

form of propaganda.

sredstvo reklame.

Well, I became a tapestry historian.

Postao sam istoričar tapiserija.

In due course, I ended up as a curator

Na kraju sam završio kao kustos

at the Metropolitan Museum, because I saw the Met

u Metropoliten muzeju, jer sam video Metropoliten

as one of the few places where I could organize

kao jedno od nekoliko mesta gde bih mogao da organizujem

really big exhibitions about the subject

zaista velike izložbe o temi

I cared so passionately about.

koja me je jako zanimala.

And in about 1997, the then-director Philippe de Montebello

Otprilike 1997., tadašnji direktor Filip de Montebelo

gave me the go-ahead to organize an exhibition

dopustio mi je da organizujem izložbu

for 2002. We normally have these very long lead-in times.

za 2002. Obično imamo ovako duge rokove.

It wasn't straightforward. It's no longer a question

To nije bilo jednostavno. Nije bilo više pitanje

of chucking a tapestry in the back of a car.

kako ubaciti tapiseriju u gepek.

They have to be wound on huge rollers,

Treba da se saviju na velike koturove,

shipped in oversized freighters.

isporuče u ogromnim teretnim brodovima.

Some of them are so big we had, to get them into the museum,

Neke od njih su bile tako velike, pa smo morali

we had to take them up the great steps at the front.

da ih unosimo kroz velike ulazne stepenice muzeja.

We thought very hard about how to present this

Ozbiljno smo razmišljali kako da predstavimo

unknown subject to a modern audience:

ovu nepoznatu temu sadašnjoj publici:

the dark colors to set off the colors that remained

da izdvojimo tamne boje od preostalih boja

in objects that were often faded;

na objektima koji su često izbledeli;

the placing of lights to bring out the silk and the gold thread;

o postavci svetla da bismo izdvojili svileni i zlatni konac;

the labeling.

o natpisima.

You know, we live in an age where we are so used

Živimo u eri kada smo navikli na

to television images and photographs,

televizijske slike i fotografije,

a one-hit image. These were big, complex things,

popularne slike. A ovo su velike, kompleksne stvari,

almost like cartoons with multiple narratives.

gotovo kao crtani filmovi sa mnogim pripovedačima.

We had to draw our audience in, get them to slow down,

Trebalo je da privučemo publiku, da ih nateramo da uspore,

to explore the objects.

da ispituju objekte.

There was a lot of skepticism. On the opening night,

Bilo je mnogo skepse. Na veče otvaranja

I overheard one of the senior members of staff saying,

čuo sam jednog od starijih članova osoblja kako kaže:

"This is going to be a bomb."

"Ovo će biti bomba."

But in reality, in the course of the coming weeks and months,

Ali u stvarnosti, narednih nedelja i meseci

hundreds of thousands of people came to see the show.

stotine hiljada ljudi je došlo da vidi izložbu.

The exhibition was designed to be an experience,

Izložba je bila dizajnirana da bude jedno iskustvo,

and tapestries are hard to reproduce in photographs.

tapiserije je teško reprodukovati u fotografije.

So I want you to use your imaginations,

Želim da upotrebite maštu

thinking of these wall-high objects,

da zamislite ove objekte visoke kao zidovi,

some of them 10 meters wide,

neki od njih su po 10m široki,

depicting lavish court scenes with courtiers and dandies

opisuju raskošne scene u sudnici sa dvorjanima i kicošima

who would look quite at home in the pages of the fashion press today,

koji deluju kao da su kod kuće na stranicama današnjih modnih magazina,

thick woods with hunters crashing through the undergrowth

scene gustih šuma sa lovcima kako se probijaju

in pursuit of wild boars and deer,

u potrazi za divljim svinjama i jelenima,

violent battles with scenes of fear and heroism.

nasilne bitke sa scenama straha i herojstva.

I remember taking my son's school class. He was eight at the time,

Sećam se kada sam doveo razred mog sina. Tada je imao osam godina

and all the little boys, they kind of -- you know, they were little boys,

i svi dečaci su – znate, bili su mali

and then the thing that caught their attention

i onda im je jedna stvar privukla pažnju,

was in one of the hunting scenes there was a dog

bilo je to u jednoj od scena lova, jedan pas je

pooping in the foreground — (Laughter) —

kakio u prednjem delu slike -- (Smeh) --

kind of an in-your-face joke by the artist.

kao da vam se slikar smeje u lice.

And you can just imagine them.

Samo možete da ih zamislite.

But it brought it alive to them. I think they suddenly saw

To im je donelo živost. Mislim da su iznenada uvideli

that these weren't just old faded tapestries.

da to nisu samo stare izbledele tapiserije.

These were images of the world in the past,

Bile su to slike sveta u prošlosti

and that it was the same for our audience.

i za našu publiku.

And for me as a curator, I felt proud. I felt I'd shifted the needle a little.

Kao kustos, bio sam ponosan. Osetio sam da sam malo pomerio stvari.

Through this experience that could only be created

Kroz ovo iskustvo koje se može stvoriti samo

in a museum, I'd opened up the eyes of my audience --

u muzeju, otvorio sam oči svojoj publici –

historians, artists, press, the general public --

istoričarima, umetnicima, štampi, opštoj publici –

to the beauty of this lost medium.

za lepotu ovog izgubljenog medijuma.

A few years later, I was invited to be the director

Nekoliko godina kasnije, pozvali su me da budem direktor

of the museum, and after I got over that --

muzeja i kad sam prevazišao reakciju -

"Who, me? The tapestry geek? I don't wear a tie!" --

"Ko, ja? Stručnjak za tapiserije? Pa ja ne nosim kravatu!" -

I realized the fact: I believe passionately in that

shvatio sam činjenicu: strasno verujem u

curated museum experience.

iskustvo izložbe u muzeju.

We live in an age of ubiquitous information,

Živimo u vremenu sveprisutne informacije,

and sort of "just add water" expertise,

gde je dovoljno samo zalivanje vodom da stvari uspeju,

but there's nothing that compares with the presentation

ali ništa ne može da se uporedi sa predstavljanjem

of significant objects in a well-told narrative,

značajnih objekata u dobro ispričanoj priči,

what the curator does, the interpretation of a complex,

a to je posao kustosa, interpretacija kompleksnog

esoteric subject, in a way that retains the integrity

ezoteričnog predmeta, na način koji zadržava celinu

of the subject, that makes it -- unpacks it

subjekta, koji ga čini – otkriva ga

for a general audience.

opštoj publici.

And that, to me, today, is now the challenge and the fun

Za mene je to izazov i zabavni deo mog posla je

of my job, supporting the vision of my curators,

da podržavam viziju mojih kustosa,

whether it's an exhibition of Samurai swords,

bez obzira da li je u pitanju izložba mačeva samuraja,

early Byzantine artifacts, Renaissance portraits,

artefakti ranog vizantijskog doba, renesansni portreti

or the show we heard mentioned earlier,

ili izložba koja je ranije pomenuta,

the McQueen show, with which we enjoyed

Mek Kvinova izložba, koja je bila

so much success last summer.

veoma uspešna prošlog leta.

That was an interesting case.

Bio je to zanimljiv slučaj.

In the late spring, early summer of 2010, shortly after

U kasno proleće ili rano leto 2010., neposredno pošto se

McQueen's suicide,

Mek Kvin ubio,

our curator of costume, Andrew Bolton, came to see me,

naš kustos za kostime, Endru Bolton, je došao do mene

and said, "I've been thinking of doing a show on McQueen,

i rekao: "Razmišljao sam da napravim Mek Kvinovu izložbu

and now is the moment. We have to, we have to do it fast."

i sad je trenutak. Moramo da to uradimo brzo."

It wasn't easy. McQueen had worked throughout his career

Nije bilo lako. Mek Kvin je tokom cele svoje karijere

with a small team of designers and managers

radio sa malim timom kreatora i menadžera

who were very protective of his legacy,

koji su jako štitili njegovo nasleđe,

but Andrew went to London and worked with them

ali Endru je otišao u London i radio sa njima

over the summer and won their confidence, and that of

preko leta i stekao njihovo poverenje i poverenje

the designers who created his amazing fashion shows,

kreatora koji su pravili njegove fantastične modne izložbe,

which were works of performance art in their own right,

koje su bile prava umetnička dela

and we proceeded to do something at the museum,

i mi smo produžili da pravimo nešto u muzeju,

I think, we've never done before.

što nikad ranije nije napravljeno.

It wasn't just your standard installation.

To nije bila samo standardna instalacija.

In fact, we ripped down the galleries to recreate

Ogolili smo galerije da bismo ponovo stvorili

entirely different settings, a recreation of his first studio,

potpuno drugačiju postavku, stvorili smo njegov prvi studio,

a hall of mirrors,

dvoranu od ogledala,

a curiosity box,

čudnovatu kutiju,

a sunken ship, a burned-out interior,

potonuli brod, dotrajali enterijer

with videos and soundtracks that ranged from

sa video i zvučnim zapisima od

operatic arias to pigs fornicating.

operskih arija do svinjskih bordela.

And in this extraordinary setting, the costumes

U ovoj vanrednoj postavci, kostimi

were like actors and actresses, or living sculptures.

su bili kao glumci i glumice ili žive skulpture.

It could have been a train wreck.

Mogla je biti olupina voza.

It could have looked like shop windows on Fifth Avenue

Mogla je da liči na izloge Pete avenije

at Christmas, but because of the way that Andrew

za Božić, ali zbog načina na koji se Endru

connected with the McQueen team, he was channeling

povezao sa timom Mek Kvina, prikazivala

the rawness and the brilliance of McQueen,

je sirovost i brilijantnost Mek Kvina

and the show was quite transcendant,

i izložba je bila prilično uzvišena

and it became a phenomenon in its own right.

i postala je pravi fenomen.

By the end of the show, we had people queuing

Do kraja izložbe, ljudi su stajali u redovima

for four or five hours to get into the show,

po četiri ili pet sati da bi ušli na izložbu,

but no one really complained.

ali niko se nije žalio.

I heard over and over again, "Wow, that was worth it.

Čuo sam ponovo: "Vau, vredelo je.

It was a such a visceral, emotive experience."

Bilo je to pravo unutrašnje, emotivno iskustvo."

Now, I've described two very immersive exhibitions,

Opisao sam dve veoma impresivne izložbe,

but I also believe that collections, individual objects,

ali isto tako verujem da kolekcije, pojedinačni predmeti

can also have that same power.

mogu imati istu snagu.

The Met was set up not as a museum of American art,

Metropoliten nije osnovan kao muzej američke umetnosti

but of an encyclopedic museum,

već kao enciklopedijski muzej

and today, 140 years later, that vision

i danas, 140 godina kasnije, ta vizija

is as prescient as ever,

je proročanska kao nikad do sad

because, of course, we live in a world of crisis,

jer živimo u svetu sa krizama,

of challenge, and we're exposed to it

sa izazovima i tome smo neprekidno

through the 24/7 newsreels.

izloženi.

It's in our galleries that we can unpack the civilizations,

U našim galerijama otkrivamo civilizacije,

the cultures, that we're seeing the current manifestation of.

kulture u sadašnjem trenutku.

Whether it's Libya, Egypt, Syria,

Bez obzira da li je Libija, Egipat, Sirija,

it's in our galleries that we can explain

u našim galerijama možemo da objasnimo

and give greater understanding.

i pružimo veće razumevanje.

I mean, our new Islamic galleries are a case in point,

Naše nove islamske galerije su ilustracija koja ovo opravdava,

opened 10 years, almost to the week, after 9/11.

otvorene su 10 godina posle 11. septembra.

I think for most Americans, knowledge of the Islamic world

Mislim da su mnogi Amerikanci malo znali o islamskom svetu

was pretty slight before 9/11, and then it was thrust upon us

pre 11. septembra, na nama je bilo da doprinesemo shvatanju

in one of America's darkest hours,

jednog od najmračnijih trenutaka Amerike

and the perception was through the polarization

kroz polarizaciju

of that terrible event.

tog strašnog događaja.

Now, in our galleries, we show 14 centuries

Sada u našim galerijama, prikazujemo 14 vekova

of the development of different Islamic cultures

razvoja raznih islamskih kultura

across a vast geographic spread,

preko ogromnog geografskog područja,

and, again, hundreds of thousands of people have come

ponovo stotine hiljada ljudi je došlo

to see these galleries since they opened last October.

da vide ove galerije od kako su otvorene prošlog oktobra.

I'm often asked, "Is digital media replacing the museum?"

Često me pitaju: "Da li će digitalni mediji zameniti muzej?",

and I think those numbers are a resounding rejection

mislim da ti brojevi pokazuju da se to neće desiti.

of that notion. I mean, don't get me wrong,

Nemojte da me pogrešno razumete,

I'm a huge advocate of the Web.

veliki sam pristalica interneta.

It gives us a way of reaching out to audiences

To nam daje mogućnost da stignemo do publike

around the globe, but nothing replaces the authenticity

na celoj planeti, ali ništa ne može da zameni autentičnost

of the object presented with passionate scholarship.

predmeta koji predstavi vatreni učenik.

Bringing people face to face with our objects

Uživo prikazivanje objekata

is a way of bringing them face to face with people

je način da spojimo ljude sa ljudima

across time, across space, whose lives may have been

kroz vreme, kroz prostor, čiji su životi možda bili

very different to our own, but who, like us,

mnogo drugačiji od naših, ali koji su kao i mi

had hopes and dreams, frustrations and achievements

imali snove i nade, poraze i dostignuća

in their lives. And I think this is a process

u svojim životima. Mislim da je ovo proces

that helps us better understand ourselves,

koji nam omogućava da bolje shvatimo same sebe,

helps us make better decisions about where we're going.

da donesemo bolje odluke kuda ćemo da krenemo,

The Great Hall at the Met is one of the great portals of the world,

Velika dvorana Metropolitena je jedan od najvećih portala u svetu,

awe-inspiring, like a medieval cathedral.

koja uliva strahopoštovanje, nalik srednjevekovnoj katedrali.

From there, you can walk in any direction

Odatle možete odšetati u bilo kom pravcu

to almost any culture.

u bilo koju kulturu.

I frequently go out into the hall and the galleries

Često odem u hol i u galerije

and I watch our visitors coming in.

i posmatram naše posetioce.

Some of them are comfortable. They feel at home.

Nekima je ugodno. Osećaju se kao kod kuće.

They know what they're looking for.

Znaju zašto su došli.

Others are very uneasy. It's an intimidating place.

Drugima je neprijatno. To je zastrašujuće mesto.

They feel that the institution is elitist.

Osećaju da je ta institucija elitistička.

I'm working to try and break down that sense of that elitism.

Pokušavam da razbijem taj osećaj elitizma.

I want to put people in a contemplative frame of mind,

Želim da omogućim ljudima da razmišljaju,

where they're prepared to be a little bit lost, to explore,

da budu spremni da se pomalo izgube, da istražuju,

to see the unfamiliar in the familiar,

da vide nepoznato u poznatom

or to try the unknown.

ili da pokušaju nepoznato.

Because for us, it's all about bringing them face to face

Za nas, sve je u tome da uživo vide

with great works of art,

sjajna umetnička dela,

capturing them at that moment of discomfort,

uhvatiti ih u tom momentu nelagode

when the inclination is kind of to reach for your iPhone,

kada postoji namera da dohvate svoj iPhone,

your Blackberry, but to create a zone

Blekberi i da se stvori prostor gde

where their curiosity can expand.

njihova radoznalost može da se raširi.

And whether it's in the expression of a Greek sculpture

Bez obzira da li se radi o izrazu na grčkoj skulpturi

that reminds you of a friend,

koja vas podseća na prijatelja

or a dog pooping in the corner of a tapestry,

ili psu koji kaki u uglu tapiserije

or, to bring it back to my tutor Pietro,

ili da se vratimo na mog tutora Pjetra,

those dancing figures

one figure koje igraju,

who are indeed knocking back the wine,

koje se opijaju vinom

and that nude figure in the left foreground.

i ta gola figura u levom prednjem delu.

Wow. She is a gorgeous embodiment of youthful sexuality.

Vau. Ona je prekrasno otelotvorenje mladalačke seksualnosti.

In that moment, our scholarship can tell you

U tom momentu, naš student može reći

that this is a bacchanal,

da je ovo bahanalija,

but if we're doing our job right,

ali ako svoj posao radimo dobro

and you've checked the jargon at the front door,

i ako ste ostavili žargon na ulaznim vratima

trust your instinct.

verujte svom instinktu.

You know it's an orgy.

Znate da je to orgija.

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala vam. (Aplauz)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)