The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's Approach Toward Contemporary Curatorial Practice

This study is an analysis of contemporary curatorial practice at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, New York. The Guggenheim Museum demonstrates how contemporary museums are updating exhibition practice, despite the difficulties of spatial engagement encountered in Frank Lloyd Wright's building. This thesis presents an analysis of the curator-as-artist, meaning that frequently contemporary curators are acting like artists as they seek to elevate audience engagement. An initial chapter explores how Wright originally conceived the museum as an exhibition space compared to how it is used in current times. Two recent Guggenheim exhibitions, Gutai: Splendid Playground (2013) and James Turrell: A Retrospective (2013) will be used as case studies, allowing an analysis of how the Guggenheim Museum specifically approaches contemporary curatorial practice. The conclusion offers my findings on the Guggenheim Museum and insight on the limitations of this analysis.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Goss, Marsha

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kristina Olson
• Robert Bridges
• Kristen Harkness

• Art criticism
• Museum studies
• Art history

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/456

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1459