Is it social media's fault or have museum exhibitions got lazy?
Enough with the projections and uncomfortable bean bags
There’s no doubt you won’t have opened your phone to a barrage of Met Gala coverage this morning.
In terms of museum exhibitions, it doesn’t get bigger than the first Monday in May, but I don’t want to dissect a red carpet with you. Instead, I want to have a moan about the state of museum exhibitions in general.
A couple of months ago, I went to the Cute exhibition at Somerset House.
I don’t think there’s ever been a theme more fitting for me and after seeing the TikTok videos of Hello Kitty and Sylvanian Family displays, I knew I had to go.
Unlike all those videos, I didn’t end up posting anything, because, frankly, Cute left me underwhelmed and borderline annoyed.
The premise was the rise of our obsession with ‘cuteness’ in society and as someone with a lot of trinkets around their flat, I didn’t know if I was more excited to see the displays or the gift shop.
Turns out, both were a let down.
The Hello Kitty room was the best, but they didn’t actually have that much stuff. In fact there was a thank you to the collector who had donated the items and the condition of some things, did make it feel like someone had just grabbed a bunch of random crap from their bedroom
There was a Hello Kitty disco, but it was a small, empty room, that no one is obviously going to dance in and therefore just a waste of space.
The ‘cute’ objects, were just toys on pillars. There was nothing artistic done with the displays and the Sylvanian Families one was particularly disappointing.
Honestly, I could have created a better display for them.
Of course there was a room with bean bags on the floor you could uncomfortably lie on and it finished with a short ‘artsy’ film projected on the wall.
The effort felt low and, to be honest, I’d seen the whole thing on social media before I went.
The gift shop was even more disappointing and was just full of books on how to draw kawaii characters. Never had I wanted to waste my money on adorable crap more and they well and truly fumbled the bag.
Then there’s the Infinity Rooms at the Tate Modern, which two of my friends have attended.
To me, an immersive experience is something you can spend potentially hours in. After all, in order to fully immerse yourself, you need time to be present in the first place.
However, both my friends were in and out within 15 minutes. Which was probably still a stretch for just two rooms.
You will definitely have seen the main light installation room on your feed at some point and while it’s tempting to blame social media for dumbing museum exhibitons down, if it wasn’t for these pictures popping up, would we even go?
Somerset House’s Cute was algorithm bait, but why can’t they elevate the experience when you’re there. If they know it’s going to be all over social media, shouldn’t they try to add more. Whether that’s educational points or areas you won’t have seen.
I haven’t even mentioned the fact we couldn’t get into Cute’s Hello Kitty cafe.
Despite it being midweek, we were left to queue in the rain (they wouldn’t let us wait inside) and after the let down that was the exhibit, I didn’t fancy waiting around to be disappointed once again.
It reminds me of the Van Gogh exhibition experiences, which have taken over the world. Admittedly, I’ve never been, but at this point, why would I, when I know exactly what to expect.
One of the beautiful things about museums is seeing these paintings that you’ve only ever seen in books or on screens, up close.
Seeing the brush strokes, spotting objects, characters and expressions, you’ve never noticed before.
I don’t need to have images projected on ceilings to be immersed into a painting. Can’t we have different, exciting curations that draw people in? Why do we have to choose between photo opportunities and the same old halls of painting eras.
Honestly, if you’ve been to a museum exhibit recently that you’d recommend, I’d love to know… as long as it doesn’t involve lying on a bean bag I won’t be able to get out of.
No one does cute better than the Japanese. I’ve been lucky enough to just come back from a trip there. You’d love it! The yen is at a ten year low. Just sayin’. Plus the skincare……
I didn’t bother with the Cute, but I have to say I felt very underwhelmed at the Biba exhibition too, I wanted it to feel more immersive and transport me into the world of the Biba shop, but it was very simple and lacked atmosphere. I can definitely recommend the Sargent exhibition at Tate Britain though, absolutely gorgeous paintings that will inspire you.