Contemporary Wunderkammern: Collecting and Museums as Art

Whether we collect fire trucks, civil war items, or Flemish moths, the act of collecting can be an artistic gesture in and of itself. This lecture explores the work of artists who incorporate museum-like practices, such as collecting and creating museum narratives of their collections and turning spaces into literal or conceptual cabinets of curiosities, into their work. Artists and projects discussed in this lecture include Marcel Broodthaers' Museum of Modern Art (Department of Eagles); Herbert Distel's Museum of Drawers; The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles; The Salon De Fleurus in New York; and City Reliquary in Brooklyn; among others. Lecturer Pablo Helguera is a visual artist and the Director of Adult and Academic Programs at MoMA.