When is it exhibit or art and does it matter?

Walk with me through this one. As I'm working on the next exhibit concept, thoughts like these cross my mind:

How much responsibility do I have to be educational in my exhibits? 

For example, I'm working on this concept of "Observation". How much am I responsible for educating people about what the universe defines as observation? There is of course the need to inform the public enough about any topic so they can get into the exhibit-- however, is there a line around what the quality of that knowledge is that I present?

At what point does it tip into art, and do I need to be declarative about it?

In 1999, I worked on a piece at the Yerba Buena with Neil Grimmer called "Metatherapy.com". It was a fictitious product showroom for a web and pager system that would deliver mantras to you based on Chakra points. Some visitors laughed, others approached us and suggested that we install it in hospitals and shopping malls.

We thought that it was important to the piece to leave it up to visitors to decide- as for the idea we were floating this idea of melding technology and spirituality.

The SF Mobile Museum is a construct I've created with the intent to play with the concept of museums, exhibits, and art. I believe that if it serves the experience to be agnostic about intent, so be it. I do wonder is there a case where that is not true?
 
Does it matter?

When we see "museum" is there some universal process that we all assume has been applied? I can think of similar assumptions from the well-known Fox "News" to calling just about anything an "artifact". Many art careers have been built upon "artifacts".

In the context of the SFMM, I've been working on the assumption that it doesn't matter, because the whole idea is to explore and expand the basic concept of "museum"-- so that means playing with it in a variety of ways.

Again, I go back to the quality of the experience. If it serves the concept and fosters the quality of experience I'm trying to achieve, then it doesn't matter how I get there, as long as it follows a logic that serves the idea/experience.

Right?

I'm not asking for permission, and I am probably overthinking (my part-time hobby). I do wonder if others think about this, and questions or conclusions they arrive at. What responsibility do you feel you have, if any?

We're not the only game in the Mobile Museum town

There are some wonderful other projects out there in Mobile Museum Platform Land. Thought I would share a few of the prolific ones.

I'm finding that this type of platform is well suited to some forms of engagement and not others. It's very well suited to experimentation on a variety of scales, but maybe not for displaying costly works of art (though some may disagree with that).

Of course there is an existing history of mobile museums which are exhibits in flatbed trucks. This is focusing on exhibitions with a more participatory bent:

The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History

Now just because you may *not* be queer doesn't mean there isn't anything to glean from this. Think this museum provides an excellent model for how a history museum can enrich and engage:

"The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History is a grassroots organization that transforms spaces into temporary installations celebrating the rich, long, and largely unknown histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. We believe that our community – and especially our youth – deserve to know our history. If you don’t know you have a past, how can you believe you have a future?"

 The Mobile Arts Platform

MAP is the ultimate mash-up of popp-up-art-installation-craft-camp-concert-on-the-street. They have created a platform that allows them to make cultural events and installations on the street:

"The Mobile Arts Platform (MAP) is comprised of two large-scale, interactive sculptures that are activated by a mobile exhibitions program. MAP brings together Peter Foucault’s Fal-Core Van – a retrofitted 1963 Ford Falcon – and Chris Treggiari’s Mobile Art Trailer in locations throughout the Bay Area. MAP creates an autonomous exhibition space, an artistic research lab where a cross pollination of mediums and genres can occur, be accessible to the public, and create strong bonds with partner communities. MAP events include video screenings, visual art, performance art, live music, interactive artworks, and culinary art."

The Black History Mobile Museum

The vision for this museum is to bring the subject matter via the museum to the people through a mobile platform that also allows him to create flexible and tailored exhibitions. They can range from racist artifacts to hip-hop and sports:

"For the past 20 years, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum has acquired thousands of original artifacts of Black memorabilia that date from slavery to Hip Hop culture.  The Black History 101 Mobile Museum travels to colleges, universities, K-12 schools, conferences, and cultural events across the country."

What made these projects stand out was their inherent sense of experimentation, their ability to sustain, and their DIY approach. I'm highlighting them here because I want to support the idea that museums can be informal and wonderful.