In this academic essay, the main theoretical framework to be addressed is that surrounding Hal Foster’s analysis of whether and how museums are responding to the rising importance of entertainment in our everyday experiences (Foster, 2015a). As a starting point, it is important to recognize that Foster identified certain main problems modern and contemporary art museums face today (Foster, 2015a). One of those, relevant to the purpose of this essay, is the prevalent vagueness surrounding what contemporary art entails and what space is required for its exhibition (Foster, 2015b). Following Foster’s (2015b) analysis of the museum space and its developments in recent years, he goes on to argue how their programme is also impacted by the “spectacle …show more content…
The case study selected is the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition staged between 14 March – 2 August 2015 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A). The key aspects of this exhibition relevant to the purpose of this essay shall be unpacked further below, yet the primary parameter for this choice shall be identified first. Firstly, this exhibition is not purely of visual arts but of fashion design and secondly, it attracted an unprecedented number of visitors to engage with the museum and the exhibition (Savage Beauty in Numbers, …show more content…
In this research, a report was produced in which two of their conclusions are of assistance here. Firstly, museums are widely understood by the public to have transformed “for the better over the last generation, going from stuffy, sterile and boring to entertaining, interactive and stimulating” (Museums Association, 2013). What becomes apparent in this line of thought is how a museum such as the V&A has evolved to include a much more varied contemporary repertoire of exhibitions including those such as the case study. It is one which following Foster’s perspective (2015b) allows for the museum to encapsulate a show which directly resonates with the experience focused society we live