Exercise 5.1 Origins of the White Cube

We are asked to read and make notes on the Introduction to Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the White Space by Thomas McEvilley.

McEvilley points out that art - photography especially - has become about context, firstly in relation to subject-matter, and latterly as 'the thing itself'. Context is what we study.

The Introduction sets out three key points:

• That galleries perform a similar function to other chambers, such a Egyptian tombs, and Paleolithic caves. All these 'ritual spaces' share common features: they exclude the light; remote from outside world; and difficult to access;
• These ritual spaces may be seen as a form of 'ultra space' that serves ratification of a 'certain sensibility', and 'the claims of the caste or group sharing that sensibility'.
• The white cube appeals to a notion of transcendence, that represents another world, similar to Plato's metaphysical realm disconnected from everyday life.

Berger (1972) discussed the elitist nature of museums in a similar but more direct fashion:

"The majority take it as axiomatic that the museums are full of holy relics which refer to a mystery which excludes them.."

66% of manual worker respondents to a survey said museums reminded them most closely of churches. This is less likely to be true 50 years on, but the over-riding impression of elitism in museums/galleries remains, despite the democratization resulting from Modern Art, which has a wider appeal, but still principally to the educated classes.

There remain the accepted norms of gallery visits: quiet contemplation; hushed tones; absence of food and drink, all reminiscent of the accepted behaviour in churches and other religious places. There is an expectation of a visit to a gallery - one's natural underlying instinct is that the work one is viewing must have value (culturally certainly, financially possibly)  simply because it is there. The mere selection of a work for a gallery imbues the work with a sense of awe; thus the importance of the role of gallery director.

This chimes with my concerns of the disconnect between what I would term 'academic photogaphy' characterized by the static printed two dimensional image that seeks to contextualize rather than merely present (albeit there are rites and customes about the nature of the presentation, and the world of the everyday. This world is characterized by a plethora of digital imagery and, increasingly, one that is multi-dimensional and real-time.

 Reference:

Berger, John (1972) Ways of Seeing. Penguin. London