Democracy Wall, The Museum of Fine Arts,Boston, 1994
A reiteration of the original “DA ZI BAOS” installation of 1982, this project refocused the process of representing public opinion around a single institution. One of the best collections of art in the country, the MFA had a reputation of representing only one aspect of the many communities that make up the city of Boston. Given the architectural prominence of its new wing and entrance, complete with shops, cafeteria and other additions – this location presented itself as the perfect site to pose questions. The color yellow framed the opinions of various professionals working in and managing the museum, while neighbors, artists and visitors were printed on red. In comparing how the uses and understandings of museums can be so different, Group Material was repeating one of its original queries: “who is art for?”
From Julie Ault’s text for Show and Tell: “Doug and Julie spend several days interviewing MFA staff including curators, educators, and administrators about their perspectives on the role and state of the museum. They also tape a hundred impromptu interviews with visitors entering the museum and passersby in the vicinity. The resulting Democracy Wall engenders controversy. The museum’s director leaves the curator a lengthy phone message expressing dissatisfaction with the critical content of the piece, and requests that a disclaimer message be placed nearby, saying in effect, it’s only art. The statements are presented as anonymous, but at the opening many of the formerly-friendly staff who were interviewed steer clear of Julie and Doug, who speculate that people have misgivings about their candor. Perhaps the public exposure of the museum as a contested institution is also unsettling to them.”
