Is The Met a McGuggenheim?

In her 2005 essay “Museums and Globalization,” Saloni Mathur criticizes certain attempts to globalize museums via commercialized business practices and branded marketing. The most obvious example of this “McGuggenheim effect” of the 1990s is, perhaps unsurprisingly given the phenomenon’s name, the Guggenheim Museum, which set its sights on global expansion as an international brand during … Continue reading Is The Met a McGuggenheim? →

Hammer Museum: Evolution of Reinvention

Established in 1990 to house the personal collection of Occidental Petroleum magnate Dr. Armand Hammer, the Hammer Museum at UCLA has evolved into a contemporary community hub for the city of Los Angeles (“About Us”). Although the permanent collection primarily contains works by old masters, over the last two decades director Ann Philbin has guided … Continue reading Hammer Museum: Evolution of Reinvention →