The Problematic of Video Art in the Museum, 1968–1990 By Cyrus M ...

aspects of MoMA's general methods and practices which were responsible for establishing a foundation for the selection, acquisition, and exhibition of video in the 1960s. In order to do this, I will establish a historical field by examining the classical framework of the art museum, and, through a re-examination of the classical or “traditional” structure of the art museum, measure MoMA's innovations against more classical structures which were set by the Louvre. As the first public art institution, the Louvre offers a clear instance, via comparison, through which to highlight the extent of MoMA's innovations. The Louvre's classical structure is summarised via three main aspects: by setting up a connection between art institutions and art practice; it would propagate a system of presenting art as a narrative; as a public institution, it was employed as a symbol of the French nation. Through this, the Louvre established the agenda in relation to how scores of museums would define their institutional priorities and practices. All three aspects would define the structure for later art museums. This section engages with the theories of Winckelmann and Kant, both of whom present valuable insights into the study of positioning art in museum structures.⁸⁷

Following the discussion on the Louvre, Chapter 1 will examine the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which, I believe, exists as a link between the classical structure and the more contemporary model of MoMA. The Metropolitan would be built in an age of corporate capitalism and was developed and run through the support of private trustees.⁸⁸ As such, the Metropolitan was run as a form of business enterprise, establishing a bureaucratic model which pointed to the way in which many museums (such as MoMA) would be run in the future. Additionally, the Metropolitan's devotion to many of the principles which reflect the classical/traditional structure of the art museum resulted in its negligence of contemporary and avant-garde artworks. This would establish MoMA's initiation in 1929.

The rest of this opening chapter will reveal MoMA's specific framework. It details the features which defined MoMA as a prototype for other contemporary art institutions around the world. It was not until the advent of the birth of MoMA in New York in 1929 that many museum