McDonald's is not the only franchise hopping on the globalization bandwagon.
Thomas Krens, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and The Nasher Museum of Art's annual Semans lecturer, is following the same trend with a different product.
Krens delivered his lecture to a packed Nasher auditorium last night, with crowds overflowing into the lobby area to watch on a jumbo screen. Mr. Raymond Nasher gave a brief introduction to Krens' speech.
"Tom is an internationalist. He is globally involved in great museums," Nasher said.
The Guggenheim now has branches in New York, Las Vegas, Bilbao, Venice and Berlin, and shows no indication that its exponential growth will slow in the near future. The museum is currently working to extend its reach to Guadalajara, Venice, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.
Negotiations for a Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates are at the forefront of Krens' current projects.
"Abu Dhabi represents a critical moment for how society looks at and uses culture," Krens said. "We are not in the Middle East by accident."
His international approach, despite its cultural benefits, also raises questions about the use of art and the art museum as diplomatic and corporate instruments.
His vision of the museum can be described in the same way as the Guggenheim museum in New York was upon opening in 1959-alternately as "an abomination and a miracle," Krens said.
Krens has marketed the museum and its content as products, and experienced incredible success in doing so. Yet critics insist art cannot be managed as a tradable good, and the commodification does a grave disservice to the art itself.
"The Guggenheim is the agent of pop culture," said Krens. "We have created a brand."
The concept of branding lies at the heart of much of the criticism that the Guggenheim's strategic plan has received.
"It is controversial but that's what makes it interesting," said Kim Rorschach, director of the Nasher. "We all watch with great interest to see if it's going to prosper, and if this model is a viable one."
Krens claims the art museum is an obsolete idea.
"Art museums are by definition artificial, and you should be critical of anything artificial," he said.
In remaking the notion of the museum for the new millennium, Krens looks toward an international model that reflects the globalization of culture.
"Our involvement abroad is not about exporting Western culture... but about establishing a discourse or dialog with other parts of the world," Krens said. "Our survival depends on it."
The Guggenheim's network not only fosters positive international relationships, but can also give life to new cultural hubs that create jobs and revenue for the surrounding community, Krens said.
The Guggenheim Bilbao exemplifies the union of these two ideas.
"It was the most unlikely place," said Krens, but he described the Guggenheim's alliance with the Basque country as the perfect storm.
Krens and the Guggenheim team were granted enormous freedom to build a fantastic facility in Bilbao, and have been able to create a museum which generates billions of dollars for the local economy.
Krens' ideas are revolutionary in the art world, and now, across the world. His vision for the art museum as an international organization opens an entirely new realm for art's potential and influence outside of its insular world. His view incites discussion whether art should exist for its own sake, or whether it can serve a new purpose in the global community.
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