Open spaces, confining places

So, I attended the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Music concert (a woodwind quintet and a violin soloist) Wednesday evening November 18 2009 at the Pulitzer Museum in St. louis. It was sublime, marred by only one thing, which bothers me every time I visit the Pulitzer. There was a  museum docent standing behind the musicians the entire performance. It is an utter distraction. Who insists that a docent stand there the entire performance? And by the way, in such a glorious space (you have to see this place to believe it, wide open, concrete, just lovely), why have the concert arranged like every other concert, where listeners have to sit still in rows and columns?

Since the music was supposed to be correlated to the art, why not allow everyone to just wander around, experience the art and the music within the spaces, so to speak? After all, space is what the design of this museum is all about.

Which brings me to… Every time I go to the Pulitzer, there are more docents standing around than visitors. And they stare at you, And they follow you around. And they are sometimes on top of you to where you can’t even hold a quiet conversation with the people you came with without feeling like your privacy is being violated. It is the height of irony that such a glorious and open space (I do love it, don’t get me wrong) feels so confining. Even just approaching the entrance doors, you see some burley guy standing right there with his arms crossed, like your public enemy number one just for wanting to patronize and support the museum. I fully understand the need to protect the art. But can’t they find a less intrusive way of doing this? I go to museums all around the world and this is the only one that feels like it’s run by Homeland Security.

The one positive from all this is the first time this happened, I came home and wrote a one-act play about the experience.

Imagine if the notes and sounds from the woodwind quintet and violin solo followed you around, nestled up to you, surrounded you, and “spoke” to you about the art you are viewing? Now that would be an experience!