Tasmania may become well known for more than just devils soon enough—a new museum opening up promises to be Australia’s first “subversive adult Disneyland.”
The Museum of Old and New Art, or MONA, opens up this week and features a art collection from wealthy collector David Walsh valued at $100 million, including works from such famous painters as Damien Hirst and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Curator Mark Fraser told Fast Company, “MONA is an unmuseum, a counterpoint to museums. MONA represents David Walsh’s curiosity and eagerness to question the world; we avoid any attempt at objectivity and eschew the White Cube construct. We are non-didactic—a subversive adult Disneyland. [Walsh's] interest is to stimulate conversation and debate; to act as a temple to rationalism. It was not built here to meet parochial needs.”
The bassist from indie rock favorite Violent Femmes, Brian Ritchie, is also on the roster for museum trustees, doing his part to get the highly intellectual post-modern experiment up and running. “MONA will put Tasmania on the art map as a world class museum both in terms of size and content,” Ritchie said. That’s at least a clearer message than eschewing the White Cube construct, and still sounds very cool.
The Museum of Old and New Art, or MONA, opens up this week and features a art collection from wealthy collector David Walsh valued at $100 million, including works from such famous painters as Damien Hirst and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Curator Mark Fraser told Fast Company, “MONA is an unmuseum, a counterpoint to museums. MONA represents David Walsh’s curiosity and eagerness to question the world; we avoid any attempt at objectivity and eschew the White Cube construct. We are non-didactic—a subversive adult Disneyland. [Walsh's] interest is to stimulate conversation and debate; to act as a temple to rationalism. It was not built here to meet parochial needs.”
The bassist from indie rock favorite Violent Femmes, Brian Ritchie, is also on the roster for museum trustees, doing his part to get the highly intellectual post-modern experiment up and running. “MONA will put Tasmania on the art map as a world class museum both in terms of size and content,” Ritchie said. That’s at least a clearer message than eschewing the White Cube construct, and still sounds very cool.
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