One of the many reasons I love visiting museums is that when I leave, I see things a bit differently. Even when I am not familiar with an artist or a piece or I do not know the history behind the work, there is always something to be gained from exposure to museums or galleries. The shapes, the colors, textures and sounds are all aspects of art that inspire me, not only as a person but as someone who loves design.
After any given visit to a gallery or museum, I might leave obsessed with a particular color, or with an idea for how to hang a piece of art in my home, with a new appreciation for a style I never understood, or even with an idea for a piece I would like to try to make on my own. On a recent visit to the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, I was drawn to this piece by Matali Crasset from 1998, entitled "Poufs Digestion n 1." The re-use of everyday objects for a new purpose is not a new idea, but the execution is beautifully done, and it serves as a reminder that even the items we see everyday can be transformed into something special when looked at with a strong eye for design.
Learn More About the Artist Matali Crasset.
(Image: Liana Walker)
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As someone who works in the museum field, I can definitely agree with the OP! Every time we open a new exhibit, I see myself influenced by some artifact or staging in my own home. An exhibit of Alexandrian artifacts from Cleopatra's time found me bringing in more metallics and works with intricate details, while a dinosaur exhibit enticed me to include natural colors, fossils, and oversize geodes in my library. Museums are homes to works of both great beauty and great importance, so it makes sense that our design aesthetics would be influenced by them.
Visiting museums has more often inspired me to love certain types of artwork in my home. After visiting El Museo Reina Sofía and seeing Guernica for the for the first time I was pulled in by the scale of the art work.
Before seeing an Andres Gursky exhibit at MoMA, I never knew the banal could be so beautiful.
@SGGVT04, Guernica was definitely impressive. And the security guards with the assault rifles were a bit intimidating and ironic since the painting depicted the horrors of the Spanish Civil War.
Museums seem to set a more relaxed pace to experience and learn-not frantic, stressful or rushed like commuting or working. I like how that feeling spills over for awhile afterwards. And like others have noted, it refreshes the perspective I have and appreciation for every day things to become unusual and thoughtful works of art.
They frustrate me because I WANT TO HAVE THOSE BEAUTIFUL THINGS FOR MINE OWN SELF. Very childish, I know. When I visited the Cluny, I almost passed out from the craving.
Museums inspire me to learn, experience, explore, and see the world in different ways. There's no better way to interact with history, whether it be three decades ago or three billion years ago, and museums are fast becoming a way to learn about the world as it is now.
But then, I'm a museum studies major, so I may be biased! ;)
From Wikipedia, another Guernica tale (I saw it decades ago when it was at MOMA):
While living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, Picasso suffered harassment from the Gestapo. One officer allegedly asked him, upon seeing a photo of Guernica in his apartment, "Did you do that?" Picasso responded, "No, you did."
Picasso's ever-enigmatic pal Gertrude Stein said, "I have always enjoyed going to museums because the view from museum windows is usually very pleasant." And also, "When in a museum, walk slowly but keep walking."
Those bags in the photo...anyone know where to find them in America? I bought one at a 1 Euro store in Ireland and have used it to move soooo much stuff, but it's finally broken. I'm dying for some more, but have searched to no avail.
Guernica isn't the only one that had an impact on me when it came to scale. walking around El Prado you see the works of the greats like Velasquez and Goya. Las Meninas in ever school book looked small, like any other painting on a wall. But when I saw it in person it became my favorite paintings. It felt like I could simply continue walking from the gallery into the painting, into another time. It was AMAZING. You truly felt as if you were viewing life through a portal in time, not simply a painting on a wall.
Goya was a whole different effect. His paintings were gritty and real. Even the royal paintings he did showed that he didn't want to hide the world's flaws. But to see the works he did on war then compare them to Guernica...wow!
My parents always took me to museums as a kid and now as an adult I am so happy they did. I am not just talking about our trips to see modern art at the Smithsonian or the Air and Space museum that made me want to fly, but sometimes kitchy little museums in little off the wall places. They gave me imagination, a desire to explore and an education. Museums allow you to travel the globe sometimes just by walking around a corner. How could that not inspire a person? (off my soapbox now!)