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The role of museum in the 21st Century as an interactive space with a


viewers participation

(Name)
(Course Code and Name)
(Date)

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1. Introduction
The thought of vising a museum always seems lively and delightful.
Life gets affirmed for some people who find meaning in their life by visiting
places where they can get to learn about their human history by looking into
traditional pieces of art. On the other hand, the people also mostly consider
the visits to museums as a boring activity, as they do not find meaning in it
at all. However, 21st century has witnessed these museums to become an
interactive space for most of the people where they can go and interact with
each other too and not just with the old shabby paintings or sculptures. The
modern museum has become a sort of interactive place where people also
discuss with each other about history and several incidents that have led to
the formation of this particular era. This has been helpful in reinvigorating
the image of museums as one of the most interesting places to visit in view
of many of the people. This should also be noted that museums have been
playing a role of being an interactive space where the people would not only
act as audience but also as participants.
The researchers interest grew in to this aspect of art where the aspect
of viewers becoming participants should be considered. The idea to develop
this research came from the experience of the research made in the past
that people spend a very little time in making engagement with the artworks
displayed in museums due to which they find lesser meaning in any one of
the pieces. The researcher has also witnessed a transformation in the role of
museums in not just being the silent places with lots of artworks displayed,

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but also becoming an interactive place where the people can interact and
discuss art. The viewers can witness the art and along with that participate in
a fruitful discussion through which ideas can be shared. That being said, the
main purpose of this dissertation would be to discuss the role of museum in
21st century as an interactive space with a viewers participation.
In this regard, this dissertation is basically divided into 5 chapters. The
first chapter is introduction, as mentioned above, in which the brief idea
about what is to be discuss hereon has been presented. Along with that
research questions along with aims and objectives of this dissertation will be
presented in introduction chapter. The second chapter will be of literature
review. This chapter will present scholarly research about role of museums in
the past and how have museums transformed to become an interactive
platform for viewers to interact with each other. Apart from that, the
literature review will also discuss how the theory of relational aesthetics
presented by Nicholas Bourriaud has been the fundamental theory in this
subject and along with that a brief introduction of three main artists will be
made in the chapter. Third chapter will be about methodology and in which it
will be told how the data for analysis is collected and how the methodology
has been applied. Fourth chapter will present in brief three main case studies
based on theory of relational aesthetics. This means that these three cases
will be actually about those artists who have participated into these activities
that are held museums as being interactive places. Fifth chapter will present
findings based on case studies and the sixth and last chapter will present

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conclusions and recommendation concerning how the museums can become
more interactive places for enhancing viewers participation.
1.1. Research Aims and Objectives
The introduction above has sufficiently provided the ideas about what
is to be done in this research. Thus the main aim of the researcher will be to
determine ways in which museum has become an interactive space for
maximization of viewers participation. For this purpose, case study analysis
will be employed. The main objective behind that is to look through the past
and in 21st century that how the museums have been treated before and how
they can be utilized for spreading awareness among viewers about displayed
artworks.
1.2. Research questions
The main research question in this regard is given as follows:
How justified and sufficient is the role of museum in 21st century as being an
interactive space for participation of viewers?
This research question along with many other questions of peripheral
importance will be addressed at the end of this research.
2. Literature Review
The main objective of literature review in this regard is to explore past
studies and theories through which role of museum, as being an interactive
space, can be determined. The literature section will also describe
importance of participation of viewers in the museum and its rising trend in
21st century. In this regard, past practices concerning activities held in

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museum for spreading awareness of art and understanding artwork among
visitors will also be presented.
2.1. Theory of Relational Aesthetics
Theory of Relational Aesthetics proposed by Nichoas Bourriaud in 1998
is considered as the most vigilant theoretical context for accommodating the
new generation of artists. The artists considered here are those who
especially emerged in 1990s. The central premise of this theory is that
artistic practice of the 1990s can be most comprehended in form of a shift of
paradigm in which the practice of art is more focused upon concept of interhuman relations as well as production of sociability models.
The standard formula considered true in the modern art is that every
single thing is an art. The latest step in the process of considering anything
an art is that of relational aesthetics, which also means the posing of
production of social experiences by artist as an art making. In his own book,
Bourriaud defined relational aesthetics as a set of artistic practices that
consider as their practical and theoretical point of departure the complete
human relations as well as their social context rather than a private and
independent space. This also means that the projects concerning relational
aesthetics basically differ from traditional social as well as physical space of
any museum or art gallery and also any appropriated atelier or artist studio.
In addition to that, the relational aesthetics also takes the completeness of
life as the main subject as it is lived. It also takes it as the socially dynamic
environment, which is other than making the efforts for imitative illustration

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of artistic objects that are detached from routine life. This has also been seen
in case of still life of Dutch Baroque, which is soundest example relating to
this theory.1
Similarly, relational aesthetics has also been defined by critics in different
other ways. The central objective of most of the art deduced from relational
aesthetics is creation of a social situation or environment. Similarly, it is also
depicted that experience of a viewer in a particularly constructed social
environment is also considered as an art.2 In addition to that, the main task
of the artist in this regard is also to become the channel for such a social
experience. In this manner, a physical space is often created by the artists,
as it can be used for specific social program or event.3 In this regard, it has
further been suggested that any form of event can be considered in case of
relational aesthetics, such as communal meal, music show, or even a friendly
discussion. In this regard, this concept is also fully applicable in case of
museum becoming an interactive space where artists can present their art in
any form suitable.
The framer of this theory is a champion of art. Such an art is basically
derived from experimental production of social relationships and bonds.
Bourriaud himself calls these bonds as invention of models of sociability. He
also considers the modern discourse as a great improvement over the art of
1990s, which was more focused on traditional as well as object-based art.
1 Julian Stallabrass, The Museum as Brand (Lecture, Scripps College Art History Department,
Claremont, CA, 2008), 12
2 Hilde Hein, Museums: From Object to Experience In Aesthetics: The Big Questions,
edited by Carolyn Korsmeyer (Malden: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2001), 103-115
3 Claire Bishop, Antagonism And Relational Aesthetics (October Magazine, 2004)

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Critics suggest that there are obvious risks involved in collection of diverse
range of practices that can be added into this latest group of relational art.
Similarly, Bourriaud can also be considered as an effective advocate of the
modern tendency for focusing on process, openness, performance,
transitivity, social environments and creation of dialogue over traditional
object hood as well as hyper-individualism.4
Relational Aesthetics has also been strongly criticized by many modern
artists and curators. Most of such critics and enemies are the conservative
artists who always prefer the art that depict beauty in paintings. Dave Hickey
has written a book namely Invisible Dragon in which he has strongly opposed
the idea of relational aesthetics proposed by Bourriaud.
Bourriaud mainly claims in his book that the relational models are
based on responses to the real alienation and misery found in our society. He
also admits the fact that those artists about whom he is writing about are not
considered as challenging the current social relations system, which in other
words can also be considered as capitalism. It is further described that the
relational artists will acknowledge what Bourriaud terms existing real and
they are also delighted with playing with the social relations.
The author also claims that the relational aesthetics basically works
within the fabric of society. This also has reliance upon the live commentary
as well as quick discussion and it also has reliance upon the aspect of
duration. Within this duration, there is relational art, which struggles to
4 Sarah Thornton, Seven Days in the Art World (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008),
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accomplish the modest connections and which also opens up with the
congested passages.5 It also connects with the levels of reality that remained
set apart from each other. He has further claimed that the industrialized
societies in the West that are found within our 20th century world, the social
environment has become so rapid that the associations and interactions
among different individuals are eroding with the passage of time.6 Bourriaud
has also claimed in the book that time is near when people will not be able to
form and maintain their relationships with each other outside such trading
areas. He has also touched upon the basic concept, which has influenced
many modern artists and also has been able to introduce an artistic tool that
will be helpful in establishing as well as maintaining the connections that had
been lost and missed otherwise.
Bourriaud has further defined the term relational aesthetics as a form of art
based on its theoretical horizon and on the realm of human interactions in
social context rather than the concept or even application of a private and
independent symbolic space.7 In view of the author, furthermore, one of the
most fundamental and obvious issues in terms of dealing with the modern
art of relational aesthetics is concerned with approaching the body of work,
which basically works and operates without any form as well as context of
the traditional material.8
5 Claire Bishop, Installation Art: A Critical History (New York: Routledge, 2005), 131
6 Carolyn Korsmeyer, Aesthetics: The Big Questions (Malden: Blackwell Publishers Inc.,
2001), 142
7 Claire Bishop, Art Of The Encounter: Antagonism And Relational Aesthetics (Circa, no. 114,
2005), 32
8 Tom Wolfe, The Painted Word (2nd ed., New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc., 2011), 35

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If we leave out for a while the aesthetic value and qualification of this object
or even its aestheticization for a while, it has been said that relational
aesthetics will still be reduced to the following.9 It is a form of art in which
the inter-subjectivity is important for forming the substrate and in which the
central theme is of being together.10 It is also considered as an encounter
between the picture and the beholder.11 It is further taken as the collective
elaboration and understanding of the meaning. As a matter of fact, art has
most of the times been considered as relational and this has been considered
in different degrees and styles, i.e. founding principle of the dialogue and the
factor of sociability.12 This has also been acknowledged by Bourriaud. This
can also be argued that the art history would not have existed as a matter of
fact if the people were not having the relational history. As a matter of fact,
the relational aesthetics is very unique and this is because its primary form is
completely and fundamentally interlaced with the culture, society and
history.13 This therefore demands the historians as well as critics to adopt a
bit different method for classifying and deciphering the certain physical
objects in order to completely understand the same.14 Such difference also
provides more value to this subject and makes it important for us to examine
9 Richard Meyer, Art Now: Teaching Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (Lecture, Pomona
College Art History Department, Claremont, CA., 2009), 24
10 Anthony Downey, Towards A Politics Of (Relational) Aesthetics" (Third Text 21 (3), 2007),
267-275
11 Dee Hibbert-Jones, Contemporary Art From Studio To Situation And Situation (Documents
Of Contemporary Art Series) (Public Art Dialogue 1 (1), 2011), 139-141
12 Claire Bishop, Viewers as Producers. In Participation, edited by Claire Bishop, 10-17
(Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2006), 134
13 Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Aesthetics. (Dijon: Les Presses du Reel, 2002), 153
14 Stewart Martin, Critique Of Relational Aesthetics (Third Text 21 (4), 2007), 369-386

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whether the relational aesthetics can be evaluated with the help of use of
similar principles as in the object based works or there are other qualities
required which the historians should use for qualifying for such artistic
practices. As a matter of fact, the relational aesthetics cannot be considered,
as the only category formed in 21st century, which has given higher
importance to the viewers as participants and it is also not the first category
that has qualified to do so over the last 100 years. Therefore, the art based
entirely on human interactions and associations, which is also known as
object-based art, is highly valued in the modern days, as the people place
high value on participation or response of viewers.15
Bourriaud had discussed about the people through relational aesthetics as
the ones being joined together in a form. If this is the case, then the form
can be easily defined as a continuous encounter. Similarly, it can also be
seen that the relational works essentially help create the form. Hence it can
be said that to judge the artwork essentially based on its formal components
will no more be an issue in case the durational interaction is comprehended
as comprising the formations or forms. Rather than that of judging the latest
work based on the forms in the past, it will be necessary for the form to
evolve with passage of time. In this respect, in addition, the form becomes a
relational property as well. This is the reason that Bourriaud claimed that
humankind essentially and purely is based on the trans-individual make up,

15 Toni Ross, Aesthetic Autonomy And Interdisciplinarity: A Response To Nicolas


Bourriaud's ? Relational Aesthetics? (Journal Of Visual Art Practice 5 (3), 2006), 167-181

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which comprises of bonds that connect the persons together in different
social forms that are historical in an invariable style.16
The social form, in this context, will then be recorded as a sort of
physical being. Similarly, like any other place in society, the world of art is
also essentially relational, as it is able to present a system of different
positions with the help of which it can be read. Hence the experience of the
same, i.e. relational art is very important as well as critical. The deeper
network of interconnections among the members of a group would mean
that everything happening in between them would be a function that will
basically be performed by all of these members.
More importantly, the author also presents the reference of a relational
web, which plays a very important role as compared to how people basically
recognize it. It is in words of the author the art, which makes it an art, and
not the artists who really make it. Hence every individual in such a relational
arena is considered as an artist and thus the art also functions in the creation
of art itself. This aspect also hints towards the radical disorder of the
aesthetic, political, social and cultural goals and objectives that are
introduced by the modern art basically, and in this the artist is considered as
the final mastermind. It is also reported that the relational aesthetics, as a
matter of fact, does not present any sort of turbulence in the way as it shows
one.17
16 Grant Watson, Response To Claire Bishop's Paper On Relational Aesthetics (Circa, no.
114,2005), 36
17 Arthur Danto, "The Artworld". In Aesthetics: The Big Questions, (1st ed., 33-44. Malden:
Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2001), 45-46

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The relational work actually integrates to a large extent the artistic
aspect too, and it approaches as well as integrates the same in a very
different manner from contemporary tradition that the humans accept and
acknowledge. Similarly, there are altogether different levels of material
presentations and depictions and which are occasionally found in authors
theory too. Occasionally it is also debatable that whether the author will be
categorizing some thing as the relational art or not. Relational art is also not
directed by any theme and hence it is not stipulated. Its form is the theme it
follows, i.e. the sphere of inter-human relations.
In any art exhibition, one of the many possibilities is that of immediate
discussion or which can be considered for a later review that is opposed to
the quick commentary that is also one possibility. In case of latter, the basic
driving force is relational aesthetics. Additionally, the main goal of the
relational art is that of the betterment of society. Author of the book also
insists that relational aesthetics is all about learning to incorporate this world
in best possible way so as to try to shape it based on the predetermined
concept of historical evolution. Furthermore, the work in case of relational art
will be based on the preconceived evolution and which will be discussed as
theatre. Author in this regard insists that art should be considered as a way
of living and a model of action within the currently existing real framework,
which will be opposed to the abstract and ideal as well as rehearsed reaction
to the reality.18
18 John Dewey, "Substance And Form". In Art As Experience (4th ed. New York: Minton,
Balch & Company, 2002), 244

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Similarly, it should also be noted that with the passage of time,
relational art is being performed across many avenues and arenas. In
museums also, the people are performing the relational art where an
interactive space is created for the people, and the participants are all
performing to socialize with each other and present their art. This is not only
described by Bourriaud in his book about the relational aesthetics but other
modern researchers and artists have also agreed with the founder of
relational art that its application is paramount in case of its application in the
museum being an interactive space.19
The concept of the global art also originated after a revision of the
relations organized in the world today.20 With the expansion of technology as
well as modern forms of communication, the global world experienced a new
form of inter-connectivity.21 New forms of media and aesthetics were made
together as a response to the embodiment of the interchanges among
people of different cultures and it was possible for the easier transmutation. 22
In global culture, art is now represented in different forms now and the
museum is also considered as an interactive space where relational
aesthetics can be performed.23 There are many cases where the artists have
used the museum space for relational aesthetics.24 The museum has been
used as an interactive space before as well and since the beginning of 21st
19 Ibid., 214-244.
20 Ibid., 3-19.
21 Ibid., 30-34.
22 Ibid., 58-81.
23 Ibid., 134-161.
24 Ibid., 12-18.

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century, the museum is being used as an interactive space. The case studies
relating to the application of relational aesthetics in the museum as being
interactive space for emerging artists will be discussed in the next sections.
3. Methodology
The main purpose of this dissertation is to describe the museum as an
interactive space for the viewers participation. The main method used for
the purpose of this dissertation is that of case study analysis. In this regard,
the next section will be discussing three cases in which the artists have used
the museum as an interactive place in order to interact with each other. In
this respect, they have also applied various concepts of theory of relational
aesthetics in case of using museum as interactive space.
The main reason behind the selection of case study method for this
dissertation is that the case study is expected to capture the complexity of a
case. The case is always discussed in greater detail and different methods
are combined within case study so as to gather more and in-depth
information. Another benefit for using this is that it has both qualitative and
quantitative means for analyzing the data. For the purpose of this research,
as mentioned above, three cases relating to interactive space in museum
and the inclusion of relational aesthetics into it was be discussed. These
cases will now be explored in next section based on which the analysis of the
data will be established.
4. Case Studies

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The first case to be discussed is that of Mark Allen and Machine Project.
The project was primarily concerned about creation of a gallery, which
basically deals with the relational aesthetic art and based on which the
artists might not be the younger artists only. However, Mark Allen had
created the Machine Project that took a longer time for its creation. In
general for the world of arts, Machine Project was anticipated vis--vis its
inception for a long period of time. Since the beginning of his career as an
artist when he had started working as curator in Texas, and when he was
studying the California Institute of Arts, Mark Allen had showed interest in
the art community because such a community had worked outside as well as
within the academic institutions. He had found at earlier stage of his career
that there was a basic difference between the art educational communities
outside of the academic institutions and the communities of formal and
appropriate art education in the same academic institutions. He had further
experienced that there was an intrinsic disconnection between these two, i.e.
there was an institutional conversation collapse outside the particular
environment where it is considered as the external and real world.25
Therefore, it had become a very important thing for Mark Allen to join the
investigation of academic art community outside the academic institution
and similarly deal with it in some way that the pedagogical issue comes
against asserting agency that is outside of the institution.

25 Mark Allen, Relational Aesthetics In person (Echo Park, CA, 2016), 22

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Similarly, the Machine Project was the idea of Mark Allen. This project
is based on the nonprofit performance and installation space examining art,
natural history, science, technology, literature, music and food. The project
also presents different workshops, events, as well as site-specific
installations with the help of hands-on engagement for making the
accessible and rarefied knowledge. The Machine Project also works as a
loose and confederated association of the artists who operate for producing
the shows in locations that are conducted in a wide range of museums, i.e.
beyond the storefront space acquired by the Machine Project initially. Allen
founded it, as mentioned above, and it has been working as an educational
non-profit institution since 2005.
Machine Project has further developed itself into a mission and it is
now an informal, educational non-profit institution. It now has the main
mission of creating, studying as well as sharing the new forms of ways of
living and culture.26 The members of this project build collaboration with
different artists and local communities and the production of non-commercial
projects for investigation of art, technology, science, performance, literature,
music and new ideas is made. The basic purpose in this regard is to build the
creative engagement of the young artists and general public in arts. The
main belief of the members of this organization is that it can become a
machine for collective thought of the individuals. The organization has also
been running on-site as well as off-site programs and functions. In this
26 Mark Allen and Jason Brown, Forward. In Machine Project Guide to Cultural History & the
Natural Sciences (7-10. Los Angeles: Pomona College, 2006), 121-134

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respect, the off-site functions have been mostly conducted in museums,
where the latter have played the role of being interactive space for the
participation of viewers. In this regard, it can also be said that various
activities under the Machine Project have also engaged the common viewers
for participation within the space provided by the museum.
The second case study to be discussed is that of Slow Dancing project
by David Michalek. This project is actually helpful in creation of durational
dance photography. This work basically highlights the shapes formed in split
seconds that the bodies of dancers pass through during when they are
forming movement. Such movement is created through the stretching of the
five to ten seconds long clips, which have been applied on 43 dancers
chosen from all around the world. A ten-minute film is also produced based
on that. The producer was actually able to divide the dancers movement as
well as the movies method in simultaneous manner while he was able to
maintain the essential factor of time so as to allow the existence of dance
into all the dimensions. This form of slow dancing was first time featured in a
50-feet projection in the Lincoln Center Festival in 2007 in which the
producer was able to capture the attention of hundreds of thousands of
viewers in a matter of few days. Such slow dancing actually also illuminates
the experimentation of Michelek with that of experimentation with the film,
which is centered on the series of photographic stills. The initial aim was to
show it during an exhibition in the museum, but the slow dancing later on
became a huge success owing to the street audiences engagement that sat

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and also watched all the parts of it. Those people watched all the parts of
this movie during the festival as well as later on and also had been
conversing among each other. Those people were also relating this work with
their own life experiences as well as with the works already displayed in the
center. This was the main intention of the producer, i.e. to engage the
audience and to extract more out of the people by showing his work. Another
application of this project was observed in case of engagement of idea of
relational aesthetics proposed by Bourriaud.
It can also be said that Michaleks work of Slow Dancing is clearly
meeting the criteria set by Bourriaud in case of explaining his model of
relational aesthetics. It is righty said in the book written by Bourriaud that
the work itself does not provide any spatial whole, which can be traced
through the eye, but it can be considered as a time span for crossing it in
sequential manner, which is also similar to the short movie created by the
combination of stills especially in which the viewers are themselves evolving.
Similarly, the assembly of people who gathered as viewers had watched this
work unfolding in front of them actually reflected the description given
earlier by Bourriaud. He stated it already that the appearance of art does not
lie in the world that a work represents and it also does not form itself, but it
is presented in front of the world. He also said that this work takes the
temporary collective form, which it forms when it is put on the show.
Hence, this is the basic importance of the Slow Dancing project, which
has defined the concept of relational aesthetics. The main aspect of

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relational aesthetics observed here is that the work itself becomes the
interactions that are located in front of it. Similarly, this work not only
reflects the viewers but also relocates the heart of the work in terms of what
is being displayed as a display and also as the interaction in front of the
people. The physical object also works in order to produce the relational
component, which basically resides at the center of the viewers attention.
This has also been stated in Bourriauds book that the social bonds and
connections actually transform into the standardized artifacts. In this regard,
Michalek has not only changed the dancers movement via time, but he had
also changed the movement of the viewers as well. It was observed in the
Lincoln Center Plaza that the time remained still for the audience. The time
remained still for the dancers as well in order to allow them to lose their
stillness in case of Michaleks movie. The produced had been able to
transcend the Manhattan time where even an hour goes by like a second, as
the life there is too busy.
Additionally, the slow dancing exists in the way that Michalek has
presented. The producer has displayed the film inside as well as outside the
museum. He has also been successful in transforming the work by
investigating the line between film and photography. He has also tried to
reside in the movies realm, which actually catches the sight of the
movement. Although his main medium of production is the film, but the
manner in which he has tried to manipulate it has basically caused it to work
as both photography and the film. As a matter of fact, the durational

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interaction of the audience actually denies the photographic explanation of
the piece and hence it also refuses the transformation of the setting, which is
the Lincoln Center Plaza, for the importance of work itself. In the words of
Bourriaud, production of a form is aimed at invention of plausible encounters,
which receive the form for creation of conditions for the exchange.27
Another case is that of Rirkrit Tiravanija, who is a Thai artist and who also
used the concept of relational aesthetics in his art and performed in the
museum. Besides, he has also produced so many art products and has
displayed them in museum for sale or display and so that he could make
some profits out of these products. He has also used the place of museum as
a location from where he can interact with other people and where people
themselves can also become audience and discuss themselves his products.
This is therefore the plot from where the products of Rirkrit can be bought or
from where he can also conduct his business. The application of relational
aesthetics is also seen here, as the people are interacting with each other
and discussing art, and the interest of the artist is also being met there. This
does show the use of relational art in case of museum once again. 28 The case
studies described above show that the interactive space is important, as it
provides the artists an opportunity to display their arts. The theory of
relational aesthetics has been presented above. Theory of Relational
Aesthetics proposed by Nicolas Bourriaud in 1998 is considered as the most
27 David Michalek, Slow Dancing (Lecture, Pomona College Dance Department, Claremont,
CA., 2008), 12
28 Arden Reed, The Movement of Slow Art (Lecture, Pomona College English Department,
Claremont, CA., 2008), 33

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vigilant theoretical context for accommodating the new generation of artists.
The artists considered here are those who especially emerged in 1990s. The
central premise of this theory is that artistic practice of the 1990s can be
most comprehended in form of a shift of paradigm in which the practice of
art is more focused upon concept of inter-human relations as well as
production of sociability models.
The standard formula considered true in the modern art is that every single
thing is an art. The latest step in the process of considering anything an art is
that of relational aesthetics, which also means the posing of production of
social experiences by artist as an art making. In his own book, Bourriaud
defined relational aesthetics as a set of artistic practices that consider as
their practical and theoretical point of departure the complete human
relations as well as their social context rather than a private and
independent space.
5. Findings
It has been discussed in the literature review as well as the case study
section that relational aesthetics did not appear out of nowhere; rather it was
based on the participating predecessors. In the same time, it has been seen
that history also supports the relational aesthetics in case of such a historical
trajectory. On the other hand, there are also reasons concerned with the
relational aesthetics that appeared at the particular period of time. Relational
works have been discussed in the previous chapter and the three cases have
been explained in relation to the Bourriauds concept of relational aesthetics.

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There were other community-based groups or clubs, which played an
effective role in the 20th century. The present generation of the people who
were in their 40s had missed on the closed community-based organizations
and clubs. Such a community had experienced a totally different type of
experience. Most of the gatherings were face-to-face and were on the fringe.
The invention of the Internet was also another factor that shaped the
current world. It also shaped how art is displayed and perceived among the
people. The act of bringing together people has also been made easy owing
to the fruits of Internet. This is because the people are invited and are given
the opportunity to interact with each other. In case of museum as being an
interactive space, it can also tae advantage of the new styles and traditions
being adopted by the people. This should also mean that the people are also
adopting new ways and means. The museum has been considered as one
case study above, which has been considered as interactive space where the
relational aesthetics can be used.
The case studies described above show that the interactive space is
important, as it provides the artists an opportunity to display their arts. The
theory of relational aesthetics has been presented above. Theory of
Relational Aesthetics proposed by Nicolas Bourriaud in 1998 is considered as
the most vigilant theoretical context for accommodating the new generation
of artists. The artists considered here are those who especially emerged in
1990s. The central premise of this theory is that artistic practice of the 1990s
can be most comprehended in form of a shift of paradigm in which the

23
practice of art is more focused upon concept of inter-human relations as well
as production of sociability models.
The standard formula considered true in the modern art is that every
single thing is an art. The latest step in the process of considering anything
an art is that of relational aesthetics, which also means the posing of
production of social experiences by artist as an art making. In his own book,
Bourriaud defined relational aesthetics as a set of artistic practices that
consider as their practical and theoretical point of departure the complete
human relations as well as their social context rather than a private and
independent space. This also means that the projects concerning relational
aesthetics basically differ from traditional social as well as physical space of
any museum or art gallery and also any appropriated atelier or artist studio.
In addition to that, the relational aesthetics also takes the completeness of
life as the main subject as it is lived. It also takes it as the socially dynamic
environment, which is other than making the efforts for imitative illustration
of artistic objects that are detached from routine life. This has also been seen
in case of still life of Dutch Baroque, which is soundest example relating to
this theory.29
From the above case studies, one aspect that can be seen is that relational
aesthetics can be criticized in the sense that relational aesthetics are too
much of a work in progress. This means that the aspect of relational
aesthetics is still not fully developed and there is much more progress
29 Marie Shurkus, Relational Aesthetics, Re-enactment, and the Post-Medium Condition:
What Difference Does It Make Anyway? (Lecture, Department of Art and Art History at
Pomona College, Claremont, CA., 2009), 111

24
needed in this regard.30 This also means that the relational aesthetics as
defined and developed by Bourriaud was still not complete and more
practical research is needed in this regard. That being said, the main finding
deduced from this case study analysis presented above is that the artists
have been using the museum as interactive space in order to showcase their
work and also let the people interact with each other. This lets the people
study about art and different artistic things and also let them have an
opportunity to explore different aspects of art.
6. Conclusion
This dissertation was basically divided into 5 chapters. The first
chapter was introduction, as mentioned above, in which the brief idea about
what was to be discussed has been presented in this dissertation. Along with
that research questions along with aims and objectives of this dissertation
have also been presented in introduction chapter. The second chapter was of
literature review. This chapter has presented scholarly research about role of
museums in the past and how have museums transformed to become an
interactive platform for viewers to interact with each other. Apart from that,
the literature review has also discussed how the theory of relational
aesthetics presented by Nicholas Bourriaud has been the fundamental theory
in this subject and along with that a brief introduction of three main artists
has been made in the chapter. Third chapter was about methodology and in
which it has been told how the data for analysis is collected and how the
30 Liam Gillick, Contingent Factors: A Response to Claire Bishops Antagonism and
Relational Aesthetics (October Magazine, 2006), 98

25
methodology has been applied. Fourth chapter has presented in brief three
main case studies based on theory of relational aesthetics. This meant that
these three cases were actually about those artists who have participated
into these activities that are held in museums as being interactive places.
Fifth chapter has presented findings based on case studies.
It has been stated that Theory of Relational Aesthetics proposed by
Nicholas Bourriaud in 1998 is considered as the most vigilant theoretical
context for accommodating the new generation of artists. The artists
considered here are those who especially emerged in 1990s. The central
premise of this theory is that artistic practice of the 1990s can be most
comprehended in form of a shift of paradigm in which the practice of art is
more focused upon concept of inter-human relations as well as production of
sociability models. The main conclusion that can de drawn from this
dissertation based on the research question posed above is that relational
aesthetics is a great emerging concept in art and it is helping in the
emerging artists to become more acquainted with audience. The main
conclusion is also that the museum can be used as an interactive place
where the artistic activities can be held and people in general can interact
with each other for sharing insights about art and different artistic things. It
can also be concluded that relational aesthetics can be justifiably
implemented in the museum if it is made as an interactive space. The
justification comes from those artists who have been using this space for

26
their own purpose so that their artwork is appreciated and also the audience
and viewers are also attracted towards the new forms of art.
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