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A Blockbuster Ban at the National Gallery

by Zoe Strimpel
Thu, 28 Feb 2008 at 5:51 PM

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An austere but blissfully refreshing message from the new director of the National Gallery, Nicholas Penny: Culture is not all about blockbuster exhibitions of superstar artists. And from now on, neither will be the National Gallery.

Mr. Penny said on Tuesday that museums have lost sight of their true purpose, to show people new things and so to educate. He said that too many institutions in London are simply showing images, or objects, that people are already familiar with. "The responsibility of a major gallery is to show people something they haven't seen before... What is important is encouraging historical and visual curiosity in the general public," he was quoted as saying in the Times of London.

With this in mind, the National Gallery will soon host an exhibition of the relatively obscure Italian Divisionists, a late 19th- and early 20th-century group whose paintings are notable for their division of color through individualized brushstrokes. Mr. Penny attributes the revitalization of Italian art to the Divisionists, at a time when it had sunk from prominence, and called the group "enormously prized" in Italy.

I, for one, am with Mr. Penny on this one, but possibly for less lofty reasons than those he outlined. I am — and most other Londoners I know are — sick to death of the circus that has become any attempt to see the top cultural attractions in this city. People have been lining up from dawn to snag tickets to "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" at the British Museum; the same applied to the recent "Othello" with Ewan McGregor at the Donmar. Try visiting the "From Russia" show at the Royal Academy, or Tutankhamun at the O2 Centre, and your patience had better be that of a saint or you had better not mind endless "queues." (Some might argue the British actually like them.)

When superstars headline exhibits, it can be a knee-jerk reaction to go and see. But with something more off the beaten path, people might decide to go in a more thoughtful (and sparse) manner. Lines around the block to glimpse the Italian Divisionist show at the National Portrait Gallery? I very much doubt it.

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