1.5 The Museum Gaze

In 2012, while attending a Mike Kelley retrospective at New York’s PS1 Museum, I became fascinated watching a museum guard. Standing in a gallery filled with stuffed animals crammed together into satellite-like sculptures, I wondered what it must be like to spend your day working in such a curious environment.

Over the ensuing decade, whenever visiting a museum or gallery, I have often found myself as interested in the people in the space as I am in the art itself. Some visitors are excited to be there, while others seem to be there only by coercion or duty. Then there are the omnipresent guards, some of whom appear engaged in their environments, others seemingly counting the hours until their shift ends.

Art is a conversation, and the images in The Museum Gaze captures the give and take in the dialog between the viewer and the artwork. The guards are also brought into focus as they witness that dialogue unfold. The Museum Gaze offers a glimpse into the complex interplay between art, the viewer, and the museum itself.

Lawrence Lazare December 2023

28 Pages, 28 Color and BW Images, Center Staple

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