so many interesting threads here, especially around the civilising function of the museum space and how that extends to its relationship to the dining experience. I was thinking about the national museum of the american indian in DC and how it presents native foods as an extension of the museum experience; so much to examine there on the repackaging of indigenous culture for consumption.
It’s really such a compelling conclusion about how food in the museum re-asserts these boundaries and despite high-minded notions, is pure consumption!
Fascinating piece, and will download and check out the zine format once I’m home. As others have said, so much to consider here. I’ve always been disappointed by the “airport foodiness” quality of museum food. It always took me out of the contemplative mood of browsing history/art, but I never stopped to consider the placelessness of the food and how it compares to stolen art.
Reminds me of the soda fountain at the World War II museum here in New Orleans- both the museum and the cafe presenting sanitized versions of the 1940’s and post war 50’s in America
Thank you for this. A teeny bit because it reminds me of university and reading Tony Bennett. Rare is the occasion that I’m reminded of my previous academic lives!
I had never given much thought to postmodernism in the context of food, but this analysis was so interesting! I actually had my first museum dining experience a few weeks ago when my department decided to have our half-day "retreat" (long-ass meeting) at the Cleveland Museum of Art (a free museum that is full of problems and also beautiful). Anyway, they have the fine dining restaurant and the cafe; we ate in the cafe which seems also to want to evoke a fine(r) dining quality (fancy meals at extremely high prices). I'm weird about heavy lunches so I got overpriced trail mix, but it was a sight to behold. Oh, and I absolutely loved the zine format!
Ahhh that is so interesting! The museums in San Juan don’t have cafes but the national art museum regularly has food trucks outside, which is an interesting spin on it.
My only museum meal was paid for by a gin brand and at The Modern, lol. I think in NYC it’s easy to avoid these spaces if you know what you’re doing, which is another way they are taking advantage of outsiders / families without the mobility to go get noodles or halal rice around the corner. But it’s also why it’s so interesting to consider how they are different / similar to the gift shop.
Museums as “something closer to an amusement park or hedge fund full of ‘noninvested surplus capital’” brings to mind the many recent labor actions organized by museum workers fighting for fair working conditions (Brooklyn Museum, MassMoCA)—“museums function as a ‘civilizing’ space, presenting aspirational bourgeois behavior” indeed!
Also, the digital zine is such a treat. I loved reading the piece in that format.
Loved this piece! Archiving it for myself, and shared it with my aunt who loved it too. A few of my most memorable dining experiences have been at museums. She took me once when I was in high school to Bravo at the MFA Boston and it has been a core memory ever since. She shared her pleasure taking my grandparents to Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie. Many museum meals that have particularly stood out to me have been museums in Scandinavia, particularly Sweden. Always elevated and veggie friendly.
this was fascinating, anthropological! and of course I’m sure it evoked many memories of museum dining we have all known (refueling, tantrum soothing, the bleeding of the dining space into the galleries, …..)
so many interesting threads here, especially around the civilising function of the museum space and how that extends to its relationship to the dining experience. I was thinking about the national museum of the american indian in DC and how it presents native foods as an extension of the museum experience; so much to examine there on the repackaging of indigenous culture for consumption.
thank you so much for writing and sharing this!
It’s really such a compelling conclusion about how food in the museum re-asserts these boundaries and despite high-minded notions, is pure consumption!
As someone who finds large museums tedious, the dining experience within them has always felt eating at IKEA.
Fascinating piece, and will download and check out the zine format once I’m home. As others have said, so much to consider here. I’ve always been disappointed by the “airport foodiness” quality of museum food. It always took me out of the contemplative mood of browsing history/art, but I never stopped to consider the placelessness of the food and how it compares to stolen art.
RIGHT?! This connection has made so much make sense for me that never did before.
Reminds me of the soda fountain at the World War II museum here in New Orleans- both the museum and the cafe presenting sanitized versions of the 1940’s and post war 50’s in America
That’s sooo interesting!
Thank you for this. A teeny bit because it reminds me of university and reading Tony Bennett. Rare is the occasion that I’m reminded of my previous academic lives!
Same! David Harvey references bring me right back to the geography lab.
yes! the reference brought me right back to David Harvey’s year visiting my sociology grad program at UC Santa Barbara
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I had never given much thought to postmodernism in the context of food, but this analysis was so interesting! I actually had my first museum dining experience a few weeks ago when my department decided to have our half-day "retreat" (long-ass meeting) at the Cleveland Museum of Art (a free museum that is full of problems and also beautiful). Anyway, they have the fine dining restaurant and the cafe; we ate in the cafe which seems also to want to evoke a fine(r) dining quality (fancy meals at extremely high prices). I'm weird about heavy lunches so I got overpriced trail mix, but it was a sight to behold. Oh, and I absolutely loved the zine format!
Ahhh that is so interesting! The museums in San Juan don’t have cafes but the national art museum regularly has food trucks outside, which is an interesting spin on it.
My only museum meal was paid for by a gin brand and at The Modern, lol. I think in NYC it’s easy to avoid these spaces if you know what you’re doing, which is another way they are taking advantage of outsiders / families without the mobility to go get noodles or halal rice around the corner. But it’s also why it’s so interesting to consider how they are different / similar to the gift shop.
Museums as “something closer to an amusement park or hedge fund full of ‘noninvested surplus capital’” brings to mind the many recent labor actions organized by museum workers fighting for fair working conditions (Brooklyn Museum, MassMoCA)—“museums function as a ‘civilizing’ space, presenting aspirational bourgeois behavior” indeed!
Also, the digital zine is such a treat. I loved reading the piece in that format.
Loved this piece! Archiving it for myself, and shared it with my aunt who loved it too. A few of my most memorable dining experiences have been at museums. She took me once when I was in high school to Bravo at the MFA Boston and it has been a core memory ever since. She shared her pleasure taking my grandparents to Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie. Many museum meals that have particularly stood out to me have been museums in Scandinavia, particularly Sweden. Always elevated and veggie friendly.
this was fascinating, anthropological! and of course I’m sure it evoked many memories of museum dining we have all known (refueling, tantrum soothing, the bleeding of the dining space into the galleries, …..)
So glad! The necessity of ignoring the smells was definitely something I’ve always felt guilty articulating, lol