A Museum of One’s Own: Creating, Discoursing and Personalizing: Talk by Johny ML

The Museum Lecture Series at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore

At the inauguration of the Art Museum, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath Bangalore hosted the Museum Lecture series on 13^th January 2025. The show’s star was Delhi art historian, critic, curator and writer – Johny ML. An honorary member of the Museum Commission, Dept of Museum and Archaeology, Govt of Kerala, Johny has authored twenty books and thirty literature translations.

A Museum of One’s Own: Creating, Discouraging and Personalizing

His talk on ‘A Museum of One’s Own: Creating, Discouraging and Personalizing’ unfolded myriad layers of how museums personify an enthralling duality by being multifaceted in their architecture, curation, and diverse collections, yet simple in their purpose—to connect people with art. Their complexity lies in the intricate layers of history, culture, and sentiment that every piece holds, curated to tell stories across time. However, their quintessence is simple: to stimulate, incite thought, and create a space for reflection and appreciation of creativity.

The traditional approach to preserve and showcase artefacts, artworks, or specimens; a structured narrative allows visitors to explore systematically and fosters a sense of order. This further leads to how art museums evolve from traditional spaces showcasing static collections to dynamic environments fostering engagement and creativity. Modern approaches emphasize inclusivity, interactive exhibits, and digital technology to make art more accessible. These changes aim to inspire dialogue, reflect cultural shifts, and attract broader audiences while maintaining the essence of preserving and celebrating artistic heritage.

When artworks are displayed in museums, they can sometimes become stagnant, losing the dynamic context of their original creation or purpose. Over time, repeated exposure to the same curation can make the artwork feel static, overshadowing it’s evolving cultural responsiveness or even economic relevance till it’s again brought out to auction houses. Johny ML feels that an art object becomes valueless when it reaches a museum as it just turns into a ‘number’. While talking of how the word ‘Museum’ originates from the Greek word Mouseion, which is rooted in the term Mousa, meaning ‘muse’, Johny mentioned it’s like mausoleums as they store dead objects, non-utilitarian objects which become aesthetic objects to be observed. Then in contrast, a talk on a Saarvjanik Sanghralaya in Partapur in Rajasthan, which is in an abandoned school building, not a conventional museum but a ‘living’ museum, which displays rural and utility objects, which people can borrow to use, take them and bring them back for display after work is over. 

While quoting the example of Mr Bean, Johny ML described how one can notice the narratives based around Museums in Western movies, while in India, a museum acts like a forced location, a backdrop of the song by default where a hero will be dancing in front of the building. What intrigued everyone was the concept of ‘personal museums’ where domestic showcases in homes, loaded with trophies, plaques, family heirlooms, travel souvenirs, and showpieces, turn out to be one’s museums, with ‘micro museums’ in albums, now stored in Google clouds. These objects not only decorate the space but also narrate personal histories, showcase the stories of its inhabitants, connect generations, and reflect the cultural and emotional tapestry of the household. One can demand Museums of one’s own choices, or make themselves as then they are the directors and the museum makers.

Name Dropping in the Museum Lecture Series

Portable museum — ‘personal museum’ by Dayanita Singh, who collected her selective photographs, curated as per the narratives she wanted to convey, turning the experience from material to spiritual worth was mentioned to emphasize the approaching changes. MAP Bangalore, Kiran Nadar Museum and ‘Future’ Museum Dubai and the concepts behind them were also cited. 

The other references included Louise Bourgeois ‘Spider’-an iconic series of sculptures that symbolize both strength and vulnerability; Virginia Woolf: A Room of One’s Own: Exploring Women’s Roles in Literature and Society, which argues that women need financial independence and personal space—a literal and metaphorical “room of their own”—to create art and express themselves freely; Orhan Pamuk’s ‘Museum of Innocence’ both a novel and a real museum in Istanbul, blending fiction and reality.

Johny ML gave an example of Pablo Helguera who conceived the art scene as a pyramid with artists at the base with collectors, curators, critics, auction houses, and museum directors leading the way to the top. ‘The use of photography’: is a collaborative work by Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux and journalist Marc Marie, who through a series of ‘personal’ photographs captured the intimate aftermath of their encounters—such as clothes strewn across rooms—they explore themes of desire, illness, memory, and the transient nature of life.

Suresh Jayaram’s Thoughts on New Museums

Suresh Jayaram; visual artist, curator and art writer, director of 1Shanthiroad Art Space and Residency Bangalore, shared the stage with Johny ML. While winding up the tête-à-tête, he brought up a few stimulating acuities which triggered the minds with what new museums bring up now to regenerate ideas, and new dialogues, contemporary and relevant to the people. He mentioned the outstanding Patna museum, designed by a Japanese architect. High time for the Museums to not only be places of display but also to make them social- a place for conversations, to make them public-friendly, more of a democratic space. This stability between gravity and accessibility makes art museums intellectually rich and universally inviting.

In a few words one can say that the interactions like this are prolific and insights of the experts bring to life the significance of preserving heritage, the stories behind artefacts, literary mentions and the evolving role of museums in society. Such discussions spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and often leave the audience with a renewed appreciation for the treasures of the past and their relevance in shaping the future.

Image Courtesy – Dr Alka Chadha Harpalani