Exploring the Role of Conceptual Art for the New Museology – Conceptual Art as Method in Revisiting Objects, Their Display, and Heritage Institutions

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the context of the recent involvement of contemporary art in the field of museology, my article aims to point out the revolutionary role that conceptual art played in the understanding of heritage. This article argues that conceptual art crucially advanced the critical redefinition of the nature, value, display, role, and agency of the heritage object. Due to the specific understanding of the “object” and the institutional critique discourse it established, conceptual art significantly furthered the development of new methodologies in museological practice since the beginning of the twentieth century. Although new museology gradually involved contemporary art, a theory of its specific modus operandi in this context and – as will be argued – the particular contribution of conceptual art have not been systematically pursued so far. This article will demonstrate how the involvement of conceptual, performative, and multi-disciplinary artistic practices as well as display strategies have contributed to the elaboration of innovatory, critical, de-colonial, and inclusive methods of heritage transmission.