Not just souvenirs

By Zhang Yiqian Source:Global Times Published: 2012-10-28 21:20:10

A dinosaur exhibition at UCCA that inspired a similar USB storage device sold at the art center. Photo: CFP
A dinosaur exhibition at UCCA that inspired a similar USB storage device sold at the art center. Photo: CFP



Participating organizations at the inaugural China International Museum Art Products Expo, which concluded Friday at the China National Convention Center in Chaoyang district, ranged from individually-run workshops to international museums.

Karen Meyerhoff, managing director of the business department at the Guggenheim Musuem in New York, told Metro Beijing that American museum shops are required to generate revenue and enhance the museum's reputation.

The products that she brought for showcase ranged from cups shaped like the famous museum building to scarves and miniature sculptures, all products that reflect the programming of the museum and its related art collections.

The Beijing Lotus Art Museum presented prints and scarves of its art collection. The original paintings of some of the artists who contributed to the museum's collection had been bought by individuals and are no longer available on the market, which is why the museum made replica prints for sale, Feng Dongyang, an assistant at the museum, told Metro Beijing.

The scarves were made to look like paintings at the museum. The smoky moonlit night in Zhang Jin's painting Lotus Pond in Moonlight was adapted into a silk scarf design.

"In museums, it's rare for us to have products just to showcase them," Feng said, adding most products aim to be useful.

Liu Ran, director of the museum shop at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in the 798 Art Zone, told Metro Beijing another reason to create such products is to bring art to the people.

"Many artists' original works are expensive, so we need a means for the public to appreciate and enjoy their works," she said. "Artworks aren't for everyday use, but ordinary consumers can afford and widely use artistic products."

But in China, development of museum art products still has a long way to go, Zhao Rubing, an employee at the UCCA shop, told Metro Beijing.

"I've been abroad a couple of times. Whenever museums have exhibits, accompanying products are soon made available and span a wide range," she said.

In the US, museum art products represent a developed industry with enormous market value, Meyerhoff noted. She said commercializing art through product is not as simple as printing an image on a commodity. Liu agreed, saying such practices undermine the industry.

"The design and production quality of art products should be high and innovative," she said, highlighting UCCA's dinosaur-shaped USB storage device as a good example.



Posted in: ARTS, Metro Beijing

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