Reading 3

In this article, Erza Shales argues that the museum setting is too sterile and formal. His main arguments are that a combination of "Lacuna" and "Aporia" give a piece its meaning and that being able to touch the piece allows for a better understanding of both. I interpret Lacuna as the blanks left by the artist that transfers the artist's message or intent. Aporia I see as the small marks left by creating the object, a window into the past as the historical context in which it was made. With Aporia there is no purposeful message being transmitted and yet there is information. The tone of a work of art can change dramatically when viewed with the historical context in mind. For example, the Jeanne d'Evreux Prayer Book was traditionally interpreted by old white male art historians and as a result the grotesques crowding the illustrations were largely ignored as decorative or humorous. However, when a female art historian looked at the prayer book through Jeanne's eyes, she discovered that the grotesques had a much larger role than initially believed. In this same manner of stepping into another's shoes, Shales wants viewers to step into the artist's shoes by touching the work, and as a result gain greater understanding of the piece's purpose.