deCordova’s Kois defends “hands-on” art

In response to a New York Times opinion piece bemoaning the trend in contemporary art museums toward hands-on, “walk-through experiences” as opposed to traditional pieces meant for stationary contemplation, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park director Dennis Kois wrote a piece defending the more participatory approach.

“We have found that one type of art does not cheapen the other,” Kois wrote in Slate. “Some of our audience appreciates both; some favor one over the other. But unquestionably both are contemporary art and both are equally important for us, as a contemporary art museum, to present… Just as the boundaries of our culture and world have expanded exponentially in the past decades, our art and our museums have expanded to keep pace. It’s foolish to say that one type of art—object or experience—is better than the other. Why would, or should, museums, or our visitors, be forced to choose?”