What, according to Frans, is a museum?
An art museum is an institute for visual culture. It collects, manages, displays and examines works of art as signs of the time from which they originated. The museum believes that artists – both past and present – do not merely depict reality but also depict it differently. Artists make images and develop ideas to get a grip on reality or to manipulate it, whatever suits them best.
Primarily, a museum facilitates the viewing of art. Not only is viewing art a visual and emotional experience, it is also an intellectual one; one that uses your heart and your head. Art speaks to the mind and is thought-provoking. Art is always a ‘gift’, made for someone else – not a specific someone, but for anyone who is willing to listen, to watch and to read.