A century-old British museum: Images of dusty, forgotten artifacts come to mind, but not when that museum is in the hands of Mark Jones.
The director of London's Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has pulled the crusty old institution into the 21st century with exhibitions like the recent Vivienne Westwood show, and he's got big plans for the future.
Jones, who recently visited Shanghai for the first time as part of "Leader's Quest," a program designed for senior leaders, revealed that he was in discussions with the Shanghai Museum about an exchange exhibition between the two museums next year.
Such an exhibition would be a real boon to Shanghai museum-goers. Located in South Kensington, the V&A was established in 1852 and is ranked among Britain's top three museums, housing more than 4 million objects that span the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. In the hierarchy of English museums, it ranks below the British Museum, but still attracts 2.7 million visitors per year, making it the sixth most-visited free attraction in London.
And, says Jones, there are areas of commonality with the Shanghai Museum. "We have a rich display of Chinese art, dating from the 4th millennium BC to the 21st century, as these items are always attraction to Europeans," he adds.
Jones himself is no exception.
During his first trip to Beijing in the early 1970s, Jones became enchanted by the culture as represented in the historic sights of that city, like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Indeed, his impressions were so strong that he put on a series of China-focused exhibitions back home.
In 2000, he organized a show featuring 59 masterpieces on loan from the Shanghai Museum to the National Museum of Scotland. This September, another major exhibition, entitled "Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800," which shows how Asian and Europeans perceived and represented one another, will be unveiled at the V&A.
"But aside from the ancient ceramics, textiles and furniture, we also want to enrich our collection of contemporary Chinese art and designs," Jones says. "Next year, the V&A will have a show featuring contemporary Chinese photographs."
Yet despite his initial attraction to ancient Chinese culture, Jones now is more interested in modern China and its art.
"That's the reason for the upcoming photography show," he explains. "China has witnessed dynamic changes over the past decade, and we want to show how these were captured by the Chinese people."
Like all museum directors, Jones complains about funding.
"Money is always a problem for any museum," he notes. "In my view, a good museum should first have a top-notch collection, backed up by top-notch research and academic staff."
Jones' words are echoed by Chen Xiejun, curator of the Shanghai Museum.
"The key factor in determining the quality of a museum is the quality of its collection - that's why the Shanghai Museum has paid so much to acquire ancient relics in recent years," Chen says.
Jones reveals that the V&A plans to take in some representative artworks of contemporary Chinese art in the following years "because in future these works will become milestones when referring back to the period," he notes.
Unlike the stereotypical English gentleman with a reserved and conservative mind, Jones prefers that the V&A be on the cutting edge rather than an old "castle with treasures."
Last month, the V&A showcased Vivienne Westwood's punk-style fashion retrospective show, which coincided with the ongoing Cartier jewelry show at the Shanghai Museum.
"A museum should attract more young visitors through some creative shows like these," he says.
And the visitors they do attract like what they see. According to Qian Gang, chief representative at the British Tourism Shanghai Office, statistics show that 98 percent of the V&A visitors are very satisfied or satisfied with their visit.
But Jones has no time to rest on his laurels. His plans include a dramatic renewal for the V&A in the next decade, including a new, almost futuristic building - a spiral complex - in a geometric, and almost crystalline form.
"Critics said the design was too modern," says Jones. "But I like it, because it is reflective of the future."
(eastday.com May 31, 2004)
