The museum and the department store

This research aims to show the relationships between the museum and the department store and the visitor who engages with both institutions. The visitor to these spaces is the focus for the development of meaning, and reaction, to the objects on display in both spaces. The methods of interior and exterior design, planning and circulation, and object display, are discussed in relation to the vital context of the viewer, and the consequent construction of meaning and value. Value itself, becomes a recurring theme in these discussions since design and display within both institutions can perpetuate value, desire, and fetishism for the object. These concepts are further related to the appropriation of Minimalist aesthetics in boutiques. This analysis is applied to the critique of two exhibitions: 'Islands: Contemporay Installations' at the National Gallery of Australia, and, 'The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' at the Queensland Art Gallery. These exhibitions which predominantly involve installation art are discussed as examples relating to the phenomena of viewing, and the impact of design and displa