Translator: Translate TED Reviewer: Sebastian Betti
Now it is a time of simplification: everything becomes simpler.
It is simpler to wash our clothes, our dishes, to travel in space.
Though, unfortunately, the culture becomes simpler.
The culture becomes different: it changes its rate, its depth,
and many other of its parameters.
I'm not going to judge this process,
it has many objective and positive causes:
the changes of communicational forms, even new communicational civilization
is connected to the Internet and different technical innovations
which really make many things simpler and better.
But there is also a loss of depth.
There are also subjective elements connected to, for example,
simplification of culture in our country which is not always very positive.
And we understand perfectly that because of the development
of different media, TV, etc., we also lose much.
What can we set over against it without judgment?
We can create "spaces of complexity."
Unfortunately, there aren't many genres where these spaces are possible.
It is very difficult to combine this with different new institutions,
but it is real to combine this with traditional institutions like museums.
Museums have all chances to be justified as spaces of deepening of culture.
Unfortunately, till now they don't work this way.
For reforming them this way we should work a lot.
What does this job consist of?
First of all, goal-setting.
Every museum action or movement
from ventilation of repository to working with every audience --
I'm not even talking now about the main tasks --
like exhibitions, expositions, scientific events, etc.,
all these actions should be considered in connection with goals.
The goals form themselves and goals form the depth,
and, at the same time, they solve many tasks.
I could compare the process of goal-setting with a matrioshka:
one goal in another, and so they go on; there are many of them, they accumulate.
And paradoxically in contrast with this Russian doll,
there is not always reduction of size, they could be of the same size.
But they are inserted in one another and overflow from each other.
The second very important thing: museum process and museum activity
are more important then the final result.
We don't seek this result but we go forward to it,
always by making goal-setting.
And finally, the most important resource for museum activity
which is not always estimated and used is cooperation.
It is a valuable resource which needs much openness
and, believe me, really less money.
So my appeal to the community: Let's become more complex!
(Applause)