ABSTRACT
The Quadracci Pavilion represents a taste culture, one that museums and cities across the world often adopt in a quest to “revitalize struggling post-industrial cities and put their name on the global tourist map”. Art has long been used to distinguish class and affinity groups. Historically, museum buildings were seen as containers for art, appropriately grand and of the latest style, but not necessarily art objects in their own right. Art—ownership of art for the elite, or familiarity with art for those who cannot afford to own it—has long been a product with which people construct identity, but research has shown that it is not as simple as assuming that people visit museums to increase cultural capital which can then be turned into economic gains. Arsel and Thompson show that many people are attracted for a variety of reasons and often work to undermine or side-step the myths associated with their consumption choices.
