cube
The "white cube" was created to give the artwork a “transcendental”, timeless space in which it can be seen with little to no distractions. It seems to me that this kind of art viewing place was created—for the most part—to sell the work, and therefore means of capital gain. I suppose it keeps art safe, but that can be done without “the cube”. The cube, whether it is trying to or not, it is framing the image, framing it in a pristine white nothingness. This—according to O’Doherty—is to suspend the viewer from space-time, and the dirty, fleeting world. The nature of the gallery space is to annihilate “the self”—so to speak—from every viewer, as well as time. Upon entering a gallery we are conditioned to release some of our daily human worry and loose ourselves in the art (hence the transcendental space). The gallery is striving for the most transcendental and removed space possible. Nothing can distract from the art, nothing can distract from the sale, for this alone is what the perpetuation of the gallery depends on. The timeless, attention-demanding space is almost treated with the same respect as that of a church. Think about it; you usually lower your voice, walk, “don’t touch!” respect. Most (with the exception of some installation) acceptable gallery interaction is usually done as though we are in the presents of the divine. I think that most art—in order for us to understand fully—needs to be seen beyond the sterol white cube, and amongst its influences, weather city or country, water or land, there is always more than the “now” (the “installation” is beginning to see this). I don’t think the gallery knows it, but it is framing the images, framing in nothing, blotting out all that is not trivial to this single moment, cutting the depth of the work.
