The Dark Side of the White Cube

Nook Harquail
Museums: Exhibiting Culture
Marlene Heck
8/6/11

Flipping through the pages of books on museums, I noticed that, despite their vastly
different exteriors, the interior galleries of modern museums were virtually identical: white walls
with a stone or wood floor; works hung far apart and lit with even white light.1 This style of
display is known as the white cube. Popularized by the Museum of Modern Art, it was touted
as a neutral gallery environment; one that faded into the background, allowing artworks to stand
alone without being influenced by their surroundings.2 However, the white cube environment is
far from neutral. Its limbo-like space is free from context or time, and is therefore ill-suited to
displaying or viewing art. Its sterilized, otherworldly environment removes the art from all
context, denying viewers vital tools in that could add meaning to the artworks or make them
more accessible. Also, by displaying all works in the same pure-white, clinical space, the white
cube forces a sense of equivalence on works that deserve to be appreciated as distinct creations.
Rather than using this one-size-fits-all approach, museums should change the surroundings to
match the works: When possible, decisions about the design of a gallery space (lighting, framing,
wall color, constructed display structures, etc.) should be made by the artist, so that they fit with
his or her intentions of how the work should be displayed. When this is not possible, curators
should make every effort to understand the context and purpose of the work, and create an
environment that is an extension of the work, rather than falling back to the traditional white
cube and its false promise of neutrality.
Alfred Hamilton Barr was the first director of the Museum of Modern Art, and is
responsible for the creation of the white cube. He was influenced by modernist art and the
Bauhaus school of design, a rational school focused on simple, elegant aesthetics.3 The Bauhaus
school attempted to combine art with industrial techniques, leading to the creation of objects that
were both beautiful and useful.4 These principles led him to a style of display that was

absolutely plain and unornamented, created to display art objectively.5 His vision for the
Museum of Modern Art was a utopian monument to modernist art, with simple, abstract forms
and industrial perfection.6 His design choices have had an enormous impact on modern
museums; virtually all museum installations since have followed some version of the white
cube.7

One of the main assumptions of the white cube is that the color white is neutral, and is
uniquely capable of fading into the background, without distracting the viewer. The unfortunate
truth is that white walls influence the viewers perception of art as surely as grey, blue, or hotpink walls do. Psychological surveys reveal that colors are very strongly linked with emotional
responses. For example: given the choice between the emotions of happiness, surprise, anger,
sadness, aversion, and fear, adult participants in a study made the following associations: yellow
with anger, green with happiness, and white with surprise (see below). Across all age groups,
2

the color white was very strongly associated with the emotions of surprise and fear.9 While it is
certainly inaccurate to say white walls alone will make museum visitors surprised and fearful, it
is equally inaccurate to say that white walls will not affect their experience of the artwork.
Subconsciously, at least, visitors will be emotionally influenced by the white cubes innocuously
white walls, as they would be by walls of any color.

10

Which brings me to my second point: It is impossible to create a neutral environment for

art. No matter how hard curators may try to create a museum environment that does not
influence the works being shown, the gallery has an immense impact on the way the viewer
experiences the art.
The white cube separates art from its historical and social context. As an aesthetic, the
white cube (and the modernism movement is represents) replaces historical context with an
idealized undefiled, immaculate, and stable present.11 The plain environment excludes all
outside influences, separating art from association with anything outside the gallery. Brian
ODoherty goes a step further, arguing that the white cube has become a context for the art. He
describes the white cube as putting art in quotation marks suggesting that gallery art is a

trinket, a product of the boutique.12 He argues that the gallery space overpowers the artwork it
contains, so that it is the gallery as a whole, rather than individual works of art that visitors
experience. The gallery itself heavily connotes wealth and importance: he compares it to an
exclusive social club. The gallery space places immense value on the works of art, devoting
ample space to each one. Also, the works are nearly all rare, valuable, and difficult to
comprehend (at least for the average museum patron). These factors combine to create a limbo
between studio and living room, a very lofty environment which tries hard to sell the viewer on
both the art and its importance. He demonstrates the contextual power of display aesthetics by
pointing out that something is lost in the packaging of an easel painting in the white cube: The
easel painting is not transferable to the wall, and one wants to know why. What is lost in the
transfer? Edges, surface, the grain and bite of the canvas, the separation from the wall the
whole thing is suspended transferable, mobile currency.13
By using the same methods to display all works, the white cube implies a similarity
between them. However, art works separated by 100 or more years are very different, and
deserve correspondingly different display environments. The white cube also implicitly states
that what is being displayed is Art (with a capital A), which can make museum fixtures such as
fire extinguishers momentarily appear to be on display.14
The old, white museum environment does not mesh well with new styles of art. Far from
merely attempting to be beautiful, many modern art exhibits make political statements, or seek to
evoke an emotional response in the viewer. In these cases, neutrality is the exact opposite of
what is desired; the white cube conflicts with the work it is presenting, by demanding an
impartial consideration of works which are meant to be inflammatory. Also, many new media
do not fit well within the white cube space. Land art cannot physically fit inside a museum, and

so can only be displayed in the form of pictures and descriptions of the works. These pale in
comparison to the art in its natural setting.15 Other media can be represented in a museum
environment, yet do not display well in the white cube. Video and other projected art does not
display well in a well-lit white environment, and so such art often displayed in a black box.
(The black box is a close cousin of the white cube, displaying works projected in a dark room
rather than on a white wall.) These differences in display requirements make it difficult (and
often prohibitively expensive) to display projected and tangible art side by side.16 Even if this
obstacle is surmounted perhaps by using television displays rather than projections the
white cube is still far from ideal for displaying many new media. For example, Internet art often
encourages visitor participation. The level of engagement demanded by these works is difficult
to obtain in the white cube environment, which promotes cool contemplation of works rather
than interaction with them.17
Ironically, the new, white museum environment does not always mesh well with old
styles of art either. Art works were not created to be displayed in the clinical museum
environment, and so can feel out of place when presented in the white cube. For this reason,
many museums try to reproduce the environment in which the works were intended to be
displayed. However, Victoria Newhouse complains that these simplistic renderings often fall

flat:
it is the creation of something that looks old but isnt.
The most egregious example of this kind of
misrepresentation is the new 19th-Century European Painting
and Sculpture Galleries [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art]
its Modernist open space is more appropriate to a transient
exhibition than to the priceless collection of 19th-Century art it
contains. But the attempt to transform galleries that were
inimical to their contents errs in the other direction: it replaces
neutrality with pastiche.

She suggests that either a complete, historically accurate reproduction of the original
environment, or a total modern reinvention is more appropriate than an imitation that is
ultimately unsatisfying.18
Another side effect of the white cube is that it creates a ritualized space for viewing art.
As Carol Duncan puts it:
Just as images of saints were, by example, supposed to trigger
in the initiated a quest for spiritual transcendence, so in the
museum, art objects focus and organize the viewers attention,
activating by their very form an inner spiritual or imaginative
act. The museum setting, immaculately white and stripped of
all distracting ornament, promotes this intense concentration.
19

The museum building does much to shape the quasi-religious experience of going to a museum.
However, the white cube adds to the effect of awe-inspiring architecture, by putting each work
on a virtual pedestal. This is done by giving each work ample wall space, implying that they are
important and valuable. The elimination of all context (except for information in wall texts,
which usually provide a very cursory background) reinforces the idea that art works are complex
and mysterious, and should be stared at in the hopes of enlightenment.20 On some level,
museums will likely always be sacred, ritual spaces. There is something very spiritual about the
6

act of standing in front of a work of art, with the notion that there is something there that could
not be gained from looking at a photograph on the Internet. Moving away from the white cube
will not eliminate the ritual role museums play, but it could diminish their authoritative
atmosphere, thereby lessening the role of sacralization.
Perhaps the worst problem with the white cube is that it is an inherently boring
environment for museum visitors to experience. Noble as its aspirations may be namely,
providing a neutral environment which does not distract the visitor the end result is very
uninteresting.21 The standardization provided by a single ideology of display makes for a very
uniform, and therefore monotonous, museum experience. In the interest of fading into the
background, the white cube makes the least interesting choices possible (white walls, even
lighting, generous spacing, and so on). These design choices lead directly to museum fatigue
a feeling of disinterest and exhaustion (often physical as well as mental).22 Personally, I find that
I can only spend a few hours in a museum before I become lethargic and absolutely uninterested
in seeing artwork. A lot of this reaction has to do with the museum environment itself; I can
spend longer reading books about museums without being bored than I can inside a museum.
Museum fatigue is in large part a result of the white cube: the uniform galleries make exhibits
blend together, exhausting the visitor. The limbo-like experience is very disconcerting, and can
be almost claustrophobic. Museums can do much to alleviate museum fatigue; any departure
from the white cube is a welcome break for museum-goers.23
Due to its failings, some museums are breaking from the white cube. Some bring the
outside world into the galleries by replacing some walls with large windows.24 Some recreate
the cabinet-of-curiosities style of display, by putting many works close together.25 The
Congiunta Foundation replaces white display structures with walls and pedestals made of raw

concrete. It is naturally lit, and lacks electricity or running water. Because it is a sculpture
gallery, this creates a very natural environment, with the museums building materials matching
those of its contents.26 Others use brightly colored walls to display their works.27 An interesting
case is the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, in which the principles of the white cube
have been extended rather than rejected. Its curved walls eliminate the interruption of corners,
creating an even more limbo-like experience.28
While these museums have chosen other methodologies of display, many more still use
the white cube. This is largely because it is a safe choice, although a boring one. However, in
doing so museum miss out on an opportunity to influence their visitors. Contemporary museums
have generally eschewed display techniques that alter the visitors experience of art. However,
in doing so they ignore the implications of the supposedly-neutral white cube. Every design
choice, no matter how minute, affects the viewers experience of art. Therefore, museums
should think harder about the methods of display, rather than forcing all art into a standard onesize-fits-all aesthetic.
The white cube has its merits: it is fair, in that it gives each artwork equal weight; it
encourages careful consideration of each individual piece; and it comes close to extricating
artwork from its context. These qualities might be desirable in situations where one wanted to
emphasize the purely visual aspects of a work. However, in most cases art has a message for the
viewer, and a greater goal than looking attractive on a wall. In these cases, the art should define
how it is displayed. Therefore, artists should design exhibition spaces for their work, so that the
display reinforces the arts intentions. In any event, the white cube should be used sparingly, as
it is a boring environment. Most of all, museums must be more flexible (with adjustable lighting
of many colors, moveable partitions, etc.) to accommodate the many different types of art. I

hope that museums will, in the not-so-distant future, be as diverse in interior design as they are
on the exterior, and as colorful as the works they show. Artwork should be allowed to truly live
in a space made for it, rather than always being placed in the stifling white cube.

Endnotes
1

Victoria Newhouse, Towards a New Museum (New York: Monacelli Press, 2006)

I used Newhouses book for this observation, but virtually any book containing pictures of
modern museums could be substituted.
Emma Barker, Contemporary Cultures of Display (New Haven: Yale University Press in
association with the Open University, 1999), 26.
Barkers book provided a description of the white cube aesthetic
2
3

Barker, Contemporary Cultures of Display, 31.

Sybil Gordon Kantor, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and the Intellectual Origins of the Museum of
Modern Art (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002), 472. 2001044034, 212.
"Bauhaus: Philosophy," November, 2006 [cited 2010]. Available from
http://academic.chrissnider.com/bauhaus/pages/philosophy.html.

Kantor, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and the Intellectual Origins of the Museum of Modern Art, 25355.

Harriet Schoenholz Bee and Michelle Elligott, Art in our Time: A Chronicle of the Museum of
Modern Art (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2004), 27-30.

The founders were also very careful to state that they aimed to supplement the Metropolitan
Museum of Arts collection with modern art, rather than to compete with its collection.
7

Mary Anne Staniszewski and Museum of Modern Art (New York,N.Y.), The Power of
Display: A History of Exhibition Installations at the Museum of Modern Art (Cambridge, Mass:
MIT Press, 1998)
8

bking, 2009, Digital Image. Available from: Flickr,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bking/284099651/ (accessed November 25, 2010).

Mark Meerum Terwogt, "Colors and Emotions: Preferences and Combinations," Journal of
General Psychology 122, no. 1 (1995), 5-17.

Somewhat tangential evidence: researchers have found that children (both healthy and ill)
preferred all over colors (green and blue were favorites) over white for the color of
hospital rooms.

10

J Park, "Color Perception in Pediatric Patient Room Design: Healthy Children vs. Pediatric
Patients." HERD : Health Environments Research & Design Journal
2, no. 3 (April 1, 2009): 6-28. http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed November 20, 2010).
Similarly, naval researchers found that color had a large effect on the morale of crewmembers
Craig McArt, Methods for the Development of Shipboard Habitability Design Criteria. A Report
on Subjective Response to Lighting and Color in Interior Space: A Study of Ships'
Messing Areas. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, (1974).
10
11

Terwogt, "Colors and Emotions: Preferences and Combinations"

Bauhaus: Philosophy, Hal Foster, The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture (Seattle,
Wash: Bay Press, 1983), 5.

12

Brian ODoherty, Inside the White Cube: the ideology of the gallery space. (University of
California Press, 1999), 88-90.

13

Brian ODoherty, Inside the White Cube, 76.

ODohertys book is the foremost work on the white cube, and many of my other sources cite it
14

Joanne Morra, Visual Culture Routledge, 2006), 15.

15

Christiane Paul, New Media in the White Cube and Beyond: Curatorial Models for Digital Art
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008), 240-41.

16

This could be a whole paper in itself. The white cube and black box are polar opposites, but
remarkably similar. The dark environment creates a more intimate experience, where
viewers feel like they are alone with the art work. It comes closer to accomplishing the
neutral goals of the white cube, as the visitor cannot generally see anything besides the
projected artwork. However, moving from pitch dark rooms to brightly lit ones can be
disorienting for visitors, and so museums generally avoid having frequent transitions
from black box to white cube.

17

Paul, New Media in the White Cube and Beyond: Curatorial Models for Digital Art, 56-7.

18

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 146-47.

19

Carol Duncan, Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums (New York: Routledge, 1995),
110.

20

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 46- 51.

21

Barker, Contemporary Cultures of Display, 26-28.

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22

J. Kisacky, "The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States," Journal of
the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 65, no. 1 (2010),135-137.

Interestingly, the white cube is very similar to the cold, clinical environment of insane asylums.
Although they have very different purposes, the end results are strikingly similar.
23

Some specific examples are mentioned later on, but basically anything can be changed in the
environment: the color, texture, size, and shape of walls, floors, ceilings, and frames.

24

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 382-383.

The Nasher Sculpture Center
25

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 185.

The Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
26

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 84-86.

27

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 134.

The Museum in Todi, Italy.
This was established and designed by Patrick Ireland (Brian ODohertys pseudonym).
28

Newhouse, Towards a New Museum, 322-323.

12

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