Πλάτων Ριβέλλης: There was a law in France in the late 19th century that stated everyone who took photographs was obliged to donate a copy of each photograph to the National Library of France. I believe this law is still in effect, but naturally, it has weakened. Imagine if all French people still brought their holiday photos to the National Library of France.
So, a question arises. Where does photography begin and end in terms of what should be preserved? A second issue is what defines a museum. Nowadays, perhaps due to European Union laws, everyone is creating museums.
The primary goal of a museum is to preserve something, that is, a collection. Of course, it also hosts exhibitions and has an educational role. However, these functions are also performed by various "centers," as they are called. Thus, it is not surprising that if we look around the world, there are very few photography museums, very few indeed. Without having specifically examined the matter, I can't recall a dedicated photography museum in America, for example, but there are departments within museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Whitney. They all have a photography department. And each museum specializes to some extent.
An art enthusiast would visit any photography exhibition, which is why major museums like the MoMA in New York have a permanent exhibition of their masterpieces, where people know they can go and see them, just as they would see famous painters in a museum. Of course, in photography, as we've said before, this is slightly less important than in painting, because photographs are well-reproduced in books. Therefore, while it is essential to see the original work in painting, it is not as crucial in photography. However, if we were responsible for a museum, we would need to establish a beginning and an end to what we collect. For instance, would we collect medical photography? Space photography?
Firstly, an archive is not a museum; it is not an exhibition. It is something useful for specialists, those conducting research. This is how what I consider the most important archive-museum in Greece, the Benaki Museum, began. The Benaki Museum has an archive for the needs of researchers, scholars, and historians. Therefore, this archive is somewhat related to Greece and Greek photography.
The flourishing of photography led the Benaki Museum to elevate its archive into a photography department, even though it is still called a photographic archive. The distinguishing feature that transformed it from an archive to a department, or a museum if you prefer, is that suddenly the photographers gained importance. Until recently, until about 20 years ago, the Benaki Museum had photographs; now it has photographers' archives. As the material became associated with the names of photographers, photography took precedence.
The Benaki Museum was fortunate to have several significant Greeks in their entirety of work. Among all those the museum holds, I would highlight Voula Papaioannou and, secondly, Dimitris Harisiadis. Of course, the public knows Nelly's more, but there are also other, less significant archives.
The Benaki Museum already faces a dilemma. It cannot accept all archives. Perhaps years ago, anyone who donated photos would be thanked. Now that's no longer possible. There has to be a selection, a choice of quality, a selection by era. For example, where does this photographer fit? If, let's say, an archive of excellent scientific photographs arrived, I'm not sure it would have a place in this museum. It might find its place in another museum. Thus, photography must fit somewhere suitable. For instance, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens likely has photographs, but it cannot accept all photographs, not even all artistic ones; certain criteria must be established.
I must also mention something else about the Benaki Museum. A difficult role for a photography museum is, firstly, to have its collection, which must be maintained under scientifically controlled conditions. It must be accessible to the public for study. It must have a conservation laboratory because negatives and photographs deteriorate. The Benaki Museum has largely succeeded in these aspects.
I believe that all museums, not just photography ones, have realized this, sometimes to a dangerous extent, as the secondary activities of museums, such as seminars, workshops, cafes (which, of course, are not insignificant), and their libraries, have developed at the expense of exhibition spaces and collecting policies.
In my opinion, the first thing you ask from a museum is to preserve and survive. After all (ironically), the word museum means something old, a past we keep. Beyond that, this preservation, to avoid being merely kept in cold storage, must be utilized through workshops, seminars, school visits, and certainly educational exhibitions. Because, perhaps due to my bias as a teacher, when organizing an exhibition, you must aim for something good. You have to help the viewer see it. All these are part of museum policy, but it starts primarily with what I collect, what I gather in my archives. So, the visitor should know roughly what to expect.
I believe that all museums are interesting and necessary, but I am often annoyed by the overemphasis on Greek identity. Of course, historical significance is very important, but I'm afraid that many have decided that just because we are a small country, our Greekness sells. I believe we have many significant artists, especially photographers, who should not be characterized solely by their Greekness. Now, of course, the Benaki Museum is a museum that has Greekness as its central axis. So, it is very logical to focus on that. I consider it very significant that it has advanced to (in quotes) artistic photography and the aesthetic appreciation of the value of photographs, not just due to historical significance. I find it very important that it already hosts exhibitions of Greek photographers, and I hope it will also open up to exhibitions of foreign photographers. Not necessarily with Greece as a subject. Gradually, our past and memory will be very intertwined with others.