Rohin Guha
July 22, 2008
The museum gift shop is tantamount to a little shop of horrors. One one hand, the life's work of artists seems thoughtlessly streamlined and replicated onto coffee mugs and baby-doll tees. On the other hand, these kitschy little things make for keepsakes that speak volumes louder than a dinky ticket stub. And then there are conundrums like Murakami, who designs LV purses -- clearly for the sake of commerce -- but then decides to include them in his show, for the sake of art. Let's assume then, that museum gift shops are lengthening the lifetime and reach of artists otherwise fated to languish in fringe culture, or worse, on the syllabi of advanced art history classes. So maybe it's worth noting the ambitions of Sachi Price.
