Jonathan Monk
Museum Opening Hours, 2006
Neon sign on perspex base
59 x 300 cm
In the last week many museums and galleries have been able to reopen their doors post lockdown, whilst many minds are thinking ahead to the festive period. Museum Opening Hours plays to this time perfectly, despite being made in a moment where public institutions would be open pretty much all year round, bar those couple of Christmas closure days.
This work by Jonathan Monk is about looking back to reimagine what lies ahead. Monk often references or appropriates works and strategies from conceptual artists such as Bruce Nauman, Sol Lewitt or in this case possibly Joseph Kosuth, which he imbues with personal experience and a dose of humour. While in part an homage to conceptual art, it is also an attempt demystify ideas of originality, purity and authority. The fact he has chosen to render museum opening hours in this neon sculpture becomes more meaningful when considering these words, which are so often associated with artworks once they are displayed within museum walls.