VIP zone. A View From Within.

     ”V. I. P.”, or simply ”VIP”, is an English abbreviation that enriched not only our native language, but almost all of the languages.

     ”Very Important Person”, a term that has hardly a century of existence (first mentioned in 1933), owes its being to status distinction. There is always a circle of people in any community or organization that has special privileges due to their high rank or standing. This VIP status can last long, or can just be given for some days for such an event as International Exhibition where the organizers are interested in creating a pleasuredrome for potential clients.

     It’s well known and widely accepted that the VIPs are treated differently and there is none who could ever reject the opportunity of experiencing what it’s like to be V. I. P.

     Is it sure that being VIP has only the bright side? I offer you to think on ethical matters.

            VIPs IN A MUSEUM

     The 28th of June. IMDS-2007, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Whoever you are, it would sound attractive: the governor, the palace. The idea of being inside the palace when the museum hours are over is really fascinating.

     The VIP bus, which was given the green light and the oncoming lane, reached Petergof long after the appointed hour. Nonetheless, the rest of VIPs, mostly Russians, which have arrived on time, had to wait for the foreign delegation.

     An actor dressed like Peter the Great announces the launch of the famous fountains of Petergof in honor of the invited. As the whole process takes about 4 minutes, nobody is disposed to wait for more than half a minute and to see at least the second fountain stream to squirt out. So the VIPs make their way in, disregarding the Peter’s act.

     It’s clear that the invited to a reception expect to have the opportunity to take the edge off their hunger. As the reception started at 20:00, everyone was really hungry. In 20 minutes came the governor. While Valentina Matvienko was speaking, the VIP society from all over the world was attacking the buffet. . . and nobody cared for the governor’s words. It seemed like they were considered a matter of check mark.

     V. Matvienko had been speaking for 7 or 10 minutes, looking at the people who were filling their plates and attacking waiters not to lose their free vodka, some of them were talking aloud. The foreign VIPs were a bit more delicate than the Russian ones. The Russians acted as if they had the only and the last opportunity to eat. When the governor stopped talking and made her way out, the buffet table was already empty.

     The reception in question took place in a single museum room, which was destined to accommodate about 70 persons, a small orchestra and a buffet table; in the end, it turned to be a rather cramped place. There were only three high tables that seemed a mockery, and only the experienced and vigorous Russians could occupy them in time, while the rest was waiting in line to reach for food.

      WHAT DOES A ”MUSEUM” EXIST FOR?

     The word ”museum” comes from a Greek word ”mouseion”, which means a ”place for the Muses or for study”. "The Muses" were goddesses of the arts who did not participate in everyday activities. This proves that from the very beginning it was to create an exquisite atmosphere for the higher purposes.

     At the moment Russian museums are living a kind of crisis provoked by the robbery of national property by a curator of the Hermitage museum. Nonetheless, there are still people who work in museums within ideals. The fact is that those who work in museums for miserable salary should be considered a kind of blessed.

     What does a ”museum” exist for? Nowadays this exactly museum type has a concrete mission: 1) to foster and support mainly unique property and 2) the education of the public and the cultivation of a high standard of artistic taste.

Now it’s high time to return our attention to the 30th of June and the Petergof’s Great palace. Poor museum ladies who had to work extra hours did not look happy, though they were to be well paid for extra hours. One who is familiar to a museum work will suffer from seeing how a half-seas-over man is leaning his elbows on a masterpiece or is trying to sit on the 19th century chair.

     These museum women suffered seeing all the stuff that was happening in a ”place for the Muses”.

     The Great Palace is only one of the examples of such an inappropriate usage of a museum.

      THE ESSENCE:

     #1 As a matter of fact, a reception is ”a formal party to welcome somebody or celebrate an event”, and it’s logical to expect the food served on the table. The question is: Should the delicious food be the main reason to come to a VIP reception? And: Isn’t it a simple matter of respect to listen to the host?

     #2 The organizers of VIP receptions neither think of the feelings of museum professionals nor do they of preservation matters of common national property.

     #3 The Russian VIPs are not more concerned about the importance of #2