The exhibition had quite a lot of interactive things to do, and not everything was sectioned off.I found this interesting because as i walked through i was really not in a 'touching mood'. I felt quite sad, and was not in the mood for learning really. They were clearly trying to teach the general public about the war history. The Museum used lots of sound (heaps of things made noise), text (naturally there was plenty to read), and dim lighting, i think this was to promote the actual displays.
After this area i went to the World War Two Hall of Memories. This was a very sobering display. I texted my friend who had a grandfather in a prisoner of war camp, and then proceeded to find his name on the wall. I took a photo and then walked further down the hall, as it was just after Anzac day there were heaps of flowers and cards and stuff. The Hall was very successful in telling its story and I wouldn't have done anything to change the display, i thought it was very honourable and classy.
Robert Smithson's Museum of the Void raised some interesting thoughts for me. That piece of writing (link bellow) says that 'Museums are tombs, and it looks like everything is turning into a museum'.
I agreed with this statement to a degree. Everything in the museum was kind of fake and stale. I got very sick of looking at fake fish very quickly. By the end of walking around the museum my eyes were tired, so were my legs and also my brain. It was far too much information to take on at once, and soon i found myself avoiding things, and I felt bad in doing so.
I think this is quite interesting in that the case of most museums is that they are tombs. In fact if you go to a museum and don't expect to see dead things then your a little daft. Maybe what Smithson is trying to get at is that the commemorated dead often put a sobering tone over the whole museum. Maybe they should not be held in the same place.
http://www.robertsmithson.com/essays/void.htm
Thanks Max,
ReplyDeleteIt's great you were able to find a connection between the living and the dead - your friend, whose Grandfather's name was on the wall. I think the poppies etc... added some life to a place that is usually totally empty, echoing, sad, and unloved. But when you say the exhibition is classy and honourable, can you be more specific as to why? Because it uses marble? The engraved names are touched up with gold paint? The stained glass? The flags? What is it that makes you feel these things?
Your avoidance towards the end is also interesting. I think art/museum goers do this all the time. You can't do everything justice, so you may as well choose the things that stand out to you. The thing is to REALLY do those few things justice. Read all you can, take notes, take photos, sketches, whatever. Then, do further research. Maybe these things stood out to you for a reason. Maybe, as an art practitioner, these images will be recycled in your work?
TX