The ancient Greek sense of wonder, understood as a dwelling in the everyday, has changed over time. Wonder in this sense was initially understood as a form of thought or meditation on the unknown and an acceptance of a state of not-knowing. Over the millennia, wonder has moved closer in meaning to curiosity and amazement and into the sphere of the rational. Shadowed by a sense that all knowledge is now possible, mystery and concepts of the unknowable have ceased to exist.
This relatively modern loss of wonder can be seen in the history of the museum and its transition from the Cabinets of Curiosities (or Wunderkammer) of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to the birth of the modern museum at the end of the eighteenth century.
In this paper I argue that in contrast to the Wunderkammer which sought to generate curiosity, museum approaches to display need to be reconsidered to encourage the return of wonder. Museums undermine the possibility of wonder by presenting their collections in forms which reflect linear historical narratives or taxonomical groupings that are considered more important or informative than the singular objects themselves. (Kaulingfreks, et al., 2011, pp. 311-312) I suggest that the attitude of discouragement of wonder as manifested in the museum is shared with the education system in general, due to
Contextualisation has long been the untouchable paradigm of museum organisation. The conventional museum approach has been to show works surrounded by others of the same period and origin, or to communicate a rational linear narrative. (Martin, 2012)
In the early-modern period (c.1500-1800), curiosity was understood by European philosophers as a crucial aspect in seeking knowledge. Cabinets of curiosity ...
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Kaulingfreks, R., Spoelstra, S. & ten Bos, R., 2011. Wonders without wounds: On singularity, museum and organisation. Management & Organizational History, Vol 6(3), pp. 311-327.
Martin, J.-H., 2012. Theatre of the World: The Museum of Enchantments versus the Docile Museum. In: Theatre of the World. Hobart: Museum of Old and New Art, pp. 11-19.
Roberts, D., 2014. Coral, "Curiosity", and the Influence of Surrealism on Contemporary Display. [Online]
Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6153279/Coral_Curiosity_and_the_Influence_of_Surrealism_on_Contemporary_Display._Exhibition_Review_Coral_Something_RIch_and_Strange._Manchester_Museum_Nov._2013-March_2014
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Robinson, K., 2008. RSAnimate: Changing Education Paradigms. [Online]
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As indicated above, the exhibit is theme-based, centered around a historical period of time. Because of this, there is a large proportion of text, revealing background history, in relation to the actual artifacts. In my second, more thorough run-through, I certainly found myself reading more than looking at "things". In fact, it seems as though the exhibit only tells the true chronological history to those patient enough to read all of the text. A less thorough visit to the exhibit will undoubtedly result in a skewed view of the past. I will address this issue later in the Critical Assessment section.
As the tour of the museum began, it was easily noticed that all of the objects on display were placed behind thick glass cases. Many plaques inside of the case provide the visitor with information about the specific case that is being looked at. In most cases the plaques didn’t so much provide an elaboration on the pieces, but rather expand upon the historical context of the pieces. Also, the plaques shed light onto muc...
Baxandall, Michael. "Exhibiting intention: Some preconditions of the visual display of culturally purposeful objects." Exhibiting cultures: The poetics and politics of museum display (1991): 33-41.
Duncan’s (1991) analysis of western museums is defined through the theme of “durable objects” as a criterion to judge the heritage of American and European art as a ritual of the modern state. In this manner western art museums are built like “temples” as a symbolic and figurative representation of greatness of western culture throughout the world: “[They] are more like the traditional ceremonial monuments that museum buildings often emulate—classical temples” (Duncan 90). This interpretation of American/European museums defines a dominant source of cultural heritage that ritualizes
middle of paper ... ... Our curiosity is what makes our interactions interesting and entertaining. As members of society, it is our innate ability to wander further than what we have in front of us. We want to impose our opinions on everything.
Today we have the Smithsonian Institution that represents the trauma that many of the people today do not have imprinted in their memory. This is a way for all people, who were both present and not present, to pay their respects to the participants and the victims in World War II.5 In creating the Smithsonian, the Americans initially wanted to reflect deeply upon the occurrences by design...
In Stephen Weil’s essay, he argues “the museum’s role has transformed from one of mastery to one of service” (Weil, 196). According to him, museums have changed their mission from one that cultures the public to one that serves
The “superstar” museum gained this status by considering every important detail during its establishment and initial phases of conversion from royal palace to museum (Gombault, 2002). As the purpose of the building changed, each room addressed new functions with new requirements. Although the function of the Louvre is different from the building’s original intention, the building is still appears dignified and important enough to display priceless artifacts and painting (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). This consideration was applied in designing the Met. The Met looked towards the South Kensington Museum (Victoria and Albert) and the “ideal role model” due to its extensive collections and international reputation (Heckscher, 1995). The Met found itself in a similar situation to the South Kensington, because it did not have a building or a collection to start with (Heckscher, 1995). When designing museums, architects strived to create monuments that “prepare and educate the mind of the visitor (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998).” Education is an essential function of a museum. Acquiring, preserving, and properly displaying materials, permits a museum to fulfill this duty (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). For instance, lighting is a factor that affects the manner in which artwork is viewed and can be properly appreciated. When determining the proper lighting for the Louvre, Comte d’Angiviller, strongly believed that natural, overhead lighting was the most effective solution (McClellan, 1994, p. 72). The same determination impacted the decision to add skylights at the Met. During the initial phase, architects Vaux and Mould, added skylights to the upper floor, and windows to the lower floor that provided a natural light solution (Heckscher, 1995). Additionally, glass-roofed courtyards provided “unimpeded light” for displaying
One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.
Professor LaFleur in lecture on November 11 mentioned, “Museums were extremely powerful in shaping the way people saw the world” (Lecture 007). This same reasoning is why Fusco and Pena embark on this ethnographic journey. By displaying “A Savage Performance”, we see that they are subverting the past notions of ethnography. Ethnographic museums as the ones Sara Baartman was displayed in served a purpose and created a certain kind of discourse. “Discourse do not simply reflect reality, or innocently designate objects; rather they constitute them in specific contexts according to particular relations of power” (Lidchi, p. 185). Lidchi goes on to say that ethnography was created by the dominant culture in the imperial c...
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, B., 2004, From ethnology to heritage: The role of the museum, In: B.M. Carbonell,, 2012. Museum Studies: An anthology of contexts. Oxford: Blackwell publishing. pp. 199-205
Sillito, D. (2011). Free museums: Visits more than double. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15979878. Last accessed 4th Nov 2013.
‘Savage Beauty’ was an exhibition that pushed the boundaries of museology, in its artistic, social and critical undertakings. The questions brought to bear by the exhibition of contemporary art and culture in various situations is something I am interested in researching further with a degree in curating.
Museum defines as an institution housing collections of objects of artistic, historic, or scientific interest conserved and displayed for the educational and enjoyment of the public. Museums are places of memory that provides the link of distant past to the present generation which also help the society to know the path their forebears trod. The main purpose of museum is neither to educate nor entertain but rather creates a memory bank would remind us of the past. No wonder most societies in different parts of the world traced their origin through the works of arts history. There are many types of museum includes museum of Antiquities-in which are housed ancient pieces of furniture or objects of art such as sculptures, paintings, ceramics, textiles and other crafts. Public record office museum serving as collection centre for famous documents, War museum containing relics of national wars, Maritime museum for maritime history, museum for architecture, with types, structures and styles of building, etc., Museum for Local/Indigenous Technologies, Science Museum, with objects depicting history of science and engineering and Natural History Museum. However, all types of these have their own roles of information institutions in national development. The main roles are to identify, acquire, preserve, and exhibit unique, collectible, or representative objects. The role of museum in the life of a nation involves conducting research into the vast natural history heritage and biodiversity of the country, serving as a repository, of natural objects, source materials and taxonomists in that country, creating scientific awareness, on natural history resources of the nation through annotated exhibitions for public enlightenment in display ga...
One of my first museums I visited in Washington, D.C. was The National Museum of Natural History. I arrived with no expectations besides the thought of how am I going to spend 3 hours here? While walking through the doors I was astonished to see the enormous elephant standing there as if it was guarding the museum entrance. I continued through the exhibits looking at the amazing skeletons of the extinct creatures that once roamed this earth, possibly in the spot I was standing in. As I went further into the museum, I arrived at the Butterfly Pavilion. It was a room that you can go into to observe real, live, enormous butterflies. The exhibits there made my mind run wild like never before. In my mind the purpose of The National Museum of Natural His...