Henry's pelt was put on sundry walls
where it did much resemble Henry and
them persons was delighted.
Especially his long & glowing tail
by all them was admired, and visitors.
They whistled: This is it!
-John Berryman, Dream Song 16
I am trying to pull together my pelt. Herewith some notions on interpretation and permanence and museums and experience, and how the latter slips over permanence like a glacier, carrying it along faster than museums normally move.
I am a newcomer to this world of museums. Such notions regarding their limitations are probably familiar, maybe boring. I have never engaged in the formal study of museology, though I have studied the curatorial and interpretive disciplines of History and Law and Education. For me, museums are exciting because they possess the rare institutional flexibility to represent, respond to and advocate for local communities. Every museum must communicate; the best will cultivate dialogue.
For history museums this practice can help to resolve an inherent paradox -- that an experience of the past is an inescapably present experience -- but dialogue can also exacerbate the anxiety so many of us feel when we consider the past. I want to learn how museums, public historians and other institutions navigate these paradoxes. This blog will be my classroom.
* * *
I am a newcomer to this world of museums. Such notions regarding their limitations are probably familiar, maybe boring. I have never engaged in the formal study of museology, though I have studied the curatorial and interpretive disciplines of History and Law and Education. For me, museums are exciting because they possess the rare institutional flexibility to represent, respond to and advocate for local communities. Every museum must communicate; the best will cultivate dialogue.
For history museums this practice can help to resolve an inherent paradox -- that an experience of the past is an inescapably present experience -- but dialogue can also exacerbate the anxiety so many of us feel when we consider the past. I want to learn how museums, public historians and other institutions navigate these paradoxes. This blog will be my classroom.
* * *
"Infinity on Trial" comes from the song "Visions of Johanna" by Bob Dylan. He makes a pretty good case against museums possessing any inherent relevance. We stay hopeful about the past because the present is so often like Louise: "she's alright, she's just near." Such a present demands an interpretation of the past as much as it colors that interpretation. We care about Mona Lisa because we know what it's like to mask the highway blues with a smile. We smile back -- like visitors whistling at Henry's pelt -- because we want so badly to exclaim, "this is it!"
But of course it's not. The pelt is only an approximation of Henry, and it's cruel even to compare Mona Lisa to our visions of Johanna. Experiencing these moments of silliness provoked by the frailty of memory can also help us to experience moments of community. We laugh together when the one with the mustache says, Jeeze! I can't find my knees! And who wouldn't delight in Henry's long & glowing tail?
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