Jul 29
I often feel held at a distance when viewing objects in museums. I want to step into a painting and experience a space or the company of an interesting person, but can only stand transfixed, trying to get inside by looking and imagining. In Rome, I was relieved to step into an artwork, experience it, participate by standing in the artist’s shoes.
Ancient history interrupts everyday life everywhere in Rome, sitting alongside roadways, holding up construction of new train lines, tangled in the foundations of Renaissance buildings. Read more
I have a strong sense of home and it’s unsettling to be constantly on the road without a base in Australia. I’m finding museums comforting, like a known reference point from which I explore new places. I’ve been thinking around the idea of the museum as a home, where the two functions are equally important. Read more
It’s refreshing to see art in churches and cathedrals instead of museums. From the way I look at objects, to the messages I receive; being a visitor in a museum or cathedral is profoundly different. So the Frederic Marès Museum struck me as unique, bringing the museum and the religious space together. Read more
I’m still processing all the museums I visited in Florence. One thing that stood out was the popularity of in-gallery videos, explaining how a type of work was created or conserved. Read more
I once overheard a curators conversation on a Sydney train. As we passed under the city, through Museum station, they explained the location of a bricked up tunnel once leading to the old Sydney department store, Mark Foy’s.
There’s been a lot of discussion about mindful looking and unplugging in museums of late. By pure coincidence, I’ve been thinking about looking at objects while traveling over the last 2 months, developing an understanding of how mindfulness and technology work together for me to connect emotionally with museum objects.
Barcelona is a city that wears art like a cloak and crown. Here, art and museums are under your feet and everywhere you look.
© museuminabottle.com 2024
Museum in a Bottle