museum amo
2003-10-27 @ 8:59 a.m.


I spent this weekend doing nerd-type things.

Saturday me parents and I went to the Newberry Library to see their exhibit on QE I and the Elizabethan Age. It was really really nifty. I like exhibits at the Newberry because they aren't trying to be flashy or pretentious. They put out a bunch of cool old books and maps and letters, and say: "Hey! Look at these cool old books and maps and letters that we have!" And you're supposed to get excited (or at least intrigued) by them. There's no button pushing (accursed button-pushing exhibits!) or interactive doohickeys or fabulous fabulous costumes from Shakespeare in Love or some nonsense. They realize they're a research library and that there demographic is going to be students, geeks, and various other literati. They, refreshingly, don't try to make it universally popular or appealing to garner big crowds like The Field or the Art Institute has to.

That previous paragraph has made me sound like a museum snob. I'm not really. I like the big flashy exhibits they have at the Field, the one's with the cool shit and mass appeal, like "Cleopatra" or "Baseball as America". They do a wonderful job. And anything that gets any one into a museum of any type is a positive good in my book. (Except for the button-pushing.) It's just that I get tired of the flash and the crowds and the cranky children. These smaller exhibits are nice (and quiet). They give the curators more room to explore topics in more depth, beyond: "Who was this person and what do they mean to me now?" The Newberry was able to do a couple of interesting sections on the Catholic/Anglican controversy, "Elizabeth on Tour," and humanism in the 16th century, that I don't think would have been picked (or done well) in a larger Field-like setting. I think a larger institution would have put together a sexier exhibit, more focused on Elizabeth's personal life, court intrigues, and other famous people of the time (like Marlow and Shakespeare and Francis Drake) in order to bring in more box office (because, you know, they have to so they can pay the bills). It's not that an exhibit like that is bad, just different. In fact, I would like to see my hypothetical exhibit. [/end museum rant]

I think my rant has taken up enough of this entry. I'll leave it there.

Thought of the Day:

I was reading the Phaedrus for class. Socrates seems different than I remeber from the Appology and Crito. Maybe it's because he's not about to be executed. But he just seems, well, flirty at the beginning.

before ~ after

Failing Miserably - 2004-10-08
So Not Dead/Catching Up - 2004-09-20
Murphy's Law - 2,629,163,298, Sarah - 2 - 2004-08-23
Listmainia! continues - 2004-08-04
Continuing the list - 2004-08-02