Life With….

There is something terrifying about museums.

I spent the better part of this week in DC networking, and when I was not in meetings, preparing for meetings, or otherwise occupied, I caught up with some museums I had not revisited in a while.   I lead this piece stating that I love art, I have a masters in history, I have an interest in other cultures, I am still fascinated by dinosaurs, I was raised by eccentric people who encouraged these flaws or virtues, and I have an over active imagination.

I started off at the Scakler and the Freer the mostly Asian Art focused interconnected branches of the Smithsonain Institution. I have long loved viewing and learning about Asian Art and ancient cultures, but often, and this in not the first time this has happened, the otherness has overwhelmed, and when alone in a gallery which includes with statues with drawn swords fighting demons, I become terrified.

It is a similar feeling to being alone in an ancient church, when you know that God is there and that the relics are watching you.  The pure otherness of the icons  and gothic carvings begins, quickly, to push out any wonder, and a sense of danger sets in; this is more true in houses of worship that are empty than those that are full of tourists.

The linking of the tomb and guardian figures pulls on my imagination, and I slowly feel panic rising if I am alone in these rooms.  I love the museums and go every chance I get, but I cannot control the feeling of panic that engulfs me if I am alone, until I find a sense of familiarity.  Sometimes, that is the caligraphy rooms, others the japanese fans and screens, most often it is through the Islamic galleries which remind me of bronzes at my grandparent home or on the lower level and into the peacock room.

There is a sense of wonder and security I find in this arts and crafts masterpiece that calms the terror, even as another part of me is horrified that anyone thought this was a reasonable way to decorate.

In the worst experience of this panic I have ever had, I ran screaming through the Asian galleries at the MEt, pausing only long enough to take my notes for a class paper, and into the Renisance art icons, which added to my terror.  I calmed my self by find a western art refuge before hightailing it out of New York

Oddly, I love Asian Art museum, but I am learning I should go when I am not in a frame of mind to feel ancient protections and curses.  I need to be unaware that to find these treasures tombs were uprooted, temples destroyed, and/or gods offended.  In other words I need someone to talk to; someone who can remind me these are new fake temples meant to enlighten not to frighten (it is a very good thing I was not born in the middle ages who knows what superstitions I would belive) and I probably need the room to have windows if I am to tour it alone.

Nothing can control the terror though I feel in Natural History museum in the ocean exhibits.  In those, I grab my brother’s hand and just go through it to get to the dinosaurs or gems located in other arenas.  I do not look at the exhibits, and I do not linger.  I scream when snorkeling for God’s sake.  In a complete contradiction though, I do enjoy learning about the ocean, I just dont’ want to be surrounded by stuffed fish when doing so.

I would not have done well if I were part of the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler, or the curator in the odd Ben Stiler vehicle Night at the Museum.  (It does kind of explain why i don’t go to haunted houses though – I mean why do that when you can be terrified, and learn amazing new things at the same time by visiting our great cultural institutions).

Even art museums, while not in and of themselves scary, promote a reverence for the art, and arrange so many pictures into a room, that the sheer magnitude can be overwhelming.  The effect can dull the sense to the beauty that surrounds, and the theme of a room can detract from the emotions of a piece.  Their oddness is more of an oddness say of a person who collects taxidermy, or a great library, a sense of awe and inspiration.  If one takes ones time and ignores the reverence,created the sensations and experiences can enrich and educate you long after you stop staring at the Matisse, Sargent, or Caravaggio.  This is a different, but much more fulfilling terror.

And it is this ability to learn and enlighten, to overwhelm and inspire, that brings me back time and again to museums to educate, elucidate, and of course terrify me.

All text and copyrights preserved by the author 02csb For more information visit http://www.peebesalgy.com Courtney Brown

Create Your Badge  All text and copyrights preserved by the author for words and original pictures and may not be used without author's permission. For more information visit http://www.peebesalgy.com Follow me on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/peebesalgy or contact me directly through http://www.peebesalgy.com/blog/contact-me/ Courtney Brown | Create Your Badge