Jazz Playing in the Background... (3 of 4)
The wall paper in these rooms depicted fruit and flowers grown in the area,
though not necessarily native to the region.
Wandering through these light, airy spaces, surrounded by all kinds of artifacts and submerged in the backdrop of this colorful, graphic wallpaper, you began to get a feel for the vibrant life and people of New Orleans. That was clearly the mission of this tricentennial exhibition. The unique approach in presentation provided virtually no information labeling for what was displayed. This was a bit disconcerting at first, until you got used to the concept of just absorbing it all. It became an experience much like exploring an attic or an abandoned storage space for clues about it's owners.
Sound tracks in different rooms, which included an interview with a female jazz singer and jazz music, added to the ambiance of the setting.
And this manual potter's wheel needed no explanation...
Looks like a good work out, doesn't it?
Now, I've done my share of museum visits, but this one has caused me to take a closer look at my visceral reaction to it. What I've realized is that, though visiting museums is not a daily experience, it is still a familiar one. There had been an expectation of what was to come and how it would be experienced. It's not that I read every placard in an exhibit, or even retain every detail I do read. I guess I just expected to be passively informed about what was noteworthy and I would know later what was important to me, based on what I remembered.
I honestly found it unsettling that there was nothing to tell me the significance of the items at hand... ah ha! That's the point: it was up to me to decide their relevance in the context of my impressions of New Orleans. For instance, I had gone looking for Newcomb Pottery, so naturally I'd found the potter's wheel. But I didn't photograph the book cases of biology in formaldehyde- they were intriguing enough to make a mental note, but not enough to want to capture them for reference later. (Once again the photo stream on my cell phone helps me figure things out.)
Examining individual items and then blending observations for an overall impression, rather than simply taking in information in front of displays, was an active, thought provoking experience. It was also a revelation about my preconceived concepts of how those experiences should happen. A new lesson to be learned... overall well worth the trip.
Note: for a similar experience take a look at this post of April 23:
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