Call me crazy or unconventional, but I find a museum one of the most romantic places on earth. It is a simple space, at one point so empty, which speaks volumes once it is filled.
An architect who designs museums is incredibly powerful. Imagine, an empty room. Now, imagine it slowly filling up with meaning. Pictures, words, lights, paths. The architect controls where the people go. The circulation is uni-directional, and the architect has full power over it.
Museums literally tell stories. Every room, every wall, every corner has a story. It houses within in centuries' worth of tales, all waiting to be discovered by eager, enthusiastic minds. It gives you the tale of a young girl in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, in the Middle Ages, during the World Wars. It reflects onto you your own life, in different ways. This is why I find their hallowed halls so intriguing.
I had the greatest fortune to attend the "National Geographic 50 greatest photographs" exhibition which
is taking place in the ArtScience Museum at MBS right now. ( Its only there till next weekends so grab your tickets soon!) A must see, no excuses. Best 13 dollars I ever spent!
I was blown away. Bedazzled, Awestruck, Breath-taken, agog, agape, astounded, to say the least. The exhibition did not feature the most famous photographs (there were the more obvious ones of course, like the Afghan girl) but featured a collection of the best photographs ever taken. An ambiance which beautifully reflected the mood of the place, had a way of affecting yours too.
The first thing that greeted us was a photo of a lion. Not just any lion, but an alpha lion. This photo featured the king of the jungle, plunging its jaw into the neck of another, all whilst staring directly into your soul. Its eyes bored into you, as if to search inside you for your greatest weakness, while giving you the "You're next" glare.
As you turn through a series of hallways, you encounter several different photos, taken at different times and featuring different lifestyles. Each photo had a background narrative. The circumstances leading up to the capture of the still are as beautiful as the photo itself.
Just as you start feeling complacent about this place, you see from the corner of your eye, one of the most powerful photos ever to be featured in the realm of human existence - The beautiful Afghan girl with the breathtaking eyes. The genius of the placement of this photo is that it is kept on a wall facing away from the general circulation path- but it is made visible by the placement of a mirror. So people notice the photo, and immediately gravitate towards it, only to realise that what they saw initially was merely a reflection.
She was placed with her older self; so we can reflect of the regality of her beauty, and how age and suffering have changed her. The timely placing of a seat induces one to just sit there and admire her for a period of time.
Another thing worth mentioning was something which shook me quite deeply. A section named "Disconnecting from the planet" consisted of a circular space, lined with mirrors and lit by red lights. On three strategic locations was a photo of burning oil wells ( notably, the Ahmadi oil wells in Kuwait) with silhouettes of camels in the foreground. It was so disorienting, so confusing, and so beautiful.
This was followed immediately by a section which made you lose faith in humanity. Mutilated birds, trapped sharks and dead gorillas. A section so heart-wrenching that you feel for the world in more ways than one.
I could go on and on, but for fear of losing my readers, I shall end here. The exhibition concluded with a beautiful photograph of Jane Goodall (captioned "Reconnecting with the planet") , a way of saying that maybe, just maybe, there is hope in this world after all.
An architect who designs museums is incredibly powerful. Imagine, an empty room. Now, imagine it slowly filling up with meaning. Pictures, words, lights, paths. The architect controls where the people go. The circulation is uni-directional, and the architect has full power over it.Museums literally tell stories. Every room, every wall, every corner has a story. It houses within in centuries' worth of tales, all waiting to be discovered by eager, enthusiastic minds. It gives you the tale of a young girl in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, in the Middle Ages, during the World Wars. It reflects onto you your own life, in different ways. This is why I find their hallowed halls so intriguing.
I had the greatest fortune to attend the "National Geographic 50 greatest photographs" exhibition which
is taking place in the ArtScience Museum at MBS right now. ( Its only there till next weekends so grab your tickets soon!) A must see, no excuses. Best 13 dollars I ever spent!I was blown away. Bedazzled, Awestruck, Breath-taken, agog, agape, astounded, to say the least. The exhibition did not feature the most famous photographs (there were the more obvious ones of course, like the Afghan girl) but featured a collection of the best photographs ever taken. An ambiance which beautifully reflected the mood of the place, had a way of affecting yours too.
The first thing that greeted us was a photo of a lion. Not just any lion, but an alpha lion. This photo featured the king of the jungle, plunging its jaw into the neck of another, all whilst staring directly into your soul. Its eyes bored into you, as if to search inside you for your greatest weakness, while giving you the "You're next" glare.As you turn through a series of hallways, you encounter several different photos, taken at different times and featuring different lifestyles. Each photo had a background narrative. The circumstances leading up to the capture of the still are as beautiful as the photo itself.
Just as you start feeling complacent about this place, you see from the corner of your eye, one of the most powerful photos ever to be featured in the realm of human existence - The beautiful Afghan girl with the breathtaking eyes. The genius of the placement of this photo is that it is kept on a wall facing away from the general circulation path- but it is made visible by the placement of a mirror. So people notice the photo, and immediately gravitate towards it, only to realise that what they saw initially was merely a reflection.She was placed with her older self; so we can reflect of the regality of her beauty, and how age and suffering have changed her. The timely placing of a seat induces one to just sit there and admire her for a period of time.
Another thing worth mentioning was something which shook me quite deeply. A section named "Disconnecting from the planet" consisted of a circular space, lined with mirrors and lit by red lights. On three strategic locations was a photo of burning oil wells ( notably, the Ahmadi oil wells in Kuwait) with silhouettes of camels in the foreground. It was so disorienting, so confusing, and so beautiful.This was followed immediately by a section which made you lose faith in humanity. Mutilated birds, trapped sharks and dead gorillas. A section so heart-wrenching that you feel for the world in more ways than one.
I could go on and on, but for fear of losing my readers, I shall end here. The exhibition concluded with a beautiful photograph of Jane Goodall (captioned "Reconnecting with the planet") , a way of saying that maybe, just maybe, there is hope in this world after all.
