Art:21 Blog
Written by: Michael Neault, August 30, 2012
There is something beautiful and satisfactory in the blending of art and stories; creating something tangible based on a history, memory, story. This is the main idea that Neault explores in his article "The Museum as Memory Palace." In the past, people have attempted to create places where information is stored in a way that enhances memory by creating an environment that visually organizes it. Through the use of several historical examples, Neault described the power of the mind to retain information when paired with its placement in visual spaces (either mentally or physically) because "the mind is much keener at remembering physical spaces and tactile objects than flat, homogenous media, like books or screens." Neault continued to explain how museums capitalize on this concept because they tell stories through the art they contain. I was first drawn to choose this article because the title spoke to me. I love museums and how they contain both factual information and art that convey a message in a space that guides the viewer through a unique experience. I appreciated how Neault articulated those ideas that I have felt before and was particularly inspired by the concluding example he cited: Orhan Pamuk, an author and museum curator in Istanbul created an exhibit that was corresponded with a book he had written. I love the interactive and personal aspect of this idea; I imagine how reading his story and then walking through the same storyline in a physical, artistic representation would truly be like walking through a "memory palace." I am very interested in this type of multimedia project and would love to look into other exhibits like this one.
Nice job, Haley. I think the parallel between the memory palace and the museum is such a beautiful one.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I read about how important visual experience is for our memory and the use of the "memory palace", one of the oldest techniques for remembering, I was blown away.