Getting all Smithsonian this weekend (and helping a certain someone with her grad school essay) has me thinking about museums, and more specifically, the museum gift shop.
The National Museum of the American Indian is your best museum experience and then some: a chance to transcend your own borders, a sacred space where art starts a conversation across time, distance and cultures. I loved every minute of it.
And I wasn't kidding about that totem pole. I don't imagine I'm the first person to notice that my enthusiasm for an exhibit is commensurate with my desire to take some part of it home with me. In fact, I believe I just outlined the museum shop business model. I've been hoarding posters, postcards, art books, notebooks, coasters, umbrellas, jewelry, magnets, board games, tote bags, tee shirts and younameit for years.
Truly, the Native American craftsmanship was exceptionally beautiful. But no matter how much of it I cram into my tiny apartment, it can't recreate the wonder, or the disbelief, or the discovery, or the choked back tears, or the engaging and heartfelt discussion that came afterwards.
I'm all for non-profit institutions selling products to sustain themselves, but it's worth remembering that the true product of any great museum is inspiration. It's the privilege of every artist--every person--to seek out new ways of seeing, and to examine our own landscape through that lens.
Deprived of easy memento(s), this particular museum experience was ever more vivid. I lingered on every tiny bead, memorized every face, and read and reread every incredible detail. I wanted to make sure I took it all home with me.
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