Juxtaposing Objects

Most museum displays invite visitors to compare things of a similar category. Geodes. Death metal album covers. Things unearthed at an Umbrian dig.

(This is article #2 of a four-part series about the power of object selection.)

Occasionally, though, you’ll encounter two objects in a case that don’t appear to be similar at all, but it’s no accident they are together. Instead of asking, “How are these alike?” you find yourself asking, “Wait, why are these together?”

Which is exactly the point.

Rather than selecting objects because they share a category, the juxtaposing objects approach selects them because their differences create more interesting meaning.

The tension between the artifacts becomes part of the interpretation. Your mind wants to resolve that tension. You start thinking. With the right story, you start feeling stronger emotions.

My favorite example of this is the classic Mining the Museum project, where artist Fred Wilson rearranged artifacts from the Maryland Historical Society’s collection into an exhibition to provoke deeper thinking.

Shackles in a vitrine of silverware.

A white Klan hood in a black baby carriage.

These objects took on surprising, powerful new meanings simply because Wilson paired them with unexpected companions. The artifacts themselves never changed. Only their relationships did.

Juxtaposing objects slows visitors down. It’s a more interesting approach than the usual, because it can pack much more meaning and emotion into a single pair of things.

Here’s the thing:

Sometimes the most powerful story that objects tell isn’t in the objects themselves. It’s in the space between them.

Next time, article #3 in our series: the interrelating objects approach.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:

Vitrine. [vuh-TREEN] A glass display case. Most people don't know this word, however, so you're better off not using it and saying "glass display case" instead.