Friday, March 5
architecture vs experience
When I have been to museums in the past, the architecture of the museum has kind of influenced my overall experience. For example, the way that the objects in that museum are displayed on the wall or in cases has either emphasized that object, or deemphasized it (in relation to others). Featuring one object along a wall rather than several next to one another, would draw my attention to the solitary artifact rather than the row. Moving on to the overall structure of the building, if the museum has an older feel, or older architectural design, I would expect to find exhibits from that time period or genre. Walking into the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, WA, I would personally be thrown off if instead of housing important and memorable artifacts to the music world, the EMP was displaying objects of natural history (not only because of the name, but the modern design of the museum itself does not broadcast a "natural feel"). The contrast of the EMP's bright colors and abstract shape against the cityscape of Seattle reflects what I believe to be a modern take on music, hoping to draw in those who (while may also enjoy classics) has a soft spot in their heart for the pop and rock side of the young culture of today's society. Similarly, if the EMP had the same exhibits but they were surrounded by columns and old-world architecture, it would all seem out of place and more confusing than educating and enjoyable as a visitor.
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Like a lot of people, I also wrote about the EMP for this prompt. I agree that the architecture of the EMP is highly specialized to be compatible with the overall subject matter; it seems reasonable that such an abstract, modern building should house artifacts of modern society, like pop and rock music. However, I disagree with your belief that it “does not broadcast a 'natural' feel.” I think that it is a very organic looking structure; it kind of reminds me of a giant, rainbow-colored jellyfish. I suppose this is another indication of just how individualized and subjective this idea of the “impact of architecture” is, but I think that the building housing the EMP would make a really fantastic natural history museum. There are plenty of natural history museums that utilize wild architecture (think Science World in Vancouver), and while the EMP does go beyond most of these buildings, I would still find it very appealing (but I can also understand why it would not appeal to a lot of the population, as well).
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