Walking A New Museum

On a rainy day, I entered a new museum with all the excitement of being sheltered as well as the thrill of seeing works that I had heretofore only seen in books. I might have planned somewhat better so that I would know what was on display, where the assorted works were located, and the layout of the museum but I had done none of this. I have a propensity for appreciating the increasingly rare, child-like, experience of getting lost. So I entered the museum and wandered to the left.

Not knowing what to expect I was unprepared to dive into the first exhibit. About halfway through, I realized how much I was enjoying it and, pulling out my notebook, went back to the beginning in order to jot some notes. I often take notes in a museum because I can not remember most of what I see and like to refer to photographs, postcards and my thoughts to jog my fading memory. Sometimes, I even use it later for my own work and then I am especially glad that I have the help.

After that first exhibit, I started to get into the groove of my time in a museum and nearly sauntered into the next section. I wandered through it and into another room, up a flight of stairs through that little exhibit on color and line and found myself walking down some stairs towards an auditorium that was not in use, a set of empty restrooms and a guard by a glass door that said Do Not Exit. I was lost.

This happens. I retraced my steps, seeing everything again, and went into a different room. At the end, again I found myself at a wall having to retrace my steps. Then I wanted to see something again, but could not find it. I was now deeply in the labyrinthine quality that a great museum of art can offer. I saw works I had no interest in seeing. There were other works that I had never heard of but could now claim to have witnessed in all their curated glory.

After many hours of this, I stumbled across the entrance and discovered the outside which led me to the next museum, where I did this all over again. I got a cup of tea on my way to fortify my journey.