Morris Museum
/
Another great contribution from one of our members! Nance in New Mexico sent us news about the opening of a great exhibition at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey. The museum recently received a bequest from Murtogh D. Guinness (yes, that Guinness) of over 700 mechanical automata and musical instruments and has begun to exhibit selections from the collection. They have also mounted a WONDERFUL online exhibit complete with live-action and sound of selected pieces. (It requires some sort of media player on your computer but is really worth it!)
I spent a long time poring over every section of the exhibition. (‘The Magic Cupboard ‘was one of my favorites). But as great as it was to see everything on the computer, I now have a burning desire to see these objects in person. And I hope that others feel the same way too, because that is what makes a museum important. Plato’s cave analogy in the Republic applies here… the internet provides us the shadows and images of objects but we should desire to know the objects and the stories, people, beyond them.
The Morris Museum’s handling of the Guinness Collection is something to aspire to. We hope to be a venue by the time the Morris Museum starts thinking about traveling some of its collection!
I spent a long time poring over every section of the exhibition. (‘The Magic Cupboard ‘was one of my favorites). But as great as it was to see everything on the computer, I now have a burning desire to see these objects in person. And I hope that others feel the same way too, because that is what makes a museum important. Plato’s cave analogy in the Republic applies here… the internet provides us the shadows and images of objects but we should desire to know the objects and the stories, people, beyond them.
The Morris Museum’s handling of the Guinness Collection is something to aspire to. We hope to be a venue by the time the Morris Museum starts thinking about traveling some of its collection!