Anna
Wild
in the
(!!)
Creative Works Fellowship, Summer 2019
INTRODUCTION
my research question, my trip, and more When I was a junior in high school, my task for my history is taught, the psychological impacts of AP American Studies class was to write an 8-page portraying a narrow demographic of American speech incorporating a number of sources from the heroes to a diverse constituency, and the social course. My final product, entitled “The Fault in implications of moving forward as a nation—where American Excellence,” examined the ways that must this change come from? This topic seems to American history is taught in schools, the figures we encapsulate the nature of humanistic inquiry; I am idolize, and the shortcomings of portraying seeking to create a multifaceted analysis of a broad American history through the lens of white, male question. Although the United States has accomplishments. Although I didn’t realize it at the experienced many social revolutions, it is time, this project sparked a curiosity that I am still significantly younger than many of our exploring today: what figures do we, as a nation, international counterparts. Consequently, there is a idolize and how do these choices impact citizens’ lot to learn from examining countries with more feelings towards the government and feelings of extensive histories. This summer, I traveled for 6 patriotism? In 2019, this issue is more complex weeks across Europe visiting 6 countries in hopes of than ever; in the United States, we have eradicated getting a better understanding of how European many overtly racist and sexist policies, yet it is clear nations reconcile controversial historical events that there is still a lot of progress to be made to and people. Throughout my travels, my project ensure that American dream is accessible to evolved in unexpected ways. Before I left, I did a everyone. Therefore, it is now more obvious than significant amount of background research about ever that deifying figures such as Robert E. Lee and this topic, so there were some questions that I knew Thomas Jefferson, which begins in elementaryI was interested, some questions that popped up schoolers’ first civic lessons, portrays a limited view unexpectedly while I traveled, and some related of the American identity. Recognizing this fact, questions that lingered in my mind from podcasts, many states across the country have begun taking books, and documentaries. Going into this project, I down monuments that honor racist figures or expected everything to be more overtly cohesive: all remnants of the Confederacy. These actions have my travel going according to plan, all of the been met with controversy and protest; as a nation, museums touching on details that the others how do we acknowledge our past without brought up, etc. Once I began traveling, I realized marginalizing groups that exist within our current that this was not the case. While everything did not identity? This issue is multifaceted in its go according to plan, I visited amazing cities and composition, and in the tools necessary to found relevant information on walking tours, in adequately analyze it’s impacts--a one-dimensional unexpected museums, and in conversations in analysis is not sufficient to examine such a complex hostels. Throughout my trip, this project became topic. Initially, one can examine the ways that this one that was centered around more general themes topic falls under governmental action, it raises than specific events or details. Within the following questions regarding federalism, a need for policy pages, you will find my reflections, musings, and my responses, and the ways that the government best attempt to translate a life-changing summer executes the values outlined in the American into something tangible. Constitution. However, this issue also reaches into educational curriculum regarding the way that COMMENTS? HEY@GREATPAPER.COM
TRIP OVERVIEW Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Former SS Air force building, Topography of Terror, Victory Column, Potsdam, Altes Museum, Pergamon Museum, Neues Museum, German History Museum, Parliament Building, East Side Gallery, Jewish Museum, Family apartment in Berlin, DDR Museum, Berlin walking tour, Old Town Square, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Wawel Castle, Schindler Factory, Jewish Quarter, Krakow walking tour, Old Town Square, Jewish Quarter, Prague walking tour, Rijks museum, Stops: Amsterdam walking tour, Arc De Triumph, Notre Dame, Louvre, ParisKrakow, boat tour, Musee d’Orsay, Berlin, Germany; Paris walking tour,Czech National Gallery, National Poland; Prague, Portrait Gallery, Borough Market, Camden Republic; Amsterdam,Palace, the Market, Buckingham Tate Modern, Netherlands; Paris, France; Windsor Castle, Roman Baths,Stonehenge, The London, England British Museum, Notting Hill Market, Parliament Building, Tate Britain
RESEARCH Before I left, I researched a bunch of museums in the cities we were visiting and read about current controversies with public art and monuments. There are many. One of the most fantastic things about museums is that they constantly spark dialogues that praise and critique exhibits. I believe that museums that are receptive towards visitors’ feedback are the most effective. While not all criticisms will be constructive, the emotions that exhibits evoke among visitors matters and if a museum misses the mark, that is especially bad. My research before the trip broadened my perspective and framed the way I viewed the museums I visited. One of the most interesting themes that I came across were articles comparing Germany’s treatment of Nazi symbols after WWII and America’s treatment of Confederate monuments. While Germany completely eradicated symbols of Nazi strength from its society, the United States is still engaged in a culture war about how to properly address our own controversial statues. Although this example is an oversimplification of the two situations, this research caused me to question many American norms, such as the conversations we have about controversial historical events and how we frame the issues. My project asks questions about representation in art: how do museums, especially those intended to portray national history, accurately portray the constituencies of the nations they represent? This questions prompts ideas about increasing art by and of traditionally underrepresented groups, but also about how art portraying controversial people and events should be displayed. As you can see, throughout my trip I recorded my adventures and my perceptions in a number of different mediums. In the following pages, you will see a couple of the thousands of pictures that I took on this trip, but I also journaled, talked to people in hostels, and sometimes had to write out my scattered thoughts in the Notes app on my phone to ensure I didn’t forget. I collected many, many pamphlets. I also started a newsletter with my friends this summer and that became a place where I recorded my adventures too. I called it Anna in the Wild, hence the name on the front of this piece, and although I intended to use my newsletter as a way to stay in touch with my friends from all over throughout the summer, I began recording a lot of my perceptions there too.
MUSEUMS
Tori!
Berlin, Germany I was amazed by the straightforward way in which Germany presents its history. Because I spent the longest amount of time in Berlin (about 3 weeks), I feel like I got a good sense of the country and its history. Germany had a tumultuous 20th century, with Berlin as the central backdrop to much of it. On my first day in every city I visited, I did a walking tour. On my walking tour in Berlin, I was shocked by the way that the Brandenburg Gate, one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, has been adopted by different groups throughout the nation’s history. Before Germany became a country, the Brandenburg Gate was erected as a symbol of Prussian strength in the region. After the formation of Germany, the Brandenburg Gate served as a symbol of the unified nation, a symbol of the Nazi party, and then, during the Cold War, the Gate became a symbol of danger because it existed in the “death zone” between East and West Berlin. The Gate now serves as a reminder of Germany’s history, but also as a symbol of the nation’s unity. Germany presents its history, warts and all, as a way of moving forward without forgetting the past. They did not need to preserve Nazi memorabilia in order to remember what happened. Alternatively, the country has made a concerted effort to present a uniform stance on its mistakes. My walking tour guide also brought us to the “most interesting parking lot in Berlin.” I was confused by this statement; it was a partially paved lot with dilapidated fences and a range of common car brands. The guide pointed to a small sign in the front corner of the lot, explaining that we were standing over the bunker where Adolf Hitler lived in the final months of his life. The German Government would not allow a more significant marker for fear of commemorating Hitler’s life and creating a museum or memorial for modern Nazis. Conversely, just a few minutes from the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe consumes an entire block, both literally and in its looming presence. It is intentionally placed in the center of the city so that tourists and locals will be forced to acknowledge its presence while passing through the area.
T
hough the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a memorial, walking through the large stone blocks is also a visceral experience; as you pass through the center of the memorial, the blocks are higher and you feel trapped inside the vastness of your surroundings. Peter Eisenman, the memorial’s architect, was intentionally vague in describing his creation, emphasizing the idea that people must take it upon themselves to interpret their feelings as they pass through the memorial. When the memorial came under scrutiny for its lack of information, a museum was created beneath the memorial to provide visitors with the cultural context. Another especially memorable place I visited in Berlin was the Bundestag, the German Parliament Building. My friend Tori and I scheduled a tour on the only available day, a Saturday during the Parliament’s summer recess. After getting lost on the U-Bahn and being too stubborn to turn on our cellular data to consult a map, we arrived at the Bundestag three minutes late for our tour. We were scolded for our tardiness, but reluctantly let into the building, only to find that the rest of our tour hadn’t showed up— we had a private tour! Our tour guide told us about how the Bundestag, formerly known as the Reischtag, was burned down shortly before Hitler took office as an act of political protest against the new administration. During Hitler’s rule, the Parliament met in the nearby Kroll Opera House. After the reunification of Germany, the German Parliament reconstructed the Reichstag building and renamed it. The renovations included a glass dome above the floor of the plenary chamber that is open to the public every day. There floor of the plenary chamber is on the same level as visitor entrance outside of it—an overt demonstration that elected officials are on the same level as their constituents. It is entirely unsurprising that the renovated German parliament building makes it painfully clear that elected officials are accountable to their constituents. Though the building was spotlessly clean inside, there was graffiti on the walls from the original building, including the ones opposite Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office. Our guide explained that the graffiti was left by Soviet soldiers when they invaded Germany. Though the Reichstag was not in use at the time, the soldiers still knew the importance of the building. Now, the graffiti has been coated in finish to ensure that it stays on the walls as a permanent reminder of the Battle of Berlin.
Berlin, cont.
Project Musings Re lections and (some) Questions
O
What is the future of museums?
ne of my most frustrating observations was an obsession with taking pictures of art. This frustration was, of course, entirely hypocritical given that I was also taking pictures of art, but I justified that because of this project. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but wonder how this influenced the relationship between museums and their patrons. I asked, what is the purpose of museums? What is the purpose of visiting museums? At what point does the value of physically seeing original art become depleted? The last of these questions is the most critical, stemming from an untrained art history eye. Yet, I couldn’t help feeling as though the majority of people viewing the famous pieces of art were not at the museum to see the unique, irreplaceable features of the original art. These cynical thoughts caused me to question the ways that digital collections of art could be curated as a way of empowering modern curators to compensate for the shortcomings of classical collections to bring exhibits to a broader audience. In some ways, contemporary artists are already actualizing this idea by displaying their art on social media sites; however, I cannot help but wonder about the positive impacts of enabling anyone with an internet-connected device to virtually tour a museum. At present, I really enjoyed the ways that museums allow visitors to learn more about the museum or interact with the pieces virtually. In all of the museums I visited, however, it was puzzling to see everyone seemingly prioritizing taking pictures of art over examining the pieces.
What makes for an effective museum? Museums, especially national museums, serve as an extension of a nation’s ethos. One of the things that I have been thinking about recently is how labels and parameters shape outsiders perspectives. So, when a museum is called a national gallery, it tells visitors that the museum is representative of a nation’s values, whether serving as a testament to the nation’s value for art, or a testament to the nation’s character. Therefore, national museums must make it their highest priority to align the content of the museums with an inclusive portrait of national identity.
Musee d'Orsay Paris, France
Krakow, Poland
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Paris, France
London, England
Windsor, Bath, & Stonehenge
CONCLUSION
O
ne of my biggest breakthroughs of my project came as I tried to compile my observations into my final project. Sitting at my kitchen counter, I exasperatedly complained to my parents that I didn’t want to come to any conclusions about my topic—I just wanted to continue consuming, considering, evaluating other people’s ideas about controversial art. In that moment, I also realized that the pressure I felt—that I had to come to definitive conclusions—was a pressure that I had put on myself. I am not an expert, or any sort of authority, on any of the topics that I set out to study in this project; that was what made it so exciting. In a pre-professional atmosphere like CMC, I think we can sometimes get caught up in our desires to produce research similar to that of our professors and other academics. This project, and the Gould Center, gave me the greatest opportunity to have a life-changing experience while exploring a topic that I was, and will continue to be, interested in.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project has been one long, crazy adventure. The idea first came together in early January, over a car conversation in the middle of the night. When I came back to CMC after winter break, I approached Professor Pears about my idea and began what would become a weekly ritual; I would show up at her office hours asking her about a new question, or if this trip was a crazy idea, and she would convince me that it wasn’t. Even now, I am amazed that this trip happened and that I was able to do it with so much support from CMC. I am infinitely grateful to the Gould Center for providing me with this opportunity, Professor Pears for all of her support and guidance, to my family their encouragement, and Tori, for embarking on this great journey with me. This trip was an adventure that I will remember for the rest COMMENTS?of HEY@GREATPAPER.COM my life.