As people stroll in the corridors of a museum, they are literally traveling through centuries of human civilization. The gallery is a representation of each chapter (prehistoric carvings to modern installations). The way these works are organized helps individuals to trace the development of art and culture, how humanity gradually changed, moved, and reinvented itself. This creative history allows us to realize that, although our tools and civilizations may evolve, the human desire to communicate and share feelings and ideas will always be the same.
A Space for Storytelling
Art museums are not merely places, in which one admires beauty, but they are strong places, in which one can hear stories. In all works of art, a fragile vessel made millennia ago, a rich Renaissance painting, or an experimental contemporary installation, there is a story that can be discovered. These stories are never necessarily written in words but in the colors, brushstrokes, shapes, and textures which can be interpreted. It is a museum that brings together these different voices under the same roof and presents them in a manner that makes the visitor listen, think, and interact. By so doing, museums become enormous storybooks, with every hall a new chapter and every work of art one page of meaning.
Narratives of Autobiographical Feeling.
Most works of art have intensely personal feelings behind them. The painting can give a clue as to the joy, sorrow, love, or despair of the artist, and enable the visitor to enter into the heart of another experience. These are emotional tales which cut across time and space and affirm that human emotions are global. Once a visitor stands in front of such a work they can be connected to the artist even though centuries may be in between. This relationship provides a great reminder that art is not only about things but also people and their experiences.
Narratives of Folk and Custom.
Cultural identity and tradition are other stories that are told in museums. Prehistoric objects may tell us how a people worshiped, how a culture created, or what values informed a society. These cultural riches become the windows into the worlds that otherwise would be lost into oblivion, starting with pottery adorned with symbolic patterns through to the immense tapestries creating the historical events. When they are preserved and displayed in a museum, it enables contemporary people to interact with the traditions which lay the basis of human history, and so the stories of these cultures should be told and enjoyed.