The Universal Survey Museum & 'Our Origins' at the MoCP

This week we read a great introductory piece on the purpose and impact of the museum experience called The Universal Survey Museum by Carol Duncan and Alan Wallach. In the reading, Duncan & Wallach argue that museums often serve as iconic representations of authority. Throughout history, museums have served as both political figures (such as the Roman displays of war trophies) or as more cultural icons of a place (as seen through the architecture of many museums that mirror the tradition of mausoleums and royal temples.) Much of The Universal Survey Museum also addresses the fact that museums, whether people like to admit it or not, have historically brought separation between classes. As Duncan & Wallach state, "the museum helps foster the illusion of a classless society." They then go on to make a valid statement that "there is almost always a contradiction between the ideal visitor as defined by the museum and the actual visitor." Through my interpretation of the the reading, Duncan & Wallach bring forth an interesting argument that although the modern survey museum may not be as "universal" as the title of their piece may lead one to think. Of course, all who want to visit a public museum are more than welcome, but the leisurely time it takes to stroll a museum's hallways and the level of knowledge it takes to fully appreciate the pieces on display are "available only to a narrow elite." With this in mind, it was interesting to look at the class I'm taking as part of my higher education, Photography in Chicago Now, and our course schedule. Much of our time this semester will be dedicated to doing exactly these two things: using our class time to visit museums and educate ourselves. I've created some food for thought that has no correct answer: Are we, the students of Columbia College Chicago, apart of a narrow elite? Are we preparing ourselves to be? Hmmm...

For our first class of the semester we took a (very short) trip to the Museum of Contemporary Photography, which is conveniently located on the Columbia College campus. The museum is currently showing a great exhibit called Our Origins which, as you can probably assume, displays a talented group of artists and their work related to human existence and consciousness. The first collection of photographs we looked at was by Alison Ruttan from her series Four Year War at Gombe. The pictures were inspired by the notes of British primatologist Jane Goodall and her discovery that the lives of chimpanzees often reflect the tendencies we have as humans. So, with this as her inspiration, Ruttan photographed a few people showing the diverse emotions that both man and ape share: anger, hostility, love, and familial comfort. In addition, the clustered way in which the photos are displayed creates a sort of storyboard and helps the viewer to feel immersed in this primal jungle setting.

Although there were three floors to this exhibit, my favorite photographs in Our Origins was located directly across from Ruttan's. From having no previous knowledge of the artist, the two photograms by artist Aspen Mays initially resembled a couple of small Rothko paintings. But upon taking a closer look and reading about the work, Mays' was inspired by NASA’s claim that 1 percent of television static is caused by cosmic radiation left over from the Big Bang. To think about this strange theory and how such a distant pre-historical event could be at all related to the technology that our current culture thrives on was so intriguing to me. But to see this odd cosmic idea translated into two beautiful shades of blue and orange had me completely baffled. The variation of the work at the Our Origins exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Photography was amazing, but the stories behind each piece was what I enjoyed most.