The moment I laid eyes on the holocaust museum I was taken back to a time long since passed. To an age of stone and steel. Immediately upon arriving at the museum, I was overwhelmed by the shear size and simplicity of the building. It seemed to be made primarily of concrete, steel, and brick; as if windows were an after thought. Although the concrete entry way looked inviting from the outside, once inside, I felt more or less trapped.
This was because the museum’s architecture was not designed like many of the other museums I had been to. The floor plan was not open and inviting. It did not make you feel at ease. Oh no, everything about the museum seemed suffocating. Darkly colored walls, dimly lit exhibits, tight turning corners with no escape, and not to mention the stuffy, cramped elevator ride into the pits of a re-created hell.
Around every bend, there seemed to be some overwhelming aspect of the architecture which conveyed dark and ominous feelings. Some of the exhibits protruded onto the path of travel, as if to force you to, quite literally, stumble upon them. Towering walls of photos, trunks, and shoes seemed to condense around you at every corner. Walkways consisting of pure iron conveyed the seriousness of the atrocities the museum had on display. All of these aspects and more provided a sense of uneasiness, which is exactly what the curators wanted you to feel.
Although you may be expecting fun and excitement while visiting a museum, the feelings associated with the holocaust museum are of a different sort. It is a very somber experience for most. Some people mourn, some are left shocked, and some simply cannot handle the museum in its entirety. But one thing is for sure, there is a significant effect on the psyche of the patrons who visit this museum, some of which is caused by the architecture. It is just something about a hard rigid structures that can either provide feelings of safety by keeping the bad things out, or a sense of entrapment by keeping things in.
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I really enjoyed reading this article. I mean, obviously the Holocaust museum is a depressing topic, but you know what I mean. At first, I wasn't quite sure what assignment this was supposed to be for. But after a second I realized what it was about, which looking back, was a very nice touch. Instead of just boringly writing about how architecture affects the effect a museum has on visitors like some have (myself included), you blended the concept in nicely with you personal experience with the effects of a museum's architecture.I was very pleasantly surprised with your article on architecture in regards to museums, it was superbly well written, and creatively done. The style of your writing in regards to this assignment made reading and commenting on this not a chore, as it can be with some of the less interesting and ill-written ones. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteLike my fellow reader above, I also enjoyed reading your response. Although I have never been to the Holocaust Museum (it's on my list of things to do), your article gave me a good idea of what the inside of the museum is like. I talked to some people who have been there also and they all spoke of the trapped feeling that you spoke of. I believe we read an article on this museum for class and this feeling of being trapped, not knowing what is coming next and being forced to view and come to terms with the atrocities committed were the main goals of the architects designing the museum the way they did. I also think you did a good job in your article of showing how the architecture affected how you personally viewed the content of the museum and how emotions and feelings that the architecture of the museum itself caused you to have.
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