What a museum is to me

Calling the Great Salt Lake a museum is like calling a swimming pool a wishing well. Simply because someone has tossed a penny into the lake does not constitute a change of terminology, or the meaning associated with the word, from a body of water to a place of gratified historical preservation. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a museum as: A building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed. By this definition, the lake could most certainly be considered a museum, with the one exception of having “permanent value“.

Because spiral jetty is located in a lake and is continually being changed by the environment, time, and visitors, the permanence comes into question. Now, to claim that anything is truly ‘permanent’ would be naïve. All objects on this earth are in a cycle of continual creation and destruction, and the mere existence of humans is but a grain of sand in the hourglass of life. But by comparing the changes that spiral jetty has already undertaken in the few years it has been displayed, to other works of art that have been around for centuries, we can see that it is no where near permanent; in retrospect.

I believe in order for something to be considered a museum, all of the objects contained within it must also be preserved, and of some significant “value“. The great Salt lake is far to vast to be looked after and cared for in its entirety; let alone contained and preserved. There may be objects in the lake that are worth being displayed in a museum, but the majority of the creatures and natural entities, are far to average.

For me, the word ‘museum’ paints a mental picture of ancient, priceless, artifacts and creatures from a time long since passed. Grand collections from every corner of the world; that is what a museum means to me. Although the Great Salt Lake may be magnificent and house a few pieces of art, I do not believe that it would fit the socially acceptable criteria for what a museum truly is.