personal blog
The large sign outside the building read “New York Historical Societ: Making History Matter.” Part of me thought, Ouch. That’s trying a bit too hard. And then again, part of me thought, Go for it. Make history matter.
Overall, the society did. The exhibit was thorough and thoughtful and engaging, without being overloaded (maybe a little overloaded).
Upon entering, the first thing I saw was this classroom through glass walls. A group of high school students sat quietly and a young teacher enthusiastically taught them about something historical. I liked being exposed to this part of the society right away. This place isn’t just about New York objects, it’s about learning and research, young and old people.
I had wanted to visit here to compare it to the Brooklyn Historical Society. I had really enjoyed the way in which the BHS combined research and display and meeting space and performance, etc. I was excited to see the NYHS follow in the same vein.
Then, I’m not sure if it was because of Halloween, but a group of people were dressed in civil war costume. Whether it was a happy coincidence or not, I liked having them around. They weren’t giving lessons or talking to visitors at all, but their presence added a layer of engagement to the building.
There was a lot of text throughout the exhibit on Lincoln. In fact, halfway through, a museum staff member asked us if we had been to the theater because he was supposed to keep track of the numbers, but wasn’t sure about us. We told him we had (more on that later) and he asked us how we were enjoying the exhibit. When we answered we were, very much, he replied, There is a lot of text to read.
The text, however, was visual and graphical enough so that I could read when I wanted to and when I didn’t, I could actually look at the words as a picture and come away understanding the idea. Often, there was a quote, an object, and an explanation. These multi-layered entrance points were very well used.
There was one wall of newspapers from the Civil War era. Even though each front page had full articles you could read, one section of one article had been highlighted, blown up, and stuck to the center. Your eye caught most of the words of most of these headlines and after just gazing, I understood not only the significance of the paper from that time but also the northern frustration with Lincoln.
In addition to the graphical text unifying the exhibit, it used political cartoon imagery throughout. The cartoons were dissected and explained and one could pull down a plastic curtain to reveal the important parts of the otherwise verbose cartoons. The device acted as a nice metaphor for the whole exhibit. There was a lot to read, but it was dissected for you.
There were stereoscopic photographs from rallies in Union Square. They were awesome.
At times, the exhibit did seem like too much. The blown up image of Lincoln underneath the newspaper headlines was informative and easy to understand, but it took up an entire wall. The dinner party scene on the right was even more over-the-top. I don’t know why these characters were at a table. Underneath, there was a familiar museum-like plaque the had descriptions of each of the men. I had to read a lot to takeaway much at all. I did learn that Olmstead was an abolitionist journalist. Fact.
The interactives sprinkled throughout were impressive. They blended seamlessly with the rest of the exhibit and they were…fun. On the left, an older woman is looking at a screen. If she had touched the screen to “start,” she would have been taken through a game where she could earn money by making investments during the Civil War. Depending on the historical market, she would lose or gain money. A group of high school girls on the other side, where there was an identical screen, had been brave enough to touch start. Whether the elderly woman didn’t know to touch the screen or simply didn’t want to, she could still stand where she was an watch videos of actors in costume speak historical “words of wisdom.” They were on a loop, like the beginning of a DVD, but she seemed very engaged.
Later on the in the exhibit, there was another game where you could make your own cartoon, choosing images you had seen throughout the exhibit. It was very simple, but really fun. And it made you look at the cartoon images again and it reinforced the message that Lincoln was interpretted in many different ways.
On the right, there was a bar scene set up, much like the dinner table scene before. Here, however, you could lift up these cones and listen the conversation at hand. Each cone had the same audio, but that meant that multiple people could listen at the same time. I wasn’t sure what the cones actually were, if they were supposed to be something, but they reminded me of something historically accurate. That is, they themselves fit into the scene instead of just being tacked on technology.
The exhibit was huge. At one point, they had built an outline of a chapel–it was made from foamcore–but entering this section felt like walking into a chapel. The room was white and there was soft audio playing from speakers in the ceiling. This was Benjamin’s aura. The room stored tapestries, cartoon, and other items depicting the Emancipation Proclamation. I was impressed with the description of one of the cartoons. The picture showed Lincoln bestowing freedom upon a kneeling slave and the description was thoughtful and critical. The curator wasn’t just showing reverence for Lincoln, there was a critical eye throughout.
There were two disappointing uses of technology in the exhibit. The first, not pictured, was the audio guide. I never use audio guides, but decided to give it a try this time. The recordings were from the curator, which was interesting, but they were just too long. His descriptions were intersperced with readings from actors and it went on and on. Also, the audio wasn’t linked to any one thing in particular. Half way through, I found myself still listening, but wandering around and paying more attention to the objects I could see. Finally, the written description of the guide promised a link from history to our present day. This link, however, consisted of the curator ending the audio with three questions about how the Civil War reminds us of the Iraqi War. I understand the museum didn’t want to politicize the exhibit or themselves too much, but it felt trite.
The other dissapointment came from the “theater.” You walked into a round room and sat on benches on the perimeter. It was a really great space. You could all sit and it was quiet and the audio was really clear. This part was describing three days of rioting that took place in New York City. The video itself, however, was text! As you listened, certain days (WEDNESDAY it would smokily reveal) or written out quotes appeared around the walls. The same content was projected in three different places around the wall. It just seemed like such a missed opportunity to show a great video to an engaged audience.
The entire space was used throughout the exhibit. Although much of it was just too dark, these large ribbons hung from the ceiling in one section. As I walked through, I came across a photo of a fair that had taken place and they had hung ribbons in the same way. It was a great reveal to have the space I was in match the space of this historical photograph.
There were two places where diaries were on display. The diaries themselves were in a glass case, open to a particular page. Right next to them, however, was a screen on the wall where you could look through the entire (digitalized) diary and actually read the entries. I thought it was a great way to have an actual thing and also access to it.
After leaving the exhibit space, you were presented with a long hallway that led to the gift shop. Maybe it was because the exhibit itself was too dark, but it was a rude awakening to walk into this bright white hall. On the left, there were cases that held Lincoln-related objects, but I’m not sure what their purpose was. It really looked like stuff they couldn’t fit it and didn’t have time to make a nice display for. It ended with a few t-shirts from the Obama campaign. It was underwhelming end to such an involved experience. There was also a booth in the hallway where you could record your thoughts about the exhibit. Although it was a nice idea and an interesting use of technology–you didn’t have to write, you could speak your thoughts like a photobooth–I didn’t want to talk about the exhibit. Maybe I would have wanted to talk about something else–my experience with politics or racism or the south. Something less referencial.
The most impressive part of the exhibit was the way in which high school students and senior citizens came together in this space. I didn’t see them talk to each other necessarily, but appealing to those two populations is impressive and getting them into the same space is exciting. The potential for conversation between the generations is almost enough. I didn’t see anyone else our age, but I bet that was becaue it was Halloween.
