Imperial War Museum North

I wanted to write a very quick account of my visit to the Imperial war Museum North in Manchester and the main thoughts it inspired in me. I was really impressed by how innovative the museum was in making the information engaging, using lighting, video, interactive displays, and cleverly designed graphics. Museum exhibitions of this nature have interested me ever since I learnt about installation art, because they use the same multi-sensory media to create a similarly powerful experience. I found that I had an emotional response to the information because of how it was displayed.

One of the things that I found most poignant was the collection of personal belongings from soldiers of the First World War, shown in cases alongside a passage describing their lives. There was something incredibly poignant about their lives being summarised in this manner, reduced down to key facts and key objects, their legacy. I don't think those stories would have been as powerful, however, without the accompanying objects; to me the mundane, everyday objects were also a lot more striking to see than the medals, they evoked a familiarity, and thus empathy. I couldn't help thinking of Cornelia Parker's 'The Maybe', which featured the personal belongings of famous historical figures. In both the museum display and in Parker's work the objects would not be powerful or significant without the knowledge of their identity, to whom they belonged, for what they were used.

It was an interesting experience to visit a museum as I more regularly go to art galleries. It made me consider the role of art in our everyday lives, which comes to be a relic of the times and society in which we live. In the WW1 exhibition alone there were examples of cleverly designed propaganda posters, paintings and prints of factory workers and everyday scenes, and many, many photographs. I was interested to see that the museum also had works by contemporary artists who had created responses to themes such as war and the Holocaust. I think contemporary art is sometimes misrepresented to the public as being elitist and difficult to understand, so the integration and
utilisation of art in this environment was good to see; the use of creative interpretation in this way seemed to make the issues more current, and furthered the emotional response. I know art is one way in which people deal with emotional ordeals which can't be explained in words, so the Imperial War Museum seems like a very fitting place for such works as a personal account of past events.

Above all the clever, personal and multi-sensory exhibits, the most powerful and emotive thing in the gallery was a mangled girder from the World Trade Centre. Although again very much assisted by the knowledge of its identity, it was a poignant encounter because I have a personal relationship to the event, a living memory. I understand why museums try to include personal stories and video interviews because it is the experience of the individual that makes an event significant.