For this week I chose the Apoxyomenos Cabinet exhibit at the Pio Clementino Museum in the Vatican and the Africa exhibit in the British Museum.
Both exhibits were quite different in terms of choice of display and layout. With the British Museum using more modern glass cases and a gallery-type of layout to display thier objects. The Vatican Museum however, does not seem to use glass cases, I suspect the main reason being that a majority of thier objects were all carved from white stone, and stays to a more traditional open “cabinet” layout.
Much of the Pio Clementino Museum exhibits feel as if the whole gallery is one piece that is difficult appreciate at first glance, as the floors and some areas of the ceiling are inlaid with mosaics and fresco paintings respectivly. The statues and statuettes in the outer wings feel somewhat close together, but are organized in shelves and against the wall in a way that there is still quite a bit of room to explore. Meanwhile the inner areas are more open, there are many statrues and carvings that line the walls, but overall feels more welcoming. The attention to detail as well as the contents of the exhibit have a more collaborative aspect to it all. As the museum is located in Vatican City in Italy, there is a more heavy influence of italian and corinthian art styles and architecture that can be seen throughout the exhibits.
The Africa Exhibit is more spacious, and as stated before, has a more modern look and feel with many of the objects encased behind glass, as much of thier collection in this exhibit is not stone but ranges from wood masks to metal tools to colorful textiles. The organization feels less by region and more by composition. The wing is also much larger in terms of layout, allowing more room to explore but less to see at once. Unfortunatly, as the style of the exhibit is more modern, there is little cultural influence within the exhibit besides the objects within the displays themselves.
Which virtual tour have you found to be the easiest to navigate?
I found that once you are able to find the section in the Smithsonian regarding virtual/online exhibits, they have a lot of information about the exhibits, as well as pictures and background information about them.
Hi Michelle!
I liked reading your post especially how you describe the two virtual exhibits you checked out. I thought that was interesting. To answer your question, I found that the virtual exhibits by museums and other heritage centers that team up with Google’s Arts and Culture was the easiest even though I really didn’t like the format.