The topic of individualism in museums can cover a lot of areas: The use of individual fame to sell exhibitions, the (lack of?) autonomy museums have or, the museum visitors themselves.
One other area that I hope to turn into a semi0regular feature is the trend of new museums entirely dedicated to one individualised area. If we were to create a taxonomy of museums, how many would there be? Off the top of my head, I can think of local history, natural history, science, military, maritime, art and what I’ll call “memorial” (The Holocaust museums, for instance). I’m sure there are plenty of general labels like this, but I’m interested in the expansion of what would come under “Other”.
I promise not to turn this entirely into a Museum Freakshow with links to one man’s Museum of Roadkill or The Museum of Humiliating Break-Ups. Otherwise I could be linking to any lunatic with a website and a camera. I will expect some level of actual institution.
For instance, in this first feature of the Museums of Niche I have two for you.
The Soviet Arcade Games Museum in Moscow. Edge Magazine’s Robin Lee has a look at a bunch of arcade machines that came from the same aesthetic movement that made the Trabi.
The Museum of Ancient Decrees in East China. I’m not sure you could get a more niche museum about a more Chinese cultural context.
look, we ain’t no freak show (www.magnes.org)…but I am always atalking about how we are a “niche” museum, as it relates to the whole niche-y, The Long Tail (duhn, duhn, duhn, duhn, cue trumpets, “NO ONE expects The Long Tail…”) and on-line engagement thing!
Please note that Creative Commons write about magnes.org bringing the collections to light, all “niche to niche”):
http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/13538
Love this post as it realtes to new media/social media/web2-3.0 helping isolated and niche museums reaching isolated and niche audiences. I wanna be a niche.
The Seoul Museum of Chicken Art in South Korea!
http://www.kokodac.com/html/chicken/chickenart2.htm
No no no.
Okay, Nobody is to send to me or mention any “wacky” museums. I will find them myself.