As I was about to Visit the "Tactual Museum for the Blind" in Kallithea,Athens, Greece, I did not know what to expect, except that obviously there would nowhere be a " Do not touch " sign , which is common to most, if not all, of the "other" museums. My first impression of the place was that it could well be any archaeological museum and not just for the blind. The only difference was observed in the signs of the exhibits , aside from the classical visible spelling ,there were also slides written in the Braille writing system for the visually impaired. . As the tour was about to begin , the blind director of the museum , Mrs. Demetra Asideri , in her office in the main building of the Lighthouse Museum , talked to us about the history of the museum : "The Tactual Museum was created in 1984 on the grounds that up till then at all museums, visitors -blind and visually impaired included - were not allowed to touch anything.Our museum is one of the four to five museums of its kind worldwide ." The Museum holds many surprises for the visitors . Upstairs , for example , a model of ...
As indicated above, the exhibit is theme-based, centered around a historical period of time. Because of this, there is a large proportion of text, revealing background history, in relation to the actual artifacts. In my second, more thorough run-through, I certainly found myself reading more than looking at "things". In fact, it seems as though the exhibit only tells the true chronological history to those patient enough to read all of the text. A less thorough visit to the exhibit will undoubtedly result in a skewed view of the past. I will address this issue later in the Critical Assessment section.
Blindness in Raymond Carver's Cathedral Blindness creates a world of obscurity only to be overcome with guidance from someone willing to become intimate with the blind. Equally true, the perceptions of blindness can only be overcome when the blind allow intimacy with the sighted. Raymond Carver, with his short story Cathedral, illustrates this point through the eyes of a man who will be spending an evening with a blind man, Robert, for the first time. Not only does this man not know Robert, but his being blind, "bothered" (Carver 98) him.
From that point on there’s a digital interactive guide that displays the layout of the museum and location of the exhibits. The museum is divided into quadrants with an elliptical rotunda in the middle. The rotunda is illuminated by natural light from the glass dome with skylights above you. Also when you look up you can see extraordinary symbolic painting on the ceiling. From the center of the rotunda you can go left or right to see the exhibits of Native Americans. For some reason I felt like going in through the left, aside from the fact that the right side was closed for renovations. I headed left into the “Time Exposure” exhibit by the Haudenosaunee Discovery Room. When entering the exhibit it can seem a bit disoriented, but you just have...
Baxandall, Michael. "Exhibiting intention: Some preconditions of the visual display of culturally purposeful objects." Exhibiting cultures: The poetics and politics of museum display (1991): 33-41.
The blind man and his drawing of the Cathedral are able to defy his previous conceptions of life and thus open a vast array of new possibilities. We are left wondering how much more the narrator learned about himself and about human communication than the blind man has learnt about cathedrals. Bibliography:.. Carver, Raymond. A.
...an picking the artifacts. Although I did learn about William Morris and his designs in my history classes I learnt about the concept behind his design decisions and in depth analysis of Morris’s evolution as a designer only when I started working on this exhibit. It is imperative that you do research before arriving on any decision in regard to putting up any exhibit. Furthermore after analyzing the different options, it is imperative that you have facts to back up your decisions of the artifacts chosen. Every artifact that you pick for your case should have direct relation to your concept and it should be consistent among all artifacts. Overall a lot of thought should be put into the exhibit and the concept must reflect the ideas distinctly.
Braille Institute: Empowering visually impaired people to live fulfilling lives. Braille Institute. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010
In Stephen Weil’s essay, he argues “the museum’s role has transformed from one of mastery to one of service” (Weil, 196). According to him, museums have changed their mission from one that cultures the public to one that serves
As we reach the museum, the exterior was very beautiful. The first things I saw were the bronze statues in the front. We took a couple of pictures in front of them and in front of the Norton Simon. The entrance where the glass doors had sat was very unique and elegant. The glass walls that the glass doors were attached to, added to the elegance and beauty. When I had first walked in, I was very shy, timid, and unwilling to go on, this was due to the more mature audience that I had seen when I had first entered the museum. I was still unsure on how to act in a museum, being this my first time, so I was very calm, cool and reserved, but as time went on I saw college students my age probably doing the same thing I was doing. So I then I felt more at ease. Plus my girlfriend was with me so I was not alone.
In the beginning of the story “Cathedral”, the narrator is unhappy that Robert will be coming to visit him and his wife because he discriminates those who are blind. Before Robert comes over, the narrator admits that Robert “being blind bothered him” and that his “idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the ...
In literature, blindness serves a general significant meaning of the absence of knowledge and insight. In life, physical blindness usually represents an inability or handicap, and those people afflicted with it are pitied. The act of being blind can set limitations on the human mind, thus causing their perception of reality to dramatically change in ways that can cause fear, personal insecurities, and eternal isolation. However, “Cathedral” utilizes blindness as an opportunity to expand outside those limits and exceed boundaries that can produce a compelling, internal change within an individual’s life. Those who have the ability of sight are able to examine and interpret their surroundings differently than those who are physically unable to see. Carver suggests an idea that sight and blindness offer two different perceptions of reality that can challenge and ultimately teach an individual to appreciate the powerful significance of truly seeing without seeing. Therefore, Raymond Carver passionately emphasizes a message that introduces blindness as not a setback, but a valuable gift that can offer a lesson of appreciation and acceptance toward viewing the world in a more open-minded perspective.
In more modern museums the displays are not only insect and animal from far away. They have a much wider range of items on display and many come from people who have something they think the museum would like. Not all of the displays are from far away; many are from people very near to the museum. The displays are more interactive and are not all behind glass. Some of the displays are regularly updated and they are more interactive.
"Helen Keller Kids Museum." American Foundation for the Blind - Home Page. American Foundation for the Blind, 2010. Web. 06 May 2011. .
H. G. Wells uses ethnocentrism as a strong device in the short story ‘The Country of the Blind’ to generate the central conflict and to convey the theme: the perils of that deadly combination of stubbornness and blindness. The people of the country of the blind have been isolated from the outside world for fifteen generations, making it hard for them to easily accept the truth and facts about the real world. An accidental fall while climbing a mountain leaves Nunez stuck in a valley, which turns out to be the country of the blind. Nunez, the seeing protagonist, after discovering the citizens are ‘blind’, expects this to be an adventure and eventually came up with an idea to be the king, since he can ‘see’. The idea of ruling the country of the blind evokes the ethnocentrism within Nunez and the blind people. Both, Nunez and the blind people refuse to accept new beliefs and values at first. But as compilations built up, Nunez accepts the way of life and traditions but not the beliefs.
When first arriving at the museum it was an old styled, rustic, building that was not very modern, which I think fits into the theme of the museum. The outside of the building had history, similar to how the inside of museum is filled with a history. There was also an impressive statue of former president Theodore Roosevelt. I thought it was an interesting display, but Theodore Roosevelt was an advocate for the preservation of national parks and the conservation of animals, moreover, I thought it was a great tribute to him. I think the outside of the museum shows how rich the history of the world is and there is so much to learn. The past has been polished for the people of the present to understand and admire. Overall, I felt every exhibit was easy to understand and not intimidating; subsequently, it was easy for children and adults to look at.