I chose the Chi Mei Museum (Taiwan) in particular because my aunt took me here over the summer, and it struck a really odd chord with me (literally and figuratively as I will mention later). Chi Mei Museum is a privately held museum in Taiwan by one of the wealthiest Taiwanese CEO’s and run by the Chi Mei Museum Foundation and holds some of the largest private collection of western armory, instruments, and exotic taxonomy.
The museum building itself is an incredible work of art as it models after European palaces and water fountains. When I first saw this in the middle of nowhere next to the highway in Taiwan, I felt very confused… But it just showed me that 1) some people have too much money 2) Taiwanese people have a huge love for western culture and art.
Anyway, the museum itself has 4 main categories: Arms & Armor, Natural History & Fossils, Rodin Gallery, Fine Art, and Musical Instruments. Within Arms & Armor, it was further divided into subcategories of different countries (mostly Europe as well as Japan) and periods in history. In the Natural History & Fossils, it begins with fossils then as the visitor moves around the fossils, they can see the taxonomy of African, Australian, North American, and more animals. Interestingly, the Rodin Gallery is organized by the people influential on Rodin, Rodin himself, and Rodin’s pupils. Fine Art is organized by style and time period of the artwork. Musical Instruments is divided into violins, piano, records, and the symphony. The music played in this latter subsection literally struck a chord with me since I used to play the violin in the UCLA symphony, and I found it really interesting how the exhibit was organized so visitors could feel like they were in a symphony.
Considering the museum’s mission is to educate the public, I think the layout and how the material was present accomplishes this by telling you the story of each section from a fundamental level (i.e. how a violin is made) to a more significant development (i.e. showcasing some of the best Stradivarius violins in the world). This museum is clearly targeted for general audiences with no special expertise in these categories as it does a really thorough job of telling the story with little room for the visitor to think critically of the material presented.
This is where I would change the organization of the museum to allow space for visitors to make sense of the material presented for themselves. I would insert spaces where visitors wouldn’t see any exhibits, but instead would be able to leave feedback/thoughts on what they just saw and have an exhibit that would allow visitors interact with source material just so they can arrive at the history on their own with no filter to help develop critical thinking.
I’m aware this is quite a bit to ask of the average museum-goer, but I think this would make the museum more interesting, and help visitors feel like they left the museum with more than just feeling in awe of western culture. Granted, this museum’s intentions are to educate people on western art and thought, but indirectly, through the omission of native Taiwanese/other Asian cultures, the Chi Mei Museum also seem to elevate western culture and almost belittle most of the visitors’ own Asian culture.
Love your ideas for incorporating visitor feedback and for contextualizing culture!
I really like how this museum has a music category! Since the museum is owned by one of Taiwan’s wealthiest CEOs, does this mean that the museum is biased towards what he/she enjoys and wants to showcase? The categories, while incredibly interesting, also seem somewhat random, especially seeing how you can jump from fossils to fine art. I also find it interesting how there is an entire gallery dedicated to Rodin and his pupils, chosen out of all the great artists in the world (not that The Thinker and his other pieces aren’t equally great).