Strange and unusual, reads the definition of bizarre. The description perfectly fits our everyday existence. Our mornings are assaulted by the absurdities of our politics and society, that pounce upon us disguised as news headlines. No wonder we need that strong cup of coffee/tea as we read, to heal from the attack. The tight rope walking we practise daily while wading through ridiculous traffic patterns and unbelievable road conditions, the weird debates over non-existent issues that we bear witness to — life within and around
is certainly filled with eccentricities. Stranger still is the fact that, unlike the Corona virus that continues to prey on our susceptibility, we have developed immunity to the aberrance that surrounds us.
The ingenious few amongst us, realising the potential of packaging and presenting bizarreness, have gone forth to build museums for this very purpose. Read on if you care to know how peculiar some art museums can be…
The Museum of Bad Art in the USA, true to it’s name, houses absolutely bad art. Mediocrity may be what we confront and rub shoulders with everyday. From the ugly posters on our street walls making irrelevant announcements to the hideous structures masquerading as commercial spaces, we’ve succumbed to making them all a part of our days. Yet, a museum that displays this mediocrity in the form of the worst of art, remarkably still draws innumerable curious onlookers.
The Cancun Underwater Museum of Art, on the other hand, claims a noble reason to be, which is, to protect reef formations. The idea is simple. All the art is on the ocean floor. The museum has approximately 500 sculptures submerged deep in the sea. Scuba diving, snorkelling or hopping onto a glass bottom boat are ways to get there. This, in turn, redirects divers who otherwise would have explored and damaged nearby coral reefs. What a brilliant master plan to save Planet Earth from the Tourist Army!
For those who fancy testing the limits of their visual capacities, there are two art museums of interest — the Museum of Neon Art in California and the Electric Ladyland Museum in Amsterdam. While the first is devoted to art that uses neon lighting and includes historic neon signs in its collection, the Electric Ladyland presents Fluorescent Art, with rooms filled with glowing objects. It is advisable indeed, to ensure your appointment with the ophthalmologist, before you undertake this daring journey.
The American Visionary Art Museum nevertheless, tries to make sense of it all, by featuring creations by people who are never seen even remotely orbiting in the sphere of art, like farmers, prisoners, mathematicians and so on. An architectural oddity with round walls and corridors, the building exhibits art made using unusual mediums like sauce and toothpicks and attempts to change one’s perception of a museum.
Art thus, often sends out the message of inclusivity to the universe, if only humanity would listen carefully. It is time to open our minds to abnormality and celebrate it. For what is normal anyway?
Jitha Karthikeyan
jithakarthikeyan2@gmail.com
(Jitha Karthikeyan is an artist and curator, passionate about making art accessible to the larger public)