Comment by in_a_hole
12 hours ago
I would like to signal boost The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles.
I've never been anywhere quite like it. My friend once described it as "an art piece that uses museum curation as its medium" and that's the best description I've come across. To get an idea of what that means, understand that it's fully laid out as a museum with exhibits featuring various objects and artifacts and expositions thereof but these exhibits wildly vary between truth and fantasy. Some are showcases of real, if niche, cultural practices and some are histories of entirely fictional figures that are nevertheless compelling and beautiful.
The creator was awarded a McArthur grant in 2001 and I feel it was more than deserved.
Another strong recommendation for this unique place. I visited soon after its 1988 opening. The museum was so off the grid and unknown that early visitors like me received personal guided tours of unlimited duration from its founder/creator, David Hildebrand Wilson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Jurassic_Technology
I am green with envy, that sounds amazing.
Do you remember any exhibits from that time that aren't in place today?
It was wonderful. Scintillating. Alas, that was in the late 1980s and I haven't been back, though from the photo in Wikipedia its kind of derelict/dumpy entrance looks like it hasn't changed at all.
If you read "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology," Lawrence Weschler's superb 1995 book about the museum with extended interviews with Wilson, you will find it hard not to want to visit.
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Wilsons-Cabinet-Wonder-Technology/...
The book "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder" about the museum is a good read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Wilson%27s_Cabinet_of_Wond... Recommend reading it after visiting, don't want to spoil the first journey into the Jurassic.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/museum-of-jura... We almost lost it, a fire nearly destroyed it.
I once explained to a friend as "imagine Umberto Eco made a museum when he was drunk, and he was a mean drunk."