Night at the Museum

In celebration of national museum day, all cultural venues in Singapore offered special activities, extended hours, and free admission. What better way to peak into the culture Singapore calls its own than by seeing it on display. But the insight I gained after visiting 4 local museums did not come from looking at artifacts and learning about historical events; it came from the museum experience itself...the people who visited, the artifacts chosen for display, and how both were the same or different than what I expected.

While visiting the Asian Civilizations Museum, I learned just how the concept of time vs. money plays out. Upon arrival, a long line wound around the museum building toward its entrance. I immediately began to observe the actual length of the line, how fast it was moving, and if it was worth the wait for entrance. As observation turned to an estimate of 45 minutes, I noticed the line did not enter the building. It was the line for free ice cream, an incentive to attract more visitors to the museum exhibitions.

Now a 45-minute wait for free ice cream may approach the limits of my patience but it does not necessarily exceed it. I myself have been caught in the free incentive game putting forth a bit more effort than the incentive was actually worth. But in this case, the line waiters had already stood in another line for the Kangxi exhibit which, upon entrance, they were then given the tickets for the ice cream. In addition, the free ice cream was the same type sold about 50 feet away for 66 cents. Obviously the time vs. money concept places more emphasis on the latter than the former.

Not wanting to fight the crowds for ice cream or the Kangxi exhibit, I opted for the less crowded Chinese Quiz game. The game itself ran much like any other...PowerPoint questions, multiple choice answers, and the first to raise their hand tried their luck with a guess. But what I didn't expect was how the game began. While many a moderator might provide an anecdote or joke as introduction, in Singapore it seems karoke is also a viable introductory ritual. Prior to the quiz game start (and during a short intermission), three amateurs provided entertaining singing performances for audience members.

Another surprise while visiting the Peranakan Museum (a museum highlighting the people and cultures of multi-ethnic origins i n Singapore) were the warning signs regarding death. The galleries highlighting Peranakan funeral rites displayed conspicuous signs for parents warning of the subject matter. Perhaps it was just a courtesy or perhaps it had deeper implications of superstition surrounding death. In any case, the sign itself made me more nervous than the actual exhibit!

The art museum showed a similar trend warning parents of nudity on display in particular galleries. While nudity seems common place in European and American art institutions, it's relatively uncommon in traditional Asian art and may not be expected by museum goers in Singapore. This makes sense considering Chinese art didn't shed its a-dimensional aspect until well into the last dynasty. (Flat renditions of naked people probably would defeat the purpose of painting a nude anyway.) But again, whether it was a courtesy, a reflection of a cultural expectation, or both, the sign itself made me feel a bit more naughty than actually viewing the nudes.

As I learned from my museum day visits, museums themselves and their visitors do not exist in a vacuum. They too represent in time and space what a culture is. And sometimes it proves more entertaining than the highlighted historical events and artifacts on display.