firstiteration's review
4.0
It's hard not to be impressed by this book. I was lucky enough to find a copy at a library, and when I saw it, I was a little shocked. The book is held by a box, made to look like plywood, and is large. It's a perfect container.
The book is divided up into sections, beginning with what is still my favourite: a conversation between Mark Dion and Lawrence Weschler. That conversation is the most philosophical part of the book, as a lot of the rest focused on more tangible elements of museums, and in particular the buildings and collections that are part of specific museums in California.
I'm not from California and know very little about it, so some of the book was lost on me. Nonetheless, it was interesting and the California-specific details can easily be understood in the context of the whole subject of museums, history, and colonialism. I actually wished some of the later sections were a bit more clear on the role of colonialism on early American museums. I didn't know much about expeditions like Snow's, and find it kind of horrifying to read about. In that way, this book didn't go far enough, though I also appreciate that it wants to pose a lot of information to its viewer and allow them to generate their own ideas.
Overall, this is a very beautiful and interesting book. For me, it didn't go quite far enough with ideas in the second half of its written content, but it's still very worth a read. I hadn't encountered Mark Dion's work or writing prior to this, but I'm hoping I'll be able to see/read some more.
The book is divided up into sections, beginning with what is still my favourite: a conversation between Mark Dion and Lawrence Weschler. That conversation is the most philosophical part of the book, as a lot of the rest focused on more tangible elements of museums, and in particular the buildings and collections that are part of specific museums in California.
I'm not from California and know very little about it, so some of the book was lost on me. Nonetheless, it was interesting and the California-specific details can easily be understood in the context of the whole subject of museums, history, and colonialism. I actually wished some of the later sections were a bit more clear on the role of colonialism on early American museums. I didn't know much about expeditions like Snow's, and find it kind of horrifying to read about. In that way, this book didn't go far enough, though I also appreciate that it wants to pose a lot of information to its viewer and allow them to generate their own ideas.
Overall, this is a very beautiful and interesting book. For me, it didn't go quite far enough with ideas in the second half of its written content, but it's still very worth a read. I hadn't encountered Mark Dion's work or writing prior to this, but I'm hoping I'll be able to see/read some more.
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