Thoughts on the Magic Garden and Philadelphia Museum tour

Excursion Journals

The class excursion to the Fabric Workshop and Museum was not at all what I was expecting it to be. Beforehand, when we had only discussed visiting the museum, I had been picturing it completely differently than how it was actually laid out. I assumed that it would just be articles of clothing in glass cases, or something of the like, but there was far more that the museum offered. Of course, there were the glass cases that held bits of fabric and other materials, but their cases were used to display what was used in order to make the exhibits hanging up; and there were far more items than just clothing outfits. Pillows, books, blankets, artwork, posters, letters, and many more items were shown in the fabric museum.

Everything was displayed in a way to show it off best, whether it be an object you need to circle around, or just a poster hanging on the wall to read; there was even a video playing on one floor that showed a design of fabric probably too long to fully show off in the museum itself. Each piece was inventive, and that fact was clearly shown through the cases that held the materials and process behind the artists' work. I think this museum stood out because of that addition; most art museums can't always show what the artists was thinking and the struggles they may have encountered when making a piece, so it was something very original to get to see this thought process.

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As for my second excursion, I ventured out to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This place was very similar, and yet also very different from the Fabric Workshop and Museum. The obvious similarities were that both museums were showcasing important art for the public to easily view and learn to understand; and the obvious differences were that each museum displayed a different form of art - paintings/sculptures vs. cloth and clothing - and they showed off these various art forms in different ways.

Whereas the Fabric Workshop and Museum placed the desired object of interest on a wall, on the floor, on a shelf, etc. and then added a case filled with the materials and process used to create said piece, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, there was hardly anyway for the museum to be able to display what process the artist went through. The artworks in the Philadelphia Museum of Art were far older than those in the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and therefore, it would naturally be almost impossible for the curators to find something such as sketches that the artist of a painting drew out before creating the final masterpiece.

The art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art consisted of mainly paintings, as expected, and though they did not show anything behind the creation of the paintings, the layout was effective to the viewer nonetheless. Showcased in the museum were pieces of art created from dozens of different styles and media across many, many centuries. In the case of the fabric museum, the end result was not necessarily meant to be the most effective piece, but stand equally beside the journey; in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the works of art shown were the most impressive and captivating pieces, because there was nothing else that would draw your attention away from them.

My final excursion was to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens. This museum was extremely unlike the previous two I had visited. I had only heard stories from my friends before visiting the museum, but their descriptions could not even match what I had seen for myself. The museum itself was a monumental outdoor sculpture created by one Isaiah Zagar. He created the Magic Gardens through antique items and shattered glass and mirrors in order to build up a structure with mosaics covering every single inch any viewer could see.

This museum is comprised of two things: the art and the building that describes the art. The former part is the actual structure of the Magic Gardens which every guest has the pleasure of walking through to experience it in its entirety, the way it was meant to be seen. However, the latter of the two buildings is far more underrated by the public, but nearly just as interesting. When I went, I saw that most of the guests walked straight through the "regular" looking building in order to see more of the strange and obtuse looking creation from Zagar.

But, I took my time with everything I saw, including this regular and boring building. Once I actually looked into the building, I saw that it was not only the expected gift shop, but rather, a building that contained facts about Isaiah Zagar's life and other, less well-known works by him such as his paintings. It may not have been as interesting to view as the section made out of busted up odds and ends and things found in the garbage, however, without this other section, the Magic Gardens would not be able to be a museum, but instead just another sculpture for people to look at and wonder the story behind.

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