Before Te Papa was Te Papa it was an idea that went something like this. New Zealand could be explained through stories and those stories could be told by mixing and matching items from all areas of the collection. To try and explain this radical concept, the then Chair of the future museum’s Project Development Board, ex-Prime Minister Wallace Rowling, said that in the new museum, “you might see a moa next to a McCahon.” While that particular combo didn’t happen they did go with a refrigerator next to a McCahon.
Although the idea of mixing museum items with art items has been diluted over the years if you want to get a feel for what might have been, check out Te Papa’s collection page and the Random me link. It brings up a set of random objects from across the collection and while it can be bland, persevere. In just a couple of outings it will throw up some surprising and thought provoking juxtapositions.
Images: Sets of image pairs from Random me. Click on image to enlarge and see credits
