If the City of Architecture and Patrimony is an example of a museum taking a somewhat boring subject matter and turning it into a fascinating visit, the National Museum of the Sea, just across the street, is an example of the opposite. Man’s relations with the sea are pretty freaking fantastic – pirates, warfare, exploration, colonialism, ocean liners, storms, and whales, all with a hornpipe soundtrack! But this museum turns all this into displays that make you want to gouge out your own eyes. Have any questions about the social context of the displayed objects? You’ll leave without any answers. Are you slightly confused about just what it is that we are fighting for in any of the innumerable paintings of sea battle scenes? Hang your uneducated head in shame! If you’re lucky, the label will tell you the name of the battle, but that’s it. Would you like to know the name of this type of sample rope? or the model number of this cutlass? or the exact number of trips Napoleon set foot in this boat? Then you’re in luck. Yep – another Rain Man museum, with endless discussion of trivial details instead of answering interesting questions. Sigh.
Bourbon-Ginger Pecan Pie
6 months ago
