Saturday, December 31, 2005

Is it art?

When people find out that there is a museum in my driveway, they often want to know what it is about. I like to have a supply of business cards with me so I can hand them one and say "It's hard to explain - just go to the Web site". This blog is an attempt to do some explaining and comments are welcome.

The museum started out as a collection of objects that seemed interesting in themselves but were even more interesting when combined together, either in little scenes or as new objects. The scenes became dioramas and the objects gathered into collections and exhibits; eventually the museum came into existence. As art, it would be considered "assemblage art", but the museum is not really part of the art world - I feel more kinship with "outsider" artists who are simply creating without regard for art world status or making a living at it.

A peek behind the scenes



The Zymoglyphic Museum is an attempt to tie together many themes and variations into a coherent whole. It is part curiosity cabinet, part shrine, part alter ego, and part alchemist's laboratory. Its fields of study encompass art (high and low brow), science, and spirituality. The museum's curator has graciously (if somewhat reluctantly) agreed to pull aside the veil of mystery surrounding the museum and provide regular reports on various aspects of the museum's history and current projects. We hope to get him to reveal some secrets of how the museum's exhibits are made and maybe even what they mean. The accompanying photograph shows the museum's exhibit development area.

-- The Museum Staff