Hidden Connections

Greetings, faithful blog readers! Ashley the School Programs intern here. I’ve had the pleasure of working in the education department at the Rubin Museum of Art since January of this year. As a current graduate student in the Museum Education program at Bank Street College, I have relished my time spent learning and working here at the Rubin.

Most of my memorable museum and gallery experiences are those in which I have been able to personally connect with the exhibit and the artwork in some way. Such a connection does not have to be direct or even immediately obvious – it may be as simple as being drawn to a particular color palette in a painting, or perhaps being reminded of another experience in a different museum. As educators, we work to facilitate the opportunity for personal connection between the art at the Rubin and our students.

I recently had a powerful and unexpected “connection moment” while in the galleries at the Rubin. During our recent School Tour Training series, I was participating in a discussion in the Tibetan shrine room. The room is a place I feel drawn to and continue to visit every chance I get.

The Tibetan Shrine Room from the Alice Kandell Collection

On this particular day, as I looked from one object to another in the dim, almost crowed display, I was struck by an intense feeling of familiarity. My father’s house looks just like this. In all the times I had visited this room, how had I not made this connection?
My dad is a collector in every sense of the word, but his true passion lies with antiques and artisan objects from Asia. His home is filled to the brim with curiosities, statuary and musical instruments. His collection is dense, and overwhelming in variety. Nestled into his dozens of bookshelves and crowded onto his tabletops are various incarnations of Buddha, detailed shrines and altars, replicas of Tang Dynasty horses and elaborate vases and vessels. Whereas the Shrine Room at the Rubin has offering bowls filled with rice, multiple bowls perched on various shelves in my father’s house are filled with offerings of a different sort – marbles, seashells, pennies.

Collection at Home

The photo does not do justice to the expanse of my father’s collection, but – like the Tibetan Shrine Room – there is always something interesting to see, no matter where you look. Like the Shrine room, everything in my father’s collection has its own history and a unique story. That is part of my unending fascination with both locations.

When students are investigating artwork, I feel a deep sense of satisfaction when they share with me a discovery or a personal connection. On this day, it was nice to be reminded that we, as educators, continue to make important discoveries about ourselves and about the art we share with others.

What are some memorable personal connections you’ve discovered while looking at art?