We went to Mexico City for Christmas and visited lots of museums--a lot! This is just a quick post about the National Museum of Anthropology. The collections here are tremendous--I learned a great deal about cultures I knew little about. Objects were beautifully displayed, labels were useful, and I loved the way the museum used both indoor and outdoor space.
But there was one place where a label wasn't needed--the objects themselves made an impact on me. You can see it at the top of the post. After going through all of the exhibition galleries on the ground floor with the evidence of sophisticated cultures, this two objects are displayed side-by-side: a simple wooden cross, evidence of European colonialism and a stone statue with the features destroyed, a visible symbol of the Spaniards' efforts to destroy existing cultures.
It was a great juxtaposition and one I'll long remember. #MuseumsAreNotNeutral.
And, just because, some other images from the museum below.
