Etnolog 16 (2006) MED ZA^ETKOM IN NADALJEVANJEM Prvi del stalne razstave Slovenskega etnografskega muzeja Tatjana Dol`an Er`en 227 SEM je na{a vez med preteklim in sedanjim, med tradicijsko in sodobno kulturo, med svojo in tujimi kulturami, je prostor, kjer se sre~ujemo z dedi{~ino, jo do`ivljamo, razmi{ljamo ob njej, jo u`ivamo in se vedno znova u~imo spoznavati sebe in druge, so`itja z druga~nostjo, se ~udimo modrostim `ivljenja v sobivanju z naravo. SEM je na{a zakladnica. Nekako tako je zapisano v publikaciji SEM med stvarnostjo in vizijo, ki je iz{la leta 2001 in zdi se prava stvar. V letu 2006 lahko z olaj{anjem re~emo: Hvala Bogu, da SEM kon~no lahko za~ne izpolnjevati svoje poslanstvo tudi s pomo~jo stalne postavitve, ne le najrazli~nej{ih prireditev. Od na~rtovanega je `e uresni~en Etno-Abeceda` in pa Enciklopedija stvari z dvema Naj predmetoma ~upo in ~anco, vendar se je koncept v teh petih letih deloma spremenil, saj se ta imena razen Etno-Abeceda`a ne pojavljajo ve~. Novi naslov Med naravo in kulturo je na prvi pogled slab{i kot Enciklopedija stvari, ker je nekako nedolo~en, postavljen v vmesni – asociira na prazen – prostor. Naj stvari, ki bi lahko pritegnili pozornost obiskovalcev, sta zdaj sestavna dela slovenske oziroma zunajevropske postavitve. Prvo in drugo nadstropje zapolnjujejo zelo zanimive ob~asne razstave. Poro~ilo z obiska V SEM sem povabila prijatelje iz Kanade. Ker smo imeli otro{ki vozi~ek, smo se v tretje nadstropje povzpeli z dvigalom. ^eprav nam je receptor v angle{~ini jasno razlo`il, kaj si lahko ogledamo, in ~eprav sem bila `e velikokrat v stavbi, le da mi je ljub{i dostop po stopnicah, smo bili zmedeni – naj od dvigala krenemo na levo ali na desno? Usmerjevalne plakate in bele napise na steklu smo opazili {ele, ko smo raziskali obe smeri. Koti~ka s ~anco in kitajskimi `enskimi ~evelj~ki sta nam bila premalo vabljivo ozna~ena, da bi nas potegnilo notri, potrebno je bilo (moje) glasno vabilo. [ele potem smo za~eli brati besedilo. A z nami sta bili mali deklici in morali smo pohiteti, preden bi se naveli~ali. Ko smo pri{li na konec razstave Med naravo in kulturo in na za~etek Etno- Abeceda`a, je na{o triletnico in njeno mamo kar potegnilo vanj. ^eprav je besedilo zgolj v sloven{~ini, je bilo zabavno odpirati predale in kukati v vitrine, pri ra~unalni{ki demonstraciji zvokov ljudskih glasbil pa nismo dojeli, kako jo uporabljati. Na sredi pri Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 227 11/26/06 11:12:41 PM Tatjana Dol`an Er`en dru`abnih igrah je tudi enoletnica zahtevala sestop z vozi~ka, da se je lahko poigrala z vtikanjem lesenih figur v luknjice table z igro ^lovek ne jezi se. Napisov v angle{~ini nismo pogre{ali. Zadovoljni smo se napotili med vitrine s predmeti ljudske umetnosti; ob~udovali smo izdelke iz razli~nih materialov – celo iz skute! Preostali del razstave smo hitro pre{li, ker ve~inoma manjka angle{ki prevod, ustavili pa smo se pri talnih oknih, kjer smo raziskovali razli~ne naravne snovi. Pri no{ah sem jih navdu{ila z izvle~nimi predali s predstavitvami krasilnih tehnik. Zanimiv je bil nakit in zbirka pokrival. Kot potomci priseljencev v Novi svet so z zanimanjem ogledovali stare potne liste. Ob ~upi se je prijatelj za~udil: Kako pa to more pluti po morju, a ni nestabilno? [ele ko sem mu pokazala fotografi jo ~upe na morju, je razumel. Ogled smo kon~ali na za~etku razstave, pa nas ni motilo. Za 228 multivizijo deklici nista dali ~asa. Prepoznali smo {e ribni{ke konji~ke – pi{~alke, ki so jih dobili lani za darilo, in se napotili nadstropje ni`je kar pe{ z vozi~kom v rokah. Poslikane skrinje so bile silno zanimive, mali dve sta tekali naokrog in kar naprej smo jima morali kaj pojasnjevati, med seboj smo primerjali pohi{tvo s tega in onega konca sveta. Skozi razstavo izdelkov doma~e obrti smo {e vzdr`ali pozornost, ~eprav zelo selektivno. Po uri in petin{tiridesetih minutah ogledovanja smo se z u`itkom usedli pod platane muzejske restavracije. Tu smo se malce nasmejali natakarici, ki je zagotovila, da bodo kra{ki sendvi~i, ponujeni v ceniku na vsaki mizi, na voljo »jutri«, danes pa imajo le navadne toaste s {unko. Ko pa je prinesla igra~e za otroke, smo bili zelo zadovoljni. Ugotovili smo, da smo videli veliko zanimivega, da pa so legende pomanjkljive in je splo{ni vtis nekako neurejen. Na zunajevropski razstavi so bolj{e. Pojasniti sem morala tudi, da je ta muzej samo eden od petih velikih v Ljubljani, da arheolo{ke predmete lahko vidijo v Narodnem muzeju, slike pa v Narodni in Moderni galeriji. Prednosti, prilo`nosti, pomanjkljivosti in slabosti sedanje stalne postavitve SEM Prednosti Zamisel, da »stalno postavitev sestavlja ve~ celot, ki so vsaka razstava zase in ki jih je mogo~e obiskati lo~eno ali pa si jih ogledati po zami{ljenem zaporedju«, pa~ v skladu s t. i. »ATP stilom« po G. H. Rivieru (Smerdel 1996: 34, 33), je prednost, ker obiskovalcem nudi mo`nost izbire. Obenem pa je dinamika komunikacije med obiskovalci in razstavo ve~ja kot na eni sami obse`ni razstavi, kjer je veliko mo`nosti, da si panoji in vitrine sledijo slabo pregledno in strukturirano kot jara ka~a. Poleg tega je muzej posve~en prostor, kjer i{~emo umiritev in sprostitev, to pa la`je dose`emo z manj{imi zaklju~enimi razstavnimi enotami, kjer se ni potrebno naprezati, da dojamemo sporo~ilo. Velika prednost je bogata in obse`na zbirka SEM; zastavljeni koncept jo sku{a kar najbolje izkoristiti z razstavljanjem mno`ice muzealij. Predmeti nas vodijo k ljudem, ki so `iveli pred nami, zato ima razstava Med naravo in kulturo posebno mikavnost in dra`. Lepo so zdru`eni v smiselne celote, ki gledalcu omogo~ajo raziskovanje in u~enje. Video gradivo dopolnjuje razstavljeno in opozarja na uporabo in izdelavo, ~esar pa~ v vitrinah ni mogo~e prikazati. Zelo dobro zastavljeno! Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 228 11/26/06 11:12:41 PM Med za~etkom in nadaljevanjem Precej{njo prednost nove stalne postavitve vidim tudi v izbranem na~elu razstavljanja »predmet v funkciji«, ki postavlja istovrstne predmete skupaj – lovni pripomo~ki skupaj, poljedelsko orodje, obrtni izdelki in orodje, pokrivala, nakit, krasilne tehike itd. To omogo~a razmi{ljanje o razmerju med obliko in namembnostjo nekdaj in danes. Prav zato so pri no{i dodani predmeti s konca 20. stoletja. Ti imajo zelo zanimivo vlogo: obiskovalca pritegnejo, ker med mno`ico starih takoj zazna novej{i predmet, prepozna njegovo funkcijo in potem tudi druge pove`e z enako namembnostjo. Lahko bi rekli, da vzbujajo pozornost in pomagajo povezati obiskovalca z razstavljenim gradivom prek izku{nje, ki jo ima s tem znanim predmetom. V izbranem na~inu razstavljanja je to lepa, nevsiljiva interpretacija muzealij. Zanimiva so tudi talna okna. Z razstavljenim gradivom vzbujajo radovednost, spodbujajo raziskovalnega duha in so igriva sre~anja z naravo za otroke vseh starosti. 229 Tudi multivizija je za tistega, ki si vzame ~as zanjo, zelo prijetna in bogata izku{nja. Tehnika igra neprecenljivo vlogo pri predstavitvi nematerialne kulturne dedi{~ine slovenskega etni~nega ozemlja. Ob koncu sem bila kar ponosna, da `ivim v Sloveniji. Kot ~udovita prednost razstave se izkazuje tudi Etno-Abeceda`. To je res koti~ek za odkrivanje, raziskovanje in igro, kot ga SEM ogla{uje; odklopi te od vsakdana, potegne te vase, v svoj svet. Bravo! Prilo`nosti Verjeti moramo, da je vsak kustos izbral najbolj{e iz zbirke, za katero skrbi. Pri~akovala sem ve~ gradiva, zlasti tak{nega, ki ga jaz iz svoje zbirke prepoznavam za zna~ilno gorenjskega, morda z mano delijo iste ob~utke tudi kolegi iz drugih delov Slovenije. Prvi vtis je torej – a samo to? Le kaj sem pri~akovala? Galeeeriiiije predmetov iz depojev, tako smo si predstavljali po napovedih, pa tudi razstavni prostor se je zdel velik. So ga oblikovalci pomanj{ali? Res je, da polovico eta`e zavzamejo zunajevropske zbirke in Etno-Abeceda`. Oboje pa je za uresni~itev poslanstva muzeja prav tako nujno kot predstavitev slovenskih zbirk. Ob lastnih prenapolnjenih depojih si v~asih zastavim vpra{anje, koliko kvadratnih metrov bi potrebovala, da bi bila ve~ina muzealij dostopna ljudem in ne zaprta, zaplenjena. Ampak recimo, da je to dobra prilo`nost in vzpodbuda za prepotrebne pogovore o zbirkah, ki jih hranimo. Predmetu je potrebno dodati mno`ico informacij, ki jih strokovnjaki znamo prebrati iz njega. Urediti mu je potrebno okolje, v katerem lahko pripoveduje svojo zgodbo. To je najbolj{e organizirano pri predstavitvi no{e, kjer napisi na vitrinah izzivajo razmi{ljanje o pomenu obla~enja, na mizici in stolu so zvezki, v katerih so predstavljeni vsi razstavljeni predmeti in posamezne zgodbe o obla~ilnih videzih in sestavinah no{e, na policah pa so posamezni listi s temi zgodbami, ki jih obiskovalci lahko odnesejo. Tudi predmeti so izbrani zelo premi{ljeno, da nas ponesejo na krilih domi{ljije Potrebnega in nepotrebnega. Prilo`nost za dodajanje informacij na tak ali {e kak{en drug na~in izziva tudi avtorje drugih delov postavitve. Dobra prilo`nost za obiskovalca so tudi zasloni z video kola`i, ki so zanimivo posneti in zmontirani kot okna v `ivljenje razstavljenih predmetov. Pred njimi bodo obstali vsi tisti, ki jih tematika podrobneje zanima, zato je potrebno ~im prej dodati Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 229 11/26/06 11:12:42 PM Tatjana Dol`an Er`en napise, da bodo obiskovalci seznanjeni, kaj se na posameznem zaslonu predvaja, in bodo lahko izbrali po svojem okusu. Zdaj jih je v mno`ici informacij, ki jih stalna postavitev ponuja, vse prelahko preprosto prezreti. Pomanjkljivosti Najve~ja pomanjkljivost razstave so nedokon~ane legende, pogre{am imena slovenskih krajev, ~asovne in razvojne zamejitve. Manjka precej angle{kih prevodov, vsebine video kola`ev in pojasnila k razstavljenim predmetom (razen pri no{i). Zgodba vsake muzealije – ~eprav samo v nekaj besedah, ki povedo ime, kraj, ~as, je izredno dragocena, kajti prednost postavitve SEM so prav {tevilne in zanimive zbirke; te nas privla~ijo, o njih bi radi izvedeli ~im ve~. Zgodba muzealij te~e pod zgodbo razstave, 230Ejo pojasnjuje, bogati, poglablja, ker jo konkretizira v ~asu in kraju. Obiskovalci jo do`ivljamo tudi brez legend, a bolj megleno in domi{ljijsko. Pri taki koli~ini predmetov je dodajanje legend seveda te`avna naloga, pa {e estetsko se nam velikokrat ne izide, a ne smemo obupati. Pomanjkljivosti pove~ujejo slabo dojemanje zgodbe in sporo~ila, a jih je mogo~e odpraviti z nekaj truda in stro{kov. Besedila na razstavi Med naravo in kulturo so mestoma preve~ akademska, potrebno se je zelo zbrati, da jih dojamemo, zato jih obiskovalci ve~inoma ne beremo. Modro bi jih bilo preizkusiti na osnovno{olcih, ali jih razumejo, potem jih bomo brez napora tudi drugi. Muzej naj bi bil kraj sprostitve, kjer razum deluje v slu`bi ~ustev, domi{ljije, radovednosti, igre. Grafika ni zadosti opazna. Za angle{ki prevod so marsikje, na primer pri panoju Dru`bene skupine, izbrane ob~utno premajhne ~rke. Morda bi tudi pri slovenski zbirki veljalo uvesti enostav~ne misli, reke, pregovore, ki jih obiskovalec hitro prebere, tako kot so jih izpostavili na zunajevropski postavitvi. Slabosti Zgornje poro~ilo o obisku s kanadskimi prijatelji sem napisala zato, da prika`em, kako stalna postavitev deluje, ko si jo ogledamo bolj na hitro. Zgodba razstave postane nepomembna, zanimivi so razstavljeni predmeti. Zato vpra{ujem avtorje: Ali smemo zgodbo spregledati? ^e prav razumem, je cilj razstave pripovedovanje zgodb o bogastvu namenov, za katere so na{i predniki izdelovali predmete, jih uporabljali, kako so se predmeti skozi ~as in prostor razlikovali in spreminjali oblike. To je zgodba o ~loveku kot delu narave in kot civiliziranem bitju, ki izdeluje predmete za pre`ivetje in za bolj{e `ivljenje. Uvodnemu poglavju Predmeti `ivljenja, predmeti po`elenja sledijo Voda in zemlja (viri in na~ini pre`ivljanja), Potrebno in nepotrebno (o porabi), Dru`beno in duhovno (dru`bene skupine, {ege, ljudska umetnost). Ta zgodba je zelo intelektualno zastavljena, njen jezik spominja na {olski u~benik. Zato, kot `e omenjeno, besedila ne dojamemo, ~e ga ne beremo zelo zbrano, z logi~nim preudarkom. Ali bi bilo mogo~e to zgodbo povedati bolj preprosto, morda bolj ~ustveno? To bi nam obiskovalcem omogo~ilo, da si z veseljem preberemo besedila, se po~utimo na razstavi bolj udobno, se odpremo radovednosti, igrivosti, smo se pripravljeni nau~iti kaj novega. Pogre{am poudarke, ki bi osredoto~ali pozornost; kajti celotna razstava te~e enakomerno, brez Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 230 11/26/06 11:12:42 PM Med za~etkom in nadaljevanjem napetosti. Vsaka dobra zgodba je nekje proti koncu vedno napeta; ko se izte~e, ~utimo olaj{anje in osvobojenost. Podobno velja tudi za razstavo Odsev daljnih svetov, ki sicer ima svoje sporo~ilo tolerance drugosti, tujosti, druga~nosti. Lepo je postavljena, velike barvne fotografi je nas prestavijo v tuje okolje, legende so strukturirane, predmeti zanimivi, utemeljeni z njihovimi zbiratelji. Pa vendar me pu{~a hladno, preve~ lahkotno zdrsnem skozi, ni~ me ne vznemiri, ne preseneti. Sklepne misli Praznino ~utim {e na enem pomembnem podro~ju: kak{ne vrednote ponuja stalna postavitev svojim obiskovalcem? Zapisano je bilo, da `eli z razstavljanjem muzealij 231 iz svojih zbirk SEM ustvariti »muzej idej bivanja« oziroma »muzej o ljudeh za ljudi« (Smerdel 1996: 31). To se sli{i zelo privla~no. Kot slovenski muzej bi moral govoriti o slovenskih ljudeh, biti prepojen s slovenskimi kraji, zna~ilnostmi in posebnostmi. Pokojni dr. Ivan Sedej je izrazil upanje, »da bomo pomagali oblikovati skupno zavest, ki bo upo{tevala in spo{tovala vse regionalne in nacionalne specifike, obenem pa odkrivala vse tisto v zgodovini in kulturi, kar nam je skupnega (z drugimi evropskimi narodi – op. tde)« (Slovenski etnografski muzej 1993: 3). Kolegi v SEM so strokovnjaki specialisti in kot tak{ne jih zaposleni po drugih slovenskih muzejih gledamo s pri~akovanjem novega, zanimivega, posebnega, prav tistega, do ~esar se mi v svoji razdrobljenosti na {tevilne dejavnosti nimamo ~asa in energije dokopati. Z zaupanjem se veselim nadaljevanja stalne postavitve. Za opravljeno delo pa kli~em: ^estitam! LITERATURA ROGELJ [kafar, Bojana 1993 Slovenski etnografski muzej – sprehod skozi ~as in le delno skozi prostor. Ljubljana: Slovenski etnografski muzej. SMERDEL, Inja 1996 Projekt, imenovan Slovenski etnografski muzej. Etnolog 6, str. 17–39. 2001 SEM med stvarnostjo in vizijo. Ljubljana : Slovenski etnografski muzej. Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 231 11/26/06 11:12:42 PM 232 Stalna razstava SEM Med naravo in kulturo, foto: N. @gank, 2006 Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 232 11/26/06 11:12:42 PM Etnolog 16 (2006) BETWEEN BEGINNING AND CONTINUATION The fi rst section of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum’s permanent exhibition Tatjana Dol`an Er`en 233 The Slovene Ethnographic Museum is our link between the past and present, traditional and modern culture, our own culture and foreign cultures; it is a venue where we meet our heritage, experience it, reflect about it, enjoy it, and never stop learning about ourselves and others, a place of coexistence with differences, where we wonder about the wisdom of living in harmony with nature. The SEM is our treasure. These are more or less the words used in the publication “The SEM between reality and vision” published in 2001 and well chosen they are. In 2006, we can at last feel relieved and say: Thank God that the SEM can finally start to fulfil its mission not only with a variety of events, but also with a permanent exhibition. Of the planned contents, the Ethno-ABC and the Encyclopaedia of Things have been realized with two “Top” objects – the ~upa (chupa) and ~anca (chantsa), but in the past five years the concept has been partly changed, because these titles no longer appear, except the Ethno-ABC. The new title Between Nature and Culture is, at least at first sight, less appropriate than Encyclopaedia of Things, because it is somewhat undefined, set in an intermediate space, and associated with a void. The Top objects, which were to attract the visitors’ immediate attention, are now included in the Slovene and Non-European installations. The first and second floors are complemented with very interesting occasional exhibitions. Report of a visit to the exhibition I invited friends from Canada to visit the SEM. As we had a baby in a buggy with us, we went to the third floor by elevator. Although the receptionist had clearly explained in English what was on view, and although I had been in the museum many times before, but had always preferred to take the stairs, we were confused when we arrived at the third floor: should we go left or right? We noticed the posters indicating the viewing direction and the white captions on glass only after exploring both sides. The corners with the ~anca and Chinese women’s shoes were not marked attractively enough to make us enter them, so I had to call attention to them. Only then did we start to read the texts. But as we had two little girls with us, we had to hurry before they got bored. Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 233 11/26/06 11:12:47 PM Tatjana Dol`an Er`en When we reached the end of the exhibition “Between Nature and Culture” and the beginning of the Ethno-ABC, our three-year old and her mother were drawn into it right away. Though the texts are only in Slovene, it was fun to open drawers and peek into showcases, but we failed to grasp how to use the computer demonstration of the sounds of folk instruments. Coming to the parlour games in the centre of the room, the one-year old demanded to be let out of the buggy to play, pushing wooden tokens in the holes of the ludo board. We did not care the absence of English texts. We then continued quite happily among the showcases with objects of folk art; we admired products made of the most different materials – including curd! We quickly passed through the rest of the exhibition because of the overall lack of English translations, but stopped at the fl oor “windows” to explore the variety of natural materials. In the 234 costume section my friends were enticed by the extensible drawers illustrating decorating techniques. Another interesting section was that of jewellery and the collection of headwear. Being descendants of immigrants to the New World, my friends carefully examined the exhibited old passports. The ~upa made one of them wonder if it was really seaworthy as it looked so unstable. But he understood when I showed him the photograph of a ~upa at sea. We finished our tour of the exhibition at its beginning but that did not bother us. Because of the little girls we could not view the multivision presentation. We recognized the Ribnica toy horses – whistles they were given last year and walked the stairs down to the second fl oor carrying the buggy. The painted chests were highly interesting and the two girls ran to and fro constantly asking questions, and we also compared the furniture of the Old World and the New World. We managed to remain focused throughout the exhibition of domestic craft products, but quite selectively. After one hour and 45 minutes we were glad to drop into the chairs under the sycamores of the museum’s restaurant. We had a bit of fun, when the waitress ensured us that the “Karst sandwiches” featuring on the men, would be available “tomorrow”, and that she could offer us only ordinary ham toast. But when she brought the children toys, we were quite satisfied. Reviewing our impressions, we concluded that we had seen quite a lot of interesting things, but that the legends were not always adequate and that our general impression was a bit confused. The legends were however better in the Non-European exhibition. I also had to explain that the SEM is only one of five big museums in Ljubljana, that they could view archaeological fi nds in the National Museum, and paintings in the National and Modern galleries. Strength, opportunities, wicknesses, and threats of the present permanent exhibition of the SEM Strength The idea that “the permanent installation consists of several units which are each a separate exhibition and can be viewed either individually or in the intended order” is in line with G.H. Riviere’s “ATP style” (Arts et traditions populaires) (Smerdel 1996: 34, 33), and is a plus point of the exhibition as it lets the visitors choose what they want to view. At the same time, the dynamics of the communication between the visitors and Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 234 11/26/06 11:12:47 PM Between begining and continuation the exhibition is greater than in a single vast exhibition, which risks that the panels and showcases are not well arranged but structured like a never-ending thread. Moreover, a museum is a consecrated space where we look for tranquillity and relaxation and this is best achieved by smaller exhibition units, which do not require major efforts to understand the message(s). Another strength are the rich and extensive collections of the SEM, and the chosen concept endeavours to make full use of them by exhibiting a great variety of objects. The objects take us to the people who lived before us and this makes the exhibition Between Nature and Culture particularly attractive and enticing. The objects are arranged in meaningful units, enabling the visitor to explore and learn. The video material complements the exhibits and draws attention to their use and production, something the showcases, of course, cannot present. Excellent concept! 235 Another major strength of the new permanent exhibition is the selected principle of exhibiting “objects as they function”, putting similar objects together – hunting accessories, agricultural tools, craft products and tools, headwear, jewellery, decorating techniques, etc. This arrangement makes the visitor reflect on the relationship between form and purpose in the past and present. For this very reason, objects from the late 20th century are added to the costumes. They play a very interesting role: they attract the visitor because he immediately notices the modern object among the numerous old ones, recognizes it function, and then associates the other objects with the same purpose. One might say that they attract attention and help to connect the visitor to the exhibited material through the experience he has with a particular known object. The chosen manner of exhibiting them is a fine, unobtrusive interpretation of museum objects. Quite interesting are the fl oor “windows”. The exhibited material provokes curiosity, stimulate the exploring spirit, and provides playful encounters with nature to children of all ages. The multivision, too, is a very pleasant and enriching experience for everyone who takes the time for it. Technology plays an invaluable role in the presentation of the intangible culture heritage from the Slovene ethnic territory. At the end of the exhibition I was quite proud to live in Slovenia. A wonderful plus point of the exhibition is the Ethno-ABC. This really is a corner meant for exploration, discovering, and playing as it is advertised by the SEM; it makes you forget completely about everyday life as it draws you into its own world. Bravo! Opportunities We do believe, of course, that every curator selected the best objects from the collection in his or her care. Nevertheless, I did expect more material, especially of the kind which I know to be typical of Gorenjska from the collection in my own care, and colleagues form other parts of Slovenia may share the same feeling. My fi rst impression thus was: Is this all? But what did I really expect? Galleries full of objects from the depots as we imagined from the announcements, considering the exhibition spaces seemed quite vast. Were they reduced by the designers? To be fair it must be said that half of one floor is occupied by the Non-European collections and the Ethno-ABC. To Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 235 11/26/06 11:12:47 PM Tatjana Dol`an Er`en honour the museum’s mission both are equally necessary as is the presentation of the Slovene collections. When I think of the crammed depots in my own museum, I often ask myself how many square metres would be needed to put most of the objects on view to the public instead of being locked up, “confiscated” as it were. However, these reflections may be a good opportunity and incentive for a more than overdue discussion on the collections in our care. Objects need a lot of accompanying information, because only experts can read it from them directly. They also require a suitable environment to tell their story. The best solution was adopted in the presentation of costumes, where the texts on the showcases generate reflections on the meaning of dressing; brochures are laid out on the table and chair, presenting all the exhibited items and individual stories on dressing 236Eimages and the components of costumes; individual sheets with these stories, which the visitor can take home, are available on the shelves. The selection of objects is well thought-out and takes us on the wings of imagination in Necessary and Unnecessary. The opportunity to add information in one or another way is also a challenge to the curators of the other sections of the installation. Another welcome opportunity for the visitor are the screens with video collages, recorded and put together in interesting ways and functioning as windows to the life of the exhibited objects. Everyone who has a deeper interest in an individual theme will stop in front of them and this requires legends to inform the visitors what is shown on individual screens and to let them chose contents to their liking. In the wealth of information provided by the permanent exhibition it is easy to overlook them. Wicknesses The biggest wicknesses of the exhibition are the uncompleted legends, where I would like to see the names of the places in Slovenia, and divisions referring to periods and development stages. Quite a lot of English translations are still missing, as well as the contents of the video collages and explanations accompanying the exhibited objects (except with the costumes). The story of every museum object, even if only in a few words, telling its name, place and time of origin, is invaluable, because the plus point of the SEM’s installation lies precisely in it numerous interesting collections; these do attract us and it is about them that we would like to learn as much as possible. The story of the objects runs below the story of the exhibition, explains, enriches and widens it, because it places the objects in time and space. The visitor can, of course, experience the exhibition without legends, but rather vaguely and using his imagination. With such a vast number of objects, adding legends is, of course, a very demanding task, which often conflicts with the exhibition’s aesthetics, but we should not despair in searching for solutions. This shortcoming is made worse by the poor level of understanding of the stories and messages, but this can be improved with reasonable efforts and expenses. The texts in the exhibition Between Nature and Culture are too academic in places and require high concentration to understand them; most visitors therefore ignore them. It would be a good idea to test them on primary school pupils to see if they understand them. Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 236 11/26/06 11:12:48 PM Between begining and continuation If they do, then so will adults. A museum should be a place of relaxation, where the mind operates in support of feelings, imagination, curiosity, and play. The graphics in the exhibition do not stand out well enough. The chosen font for the English translations is often much too small, for instance in the panel Social Groups. It might be a good idea to introduce single-sentence thoughts, proverbs, and the like to the Slovene collections, of the kind the visitor can read quickly as in the Non-European installation. Threats I wrote the above report on my visit with Canadian friends to illustrate how effective the permanent exhibition is when it is viewed fairly quickly. The story of the exhibition becomes meaningless and only the exhibited objects are interesting. I would there put 237 it to the curators: Should we neglect the story? If I understand correctly, the aim of the exhibition is to tell stories about the rich varieties of purposes for which our ancestors made objects and used them, how these objects differed in time and space, and how their forms changed. It is a story about man as part of nature and as a civilised being, who makes objects to survive and for a better life. The introductory chapter Objects of Life, Objects of Longing is followed by Water and Earth (sources and ways of making a living), Necessary and Unnecessary (on consumption), Social and Spiritual Life (social groups, customs, folk art). The story’s concept is quite intellectual and its language reminds of a text-book. It is therefore difficult to understand the texts if we do not read them fully focused and with a logical approach. Would it not be possible to tell this story in simpler terms, and perhaps with a little emotion added? That would make the visitors enjoy reading the texts, make them feel more at home at the exhibition, open up to curiosity, playfulness, willing to learn something new. I also miss certain emphasises which would draw one’s attention, because the entire exhibition runs evenly and without any tension. Every good story turns tense towards the end; and when it ends we feel relieved, liberated. Things are similar with the exhibition Reflections of Faraway Worlds and its message of tolerance towards what is different or foreign. It is installed very well, the big colour photographs easily take us to foreign environments, the legends are well structured, the objects interesting and explained in reference to their collectors. Nevertheless, the exhibition fails to excite any emotion, it is viewed far too easily, without any excitement or surprise. Conclusions I also felt a void in another important area: what are the values the permanent exhibition offers its visitors? It has been written that SEM would like to create - by exhibiting the objects from its collections - a “museum of ideas about dwelling” or “a museum about people and for people” (Smerdel 1996: 31). This sounds very attractive. As a Slovene museum, it should tell us about Slovene people, be full of names of Slovene places, characteristics, and specifics. The late Dr. Ivan Sedej expressed his wishes about the future permanent exhibition in these words: “… to help create a common awareness Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 237 11/26/06 11:12:48 PM Tatjana Dol`an Er`en observing and respecting all regional and national specific features, and at the same time reveal everything in history and culture which we have in common (with other European nations, author’s note)” (Slovenski etnografski muzej 1993: 3). Our colleagues in the SEM are experts and specialists and as such the curators ethnologists from other Slovene museums expect from them novelties, interesting, special approaches, in fact everything we, torn between so many diverse activities, never have the time nor energy to achieve. It is with confidence and joyful expectations that I await the continuation of the permanent exhibition. For everything that has been achieved by now I have only one word: Congratulations! 238 BIBLIOGRAPHY see page 231. BESEDA O AVTORICI ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tatjana Dol`an Er`en, mag., muzejska Tatjana Dol`an Er`en, MA., is an svetovalka za etnologijo v pokrajinskem ethnologist and museum adviser at the Gorenjskem muzeju v Kranju. Gorenjska Regional Museum in Kranj. Etnolog 16 - 13.indd 238 11/26/06 11:12:48 PM