One of the best parts of living in an increasingly digitized era is the greater access to things we may never otherwise encounter. For me, that means seeing museums and exhibits across the globe that were, at one point, completely out of reach. One such museum is the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in South Korea, the country’s only national art museum. MMCA boasts a large collection of art spanning an even larger time period and I recently got to see some of this art through a virtual exhibit on Google Arts & Culture titled, “Looking for Another Family.”
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea, 2013
“Looking for Another Family” restructures the term and concept of family through “the sense of social solidarity.” In three parts beautifully framed within Google Arts & Culture’s digital platform, this exhibit considers 1) the ideal concept of family as the regulation and emotional turbulence, 2) how the body and mind are restricted within a society, and 3) how viewers can continue to discuss the issues raised by the artworks. One of my favorite pieces in the collection is Tandia Permadi’s Letter to Nan, which is a visual documentation of Permadi’s exploration with identity, sexuality, and abuse. Permadi draws on his childhood and his family’s strict adherence to the Indonesian belief that having a boy as your first born child is bad luck. Through this, Permadi discusses how his family treated him as a girl and how this blurred line between gender and identity affected his upbringing. Permadi’s story is not the only one to tackle difficult subjects like this; in fact, most of the works displayed in “Looking for Another Family” challenge longstanding beliefs about gender, sexuality, and the roles we play in society and family.
Letter to Nan, Tandia Permadi, 2020
Though I was engaged with the works here, it is easy to see how others may be turned away from the heaviness and overwhelming nature of the subject. “Looking for Another Family” is intentionally uncomfortable, it challenges beliefs and standards that many of us have grown up with and accepted as true; so, of course we would be uncomfortable in a space that seems to tell us otherwise. But, how do we as educators bridge that discomfort? How do we tell visitors that it’s okay to be uncomfortable, confused, or even unhappy with what they’re seeing? In my past experiences working with difficult subjects, I’ve found that I and many other museum educators were wildly unprepared to handle not just the complex discussions, but also the complex emotions and stories that visitors carry with them into these exhibits. Perhaps there is no easy answer, no one-size-fits-all solution – as educators, we remember that no two visitors are alike and no two visitors share the same experiences. Perhaps the best approach is the honest one, the approach that these artists have taken in being vulnerable and sharing their vulnerabilities with audiences. Some of my most endearing, memorable museum experiences have stemmed from speaking with staff who breach the fancy, elevated talk and instead share their own personal stories and thoughts, bringing their feelings and experiences into the conversation. By being vulnerable with our visitors, educators can make visitors feel comfortable being vulnerable with us.
“Looking for Another Family” is, in one sense, all about vulnerability; it’s about breaking molds that traditionally made us feel safe and stepping into new roles in society. Though Google Arts & Culture doesn’t currently facilitate further educational experiences with the exhibit online, it is still a fascinating way to engage with the works at MMCA. The digitized exhibit format also encourages visitors and viewers to proceed through the space at a rate that’s comfortable for them. You can experience this for yourself here and learn more about MMCA here.
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