Eva Moe

Museum trip: The world and its strange time

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Isn’t it strange how corpses and people are two different things. One is what the other used to be, and one is what the other will become. A double-sided display of time. I was just in a museum looking at prehistoric vases, and there were some from the era of The Art of War and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. An empty mason jar is on my table. Humans and our drinking vessels.

The jars were all from China. I wonder what it would be like to grow up in a place with such long history with a people who have lived for ages.

I get this strange crawling feeling at museums. Was this bowl made among friends, and what else did the maker do that day? What did they say or wish for? Did they think about the end of the bowl’s life?

And then there are these porcelain pillows. The experts don’t sound 100% sure if they were for daily use or for tombs. A person or a corpse. So close to being the same thing. I’m creeping myself out now.

Hope you’re having a good week. I’m gonna keep thinking about longevity.

Eva

Comments

2 responses to “Museum trip: The world and its strange time”

  1. Sophie Poe Avatar
    Sophie Poe

    What’s equally — maybe — interesting to ponder is what makes a person a person, rather than just a corpse. Is it simply the inner systems functioning — the heart beating, the brain firing, the lungs breathing, thoughts running?

    I used to feel something similar in museums, especially those that display objects once part of people’s daily lives — tools, clothes, personal items. There was a strange intimacy in that. But, for better or worse, that feeling faded with the number of museums I visited, as my focus gradually shifted elsewhere.

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Eva Avatar
      Eva

      Thanks for your response! I got so stuck on that question I didn’t delve further into it. I wonder if it’s feeling things like love, annoyance, frustration, passion etc. Or our little human things like make tools and clothes and our personal items. The stuff we choose to do and keep. Great question!

      Reply

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