Author: olperez

Over Spring Break, I had the opportunity to visit the Nebraska History Museum for the first time in many years. Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I spent a lot of my summers exploring the Nebraska History Museum. However, since as long as I can remember, the museum has always struggled in getting visitors and producing quality exhibits. Most of my encounters at the museum consisted of hearing about exciting titles of exhibits in the newspaper only to discover that the actual exhibit never met expectations.

The Nebraska History Museum is located across from the state capital building in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. Consisting of three floors, the first floor is dedicated to permanent exhibits, the second floor is for traveling and temporary exhibits and the third and final floor is used for community engagement.

On my most recent visit, I encountered a temporary exhibit titled “Collecting Moments- 2020 Nebraska. Located on the second floor, the exhibit is placed in a hallway between the restrooms, a more permanent exhibit and digital learning class rooms. The names of the curators are not included on the exhibit nor is there a bibliography present. Both the bibliographical and curatorial information was also not present on the museum’s website.

Though the Nebraska History Museum has historically struggled in engaging their audience in the exhibits by the Nebraska State Historical Society, the museum’s new temporary exhibit, “Collecting Moments- 2020 in Nebraska” successfully incorporates recent history into the lives of Nebraskans as well as demonstrates a promising step forward in the meaning making process for museum goers at the institution. By using different modes of materials and media from the 2022 Covid-19 pandemic, the Nebraska Historical Society is able to effectively communicate the controversies and protests surrounding the pandemic.

As indicated by the map above, the traffic flow of the exhibit occurs naturally when the viewers move from the large exhibit next to it (number 3 on the map) and the digital class rooms.

“Collecting Moments- 2020 in Nebraska ” is an exhibit presented by the Nebraska Historical society that displays collected photos materials of Nebraskans and their experiences during the 2019-2022 Covid-19 Pandemic. As part of a continuing initiative to encourage Nebraskans to collect pieces of recent history, the exhibit frames the history of the pandemic as way to view history as something that occurs every day and effects every one of us. The exhibit is indicated by a blue wall. This blue wall is noted by the exhibit to be the Panetone color of the year for 2022, Classic Blue, and is supposed to represent the “enduring spirit of Americans in times of uncertainty (like the pandemic years). At the front of the exhibit the first plaques describe how the pandemic affected people of all races, religions, and genders within Nebraska. Below the plaque is an empty staging box that lists the ways in which the audience and collect and donate materials for the Museum’s ongoing mission to document the pandemic. The digital monitors on the wall play a constant slide show of photographs depicting iconic images of the pandemic in Nebraska. Some of these photos include images of anti-masking protests, BLM protests, and support rallies for healthcare workers.

In the middle of the wall a large quilt made of masks by the Nebraska Quilting Association and sits as the focal point of the entire exhibit. Flanked by two glass cases, the case on the left held signs that individuals showed their loved ones in hospital quarantine and bottles of hand sanitizer that were made by local distilleries. The case on the right held BLM protest signs, pieces of rubber bullets, sandbags, pepper spray and broken tear gas canisters.

Overall, I was really impressed that the museum even attempted to display an exhibit dedicated to the pandemic and incorporated contemporary historical practices into the display. Many individuals in Nebraska rejected the idea of Covid-19 during the pandemic and engaged in a significant amount of racial and political violence from 2019-2022. By framing the pandemic as something that reached every Nebraskan, the exhibit curators were able to reach an audience of people that would normally be apprehensive to discussing the pandemic. In addition, the exhibit detailed iconic shared memories that Nebraskans would remember (such as socially distanced popular annual sports events in Nebraska). This only added to the feeling of engagement among the audience members. The exhibit discusses multiple facets of the pandemic. Ranging from economic crisis to commenting on the large loss of life during the pandemic, the exhibits touches on the economic, political and racial aspects of the period. Visually, though the exhibit was only a section of a hallway, the blue wall and the striking image of the full size quilt drew my attention almost immediately. The exhibit was very easy to navigate from left to right. The amount of text was appropriate for the amount of objects and did not take away from the experience. Rather the text aided in explaining why such items were chosen and how the viewer could contribute to the growing collection of pandemic artifacts.

Collectively the Nebraska History Museum succeeds in capturing the viewer’s attention through the presentation of iconic images and materials that were symbolic of the Covid-19 pandemic. More importantly, the exhibit encourages the viewers to engage in the meaning making process by asking museum goers to collect and donate items that they deem to be symbolic of the pandemic. By including the local community in document such history, the institution establishes a better sense of shared authority with the communities that the museum represents.

However, despite the exhibit’s strong ability to connect the audience to historical documentation of real world events, the placement and overall tone of the exhibit alludes to the difficulty in discussing the pandemic in a conservative state. The exhibit itself is placed almost as an after thought next to a doll house (that is part of another exhibit) and the restrooms. While the museum’s volume level was relatively quiet throughout, the placement of the exhibit near the busy restrooms took away from the experience and my partner and I found it very distracting. It is definitely possible for viewers to entirely miss the exhibit if they do not walk all the way around the second floor.

There is also bias present in the exhibit as well. The language used on the signage does not take a stance with the political protests or the anti-mask movement that was prominent in the state at the time. Facts about the racial violence and attacks that occurred in the state were also not mentioned. In a way it seems as though the museum held back on the presentation of facts on the exhibit in order to garner local support for the exhibit. As Mexican-American woman and native Nebraskan, I also would have liked to see more information on the political climate during covid and representation of the vibrant Mexican-American community in Nebraska to be included.

The Louis Sullivan Architectural Ornament Collection at Lovejoy Library uses pieces of building ornaments to aid in our understanding of Sullivan’s stylistic periods. Effectively using space, size and local context, the exhibit is able to clearly communicate to the audience the story of Sullivan’s works and his connection Edwardsville, Illinois. However, though the exhibit succeeds in educating the visitors on the styles of Sullivan, the over all narrative of Sullivan’s story would benefit from the inclusion of how race and class impacted his life. On February 8th, I chose to visit the Louis H. Sullivan exhibit located in Lovejoy library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Detailing the life and creative periods of a well-known designer of architectural ornaments, Louis Sullivan, the exhibit uses pieces of building ornaments from 1880 to 1923 to chronologically illustrate the evolution of Sullivan’s work. Starting with Sullivan attending architecture school and finishing with the preservation of Sullivan’s pieces by students and other individuals in the 1950s, the main purpose of the entire exhibit is to demonstrate the importance of creative architecture and the preservation of historical building materials.

Upon entering the exhibit, we are immediately presented with a long hallway and a large wall of text organized into a chronological timeline of both Sullivan’s life and the preservation efforts taken well after Sullivan’s death in the 1950s. It should also be noted that the images of a large building and pieces of building material at the end of the hallway drew me into the exhibit. In addition, a large plaque that breaks up Sullivan’s styles into artistic periods is placed at the entrance of the exhibit. The area is well lit and almost feels as though the visitor is invited in to the exhibit as the hallway leads into larger room filled with large pieces of Sullivan’s work.

After following the long corridor, the visitors are led to a square enclosed space. Various stone pieces from Sullivan’s building projects line the walls and an elevator assembly designed by Sullivan sits as the focal point of the room. The viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the larger items hanging from the wall and the elevator car at the center of the room. The natural flow of the exhibit indicated that the guests were to follow the plaques along the right side of the wall. However, the exhibit also did not present itself as only linear, rather the guests also have option of walking through the exhibit in whatever order they choose to do so. The big idea of the exhibit was continued throughout with the use of information on the plaques provided. Each of the plaques corresponds to a decorative piece on display. On it, the signs provide details about where the piece came from, who owned the building and how the piece represents changes in Sullivan’s artistic style. After walking along side the hanging ornaments on the wall, we are presented with a white wall with three posters and an ornament . The end of the exhibit is indicated by the open area of the seating in the library.

The exhibit of the Louis Sullivan collection at SIUE does an excellent job in telling the story of the evolution of Sullivan’s architectural style and integrates how such information connects to Edwardsville and the college itself. The signage seen at the front of the exhibit serves as an overview of the display and clearly outlines the transitions in design by Sullivan. The author breaks down the changes in design through periods for the purpose of the exhibit. By grouping the designs into distinct groups, the message of the exhibit and general understanding of the differences in decoration was clearly communicated to the guests. In addition to the periodization of Sullivan’s pieces, the timeline placed in the long hallway also effectively engaged the audience. Rather than placing a text heavy timeline at the center of the exhibit, the guests can slowly make their way down the hallway and focus on the information provided. As result of the placement of the wall of text, the information does not have to compete for attention with the larger pieces of the display.

Another excellent use of space can be seen in the main area of the display. It is clear that the curators of the exhibit wanted to take advantage of the space they were given and as a result, were able to hang large ornaments from the wall and place other artifacts in order to create a natural flow of traffic. The placement of the elevator assembly in center of the room was a great strategic move made by the curators to emulate the feeling of actually experiencing a standing building designed by Sullivan. The curators also chose to display stained glass pieces with functionality in mind by hanging them on the windows of the library. Because of the insightful use of space, the guest is given a better since of size and functionality of the ornaments as well as gain a better understanding of how such pieces were seen with the buildings they belonged to.

In the context of the narrative presented, the signs succeeded in communicating basic information common in architectural and art history, the explicit changes in style throughout Sullivan’s career and the story of how such pieces were saved from demolition. Based on the text heavy signs and the use of architectural terms throughout the intended audience seems to focus more on adults rather than children. Though the museum exhibit in Lovejoy Library succeeds in telling the brief story of the evolution of Sullivan’s work and uses the space given to its advantage, the organization of the signs and artifacts and the overall narrative content could be improved. The signs do not correspond to the ornaments displayed throughout the exhibit. I had great difficulty finding the pieces on the map provided and what object were hanging on the wall. In addition to the placement of the artifacts, there was also a wall of diagrams that seemed to be ignored on the other side of the exhibit. Due to the white wall, white frame and white documents presented on the wall, this wall of framed images could be easily ignored by visitors.

In terms of historical narrative, the entire display would benefit from examining Sullivan’s architectural influence and its relations with race and class. During the period that Sullivan made most of his works, decorative homes and ornamental fixtures were characteristic of the white, upper-class patrons that Sullivan served. The exhibit itself does not confront this information. In fact, as a historian, I felt as though the dynamics of class and race were always implied but never addressed. Though it is true that the display does have examples of Sullivan’s designs in more “economical” structures (such as banks and government buildings), the information provided imply that such economical buildings were not as valued or seen as architecturally beautiful.

Overall the Louis Sullivan Collection at Lovejoy Library succeeds in drawing the visitors in through the exhibits effective use of large artifacts, space and linear story telling. Though the display communicates the story of Louis Sullivan and his connection to area, the display could still improve on the organization of the artifacts mounted on the walls and their corresponding labels and a revamping of visuals of the final wall within the exhibit. The narrative is cohesive and serves to provide guests without prior knowledge with basic information on the subject. Collectively, the exhibit offers insight to the local architectural history as well as educate others on the stylistic periods of Sullivan’s work.