Narratives of Vulnerability in Museums by Katz Meighen;

Author:Katz, Meighen;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2019-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Bungalow, Michigan History Museum

Within the larger chronological exhibition, Michigan in the Twentieth Century, the Michigan History Museum interpreted the Great Depression in a number of ways including a juxtaposition of public and private relief efforts and an examination of the Flint Sit-Down Strike (discussed in Chapter 2). Those sections, at least in part, entailed large national stories. The everyday lives of the people of Michigan during the Great Depression were interpreted within the rooms of a recreated bungalow, its front porch and garage. The furnishings and objects within the Bungalow were reflective of common experiences of the 1930s, including a radio set, and examples of the Depression-era glass given away by movie theatres across the country as a promotional drawcard.58

Museum visitors entered via the front porch and stepped through into the living room. Here the emphasis was on the embodiment of home as refuge and as a venue for leisure and communication.59 Key to this room, as with many exhibition installations of home, was the radio. Few, if any, living space interpretations of the 1930s omit this essential artefact. Via an interactive panel, visitors could play excerpts from a range of radio programmes, most of which had a Michigan connection, such as speeches by the Detroit-based Father Coughlin. Beyond the living room, the bedroom and dining room were visible behind glass.

The Bungalow was based on an affordable mail-order form of American housing that was prevalent in the interwar period.60 Essentially kit-homes, companies such as Montgomery Ward or the Michigan-based Aladdin Company delivered everything from timber framing to the kitchen sink.61 This particular installation echoed an actual house; the childhood home of the donor who provided three-quarters of the furniture found within. Its inclusion was two-fold. Michigan firms were active in the bungalow business and so it interpreted local economic activity, a recurring theme through the Michigan History Museum galleries. More importantly, the ubiquitous nature of this housing style lent itself well to an exploration of the home-life of the majority of Americans, those who were neither speculating on the stock market at the time of the Wall Street crash, nor reduced to a Hooverville by its effects. These citizens were nevertheless vulnerable to potential effects of the crisis and thus experienced the fears associated with the possibilities of either bankruptcy or homelessness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.