The Secret Museum


HOME IMAGE GALLERY ABOUT THE ARTIST PRESS PRINTS BLOG & LIbrary CONTACT	The Secret Museum Exhibition The Secret Museum is a photographic exhibition exploring the poetics of hidden, untouched and curious collections from around the world in photographs and artifacts, by Joanna Ebenstein, founder of the Morbid Anatomy blog and library. The show launched on April 10, 2010 at Observatory Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. It will close with a party on June 6th. ABOUT THE EXHIBITION Photographer and blogger Joanna Ebenstein has traveled the world seeking and documenting untouched, hidden, and curious collections, from museum store-rooms to private collections, cabinets of curiosity to dusty natural history museums, obscure medical museums to hidden archives. The exhibition The Secret Museum showcases a collection of photographs from Ebenstein's explorations--including sites in The Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, England, Poland, and the United States--which document these spaces while at the same time investigating the psychology of collecting, the visual language of taxonomies, notions of "The Specimen" and the ordered archive, and the secret life of objects and collections, with an eye towards capturing the poetry, mystery and wonder of these liminal spaces. In tandem with this exhibition's launch, Ebenstein curated two events with and at The Coney Island Museum: The "Collectors Cabinet," an exhibition showcasing astounding objects held in private collections and including artifacts featured Ebenstein's Private Cabinet photo series, and the first annual Congress for Curious People, a 5-day series of lectures and presentations followed by a 2-day scholarly symposia exploring notions of curiosity and curiosities broadly conceived. Note: Some of the photographs seen in The Secret Museum were also featured in Ebenstein's recent exhibitions Anatomical Theatre and Private Cabinets. You can find out more about those exhibitions by clicking here and here. Download press release by clicking here. Download exhibition postcard by clicking here. The Secret Museum will be on view at Observatory Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, until Sunday June 6th. More about Observatory: Observatory 543 Union Street (at Nevins) Brooklyn, NY 11215 On view from April 10th–June 6th OPEN HOURS: 3-6 Thursday and Friday 12-6 Saturday and Sunday Opening Party: Saturday April 10, 7-10 PM Closing Party: Sunday June 6, 6-10 PM MASTHEAD IMAGE: Perspective [interior] view of Sir Ashton Lever's Museum [Leicester Square, London] March 30/1785 / watercolour by Sarah Stone, Stone, Sarah, ca. 1760-1844; State Library of New South Wales All contents copyright of Joanna Ebenstein, 2010.

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The Secret Museum Exhibition
The Secret Museum is a photographic exhibition exploring the poetics of hidden, untouched and curious collections from around the world in photographs and artifacts, by Joanna Ebenstein, founder of the Morbid Anatomy blog and library. The show launched on April 10, 2010 at Observatory Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. It will close with a party on June 6th.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Photographer and blogger Joanna Ebenstein has traveled the world seeking and documenting untouched, hidden, and curious collections, from museum store-rooms to private collections, cabinets of curiosity to dusty natural history museums, obscure medical museums to hidden archives. The exhibition The Secret Museum showcases a collection of photographs from Ebenstein's explorations--including sites in The Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, England, Poland, and the United States--which document these spaces while at the same time investigating the psychology of collecting, the visual language of taxonomies, notions of "The Specimen" and the ordered archive, and the secret life of objects and collections, with an eye towards capturing the poetry, mystery and wonder of these liminal spaces.

In tandem with this exhibition's launch, Ebenstein curated two events with and at The Coney Island Museum: The "Collectors Cabinet," an exhibition showcasing astounding objects held in private collections and including artifacts featured Ebenstein's Private Cabinet photo series, and the first annual Congress for Curious People, a 5-day series of lectures and presentations followed by a 2-day scholarly symposia exploring notions of curiosity and curiosities broadly conceived.

Note: Some of the photographs seen in The Secret Museum were also featured in Ebenstein's recent exhibitions Anatomical Theatre and Private Cabinets. You can find out more about those exhibitions by clicking here and here.

Download press release by clicking here.
Download exhibition postcard by clicking here.

The Secret Museum will be on view at Observatory Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, until Sunday June 6th. More about Observatory:

Observatory
543 Union Street (at Nevins) Brooklyn, NY 11215
On view from April 10th–June 6th

OPEN HOURS:
3-6 Thursday and Friday
12-6 Saturday and Sunday

Opening Party: Saturday April 10, 7-10 PM
Closing Party: Sunday June 6, 6-10 PM

MASTHEAD IMAGE: Perspective [interior] view of Sir Ashton Lever's Museum [Leicester Square, London] March 30/1785 / watercolour by Sarah Stone, Stone, Sarah, ca. 1760-1844; State Library of New South Wales

All contents copyright of Joanna Ebenstein, 2010.