I Didn’t Have a Danish: Copenhagen (2)
This is a post about a couple of museums that I visited while I was in Copenhagen. As I was more determined nto not make my holiday into a busman’s trip, I somehow managed to find myself in yet another museum…
- Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 31 Aug
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, or the New Carlsberg Museum, was founded by the same founder who launched the beer brand. The founding collection of the museum was the private collections of the Carl Jakobson. I wasn’t aware of how close the museum was from my hotel and had passed it many times while looking for other attractions.
The highlight of my visit was definitely the winter garden. When I was reading the information on tripadivsor, I thought it was another botanical garden. I didn’t realise how wrong I was until I arrived.
What greeted me first was a stream of different sounds: recordings of both natural sounds, such as birds’ chirping and wind, and artificial sounds. I heard something that reminded me the strange music of a theremin or a glass armonica. Sometimes the melody turned into a high pitch, but most of time it was as if the ruffling leaves were murmuring. The winter garden was smaller than I expected, but the magical sound somehow enlarged the place. I was lucky enough to secure a seat at the cafe next to the garden, and enjoyed a light lunch as if I were in the jungle (a very cold one indeed).
Another thing worth mentioned was a literary project for eight selected sculptures. Invited guest writers were asked to write a short passage, giving the marbles voice and perspectives. I was relieved when learning that the text was all translated in English and juxtaposed with Danish. Nevertheless, this was the moment when I wish I had mastered a foreign language so I didn’t need to rely on translation.
The visit was rather short, as a heavy rain in the morning soaked me through and I had to go back to my hotel to give an online talk to the Museum studies students at the Uni. Leicester. It was a fine museum; a typical “private-collection-turned-museum”. I appreciate the attempt of the literary projects, giving the collections new meaning.
2. Medicinsk Museion (Medical Museum), 1 Sep
I was over the moon when I learned that there was another medical museum in Copenhagen. No surprise, it is a university-affiliated museum, transformed with collections previously used in lectures. At first, I couldn’t find it upon arriving at the address: There was no sign on the street, but a thick wooden door. I then realised that thise must have been the feelings for many visitors when they went to the Whipple Museum: Being discouraged by the intimidating door, fearing that whatever was behind the door was far too important to be disturbed.
Originally I thought it was going to be another small and quirky museum that had no choice but to take advantage of every inch of space possible, that the arrangement and curation were going to be limited. However, I was surprised to find that first of all, the space was bigger than I thought (at least bigger than Whipple), and that there was a certain curatorial logic that went through different galleries. From a display that asked visitor to reflect upon difficult choices during Covid, to an interactive game about factors that extend or shorten humans’ lives expectancy, permanent displays showed a wide coverage of various yet common aspects regarding health and medicine. I especially appreciate the display of instruments for the visually impaired, such as Braille, typewriters, and computers. As a person who is severely myopic, I understand how these tools can make a huge difference to the blind.
The Exhibitions “The Body Collected” exceeded my expectations. Making the best use of the human remains collected since the 18th century, the exhibition discussed life, death, deformity, and disease from macro to micro. Exhibitions as such always attracted people who simply wanted to snap pictures of the “freaks” and the “deformed”, i.e. skeletal remains or samples left by people with disability. I don’t deny that the power of genes never stops amazing me, yet every time I see a giggling teenager (usually they were there only because of some private summer camp, and that a cultural visit was a must to satisfy the parents) laughing while taking pictures of “things”, I understand more why there are rules in UK museums that forbid people from any photography. Visitors should always be reminded of the magnitude of historical superstition, prejudice, misunderstanding, and the emotions that accompanied all stillborns of deformity and victims of disease when being presented with human remains. On the other side, UK museums are probably the only country that actually put out signs that forbid photography when it comes to human remains, and not every museum abides the rule (e.g. archaeological remains). It is always surprising to see no effort is made in European medical museums to remind people of the ethics and respect, but truly, what position museums have to do so?
Before my visit ended at a strange temporary exhibition on germs and intestinal health (about digestion and of course, waste), I gladly found that I could buy acopy of the display text for “The Body Collected”, English available. I didn’t have time to read all the labels, but the book provided wonderful, high-res photos of the collections, accompanied with paragraphs written by the curators who explained the context and stories of the dead. After reading the book, I felt that the body parts, severed and partially presented, reclaimed a bit of humanity. It as very important for me.
3. Danish Architecture Centre, 5 Sep
I wasn’t planning on visiting the DAC, but eventually stepped inside since it was included as free entry in my Copenhagne Pass. I’m glad that I did visit this place, as it was very informative.
I had heard many positive comments about Danish architecture, that it was one of the best when talking about modern design. Although I never pay any attention on architecture, I can still apreciate the curatorial decision made in the gallery that presented the philosphy and creativity of Danish architecture. One thing I took away was the importance of techniques to make bricks and bricklaying, as well as the design to let all Copenhagen citizens enjoy water. When looking at the illustration, I remembered the long jetty that I walked by every morning in front of my hotel, where I imagined would be fully packed with swimmers in summer.
I did not visit that many museums when I was in Copenhagen; instead, I went to a few famous historical royal palaces. As my attention now is more focus on how museums manage and care for their collections on the public side, I don’t think I know enough to critique the management of royal palaces and heritage sites. As magnificent as they are, I don’t intend to make this blog into a travel diary.
Copenhagen was a beautiful place that reminded me of Amsterdam: Water, canal, bikes, and clear sky above neat city planning. Yet it is indeed a city of its own distinctive charm.
This blog post was very much delayed in publishing, as I was soon caught in a whirl wind of work and life changes when I came back to the UK: New job, new role, things to learn, etc..
