A Tragic Exhibit

WASHINGTON—In a city that prides itself on its stunning monuments to soldiers and presidents who lived and died for this country, it is ironic that the Smithsonian’s exhibit on Sept. 11 was poorly executed and anti-climactic at best.

America’s national museum gave summer tourists a disappointing and strange sight of the Ground Zero flag in what could have been an emotionally charged and thought-provoking exhibit. Instead, the curators seemed to think that the flag and a collection of photographs of the World Trade Center would be better left in a foyer of the Arts and Industries Building, one of the Smithsonian’s most run-down and out-dated spaces.

Just across the Mall is the National Museum of American History—also part of the Smithsonian. Its newest exhibit, which is of comparable size to the one about Sept. 11, shows the historical progression of different families in one house. Maybe, just maybe, the National Museum of American History, which has both a nicer venue for special exhibits and is visited more frequently than the Arts and Industries Building, would have been a better setting for the flag and photographs.

Additionally, one must wonder why the exhibit was not even given a proper room. A foyer must be one of the worst possible places to hold any show. Psychologically, it suggests that the exhibit is an afterthought, that it did not warrant a special area. Logistically, it creates crowd control problems besides threatening the coherence of the exhibit itself.

Essentially in a hallway, the flow of traffic through the exhibit created an atmosphere not of contemplation, but of the hurried rush of families confused by the sudden exhibit. As opposed to the other museums in the area, there was no room for tourists to collect themselves after going through security, and immediately “outside” the exhibit was a café, the gift shop and, after a large open space, the other exhibits. Consequently, the exhibit never was able to capture fully the viewers’ attention. Being jostled, rushed and told by security guards to make room for people just walking through does not make for a good experience.

The Ground Zero flag itself was nonchalantly tacked above a large screen television—oddly enough in a cheap wood hutch—that was showing documentary footage from Sept. 11. There was no particular lighting, soundproofing or any other vestiges of a professional show. Even the guest book appeared to have been some cheap afterthought.

While the Metro and the city walkways are covered in advertisements for special exhibits, this show was marked by one sandwich board outside the entrance to the building. Clearly, attracting visitors was not a priority for the exhibit organizers.

The approach of the Fourth of July and the influx of summer tourists to D. C.—generally a highly patriotic group of people to start with—should have caught the eye of the Smithsonian as the ideal audience for a commemorative exhibit. Admittedly, the American public does have a short attention span, but nothing could be more appropriate to give a high priority to than to memorialize the victims and heroes of Sept. 11. Beginning with this show would have been an excellent start.

While the exhibit itself was incredibly disappointing, the reaction of the few visitors who got a chance to view the flag and photographs gave a sign of what good shows can bring to the public. Amid the hurried rush of tourists were the adults, young and old, taking extreme care in looking solemnly at each photo. People were taking pictures of the photographs, sitting humbly in front of the documentary footage. Parents were explaining what happened to their older children, but smiling and enjoying the innocence of the younger children—the ones for whom this will not even be a memory. If it is a return to normalcy that we want and need, then perhaps it is just this type of exhibit that should be encouraged.

Museums in their finest form weave the threads of history into patterns and designs that are recognizable to the public. The Smithsonian has shown that it currently has the ability to create comprehensive exhibits that entice and educate. It is unfortunate that it did not utilize those talents in this exhibit.

At times, it does seem impossible to discuss Sept. 11 without cliches and with any real clarity or substance. And, unfortunately, it does not seem like the Smithsonian even tried.

Katherine M. Dimengo ’04, a Crimson editor, is an English concentrator in Winthrop House. She is living in a suburb of Washington D.C., but pretending that she actually lives in the city.