(i could not get an image of a rifle from the MIA website and i didn't have a camera when we went there)
Imagine a room that is dimly lit. Two spotlights point to opposite sides of the room. On one side of the room is a rifle set upon a table. A flintlock like was used by early European colonists and military. It points to the opposite side of the room.
Facing it are five other weapons. Two Central African short swords, a Polynesian battle club, a Chinese sword from the Chou dynasty, and a Native American war club. All five lay facing the rifle. All five are on the floor.
I want it to symbolize the way history has played out in warfare. Many times you get the colonist from European countries going to a new land and making war on the natives. usually out numbered but with better weapons. The natives usually have numbers but out dated styles of warfare. Most of the time they find themselves on the losing end of the battle. Which is why the rifle is on a table and the rest lays on the ground.
i get what you mean.
ReplyDeleteP.S very Burtal
I think this is a very interesting concept, and would certainly make a viewer re-think the objects in front of them, as well as why these weapons are in the art museum to begin with. I think the proposed layout would very clearly suggest the history of European Colonization. In fact, I could imagine far more traditional weapons opposing the rifle only strengthening your point. Furthermore, the arrangement would remind us that it may well have been Imperial power that brought the traditional weapons here for our amusement.
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