"Artifacts" at the Chicago Children's Museum

In an earlier post from last spring, I blogged about the opening of Michael’s Museum at the Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier. In Michael’s Museum is an amazing opportunity to experience and participate in the artistic vision of its creator and curator, Michael Horvich, who has spent his life collecting unique and  fascinating small objects. This Museum inside a museum is an adventure in the largesse and the allure of the tiny.

There is a small cabinet in Michael’s Museum which holds changing exhibitions every 6 to 8 weeks and, consummate collectors ourselves, JB and I were asked to cull some of our own miniatures to loan for the next cabinet exhibit. Today we installed the mini show.

When JB and I first were gathering items for this display, we found ourselves in a bit of a quandary about what we would select and how we might show it. At first I thought that putting the pieces in some sort of topic order would be appropriate since it is a children’s museum and the idea of collecting underpins Michael’s Museum. JB was for mixing all the items up, just as they “live” in our house, and I have to admit he was right. Somehow in the jumble and randomness of the items, the real spirit and magic of collecting comes through. Somehow the seeming chaos of all the types of objects we have collected actually contributes to an overall sense of creative and artistic order.

Michael’s Museum itself is a precious treasure to experience. It has been some time since our last visit and the enchantment of the small, miniature, diminutive, petite, and tiny is still there— an environment which inspires, delights, and sparks one’s imagination.

Our humble contribution to the magic of Michael’s Museum, “Artifacts“, will be up until February 23.

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Michael’s Museum is located in the Chicago Children’s Museum on Navy Pier.

The Story of Michael’s Museum is available for purchase through Lulu.