David Wilson is indeed a "national treasure," as is his unsettling
museum. This book, however, seems to me a snide, yuppie's-eye-view of
a truly original person and his meticulously wondrous contribution to
the long history of the wonder-cabinet. I was depressed for quite a
while after reading it to think that this condescending and
anti-intellectual account would bear Wilson's mind and seditious
achievements out into the world so much more frequently than would
the Museum of Jurassic Technology itself, or its own publications.
People fated to live out imaginatively impoverished lives in
latter-day American society could use some capacity for self-loss in
the face of what is other than ourselves or what we have mastered.
And–perhaps less fundamentally, but in the interests of our being
less boring to each other–we could use a less pervasive culture of
knowingness. *Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder* brings that possibility
forward only to smother it in a kind of smugly affectionate ridicule
for the person who tried to give us a chance. I was particularly
disappointed in that Weschler's 80s New Yorker piece about Boggs was
both intriguing and respectful, and his original Harper's piece on
Wilson at least showed honest curiosity. The book is a failure for a
writer who had seemed to have an interesting mission. People
interested in Wunderkammern of the past, as Wilson himself is and as
Weschler's irrepressible condescension demonstrates he is finally
not, should look at the catalogue of Dartmouth's Hood Museum exhibit
and conference on them, edited by Joy Kenseth, *The Age of the
Marvelous*; Paula Findlen's *Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting
and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy; Lorraine Daston and
Katherine Park's *Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1100-1750*, and
Rosamond Purcell and Stephen J. Gould's glorious *Finders, Keepers:
Treasures and Oddities of Natural History*.
- mary campbell, 2001
_
_
_
hum.
i had the exact opposite reaction to the book. it made me a HUGE fan
of the Museum of Jurassic Technology.
i visited the MJT a few years back and recommend it as a 'don't miss'
spot if you find yourself in LA.
>David Wilson is indeed a "national treasure," as is his unsettling
>museum. This book, however, seems to me a snide, yuppie's-eye-view
>of a truly original person and his meticulously wondrous
>contribution to the long history of the wonder-cabinet. I was
>depressed for quite a while after reading it to think that this
>condescending and anti-intellectual account would bear Wilson's mind
>and seditious achievements out into the world so much more
>frequently than would the Museum of Jurassic Technology itself, or
>its own publications. People fated to live out imaginatively
>impoverished lives in latter-day American society could use some
>capacity for self-loss in the face of what is other than ourselves
>or what we have mastered. And–perhaps less fundamentally, but in
>the interests of our being less boring to each other–we could use a
>less pervasive culture of knowingness. *Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of
>Wonder* brings that possibility forward only to smother it in a kind
>of smugly affectionate ridicule for the person who tried to give us
>a chance. I was particularly disappointed in that Weschler's 80s New
>Yorker piece about Boggs was both intriguing and respectful, and his
>original Harper's piece on Wilson at least showed honest curiosity.
>The book is a failure for a writer who had seemed to have an
>interesting mission. People interested in Wunderkammern of the past,
>as Wilson himself is and as Weschler's irrepressible condescension
>demonstrates he is finally not, should look at the catalogue of
>Dartmouth's Hood Museum exhibit and conference on them, edited by
>Joy Kenseth, *The Age of the Marvelous*; Paula Findlen's *Possessing
>Nature: Museums, Collecting and Scientific Culture in Early Modern
>Italy; Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park's *Wonders and the Order
>of Nature, 1100-1750*, and Rosamond Purcell and Stephen J. Gould's
>glorious *Finders, Keepers: Treasures and Oddities of Natural
>History*.
>
>- mary campbell, 2001
–
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http://www.mteww.com
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