I had the joy of recently going to a couple of the Winter 'blockbuster events' on in Melbourne - Tutankhamen at the Museum, and Vienna; Art and Design at the NGV. Both very good and well worth a visit, even if they are both outrageously overpriced - thus making it difficult for low incomers who have as much right to access as the rest of us - history and art ought not be confined to the middle classes in 2011 surely.
This is my bemusement though. Has everyone suddenly gone blind as well as lost their peripheral vision not to mention their manners?
What seems to be the 'go' now is for people to get right up as close as possible to a display/exhibit. If you dare to stand back a little bit to take in a good view of an item you will pretty quickly find someone will stand right in front of you and almost press their noses up against the glass casing. Don't think for a second that they care they now block your view and don't think for a second that they'll move on quickly either. MADDENING.
At Tut I was reading some descriptive text on the wall (quite a large piece of writing) and this bloke comes and stands between me and it and looks off into the distance. I thought maybe he was just stopping for a think but he stayed. I moved slightly hoping he would realise I was being blocked but no. 'Excuse me?' I said and I got THAT look - the one that suggests I may have stood in something not so pleasant smelling. I pointed to the writing and he just shrugged and moved away, no apology or embarrassment.
So are we seeing the rise of ignorance or, in the age of mobile phones and hand held devices where we have our heads down all the time and can zone the rest of the world out, are we just not aware of anyone around us?
Oh and in case you're wondering, this is people of all ages, it would be so much easier if it was those pesky kids but seriously some of my generation and the next are just as ignorant.
Two other asides:
- With so many people looking down all the time to read their screens or scrolling through their MP3 menus will we evolve into a species with a permanent stoop or head down stature - will our necks and backs conform somehow? The skeletal structure of future generationsmight be worth watching.
- On the subject of prices I was interested to note that a coffee table book at the Tut exhibition was selling for nearly $10 more than in bookshops, even a small booklet was an extra $7 to the bookstore price. Surely they were making enough already and the ethics of overcharging to a 'captive' audience is questionable.
