Shattering the Hard Shell of Certainty

Today... I have been having a look at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA. This curious museum first first came to my attention when I watched a documentary about the German filmaker, Werner Herzog. During the course of an interview, Herzog took the interviewer there and introduced it as his favorite place in all of Los Angeles.

The museum's name is a puzzle as the Jurrasic period ended 150 million years before humans made an appearance on this earth... however, that's beside the point and the museum houses a most fascinating collection of items and curiosities.

Here are a few of the permanent collections on display-

- A collection of decomposing antique dice once owned by magician Ricky Jay and documented in his book Dice: Deception, Fate, and Rotten Luck

- A collection of micro-miniature sculptures and paintings, such as a sculpture of Pope John Paul II carved from a single human hair and placed within the eye of a needle

- A collection devoted to trailer park culture, entitled "Garden of Eden On Wheels."

I've always had a bit of a thing for trailer parks so the last exhibit is of particular interest to me.

Going back to my earlier point, I first heard of this place through Herzog, and today, it came into my life again when I was searching the net for information on the Salpetriere Clinic in Paris.

The Salpetriere was a clinic where 5000 women, who were all thought to be hysterical, where incarcetaried duing th first part of the 1900's. Charcot, a pioneering/deeply disturbed doctor there, was interested in recording the physical manifestation of the illness through photography. I have found a few books covering the topic but today, excitingly, I found a film. The film is called 'Charming Augustine' and it deals with the same sort of issues, using the Salpetriere as a backdrop. The filmmaker, Zoe Beloff, is interested in the doctors attempts to record the mechanics of their patients bodies in their efforts to unlock the secrets of their minds. This is mega interesting to me. I had a look into her page and found her father to be a philosopher who wrote extensively on dualism and had a very keen interest in art. It all comes together; philosophy, hysteria, photography, trailer parks and Werner Herzog. I'm sure the Museum of Jurrasic Technology would approve of such an eclectic mix.