The Museums in my Works
October being museum month, it's made me reflect on the institutions I've loved. I realize I've mentioned quite a few in my writing.
I've been going to museums since I was five, and not just the ones for children. I went on a trip to Amsterdam and the US at that age and though most of the places we went to were for kids, we still had to accompany the grown-ups on a few museum jaunts. I don't remember those too well, except for Ripley's museum. But I do have a number of early museum memories--running down a red-carpeted gallery in the Cultural Center of the Philippines under the gaze of Juan Luna's wife and discovering the place's various nooks and crannies. Wandering by myself through the Exploratorium (which I mention in Always Online) and being asked by a lady to pose for a picture making rainbow shadows when I was eight.
I had to mention the Cultural Center in one of my first stories, "Virtual Center" as it had figured in the dream that inspired the story. The futuristic appearance of it as viewed from the LRT was what triggered my imaginings of a futuristic Philippines, little though the actual institution figured in my story.
Of course my art history novel Woman in a Frame had a museum. I based this on the one I knew most intimately--the Metropolitan Museum of Manila where I once volunteered. The fact that it exhibits mostly contemporary art yet retains strong links to the past by displaying much older works owned by the Central Bank, with which it is allied, made it both symbolically and practically the perfect setting.
My fascination with its ancient gold and pottery connection as well as my volunteer experience there I drew upon in writing Love Among the Geeks although I chose the Ayala Museum instead as Arden's museum for volunteering in, mainly because the presentation of its gold collection is more impressive. I knew the hi-tech aspects would appeal to Rob. This, by the way is a long overdue payment of a debt, since four years ago my book club, Flippers, was given a free tour of the museum and we were requested to plug about it in our blogs. Oh, well, at least I've done it doubly now. I don't mention the name of the museum in my book, but if you know Makati at all you'll recognize it. I even mention the Greenbelt Park I love so well leading up to it, its attached cafe that has a brunch buffet (with the champagne used to toast the newly engaged couple) and a jazz band on Sunday.
The National Museum also figures in this book, because of its archaeological studies division. My friend tells me you can actually volunteer to assist on their digs. But if roughing it doesn't appeal to you as it does to contrary Arden, you can just go see their collection--free every day in October, and always on Sundays. The Museum of the Filipino People is fascinating and may get you as hooked on our early history as Arden was.
Another museum Arden had to have visited in the course of the novel is Bahay Tsinoy, which has a large collection of ancient Chinese pottery, and a pretty cool near life-size diorama showing Chinese-Filipino history.
These are among my favorite museums in the Philippines. I don't actually name most of them in the stories and books. I suppose it would be helpful if I did. Certainly reading about museums like the Field Museum in The Time Traveler's Wife made me want to visit them, but I tend to feel constrained when I identify a particular setting, like I have to make sure the details are accurate. I hope to get over that feeling eventually after writing often enough that locations are "used fictionally."
There are other museums which I don't actually feature in my stories and novels but still have helped me in writing. I'll feature them in a later post.
I've been going to museums since I was five, and not just the ones for children. I went on a trip to Amsterdam and the US at that age and though most of the places we went to were for kids, we still had to accompany the grown-ups on a few museum jaunts. I don't remember those too well, except for Ripley's museum. But I do have a number of early museum memories--running down a red-carpeted gallery in the Cultural Center of the Philippines under the gaze of Juan Luna's wife and discovering the place's various nooks and crannies. Wandering by myself through the Exploratorium (which I mention in Always Online) and being asked by a lady to pose for a picture making rainbow shadows when I was eight.
I had to mention the Cultural Center in one of my first stories, "Virtual Center" as it had figured in the dream that inspired the story. The futuristic appearance of it as viewed from the LRT was what triggered my imaginings of a futuristic Philippines, little though the actual institution figured in my story.
Of course my art history novel Woman in a Frame had a museum. I based this on the one I knew most intimately--the Metropolitan Museum of Manila where I once volunteered. The fact that it exhibits mostly contemporary art yet retains strong links to the past by displaying much older works owned by the Central Bank, with which it is allied, made it both symbolically and practically the perfect setting.
My fascination with its ancient gold and pottery connection as well as my volunteer experience there I drew upon in writing Love Among the Geeks although I chose the Ayala Museum instead as Arden's museum for volunteering in, mainly because the presentation of its gold collection is more impressive. I knew the hi-tech aspects would appeal to Rob. This, by the way is a long overdue payment of a debt, since four years ago my book club, Flippers, was given a free tour of the museum and we were requested to plug about it in our blogs. Oh, well, at least I've done it doubly now. I don't mention the name of the museum in my book, but if you know Makati at all you'll recognize it. I even mention the Greenbelt Park I love so well leading up to it, its attached cafe that has a brunch buffet (with the champagne used to toast the newly engaged couple) and a jazz band on Sunday.
The National Museum also figures in this book, because of its archaeological studies division. My friend tells me you can actually volunteer to assist on their digs. But if roughing it doesn't appeal to you as it does to contrary Arden, you can just go see their collection--free every day in October, and always on Sundays. The Museum of the Filipino People is fascinating and may get you as hooked on our early history as Arden was.
Another museum Arden had to have visited in the course of the novel is Bahay Tsinoy, which has a large collection of ancient Chinese pottery, and a pretty cool near life-size diorama showing Chinese-Filipino history.
These are among my favorite museums in the Philippines. I don't actually name most of them in the stories and books. I suppose it would be helpful if I did. Certainly reading about museums like the Field Museum in The Time Traveler's Wife made me want to visit them, but I tend to feel constrained when I identify a particular setting, like I have to make sure the details are accurate. I hope to get over that feeling eventually after writing often enough that locations are "used fictionally."
There are other museums which I don't actually feature in my stories and novels but still have helped me in writing. I'll feature them in a later post.
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