Our dear friend (and photography guru) Steven Thompson loves word puns and plays - most of which he comes up with on his own - and recently sent us the following:
When it rains, it spores!
Very clever and very appropriate for today’s post… because we're writing about a museum which features a clever twist on the use of mushrooms in art as well as redefines what is a museum.
When up in Puddletown (otherwise known as Portland to those not in the know), we make it a point to visit those odd little places that add another layer of richness to our lives, and the Zymoglyphic Museum proved to be one such place. “Quirky collection” is an apt description of this establishment... and, if anything, an understatement. Another way to characterize the museum is to note that it’s a “congenial place to spend time and to expand your viewpoint.”
It was an exceptionally warm day in May when we headed to the Zymoglyphic Museum and so was the welcome that artist Jim Stewart offered as we entered the re-purposed garage on North East Alder Street. He invited us upstairs and proceeded to give us a guided tour of his hand-crafted curiosities.
Allow me to briefly back up and explain that we’d originally learned of the Zymoglyphic Museum thanks to the book Atlas Obscura, which features a host of lesser recognized but quite remarkable oddities and wonders throughout the world. The book tantalized the reader with the following comments on Jim’s museum:
Early modern cabinets of curiosity were often divided into the categories of artificialia and naturalia, giving equal precedence to the marvels of man and God. In the dreamscape dioramas of the Zymoglyphic Museum, these two categories collide. In Stewart’s surreal tableaus, built from natural materials and installed in old aquarium tanks, it is often difficult to tell where the hand of nature stops and that of the artist begins.
Now, doesn’t that entice you to likewise schedule a visit to the Museum? Let me tell you that the passage lured us to the garage on Alder Street and we certainly weren’t disappointed!
One last thought - while there, be sure to look for the mushrooms that are featured in several of Jim’s creations. How many fungi can you find?
Zymoglyphic Museum
• 6225 SE Alder St, Portland, Oregon
• The museum is open to the public on selected Sundays in 2017 and admission is always free!
• Contact Jim, museum curator, at [email protected].