The Museum in the Elevator

Photo Courtesy New York Times

One of New York’s newest institutions is not housed in an grand space envisioned by teams of architects and designers. It’s in a cramped Tribeca elevator, easily overlooked by unassuming passersby.

Not yet a year old, the plainly titled Museum (mmuseumm.com) was opened in June by the collective filmmaking trio behind Red Bucket Films. Within the confines of the freight elevator, one can find assorted collections from around the world, of typically-discarded objects, removed from their native environment.

The idea behind the presentation is that “the context of each item can give it its value.” Currently, one can view such exhibitions as diverse as the “Global Toothpaste Collection,” “Mis-spelled Food Labels,” and “Personal Possessions Found in the Pacific,” among many others. Each object is accompanied by an explanation of its origin or its discovery. The experience is a logical extension of the filmmakers’ “Buttons” series, which aims to capture brief snippets of everyday life in a charming and interesting way.

Though some could easily read the entire endeavor as a joke, the time and care put into the presentation of these objects makes clear that there is a very true concept of finding gems among the trash of others. Underneath it all lies the very human instinct to share the odd discoveries we come across on our journies. As a fellow human interested in collecting the small curiosities of life, I have found a strong kinship with this project, appropriately located in the place I’d least expect to find it.

The collection is viewable through viewing windows 24/7, and open to the public on weekends. One can even schedule appointments for special events at a price, such as a custom-Swiss-Army-knife-making session with Van Neistat. Museum rotates its collection every few months, and they welcome submissions from the public.

Location:
Cortlandt Alley
Btwn Franklin St & White St
New York City, NY 10013

Hours:
Saturday & Sunday
11am – 7pm

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 at 8:00 am. It is filed under Creative Culture, New York City, Random. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.