Cabinets of curiosities were, according to Wikipedia, collections of objects that interested people, mostly people wealthy enough to have the time and space to collect and house objects. They could be animal, vegetable, mineral (sometimes faked), manmade works or rarities belonging to natural history, geology, ethnography, archaeology, religion or history, works of art or antiquities. They would be collected and displayed with the aim of creating an element of wonder, hence their other name Wunderkammer.
When Beth Harcourt and I initially proposed our Living Projects, we intended to focus on the dimensions of creativity, one of which is curiosity. We thought people might create their own Cabinet of Curiosities, but in a box not taking over a full room!
As I reflect on 2024 and plan for 2025, I have been thinking about what is in my (metaphorical) Cabinet of Curiosities? What did I place in my cabinet during 2024 that is no longer an object or idea of curiosity? What could I take out so that my cabinet isn’t full of things that no longer invite or incite wonder? What remains? What do I want to add?
And, is there any practical use in creating a tangible Wunderkammer, a collection of objects that might represent intentions to be pursued in 2025? Would having an objet d’arte that I could take out, inspect, show others and dissect, make my aspirations more real?
Could creating a collective Wunderkammer be another way of getting a team of people to identify intentions and directions, to develop a common language and find ways of maintaining their individual and collective curiosity?
What do you think?
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