Defining the Manifestation of the Holy Place Myth in the Museum Institution Based on the Views of Mircea Eliade

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student in Art Research, Faculty of Higher Research in Art and Entrepreneurship, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran (Corresponding Author).

2 Master of Islamic Art (Historical and Comparative Studies), Faculty of Handicrafts, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

The myth expresses the ancient man's thought and feeling toward reality and the universe, which was formed in connection with his religious and moral needs. Meanwhile, "place" has sacred aspects in mythology and it is separate from the usual dimensions. Therefore, understanding the encryption of a place depends more than anything on understanding its religious value and knowing the structure and function of the holy place. This is while the attitude of early and religious societies towards the place has been different from the attitude of modern societies; in such a way that the primitive and mythological man sought to create holy places to get rid of the worldly dimensions. But the modern man is far away from the holy place and has fallen into the trap of the secular place. Based on this, in Eliade's thought, "place" is placed in two different fields, holy and secular and any manifestation is considered to be a combination of these two. That is, holiness is also hidden and secret while being revealed; therefore, the existence of an unholy place has never been fully understood, and even the most secular place still preserves traces of the religious value of the world. In addition, he defines the structure and action of the holy place as dependent on the characteristics of the manifestation of the sacred, the connecting center, the repetition of the cosmological archetype, the experience of the beginning time, and having borders and passages. He has dealt with the mentioned subject in detail in two books: 1-Treatise on the History of Religions (1949), which focused on the key concepts of "the center of the universe", "holy place" and "holy time" and 2- The sacred and the profane; the nature of religion (1957), which, in addition to the previous concepts, paid attention to "sanctity of nature" and "human existence and sanctified life".
In the meantime, although in the general view, the museum seems to be a secular place and related to modern society, it accepts sacred aspects and evidence of the manifestation of the concept of a "holy" place can be seen in it, which is visible among Eliade's opinions. The museum is considered as a place that has a foundation in mythology, a temple and a religion (sacred) on one hand, and a modern phenomenon (customary) on the other hand, it includes values and characteristics that can create an exceptional quality for humans. Therefore, the present research, using Eliade's mythological model regarding the "holy place", has paid attention to its analysis of the museum institution and in this way, it brings up the compatibility of the museum institution with this myth. 
The purpose of this research is based on analyzing the mythological model of the sanctity of place in the museum according to Eliade's opinions. Also, the main question is: What are the sacred features of the museum related to the holiness model of place in the mythology of Eliade? The method of the current research is qualitative and descriptive-analytical, and it is formed with a mythological approach. In terms of the goal, it is a type of developmental research and the collection of materials has been done in a library manner. The importance and necessity of research are that the mythological approach in the field of museology can open a new view on it and clarify the position of the museum institution related to holiness in the world of myths. Also, considering the role of the space and place of the museum in the formation of meaning and concepts, the subject of the holiness of the place can play a central role in policies aimed related to the framework and function of the museum; that is, it promotes knowledge and improves planning in the process of museum development and design, the perception and display of works and the experience of visitors. Nowadays, in the architecture of museums, the external volume is important in addition to the internal use, and on the other hand, attention is paid to the internal spaces and their functions, including the activities of the museum curators, museum objects, and its visits and visitors. In addition, it emphasizes the caution in differentiating the sanctification and desanctification of the museum in the contemporary era.  
The results show that, from a mythological point of view, the museum is considered the place and temple of "muses", the place of manifestation of the sacred. Then, since many museums are established in holy places such as temples, churches, mosques, and shrines, they are considered places of holiness. Also, museums can enable the manifestation of the sacred through their objects and collections in three ways: objects with an inherent holiness, objects related to holiness, or an ordinary thing that has been sanctified by entering the museum. Furthermore, in the myth, "muses" are the spiritual link between humans and other worlds; the museum too, being the center of the universe, connects the earth and the sky through its objects and architectural structure as the axis of the world; either symbolically or in appearance. More precisely, the museum reminds us of the sky, and since all cultures seek to conquer this sky, they consider it a holy origin and special symbol for every phenomenon; whether it is prehistoric pottery, a statue, painting, etc. or it is a museum building, including a house, bridge, bath, etc. Also, museums can show the repetition of cosmogenesis at first glance, because museum works are considered a type of creation, most of which are related to myths, whether it is a carpet with mythological motifs, pottery with the pattern of the tree of life, or an icon of the Holy Mary. Also, the external structure and architecture of some museums are a type of creation based on mythological archetypes. The museum is also re-defining and giving birth to itself in a constant encounter with novel works and ordering the chaos existing among the works, and it can be called a very small version of the world's creation.
On the other hand, a museum is a place whose duty is to remind the existence and identity of the human being; that is, it benefits from the beginnings and origins, and with this hope, he takes the works and objects and displays them. In this sense, the object in the museum environment becomes a symbolic and mythical medium that provides a way to escape from the present and this escape is deeper when it takes the form of returning to the beginning. In fact, in the museum, a person achieves a kind of "escape from time" and is freed from personal and historical time. The Museum is also a reminder of the beginning of time by including tangible and intangible works related to periodical celebrations and ceremonies such as New Year and rituals such as wars and battles. In another view, the museum is also enclosed like holy places, and due to this demarcation, it is separated from the unholy world. Also, the museum building often has a route and sequence of entry or threshold and special conditions for entry; in fact, passing through it requires compliance with rules such as buying a ticket, not bringing a camera, food, etc. and entering it means accepting a different situation. In addition, as a place of comfort, relaxation, and education, it requires covenants about sound, silence, restraint, attention, and full awareness, which well reflects a kind of sanctification of the place. However, it does not force anyone to perform religious duties or repent. According to the mentioned characteristics, the museum can be considered a holy place based on the mythological model of Eliade. The general patterns of the museum are pregnant with values and characteristics such as the manifestation of the sacred, the connecting center, the repetition of the cosmological archetype, the experience of the beginning time, and having borders and passages, as a result, it can revive the experience of the "holy place" even for non-religious people.
 

Keywords

References

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URL(s)
URL1: https://artthescience.com/blog/2016/01/19/spaces-artscience-museum/
URL2: https://b2n.ir/a68730
URL3: http://honarkhan.com/mag/
URL4: http://insideinside.org/project/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum-new-york/
URL5: https://livingnomads.com/2017/06/jewish-museum-berlin/inside-judisches-museum-berlin-jewish-museum-berlin/
URL6: https://razheh.com/buildings/Milwaukeeart%20museum
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Painting Graphic Research
Volume 4, Issue 6 - Serial Number 6
August 2021
Pages 106-119

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