In the Night at the Museum film series, a security guard discovers that the artifacts on display come alive at night. Stories about ghosts and haunted exhibitions populate our urban legends, with the Smithsonian Institution and Merchant’s House Museum being two paranormal examples. Alexander Sokurov’s gorgeous film Russian Ark imagines “ghosts” inside the Winter Palace of the Russian State Hermitage Museum.
Artist Andrés Wertheim uses his photographs to explore the historical presence of works of art, depicting figures as spirits floating through museum galleries. “Through these unexpected stories I want to take viewers on a journey of fantasy, a dreamlike dimension where past and present intertwine and at the same time, invite them to rethink their own relationship with museums as cultural institutions and as spaces for distraction,” he writes. See Renaissance muses come to life in our gallery.
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim
Image credit: Andrés Wertheim