This blog will comprise a collection of ephemera, mess and miscellaneous artifacts reflecting on the writer's life.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Dream spaces


I have been reading this book as part of my glass cabinets project and it describes the experience of visiting a museum as a movement through three overlapping symbolic spaces: cognitive, pragmatic (or social) and dream.
The dream space,energizes both our imaginations and our memories. It illuminates feelings. Anarchic and unpredictable, through the dream space we can arrive at all sorts of possibilities not considered by those who make museum exhibitions. In dream space, many things might tumble through our minds: bits of songs, half-written shopping lists, things left unsaid.
(Kavanagh 2000:3).

I like this idea of the dream space and its potential for analysing museum visiting.
It reminded me also of Kevin Leander's work on on-line spaces, and of James Gee's work on affinity spaces, and Julia Davies' work on heterotopias, not to mention Elizabeth Moje's work on third space...
It also reminded me of this poem, which I used to read on the Underground as I went to work:
Dreams

Here we are all, by day: by night we're hurled
By dreams, each one, into a several world.

Robert Herrick.

And the Miami people haven't yet woken up yet and are still dreaming as I write this.

4 comments:

cityB said...

How come you're not one of the Miami people Dr Kate? I'm scared that they're ganging up on you behind your back. You could always mix the letters around on their keyboards whilst they're away.

Kate said...

I might well do that.
The really GOOD thing I am going to San Fransisco in April and I will then be the people ganging up.
Oh yes.

Joolz said...

Cityb, we talk constantly of DrKate and how she would be a welcome addition to our crew.
I think you are trying tpo split us up ... you could be in the gang too if you want.

Kate, I saw Eliazabeth Moje and did not go shopping... she was very wonderful.

C U soon

Kate said...

You are clever to avoid shopping during Elzabeth Moje as I did not.
But you can blame Jennifer for that.