My walkabout got me thinking today about a stellar museum experience I recently had, with one of the highlights being the exhibition “Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H.A. Rey”. If you haven’t seen it and are in the Bay area, you have until March 13th to go to The Contemporary Jewish Museum in downtown San Francisco. The exhibition was organized by The Jewish Museum in New York.
I grew up adoring the stories of George and friends and those narrow escapes as he maneuvered himself through adventures. What I never knew was that he was born “Fifi” of Jewish authors who escaped for their own lives on bicycles in 1940 because of Nazi occupation in Paris.
They traveled across France, Spain, Portugal, and Brazil before ending up in New York four months later. All the while, Margaret and H.A. wrote beautifully illustrated stories for children that focused on friendship, bravery and escaping harm.
What this exhibition does so well is appeal to both adults and children. The story of Nazi Europe is told without diluting the fear faced by the authors, but it is balanced with design and activities that also allow visitors to also focus on over 80 pieces of original artwork, the authors’ journals, an interactive timeline and even an “Art Pack” in the form of a little suitcase that provides activities and a map for kids to use.
Visitors with different interests can see the exhibition simultaneously and understand that while the Reys were experiencing this time of escape, they used their artwork and stories to help carry them along. Their ultimate success makes this a welcome lesson of perseverance and personal choice in how we deal with traumas in our lives. Perhaps that is why Curious George is still well-loved today, not only in the books but on PBS in his own show, on DVDs and even on Facebook where he has over 240,000 followers!
I went into this exhibition simply interested in learning more about some books I loved as a child. I came out loving them even more for the story previously unknown. That’s a good day in Museum Life!
Museum Life 