
Adolf Hering, “The Sweet Secret” (1892) (image via Wikipedia)
Yesterday marked the beginning of Museum Week, an annual social media campaign that gives museums around the world the opportunity to engage with the public in a number of ways. Each day, institutions post things in their social media channels corresponding to a specific theme; Monday’s theme, as last year, was #secretsMW, allowing institutions to share secrets related to their collections and histories, and some of which were actually very revealing.
It happens that while you’re roaming galleries, you may actually be walking by some amazing artworks that are hidden in plain sight — you just have to know where to find them. Installed near the Museum of Modern Art’s bookstore, for instance, is a plaque by Jenny Holzer spelling out cryptic advice rather than rigid rules. Much more subtle is one mysterious fossil embedded in the floor of the US National Archives that blends in with the marble. And the next time you’re at the Guggenheim, be sure to pay a visit to a relic from the past in the building’s main lobby, situated near the restaurant.
A Jenny Holzer Living series plaque is tucked away on Fl 2 near the bookstore. #SecretsMW https://t.co/UKhpBW9hRc pic.twitter.com/yAglnPuRAb
— Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) March 28, 2016
There’s #fossils in the marble floor of the #NationalArchives! Do you know what this one is? (We don’t!) #secretsMWpic.twitter.com/DyxOQ9bid1
— US National Archives (@USNatArchives) March 28, 2016
Have you seen the @Guggenheim#FrankLloydWright phonebooths? No more phones but still NYC phonebooks. #secretsMWpic.twitter.com/Os3qUWxBoh
— Rachel Ropeik (@TheArtRopeik) March 28, 2016
Unfortunately, some permanent works are concealed from the public, such as the Guggenheim’s hidden Miró mural and intricate carvings tucked away above the Chateau de Versailles’s famed mirrored hall:
The attic of the Hall of Mirrors reveals the sculptures of the Palace’s anterior facade #secretsMW pic.twitter.com/DHEKe0LIbr
— ChateaudeVersailles (@CVersailles) March 28, 2016
Many museums also took to posting photographs of spaces inaccessible to the public. Images of archives give us a chance to glimpse objects rarely seen by the public while revealing how museum staff care for these stored artifacts and specimens. Other pictures spotlighted insider views, including the backstage area of Shakespeare’s Globe theater.
There’s more to the Museum below the galleries! Here’s a glimpse of the Greek and Roman collection #secretsMW pic.twitter.com/tPDcWSiyo4
— British Museum (@britishmuseum) March 28, 2016
Did you know there are 6 million natural history specimens behind the scenes @Museum_Cardiff #secretsMW @MuseumWeek pic.twitter.com/7EUhhi4NY6
— Cardiff Curator (@CardiffCurator) March 28, 2016
Each of our sculptures in storage has its own preferred sleeping position. #secretsMWpic.twitter.com/gKmswkEcaU
— Hammer Museum (@hammer_museum) March 28, 2016
This 100-y.o. museum has some amazing secrets. Did you know our mammalogy dept houses a pelt vault? (1/3) #secretsmw pic.twitter.com/yoRhMsHE7G
— NHMLA (@NHMLA) March 28, 2016
Our secret door reveals a staircase! Hmm … wonder where it goes? (4/6) #secretsMW #MuseumWeek pic.twitter.com/LBE2vBUQ3E
— House of the Temple (@MasonicMuseum) March 28, 2016
What does #backstage of the Globe theatre look like? Like this> #SecretsMW. pic.twitter.com/TqxcTkbJ0D
— Shakespeare’s Globe (@The_Globe) March 23, 2015
Other behind-the-scenes images show how museums choose to operate or present themselves. London’s National Portrait Gallery is incredibly dedicated to dusting its ornate frames, for instance; North Carolina’s Museum of Natural Sciences gets its large displays squeaky clean with a simple Swiffer. And those walls at the High Museum aren’t painted just any old shade of white.
Each morning at the Gallery begins with a thorough dusting session from our Framing team #secretsMW pic.twitter.com/KhCTJ3vZg2
— Portrait Gallery (@NPGLondon) March 28, 2016
Just a mantis getting a bath. How do you clean YOUR giant preying mantis? @naturalsciences#MuseumWeek#secretsMWpic.twitter.com/qValMuFBWN
— Wendy Lovelady (@wendousone) March 28, 2016
#DYK that we have a mini version of the museum that our curators use to plan exhibitions? #SecretsMW #MuseumWeek pic.twitter.com/dHHcGWDSQl
— PérezArtMuseumMiami (@pamm) March 28, 2016
Our walls are painted in a custom shade of white called “HMA White” #secretsMW pic.twitter.com/8hfaMM1o4Q
— High Museum (@HighMuseumofArt) March 28, 2016
There are, of course, some fascinating historical tidbits we may have forgotten:
You once had to be dead for 10yrs for your portrait to hang in the NPG – a rule only changed in 1969 #secretsMW pic.twitter.com/H93faxYGLN
— Portrait Gallery (@NPGLondon) March 28, 2016
Frank Lloyd Wright wished to name the Guggenheim building the “Archeseum:” https://t.co/bhkenI7W4i #SecretsMW pic.twitter.com/kyDvAk20Mj
— Guggenheim Museum (@Guggenheim) March 28, 2016
And while most museums may not allow pets to roam their collections, they’re often home to a number of animals — from mascots of sorts to pests:
Our all-time favourite #secretsMW from the Archive: a tally of the rats trapped and killed during WW2 at the Gallery pic.twitter.com/9XC8uyQjnf
— Portrait Gallery (@NPGLondon) March 28, 2016
Did you know we have honeybees on our roof? #secretsMW#MuseumWeek#NewWhitneypic.twitter.com/O1ClvTDXoR
— Whitney Museum (@whitneymuseum) March 28, 2016
Our resident egret Edgar follows visitors around each day, keeping two steps closely behind. #SecretsMW #MuseumWeek pic.twitter.com/0GYW0yGvIV
— Morikami Museum (@morikamimuseum) March 29, 2016
Our resident hedgehog, Bill Spikes is our best kept secret. He lives down in the basement kitchen #secretsMW pic.twitter.com/C5IezND3hz
— Dickens Museum (@DickensMuseum) March 28, 2016