Indian museums lack in planning

Finding a big building is not the only requirement for a museum, says photographer and expert in museum techniques, Robert Zayd Paris from Germany

Robert Zayd Paris, who is also a photographer, travelled along with his mother, Helga Paris, on several occasions when she was photographing the various facets of East Germany. Her photographs spanning nearly 4 decades of East Germany are at display in Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad.

“I like to take photographs of heritage buildings, which have a story to tell but are helpless,” he shares, “They may not even remain in this universe in the future, given the kind of commerce that goes behind dilapidated heritage structures giving way to modern buildings.”

“I used to travel with my mother and I could see cameramen, light men and photographers all guiding the youngsters. Every person was specialised in their job. Once East Germany unified with the West Germany, all the systems suddenly went into a spin. All photographers were together in the erstwhile East Germany and used to invite each other and they all remained like a family.

We all used to share the techniques and also discussed the latest in the field. Once the unification came, we had photographers from all around the world coming into the country. There was a certain kind of politics that crept into the system; corruption and favoritism came in with increased competition all around,” Robert explains how politics affected the otherwise thriving art of photography in Germany.

As a son of famous photographer, it was but an obvious choice for Robert to take up photography as a career; however, it was one event that steered his passion towards museum techniques. “Lot of money started flowing into the country and everyone was enjoying the new freedom. I started working as a bartender and was enjoying good life with heavy ‘tips’. One day a friend of mine offered me some work in a museum - to set up direction of lights on the objects for display. I immediately agreed to do the work and then I started enjoying the work and made deeper study about the requirements of a good museum.”

Creating a museum involves a lot of planning and conceptualization, especially in Europe. “The exhibits should be put on display according to scientific conditions. It’s very important to also look into the interaction opportunities between the visitors and the display of objects in the museum; audio and visual support with electronic media. There is also a need to know about the conservation of the artifacts so as to ensure that they do not get damaged over a period of time while on display.”

There is a general lack of such planning in India, he avers. “I see many museum buildings in India which really do not look like having been built or modified for proper display of objects. I find that there is a big mismatch between the science of display and the place of display. Every object is unique and there is a way in which it should be displayed or assigned a relevant home. Just because you get a huge building, converting it into a museum does not serve any great purpose. Renovation of an old building or constructing a new museum needs specialisation and in-depth knowledge about the objects that would come there eventually.”

By:JAYWANT NAIDU