"The World in a Box"

A fantastic program was on the BBC the other night.
The World in a Box
The main idea in this program was that the origin of modern museums is curiousity that blends art and science, reason and wonder. The Wunderkammern of the 16th Century, which juxtaposed so many fragments both strange and beautiful, is finding new interpretaion in 21st century display techniques. It seems like the appeal of collecting has never lost its power, and the influence of placing items in a close juxtaposition still creates unique associations that chronology or minimal exhibition techniques - so typical of modernism and most museums through the 20th Century - loses all sense of comprehensive wonder. The narrative of "history" as the strict categorization of "Impressionist" or "Egyptian" objects totally negates the power of an object within a greater context.
Although the examples in the program are not the best, I think that the author is on to something. I would suggest the reorganization of the Tate Modern and the reinstallation of the Enlightenment Galleries in the British Museum as two more interesting examples.