Friday, July 16, 2010

Preserve our Cities, Preserve our Culture

I just started working part-time at the Andy Warhol Museum as a gallery attendant. My job is to look at the people who are looking at art. Although I’ve only been working a few short days, I’ve already noticed a trend in many of the guests. Many of the visitors don’t even really look at the artwork that is displayed. They seem to just enjoy breezing through the seven floors, soaking in the museum atmosphere of wide, open emptiness with a sprinkling of culture and color, while of course, holding hands with their date.


Visitors will stop and read descriptions of intriguing pieces of art to learn some background and many of them are shocked by “Oxidation Painting” (a painting Warhol made by urinating on a copper-coated canvas), but it seems that many people just come to the museum for the atmosphere, to be surrounded by culture.


I’m sharing this because I believe that the cities and towns that we live in are comparable to a museum. When you visit a historic town, you feel the atmosphere change. You are suddenly a part of the history that town has seen. Walking through old streets in the ancient city of Aachen, Germany, you are reminded of the Roman Empire that once ruled the world. These feelings can’t be mimicked in brand new developments and high-rises. They are the stories in the walls of houses that have seen wars, peace and change. The sensation of being in a place that remembers things is something that must be preserved.


Like a museum, we must tend to our property and take care of it, as not to disturb this ambiance. Otherwise we will stop and look around one day and nothing will catch our eye or intrigue us about our culture, because all we might see are Walmarts and condominiums.


—Meghan Leinbach, YPA Intern & student at the University of Pittsburgh

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