Contemporary Cabinets of Curiosity

We all know how dogs mark their territory. Ever considered humans? 

Steal a glance at a friend's fridge. While some are as barren as Voltaire's few acres of snow, others resemble modern cabinets of curiosities¹. 

Chill out with mine: two doors and one-and-a-half sides exposed. Bare when we met, that is. It's all dressed up since the family's had places to go. Broad and gleaming, it's the perfect showcase. And a great spot for storing papers at risk of misplacement. Stick on a magnet, and milk-bag slicers and bottle openers transform into paper-hugging multi-taskers. Ditto for wallet-sized photos of family and friends. Souvenir heaven.

Full Frontal Fridge (detail):

Stormy weather in Algonquin Park by Tom Thompson (locale is northern Ontario; magnet was acquired in Ottawa). Churning on a Chrysler Building postcard background. 

Colourfully green and blue, 
not red (read) all over

The lightning-struck Eiffel Tower (souvenir de Paris) set off by a kiss from the goldworker's son  (secured from the canvas' Vienna home gift shop. 

Breathtaking Ishtar Gate dragon in dazzling lapis-blue glazed brick (from Berlin's amazing Museum Island), a mix of ancient and reproduction. Set off by the oh-too-solid walls below the magical glass envelope of the St Chapelle (Paris again). Then glimpses of Dublin (a cheapo Ryanair day trip) and more Eiffel. 

Postcard Pompeii's plaster victims vicariously revisiting the fires of Vesuvius. Flanked by upstart frogs (New York's Lincoln Center promo item and a Boston novelty shop find). New York spins Aristophanes. 

Finally, a diametrically opposed Klimt, this time keeping Harvard Square (Massachusetts) under cover. 

(Close-up) Left Side, Bottom Right: 

Snow-dusted Edinburgh, did the sun soon dust off your frost? A double meaning: Pinned down, first by St Lazare Station, iron horse stable and conveyance to Monet's Giverny (Paris locale, from Chicago's Art Institute), and second, by Tolkien's face of Obsession. 

Harmony in Blues, 
 not in blue and silver

Freedom! Glide implausibly from the Golden Gate (San Francisco souvenir) to Venice Beach (California). While Calgary, sans Stampede, meets New Orleans' lunar tomato paste (Louisiana).


Birds costume designs personify the hollowness of life in Cloud Cuckoo Land (memento of an unforgettable Stratford performance). 


Cynically crash land to the disappointing finality of South Beach nostalgia with style (not quite MIA, Florida²). Bad trip.

I learnt recently that you can skin a refrigerator.  A monstrous sibling to those peel-and-press cell phone decals and surface protectors. Fasten a statement to your phone, laptop, and now your icebox. No thanks. Stick with the little guys.

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Notes

¹ "[A]n encyclopedic collection in Renaissance Europe ... Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art ... and antiquities." (wikipedia)

I first came across the term when I read The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It's light reading, suitable for the rigours of travelling. 

I visited Sir John Soane's House cum Museum in London several years ago. Although it's bereft of a natural history slant, it's my cabinet gold standard.


² The letters MIA stand for "Miami International Airport" and "Missing in Action". I arrived at MIA, but was almost MIA before my flight home. I should have stuck to South Beach.

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Books mentioned

• Frogs and Other Plays
• Birds and Other Plays
• The Cabinet of Curiosities