For this museum journal entry I shall talk about my experience at the ZKM Museum in Karlsruhe. On the day of the journey we all gathered together to take the train to Karlsruhe. On the train Lukas, the leader of this excursion, gave us all pamphlets of the day so that we all remain on schedule. I instantly thought how this was going to be a very different museum than I had anticipated.

When we arrived at the museum we were greeted by a two works of art: a mangled, organized mess of metal and a wooden record player. They were massive and very leering to me. These two structures, more so the metalwork, appeared to be the guardians of the ZKM gates. Inside the museum was a large open hall that seemed to be used for discussion groups and the occasional reflection cup of espresso. Shortly afterward we entered the main exhibit: the media art collection.

Nearly right in front of every corner there was a video playing. I thought, at the time, that I had a good handle on conventional art at the time. These videos made me question my understanding of the human mind. There were displays of cultural tension, endlessness, human perception and the depths of the mind; this was only the first floor of this collection.

The next floor displayed holographic artworks of a variety of scenes and it even had a film explaining the process behind them; it was quite fascinating. The effects the artists could achieve on those pieces gave the artwork life and form, something I have never seen before in art. It was a way of giving art form and character as well as embedding futuristic turn to the medium. Lastly, the third and final floor portrayed remixed video games.

Among the ones I played on in particular stood out more than the others. The game had you drive a car and when you were about to finish something abruptly would happen preventing you from completing the track. It seemed to be a commentary on how humans perceive an “end” to something. As well as play on the assumption that there is an end to everything.