A Museum In California, Founded By John Quinn, That Revolves Around Artifacts Of Broken Relationships From All Over The World
It's an ordinary dog brush. Just a dog brush with some matted dog fur caught between the teeth. A plain dog brush. But like all of the everyday items at the Museum of Broken Relationships in the heart of Los Angeles, California, the dog brush is not just a dog brush – it's a symbol of a failed relationship, an item that defined an important time period in two people's lives.
“We knew it wouldn't work out, but we were all each other had at the moment,” reads the anonymous description that came with the dog brush. “Hoping [to] keep us together when our relationship was already quickly starting to fall apart, I got us a dog. This was the dog's hairbrush.”
The relationship, which originated in Goleta, California, lasted from February 2015 to October later that year. Now, the dog brush has found a home at the Museum of Broken Relationships, which was opened by founder John Quinn on June 4th, 2016, from an idea that originated with a museum of the same name in Croatia, founded in 2010. The exhibition is entirely crowd-sourced, revolving around artifacts of broken relationships from all over the world.
“Some items are profoundly ordinary and some are extraordinary,” explains Director Alexis Hyde. “It gives a testament to moments that are very important and defining in our lives. We have times for weddings, birthdays and promotions, but we don't make time for broken relationships, which are just as defining. Even though you've never felt so alone, we are here to show that others go through the same thing. It's a fundamental part of the human experience.”
The idea of a museum dedicated to items linked to heartbreak, failure and anger may sound depressing. But Hyde said that most visitors change their opinion on the matter once they leave: “They feel very uplifted and courageous, even.”
And that includes Hyde herself. One may think being around old love letters and romantic poems from failed relationships would be draining, crushing…maybe even make Hyde and other employees cautious and sour about their own relationships, but Hyde said that each day leaves her emboldened.
“I think of these people's stories. These [are] great stories,” explains Hyde, “[It makes me] realize I need more experiences. I have to make my own [experiences]. [Because] what's the worst that could happen? It doesn't work?”
While there are many common items that visitors would expect, there are also many uncommon artifacts as well. All of the items are anonymous, so many visitors can empathize with the stories behind each item, the love letters, the poems, even the belly button lint and a rusty meat smoker. In fact, it's often that these everyday items – a hair brush, a mug, a tube of toothpaste – truly define a relationship, said Hyde, not extravagant gifts and celebrations.
One item that stood out to Hyde is a biography written by famous filmmaker Werner Herzog. A woman was dating a man who promised he would go to Herzog's book signing and get her a signed copy. When he arrived at the book signing and saw how long the line was he snuck in and tried to find a book that was already signed. He ended up grabbing a box of books and stole them. On his way out, an officer attempted to stop him to which the man replied while fleeing: “This is what Herzog would have wanted.” The stolen book, to Hyde and museum visitors, represents what people do for each other…and, specifically, what this person was willing to do for his significant other.
While some items have positive emotions behind them, some are a little more grim. One woman dropped off cologne bottles, half used by her husband who died a few years ago. Despite never having met the man, visitors can see into the couple's life “These are ones he had in his bathroom,” Hyde relates solemnly. “They've probably been in there for over 25 years. The smell – we opened the box and it hit us. I've never met this man in my life, but I know what he smelled like. It's very real.. very human. It brought me to tears.”
People sharing these items, these personal belongings, their stories can also be very profound and empowering for others.
“I think [sharing physical] things like this are very important, especially now that everything is so digital and device-driven,” Hyde continues. “It's so easy to separate things…to distance ourselves [from life]. This helps us remember that we're all together. We're all the same.”
Hyde moved to Los Angeles from Texas 10 years ago to become part of the contemporary art world. What interested her about contemporary art was that there was no preconceived notion of what creativity is. There's no set path of what success looks like, or what art truly can be.
“I've worked in a lot of museum galleries and worked with a lot of artists,” she concludes. “I eat, breath and sleep art. But no other piece of art has ever cut me as deep as the things in this museum. Art is exposing someone through universal themes. This museum cuts to the quick of how connected we really are. After a while I thought some of the objects would stop affecting me. I was worried I'd become numb. But the same stories still make me cry. It's all really beautiful. Exhausting… but beautiful.”
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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