Culture Vulture: Intro and House Museums

Believe it or not, between my laid-back class schedule and nights of theatre going, I’ve been seeing my fair share of this city. It’s been so nice to see the sights at a leisurely pace. After another lovely Sunday, I think it’s about time I finally start sharing some of these experiences I’ve accumulated with you. So here begins my Culture Vulture series on the various museums, galleries, and sights of my Russian experience. I think it’s best to start with that special Russian oddity—the memorial house museum.

The great poets, playwrights, and writers who resided in Moscow—even if it was just for three months—all seem to have had their living spaces preserved as a sort of monument. Many of these can be kind of boring (oh look, there’s an old desk, never mind that it wasn’t actually Marina Tsvetaeva’s desk, but it could be from that period…). But I have made it my goal to find out which ones are worthwhile and hit them up. Because frankly, unless you speak Russian or really revere these figures, it can feel kind of pointless to visit them otherwise.

Like the poet Marina Tsvetaeva’s memorial apartment. In our second week of class Igor strongly hinted (aka told us) that we should go visit after reading her poems in his class. So we called up (actually, Nastia called up for us), scheduled and English guide (which was actually kind of pricey even divided by the four of us), and set off on one of our first excursions. We got a little lost, but still managed to find it. The guide’s English was poor (we actually think she didn’t want us to pay, but the higher-ups seemed to tell her that we still had to), and the house didn’t really give me any more insight into her life. I’ve always really enjoyed seeing old houses and rooms decorated like they might have been decades or centuries earlier, but this was somehow lackluster.

So that’s when I consulted the list my friend Sarah Wallace from the class of ’08 had sent me and emailed my friend Heidi of ’09 to find out which house museums were worthwhile. On the day I meant to go to Chekhov’s house it turned out it was closed (and now I hear it’s kind of boring, so I won’t be going), so Rachel and I went to the Stanislavsky House Museum instead. For a mere 60 rubles ($2), we got to see the beautiful house were Stanislavsky spent his last years. I wish I had paid the 100 rubles to take photos. The ceilings were each unique and beautiful, and the rooms themselves had interesting design, architecture, and furniture pieces. Each room also had its own typed up sheet in English that was both interesting and informative. Stanislavsky’s bedroom and adjoining study were particularly interesting. Desks and layouts were kept in original condition (as proved by photographs), there were paintings and sketches by famous people like Edward Gordon Craig, and gifts from people like Isadora Duncan.

My next outing was to the Gorky House Museum. I must admit, I haven’t really read much Gorky, but after seeing some of Heidi’s photos I was really excited by the architecture. Gorky didn’t live there very long, but this free museum showcases the beautiful Gaudi-like and art deco design of the house’s interior. I took about 10 photos of the amazing banister, and would post them here but I think it would eat up my internets. Sigh. Moving on…

Today looked like it was going to be a gorgeous day and perfect for an outing to the Novodevichie Cemetery. But upon leaving brunch at the Starlite Diner, Laura and I thought it would be best to find something else to do given the chilly and grayish weather. As we walked by the statue of Mayakovsky I recalled that Sarah had included his house museum in her list of must-sees. One look in my guidebook solidified this choice. It described the Mayakovsky Memorial House Museum as less like an apartment and more like what it must have been like inside of his futurist/constructivist brain. Intriguing…off we went.

This was probably one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to. Plus it was free, AND you could take photos inside without paying for that privilege. The poet, artist, and occasional playwright (we actually learned about one of his plays that he did with Meyerhold) lived in a communal apartment that was turned into a memorial museum by his granddaughter. An incredible amount of material was saved: photos, programs, posters, paintings, letters, newspapers…the list goes on. But the way they were shown was so cool, and difficult to describe. Twisted sculptures, angled, it was like being inside a futurist surrealist brain for sure. It also made me much more interested in reading more of his poetry and learning more about his life.

As I mentioned in my last post, we have class in Meyerhold’s Memorial Apartment, which has its own creepy past. But it’s still pretty amazing to sit down in what used to be his living room, where he once sat, and learn about him. I’m not sure if many more house museums lie in my future, but I’ve enjoyed some of the surprises so far.