Aliabon, Samm Allyson P.

March 11,2016

2013-05636

Tour 113

Reflection Paper: Ayala Museum

Many people would probably agree when I say museums are boring. I have been to a few.
Not that I had went there voluntarily. Museum visits are typically necessary in school trips.
Anyway, to the few I have gone to, I have come to one conclusion: They are all the same. The
cold, drafty air that surrounds the room makes me want to run back to the entrance. The creepy
bones and vases make me cringe. And those paintings, I can look at them all day and I would still
have nothing to say. Do not get me wrong though. I appreciate arts, culture, and history,
especially our own, but there is something about museums that is unappealing. I have been to
National Museum recently and my opinion still stands. Nothing changed. Museums are still
boring to me. You can just imagine the dreariness I have felt when I realized I still have one more
museum to visit. So I travelled by train and by foot, passing by the high skyscrapers and posh
shops, to get to Makati where the Ayala Museum can be found.
Good morning, maam. Are you going to visit the Ayala Museum? I nodded. As if
seeing that the museum is actually adjacent to the posh greenbelt mall has not startled me
enough, here are the friendly guards speaking to me in well-versed English. Quite amused, but
still startled, I proceeded to the second floor where the reception is located.
Two glamorous women welcomed me in the reception and being the talkative person that
I am, I asked them about their work. Contrary to what I first thought, they are not Tourism
graduates. The staffs are usually Art studies, Philippine studies, or History graduates. I must

agree that these degrees are more suitable in their line of work. Having this kind of background
will make you more appreciative of museums.
As suggested by the receptionist, I went to the fourth floor to start my tour. The dark
walls and steel, not to mention automatic, gates made me think that I am in a dungeon. The
entrance to the first exhibition, Gold of Ancestors, would lead you to a circular room that serves
as a mini-theatre, where a short documentary is being shown. The deep voice and spectacular
photography made me guess that the documentary is filmed by the History channel. It is that
good. I would have appreciated the film more though if only for the incoherent murmurs I heard
while watching the film. Looking around, I realized that I was accompanied by a group of
Japanese. I remember the swarm of foreigners at the entrance of the museum. That made me
curious, Why are there so many foreigners here? Luckily, I spotted a guard roaming around so
I asked him. Majority of the visitors here are foreigner, maam, he said. Here we go again,
foreigners visiting Philippine Museum. There is nothing wrong with that, yes. But when you visit
museums and notice that there are almost no locals there that would make you disappointed.
Trying to mask my disappointments, I continued touring the exhibit only to stop at my
track. The intricately designed golden belt captivated my eyes. My mind quickly wandered to the
old land of India. And it is only fitting because I learned that the sacred thread, the only gold of
its kind, was inspired by Hindu culture, where the golden belt is worn in the right shoulder by
powerful men. The Gold of Ancestors actually depicted a lot of Hindu culture in our PreHispanic era.
After scrutinizing the golden work of art, I proceeded to the other displays. I was once
again stopped at my tracks by a recorded voice coming from above me. I looked up and saw that

there is a speaker above my head and it probably has a sensor to it. In front of me was a screen
showing how gold is extracted and used. I cannot say anything other than, Cool!
The second exhibit I went to is A Millennium of Contact. It portrays the precolonial
Filipino market, where our ancestors did their exchange with Chinese, Thais, and other
neighboring countries. The exhibit displays a large collection of ceramics from different periods,
spanning a thousand years. It also features a short documentary about our contact with Southeast
Asian and Chinese market. The exhibit is not only a feast for the eyes because they also feature
selected ceramics and library books for research.
The exhibit that proves the saying save the best for last is the Art and the Order of
Nature in Indigenous Philippine Textile. The last exhibit in the fourth floor highlights various
textiles from different indigenous groups in the Philippines. It would probably be no different
with going to Divisoria to buy textiles if not for the detailed interpretation. You would be amazed
when you realize that the patterns in their textiles are not solely aesthetic. Everything has a
deeper meaning to it. The geometric designs depict their culture and perspective in nature. As
Mercedes Zobel said, Textiles speak the earliest language that expresses the beginnings of our
culture, and I would say she is right.
It is also worth mentioning that the exhibit is not only focused on one area. From the
Cordilleras Mountain to the island of Sulu, many indigenous people were presented: the Bagobo,
Maranao, Yakan, Itneg, Tausug, Tboli, Subanon, and Kankanay, to mention a few. Compared to
the National Museum, the Ayala Museum has featured a wider scope. Explanations were also
much more detailed. Also, on the far end of the exhibit, an interactive display is featured. Visitors
can learn about the everyday lives of some indigenous group by dressing them up. An image of a

man and a woman is shown in one wall and you can mix and match their clothes by sliding the
glass doors.
If I was enamored by the last exhibit of the fourth floor, the first place I visited in the
third was my undoing. Featuring a collection of books, local bags, books, knickknacks, books,
accessories, and more books, I would say this is not your typical museum souvenir shop. Various
books about Philippine history and culture were being sold, including hard to-find ones! I also
noticed that they are cheaper compared to the usual bookstore price. It is also interesting how all
of the items are labeled with the material used and its origin. I was very enthusiastic because this
is how a museum shop should be. It must not only sell, but also educate.
The rest of the third floor is for arts. The hallways are full of modern photographs, which
are part of the exhibit The World We Live In: Through the Lens of Contemporary Photography.
The collection is from five acclaimed photographers: Sebastio Salgado, Steve McCurry, Robert
Polidori, Edward Burtynsky and Annie Leibovitz. Their masterpieces are both timely and
thought-provoking. The other part of the third floor is dedicated to paintings. The first painting
that would greet you is from Ang Kiukok: The Golden Years, an exhibit of the late National
Artist for Visual Arts. There is also a part showing the artistic side of Fernando Zobel, the
patriarch of the Zobel de Ayala family.
After my visit in the third floor, I proceeded to the second floor, where I think what sets
the Ayala museum apart from others is located. Here, I found the thing I have been looking for in
all the museums I have visited: the story of the past. I believe that museums should be able to tell
us what transpired in our old days; and Ayala Museum was able to deliver that. The Diorama
Experience depicts sixty major events and themes in history, from the cave of Tabon to the

recognition of Philippine independence by the United States in 1946.

Every event is

meticulously detailed. Even the figures displayed are made to look almost the same as the people
and place They are representing. I would say that the whole Kasaysayan 1 lectures can be learned
here, and you get to enjoy it while learning.
Perhaps, I was wrong to say that museums are boring. I clearly enjoyed every
second in the Ayala Museum. And perhaps, I was also wrong to stereotype all of the museums I
have been to. Not perhaps. I was really wrong. Museums are the memory bank of a nation. They
are the source of living history and insight to the future that lies before us. It is wrong to assume
They are boring because museums are boring because They are not solely for entertainment. Its
main goal is to educate the people about the past, present, and future of the nation. However, it is
also true that museums should be appealing to people. After all, History should be displayed for
study not only because it is essential to individuals and to society, but also because it harbors
beauty.