Welcome Home

In Mariruth Leftwich's article, Welcome to My World, she discuses the personal sensory experience that a visitor has while visiting a historic "house museum." In this particular article, she uses the example of Graceland, home of the departed Elvis Presley. She goes into further detail about the power of these kinds of museums and their ability to evoke histories that the visitor can become immersed in with little effort. Due to the direct contact and physical elements and objects in the home, a visitor can walk through the museum and look past the fact that the home owner was in some way famous. The visitor may walk in the museum with expectations that there is something spectacular or unique about the home, but when push comes to shove, there are rooms, and each room is familiar on a physical level. Bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and porches are all emotionally relevant to most people as well. Places like these can spark memories or suggest imagination as to how the owner may have lived each day. On one level, this idea of entering someones home, looking at their personal objects, and walking down their halls seems a bit strange. On the other hand, this invasion of privacy, as one may see it, is the best way to truly understand that no matter what the social status, or time period, we are all living life.

After our visit to the Wylie house, I found myself thinking a lot about what the article meant to me. If the Wylie family was living in that home today, would I have just walked in? If they were not there and I came in the home, I doubt I would feel as comfortable just strolling into the bedroom, or looking off their front porch. I will admit that I walked in there with certain expectations, and left pleasantly surprised. Each room I walked into had a different feel to it. I could imagine Mrs. Wylie nursing her babies in her rocker in the parlor, I could see the little children writing at their desks with their feather pens, and I could look out the windows or off the porch and imagine the fields in the backdrop; no cars, no loud horns, no stoplights. Allowing myself to relax and experience the physical aspects of the place I was in gave me insight and understanding about someone else's life. I also have a greater appreciation for the Wylie family. It was also evident that objects played a major role in representation of history. If the home had been empty and there were no evidence that the home had been lived in, I would not have had the same experience. The objects make the home have a particular welcoming feeling. This also connects greatly to our object journey in class. Pretty amazing what objects can facilitate and create.