israel museum & museum on the seam

last tuesday, i had no more obligations at bezalel so i decided to go and visit the israel museum. israel museum is situated in an interesting place. it is in givat ram, which is known as the political seat of israel/jerusalem. the knesset is situated there as well as hebrew university's science and math campus. israel museum is the national museum and even though it is an art museum, it didn't strike me as one but more of a historical/archaeological one, which isn't something bad. there wasn't much to see because of the renovations taking place. they seriously hampered the viewing experiences as there were two permanent collections available and several temporary ones. the permanent collections were the miniature replica of jerusalem from the 2nd temple period and the dead sea scrolls. i thought that the miniature was quite fascinating to see and compare to the walls of the old city as we know it today. many consider the dead sea scrolls to be the highlight of the visit but it wasn't too overwhelming or grand. perhaps at this point, i have become accustomed to the weighty history of the place. the scrolls were nicely curated and well preserved. it was interesting to see that the hall they were housed in were also art pieces to tell of the history between the sons of light and the sons of dark. the temporary exhibits were pretty mediocre and the sculpture garden was nice.

on friday, my last day, i visited museum on the seam with jonathan. museum on the seam has a fascinating history. it advertises itself as a socio-political museum that brings into light contemporary issues that ranges from environmental to tolerance of any kind. the museum itself was a lookout point for israeli army, situated on the 1948 armistice border with jordan. now, it sits on the edge of east jerusalem, known for its arabic population, and on the edge of west jerusalem which gives you, mea shearim, the ultra orthodox jewish neighborhood. the current exhibit, titled naturenation, "examines the complex relationship between land and state and between people and nature from a socio-political stance." it was a well put together show and i wish i had enough time to fully incorporate the exhibit. the photos in the show were outstanding, besides the edward burtynsky's work, which i'm not a fan of. i found it fascinating that the museum still kept the original modeling of the lookout in certain parts of the museum, making a powerful statement about war and art and people and space. the rooftop also featured a small sculpture garden with a tremendous 360 view of jerusalem.

overall, i think the museum on the seam had a better space and used it well. i know i can't make a judgement on what i saw at israel museum but i think that for one that enhances people's experience of israel and/or jerusalem, museum on the seam is more on the beat than israel museum. however, if history and archaeological and nice art collections are up your alley, the israel museum is a nice place to visit. don't know if it's worth the money, though.