Croatia Cred
Museum of Broken Relationships breaks into the Blaffer as part of the megamuseum conference
Vengeance has never been so sweet — or so thoughtfully curated. As part of the American Association of Museums' 2011 Annual Meeting & Museum Expo, the Blaffer Art Museum at University of Houston will present selections from the permanent collection of the Museum of Broken Relationships, along with contributions from local heartbroken hoarders.
The MBR, which last week was nominated for a European Museum of the Year Award, is based in Zagreb, Croatia. The institution's organizers had aims of coming to Houston for AAM with part of their collection in tow, but were confronted with a scarcity of available exhibition spaces.
Enter the Blaffer, which has delayed a major renovation of its building conceived by New York's WORKac (of Diane von Furstenberg Studio Headquarters acclaim) in order to accommodate the MBR. Blaffer director Claudia Schmuckli, who serves on the AAM local host committee and is a co-chair for the public arts and programming subcommittee, offered the university museum's galleries to display the relationship memorabilia.
The Houston incarnation of AAM is unique for its inclusion of the public as part of the ideology of inclusion professed by the late Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Peter Marzio. This sentiment carries into the MBR/Blaffer collaboration, for which locals are encouraged to submit trash from past trysts, whether it be a prosthetic leg (already in the permanent collection of the BRM) or a discarded mix CD cover.
To become part of our "global emotional history," visit BrokenShips.com and click on "Send Your Exhibit." Blaffer will accept donations between April 26 and May 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All objects donated in Houston will be on display for the duration of the exhibition.
It's an anonymous affair, and this exhibition is for keeps. The Museum of Broken Relationships will be on view May 21 through June 4.