New Museum - Nuremberg State Museum of Art and Design — Attraction in Nuremberg

Do not take your Kids to this museum!!!

So after allowing myself a few days to get perspective I still maintain this was one of the more excruciating museum trips I have been on. To get it into context my Kids and I were killing time before our evening flight. They are well behaved but enthusiastic five and ten year olds who enjoy art in fact love the London Design Museum. And have until this visit always had a good time at Museums helping them to expand their minds and see new things.

The visit starts well enough, with a nice receptionist taking my €1 and explaining that kids go free and that they regularly have tours for kids this may explain things that happen later. The lady also mentioned I had to put my rucksack in a locker – not a problem its €1 and you get it back – makes sense.

We head of to the exhibitions, the place is empty it’s a Sunday, the kids have now boots so steps do echo. The spiral stair case the buildings central design piece is cool and we go up at a fair clip not a problem I think.

Entering the first exhibition area we are still, I would say trotting. Before I can stop the kids one of the ‘watchers’ comes over and says they are not allowed to run. Now run would be an exaggeration but I go fair enough, but we are now marked! We go through the exhibitions one is interactive so we listen to the piece the kids laugh as ‘the watcher’ scowls – clearly not the done thing.

We move around the floor, I am now holding both kids hands, as my paranoia is starting to rise. I think perhaps I am over thinking it but when my 10 year old daughter whispers in my ear ‘Daddy, why does that lady keep looking at us’ I realise perhaps not.

We decide to move on, go to the next floor. The place is hot though so the kids take of their coats and I carry them. Not a problem in a normal place but I am fast realising this is not normal.

Within a minute of entering this floor there is a new watcher who immediately tells me you can carry your coat and the kids will have to put them on. I am getting irritated at this point and to my embarrassment raise my voice and mention what a stupid and pointless rule and why can’t I just let my kids be. Not an option!

We trot back down, put our coats in the locker and hike back up – the place is warm. I cant resist a sarcastic ‘satisfied now’ as we walk back up. But again we are watched like potential thieves – but having been to design museums around the world I can’t really see what we would want to.

By this time my daughter is getting self-conscious and asks me to leave – by now I am with her and we leave. Her final remark as we go is ‘Daddy event the lady at the door is giving us a fake smile’.

A tip to a nearby Ice Cream parlour put us in a better mood. But I can’t help but wondering what the kids tours are like perhaps its walking single file staying a meter away from all exhibits but I will never find out. My advice is if your kids are normal and not automatons then avoid this place, you are not missing anything and life is too short to put up with misplaced pretention.

If you want to get your children interested in design and art as my two are go to the V&A in London, The Design Museum in London, The Bauhaus Archive in Berlin, The Guggenheim and MoMA in New York all of which have been great trips in a welcoming atmosphere.

P.S. I have just read some of the ohter reviews by parents aparently event cuddley toys...

I was enjoying my time whilst being careful to not touch anything. Until one lady worker came up to me and said I can’t be so close and that there’s is a barrier. However there was no visible barrier. Plus when I calmly nodded and said okay. She wouldn’t stop explaining. I felt so humiliated, the fact that she was constantly trying to explain it to me when I have already said okay once and nodded too. I felt so self conscious and embarrassed. There were other people in the room. I was just trying to outline something to a family member from afar without touching the piece of art. Then the worker came and wouldn’t stop explaining. For an introvert person who also has anxiety, this is one of the worst experiences ever. I was the centre of attention. I hated it. She could have QUIETLY spoken to me ONCE. That is it. It put me off my whole time at the museum. Didn’t look at anything after that with any joy at all. I didn’t come from abroad to feel humiliated at a museum. Some may think I’m being sensitive but some will understand me. I rarely go to a museum. Never coming back here again. Forget...

Vorweg für die schnelle Info, kurz und bündig: Das Neue Museum ist in jeder Hinsicht immer wieder einen Besuch wert — durchaus mehrmals im Jahr. Es ist in 5 Minuten zu Fuß vom Bahnhof aus erreichbar und liegt am Eingang zur historischen Altstadt.

Fantastische Architektur von außen wie von innen: schwungvolle Fassade zum Platz (der leider oft ungut zugemöbelt ist) mit ihrer einladenden konkaven Bewegung wie geöffnete Arme. Verlockende Perspektiven von verschiedenen Blickpunkten der umgebenden Straßen oder Gassen. Ein wirklich erhebendes Highlight ist im Zentrum des Baus die freie, spiralförmige Treppe. Die Ausstellungsräume sind versetzt angeordnet, deshalb ergeben sich spannende Durchblicke, die einen neugierig auf den nächsten Saal machen — ganz abgesehen von der fulminanten, bühnenhaften Wirkung der Räume direkt hinter der Glasfassade: ein Wechselspiel von „ich zeige mich“ & „Du siehst mich“ sowohl für die Exponate als auch für die Betrachter von innen nach außen und umgekehrt.

Die Sonderausstellungen müssen einem ja nicht unbedingt jedes Mal zusagen — egal! Denn auch sonst ist enorm viel zu sehen und häufig etwas Neues zu entdecken, da auch in den Dauerausstellungsräumen immer wieder mal der eine oder andere Saal neu eingerichtet wird.

Zum Beispiel war ich begeistert von den Afghanischen Teppichen … ästhetisch wunderschön, in ihrer Ornamentik und politisch grauenvoll … und leider nach wie vor aktuell :-( Die Säle, in denen Design und Kunst zusammen auftreten — jetzt „Double Up“ betitelt —, finde ich ebenfalls sehr empfehlenswert. Wie erhellend! Was Nürnberg damit für einen Schatz hat!!! Dieses — vielleicht ist hier das scheußliche Wort erlaubt — „Alleinstellungsmerkmal“ des Neuen Museums kann gar nicht genug bewusst und bekannt sein und sollte hoch geschätzt werden. Die erklärenden Texte sind durchweg klar verständlich, interessant und gut lesbar. Eher kläglich und überflüssig war m. E. die Plakatausstellung „Rebel Prints“ im Untergeschoss des Foyers: respektlos, dass die Designer nicht ihren Plakaten zugeordnet werden konnten, liebloses In-Szene-Setzen, so dass viele Plakate superschlecht zu sehen waren, pseudo-rebellische, beliebige Inhalte usw. Beklemmend und faszinierend die Ausstellung über Boris Lurie und die über „Kunst im Postkartenformat“.

Mit einem Wort: wow!

Hervorragend auch, dass die Website ein Archiv der großen Sonderausstellungen hat, das Jahrzehnte zurückreicht, nämlich bis zum Eröffnungsjahr 2000 — das ist leider keineswegs selbstverständlich, auch nicht für ein Museum, aber natürlich eine hochinteressante Quelle der Kunst- und...