Issue 5 · Winter 2021

Art Worlds

Opening Our Eyes to See

Elizabeth Molacek 

Kendra Greene, The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: And Other Excursions to Iceland’s Most Unusual Museums. 222pp., 37 drawings. Penguin Books, $22 cloth.

It is safe to say that the Icelandic museum scene is not a saturated field of study. A. Kendra Greene’s recent book, as far as I can tell, is the first to widely address the topic. I’d venture that most people know of at most, one museum in Iceland—the Phallological Museum—even though the country has over 265 known institutions, making this volume an eye-opening introduction to the rich and sometimes quirky culture of this island nation. But this book is far from a simple survey of museums. With persistent and contagious curiosity, Greene guides us through the unexpected spaces that make up Iceland’s museums, revealing the many ways that objects can tell human stories, if we are willing to look and listen.

To read the full article, please click here to download the PDF file.

This article appears in Athenaeum Review Issue 5 (Winter 2021), pp. 56-58. Download a PDF copy.
Filed under History