Archeological Museum (Thessaloniki)

Thessaloniki, Greece. The entry to this museum is a sad sight, as if neglected due to the economic crisis. The entry signs are small and truly bleak. The front walk way is full of weeds. Later I thought this was probably an intentional part of the paving design, as the mortar drops away at the edges. A naturalized transition, perhaps a nod to the ambiance of a "ruin".

The saw is an invention of the ancient Greeks, and even comes up in mythological stories. It's one way of connecting present to past that must seem random to visitors who don't know the story.

A zip tie sculpture at the entry seemed small, with no intuitive sense of it's connection to archeology. I couldn't find any signage for it. A temporary exhibition using wooden framing begins outside the front door and continues into the lobby.

Many artifacts are displayed in small functional clusters to tell stories of everyday life in ancient Greece. This nice panel was part of the music and dance theme, with larger scaling and a dramatic sense of motion in the lighting.

An effort to incorporate modern art here and there among the artifacts was failing. But a separate temporary exhibition of a contemporary artist was more successful, most likely because the symbolic realm of Greek mythology extends easily into modern art.

It's painful when I find something interesting right at closing time. I didn't have time to explore this exhibition about figurines.