The Atlanta History Center is the King of the Exhibits
Right now, the Atlanta History Center is the opposite of the High Museum. Both the History Center and High brought a big name exhibit, but where as the High’s other collections were more interesting than the Louvre exhibit, the History Center’s exhibit of the King Papers is worth your time.
Now, I know what you’re thinking… “More Doctor King? Come on, we get enough of it every year. I have a dream in which we’re not beaten over the head with this stuff!” This is different and better. First, this exhibit does not hit you over the head. Most selections are from his papers and library. There is some A/V stuff, but it’s ancillary to the mainstay of the exhibit. It’s really about seeing the evolution of his ideas through the process of writing his speeches.
The researchers have been meticulous. They’ve found the books with notes scribbled in the margins which directly relate to the speeches that set our culture forward. Dr. King was truly a scholar in addition to being a first rate rhetorician. He drew knowledge and lessons from Descartes and Galbraith as well as the bible and Gandhi. Those lessons went into crafting his ideas and there are several speeches in which you can read the first and second drafts before you listen to the final versions.
There are also a few telegrams of note. How they are crafted reminds us that 40 years ago, we truly communicated differently. Letters were more formal. People created eloquent sentences to manifest elegant ideas. Our current age sees stretching the language as superfluous.
However, what we lack in language, we more than make up for in visual symbolism, and the center, again like the High, addresses that through quilts. Again, the History Center exhibit is better. The quilt exhibit features both excellent abstract expressionist pieces and more literal works. It shows how advances in sewing have lead to more precise designs and given artists more room to grow. It also shows how more multimedia elements have been incorporated into the design. The quilt entirely made from neckties was especially neat.
Allow enough time. The King exhibit alone will take an hour to ninety minutes. Add a tour of Swan House or Tullie Farm and the other exhibits, and you should really give yourself the afternoon; three hours minimum.
Visiting the Atlanta History Center serves as a reminder that although most are newcomers and many have tried to tear down the past, Atlanta has a history! Understanding that history is important to seeing the underlying currents which still flow throughout decision making today. The change is inevitable. Understanding where the currents of change started lets us better direct its flow.