The digital age has brought forth an overabundance of information, all readily accessible with the touch of a few buttons. This has allowed for a generation that is less nescient and more connected than its predecessors, but all the same, the rate at which content is produced also means that things can become ephemeral. They get lost among a sea of content, buried by a never-ending stream of new information. As we inch towards the future, preservation becomes a neglected process, the motivation for knowing the past slowly losing priority to knowing the present and future. The role of preservation in the 21st century is no longer confined to documenting things that will one day fade away but rather ones that already have.
The Albert-Kahn Museum and Gardens is the perfect example of the importance of conserving history, culture, and memory. The museum is not dedicated to the memory of the French philanthropist Albert Kahn, its namesake, so much as as it is to his ambitious, 20th-century project, The Archives of the Planet. The project is an expansive photographic catalog of culture from 1909 to 1931. This venture allowed the people of time to visually witness different aspects of humanity for the first time. The obscure, relatively unknown Kahn and his project are now themselves being conserved in the museum, creating a meta relationship between the two elements. Almost a century after his death, the significance of preservation is present in both his work and now legacy.
A banker by trade, Albert Kahn was less focused on success than he was in promoting cultural awareness and connection. Kahn began working as a bank clerk at 16 and rose higher in the company over time. It was here where he amassed his fortune that he used to fund the project for 22 years. Wanting to preserve cultures he believed would soon face extinction, he sent out photographers to different regions of the world to capture photos and film. The project resulted in almost 75,000 images and 100 hours of film in total, all of which are available online and some on display in the museum. The images from the project are displayed on the walls of the indoor exhibitions, as are labels and plaques detailing the items and additional information. The photos depict people and landscapes, and when looking at them in person, you can’t help but feel an odd and visceral connection. It is almost as if the image is observing you back.
As visitors walk through the museum, located in Boulogne-Billancourt, it is hard not to notice the quiet intimacy of the grounds. Patrons find themselves deeply immersed; the quietude is a sharp contrast to the din of noisy Parisian streets. Two locals, Roxanne Baratte and Jessica Baon, are outside exploring the elaborate garden, basking in the greenery that surrounds them.
“The museum recently reopened after 5 years. It is so beautiful,” Baratte says, “ and it is a perfect place to find some peace.”
Both Baratte and Baon are surprised by my visit, given that I am a foreigner. The obscureness of the museum means that the majority of patrons are locals, or at least those with a foreknowledge of Kahn or the archive. Because of this, there is a lack of chaos and crowds that are typical of Paris museums, allowing for a richer and more intimate experience. It is easier to peruse the exhibitions, which are both indoors and outdoors, and gain a deep understanding of the archive. In contrast to other similar museums, the Albert-Kahn Museum and Gardens fully accomplishes what its namesake set out to do: educate the public and preserve memory.
Though unknown to most of the world, Albert Kahn paved the way for photojournalism and cultural and historical preservation. The Archives of the Planet conserved different cultures by photographing mundane, everyday moments that were equally captivating and relatable. Kahn and his archive sought to preserve dying or obscure cultures in the 1900s, and today, its own memory allows it to live on in a new, meaningful way. Among the excess and overflow of information today, it is worth taking the time to remember the past as it slowly slips away, following in Kahn’s footsteps and preventing the extinction of humanity as we know it.
Andrea Cardenas is a rising senior majoring in Communication and minoring in Spanish.