Recommendations of the Editorial team
A gray Saturday morning in Seattle. The rain lays down, the air cools down, and the Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) opens its doors for the most busy day in years. A month ago, the house announced the closure of its Nirvana exhibition after 14 years. For the farewell gala on September 6th, thousands of fans flocked to Kurt Cobain’s works of art, smashed guitars, stage clothing, private letters, photos And to see the legendary MTV unplugged setlist one last time.
Reasons for the end of the Nirvana exhibition and new plans
The show told Chronologically Nirvana’s way: from the beginning in Aberdeen about the explosion of the Grunge until the tragic in late 1994. It also showed the entire scene of the northwest – band such as Screaming Trees, Tad or Mudhoney. Since its opening in the then Experience Music Project, the exhibition has been a magnet for visitors and a fixed point of the Seattle tourism landscape.
Curator Jacob McMurray explains why the project now ends: lender wanted objects back, some pieces should be sold or used for other projects. “An exhibition is a living being,” he says. It is also time to tell Seattles’ music history-with a grunge in the center, but also with hip-hop pioneers, glam rockers such as ZE Whiz Kids or Portland legends such as the Kingsmen. Nirvana remains indispensable for Mopop, but the city has many more stories.
McMurray particularly raves about a letter from the Melvins singer Buzz Osborne to Krist Novoselic, in which he predicts a possible future in music. Likewise, of the remains of a guitar that Cobain destroyed in 1988 in a student gig-although he had little money for the rent.
Emotional highlights on the last day of the Nirvana exhibition
Museum guide Neal Kosaly-Meyer also emphasizes the Osborne letter as a favorite: “This is the prophetic sentence-that is beautiful.” The author himself names the unplugged setlist and early designs of the NEEVEMING cover as a personal favorite.
In addition to tours, there were also workshops, DJs, a video store with concert films and a panel with curator McMurray, Sub-Pop boss Megan Jasper and Recording Academy Manager Jessica Toon. Not announced, but all the more impressive: Krist Novoselic appeared, kept the opening speech and explained how happy he was that his former instruments are now considered protected artifacts. “A bass that I bought for $ 300 in the Pfandhaus is now priceless.”
Gratitude and legacy
Novoselic stayed for a long time, spoke to fans, posed for photos and briefly summed up: “Thankful.” Not because of the return of his objects, but because of the crowds that show their importance. “All of this proves how much we have meant to people.”
The exhibition covered only seven years – 1988 to 1994, of which Nirvana was in the spotlight. Cobain’s explanation to the name shaped the show: “Nirvana means freedom of pain, suffering and the outside world. That corresponds to my definition of punk rock.”