 |
The R.M.S. Titanic under construction in 1911.
Pieces of the sunken vessel will be on exhibit at the
Cincinnati Museum Center.
|
Nothing attracts tourists like decay. The crumbling pyramids, the columns of the Parthenon, the remains of Stonehenge are all made more romantic by their decline. The same can be said of Titanic, an unparalleled 20th-century cultural icon rusting away in the darkest depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Until now, for most of us, visits to the Titanic wreckage have only been through salvage documentaries, vintage photographs, newsreels and works of the imagination. Essentially, one of our greatest potential tourist attractions has been an underachiever. Of course, the problem is, Titanic is not exactly easy to get to. But in the American entrepreneurial spirit, since you can't visit the Titanic, the Titanic is coming to you.
On display at the Cincinnati Museum Center through March 9, is Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit, a collection featuring more than 200 artifacts recovered from the ship's wreckage, full-scale scenic environments and cutting edge technology.
"It's difficult to pick the highlights, because different people find their interest in different things," says Mark Lach, designer of the Titanic exhibit, in Cincinnati for the final touches. "But we do have a section of the hull that's quite extraordinary, with rivets and porthole holes, and it's part of the largest piece of Titanic that's ever been brought to the surface.
"There is a cherub that sits in our grand staircase area," he continues, "There are some impressive mechanical-type pieces, an enormous porthole with the glass still intact, but cracked, and it really tells the story of the violence of the moment. But then some people find these personal, handwritten letters the most interesting. A very poignant piece is a child's marble, one single marble that was found. And it speaks to the lives of the children that were aboard that ship and the children's lives that were lost, especially those in third class. So just pieces and memories of the ship and pieces and memories of people's lives, too."
This human element -- respect for those who lost their lives on Titanic -- has brought some criticism to the Titanic salvaging expeditions and exhibition. There are those who argue that taking artifacts from Titanic is grave-robbing, an enterprise motivated by profit, not history.
"That I would disregard immediately," counters Lach. "The argument that people lost their lives and it should be left alone I can appreciate, and I understand that point of view. The question, and the one that I've answered in my mind and to my satisfaction, is whether these artifacts or any artifacts of historical significance should just be left alone. Or should they be conserved and preserved in a way that brings dignity and honor and respect of the event and the people who did lose their lives? There is no doubt in my mind that these pieces should be preserved and displayed."
Lach feels strongly about people having the opportunity to see Titanic, partly because he is one of the relatively few to actually visit the wreckage. Lach describes his expedition to Titanic in an MIR Russian submarine as an emotional and breathtaking experience.
"You take two hours and 15 minutes to descend to the ocean floor, 2 1/2 miles down, where Titanic rests," he says. "After about 15 minutes, from the time you start to descend, that ocean blue, that bright blue out the portholes turns to black -- you talk about the house lights going down and the anticipation of the curtain coming up!
"When we got to the bottom, the pilot turned the lights on and there she was," he says. "It was very surreal, to be honest, because it was the same image, this perfect image we've seen on videotape and in still photographs. And almost on cue, this sub started to raise and almost fly right over that famous railing right at the bow. And then we were looking down at the No. 1 cargo hatch, the No. 2 cargo hatch, the No. 3 cargo hatch, and then scaling along that main mast that now has fallen over, that once held that Crow's Nest, which was, of course, the first to see the iceberg. Then we spent the next eight hours on the bottom, and I was just thrilled to be there and emotional at the same time, because working with these artifacts for the past couple years, to see the actual ship and know the tragedy that happened there, it was overwhelming."
As Lach says, part of the wonder of Titanic is the surprising number and types of artifacts that have survived on the ocean floor. Steel may rust away, but surprisingly, many paper documents survive.
"It's very strange this arbitrary selection of pieces that got destroyed in the event and other pieces that are resting as if it happened yesterday. The extraordinary pieces we have here, papers and textiles, were found inside of suitcases, whether they are leather suitcases or wallets or purses and it's believed that the tanning process on leather keeps these rusticles away so there are some extraordinarily well-preserved pieces inside the leather."
Perhaps it is the ephemeral nature of ruins that is a large part of their appeal, as even the greatest structures eventually disappear. One thing is certain, Titanic's grip on the public imagination will far outlive the ship itself.
"One day Titanic will be nothing more than a stain at the bottom of the ocean," says Lach. "It will go away. But this is a real historical event with a real tragedy, just the mere fact of building this largest moving object of all time and the expectations of everyone on board, mostly immigrants coming to America. There are wonderful stories to tell and wonderful lessons to be learned. I think it's wonderful that the ship can come to people."
TITANIC: THE ARTIFACT EXHIBIT is on view at the Cincinnati Museum Center beginning Friday through March 9, 2001
