Press + Podcasts
A Houseful of Boxes, a Defeated Ship, and Two Life-Changing Insights
LAURIE PHILLIPS
A life-coaching game called Museum Sage helps players find answers in artworks. Here are two players’ stories.
. . . The question Emily had in mind was “why can’t I find a house to buy after looking for such a long time?” Emily ended up in front of a maritime painting (Figure 2) that documented an event from the War of 1812: a victorious US warship towing a defeated British warship into harbor. There was a problem: Emily wasn’t coming to any conclusions from looking at the overall image or considering its details. So I suggested she enter into and speak as each “character” in the image—the American warship, the British warship, the sea, one of the seagulls, and the stormy clouds. After imagining herself as both ships, she said, “One part of me, the part that thinks I should settle down and buy a house, is dragging the other part of me around. I relate much more to the defeated ship.” After some conversation with me, Emily had an aha moment . . . READ MORE
Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche, Volume 17, Number 4, pp. 90–93, Print ISSN 1934-2039, Online ISSN 1934-2047.© 2023 C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. DOI: 10.1080/19342039.2023.2258764.
Katherine Olivetti
Fall 2023
An Interview with Laurie Phillips
. . . KO: In my own personal experience of doing Museum Sage, but also in guiding other people, the intuitive, random, synchronistic process of what you land in front of is mysterious. It’s part of that mysterious process of, for example, what you spoke about earlier of the rounded sculpture. That’s what you landed in front of at that particular time with that particular question.
LP: Yes. Any work of art or any object can work, though. I could ask a personal question of the water glass on my desk, and the meaningful metaphors suggested by a water glass are extensive. But the art images people end up with often seem to not be random. I like to look at it as the Muse showing up to play with us, a bigger energy that’s willing to hit us over the head with an answer when we need it.
The last Museum Sage session I guided was for a young woman whose question was, “I’ve been a stay-at-home mom, but it’s time for me to get back to work because we need the money, but I love playing in my garden. Should I be hunkered down in front of my computer this summer or could I delay it until fall?” She ended up in front of a 60-foot mural of a garden. She opened her eyes and burst into laughter. She said, “I guess I needed a really obvious message!”
KO: Oh, wow, interesting. Are there any particular moments or events that stand out to you in terms of how Museum Sage got off the ground?”. . . READ MORE
13:58 - 34:00
Museum People, Season 3, Episode 2 – February 1, 2017
Marieke Van Dam of the New England Museum Association interviews Laurie Phillips of Museum Sage and relates her experience with the program when she was guided by museum consultant and Museum Sage Guide Rainey Tisdale.
43:21 - 44:55
Ologies with Alie Ward, interviewing museologist Ronnie Cline. March 12, 2018.
by Elizabeth Merritt
June 26, 2014
Turning the Museum into a Personal Oracle
I'm always on the hunt for examples of people “hacking” museum content in interesting ways. Museum fans come up with amazing ways to use museums—things museum staff may not have thought of in a million years. This week, artist / educator / coach Laurie Phillips tells us about [Museum Sage®], a social engagement that basically turns the museum into a giant Tarot deck, co-opting museum collections as signifiers onto which seekers can project their hopes and fears . . . READ MORE
by Keith Spencer
January 15, 2015
An Off the Wall Night Offers Opportunities to Connect with PEM Collection
SALEM – A visit to the museum is not everyone’s idea of an exciting evening, but the Peabody Essex Museum was Off the Wall on Thursday as they launched their 2015 PEM/PM party series. The opportunity offered guests the chance to morph the museum’s collection into a personal oracle through the [Museum Sage] project, and engage with art in other unique and entertaining ways.
“The [Museum Sage] experience offers a new, exciting, and eye-opening way to appreciate and connect with the artwork of a museum,” said Doneeca Thurston, Adult Programs Coordinator of the Peabody Essex Museum. “We are one of the first museums in this area to work with the collective, and our patrons walked away with thoughtful answers and deeper connections to the collection.”