Ishmael
Scale Model
The following scale model is representative of an exhibition based off the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn.
The Plot
In the beginning of the story, the main character, Alan, sees an ad in the newspaper for a teacher looking for students with an “earnest desire to save the world.” He decides to check it out and goes to the address listed in the ad. When he arrives, he is surprised to find out that the teacher is a gorilla named Ishmael. Despite this, Alan decides to learn from him. Throughout the rest of the book, Alan discovers ingrained ideas in the human culture that threatens to destroy the world.
The Scene
In the book, the room in which Alan and Ishmael meet is described as an "uncommon space...created by knocking down interior partitions." It is relatively empty with the exception of a bookcase and an armchair facing a dark window to the right. This window connects to an adjacent room where Ishmael lives. On the backwall of Ishmael's room, there is a sign that reads, "With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?" Both rooms are rundown, with paint peeling off the walls and dust covering the floor.
The Experience
Before visitors walk into the space, they will be told that their headsets will activate at a certain section of the room. Once activated, they will press buttons on their headset to respond to questions being posed. Once inside, visitors will notice an empty, large room smelling of a zoo or menagerie. The central focus of the space will be a figure of Alan. He should be facing the glass with an expression of surprise on his face. Hopefully, he will draw attention to the window and the audience will become curious to look beyond the dark glass.
If they look beyond the glass, an animatronic Ishmael will be calmly munching on a branch. If possible the animatronic should have had some sort of sensor, so it could react to people staring at it. At this point, the headsets that the visitors picked up at the entrance will activate. Once activated, Ishmael will “speak” to the audience. From here, a choose your own adventure scenario will commence in which Ishmael teaches each person in the audience something different based on their response to his questions.
