The Nation In The Museum

Douglas Crimp begins his essay by delivering a story about a librarian, Julia Van Haaftan and how she was interested in the photography organization at the Art and Architecture Division of the New York Public Library. In addition, Crimp delivers his most enlightening and meaningful point by explaining how Julia Van Haaftan is also now a “director of the Photographic Collections Documentation Project”. She discovered several lost books and photographs, which she researched, re-categorizing, and placed them under the photography or art category in the photographic collection. I found this section of the essay entertaining because it demonstrates that the history books can get lost

Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.

In December 2002, the directors of 18 museums located throughout Europe and the United States issued the Declaration of the Importance and Value of Universal Museums. The declaration is an attempt, by the directors of major Western museums, to defend against demands for restitution of museum objects by defining themselves as “universal museums” which are of value to all of humanity. This document fails as a convincing defence against restitution claims for several reasons. First, it dismisses circumstances of older acquisitions without considering the ethics or legality of surrounding the acquisition. Second, while it pronounces these museums “universal,” it approaches this from a distinctly Western perspective and perpetuates colonial and imperialist ideas. Finally, it ignores important debates that are occurring between and within scholarly, professional, and activist communities.

Within such assemblage museums and their unsettled artifacts can be situated as affect- image (83). They are not fixed and static places which contain unsettled objects. They can depart from the common sense world and organize systems that control appearance and relationships and suggest the future. Museums select what they represent and; consequently, excludes parts of history according to their interests. This resembles the white policy which stresses and enlarges a specific trait in the colonized and excludes any implication of positive traits.

When a museum has prestige on a national level, they can be under high scrutiny of exhibits or objects displayed by the public. Controversial topics, for example, the Enola Gay exhibit, has left historians hesitant and confused on how to create exhibits with correct history, but also not upsetting any individual who were involved with said history. Historians have a trying task of addressing both sides of a historical event, even though it might depict individuals in an unflattering way. A historian is not allowed to have a bias for events, this could have an impact on the way an exhibit is created. Another point that was brought to light in Bunch’s article was museums have the ability to educate the public, so difficult topics should not be

I hope to see museums make more concerted efforts to educate the public. Too many exhibits are of the “passive, didactic looking” than like the engaging Object Stories program (Dartt, Murawski). Exhibits should seek to tell untold narratives, and programs should be places of communication and cross-cultural encounters. For too long, difficult confrontations have been avoided, both inside the museum, and by dominant communities

The Dallas Museum is a renowned art museum established in 1903 and is located in Dallas, Texas (Neumann et al. 19). The Dallas Museum of art is one of the largest art museums in the United States of America containing more than 24,000 collections of art ranging from the ancient to the modern ones (MacDonald & Brettell 112). There are numerous things inside the museum, such as the pieces of art, museum visitors, and the architecture, that relate to the understanding of the world outside the museum in terms of the day to day life and the human society. My goal in this essay is to think outside the box and describe the observations I made inside the museum and explain how they relate to my everyday life, the wider world, or the human society.

So many people see history as something dry and lifeless but in reality it is a study that is full of life. There is no better way to see this than through the lens of archaeological artifacts. The people of the past are intrinsically a part of these objects. They were shaped by human hands; some were used in everyday life while others only meant to be appreciated as art. In any case, they show the vitality of history which can sometimes be obscured by the centuries. I want to work with a collection that deals with archaeological artifacts, and ideally I would like to work with objects of Greek or Roman origins. One day I would like the opportunity to create an exhibit where the viewer can see how the objects relate to a whole as well as their own individual characteristics. I want others to have the same sort of experience I had while walking through the Byzantine and Christian Museum; I want them to have a moment of connection to the past and see how alive history can be. I am especially interested in the courses that the Museology program offers which teach the proper methods to curate archaeological collections. The experience of working with the objects in the Burke Museum will benefit my goal of curating a

In Steven Lubar’s book, Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present, the recurring idea that museums are “more than the sum of their parts” plays a critical role in the overall argument (329). Lubar notes many aspects that make up a museum, the collection, for example is an essential part of any museum, but the community, as well as the experiences of the patrons create a lasting museum experience. Additionally, Lubar aptly utilizes real-world examples, contemporary and historical, highlighting the work of individuals in museums and establishing a connection between past and current events. Central to this narrative is the example of the lost Jenks Museum. Lubar uses this museum to argue that museums of the past can educate museum goers

Author Svensson of “On Craft and Art”, believes that by giving back artifacts of cultural importance it will mean better environments for it to be in, and become a tourist attraction for these countries so they could get more money. Svensson also thinks that for the indigenous peoples that now have museums could finally have something to attract more people and promote sharing of the artifacts between other museums(par. 1). Along with Svensson’s ideas there is also a problem with stopping museums from buying stolen artifacts and refusing to give them back. Henrik Bering noted, “The traditional museum concept of universalism, the British cultural-policy adviser Munira Mirza points out, is now associated with "imperialistic values" and the theft of other peoples' identity, for which there is said to be only one remedy: to hand back our ill-gotten gains”(par. 16). Some museums feel it necessary to keep artifacts because they believe they could provide a better more suitable environment for the ancients works, underestimating the country of origin. Having a bias towards themselves when the country of origin could do just as good, possibly better. Museums shouldn’t hold antiquities for ransom and instead give them back to share with, and help, the

This article provides information concerning: memories that society wants to acknowledge and pass on to future generations; the manner in which those memories are represented; the responsibility that society has to fully represent aspects of history while also brining into questions the unwillingness to recognise and respect different conceptions of history and how this can diminish the potential that museums have to advance cross-cultural understanding.

This is the basis for including live archaeologists at two of the sections--the food traditions and cultural ideas sections--to explain the data findings as visitors enter the exhibit. The figurines section, included to address the concerns of the goddess community, will not have an archaeologist there to simply explain the data, but to present an archaeological viewpoint on the possible religious use of figurines. In all, the presence of archaeologists within the exhibit will be to create an environment that emphasizes not only discussion but also accurate representation of the data and archaeological interpretation, providing the employed archaeologists the satisfaction that visitors have left with a personal interpretation founded on both cultural and religious beliefs and scholarly information.

From my personal understanding, the artifacts, archaeology, museums, pictures and such that I will be exposed to, shares a story. A story of various moments of time that convey how life was back then, and how it relates, presently. Not only does this course theme pique my curiosity, but it will enable me to alter my perception, with a new set of lenses. This course will be immensely didactic by having me develop a better understanding of artifacts, archeology, museums, and all through inspection, questioning of rightful possession, value, and lastly its purpose. This will correlate with how I will think and write to improve my writing skills. In other words, this course will be the pillars to the temple of my writing and thoughts. Never had I perceived everyday objects as an artifact before, until I got a taste of this course. This indicates that taking this course will expand my mind further, along with a plentiful amount to write

Use case studies as headings and below the heading describe the characteristics of the display and then use subheadings to connect the theories. I will not necessarily connect all of the theories to each of the displays, just the ones that are most pertinent. Case studies will be arranged in chronological order. I am leaning towards this arrangement of my paper.

There are more and more people go abroad to study travel and study. Because the world is become more and more international, so people choose to look something out of their country. “ Another reason for the museum to reach out to foreign