Disclaimer: It is the end of an extremely long day

Nesdon, I don't know who you are, what you do or where, but frankly I think
you need to know a little more about museums, what they do and why.

Patinas are created by the artist as part of the original work of art.
Rubbing it off is equivalent to flaking off little bits of a Van Gogh.  It
certainly leaves a record of the actions of those who have seen it, but also
destroys the work in the process.   I have no problem with you or your
daughter rubbing your own bronze to death, but a museum has a public trust
to preserve the works in its care as best as it can.

Loans are not "rentals" and museums do not generally realize much of a
profit, if any.  They are made so that the public in other places have an
opportunity to see the works.

Enough!

Janice Klein
Director
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: Nesdon Booth <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, September 28, 2000 7:43 PM
Subject: Re: Kids and touching in museums


>Frankly, I find well touched bronze statuary to be much more beautiful than
>pristine ones. There are a great many bronzes displayed in public places
>that are frequently touched, and that survive very well. The deposition of
>oils, and the polishing give a wonderful patina that quite charmingly
>records which part of the work people find most sensuous..
>
>There is a wonderful sculpture garden at UCLA, with many important works
>displayed at eye level adjacent to walking paths. My infant daughter was
>mesmerized by a magnificent standing nude with a buxom, accentuated figure.
>She loved to reach out and touch the hand polished watermelon sized breasts
>(as a 6 month old, breasts were pretty important to her) as if the figure
>was some sort of lactation goddess. The look of wonder in her eyes, the
>almost transcendent smile she would carry away from those nascent spiritual

>encounters were unspeakably dear to me. Had a docent appeared one day to
>forbid her from her tiny ritual, I would have been not only deeply
>disappointed, but offended.
>
>Another statue, now standing at eye level in a park in Beverly Hills was
>originally displayed in London. It is of a young hunter with two dogs and
is
>riddled with holes and scars caused by shrapnel during the battle of
>Britain. The heads of the dogs are shiny and golden, as are some of the
>larger scars. The mute tales of frightening bomb blasts and sympathetic
>viewers, patting the dogs, and caressing the wounds, are the most charming
>aspect of this work.
>
>I understand and support the need and desire for conservation in this
field,
>but it is not an absolute. Nothing is truly permanent, and the world is in
a
>constant state of flux. If a few pieces of art, crafted by humans for the
>pleasure and edification of other humans, have their form slightly altered
>and their lifespan slightly shortened as a result of loving human
>interaction, I say so be it.
>
>How many of you have had an artifact damaged during transportation or
>handling by museum staff? You ship off an exhibit mostly for the rental
>proceeds.  How much better that a work be damaged in the act of
appreciation
>by the audience it was created for, than in an effort to profit from it.
>
>Additionally, cast bronzes are not unique pieces, but copies, that can be
>duplicated and replaced.

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