The display of weapons depends on the mission of your museum, the purpose of
the exhibit and your curator's political agenda.

All the weapons we display in our museum are as part of the greater story
about the soldier's experience in the US military. They are an illustration
or detail, not the story or focus themselves. It might be the gun that
belonged to someone we are talking about or a change in weapons technology
that had a certain affect on a war or battle. But the text is about that
larger issue, not the individual weapon itself. And sometimes, that larger
issue tells the story of violence and death and all else.

When weapons are displayed for the sake of the weapons themselves, a
discussion of whatever the focus is-- the artistry, the technology--is more
the focus. Even when the result of that detail is an increased rate of
death, such as if you were discussing the machine gun, keep it to facts. If
you want to make a point, many of the facts can make it without
editorializing from the curator. It's much more powerful to say that a
Vickers-Maxim machine gun was capable of firing over 500 rounds per minute,
the equivalent of 100 rifles in the same time-- rather than the gun brought
large amounts of death to the trenches.

As your display sounds like it is an artistic focus, I would recommend
keeping that the focus. A line can be slipped into the introduction panel
about the involvement of such beautiful objects in death and violence, but I
would keep it to a short line which would then work subliminally throughout
the exhibit. The display is about the object, not its use or historical
context. Remember, guns don't kill people, people kill people. And without
the people who used those weapons in your exhibit, that larger scenario is
almost a moot point. Allow the objects to speak for themselves.

And stick with the facts, as long as you tell the truth and only the facts
you can not get in trouble.

Good luck

Pamela Feltus
Curator
National Museum of American Jewish Military History



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gretchen Ranger [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 12:34 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Exhibiting weapons
>
>
> Hi Everyone!
>     I've got a question for you. I'm doing a paper on the
> display of arms
> and armor (Japanese) and am looking for resources on the
> issue of displaying
> beautiful objects which have a very grim purpose - killing.
> I'd like to know
> how other people have dealt with the issue of violence in
> their exhibits.
> Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
> in advance!
> -Gretchen Ranger
>
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