On Thu, 16 Nov 1995, Adrienne DeArmas wrote:

> It has been suggested by
> non-museum staff that he fire the gun he donated to us into a target and the
> target be saved as archival documentation of the whole event. I think this is
> a unique situation, but maybe it is not. It somewhat reminds me of the
> problem with "feeding" Zuni masks in the Smithsonian's collection. Any
> thoughts? I have not responded to the request yet in hopes it will be
> forgotten, but I am inclined to say no.  What say ye all?

Do you have other targets in your collections?  It seems to me that the
this would be a pain in the a** to curate.  Newspapers, video, pr
generated at the time of the event is documentation.  An after the fact
target sheet smacks of commemoration (and don't we all love to hate the
silly commemorative artifacts that slipped into our collections?)  We
already have too many commemorative ashtrays, plates, chunks of wood,
spoons, etc. that take up space. Not many researchers want to see
commemorative schlock; they are there for the "real" thing.

As for using the gun...well, we don't allow ours to be used because we're
looking at keeping the artifact for a long time and the less handling the
better (rule of thumb.)  However, I do know of museums that practice
living history (roll out the Sherman tank and ride around in a parade.)
It depends on what type of historical museum you consider yourself to be.

Sally Baulch
Collections Manager, Anthro/History
Texas Memorial Museum

PS The last statement was meant as neutral, but now it sounds
pejorative.  Sorry.