On Fri, 23 Feb 1996, Indianapolis Art Center wrote:

> I grew up outside of Washington, DC and regularly haunted the hallowed halls
> of the Smithsonian, pretty much the local bastion of the 19th century
> "inculcation of the middle-class ideal to the masses" theory (at least
> during the 1960s and early 1970s).  I was impressed, awed, and silenced, but
> I can't honestly say I learned anything specific outside of  "this is what
> Art is."  For me, the brainwashing worked.

Funny, I grew up around the same time in the same place and I wasn't awed
and silenced; rather, I was excited and stimulated.  But then my memories
focus more on the folklife festival and public programs than
specific objects.  I did love the exhibition that was mounted (I believe
for the bicentennail) called something like "A Nation of Nations."  It
provided a personal route into the power of objects as symbols and
documentators of our national heritage.  It also helped me see where I
fit it our nation's history.

> I decided early on to go into museum work because I wanted people to respect
> what I respected, and thought ought to be respected.

I decided to get into museum work because I was intrigued by the
connections between ideas, objects and individual understanding that
museums have the ability to make.  Also, I saw it as a place that is
multidisciplinary and multisensory and I was frustrated by how our school
systems tend to box knowledge.

But in writing this, I realize that respect is the basis for all of
this.  Respect for the objects, interpretation, knowledge, place,
potential, others and myself.

Lisa Falk
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