Good Afternoon Rebecca,
Gosh, what a cool thread. After reading all this stuff, I am reminded of a quote by Samuel Johnson, "I am not yet so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven." (from the Preface of his 1755 Dictionary).
Ironically, ol' Samuel left us with a lot of his words and not many of his artifacts......humm, I will have to ponder that one tonight over a glass of dry sherry.
Best Wishes,
Wesley
Wesley S. Creel
Administrator of Programs
Pink Palace Family of Museums
3050 Central Avenue
Memphis, TN 38111-3399
www.memphismuseums.org
(901) 320-6370 Direct
(901) 320-6391 FAX
>>> [log in to unmask] 08/09/04 02:33PM >>>
To what extent does the de-emphasis of objects in our museums reflect
market forces? Doesn't it illustrate our shift in focus from industrial
manufacturing to the production of information and information technology?
For example, in one of our most important historical collections, there are
ample records of manufacturers, who, from the late nineteenth century,
hoped to advertise and promote their new products through popular public
exhibitions that were informative but decidedly object oriented--on the
order of the World's Fairs. As production and consumption sky-rocketed,
exhibitions based on objects mirrored our preoccupation with the history
and presence of things. How effective, then, was the growth of information
tech and the electronics technology industries in promoting text-making and
interactives? Again, as the culture engaged cyber tech and high-impact
visual imaging, so did our museums. Also, as universities granted
increasing numbers of Ph.D.s, museums offered new opportunities for
academics to advance their theories, word for word, before large audiences.
Rebecca Trussell
> [Original Message]
> From: Deb Fuller <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 8/9/2004 2:29:38 PM
> Subject: Re: Object Lessons
>
> Hi all,
>
> Personally, I think this is a great article and museums should pay
attention to
> it. Museums started out as collections of "stuff" and as ways for
important
> people or governments to show off their stuff. Now there are museums that
don't
> have collections and I argue that they shouldn't be labled as "museums"
in the
> first place.
>
> Which has more impact: an interactive exhibit on spaceflight without
artifacts
> or seeing a collection of Apollo capsules and artifacts? As a kid, I could
> stare at the rockets at the Air and Space museum for hours. An interactive
> would hold my attention for a few minutes.
>
> An interactive or a pannel of text really only holds your attention for
as long
> as it takes to do the activity or read the text. But an object captures
your
> imagination. What was it like sitting in that capsule or plane? How did
it feel
> to wear that piece of clothing? What kind of person sat in that chair?
What was
> the person thinking as they posed for that painting? As you learn more
about
> the time period the object is from or get more life experiences, you can
come
> back to the object and get new impressions from it over and over. And some
> things are just so cool, you'll never get tired of looking at them. (If I
could
> have taken home the big bronze triceretops that used to be in front of the
> Smithsonian's Natural History museum, I would have.) How many of us can
say
> that about a text pannel or an interactive? ("OOoh, that description of
that
> Greek vase was sheer poetry. I want to get a copy and hang it on my
wall." Not
> likely.)
>
> Frederick Waidacher wrote a brilliant article about artifacts and museums
and
> for the life of me I can't remember what it was called or where it was
> published. Can anyone help me out here? (Sorry for being vague. He's
published
> a ton of articles.)
>
> Deb
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
