PS I do appreciate Sarah's imagination in this case. Setting aside ethics of
"use" and "ownership" - I very much like this sort of "gonzo exhibition,"
made available through new media, as well as the idea of re-appropriating
museum items for new audiences and .  Of course, "use" and "ethics" can't be
set aside, but still..

On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 10:19 AM, Jessica <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Here is Sarah's explanation of the photographs, as posted in response to
> "museumsolutions":
>
> Hello!
>
> Hey Cass,
>
> I didn’t mean to alarm anyone about the post, the dresses I believe are
> reproductions in good condition and belonged to a set of costumes that our
> boss had designated as ones we wore for museum events; they had been worn
> before for these purposes.  Regarding the description, I kind of exaddurated
> for effect- they were in fact in the attic, not on the mannequins, and upon
> logging in this morning and finding my post being re-posted and slanderized,
> I realized I shouldn’t have said that.  Its a very small town museum in poor
> condition and much of the restoration and preservation done that summer
> regarding garments and other things around the museum had been done by my
> friend and I as there had been a slew of poor managers/curators who have
> kind of let things slide.  Student summer employees wouldn’t just be given
> full authority over re-vamping displays and such, to give you an idea of the
> hap-hazard state of the museum; there are many things in the small museum
> that have been damaged just by poor insulation and state of the building in
> terms of moisture (it’s very old), far worse than the dresses.  This is to
> say I understand where you’re coming from in terms of antique preservation,
> and it saddens me that many of these items have been damaged beyond repair,
> so we would never have intentionally damage artefacts.  As for the
> reproductions we wore, none of the dresses were damaged and my friend and I
> were very good museum employees- we would never have taken anything without
> permission or used actual era gowns for these photoshoot purposes, we too
> have a love of museums and all things vintage, hence the photos.  Please
> spread the word that these were not damaged so that the photos themselves
> can be appreciated and my friend and I won’t be given bad names on the
> tumblr-verse!  I have deleted the original but I suppose I can’t prevent the
> spread of the post and museum buffs hating on me for it so I’m feeling
> pretty badly! The joys of the internet. Anyway, hope this clears things up,
> if you have any more questions feel free to ask!
>
> Sarah
>
>
-- 
But when the scant grass lies covered deep
     By the snow that lies like a pall,
Then the plaintive bawl of a hungry cow
     Is the loneliest sound of all!
--Vern Mortensen

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