"It is Oprah, after all."
I think that sums up why Smithsonian staffers weren't able to plan ahead
as well as they might have liked. They may have anticipated certain
problems, but if Oprah's staff and schedule didn't allow the museum
staffers to offer Oprah training or to explain off-camera in advance
what was acceptable or not, then the problem didn't rest with poor
planning. It rests on the inequity of the relationship: in a match
between Smithsonian and Oprah, Oprah presumes first place.
She's not used to anyone being the boss of her.
And we've all learned our lesson: ALWAYS explain the rules before the
cameras roll!
Lindsey Richardson
Curator of Collections
Boston Children's Museum
300 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
Tel. 617 426 6500 x366
Fax 617 426 1944
www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Janzen, Mark
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 12:00 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] The Ruby Slipper incident
Although I agree her actions were inappropriate, I would not jump to
blame her quite so quickly. According to the transcript, she was
definitely pushy and presumptuous, as well as rude, but she IS Oprah
after all.
Surely, after couriering the objects and being so careful with their
planning, they were aware that she might want to touch them. It was her
show, and to be honest(even though I do not like her much) she is a pop
icon as well. If it is not already, some of her stuff will end up in the
Smithsonian alongside the shoes, gloves, and jacket.
Should she have insisted on touching them? Absolutely not.
Should they have planned ahead and told her why she should not touch
BEFORE the interview segment? Absolutely yes.
They should have prepared better, provided her with gloves, then asked
her if she would like to touch them properly. That way the extreme honor
of the action would have been conveyed. Instead they chose to let her
act like a child, touch them anyway(improperly), and get away with
acting the fool while doing it.
Unfortunately the planners of the event, including the Smithsonian
handlers, are equally responsible for setting collection care in the
eyes of the public back a decade or two. I suspect it was the horrified
collection manger watching from the sidelines that Dr. Glass was looking
to for confirmation. It should have been the other way around.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
316-978-5850
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Kevin Schlesier
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The Ruby Slipper incident
Any Registrars out there going to write a letter to our friend Oprah
explaining why her actions were inappropriate:
http://www.originalprop.com/blog/?p=1496
"Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz."
Kevin
--
Kevin P. Schlesier
Exhibits and Outreach Librarian
Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University Libraries
2205 Hillsborough Street
Campus Box 7111
Raleigh, NC 27695-7111
919-513-8087 (phone)
[log in to unmask]
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