Nick,

 

You and I are one a similar page. I have really enjoyed this discussion.
I am also aware that I am a bigger "museum geek" than the average
visitor, so it may take a little bit more work to get the visitors
hooked into a debate over when it and isn't o.k. to display illegal
dirt, but it sure would be a lot of fun to pilot and prototype to see if
this same type of conversation/debate could be generated among visiting
public. 

 

Dave

 

________________________________

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Nick Partridge
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 7:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: exhibiting illegally-obtained dirt?

 

Nina, 

Certainly that is a concern, but only if you name the collector. Judging
only by this thread, the collection is much more interesting as a
question of motive and legality than it would be as "this is Jane Doe,
and these are her Jars of Dirt." An anonymous recreation of the
collection would hold your visitors' attention in the same way you've
grabbed our's. 

Nick 

On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 6:36 PM, Randy Little <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

Nina I can't wait to come to your museum of condoned law breaking.
Can I just take stuff I'm not supposed to from your museum?


Randy S. Little





On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Nina Simon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Nick,
>
> My only concern with this is that it implicates and endangers the
collector.
> I'm not sure we're willing to do that. We want to all take the risk
(or not)
> together.
>
> Nina
>
>
>
> On May 31, 2012, at 2:02 PM, Nick Partridge wrote:
>
> Dave,
> In light of your clarification: why not just recreate the exhibit with
> domestic soil? Get a bunch of vials and a variety of soil samples.
Label
> them from different countries. Then state on the exhibit label that
its a
> reproduction of a collection that this person obtained illegally, and
go
> into the motives and issues surrounding her actions. You're right:
it's
> a fascinating component of your exhibit. By using a recreation of it,
you
> can not only use this great example of a personal collection but also
go
> into the illegalities of it. It will make it much more interesting. As
for
> displaying the original: it's far too dangerous to involve yourself
and your
> institution.
> Thanks,
> Nick
>
> On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 3:50 PM, Selma Thomas <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Thank you for your comments! I've been watching this discussion and
>> wondering - what about the ethics involved?  It's not just a legal
issue but
>> also an ethical one.  If a country makes it illegal to export, or
import,
>> organic material,  how do museums set themselves above this law?
Aren't we
>> all mindful of the cultural and natural plundering that has taken
place for
>> centuries?  Don't we owe those home countries some respect,
especially if we
>> are cultural visitors?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Museum discussion list
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