Stephen Nowlin's remarks about the "public" are very apropos, and I
agree wholeheartedly. What bothers me about the new rhetoric in museums
is that sometimes target audiences in reality represent a new
exclusionary philosophy. Now it's often considered OK to exclude certain
minority audiences--such as scholars and enthusiasts of subject
specialties. Sometimes the policy is intended to augment the "body
count" and appeal to a broader spectrum of the "public," but sometimes
it seems to stem from a conscious decision to trade one minority
interest for another one. For example, apparently in some circles it's
considered politically incorrect for museums to cater to the interests
of people who really care about the stylistic and technological history
of a specific type of object--after all, such people are hopeless
antiquarians and relic collectors. --David Haberstich