At the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the History Hall is filled with
reproductions of artifacts which are in the museum's collection but remain
in storage.  These reproductions are treated like real artifacts, i.e. the
only way to tell that they're not original is if you read the fine print on
the artifact label and notice the tiny word "(reproduction)" at the bottom.
When I tried to count the number of real vs. reproduction artifacts, I
discovered that the vast majority (over 90%) were reproductions.

While I'm all for artifact preservation, as a museum professional, I had a
fundamental problem with the use of so many reproductions when original
artifacts were available.  I agree with Jennifer that museums have an
obligation to preserve and exhibit their collections for the public
benefit, but on the other hand, none of the other visitors to the exhibit
seemed to notice, or for that matter, care.  Can we justify the eventual
destruction of an artifact when a reproduction does the same job?

I don't have the answers.  What do others think?

Alex Avdichuk
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>  From: David Haberstich <[log in to unmask]>, on 10/15/98 10:43 AM:
>   I fully agree with Delecia Huitt that too many artifacts in an exhibit
>  interfere with traffic flow. You should see all the people lined up
>  outside the National Gallery of Art to view the Van Gogh show. If they
>  had had the common sense to show reproductions instead of original
>  paintings, the lines undoubtedly would speed up considerably. This is
>  yet another reason for museums to avoid the use of original artifacts in
>  exhibits.
I'm curious to hear other opinions on this topic.  David Haberstich's
statement
that museums should avoid using original objects in exhibits, in this case
to
speed things up, does not sit well with me.  I realize that display is not
the
best things for sensitive objects, but isn't the point of a museum that it
preserves and displays for public benefit the objects in its care?  In my
opinion, if we remove original objects from exhibits, we are defeating one
of
the basic purposes of a museum.  Any thoughts?
Jennifer Gayman
MA Museum Studies
University of Newcastle upon Tyne