On Wed, 4 Jan 1995, Amy Douglass wrote:
 
> A friend of mine recently returned from a holiday trip to New York.
> While there, she visited the new exhibit that the Smithsonian's Native
> American museum just opened in the old Custom House.  She liked the
> exhibit a great deal, but mentioned that it had not received very good
> reviews in New York.  Can any of our colleagues in New York, or those
> who have visited this exhibit, fill me in on what the negative reviews
> are saying?  Are they in the minority, or is the general consensus of
> opinion on the negative side?  If so, why?  I have a longstanding interest
> in this project since I started my museum career working at the Museum
> of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (which has been incorporated into
> the Smithsonian).
 
  In brief, the consensus of the reviewers was "too much nitty, not
enough gritty; fluff instead of the right stuff; lots of social, little
science." In at least one case (a quotation from Mark Twain), the
transparent political agenda of a curator had resulted in words
being taken out of context so as to reverse the author's meaning. It is
not a very auspicious start.
 
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Hank Burchard * Weekend Section * The Washington Post
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