You are absolutely correct Matt. They (Oprah and her general audience) do not care one tiny bit what we think. I believe that is the central problem, but I do not think inaction is going to help. Even if action on our part, in the form of outraged letters from fussbudgety museum people, will not help, it is at the very least taking a stand.
And yes, I can speak authoritatively concerning what they SHOULD have done, irrespective of what they actually may have done. If they did prepare Ms. Winfrey, then she is either willfully stupid or they did a poor job in their preparation. If the production company did not give them the opportunity, then the objects should not have been put at risk. Admittedly, I do not know the whole story, but the result is obvious. Karen's example is a good reason such things should not continue to happen. Dr. Green was clearly over his head with people who did not care about his concerns. I intend to place blame on no one in particular. It was a group effort
I realize this is certainly one of those "complex" situations in which the blame for event X can be shifted from one party to another depending upon your perspective. So be it. Nonetheless, it should not be ignored, and the Smithsonian's budgetary woes are certainly not part of the equation.
Also true, Matt, that the public has no surveyed or quantified opinion of collection care, and most of them probably think Dr. Jones has the best line on professional museum activity. I work at the same institution with the man who is often cited as the source for the Indiana Jones persona, and he does nothing to undermine that persona for us. After all, most of the museum oriented stories that end up in the news involve theft, misappropriation, mishandling, or some other problem, as opposed to stories about handling and protecting things properly. Does that mean we should not try? This seems a perfect opportunity to point out to the somewhat larger number of general public who might be paying attention to this particular soundbyte exactly what happened incorrectly and why. The probable fact that they will not care is irrelevant.
Your anecdotal evidence, similar to my anecdotal evidence you chose to quote, is partially true. The visibility of the slippers and other objects may have been intended to help humanize the profession with the use of gloves and publicity concerning their getting to the show. However, Oprah's actions undid that effort. She essentially looted that particular tomb of national treasures right from underneath the nose of the faithful guardian, and sold the show to the highest bidder. Collection care professionals 0: Indiana Jones aficionados 1.
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 Matthew White
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 12:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The Ruby Slipper incident
Speaking as a 20 year museum veteran who has recently made the switch directly from the Smithsonian to academia which is not exactly the "general public" but is fairly close, I'd like implore my once and future colleagues to perhaps take a breath for a few minutes.
1. Everything people are saying about Oprah and how badly she handled the Ruby Slippers is true enough. For whatever reason, for those few seconds a National Treasure may have been in danger of damage or destruction. That shouldn't have happened. Discussion on how to work with the media, especially the star egos involved in big media would be a useful discussion.
That being said.
2. How any of you can speak authoritatively about how the Smithsonian staff SHOULD have acted without knowing how they actually did act is beyond me. The quickness with which museum professionals are willing to pass judgement on each other with no actual information is something I do not miss. This happened less than 24 hours ago, and you saw the results of what happened, but you cannot speak to the cause without someone who was there and/or participated adding some information. Absent that you seem to be perfectly willing to throw your colleagues at the Smithsonian under a bus. It could turn out that they were completely culpable by their actions or inactions in this situation, but is it too much to ask to wait until you know what those actions were?
I hope your colleagues treat you with more consideration when (not if) you get some bad publicity or a decision you make is misrepresented in the press.
3. Mark Jansen said, "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." Really? What is the view of collection care among the public now? What was it like a decade or two ago? My purely anecdotal evidence is that the few minutes the Ruby Slippers were on Oprah did more to humanize the profession than anything and move it away from stereotypes gained from movies (Indiana Jones, National Treasure, Mr. Bean) and TV (Ross Geller on Friends) and that assumes the public HAS an identifiable view of collections care.
4. Do you really think a letter to Oprah would matter one whit? What would be your preferred outcome? A retraction? Apology from Oprah? My guess would be any letter or letters would be met with eye-rolling and comments concerning museum curators living up to their fussbudgetty stereotypes. See point 3. (And yes I know those letters would likely come from registrars and conservators, but the public doesn't know what they do.) I'm going out on a limb here but Oprah, her staff, and the majority of her audience don't care what a few museum professionals think about a few minutes of her show.
Right now the unmet structural repairs to the Smithsonian are estimated in the Billions (with a "B!") and much of that is for buildings that store some of this nation's most valuable treasures. Read any number of Washington Post articles in the last year to read about leaks, floods, and other problems directly facing Smithsonian collections. If you were to choose to write a letter, or encourage others to do the same, to have a positive impact on the well being of historic and artistic treasures of this nation, don't you think writing to your elected representatives to do something about THOSE problems would be time better spent?
Again, it is not that anyone is technically wrong about the possible harm Oprah may have done, but come on people. Show at least a hint of perspective.
Matt White
On Thursday, January 24, 2008, at 09:41AM, "Jennifer Holt" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>If you saw the incident you would have seen that they did provide her with
>gloves. Unfortunately that seemed to translate for her as okay to grab and
>wave around the objects as long as she had the gloves on. I agree that
>there should have been some object handling discussion/training prior to the
>segment--but do you think the Oprah organization actually provided the
>Smithsonian staff with the opportunity to do that? I wouldn't be surprised
>if the Smithsonian staff hadn't had the opportunity to speak in person with
>Ms. Winfrey until they were "on" and it was too late to stop her at that
>point. These things should have been discussed and planned for before the
>shoes ever left the museum. Maybe gloves should NOT have been provided to
>non-staff members because it only encourages handling? Maybe the shoes
>should have been kept in a plexi container so they could be seen but not
>touched?
>
>Jennifer
>
>
>Jennifer Holt
>Curator
>Will Rogers Memorial Museums
>P.O. Box 157
>1720 West Will Rogers Boulevard
>Claremore, Oklahoma 74018
>t: 918.343.8124
>f. 918.343.8119
>www.willrogers.com
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
>Of Janzen, Mark
>Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 11:00 AM
>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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