"Sorry, but I still want to see the real thing. By all means, add a
mockup of
what the rusty metal thingamajig originally looked like, but place it
beside
or near the real one, in your realistic dioramas. An institution filled
with
exhibits of fakes is not a proper museum, but an interpretation centre."

I wasn't going to buy into this one, since the 'real' v. 'replica'
'conservation' v 'conservation for whom?' arguments have been going on
since museums began.  I do think that 'living history' - with replicas
and 'real objects' can go hand in hand to very good effect.

In the Powerhouse in Sydney we have some objects which are regularly in
use - indestructibles such as steam engines, a photoplayer which
accompanies screenings of old silent films, the Columbia printing press
(when it's on display) - though we are extremely careful of them and the
conservators monitor their use.  With musical instruments, early motor
vehicles, the 3830 locomotive and other goodies, being given the
occasional working day is not only good for the object (instruments,
anyway) but brings in a whole new circle of admirers.

 We also run public programs with local craftspeople which demonstrate
how some kinds of things were made - contemporary jewellery,
glass-blowing, Oriental woven rugs, Jewish illuminated wedding contracts,
lace, hand-made shoes, Hmong weavings, Pacific Island tapa - in
conjunction with special exhibitions.  The demonstrators are rarely in
costume (though the armourer we had with the Imperial Austria exhibition
was meticulously dressed to suit his trade in early C16th style), as we
are concerned to show that many skills are living art not merely historic
artefacts. Are the products of these craftspeople replicas or objects in
their own right?  The craftspeople certainly don't think of their work as
fakes or replicas.  These demonstrations compliment permanent or
temporary exhibitions and help people to look more appreciatively at the
objects themselves.

Getting even closer to 'replicas' are objects bought for touch trolleys
which are often modern pieces in traditional styles, or not quite museum
quality originals, or actual replicas - particularly costume.  They allow
visitors to have a very much more personal experience, and add the
dimension of texture and feel to an otherwise purely visual experience.
 You have to be willing to have these things worn, broken or even stolen,
but it's well worth it.  They are, I guess, borderline realia. Sometimes,
with the fragile, delicate, or susceptible, we ask our visitors to wear
gloves we supply and this also gives us an opportunity to talk about
conservation - which allows them to go away much happier about the 'don't
touch' signs or the low light levels.

Sometimes, often when working with community groups, we develop programs
with performers rather than demonstrators - Aboriginal dance, Renaissance
madrigals, Chinese New Year lions, Indonesian gamelan, contemporary
computer artists.....the list is pretty endless.  Their costumes are
certainly replicas, but they are also part of a living community
tradition, and they add a lot of colour and movement to otherwise static
displays.  And we also sometimes use live, theatrical interpretation,
which replicates an entire person.  Their scripts or improvisations,
their individual performances, are also a form of realia with a valid
place in a museum.

So the whole thing is not a simple case of 'good' original and 'evil'
replica forever spinning like a two-faced coin, it's a spectrum - and no
less valid than the magical trick of taking what was once a fairly
ordinary artefact or animal, putting it in a case with a light and a
label, and turning it into a thing of mana, a realia museum icon.

Heleanor Feltham
Powerhouse Museum Sydney
(I'm mad, you're mad, we wouldn't be here if we weren't!)
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