Dear Regan,
Thank you for your comments.
I think Christian's comments were about how generally ill-informed many
members of the public are upon arrival at exhibitions and, therefore,
how ill-suited they would be for explaining objects. Of course, it all
depends on what sort of objects are being displayed and what the aims
of the exhibition are (as your comments suggest). But all too often
people will think they can interpret objects just as well as anybody
else, and that's insulting to the education, training and experience of
the professional. In art, for instance, there is often a general sense
that interpretation is mostly about one's own individual feelings,
which for much of the history of art is just plain wrong.
While visitors' perspectives can certainly be very interesting,
enlightening and, in some circumstances, crucial, they can also be just
incorrect, and, it seems to me, there are always some facts that are
basic and need to be understood before any further consideration can be
made--otherwise, it all becomes pointless flights of fancy. But,
again, it really depends on the type and aim of the exhibition.
And, while it's unfortunately true that curators can get it wrong and
mislead visitors, that's just an error on the part of certain curators
and not a condemnation of the whole process. It doesn't stand to
reason that, because some curators make mistakes, we should just leave
it to visitors--who typically have a much less developed base of
knowledge regarding the objects being displayed--to do the job. To
reduce it to absurdity, that would be like NASA deciding that, since
there have been serious problems with the shuttle program, they will
get, say, local mechanics to maintain and repair the shuttles.
The model of the authoritative expert can be very problematic, but the
opposite extreme, where each person is as capable as the next of
interpreting, also has many problems.
Well, I've rambled enough! Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Don Myers
Donald Myers
Director
Hillstrom Museum of Art
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 West College Avenue
Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082
(507) 933-7171
(507) 933-7205 fax
On Feb 28, 2006, at 4:47 AM, Regan Forrest wrote:
>
>
> Dear Christian,
>
> Regarding your comment:
>
> <<<For all people promoting such an idea I would just suggest: Visit
> incognito an exhibition of any kind (art or other), listen to the
> visitors and their remarks. I do this as often as I can. You will be
> surprised... It very, very often starts with nonsense, wrong object
> identification, goes to false historical remarks, and ends in wrong
> connections to present and future. >>>>
>
> Apologies if I'm mistaken, but it appears that you are blaming the
> visitor for misunderstanding displays. Surely, if visitors are
> consistently getting it "wrong", it is more likely to be the fault of
> the curators and interpreters for not communicating effectively and
> helping visitors make the connections they intended?
>
> Regarding the wider point of your posting, I think it boils down to
> authorship: visitors have the right to know whose perspective they are
> reading (even if it is the "default" curatorial one). If it is clear
> whether something is a "curatorial" perspective, a "community"
> perspective or other, I can't see a problem: visitors can make up their
> own minds. Indeed when different perspectives on an object are shown,
> and these are clearly attributed, it can lead to a fascinating display.
> I've seen examples where different curators, from different
> backgrounds,
> have all contributed to object interpretation for the same exhibition,
> along with artists and community members. I thought it was very
> effective.
>
>
> Best Regards
>
> Ms Regan Forrest
> Senior Consultant (Interpretation)
> Haley Sharpe Design
> Leicester, UK
>
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Donald Myers
Director
Hillstrom Museum of Art
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 West College Avenue
Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082
(507) 933-7171
(507) 933-7205 fax
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
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