WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD
DISPLAY – BUT CAN’T???
I’m a radio producer working on
a national series titled The Hidden Treasures Radio Project. The series goal is to profile
intriguing objects and collections in museums nationwide that are never or
rarely displayed and which have both great stories attached to them about WHY
they’re not displayed AND which allow us to then discuss larger issues. These stories are airing on National
Public Radio (All Things Considered, mostly) and on Studio 360 (an arts and
culture program aired on about 200 public radio stations and available
on-line.
If you’ve got ideas,
‘nominations’, leads (confidentiality honored), or some places and issues to
point me to, please e-mail me
Harriet Baskas
Project Director
Hidden Treasures Radio
Project
[log in to unmask]
THANKS!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some examples of stories aired
and ‘hoped for”:
*Objects too dangerous to
display. Has anyone recently
found some radioactive, explosive, arsenic-preserved or otherwise ‘too hot to
handle’ stuff and had to (or better yet – is about to) call the bomb squad or
some other outside experts?
*Insurance. Has the rising cost of general
insurance or terrorism insurance caused your museum to pass on an opportunity
to mount a planned exhibition or cancel something that was in the works? Have you asked folks who have loaned
items to take them home so you don’t have to insure them?
*Budget problems: with states
and universities experiencing budget cuts, are some museums getting pressured
to close galleries, reduce hours, sell objects, or send them away?
Some examples of stories
already produced for the series:
*Bing Crosby’s toupees. These
were put on display for a short while but then put away at the request of a
family member. Issue: who decides???
*In Connecticut the
skeleton of a slave was displayed for many years and put away during the
1960’s. Community members
recently initiated a study of the skeleton and a new exhibition about their
findings has just opened. Now the community is deciding what
should happen to the bones.
*In Kansas, a Manet sits in
storage because it was stolen and restored, but there are questions about the
“Manet-ness” of the work. Another
painting stays in storage because someone took a pen and outlined a body
part. Issues: what happens to
damaged art?
*Also in Kansas, the tombstones
of the “In Cold Blood” murderers were stolen in the 1980’s and only recently
recovered. In the meantime
the cemetery quietly replaced them.
The original tombstones were given to the historical society by the
courts. Many folks in Kansas say the memory of the murders are
still painful and they don’t want those stones displayed.
Got something great??? Please
let me know!
Harriet Baskas
[log in to unmask]