Sorry - you misunderstood my message totally. I am not against any including of oral history in museum staff remarks. The proposal was to have ONLY different visitors comments on objects INSTEAD of museum staff information. "artgeek" <[log in to unmask]> schrieb: Dr Müller-Straten's remarks remind me in some ways of the discussion that arises whenever schools suggest elevating a new or different book to the canon taught in our elementary, middle and high schools. What may be gained from this addition is ignored wholesale for the known classics we so passionately stand by and fret about losing. Marieke mentions NMAI as one of the museums using this method, and it certainly feels appropriate. Objects on display at NMAI are cultural artifacts and can benefit from first-person accounts of how they (or similar tribal objects) are used. Even in an art museum such as the one in Brooklyn, community members have certain memories of works of art that could be enlightening to share with visitors. These new methods of label presentation (if they are new) need not be organized completely without the touch or oversight of a more typical curator. And they certainly do not replace the knowledge of our museum curators, but they do bring in other, worthwhile perspectives. Honestly, the concept seems "great" to me because it encourages visitors to look at and connect to the works in our museums in new ways. Rarely do our curators include label text of personal stories relating to artworks or other objects on display, but those very stories can be educational, too. At The Baltimore Museum of Art, for example, we talk not only about the wonderful works of Matisse as significant masterpieces, but also use them as an opportunity to tell the story of Ms Etta and Dr Claribel Cone who collected and donated those works. And this makes an impression on our visitors who remember the sisters' stories, connecting our residents to artists such as Matisse and Picasso not just through the works of art themselves, but also by being Baltimoreans who were in Paris and travelled, who met with these artists and other fascinating individuals. I spend a lot of time on the floor of the BMA and other museums and, yes, I do hear visitors get things wrong. We're not talking about giving away the keys here or spreading misinformation and not taking responsibility for the label text in our galleries. On the floor of the museum, I also hear amazingly personal stories about artists who lived next door to our visitors, memories of the museum prior to my even coming to Baltimore, and hopeful stories about how works in our galleries motivated and touched people. I am grateful and lucky to have people share these stories and memories with me, but certainly think they could be shared in a meaningful way with a larger audience, too! Cheers / Angelique Weger ========================================================= 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). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Von Panda Platinum 2005 Internet Security eingefügter Text:: Wenn es eine unerwünschte Mail (SPAM) ist, klicken Sie auf den folgenden Link um diese neu zu klassifizieren: http://127.0.0.1:6083/Panda?ID=pav_3686&SPAM=true --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Dr. Christian Müller-Straten Verlag Dr. Christian Müller-Straten / MUSEUMS AGENTUR Kunzweg 23, 81243 München, T. 089-839 690 43, Fax -44 Mails werden mit täglich aktualisierter PANDA-Software geprüft. [log in to unmask] Are your institution and exhibition already listed under http://www.museum-aktuell.de? Last count for January 2006: more than 181,000 hits. For 2006, we expect 2 million hits. ========================================================= 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). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).