Thanks artgeek... This is a great article. I was avoiding this thread BUT some years ago I was deeply involved in early art/religion(s)-mythos of the fertile crescent region. During a visit to a museum on Crete I was APPALLED by the incorrect signage and the guided tour in English which contained not one reference to pre-patriarchal "roles" of the gods and goddesses portrayed. The artifacts were curated from a Christian (i.e. 33 bce) perspective. So, I took my traveling companion back thru the museum on our own, so I could more accurately describe the pieces. By the time we were half way through a small crowd had joined us, there were lots of questions and we all had a grand old time. I was an academic then--and had not had a notion of ever becoming a "museum person." Would I be shy of doing the same now?? Lois Lois Brynes, Principal DeepTime Associates P.O. Box 58 Rockport, MA 01966 USA [log in to unmask] land 978 546-8574 air 978 290-3029 [always off] On Mar 14, 2006, at 8:18 AM, artgeek wrote: > Hello, listers. > > I know some have called for the topic to be dropped, but this recent > "Washington Post" article made me think this may be an issue we need > to continue grappling with (if not on the list, then in our own > institutions): > > ---===------===------===------===------===------===--- > A Curate-Your-Own Museum Web Site > > By Linda Hales, Washington Post Staff Writer > Saturday, March 11, 2006; Page C02 > > The Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is about to > take its Web site where no museum has gone before. > > Where that is isn't absolutely clear, but it merits getting excited > about. The so-called "online national design museum" promises to open > the museum and its vast collection to visitors anywhere in the world. > What's more, if development can keep up with vision, the site will > turn museumgoers into participants in a bold cultural experiment. > > Interactivity is the key. > > Cooper-Hewitt Director Paul Thompson describes "an open theater for > ideas." And John Maeda, a digital guru at MIT and a trustee, talks of > a "new paradigm" for museums. > > They're right. But here's the catch: The traditional museum autocracy > will have to accommodate democracy. > ---===------===------===------===------===------===--- > Read the entire article online: > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/ > AR2006031002342.html > ---===------===------===------===------===------===--- > > > > 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). ========================================================= 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).