Even Stephen Colbert didn't touch the Ruby Slippers when he tried to get his portrait hung in the America's Treasures show in DC! He was pretty funny in his exchanges with the curator and got his portrait hung in the Smithsonian, even if it hangs between the bathrooms...
She's got some of her things in museums already and it does bring considerable attention to the institution that accommodates her. After the Angel Museum in Wisconsin displayed her African American angels their attendance jumped singificantly.
The Museum Chanteuse
----- Original Message ----
From: "Janzen, Mark" <
[log in to unmask]>
To:
[log in to unmask]Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:00:07 AM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] The Ruby Slipper incident
Although I agree her actions were inappropriate, I would not jump to blame her quite so quickly. According to the transcript, she was definitely pushy and presumptuous, as well as rude, but she IS Oprah after all.
Surely, after couriering the objects and being so careful with their planning, they were aware that she might want to touch them. It was her show, and to be honest(even though I do not like her much) she is a pop icon as well. If it is not already, some of her stuff will end up in the Smithsonian alongside the shoes, gloves, and jacket.
Should she have insisted on touching them? Absolutely not.
Should they have planned
ahead and told her why she should not touch BEFORE the interview segment? Absolutely yes.
They should have prepared better, provided her with gloves, then asked her if she would like to touch them properly. That way the extreme honor of the action would have been conveyed. Instead they chose to let her act like a child, touch them anyway(improperly), and get away with acting the fool while doing it.
Unfortunately the planners of the event, including the Smithsonian handlers, are equally responsible for setting collection care in the eyes of the public back a decade or two. I suspect it was the horrified collection manger watching from the sidelines that Dr. Glass was looking to for confirmation. It should have been the other way around.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
316-978-5850
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion
list [mailto:
[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kevin Schlesier
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:19 AM
To:
[log in to unmask]Subject: The Ruby Slipper incident
Any Registrars out there going to write a letter to our friend Oprah
explaining why her actions were inappropriate:
http://www.originalprop.com/blog/?p=1496"Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz."
Kevin
--
Kevin P. Schlesier
Exhibits and Outreach Librarian
Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University Libraries
2205 Hillsborough Street
Campus Box 7111
Raleigh, NC 27695-7111
919-513-8087 (phone)
[log in to unmask]=========================================================
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).