Inspiration, fine. Appropriation of actual museum objects themselves in physical form for personal use, no. Here’s an example of a creative and educational use of the IDEA of a museum object, The Lost Museum project from CUNY: http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/home.html
Carol Ely
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jason B. Jones
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 1:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Concerning Blog Post
Thank you all for the dialog: it's good to think about such things on a Friday. And thank you Perian for your input on authenticity as it vastly outweighs mine - and not being upset for being called out :)
If they were museum objects, then I think this action would be inappropriate and potentially deserving criminal action. I'm 100% for protecting our collections. And yes, if it was my museum's collection or my family heirloom, I would be upset. I'm in no way saying it's permissible to "borrow" a collection item for any purpose, artistic or otherwise.
But based on evidence in the blog:
a unique fusion of photography, fashion, art and design inspired by vintage
I enjoy nature, fashion, photography, art, everything vintage, music, and lots more.
I hope to profile other inspiring things on this blog as well as my own creative endeavors, be it photography, vintage, lifestyle, environment, writing, costume/dress design, my music, or random.
I feel comfortable with my stance that these weren't museum objects, and that the blogger was using artistic license to make the images and the dresses appear more cultural value. It's that use of artistic license surrounding "claims" that they were from a museum, that I am supporting.
What I would hasten against is limiting the expression of someone using the idea of a museum collection.
I agree that this is a teachable moment in many respects.
What I want to encourage is a dialog about how we, as museum professionals and guardians of cultural objects, address issues of authenticity, artist license, and our own professional standards to make our field and communities stronger. And considering the timing of the blog post coming down along side this discussion - it's likely pressure was exerted from somewhere herein, I think this means not using our position as museum professionals to pressure someone to remove a teachable moment from their blog or what have you.
Thoughts?
Jason
On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 10:55 AM, Perian Sully <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Since Jason called me out for my knowledge of antique dress ;), I do think these could be authentic. The white is spot on, and the blue is probably low-cut in the front and would have been over the shoulder by the original (with a white blouse or dickie underneath, with a high collar), but pulled wide and worn off the shoulder by the "model". These would have been ca. 1900-1910.
Aesthetically, I find the photos rather charming, and if these were study collection items, a fantastic use of them. But like so many of you, I'm more than a bit troubled by the story behind it, and the way it's presented. Obviously none of us want to encourage our staff and volunteers to be borrowing collections at their own discretion for vanity or art photos. So even if these were reproductions, the concern is, of course, that it doesn't matter.
Regardless, this could be a good opportunity to a) educate our staff and volunteers in what not to do (should be obvious, but...) and b) think about ways our public would want to use our collections, or reproductions of. I'm a big fan of hands-on as a learning tool, with a particular interest in costume. Obviously it's time consuming to make reproductions, but you'd be surprised at the amount of energy local costumer or craft societies can be. I can see some fantastic public programs coming out of this.
My .02
~Perian
Perian Sully
Project Manager: Digital Asset Management & Online Access
Balboa Park Online Collaborative
San Diego
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