"Exhibition" has been uncomfortable for me. It seemed both a little snooty and too close to exhibitionist. Exhibit seems to the point and brief. But then I deplore the use of "functionality" when "function" is a perfectly fine word. Even in nomenclature there is a need to split hairs only when you have an abundance of hairs to distinguish from one another.

Of course since I work for a federal agency This email expresses my personal opinion which is not necessarily shared by my employer (National Archives and Records Administration) which undoubtedly has regulations on exactly how to split hairs nor the federal government of which NARA is a part. ;)

>>> Larry List <[log in to unmask]> 5/11/2011 10:42 PM >>>
My understanding has always been that an "exhibit" is one specific artifact or item that is part of and "exhibition," a coherent presentation of images, objects, artworks, artifacts organized around one or more related themes.

Larry List

On 5/11/2011 11:28 PM, Norman Paul Stromdahl wrote:

Go create, assemble, develop, curate, promote an exhibit, a show, an exhibition...

do somthing that engages visitors, that leaves them thinking and the dictionary to Webster.

Paul Stromdahl

On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 9:32 PM, Jessica <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Which word do you, as a museum professional, prefer? Exhibit, or exhibition? Does the terminology depend on the type of. museum/cultural space? For example, I have had art history teachers tell me that the word is *never exhibit, while I have heard people from History museums and the Library and Special Collections world call just about anything an exhibit ...

Additionally, there are many digital platforms, designed to facilitate visually-pleasing and information-rich collections of images, that call such things exhibits (I'm thinking in particular of OMEKA).

My inner voice leans toward the word exhibition ... which feels like a word meaning means a collection of exhibits. But what do I know?

Anyone care to shed light on this predicament? Any particular preferences? Does the "correct" word vary according to surrounding space and/or friends?

JFT

--
But when the scant grass lies covered deep
By the snow that lies like a pall,
Then the plaintive bawl of a hungry cow
Is the loneliest sound of all!
--Vern Mortensen

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Norman Paul Stromdahl

Curator, Chief of Exhibits

Illinois State Museum

206 251 6354 (M)

http://www.linkedin.com/in/npscreates

Be paperwise and print only if necessary:)

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