Nina, Certainly that is a concern, but only if you name the collector. Judging only by this thread, the collection is much more interesting as a question of motive and legality than it would be as "this is Jane Doe, and these are her Jars of Dirt." An anonymous recreation of the collection would hold your visitors' attention in the same way you've grabbed our's. Nick On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 6:36 PM, Randy Little <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > Nina I can't wait to come to your museum of condoned law breaking. > Can I just take stuff I'm not supposed to from your museum? > > > Randy S. Little > > > > > On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 3:07 PM, Nina Simon <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Hi Nick, > > > > My only concern with this is that it implicates and endangers the > collector. > > I'm not sure we're willing to do that. We want to all take the risk (or > not) > > together. > > > > Nina > > > > > > > > On May 31, 2012, at 2:02 PM, Nick Partridge wrote: > > > > Dave, > > In light of your clarification: why not just recreate the exhibit with > > domestic soil? Get a bunch of vials and a variety of soil samples. Label > > them from different countries. Then state on the exhibit label that its a > > reproduction of a collection that this person obtained illegally, and go > > into the motives and issues surrounding her actions. You're right: it's > > a fascinating component of your exhibit. By using a recreation of it, you > > can not only use this great example of a personal collection but also go > > into the illegalities of it. It will make it much more interesting. As > for > > displaying the original: it's far too dangerous to involve yourself and > your > > institution. > > Thanks, > > Nick > > > > On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 3:50 PM, Selma Thomas <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> > >> Thank you for your comments! I’ve been watching this discussion and > >> wondering – what about the ethics involved? It’s not just a legal > issue but > >> also an ethical one. If a country makes it illegal to export, or > import, > >> organic material, how do museums set themselves above this law? > Aren’t we > >> all mindful of the cultural and natural plundering that has taken place > for > >> centuries? Don’t we owe those home countries some respect, especially > if we > >> are cultural visitors? > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On > >> Behalf Of BECKER, DAVID > >> Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 2:46 PM > >> To: [log in to unmask] > >> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] exhibiting illegally-obtained dirt? > >> > >> > >> > >> What is the goal of the exhibit? If the goal is to show differences in > >> dirt from around the world, then dirt can be obtained through legal and > >> ethical means. > >> > >> > >> > >> If the exhibit is about collection and the collecting process, what is > the > >> message that the museum wants to send about the collection process and > how > >> does this particular collection fit in? It could be the basis for an > >> interesting discussion about the ethics of collection. Those questions > could > >> be raised through other representations of the collection or through > other > >> collections? Does the full collection need to be physically present in > the > >> museum? > >> > >> > >> > >> I personally don’t agree with calling it art as that was not the intent > of > >> the collection or the collector, i.e. it was not done by an artist with > an > >> intent to make art for a stated artistic purpose or message. To call it > art > >> for convenience sake is not in keeping with the artistic discipline that > >> calling it art would represent. > >> > >> > >> > >> I guess I see it as a bigger issue than has been presented in the > initial > >> e-mail. If this naturalist had illegally transported a cultural > artifact > >> without permission would that be o.k. to display? If this naturalist had > >> transported the hide or fur of an animal that had been killed illegally, > >> would that be ok to display? When I go to a nature center, there are > signs > >> that tell me to take only pictures, and not take anything else with me: > Is > >> it ok for me to ignore those signs for the sake of my personal > collection? > >> Would this same naturalist condone this same behavior if was going to be > >> conducted on a larger scale by 100 people, or by 1000 people, or by > >> everyone? I think there are issues and considerations here that go > beyond > >> the issue of whether it is legal or not. > >> > >> > >> > >> Dave > >> > >> > >> > >> Dave Becker > >> > >> Senior Manager of Learning Experiences > >> > >> Chicago Zoological Society > >> > >> > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On > >> Behalf Of Pickering, Bob > >> Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 12:51 PM > >> To: [log in to unmask] > >> Subject: Re: exhibiting illegally-obtained dirt? > >> > >> > >> > >> Whether the dirt is dangerous or not, isn’t there an issue of displaying > >> material that is known to be illegal? Does calling it “art” absolve the > >> museum of responsibility? > >> > >> > >> > >> Bob > >> > >> > >> > >> Robert B. Pickering, PhD > >> > >> Director of Curatorial Affairs & Public Programs, Gilcrease Museum; > >> > >> Director, Museum Science and Management, University of Tulsa > >> > >> 1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Rd > >> > >> Tulsa, OK 74127 > >> > >> (918) 596-2706 Office > >> > >> (918) 596-2770 Fax > >> > >> (918) 805-4780 Cell > >> > >> [log in to unmask] > >> > >> > >> > >> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On > >> Behalf Of Nina Simon > >> Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 11:07 AM > >> To: [log in to unmask] > >> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] exhibiting illegally-obtained dirt? > >> > >> > >> > >> This one is for the museum lawyers and collection management gurus out > >> there. > >> > >> > >> > >> For an upcoming temporary exhibition on collections, we would like to > show > >> a collection of vials of dirt that a local naturalist collected on her > >> travels around the world. The challenge is that much of this dirt was > >> transferred into the US illegally (i.e. from countries where they are > strict > >> about making sure that organic material doesn't enter or leave the > country) > >> or was obtained with some trespassing (i.e. from celebrities' yards). > She is > >> nervous about exhibiting the dirt in public for this reason. > >> > >> > >> > >> My sense is that if we can call this art, it might not be a problem. > >> Frankly, I don't think it's a big problem period - there's no real risk > or > >> danger to the dirt - but I want to learn more about how to address this > >> issue. Do you know anyone who might have some expertise to bear in this > >> arena? > >> > >> > >> > >> Thank you, > >> > >> > >> > >> Nina > >> > >> > >> > >> Nina Simon > >> > >> Executive Director > >> > >> Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History > >> > >> 831.429.1964 x7018 > >> > >> > >> > >> Come visit us at 705 Front Street in Santa Cruz > >> > >> Get involved at www.santacruzmah.org or on Facebook > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > >> http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > >> > >> > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > >> http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > >> > >> > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > >> http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > >> > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > >> http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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