My reply is short. To get back on the Enola Gay debate is like having to sit and watch Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day. Len Hambleton - Objects Conservator North Carolina Museum of History 5 East Edenton Street Raleigh NC. 27601-1011 [log in to unmask] 919-715-0200 x244 "Information in the spirit of sharing,catch the wave!" Opinions expressed in this message may not represent the policy of my agency > -----Original Message----- > From: STUD Brent Stauffer [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, January 22, 1998 4:09 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: VANDALISING UNPOPULAR STATUES ETC. - using the > pieces inmuseums > > I was wondering if the debate over putting a display that included the > Enola Gay and other objects about the atomic bombimgs would also fit > into > this category. I would also like to hear what other people had to say > about that exhibit. > > > On Thu, 22 Jan 1998, Nicholson, Claudia wrote: > > > Harry Needham has raised an interesting point when he noted that the > > museum gets accused of "glorifying" Hitler because they show the > > decapitated head of a Hitler statue in the museum. > > > > I ran into the same problem in South Dakota. An exhibit of a Ku > Klux > > Klan robe brought a sharp response from some visitors, including one > who > > bothered to write her anger. She accused us of "glorifying" the > Klan > > because we showed the outfit. We thought that it would be good to > point > > out that the Klan was not simply an organization of the American > > South--that it was active in the northern parts of the country too, > and > > in the case of South Dakota, went after foreigners and Catholics. > > > > Unfortunately, many visitors still think that what museums do is > glorify > > the past. Anything that we show, therefore, is out for the public > to > > see so that they might revel in the ever-upward spiral of > civilization. > > Although the context and explanatory labeling of any potentially > > controversial object in a museum exhibit can very carefully show why > the > > object is not there to be glorified, if the visitor does not read > the > > label or pay attention to the context, they can make an incorrect > > assumption. > > > > Once again, I will ask the question: how do museums really educate > the > > public to what we are trying to do? How do we get visitors in a > > questioning frame of mind when they come through our doors? How can > we > > get them to question--and then seek to find the answer--when they > see > > something in our galleries that they think is inappropriate? How do > we > > get them to understand that, at least in history museums, we are > tying > > to talk about both the good and the bad of the past? > > > > Claudia J. Nicholson > > Curator > > Museum Collections Department > > Minnesota Historical Society > > 345 Kellogg Blvd. W. > > St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 > > Tel.: 612/297-7442 > > FAX: 612/297-2967 > > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > > > > > > >