Discordant Collections: The Benefits of Planning Ahead

Stephanie Diani for The New York Times

Oftentimes, museums have wonderful and expansive collections, compounded on through the years by curators looking to enrich and add depth to their institution’s identity. However, this can lead to a wide variety of unique and fascinating items that individually support a museum’s mission, but do not function as a cohesive whole. Disjointed collections can severely impact a museum’s ability to be successful in regards to conservation, display, and education.

In their article “Collections Planning: Pinning Down a Strategy,” James B. Gardner and Elizabeth Merritt discuss the detrimental effects of poor collections management, and the various ways in which an institution can develop and implement a successful collecting plan. They explain that poor collections stewardship can directly affect “the museum’s ability to succeed: the collections may suffer from poor care; limited resources may be spent on acquiring material that is unrelated to institutional mission; and the institution may perform ineffectively because its collections, exhibits, and educational activities are neither connected to each other nor supported by a financial plan” (433). As a result, collections management serves an integral role in the museum sphere. Collections managers ensure the long term care for a museum’s collections through extensive maintenance, as well as contribute to their institution’s mission through proper item acquisition.

Having worked as a collections intern at a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of ceramic art, I have had firsthand experience in the difficulties associated with collections planning. With a motley accumulation of objects donated by benefactors, as well as items acquired without a clear connection to the institutional mission, it was extremely difficult as a collections intern to research ways in which these items could function as a cohesive unit in future exhibitions.

This is an issue that affects both large and small scale museums. For example, the Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles is currently attempting to redefine the way it presents the mythology of the Wild West by incorporating other cultural perspectives. However, the somewhat discordant nature of its collections is significantly inhibiting the institution’s ability to present a consistent message through its newer exhibits.

Having absorbed the Women of the West Museum from Boulder, CO, as well as the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Autry Center is struggling to cogently incorporate these varying perspectives and traditions into their already expansive collections of items from the American West. As Edward Rothstein from the New York Times explains, “the Autry wants to become an identity museum, championing the West by uniting contentious factions within its embrace. I’m not sure it will even be possible…” Despite the fact that these groups of objects come from the same time period in United States history, it is not an easy task to link them to each other in a way that is a compelling and accurate interpretation of the lives and cultures of the American West.

Going back to the Gardner and Merritt article, proper collections planning can drastically improve an institution’s ability to care for its collections as well as present them in an educational and articulate manner. Acquiring countless items to enhance a museum’s collections is not always sustainable or realistic, no matter how well these items relate to the purpose and mission of the institution. Ultimately, it is essential for museums, large and small, to have a collection plan or policy that addresses the issues associated with discordant collections. As Gardner and Merritt assert, a proper collecting plan allows a “museum to take pride in the collections that is has built, but it also recognizes that it cannot assume that its currently collecting approach will meet its future responsibilities” (435). Hopefully, the Autry Center and other museums also struggling to conjoin their various collections can ultimately succeed at reorganizing their approach toward collection management in order to redefine their mission and identity as institutions.

Check out these links that helped inspire this entry in Museum Musings!

New York Times Article

Los Angeles Times Article

Autry Center Website

Clandestine Excavation and the Use of Illegally Looted Artifacts in Museum Collections

(Roger Anis / El Shorouk / Associated Press)

Having participated in an archaeological field school in Guatemala, I have seen the detrimental effects of looting firsthand. Cultural sites that you would assume had not been seen by humans for centuries, located hundreds of kilometers into the jungle and overgrown with vegetation, had all been extensively looted by Guatemalan natives. This type of subsistence looting is very commonplace in Central America, where the majority of the population lives in poverty and the chance to sell cultural artifacts to the antiquities black market is very tempting. This clandestine excavation of ancient sites, and subsequent loss of objects to the black market, is extremely damaging to our cultural heritage. The context in which artifacts were buried or discarded is completely lost, and archaeologists are left to piece together the use of these objects and their significance to the culture that made them. 

According to an article in the Arts and Culture section of the Los Angeles Times, the recent political unrest in Egypt has led to the looting and destruction of over one thousand artifacts housed in a museum south of Cairo. The looting of the Malawi National Museum is claimed to be the largest instance of cultural looting in the history of the country. In response to this cultural tragedy, Irinia Bokova, the head of UNESCO, has said that "this constitutes irreversible damage to the history and identity of the Egyptian people." It is likely that many of the pieces that were not destroyed in the looting will be sold on the illicit market, where they can ultimately end up in the hands of wealthy private collectors or potentially be purchased by unscrupulous museums. 

Historically, the museums that choose to invest in the acquisition of illegally looted artifacts often do so with the intent of enhancing their collections. This indirectly contributes to the continuation of clandestine excavation around the world and the resultant destruction of cultural sites. Despite the fact that museums are becoming increasingly sensitive to the ethical repercussions of acquiring illegally looted items for their collections, the majority of ethical codes that were written and adopted by museums in the most recent decades to help prevent this looting are still surprisingly lax. In the past, some of the more unprincipled museum directors have even condoned the continued acquisition of looted cultural property in their belief that they represent the institutions that are most capable of caring for and preserving these items. This conviction led to many museum directors fighting against other nation’s claims for repatriation of cultural objects due to their opinion that “museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation” (414). 

Ultimately, it is the ethical responsibility of museums to do everything in their power to prevent the destruction of our cultural heritage by refusing to acquire illegally looted items, or even objects that lack a clear provenance. In her article “Legal and Ethical Considerations in Museum Acquisitions,” Marilyn Phelan is admirable in her assertion that “Cultural patrimony is inalienable, and cultural objects have their greatest value to society when they remain, and can be studied, in their place of origin” (418). As an archaeologist, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, and I believe the heritage and culture of each nation is invaluable to its citizens. Looting only serves to destroy our collective heritage and prevent the study and appreciation of the peoples that came before us. 

Check out this article that inspired this entry in Museum Musings! 

Los Angeles Times Article

Education For One and All!

Photo courtesy of artdaily.org

As a child, I had an avid fondness for visiting museums. The thought of exploring cultures and customs different from my own never failed to stir in me a feeling of great contentment. The joy I felt wandering the various exhibits of a museum did not diminish as I grew older; rather, I became increasingly interested in the potential of experiencing a museum from within the institution itself. This passion for education has ultimately led me to aspire to someday work in the Education Department of a museum, helping to develop programming that allows guests to make the most of their museum experience. 

Personally, I do not believe that you need to have an extensive art history, archaeology, or studio art background in order to have an enriching and worthwhile trip to a museum, whether it be an institution focusing on natural history, or one dedicated to the display of contemporary and modern art. However, museums can be very intimidating and unfamiliar places where visitors may have to confront artwork they have never before experienced. This is where the role of the museum educator becomes crucial. In her article “Changing Practices of Interpretation,” Lisa C. Roberts examines the transformation of the role of the museum educator, as well as the importance of interpretation in the museum throughout the 20th century. Educators are the ones that bridge the gap between the viewer and a piece of art by developing interpretive elements that allow for personal connections to be made. As Roberts explains, “visitors’ interest and attention is determined not by an object’s inherent appeal but its relevance to their own framework of knowledge and experience” (150). In order for a visitor to connect to a piece, the art must be made relevant to his or her personal experiences and interests. In addition to being pertinent to the individual, art must also be easily accessible to those guests who wish to view it. 

The Dulwich Picture Gallery in the United Kingdom is going above and beyond in their efforts to make educational programming available to their community. A recent article on the Art Daily website describes the traveling exhibition newly launched by the Dulwich Picture Gallery named the Artmobile, whose function is to transport their award-winning outreach program to a variety of community venues, including schools and hospitals. The Gallery currently works with over 100 community centers and offers free programs year round. This institution has clearly understood the importance of equipping all members of its community with the opportunity to experience the Gallery, a place that they may not have been otherwise able to visit on their own. 

Museums, as a whole, must be made accessible to every member of the community. Historically, museums were institutions that catered to the upper class or the elite individuals that possessed the means to indulge in the patronage of the arts, as explained in John Cotton Dana’s article “The Gloom of the Museum.” In contemporary times, museums have become more available to a wider audience, due in large part to the supreme efforts of museum educators throughout the last century. Museum education and interpretation are vital to the survival of the museum as an institution, and I hope that I am able to one day contribute to the valiant efforts of those educators, such as those at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in their mission to promote learning in our society. 

Check out these articles that inspired this entry in Museum Musings! 

Art Daily Article

Dulwich Picture Gallery Website

Museum Collections Online, Friend or Foe?

(Charles Onians/AFP/Getty Images)

More and more frequently, it seems as if museums have been making the significant decision to place large portions, sometimes the entirety, of their collections online, often available to the public at no cost. In the last year, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, among many others, have been diligently working toward uploading the whole of their collections to the Internet. The Getty and the Rijksmuseum have even gone as far as to offer high-resolution images of this artwork with little to no copyright restrictions. Initially, I felt ill at ease and suspicious toward what I considered to be an unsettling trend in the museum world. After researching this idea more in depth, however, I am obligated to acknowledge the remarkable benefits associated with widely accessible collections at the touch of a mouse, despite my personal preference for the museum experience.

When I first began this blog entry, I was very stubborn in my conviction that museum collections online could only serve to hurt an institution. I believed that the number of museum visitors would drop, with individuals choosing to explore the artwork from the comfort of their own home rather than traveling out of the way to visit an institution in person. However, after reading a recent article in the Art and Design section of the New York Times that discusses the reasoning behind various museums’ decisions to post their collections online, I was able to put aside my personal bias and accept that there are substantial benefits to collections being made widely available on the Internet. 

Taco Dibbits, the director of collections at the Rijksmuseum explained in an interview for the New York Times, “We’re a public institution, and so the art and objects we have are, in a way, everyone’s property.” Some museums firmly believe that it their duty to make their artwork accessible to anyone and everyone that wishes to view it. Collections that are available online have created the opportunity for the public to interface with artwork from museums all over the world. In addition, online collections have the potential to serve as crucial teaching tools at all levels of education. For example, schools that do not possess the funds to send their students to museums will have the ability to bring the museum into the classroom. Additionally, scholars will have the opportunity to closely examine, often to an extent that might not otherwise be physically possible in the museum setting, pieces of art that may be housed in other countries. In some cases, art can even be viewed in situ within an exhibit, giving the viewer the ability to experience a piece beyond its two dimensional image in a textbook. 

I will admit, it is convenient to be able to peruse a museum’s collections if you are otherwise unable to visit the institution. At the end of the day, however, I firmly believe that browsing through online collections will always be a poor substitute for the magic of exploring the various exhibits of a museum in propia persona. Museums have become a natural meeting place for all members of our society, ranging from children and school groups to students, adults, and teachers. Museums are spaces that inspire learning, creative thinking, and discussion over an endless variety of topics, among a wide and diverse audience. In his article "The Mindful Museum," I believe Adam Gopnik is quite accurate in his description of the museum as the agora of contemporary society. I can only hope that museums continue to function as the central place where people can connect and converse with each other over art and culture. 

Check out these links that helped inspire my first entry of Museum Musings! 
Los Angeles Times Article  
New York Times Article
"The Mindful Museum"