Edmundson revealed to me that all the artifacts come from donors including the veterans, their families and collectors. Whenever a donor presents an artifact, the director and assistant director decide if they want to accept or reject the artifact based on certain qualifications. The factors include whether or not the museum has the resources to care for the artifact and whether the museum already has enough of a certain item, for instance, similar uniforms from the same war. Then, the museum does research on the artifact to assure the artifact's authenticity, afterwards, the artifact is placed into an inventory database. Artifacts not on display remain in acid free storage in order to protect them from acid on human hands.…
The museum made many in the community to reconsider their own treatment of their…
What is the purpose of a museum or a historic site? On the surface, many would indicate that it is education. Through his monograph, Upon the Ruins of Slavery: Slavery, the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park, and Public Memory, Roger C. Aden argues that the purpose of a museum is much more complex than that, and it varies from person to person. He examined the various processes and problems that occur in the creation of a historical site. Specifically, Aden examines Independence National Historical Park.…
The Museum Act, created a museum within the Smithsonian for Native Americans. This act also began the requirement where the inventories of Native American goods within museums, along with the repatriation of such items were to occur. One part of inventorying items was to offer up information as to the origins of where the remains came from. The Museum Act was a vital first step towards the creation of NAGPRA (Thorpe, 2013: 24-25). This latter act applies to the repatriation of items, protection of burial sites along with cultural items, and the trafficking of Native American remains and cultural items (Thorpe, 2013:…
A visit to a museum is not just about the historical and educational gainings and stimulations, but also about entertainment, luxury and comfort. In an era where people cannot be separated from their smartphones, it is rare to be attracted by something older and traditional. The image plays a dominant role in attracting the public. For most individuals, it is preferable to examine the past while being inside of an exceptional modern environment rather than an old, former home. Thus, it is not about brand, it is about the whole experience, that unfortunately today must be accompanied by all those modern elements that rule people's daily lives and have become a plasmatic necessity.…
I believe that artists and history buffs are the museums intended…
Over Thanksgiving break I went with my family to the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art which is located at Johnson County Community College. The Nerman Museum has a variety of pieces created from different mediums including: clay, painting, photography, sculpture and drawing to name a few. I spent most of my time looking at an exhibit the museum has through March of 2017, called “Domestic Seen.” While many of the pieces included in this exhibit are very simple, they are meant convey perceptions of different life experiences like wealth, women, celebrities, and children just to name a few. In doing so, viewers may be able to see different depictions of their lives.…
Many people may consider a museum collection as very important in determining the quality of the museum but modern day assessment…
The Art Museum as Ritual is an article written by Carol Duncan that questions the role and function of public museums. In this article, Duncan shows his dissatisfaction with the way museums use objects of art to come up with particular political meanings aimed at achieving a certain purpose. According to her, some nations came up with western style museums to be perceived as having desirable diplomatic or political allies. This essay summarizes the main ideas in the article by Carol Duncan, highlights my visit to a museum and analyzes two works of art stored in the museum.…
Stolen Artworks and Repatriating 1. What is your opinion of the return of artifacts to their native cultures? This is an interesting question and is difficult for me to answer. I think it really depends on how the artifacts were obtained.…
Traditionally, museums are considered secular sites in which curators display art objectively; however, in her work, “The art museum as ritual,” Carol Duncan examines how museums act as powerful entities which influence the visitors’ perception through the display, organization, and architecture of the space. She elaborates that the museum’s authority actually enables them to represent and define entire communities, which consequently shapes the visitors’ perceptions of said communities. Perhaps Duncan’s claim is best summarized as: “To control a museum means precisely to control the representations of a community and its highest values and truths… What we see and do not see in … museums and on what terms and by whose authority we do or do…
"It 's a Beautiful Thing": Art, Culture, History and Humanity in George Orwell 's 1984 In 1984 George Orwell pulls readers into his horrific and at the same time awe- inspiring totalitarian society, dictated by a dystopian political system that builds a world on omnipresent surveillance, public manipulation, oppression, hatred, propaganda and "their sole motive, [which is] the quest for power" (Paul 215) . Due to the unconditional control the party has over Oceania, there is evidently a paucity of beauty, culture and history. Art plays a crucial part of humanity, history and our depiction of the truth.…
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that they would return 19 items to their rightfully home in Egypt. Hawass claimed the return "a wonderful gesture" and applauded the Met for its "ethical behavior.” Hawass is responsible for the return of over 5,000 antiquities. Many museums have been under pressure to return stolen or illegally bought artifacts. The return of theses items can spark financial struggles for the museums, but if they don 't return the items the scandals can be detrimental to their reputation.…
I have always had a passion for history and storytelling since I was a child and decided in seventh grade world history class that I wanted to be an archaeologist, discovering ancient cultures and uncovering their secrets. I maintained this plan, arriving at Boston University as an archaeology major but after several semesters of study realized that it wasn’t the exact path for me. I began to grow my appreciation of museums, admiring how they could ignite wonder, curiosity, and learning in myself and others. I realized this was where I felt most at home. Therefore, I decided to change my major to art history, while retaining an archaeology minor, and explore history through the lens of artist’s interpretations and ideas.…
Museums as Learning Environments Museums serve as learning environments by providing information about specific subjects through exhibits. People visit museums to learn and experience new information. Every museum is focused on a particular subject, whether that is natural science, history, or culture. One visits a museum based on what one wants to learn about. If a particular person is very interested in the history of Native American’s then he/she will seek out a museum that provides exhibits and information about that subject.…