The turn of the 19th century brought upon a number of theorists both inside and outside the realms of anthropology to think critically about the discourses of powers that exist between colonialism and museum exhibitions. In the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, World’s Fair Exhibitions captivated the world with their grandiose architectural structures such as the London Crystal Palace and beyond. These exhibitions showcased not only the intellectual property of the West, but it also displayed cultural communities outside of their system of which they deemed to be “exotic” or foreign to the “advanced civilizations of the West.” This rhetoric turned the colonized into commodities by the colonizers, which not only depreciated their cultural value but also said a lot about the personality of the West so to speak. One theorist in specific that …show more content…
Also, this essay mentions that premise that museums in some way shape or form, manage to remove cultures and the objects displayed from their historical and spatial contexts. This is a direct result of the phenomenon of American / European industrialization and cultural appropriation across global markets during this time. Many of these issues still exist in our capitalist economic venues today. One section that I found to be particularly interesting was Hinsley’s mention of Frederick Putnam director and curator of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University regarding the Committee of Liberal Arts in Chicago 1891. Putnam explained that the Columbian Exposition solely exists as a result of the “voyage of Columbus 400 years ago that lead to the discovery of the Americas by our race, its subsequent peopling by the Europeans and consequent development of great nations on the
Imagine that one piece of history that is taken from a town. This piece of history tells l people how this town was built and all the important people that were apart of the community. “Returning Antiquities to Their Countries of Origin” by Joyce Mortimer can many people about how objects are getting taken from Museums. They should be returned immediately. There are so many artifacts out there that could be so important to people, and if someone can just imagine what it would feel to have one of the most important object taken from a museum and to be never returned again. Many people enjoy seeing these objects so why are they being taken?
In Stephen Weil’s essay, he argues “the museum’s role has transformed from one of mastery to one of service” (Weil, 196). According to him, museums have changed their mission from one that cultures the public to one that serves
Hughes, Robert. American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. 1st ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1997. Print.
Professor LaFleur in lecture on November 11 mentioned, “Museums were extremely powerful in shaping the way people saw the world” (Lecture 007). This same reasoning is why Fusco and Pena embark on this ethnographic journey. By displaying “A Savage Performance”, we see that they are subverting the past notions of ethnography. Ethnographic museums as the ones Sara Baartman was displayed in served a purpose and created a certain kind of discourse. “Discourse do not simply reflect reality, or innocently designate objects; rather they constitute them in specific contexts according to particular relations of power” (Lidchi, p. 185). Lidchi goes on to say that ethnography was created by the dominant culture in the imperial c...
Baxandall, Michael. "Exhibiting intention: Some preconditions of the visual display of culturally purposeful objects." Exhibiting cultures: The poetics and politics of museum display (1991): 33-41.
In conclusion, visiting the History Museum of North Carolina was a great way to experience world culture. The assignment was truly amazing, because I went with purpose, and new look on the influence of the world’s culture today. It is very surprising to find so much of the world wrapped into one big melting pot. You experience the world around you outside of your textbook, living room, and computer. The people living next to you, and even in your very house makeup the different cultural aspects of our community.
In this manner, western cultures command great power by being able to represent their own heritage as a higher ranking than the “primitive” art of Third World nations that is often exhibited: “It also means the power to define and rank people, to declare some as having a greater share than others in the community’s common heritage—in its very identity” (Duncan 102). These are the important findings of Duncan’s (1991) analysis of cultural imperialism, which I agree with in terms of the greater influence of American and European museums to ritualize their status as a first world modern nation. More so, American/European museums get greater funding to superimpose their culture over museums in third world countries, which defines the overt power of the museum as a “temple” for first world art. These are important aspects of Duncan’s view that the disproportionate presence of western art throughout the world is based on a primarily imperialistic notion of cultural superiority in the presentation of American and European heritage on a global scale. In my opinion, I feel that western museums deliberately impose their cultural values in terms of “modernity” as a means of ranking themselves above lesser nations. Certainly, the increasing popularity of “primitive”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art came about as an idea from Jon Jay in Paris, France in 1866 with the idea of “national institution gallery of art” within the United States. Once this idea was proposed, it was immediately moved forward with his return to the United States. With the help of the Union League Club in NY they began to acquire civic leaders, businessmen, artists, and collectors who aided in the creation of the museum. For over 140 years, the visitors who go here have received everything the mission of the institution states.
I was able to attend a fair on September 15 at the city of Bell Gardens. The fair was created to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day, which in Spanish is called Dia de la Independencia de Mexico. On September 15, they celebrate El Grito de Mexico. This event is celebrated every year, to remind people about the day they gain their independence, which brings many individuals to do the Grito de Dolores. In this case, the mayor of the city along with her colleagues and the escoltas were present. Not only was the Mexico flag present, but also the United States flag. At first, they mayor of the city told all the individuals to stand up and remove their hats for the respect of the flags. They started with the United States national anthem, which the escolta was walking with the United States flag, while the people were told to put their right hand over there heart and then they song along with the
One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.
...control. I believe there are really two distinct issues that have to be considered, one is that of a Eurocentric evaluation of fine art that is still widely present in major museums. The second is that the only way to overcome this stigma is through an honest recognition of the historical falsehoods created by the functions of colonization. Only through the resolution of both of these issues, in a post-colonial framework, will a true multicultural platform emerge.
‘Savage Beauty’ was an exhibition that pushed the boundaries of museology, in its artistic, social and critical undertakings. The questions brought to bear by the exhibition of contemporary art and culture in various situations is something I am interested in researching further with a degree in curating.
We visited the Museo Nacional De Antropologa in Madrid, and were assigned to analyse the Asian Room, which is focused particularly on the Philippine Islands because of their historical colonisation with Spain. The display of things in a museum are things that we look at as something that is outside of normal. In contrast to the movie or movies, where scenes substantially show how the person felt and dealt with situations and tools from their own perspective, with their own knowledge and experience and through different means such as real images, sounds, language and others produces a different knowledge on the racial discourse. When looking at exhibitions in museums the other culture is unknown, and almost uncomfortable to us, but in movies we can be standing in their shoes.
...troversy as all countries have lost, to a great or lesser extent, treasures of national renown and significance over time. Wars, theft, treasure seeking, changing boundaries and migration have all in some way contributed to this diaspora of art. There is clear evidence that the historic placing of objects in locations remote from their origin has on occasion afforded protection and preservation, The Elgin Marbles in The British Museum being a case in point. However, given the overarching principle of self determination it is difficult to argue that serendipitous historic placement is sufficient reason for items of true national heritage to be kept indefinitely. A world-wide system of touring exhibitions and cultural exchange, with context being provided by the originating society may provide the natural progression to the accessible widening of people’s experiences.
Youngs, I. (2011). Museums enjoy 10 years of freedom. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15927593. Last accessed 4th Nov 2013.