James Clifford, “On Collecting Art and Culture” in the predicament of Culture: Twentieth Century
Ethnography, Literature, and Art, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998, pp. 215-251.
This writing is a complex and problematic piece of literature. It highlights the complications that already acquisitioned collections hold in our now more socially considerate societies. But it is more relevant to look at what a museum historically is in consideration to the artefacts held throughout them around the globe.
Museums are places that were set up to celebrate the triumphs that dominant societies had over the places and people they invaded and over took. They are places were mostly stolen treasures are housed and shown to a mainly colonial public that aids in proving a western dominance over non western cultures. This is one very powerful tool used in reference to "Othering", being not of European descent: dark skinned and primitive.1 When Western Cultures arrived in foreign lands they were sometimes gifted objects at the beginning of these conquests but usually the more significant objects were stolen during the hostile overtaking of nations.2 These objects were taken to lessen the power of the other culture which would eventually lead to a weakened sense of heritage and a displacement of the others culture.
When objects are displayed in Museums they are usually only displayed with a brief explanation of where it was found and who donated it. Nothing if anything is mentioned of its traditional use or of the significance to the people and places it comes from. They are taken from the cultural context that it needs to aid in the relevance of these objects and that knowledge can no longer be passed on to younger generations. It is a very calculated and considered plan of attack by Western cultures when invading.3
In every Museum in the developed world precious artefacts are displayed that relate to the over running of one nation by another. A museum is usually a point of reference that travellers will visit when going to a new country. It highlights the power of that nation and glorifies it’s achievements as a society.
To have issues with already acquired collections with in a Museum structure seems a little like going to the doctor with an aneurism and being told to take an aspirin.
1, http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/rww03/othering.htm
2, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum
3, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/26/post-invasion-tactics-iraq-war-inquiry
I found your understanding of the museum as a means to ‘celebrate the triumphs that dominant societies had over the places and people they invaded and over took’ very poignant. The dominant ideology has become so ingrained it has managed to convince itself that it I doing a positive thing in preserving and creating meaning of another culture. There certainly needs to be a wider acknowledgment of indigenous histories and recognition that history is all a matter of perspective.
ReplyDelete