Museology and heritage studies Books

Book Synopsis'A delightful book ... the perfect companion as you wait for the 8.10 from Hove' Observer After the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, many railways were gradually shut down. Rural communities were isolated and steam trains slowly gave way to diesel and electric traction. But some people were not prepared to let the romance of train travel die. Thanks to their efforts, many lines passed into community ownership and are now booming with new armies of dedicated volunteers. Andrew Martin meets these volunteer enthusiasts, finding out just what it is about preserved railways that makes people so devoted. From the inspiration for Thomas the Tank Engine to John Betjeman's battle against encroaching modernity, Steam Trains Today will take you on a heart-warming journey across Britain from Aviemore to Epping.Trade ReviewPraise for Andrew Martin: 'Compelling ... full of history and railway nuggets -- Michael Binyon * Sunday Times *Informative and witty * Cumbria Life *You do not have to be a trainspotter to enjoy this book. It is social history, a kind of epitaph to a way of travel that seems to be lost, at least in Europe -- Christian Wolmar * Spectator *A delightful book ... This book is the perfect companion as you wait for the 8.10 from Hove -- Nigel Jones * Observer *Martin is entertaining company, alive to the history of his route ... leaves you with renewed confidence that trains can still be the most civilised way to travel * Financial Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this book, Michael Murawski explores the work of museums as agents of change through inspiring case studies as well as his own honest, personal experiences as a museum educator, offering effective strategies for museums to enact change in their communities and, most importantly, convert talk into action

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffers a framework for understanding contemporary debates as they have evolved in Europe and the United States. From the visionary museums of Boullee in the eighteenth century to the new Guggenheim in Bilbao and beyond, this book explores various aspects of museum theory and practice: ideals and mission; architecture; the public and commercialism.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Ideals and Mission Architecture Collecting, Classification, and Display The Public Commercialism Restitution and Repatriation Conclusion Appendix Notes List of Illustrations Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis new and extensively revised second edition offers an international perspective on archives management, providing authoritative guidance relevant to collections-based repositories and to organizations responsible for managing their own institutional archives. Written in clear language with lively examples, Archives: Principles and practices introduces core archival concepts, explains best-practice approaches and discusses the central activities that archivists need to know to ensure the documentary materials in their charge are cared for as effectively as possible. Topics addressed include: core archival principles and concepts archival history and the evolution of archival theories the nature and diversity of archival materials and institutions the responsibilities and duties of the archivist issues in the management of archival institutions the challenges of balancing access and privacy in archival service best practice principles and strategic approaches to central archival tasks such as acquisition, preservation, reference and access detailed comparison of custodial, fonds-oriented approaches and post-custodial, functional approaches to arrangement and description. Discussion of digital archives is woven throughout the book, including consideration of the changing role of the archivist in the digital age. In recasting her book to address the impact of digital technologies on records and archives, Millar offers us an archival manual for the twenty-first century. This book will be essential reading for archival practitioners, archival studies students and professors, librarians, museum curators, local authorities, small governments, public libraries, community museums, corporations, associations and other agencies with archival responsibility.Trade ReviewAn absolutely indispensable instructional guide and manual, Archives: Principles and Practices is unreservedly recommended for community, academic, governmental, and corporate Library Science collections and supplemental studies lists. * - Midwest Book Review *Archives is divided into theoretical and operational sections. Millar ably tackles topics such as the concept, nature, history, acquisition, preservation, and future of archives. Including a helpful list of resources for further reading and a glossary of archive-related terms, this is a well-rounded book. Infused with the right amount of humor, Millar has authored a highly readable text for those interested in an overview of the world of archives. -- Jim Frutchey * Booklist *'Although differing goals and understandings of the archival profession are in many ways a sign of its vibrancy and strength, books such as Archives: Principles and Practices sound a welcome reminder to examine institutional traditions and to tie those traditions to the bedrock values that should unite all keepers of the cultural record. While the first edition succeeded to some extent, the second edition deserves recognition as one of the best introductory texts available today.'- Nathan Saunders, Associate Director for Library Specialized Collections, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Archival Issues * Archival Issues *Table of ContentsPART I: Principles 1. What are archives? 2. An overview of archival theories and concepts 3. The nature of archives 4. The uses of archives 5. Types of archival institution 6. Archival service as a public trust 7. Balancing access and privacy PART 2: Practices 8. Establishing the archival institution 9. Appraising and acquiring archives 10. Preserving archives 11. Arranging and describing archives 12. Making archives available 13. Providing online access and reference Conclusion To learn more Journal literature National and state institutions Professional associations Additional reading Glossary of terms

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn exceptional introduction to European paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century through one of the greatest collections in the world. This richly illustrated and beautifully designed book offers an ideal introduction to European painting from the 13th to the early 20th century. The National Gallery, London, houses one of the finest collections of Western European art in the world. Its extraordinary range includes exceptional paintings from medieval Europe through the early Renaissance and on to Post-Impressionism, including masterpieces by Leonardo, Hans Holbein, Titian, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Turner, Monet, and Van Gogh. This volume showcases more than 250 of the Gallery’s most treasured pictures, providing an opportunity to make connections across this uniquely representative collection. Paintings are accompanied by numerous details, as well as brief and illuminating texts, providing an informative and visually rich survey of hundreds of years of European painting.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Read more less

Book SynopsisCreating African Fashion Histories examines the stark disjuncture between African self-fashioning and museum practices. Conventionally, African clothing, textiles, and body adornments were classified by museums as examples of trade goods, art, and ethnographic materialsnever as fashion. Counterposing the dynamism of African fashion with museums' historic holdings thus provides a unique way of confronting ways in which coloniality persists in knowledge and institutions today. This volume brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and curators to debate sources and approaches for constructing African fashion histories and to examine their potential for decolonizing museums, fashion studies, and global cultural history. The editors of this volume seek to answer questions such as: Howcan researchers use museum collections to reveal traces of pastself-fashioning that areobscured by racialized forms of knowledge and institutional practice? How can archival, visual, oral, ethnogTrade Review"Creating African Fashion Histories is an innovative and timely publication that marks a welcome turn in the writing of global fashion histories and the curation of works by Africa's historic and contemporary fashion creatives. This agenda-setting volume brings museum and sartorial practices into critical dialogue for the first time. The book is divided into three sections, each flowing organically onto the next. The first focusses on constructing fashion histories, the second on translations of fashion identities, and the third on new approaches to fashion curation that acknowledge our imperial and colonial pasts, whilst moving forward in an equitable manner. The contributing authors eloquently examine the tangled relationship between power, knowledge production, and the confounding misrepresentation of the continent—its people, histories and cultures—using African fashions as a starting point. The range of geographic locations featured, from Morocco to South Africa and Ghana to the Swahili coast, alongside the number of perspectives incorporated, present African fashions as varied and ever-changing. Close attention is paid to the political, economic, and cultural contexts that have shaped and continue to shape both fashion scenes and museum collections. These elements combine to suggest new ways of understanding and mapping not only African fashion histories, but the complexities of global cultural histories as a whole."—Christine Checinska, Curator of African and African Diaspora Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum"This book is an important contribution at the intersection of fashion history, museum curatorial studies, and anti-colonial intellectual practice. Like the exhibition from which it comes, this work 'underlines both the urgent need for, and obstacles facing, efforts to bring about significant institutional change' within museums when it comes to the collection and display of African creative products. Thus, it is a work of importance for our times, as a reflection point for those engaged in the display of African fashion collections. As decolonization debates continue and many museums remain at the forefront of their subsumption into a neoliberal rhetoric that serves to maintain rather than disrupt the status quo, this volume's essays and the ideas they explore keep vital debates not only relevant, but useful for those who truly work toward continuing to disentangle museums from their colonial foundations. This thought-work is action, in critique of the dominant colonial paradigm. Read it."—Davinia Gregory-Kameka, Columbia UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments1. Introduction: Creating African Fashion Histories: Politics, Museums, and Sartorial Practices, by JoAnn McGregorPart I: Constructing African Fashion Histories2. Historicizing Fashion in Western Africa: Global Linkages, Regional Markets, and Local Tastes, 1400-1850, by Jody Benjamin3. Finding Fashion in the Museum: (Re)Assembling a Precolonial Eastern African Fashion Moment, by Sarah Fee4. Beloved, Ignored, and Contested: The Politics of Kente in Ghana since the 1960s, by Malika KraamerPart II: Transmitting and Translating African Fashion Identities5. Translocal Subjectivities, Space, and Aesthetics: The World of Nigerian Fashion, by Harriet Hughes6. Fabric in the Fashion Photography of Omar Victor Diop, by Beth Buggenhagen7. "There Was No Fashion in Morocco Before": (Re)Creating Contemporary Moroccan Fashion History, by M. Angela Jansen8. Unrest and Dress: The Symbol of the Sycamore Tree in Oromo Adornment, by Peri M. KlemmPart III: Collecting, Curating, and Displaying Africa Fashions9. Stories behind the Collections and Why They Matter: Examples from Indiana University, by Heather Akou10. Refashioning Clothing Collections in South African Museums, by Erica de Greef11. Fashioning Africa: Using a New Collection of Dress to Decolonize Museum Practice, by Edith Ojo, Helen Mears, and Nicola StylianouBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisTogether, the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, and the Institut des Musées Nationaux du Zaire (IMNZ) in the Congo have defined and marketed Congolese art and culture.Trade Review“This masterful study of Belgian and Congolese collecting and exhibitions of African arts, and the murky heritage politics so implied, offers insights for understanding colonial and postcolonial histories of representation anywhere in the world.”“Authentically African successfully shows how colonial tensions between politics and creativity left their imprint on colonial as well as on postcolonial Congo… this book remains a necessary introduction to some key chapters in the rich and complex entrance of arts premiers into world cultural histories.” * American Historical Review *“This is an important book that fills a gap in our knowledge about museums in this geographical area as well as our understanding of the role of political ideologies, a topic which has been well covered in South Africa, for example, but not as much by scholars in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. … An impressive analysis.” * Museum Anthropology Review *“This well-informed book is the result of a careful inquiry carried out ‘on the spot’ in Congo, Belgium, and North America. … Authentically African successfully shows how colonial tensions between politics and creativity left their imprint on colonial as well as on postcolonial Congo. … This book remains a necessary introduction to some key chapters in the rich and complex entrance of arts premiers into world cultural histories.” * American Historical Review *“[An] impressive exploration of how and postcolonial powers in former Zaire utilized ‘cultural guardianship’ to justify their political legitimacy and to establish cultural and political economies nationally and internationally.” * African Studies Quarterly *“Authentically African is an impressively researched study of material culture and its institutions in the construction of Congolese cultural and political projects. Van Beurden’s fascinating examination of objects and collections in cultural and political economies makes a significant contribution to several bodies of scholarship, from those focused on material culture, heritage, and identity politics to those concerned with African cultural institutions as part of the global landscape.”

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book traces the trajectory of the community archives movement, expanding the definition of community archives to include sites such as historical societies, social movement organisations and community centres. It also explores new definitions of what community archives might encompass, particularly in relation to disciplines outside the archives.Over ten years have passed since the first volume of Community Archives, and inspired by continued research as well as by the formal recognition of community archives in the UK, the community archives movement has become an important area of research, recognition and appreciation by archivists, archival scholars and others worldwide. Increasingly the subject of papers and conferences, community archives are now seen as being in the vanguard of social concerns, markers of community-based activism, a participatory approach exemplifying the on-going evolution of ‘professional’ archival (and heritage) practice and integral to the ability of people to articulate and assert their identity. Community Archives, Community Spaces reflects the latest research and includes practical case studies on the challenges of building and sustaining community archives. This new book will appeal to practitioners, researchers, and academics in the archives and records community as well as to historians and other scholars concerned with community building and social issues.Trade Review"This work encourages the practice of community archives in distinct contexts by centering an openness to adjustment of practices and priorities through relationships. A community archive is ever a model, never a mold." -- Anastasia Armendariz * The Library Quarterly *Table of ContentsContentsList of figures Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction - Jeannette A. Bastian and Andrew FlinnPART 1 ANALYTICAL ESSAYS 1 Archival optimism, or, how to sustain a community archives Rebecka Taves Sheffield2 Affective bonds: what community archives can teach mainstream institutions Michelle Caswell3 Community archives and the records continuum Michael PiggottPART 2 CASE STUDIES4 Tuku mana taonga, tuku mana tāngata – Archiving for indigenouslanguage and cultural revitalisation: cross sectoral case studies from Aotearoa, New ZealandClaire Hall and Honiana Love5 Self-documentation of Thai communities: reflective thoughts on the Western concept of community archives Kanokporn Nasomtrug Simionica6 Popular music, community archives and public history online cultural justice and the DIY approach to heritagePaul Long, Sarah Baker, Zelmarie Cantillon, Jez Collins and Raphaël Nowak7 Maison d’Haïti’s collaborative archives project: archiving a community of records Désirée Rochat, Kristen Young, Marjorie Villefranche and Aziz Choudry8 Indigenous archiving and wellbeing: surviving, thriving, reconcilingJoanne Evans, Shannon Faulkhead, Kirsten Thorpe, Karen Adams, Lauren Booker and Narissa Timbery9 Community engaged scholarship in archival studies: documenting housing displacement and gentrification in a Latino community Janet Ceja Alcalá10 Post-x: community-based archiving in Croatia Anne J. Gilliland and Tamara ŠtefanacIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisStop wandering, start acting! Find out how museum guards can be to your advantage. Learn the rule of thumb to distinguish good art from bad art. How to Visit an Art Museum is a short, fun, and rewarding read, full of tips and inspiring illustrations to get the most out of your museum visit.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book offers a framework for collaboration between art museum educators and health professionals. It includes advice on selecting meaningful and provocative works of art; models of responsive workshop design, compelling descriptions of gallery experiences; and references to supporting medical literature

Read more less

Book SynopsisOver the centuries, natural history museums have evolved from being little more than musty repositories of stuffed animals and pinned bugs, to being crucial generators of new scientific knowledge. They have also become vibrant educational centers, full of engaging exhibits that share those discoveries with students and an enthusiastic general public. At the heart of it all from the very start have been curators. Yet after three decades as a natural history curator, Lance Grande found that he still had to explain to people what he does. This book is the answer and, oh, what an answer it is: lively, exciting, up-to-date, it offers a portrait of curators and curation like none we've seen, one that conveys the intellectual excitement and educational and social value of curation. Grande uses the personal story of his own career most of it spent at Chicago's storied Field Museum to structure his account as he explores the value of collections, the importance of public engagement, changing ecological and ethical considerations, and the impact of rapidly improving technology.Throughout, we are guided by Grande's keen sense of mission, of a job where the why is always as important as the what. Beautifully written and richly illustrated, this clear-eyed but loving account of the natural history museum and its place in our cultural and conservation landscape will appeal to fans of dusty dioramas and digital displays alike.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOwen Jones (1809–1874), a prolific architect, designer, illustrator and printer, was recognised during his lifetime as one of the most influential contemporary figures in art and design theory. This insightful book, the latest in the V&A Nineteenth-Century Series, explores his relationship with the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria and Albert Museum), from its inauguration in the 1850s through to his death in 1874. With particular focus on the creation of his celebrated volume The Grammar of Ornament (1856), his decorative scheme for the museum’s so-called ‘Oriental Court’ and the preparation of his lesser-known publication Examples of Chinese Ornament (1867), it offers a fascinating exploration of the identity of the early museum and its imperial context.Table of ContentsDirector’s Foreword; Series Editor’s Foreword; Introduction: From the Great Exhibition to the South Kensington Museum; Chapter 1 - ‘An ever-gushing fountain’: The Grammar of Ornament; Chapter 2 - Applied Principles: The ‘Oriental Court’; Chapter 3 - ‘Suggestive Character’: Examples of Chinese Ornament; Conclusion - ‘The Lawgiver of Ornamental Art’; Notes; Further Reading; Acknowledgements; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisArt works created by indigenous people on other continents in European and American museums have become subject of controversial debate. How exactly these collections of tribal art from Africa, North and South America, Asia, and Oceania in rich countries have been amassed over centuries, and how such works continue to be sourced and traded today, is under close scrutiny and claims for their restitution to the places and people of their origin are voiced loudly. Zurich’s Museum Rietberg, one of Europe’s most renowned museums of non-European art, has undertaken an extensive research project to explore the history of its own collection. The essays by expert authors in this illustrated publication investigate the pathways along which objects travelled from their origins to the museum. They shed light at the shifts in meaning of these artefacts that have occurred in the course of the transfers. And they demonstrate the importance of provenance research for learning comprehensively about and taking a critical approach in the assessment of the complex biographies of artefacts. Pathways of Art offers an important contribution to the current debate about the status and impact of non-European art in the global North. It aims to foster awareness of colonial and post-colonial contexts of trading and collecting such art works and to help establishing new, more informed and just, and less Eurocentric, museum narratives.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPreserving collections of analogue video art is no easy task. Not only must collection caretakers ensure that their magnetic tapes are appropriately catalogued and stored, they must also properly inspect the content of the analogue videotapes in order to make an informed assessment of their condition. This is the only way to prevent unintended image errors - caused by a damaged videotape or video player, or by simple operator error - from being irreversibly merged with the artist's original image content during the digitisation process and thereby permanently compromising the artwork. This publication aims to provide caretakers of our audiovisual artistic and cultural heritage with a general guide to identifying, viewing, cataloguing and assessing the condition of analogue videotapes. The symptoms and causes of 28 common image errors are described in detail, and further illustrated by video sequences on an accompanying DVD. A technical chapter explains the basic principles of video technology, while an art history chapter discusses the deliberate use of image errors as creative tools in analogue video art.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisPart memoir, part detective story, part untold history of museums - The Museum Makers is a fascinating and moving family story.'Rachel Morris is one of the smartest storytellers I have ever met ... a wonderful and beguiling book' James Rebanks, author of The Shepherd's Life Without even thinking I began to slide all these things from the dusty boxes under my bed into groups on the carpet, to take a guess at what belonged to whom, to match up photographs and handwriting to memories and names - in other words, to sort and classify. As I did so I had the revelation that in what we do with our memories and the stuff that our parents leave behind, we are all museum makers, seeking to makes sense of the past.; Museum expert Rachel Morris had been ignoring the boxes under her bed for decades. When she finally opened them, an entire bohemian family history was laid bare. The experience was revelatory - searching for her absent father in the archives of the Tate; understanding the loss and longings of the grandmother who raised her - and transported her back to the museums that had enriched her lonely childhood. By teasing out the stories of those early museum makers, and the unsung daughters and wives behind them, and seeing the same passions and mistakes reflected in her own family, Morris digs deep into the human instinct for collection and curation.Trade Review'Rachel Morris is one of the smartest storytellers I have ever met ... a wonderful and beguiling book' James Rebanks, author of The Shepherd's Life 'Skilfully interwoven, history, reflection and detective work bouncing off one another to build a spirited narrative ... engrossing.' Spectator 'Immensely thought-provoking.' The Herald 'Morris' writing is immediately welcoming, and the content is warmly familiar for any reader working within the museums and heritage profession (although this is not a prerequisite to enjoying the book) ... It is a timely book at a moment when the heritage sector is asking challenging questions' Ferren Gipson, Arts Quarterly 'In this elegant and eloquent book Morris explores the contents of the boxes under her bed to calmly piece together a family pattern of loss and extreme eccentricity. As a museum curator, she meditates on the nature of museums: the Museum of Me we all carry in our heads, and the public institutions in which variations of the world's history are told.' Julia Blackburn, author of Time Song: In Search of Doggerland 'A fascinating meditation on the life of objects and their power to trigger our memories. It awakened my curiosity to the realms of history, pain, and longing we access through the simple act of collecting.' Dina Nayeri, author of The Ungrateful Refugee

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn a world filled with great museums and great paintings, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is the reigning queen. Her portrait rules over a carefully designed salon, one that was made especially for her in a museum that may seem intended for no other purpose than to showcase her virtues. What has made this portrait so renowned, commanding such adoration? And what of other works of art that continue to enthrall spectators: What makes the Great Sphinx so great? Why do iterations of The Scream and American Gothic permeate nearly all aspects of popular culture? Is it because of the mastery of the artists who created them? Or can something else account for their popularity? In Famous Works of Art—And How They Got That Way, John B. Nici looks at twenty well-known paintings, sculptures, and photographs that have left lasting impressions on the general public. As Nici notes, there are many reasons why works of art become famous; few have anything to do with quality. The author explains why the reputations of some creations have grown over the years, some disproportionate to their artistic value. Written in a style that is both entertaining and informative, this book explains how fame is achieved, and ultimately how a work either retains that fame, or passes from the public consciousness. From ancient artifacts to a can of soup, this book raises the question: Did the talent to promote and publicize a work exceed the skills employed to create that object of worship? Or are some masterpieces truly worth the admiration they receive? The creations covered in this book include the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, El Greco’s The Burial of Count Orgaz, Rodin’s The Thinker, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and Picasso’s Guernica. Featuring more than sixty images, including color reproductions, Famous Works of Art—And How They Got That Way will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered if a great painting, sculpture, or photograph, really deserves to be called “great.”Trade ReviewArt historian Nici considers some of the world’s most revered pieces of art and the 'peculiar—and often inexplicable' circumstances that contributed to their current significance. These include the 1922 discovery of the ancient Egyptian tomb of King Tutankhamun, which benefited from press coverage stimulating the public’s interest, and the steady rise in prominence of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa over centuries, further enhanced by its 1911 theft. The statue Winged Victory sat in the Louvre 'friendless and unnoticed' before a mere change in location to the grand central staircase made it a visitor favorite. Nici outlines the controversy surrounding Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass, criticized by the stodgy French Salon, but lauded by more liberal impressionists. Van Gogh is lionized for his cult of personality and tortured history boldly on display in Starry Night, and Grant Wood’s American Gothic is noted for its 'ambiguity of form and interpretation,' evident in arguments over the artist’s sincerity. Nici also recalls Andy Warhol’s explosion into celebrity via the Campbell’s soup prints and the multiple controversies surrounding the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by 21-year-old Yale undergraduate Maya Lin. Viewing the artistic material through the angle of fame is a unique approach and Nici provides ample and accessible theory, interpretation, and historical context to make this an interesting and educational read. * Publishers Weekly *'Why do certain works of art sustain or lose their fame?' asks Nici (professor of art history at Queens College, in Flushing, New York) in the introduction to his study of 20 iconic photographs, paintings, and sculptures. The answer makes for a fascinating look at the content and context of such works as the Great Sphinx, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, Manet's Luncheon on the Grass, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup, and the rest. For each work examined, there is a detailed description and a thorough accounting of its contemporary reception and subsequent reputation. Among the more than 60 images included are a number of color reproductions. Over and over, we read that the reputation of a particular 'masterpiece' often has less to do with its artistic quality and more to do with the success of its publicity and promotion. Any one of these 20 chapters would make a lively and engaging lecture in art history; all of them should be required reading for anyone who has ever visited an art museum. * Booklist *True adventures in art history—who knew that wanton destruction, theft, forgery and the contempt of critics were prime ingredients for making works of art famous? John Nici’s book is a terrific read, entertaining and erudite. -- Michael Findlay, author of The Value of ArtThis is not just another art history book! Well-researched and accessible to a broad readership, Famous Works of Art—And How They Got That Way examines 4500 years of fine art, sculpture and photography. Far from a dry read, Nici’s twenty case studies vividly capture the post-creation life of each object by exploring the triangulation among the works, their meanings, and their cultural reception. The text further problematizes the notion of the masterpiece amid genius, fame, reputation, and value. After reading it, you may (even) think again before taking a selfie in front of a masterpiece and posting it to social media! -- Juilee Decker, Associate Professor, Museum Studies, Rochester Institute of TechnologyWell crafted and highly readable. John Nici gives an insightful overview of many factors impacting the fame of works of art throughout the ages. The “masterpieces” range from a long span of history and reflect changing attitudes over the broad spectrum of time. Famous Works of Art will cause you to think deeply about the many paths to fame. This book provides an intriguing exploration of the fickle nature of perseverance vs. obscurity wrought by the passage of time and taste. -- Dr. Carey Rote, Professor of Art History, Texas A & M University-Corpus ChristiJohn Nici’s fun and fascinating text delves into the heart of how and why certain objects, often ones that were criticized in their own eras, become celebrated. Ultimately, Nici explores the nature of and causes for the popular renown of painting, sculpture, and photography. Nici’s delectable prose will be enjoyed by the specialist, the amateur, those who are new to art history, and anyone who has ever asked themselves or their professor, "Why is that famous?" -- Caterina Y. Pierre, Professor of Art History, City University of New York at KingsboroughTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Foreword by Dennis Geronimus Introduction Chapter 1 The Great Sphinx: Beyond Human Understanding Chapter 2 Tomb of Tutankhamen: Politics, Ethnic Pride, Hornets, a Dead Canary, and a Curse Chapter 3 The Parthenon Sculptures: Lord Elgin and How Greece Lost Its Marbles Chapter 4 The Apollo Belvedere: The Rise and Fall of The Apollo Belvedere Chapter 5 Nike of Samothrace: The Victory of the Staircase Chapter 6 Birth of Venus by Botticelli: Nothing Is Forever, Not Even Neglect Chapter 7 Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci: You Never Know What a Smile Can Do Chapter 8 Sistine Madonna by Raphael: The Most Perfect Picture in the World Chapter 9 The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco: A Touch of Madness Goes a Long Way Chapter 10 Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt: Fame Available for a Price Chapter 11 Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze: Or Perhaps, Washington Crossing the Rhine Chapter 12 Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet: Success through Scandal Chapter 13 The Thinker by Auguste Rodin: Fame Has Its Consequences Chapter 14 Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh: Lost in a Starry Night Chapter 15 The Scream by Edvard Munch: Scream, Indeed Chapter 16 American Gothic by Grant Wood: All-American Gothic Chapter 17 Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange: The Power of the Press Chapter 18 Guernica by Pablo Picasso: Travels with Guernica Chapter 19 Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup: Mmm Mmm Good Chapter 20 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Maya Lin: The Triumph of Abstraction Index About the Author

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis ground-breaking book is the first to provide museum staff, librarians and archivists with practical guidance on creating and organizing successful exhibitions. Drawing on international museum practice but applicable to any exhibition or display, the book sets out a time-line from the initial idea to the final legacy. Backed up by advice and guidance and with a list of resources for those who require in-depth knowledge, it has up-to-date information on new developments such as sustainability and flexibility in environmental conditions. Also included are the ten biggest mistakes and the top ten tips for exhibition success. Part One covers the 10 key stages for a successful exhibition: idea, planning, organization, packing and transport, installation, openings, maintenance and programmes, closure, touring, and legacy. Part Two is a directory of advice and resources, supplementing the information provided in Part One. Readership: Written by an international expert and designed for the first-time exhibition organizer as well as the professional, this book will become the standard for exhibition success. Recommended for museum staff, cultural heritage students, librarians, archivists, private collectors and anyone who needs practical guidance on organizing exhibitionsTrade Review"International lecturer Freda Matassa (former Head of Collections Management at the Tate) presents Organizing Exhibitions: A Handbook for Museums, Libraries and Archives, an in-depth reference and resource for museum staff, librarians, and archivists. Chapters discuss how to take space, audience, and budgetary constraints into account; offer point-by-point checklists for each stage of creating the exhibit; outline concerns for opening day; highlight specific issues for an exhibit on tour; and much more...It also lends credibility to the organization and demonstrates professional practice. Organizing Exhibitions is a "must-have" for aspiring and practising professionals, and highly recommended." -- Midwest Book Review"Organizing Exhibitions is a thorough work and key procedures are well covered...The detailed ‘step by step’ approach, supported by the sample documentation, provides an excellent grounding that can be easily adapted to a number of circumstances." -- Archives and RecordsThere are a number of textbooks available to give practical advice about museum practice and the creation of exhibitions. However, this book by Freda Matassa is one of the clearest and easiest to read publications for those who have little experience in setting up an exhibition. -- Claire Marsland * Catholic Archives *Table of ContentsIntroduction Exhibition organization The successful exhibition Background Exhibition benefits Planning an exhibition Notes and References PART 1: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO ORGANIZING EXHIBITIONS1. Idea Fundamentals Concept Objects Policy People Space Finance Audience and programmes Time schedule Objectives and risks Stage One checklist Summary Notes and references 2. Planning Fundamentals Project management Communication Project team Schedule Loans and lenders Exhibition space Budget Insurance Exhibition design Transport Stage Two checklist Summary Notes and references 3. Organization Fundamentals Loans and lenders Design and build Environment Insurance Transport Marketing and publications People Stage Three checklist Summary Notes and references 4. Packing and transport Fundamentals Internal moves External moves Lenders delivering their own loans Insurance Stage Four checklist Summary Notes and references 5. Installation Fundamentals Planning for installation Team Schedule Gallery preparation Access Delivery Unwrapping and inspection Receiving couriers Display furniture and fixings Placing and hanging Labels and signage Lighting Preparation for the opening Invigilators Stage Five checklist Summary Notes and references 6. Openings Fundamentals What kind of opening? Planning Safety and security On the day Afterwards Stage Six checklist Summary 7. Maintenance and programmes Fundamentals Monitoring Ongoing requirements Daily activities Events and programmes Stage Seven checklist Summary Notes and references 8. Closure Fundamentals Planning Deinstallation Return Completion Stage Eight checklist Summary 9. Touring exhibitions Fundamentals Why send an exhibition on tour? Planning and agreements During the tour End of the tour Exhibition tour checklist Summary Notes and references 10. Legacy Fundamentals The importance of legacy Evaluation Impact Archives Stage Ten checklist Summary Notes and references PART 2: DIRECTORY Air freight security Claims Commissions Contractors Copyright Couriers Customs, import and export Damage reporting Disclaimers Display cases Due diligence Emergency plan Environment Ethics Government indemnity Hazardous materials Insurance Light and lighting Pest management Security Sustainability Unclaimed loans Valuations Visitors with special needs Bibliography Publications Standards Websites

Read more less

Book SynopsisVisitor experience has been a long neglected aspect of museum practise, receiving less academic attention than areas such as exhibition design or collections care. Despite this, the quality of the visitor experience is the single biggest factor which will influence visitors returning to your museum, or recommending a visit to friends or family.It is also the area of museum practise that has undergone the biggest change in the last twenty years. The image of the aged security warder shouting at children to not touch the exhibits has long gone. Now, museum visitors expect teams of friendly, knowledgeable and passionate people ready to engage them with the museum in an interactive and enthusiastic way. Expectations have never been higher, and as they grow, museums must develop the visitor experiences they deliver in order to meet them.The book discusses the process of delivering a visitor experience from beginning to end; from opening a new visitor offer and building a team through to future planning and strategies for development. It draws from theories from practitioners and academics, arguing that by examining issues such as motivation and relevance, museum operators can start to truly put themselves in their visitors’ shoes and build experiences that are impactful and unforgettable.Table of ContentsSection 1: Creating the Visitor Experience1: Recruiting Your Visitor Experience Team2: Delivering a Great Induction3: Volunteering and the Visitor Experience4: Visitor Journey Mapping5: Ticketing, Capacities and Crowd ManagementSection 2: Managing the Visitor Experience6: Operational Procedures7: Performance Management8: Emotion and the Visitor Experience9: Guided Tours10: Crisis ManagementSection 3: Developing the Visitor Experience11: Advocating for the Visitor Experience12: Measuring the Visitor Experience13: Creating a Visitor Experience Strategy14: Continuing Development and Engagement15: Innovation and Visitor Experience Teams16: Change Management

Read more less

Book SynopsisNina Möntmann's timely book extends the decolonisation debate to the institutions of contemporary art. In a thoughtfully articulated text, illustrated with pertinent examples of best practice, she argues that to play a crucial role within increasingly diverse societies museums and galleries of contemporary art have a responsibility to 'decentre' their institutions, removing from their collections, exhibition policies and infrastructures a deeply embedded Euro-centric cultural focus with roots in the history of colonialism. In this, she argues, they can learn from the example both of anthropological museums (such as the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne), which are engaged in debates about the colonial histories of their collections, about trauma and repair, and of small-scale art spaces (such as La Colonie, Paris, ANO, Institute of Arts and Knowledge, Accra or Savvy Contemporary, Berlin), which have the flexibility, based on informal infrastructures, to initiate different kinds of conversation and collective knowledge production in collaboration with indigenous or local diasporic communities from the Global South. For the first time, this book identifies the influence that anthropological museums and small art spaces can exert on museums of contemporary art to initiate a process of decentring.Table of ContentsForeword; Introduction: Why Decentre Museums, and Why Now?; 1 The Colonial Dilemma of the Modern Museum; 2 Central Theoretical Concepts: From Decolonising to Decentring; 3 Repairing the Anthropological Museum; 4 Decolonial Sensibilities and Decentring Practices of Small-Scale Art Organisations; 5 The Contemporary Art Museum: Between the Anthropological Museum and Small Art Spaces; Epilogue: Decentred Museums as Infrastructures of People; Further Reading; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis full-color visual dictionary contains an unambiguous vocabulary for the parts of handcrafted decorative, domestic, and artistic items. Terminology for a broad array of object types is accompanied by original color illustrations.Trade ReviewWith roots in the quest for orderly terminology by pioneer conservator (and Monuments Man) George Stout, beginning in 1938, and continuing through the Getty's Art and Architecture Thesaurus of the 1980s, a 21st-century vocabulary is now available in A Visual Dictionary of Decorative and Domestic Arts. We thank respected conservator Nancy Odegaard and talented graphic illustrator Gerry Crouse for this guide to 'just the right word' to describe the indescribable details of candlesticks, frames, historical jewelry, and much much more. -- Joyce Hill Stoner, PhD, Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Material Culture, University of DelawareThis visual dictionary is an excellent resource for curators, registrars, and collection managers for use in condition checking artworks or cataloging collections. -- Diana Pardue, Chief Curator, Heard MuseumAs anyone involved in the cataloging of decorative arts knows, there are myriad ways for objects to be described. Nowhere, however, can one turn to an easily understood and comprehensive compendium of commonly employed terms. This volume sets out to change that by defining easily understood descriptive terms for common classes of material objects. These terms are then tied to exploded drawings of common classes of decorative arts to show the reader how they might be employed. Finally, a resource that provides a common descriptive terminology for everyday use. A must for the bookshelf of museum curators, serious collectors and auction professionals. -- C. Wesley Cowan, Vice Chair, Hindman LLC and Founder Cowan’s Auctions LLCTable of ContentsDedicationTable of Contents ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionSection I: Decorative objects1. Basket2. Bells3. Bottle, Beverage4. Bottle, Case5. Bowl/Porringer6. Candlestick, Glass7. Candlestick Metal and Douter8. Cup/bowl9. Cutlery Knife10. Flatware11. Jar/Jug12. Lamp, Oil with Oxidation Surface13. Saucer/Plate14. Stemware, Goblet15. Teapot16. Vase (Amphora)17. Vase, GlassSection II: Domestic Furnishings1. Bed and Bedding2. Bed, Child’s Cradle3. Chair, Straight4. Chair, Upholstery5. Furniture, Case 6. Rug7. Rug Foundation8. Table, Drop-leaf9. Table, Pedestal10. Table, Side11. Window and CoveringsSection III: Artistic Works and Tools1. Book2. Frescos3. Mosaic4. Painting, Auxiliary Support for Canvas5. Painting (Layers) on Canvas6. Painting, Frame Molding Profile with Canvas7. Painting on Wood Panel / Icon8. Print9. Print Package10. Print/Artwork Frame (Reverse) with Hardware 11. Photograph and Slides12. Sculpture, Armature (Miniature) on Column13. Sculpture, Figure (Life Size) on Platform14. Sculpture, Metal Cast (Colossal Size) on Acropodium/Pedestal15. Sculpture, Portrait Bust (Life-Size) on Socle16. Sculpture, Statue/Herm (Heroic Size)17. Artist Tools for Applying18. Artist Tools for Carving and Modeling19. Artist Tools for CuttingSection IV: Jewelry Adornment Items1. Bolo 2. Bracelets3. Buckles4. Earrings5. Neck Jewelry6. Pins7. Rings8. Sartorial Jewelry9. WatchesSection V: Accessory Articles1. Buttons2. Combs3. Eyeglasses4. Fan5. Flag 6. Hat7. Pipes8. Umbrella/ParasolAbout the Authors

Read more less

Book SynopsisBehold the sleazy logic of museums: plunder dressed up as charity, conservation, and care.The idealized Western museum, as typified by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the Museum of Natural History, has remained much the same for over a century: a uniquely rarified public space of cool stone, providing an experience of leisure and education for the general public while carefully tending fragile artifacts from distant lands. As questions about representation and ethics have increasingly arisen, these institutions have proclaimed their interest in diversity and responsible conservation, asserting both their adaptability and their immovably essential role in a flourishing and culturally rich society.With Decolonize Museums, Shimrit Lee punctures this fantasy, tracing the essentially colonial origins of the concept of the museum. White Europeans’ atrocities were reimagined through narratives of benign curiosity and abundant respect for the occupied or annihilated culture, and these racist narratives, Lee argues, remain integral to the authority exercised by museums today. Citing pop culture references from Indiana Jones to Black Panther, and highlighting crucial activist campaigns and legal action to redress the harms perpetrated by museums and their proxies, Decolonize Museums argues that we must face a dismantling of these seemingly eternal edifices, and consider what, if anything, might take their place.Trade Review“Shimrit Lee’s provocative and lucid book is part-investigative report where the museum resembles a crime scene and part-polemic that grapples with what it would look like to upend the current ways in which museums are organized and function. Lee makes the convincing argument that museums must fall, and it is time we start taking this imperative seriously.” — Sean Jacobs, founder and editor of Africa Is a Country and author of Media in Postapartheid South Africa“This book takes us through, and far beyond, the museum as a contested space, raising urgent and complex questions about its future. Through her historically insightful and comprehensive take down, Shimrit Lee asks us to reconceptualize the museum in its entirety. She tears down the facade that museums were ever neutral, tracing their role in shaping, and perpetuating, structures of racial capitalism. Lee shows us that decolonizing museums revolves around creating an expansive sense of justice that moves us beyond its walls. Getting it right, she reminds us, means nothing less than liberation for us all.” — Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Assistant Professor of Black Diasporic Art at Princeton University and author of Black Bodies, White Gold "... in-depth research, which interrogates the foundations of museum and curatorial principles, makes Decolonize Museums an abundant read—it should be stocked in every museum gift shop worldwide." —Full-Stop

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Culture Factory: Architecture and the Contemporary Art Museum explores the key battlegrounds in the design of the contemporary-art museum, describing the intersection of art, aesthetics and politics at the highest levels, and the commitment of states, cities and wealthy individuals to the display of art. Global in scope, the book examines key examples from Europe and the Americas to contemporary China. It describes museum building as the projection of political power, but also as a desire to acquire power. So it is a book about ambitious peripheries as much as the traditional centres: Dundee and Bilbao as well as New York and Paris. It is commonplace to assume that the contemporary-art museum has become ever more spectacular, and the place of art ever more subservient within it. This book argues that a tendency to spectacle coexists with another equally powerful tendency, to make art museums that celebrate the artistic process, typically attempting to recreate the feeling of the artist's studio. That tendency is strongly represented in the designs for the Centre Georges Pompidou, completed in 1977, and arguably in the many contemporary art museums which have adapted former industrial buildings. Richard J. Williams's stimulating text includes many historical examples to illustrate how we got to where we are now, from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, to the Guggenheim museums in New York and Bilbao, London’s Tate Modern, Oscar Niemeyer's work in Brazil and beyond, and the 798 Art District in Beijing.Trade Review‘Richard J. Williams's brief but enjoyable The Culture Factory critically explores how art museums went from places of art appreciation to spaces of consumption, media, money, and entertainment over the last fifty years.’ – A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books‘The Culture Factory takes the reader on an engaging tour of many of the most significant examples of museum architecture from the mid-twentieth to the early twenty-first century, to demonstrate its role in the emergence of art as merely “one point on a continuum of consumption” […] in the contemporary experience economy.’ – Burlington ContemporaryTable of ContentsSeries Editor's Foreword; Acknowledgements; Chapter One: How Did we Get Here?; Chapter Two: Making Sense of Industrial Space; Chapter Three: Museums and Architectural Icons; Chapter Four: Landscapes in the Vicinity of Art; Notes; Further Reading; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn essential guide to building new exchanges and connections in the dynamic worlds of African and global art. Read to explore the reframing of African art through case studies of museums and galleries in the United States, Europe, and Africa.Trade Review"At just under 400 pages, this splendid and impressively researched book has eight chapters that divide thematically into three parts. . . . The main themes centre around artworks, artists, museum exhibits and others, while interviews with artists and curators close each chapter." --Theory, Culture, and Society"The authors' enthusiasm for their analytical approach is admirable . . . very timely and insightful work." --Ethnic and Racial Studies​"Jules-Rosette and Osborne succeed in their intention to illustrate a historical reconstituting of public perception of the African object--from ethnographic curiosity, to influence on other artistic movements, to embrace of the gamut of creative expression." --Choice"African Art Reframed is a qualitative study of the circulation and exhibition of African art in ethnographic and art museums and galleries in Europe, Africa, and the United States. Drawing on years of ethnographic observations, interviews with museum professionals and artists, and extensive archival and visual materials such as museum catalogs, Jules-Rosette and Osborn examine how African art is created, framed, and reframed in museums across three continents." --Symbolic Interaction​”An important intervention featuring new approaches to 'unmixing' in the exhibitionary complex of African and African American Art. It features interviews with French and US-based curators and museum directors engaged in emerging contexts and legacies of ethnographic display.”—Peter J. Bloom, author of French Colonial Documentary: Mythologies of Humanitarianism"African Art Reframed is a masterwork that interweaves theoretical innovations and critical analyses of the power dynamics in museum displays of African art." --Journal of African American History”This book is nothing less than a major breakthrough in museum studies. It is the first to systematically connect museum display practice to the recalibration of 'ethnic identity' that happens after colonialism. Its focus is on the global display of art and crafts from Africa and the African diaspora. But it is essential reading for anyone who wonders about what we want to hear from our forebears as we compel them to speak from behind glass, standing on plinths, and hanging on walls.”—Dean MacCannell, author of The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure ClassTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword by Simon Njami Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction: Reframing African Art PART I: ENTERING MUSEUMS AT THE THRESHOLD CHAPTER 1. Lost and Found: Postcolonial Reflections on Colonial Museums CHAPTER 2. Revisiting the Storeroom: Collections and Cultural Surplus CHAPTER 3. Reaching Out: Museums, Audiences, and the Public Sphere PART II: DIALOGUES ON MUSEUM PRACTICES AND ART WORLDS CHAPTER 4. Museums Speak Out: Curators' Dialogues CHAPTER 5. Agitating African Art: Artists' Voices and Audience Responses PART III: UNMIXING AFRICAN ART AND REMIXING THE RESULTS CHAPTER 6. The Theory and Method of Unmixing CHAPTER 7. Remixing the Results and Looking Ahead CHAPTER 8. Personal Journeys and Reflections on African Art Chronology Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A refreshingly original meditation... I wish I had written it myself'' Literary ReviewGraveyards are oases: places of escape, peace and reflection. Liminal sites of commemoration, where the past is close enough to touch. Yet they also reflect their living community - how in our restless, accelerated modern world, we are losing our sense of connection to the dead.Jean Sprackland - the prize-winning poet and author of Strands - travels back through her life, revisiting her once local graveyards. In seeking out the stories of those who lived and died there, remembered and forgotten, she unearths what has been lost.Trade ReviewA wide-ranging, unpredictable and refreshingly original meditation on a huge but widely ignored subject: the relationship between the living and the dead… Exhilarating… This is a lovely book: beautifully written, never lapsing into self-conscious ‘poet’s prose’, always a joy to read. I wish I had written it myself. -- Nigel Andrew * Literary Review *Cemetery tales, filled with fascinating details and told with a poet’s skill… Delightfully morbid… Sprackland roves about history, language, biology, architecture, entomology, iconography and much else in her quest for meaning… [and] the astonishing twist…should justify your reading These Silent Mansions in its entirety. -- Anthony Quinn * Guardian *Shot through with delightful digressions… There is a spare beauty to Sprackland’s prose… These Silent Mansions is a strange and mercurial book; hard to pin down, but even harder to forget. -- Lucy Scholes * i *Sprackland has the poet’s knack for atmosphere and a magician’s ability to conjure up other worlds. She is like a ghostly time traveller… Sprackland is particularly agile, though, at exploring the ways in which a graveyard reflects its community and how, with modern life, we are losing this sense of connection. -- Ann Treneman * The Times *Part social history, part personal meditation and wholly enchanting - as attentive to local and moving details as it is to the fact of mortality itself. -- Andrew Motion

Read more less

Book SynopsisA landmark anthology on British art history, bringing together overlooked and marginalized perspectives from ''the critical decade''What is Black art? This vital anthology gives voice to a generation of artists of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage who worked within and against British art institutions in the 1980s, including Sonia Boyce, Lubaina Himid, Eddie Chambers and Rasheed Araeen. It brings together artists'' statements, interviews, exhibition catalogue essays and reviews, most of which have been unavailable for many years and resonate profoundly today. Together they interrogate the term ''Black art'' itself, and revive a forgotten dialogue from a time when men and women who had been marginalized made themselves heard within the art world and beyond.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA piece of Plymouth Rock. A lock of George Washington's hair. Wood from the cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born. Kept in museum collections across the US, such objects are the touchstones of our popular engagement with history. This book explores the history of private collections of items like these, illuminating how Americans view the past.Trade Review"Teresa Barnett is interested in the survival of public things and personal and what they meant to people. Drawing selectively but constructively upon the evidence, episodes, and theories, Sacred Relics is a very sophisticated and polished piece of work, offering the reader a clear sense of change over time in the realm of reliquaries and their keepers. There is no single work like it in US historiography. It will be a must-read in the fields of cultural, intellectual, and social history." (Michael Kammen, Cornell University)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisOver the years, the arts in America have experienced an unprecedented building boom. Drawing on case studies and in-depth interviews, this book explores how artistic vision, funding partnerships, and institutional culture work together - or fail to - throughout the process of major cultural construction projects.Trade Review"Are large-scale building projects good for the arts? And why do so many go so horribly wrong? Frumkin and Kolendo bring to life the processes by which decisions get made with compelling interviews and a colorful cast of characters, revealing a tangled web of internal politics, personal ambitions, miscalculations, community conflict, and public relations flascos. Throughout, they provide thoughtful analysis to help planners and project directors think about how to approach decisions along the way. Their book should be essential for arts and public administration programs." (Steven J. Tepper, Vanderbilt University)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor millions of people around the world, Tibet is a domain of undisturbed tradition, the Dalai Lama a spiritual guide. This book addresses the question of who has the right to represent Tibet in museums and beyond.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"This powerful book will be of particular importance to those working in museum and tribal settings, but is highly appropriate for anyone interested in cultural heritage and the legal efforts to manage claims for Native patrimony. Essential."--Choice "Colwell ably and sensitively tells the often conflict-ridden story of how and why museums in the US relinquished their hold over this material. . . . Colwell finds himself squarely in the middle of each quandary: a practising anthropologist who works alongside Native Americans every day and is sensitive to their cultural dynamics. Colwell's account favours the Native American perspective--a sensible approach for a book aimed at scientifically literate readers who may lean the other way. Readers will come away with a deeper appreciation of Native American cultural imperatives and the complexity of the situation."--New Scientist "A careful and intelligent chronicle of the battle over Indian artifacts and the study of Indian culture."--Wall Street Journal "Colwell, senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, explores the fraught project of repatriating Native American sacred objects in this moving and thoughtful work. . . . Colwell's book raises provocative questions about who owns the past, and is surely an important work for curators--or anyone--interested in America's treatment of its cultural legacy."--Publishers Weekly "Without ever descending into sensationalistic tones, the author exposes delicate facts about massacres, beliefs, desecrations, and illegal activities, deploying evidence with a measured distance that is difficult to argue against. Native American voices are given plenty of space to support their cases. They emerge as strong and determined and this is what the author wants us to perceive as a way to sensitise the public to the deep ethical implications that these, like many other cases, present us with. . . [Colwell] explicitly make[s] the theme of objects' agency and personhood the core of [his] most poignant arguments about repatriation, ethics, and conservation."--Transmotion "In this beautifully written meditation on the vexed relationship between museums and Native American communities, Colwell reveals as never before the human dimensions of our recent struggles over repatriation. Important, necessary reading for all those who grapple with the essential question of how best to respect and honor the past."--Karl Jacoby, author of Shadows at Dawn: An Apache Massacre and the Violence of History "Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits breaks new ground. Colwell's dual roles of museum curator and human rights advocate offers a narrative of personal growth and professional practice that couples a humanist's sensitivities with a historian's insistence on primary documentary sources. The resulting breath of fresh air contributes mightily to still-controversial conversations about American reburial and repatriation. The message sounds loud and clear: Twenty-first century museums can indeed stand tall in addressing their own complex histories. Why do some still feel obliged to cover up past performance, to lock out qualified researchers from their archives and to sugar-coat their past in the hopes that nobody will notice?" --David H. Thomas, author of Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity "A lightly written, insider's account of the battle over human remains and objects in museums. . . . As this book shows, the fight to reclaim Native America's culture has been waged, in significant parts, by professionals such as Colwell. His is indeed an insider's account--just not from the sidelines. He too has been on the battlefield." --Spectator "Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits uses the story of one museum to show how Native American symbols of identity and ceremony and ancestral bones were initially appropriated as objects of cultural patrimony, but recently have become part of a complicated struggle of ownership. As Colwell profoundly shows, the emotional price paid by everyone involved--Native American, archaeologist, and museum curator--is never small." --Larry J. Zimmerman, author of The Sacred Wisdom of the Native Americans "Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits is a sobering peek into the controversy that surrounds tribal artifacts and human remains found in museums throughout the United States. His eloquent narration details several unique cases of repatriation. . . . Colwell has a unique perspective. He provides the reader with a firsthand look at the repatriation process, sympathetically including tribal perspectives--something that few museum directors have sought to do when writing on this subject in the past."--Science

Read more less