To collect is to bring things together. However there is an art to collecting, as it is not simply just bringing miscellaneous things together. There is a common theme for the objects and together they serve as a special meaning to their collector. In both texts “The Museum and the Public” by Stephen Weil and Walter Benjamin “Unpacking My Library” by Walter Benjamin, and in the film “Mardi Gras: Made in China”, the purpose of collecting is to tell a story and to showcase the significance of the objects in the collection. 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 …show more content…
The film starts with a scene from a Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, where drunk partygoers trade beads for nudity and follows the trail of the bead necklaces from New Orleans all the way back to its origins in China, where it was made. In China, the workers, mainly women, work and live in the factory under distressing conditions. These workers work for 11 hours a day and for extremely low wages. They live in crowded and dilapidated compounds and eat cheap factory food. The film also mentions some New Orleans partygoers can spend about $500 on the beads in a night, whereas the factory workers earn on average ten cents an hour and make around $2-$3 dollars a day. The workers have to fulfill a certain quota each day and failure to do so results in a ten percent cut in wages. Most of the money they make is sent back to their families. Toward the end of the film, pictures of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans were shown to the Chinese workers and footage of the Chinese workers were shown to Mardi Gras partygoers. The Chinese were shocked to see that the beads were purchased at a thousand times higher than the amount that they are paid to make it. Similarly, American partygoers were also shocked to see that the seemingly worthless beads they throw around are made with such strenuous work effort. This stark contrast represents the different value of the …show more content…
Although the story many vary in its intended audience. In Weil’s essay, the story is intended toward for a public audience, whereas in Benjamin’s essay and the Mardi Gras documentary, the story behind the collection is one that is personal. Additionally, there are significances to the object itself within each collection. In Weil’s essay, the objects within a museum collection are used as a foundation for people to further build their knowledge upon. In Benjamin’s essay, each itself has a background story and the collector is able to complete the book’s journey by making it a part of their collection. In the Mardi Gras documentary, the significance of a specific bead necklace represents extra money for the workers and it makes the difference as to whether or not they fulfill their quota. Additionally, each bead is a symbol of how their work will pay off; whether they will use their wages to support their family or to pursue dreams of their
As long as the demand for beads during Mardi Gras continues so will the profit made by US companies selling them. Over in China Roger Wong will continue to exploit his young women employees to bolster his bottom line. Other businessmen, corporations and the wealthy few will also benefit from this same strategy used for thousands of products that are part of ones life every day.
In every museum, each exhibition represents a series of decisions that some individual or group undertook to compile a series of artifacts together in a display. Often times people fail to recognize the amount of time and several steps one took in order to assemble each arrangement. Source A, source B, and source C each mention different, crucial considerations one mast take into account when facing the responsibility of securing a new artifact for a museum.
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, B., 2004, From ethnology to heritage: The role of the museum, In: B.M. Carbonell,, 2012. Museum Studies: An anthology of contexts. Oxford: Blackwell publishing. pp. 199-205
“Art Museums and the Ritual of Citizenship.” in Exhibiting Cultures. Eds. Ivan Karp and Steven Lavine. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991. Print.
Thesis: The Government can give permission to make the museum but it is usually business runned when it comes to maintaining it.
In the documentary film Mardi Gras Made In China, The director David Redmon shows the path of Mardi Gras bead necklaces, from China to New Orleans. While interviewing Chinese workers about knowing what the beads are used for, and Americans about where the beads come from. Redmon is trying to make his case of how the Americans are treating the necklaces like garbage, and the Chinese make a poor living while making the necklaces. When Redmon is interviewing people in New Orleans. Some American people don't care about where the necklaces come from. While he opens the eyes of others that are ashamed of wearing the necklaces after they find out the conditions with the workers making
Historically, museums and galleries have excluded too many people. I want to eradicate the pervasive assumption that “certain people just don’t visit museums.” In a modern era of public discourse characterized by instantaneous updating and dynamic participation, a savvy public shares knowledge and relays experience with the click of a mouse. The Internet, digital media, video games, and social networking offer new approaches to learning and understanding others. Regrettably, many museums – the giants of knowledge – have fallen behind in regard to inclusiveness, technological innovation, and representation of diverse experiences. Museums and galleries shape nationwide educational curricula and discourse. If they fail to resonate with wide audiences, then the public will go elsewhere to learn, despite these institutions’ long-established reputations. Particularly now, when most sentences are prefaced with “In this economy,” I believe that museums and galleries risk obsolescence without fundamental change and a renaissance of innovation.
New and interesting artifacts will not only entertain old customers but will also attract new customers to the museum. For example, the National Museum of the American Indian, the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans, is known for its variety of more than 800,00 works of extraordinary aesthetic religious, and historical significance (Source
This review questions Maurice Berger´s assertion that “white [museum] curators, administrators, and patrons” seldom accept art outside the “mainstream” or art that “challenges dominant values.” Paradoxically, this quote supports the point of an article—Lisa C. Corrin´s “Mining the Museum”—rich in examples of exhibitions, curated by white artists and curators, and aimed at overcoming standard practices.
Values are spread all around the world, and many people’s values differ. These can lead to people being judged, or indirectly characterized by other people. In “The Necklace” Mme. Loisel is a beautiful woman with a decent life, and a husband that loves her, and only wants to make her happy. She is not rich but she makes it along, she insists of a better, wealthier life. When her husband gets her invited to a ball, she feels the need for a brand new fancy dress and tons of jewelry. When the couple realizes they cannot afford jewelry as well, they search out to borrow her friend, Mme. Forestiers’ necklace. She comes to notice she no longer has the necklace on when she leaves the ball. This later troubles her, as she has to work for a long time to collect enough money to buy a new necklace. This story describes the relationship between a couple, who have different dreams, and how desires can revamp your life. Guy de Maupassant, the author of “The Necklace” uses literary devices to prove people come before materialistic items.
Individuals do not learn in a void; instead they build upon the knowledge and experience that they have developed over their lives. They use their identities to shape how they learn and view the world and themselves. If the identity of the learner is not accepted and allowed to influence learning, the desired outcomes may not be accomplished. The cultivation of identities is especially important in museums and other cultural institutions and they must adapt their techniques to accomplish this. These issues of identity and learning are complex so this paper will focus on issues of representation in regard to ethnicity and gender. Furthermore, solutions to proper exhibition display and facilitation will be theorized through the lens of critical
Museums play a viable part in preserving a nation's past and spreading culture. Often times, a museum features artifacts from various regions of the world through which citizens of one country are able to experience a change in culture, whilst in the comfort of their own homes. This, however, leads to the issue of morality, in which the debate of whom the artifacts actually belong to and where they should go,in order to best preserve them for future generations arises.
Values are spread all around the world, and many people’s values differ. These can lead to people being judged, or indirectly characterized by other people. In “The Necklace” Mme. Loisel is a beautiful woman with a decent life, and a husband that loves her, and only wants to make her happy. She is not rich but she makes it along, she insists of a better, wealthier life. When her husband gets her invited to a ball, she feels the need for a brand new fancy dress and tons of jewelry. When the couple realizes they cannot afford jewelry as well, they search out to borrow her friend, Mme. Forestiers’ necklace. She comes to notice she no longer has the necklace on when she leaves the ball. This later troubles her, as she has to work for a long time to collect enough money to buy a new necklace. This story describes the relationship between a couple, who have different dreams, and how desires can revamp your life. Guy de Maupassant, the author of “The Necklace” uses literary devices to prove people come before materialistic items.
Personal, sociocultural, and physical contexts are all inclusive. When a person visits a museum and their expectations for the museum are surpassed, learning is facilitated. Once a person is motivated to learn, the museum and the person greatly benefit. The individual’s background in regards to their experiences, knowledge, interests, and beliefs play a significant role in their process of learning. Without any prior knowledge or interest, no one would have the desire to visit museums; they would have no motivation to. The basis of a person’s life depicts what they will/want to learn. Museums give each individual their right to choose what to read, visit, and view, how long to stay, etc. Each person is in control and everything is their choice of what to do with the museum. This environment is a very personal one, a great environment for learning at one’s own agenda, making what is learned more prone to stick.
MacDonald, George F. “The Journal of Museum Education, Vol. 16, No. 1” Current Issues in Museum Learning (1991): 9-12. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.