ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
Over the years, I have been directly involved in two mummy
exhibitions, so this piece caught my eye.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38545449/ns/travel-destination_travel/
As a young museum professional, the first exhibit was pretty exciting
and I found myself little concerned with any ethical considerations.
15 years later, doing an exhibition in partnership with the British
Museum which brought Padihershef to the museum where I was working, I
found myself facing much more difficult questions.
1. When do human remains cease to be someone's father, brother,
mother, relative, etc. and pass into the realm of artifact,
appropriate to display?
2. Particularly in regard to Egyptian mummies: what I understand of
their beliefs leads me to wonder, no matter the circumstance, no
matter the noble intent to care for remains, if we are showing a
fundamental lack of respect by not repatriating and reinterring such
mummies.
I confess to having no answers. Not to be too sentimental, but as we
were installing Padihershef into the museum, I wondered about the
fantastic journey of this mummy into the future, into our present.
Certainly, the care of his remains has passed into the hands of
professionals who will see to its continued preservation.
Padihershef's inner coffin has never been disturbed; in fact the
exhibit was built around high resolution 3-d imaging and what was
revealed.
And yet, at some level, I feel as if we engage in putting on freak
shows when we put Egyptian mummies on display. I, for one, can't duck
the issue by claiming it was others who disturbed the graves, that we
are now charged with their care. We may rightfully claim our work is
scientific, but how, in putting on such exhibits, can we claim our
reasons are entirely altruistic? Displays of mummies are both
fascinating and, we hope, profitable.
Just my 2-cents.....
Jeff Courtman
Museumscapes
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|