Post Semester Post Sandy Post

Not sure if anyone is still reading this, but we were all wondering about museums, archives and Hurricane Sandy. Here is a story about Liberty and Ellis Islands.

http://www.npr.org/2012/12/13/167186776/lady-libertys-sea-washed-gates-closed-indefinitely?sc=17&f=1001

2012: The year that was

Google put together a compilation video of 2012 in review. Turn your speakers up!

http://www.google.com/zeitgeist/2012/#the-world

Reflections on the classes

This was my first graduate level class. I am interested in history from an early age. I didn't know what to expect from taking the introductory class. I have to say I was pleasantly impressed with the class. I was also impressed with the archives introduction class. I expected a lot of work from these two classes but the workload was lighter. However, I learned a lot from these two classes.
In public history, I learned about the different career options. I had a brief understanding before that a career in either museums or archives was possible. What I came to understand is that there is a career in preservation is also possible. My interest is in archives.
The most important element that I take away is as a public historian I have to deal with controversy. I have to present history in a totally biased away. It does not matter if I offend anyone. The Enola Gay exhibit controversy drew some lessons for me. The first objective that I am going to have is to follow the mission statement of the organization that I work in. My presentation of history has to reflect that mission statement.As far as disaster recovery of an archives, thru my research paper, I have gained knowledge of the different recovery methods with respect to mold, water, and fire.
In the archives class, I learned a lot. From the terminology like accession, appraisal, to actually processing the collections will help in my career as a archivist. The five appraisal tools that I learned. From appraisal to acquisition, functional analysis, cost benefit analysis, and preservation. I learned that usually donors donate their collections to the archives. It's very important to keep a relationship with a donor. I learned about original order, respect des fonts, and provenance. I learned about the way that archivists store their documents. I also learned about securing the collections.

Vampiric Museum side projects

I have mentioned several times the Museum that I worked at before I came here for school, the National Colonial Farm.  There were many things that I have learned about this semester that brings new light to many aspects of the museum that I did not understand while I was there.  But there was one aspect of the farm that I still do not understand.

The NCF was set up to preserve the land across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon so that it would not be developed and ruin the view with houses and a sewage treatment plant, as was originally planned.  They decided that one of the things that they would do with the land was set up a living history museum and for that purpose they moved two buildings from the 1770's to the farm site.  These buildings are unique, they are the only known examples of authentic Colonial Vernacular buildings in Maryland, they are not like the small gentrified plantations like that of Thomas Stone that contain small mansions, there was no historical value to the buildings other than they are old.  But they are unique now, all other similar buildings have been demolished in favor of newer buildings.  These two buildings form the core of the NCF, they are its main draw and around which everything is interpreted.  And yet, when it comes to where the Accokeek Foundation seems to put its money in its general funds, they go to another part of the farm, the Ecosystem Farm.  The Eco Farm is supposed to be a responsible and sustainable farming project; while a project of this type is important it does not have the importance to the Accokeek Foundation that the NCF does, the Accokeek Foundation was formed for the NCF and the Eco Farm is a side project.  I point out that the Eco Farm is a side project because it also draws funds away from the NCF, in significant enough amounts that those two buildings, the unique ones, do not get the proper care.  One of my supervisors talked many times about how buildings would have been taken care of in colonial times, and if they were taken care of properly, they would need very little of the significant repairs that they seem to always need.  Wood buildings like these would have been coated with something they called Witches Brew which waterproofed the building and protected it from the elements and should have been applied every year.  Instead, the buildings are lucky to get it every three to five years, which has led to the wood being grey and sun-worn, warping and falling off of the house and barn.  What I do not understand is why this side project is able to suck funds away from the main project in this manner.

I think for a museum such as the NCF, their main focus should be on the NCF and the governing body should prioritize funds for its main project.  NCF is what brings in the funds for the Accokeek foundation, and yet it gets far less of a focus in the budget than the Eco Farm, which gets far fewer visitors and brings in much less funding.  I simply do not understand this, it seems like the NCF could be better maintained and interpreted and advertised if funds were not going to this other project.

A Little Something for Everyone to Enjoy

My final blog post for this semester is going to pretty much be blatant promotion of a podcast that I think is excellent, and believe is a great example of well done lay-public history.  Dan Carlin is a long time journalist who went digital with his own political podcast called Common Sense.  Dan also has a history degree and is an avid consumer of history and parlayed those factors into a second podcast that covers historical topics called Hardcore History.  Dan has a history degree so he is well versed in good historical analysis and he puts it to good use to tell some great historical stories.  One of my favorite parts of the podcast is when Dan discusses the counter-factual of famous historical events.  What ifs of history, like the possibility that Harold was not killed at the Battle of Hastings, or what if Russian and European nobles took seriously the incursion of Subutai into Kievan territory and prepared for the oncoming armies of Ghengis Khan.

Dan truly does the job of the public historian, telling stories from the past in ways that are truly approachable by most listeners, and provide thoughtful analysis of the topics.  Some of my favorite episodes, just to get you in the mood, are a trilogy of episodes on the Punic Wars, The Macedonia Soap Opera, on the aftermath of Alexander’s death, Suffer the Children, on the treatment of children through history and Logical Insanity, a discussion of the factors that led up to the use of nuclear weapons to end WWII.  Some of these are older and not available for free download, but they are well worth the $.99 Dan charges for them.  The most recent have been a five part series on the Mongols called Wrath of the Khans, it's a great listen.

Anyway, Dan is an independent podcaster, receiving none of the traditional sources of public history funding, putting almost his entire revenue stream at the hands of his users.  Give him a listen, toss him a buck or two for each show you love, and you are almost guaranteed to love at least one of them.

A Look Back at the First Semester of Public History Grad School

I saw Raj’s reflections draft and thought it was a good idea so I figured I would try to create a trend.  First of all I want to say that I had a great time and learned a great deal, not only due to Dawne’s teaching but also to our group dynamics, which I think were superb, it was fun.  Even the times when there was contention or intense debate, like the mock board meeting, which I thought was fabulous by the way, it was enjoyable and something was learned.  One of the first things I felt about the class, a feeling that stuck with me the whole semester, was how it really felt like we were learning a profession, not in a vocational school way, it was something different. 

I felt a more tangible connection to the things I was learning, as tools in my field, than I have felt my entire college career.  I know I may have mentioned this before, but I think this has a great deal to do with the speakers that Dawne arranges.  I think that the way this makes us all feel like peers, and Dawne’s treatment of us plays into this, makes the class feel like a professional conference spread out over fifteen weeks.  We got to see all the pertinent speakers and each of us even had to present at the end of it all.

Dawne asked us about how our perceptions of public history have changed over since we put our list together at the beginning of the term, so I dug up the list my group put together.

   * Taking the concepts of historical study and making them more approachable to non-historians.

o   And then using the objects of history to present them to the public in a palatable and entertaining fashion.

   * Bringing broad historical topics to the attention to general public.

o   In a manner that appeals to non-technical audiences.

   * Putting local history into the local public eye.

o   With a focus on connecting people to local histories and providing a basis for local identity.

o   Explaining local identity to outsiders.

Looking at this list again, I don’t really think that my overall thoughts have changed much, I think much if what we listed really is public history.  There are however other aspects that I never thought about, such as the balancing of the public interest, factuality, funder interests and the presentation of some of the more controversial topics that we treat.

Anyway, I still very much want to do this, and as of now, I think I still want to focus on the path I came into the program interested in, digital archives and curation, but hey, who knows, this is only my first term.

Museums and Technology

In the article “The Spirit of Sharing” by Carol Vogel of the New York Times, technology within the museum is discussed. The article views how various museums have used technology to gain audience and better connect with them. The article primarily focuses on the Brooklyn Museum, which uses social media websites like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Four Square and Twitter to connect with over 180,000 followers online. It is with these social media sites that museums receive feedback regarding the museum and comments about how effective exhibits were. It is the main objective of technology officers like Shelley Bernstein of the Brooklyn Museum, to engage the museum audience with interactive projects, announcements, posts, blogs and many other elements that makes social media an effective communication tool.

Specifically, many institutions have used technology to increase audiences and promote learning. The Indianapolis Museum of Art allows web users to track the museums endowment, membership, number of visitors and how much energy the museum is using. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art took pictures of various behind the scenes activities in the museum and posted them on Facebook, so viewers could see what was happening. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website, users can interact with a connections tab to talk to a museum educator and a media producer and discuss works in the collection. Similarly, the Met created an online date night to showcase various pieces of romantic art on Valentine’s Day.

Overall, many social media websites help to greatly increase the population of a museums audience. At the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2010, the population which came through the doors was 430,000 visitors however; the website attracted over a million users. Another successful institution, the Guggenheim, started a YouTube Play project which took user submitted videos about art in their life. Then the Guggenheim took these videos and created a video-art Biennal, which was overly successful with more than 24 million views. Also, many museums are coming out with free apps that allow users to interact with museums quickly and very easily via a cellphone. These are overly successful as well, specifically the app for the Met, which has over 40,000 downloads at the iPhone app store.

As the article describes, there are numerous problems associated with implementing new technology. One example of this is how museums install wireless internet and computer systems in old buildings, so visitors can use their own personal devices such as a phone or Ipad. Another issue would be institutions getting caught up in fads. Getting too extreme in technology could cause an audience not to focus on what the museum contains, which could cause people to leave without being instructed. Secondly, getting too involved into social media could cause an audience to be less attracted to an institution as result of feeling overwhelmed by technology.

The Ghosts of History

I’m not usually one for war history, but I heard a great story recently that I wanted to share with everyone.  Ghosts of History is a project by former historical consultant Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse and is based in History Pin technology.  Using photographs from World War II they superimpose the people and the equipment from that period over modern pictures of Dutch streets creating chilling images that combine the past and the present.  Arguably this kind of tool does not require it to be war history that is portrayed, but that is what Teeuwisse is working with for now.  There are of course limitations on this tool, as the history of photography is significantly shorter than the history of history, but the future posibilities, especially as the digital era expands, and more and more pictures are being taken every day, are immense.  This kind of technology amplifies our historical sense of place by actually being able to look at a current place, as it may have been in historical times.

History Pin and other apps or programs make this kind of technology available to all of us, and I have to say, I find it amazing.

The story from The World

Ghosts of History

Park Ranger Historian

This was a blog I wanted to do back when we visited the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.  I have a friend from high school, who edits many of my papers for me; we met in marching band and she now works for the National Parks Service.  I wanted to do a bio piece on her as a thank you to her and to share this story that shows how much pull history and cultural heritage really does have on most of us.  Susie Sernaker never really wanted to be involved in cultural heritage, but her story is quite similar to those among us who have known since childhood that they would end up in the field.

Susie never dreamt of becoming a public historian, but she did want to become a park ranger, after a childhood experience at Shenandoah National Park.  At age 14 she got her first chance to volunteer at Biscayne National Park working there and on Elliot key in a variety of roles, some volunteer and some paid, for the next ten years.  Finally Susie had her chance to become a Ranger, hoping to become an Environmental Education Specialist, she took a job at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, where she became infatuated by living history, beginning a long love affair with historic tools of warfare and cooking.  Her first permanent cultural history job was at Richmond National Battlefield Park, where she was intimidated on a daily basis by genealogical and intellectual connections presented to her by patrons.  This intimidation did not deter Susie though as by the end of her time at Richmond she easily hold her own with the most knowledgeable Civil War aficionados that visited the park.

Susie is back in Florida at the “remote” Tumucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, where she is lead ranger and lead interpreter.  Located on Fort George Island near Jacksonville the park consists of the plantation of Zephaniah Kingsley.  The island has archeological evidence of almost 6000 years of human experience.  The plantation is in great condition, even the slave quarters, providing an excellent historical experience.  Susie’s duties range from mentoring guides, tending gardens, weaving with the cotton and dying with the indigo from the garden, and performing in, and providing weapons training for, a variety of living history exhibits.

What I like the best about Susie’s story is how it shows the connection to history that we all have, and how, if properly nurtured, it can foment a life full of the desire to learn, to this day Susie edits my history papers as much for her edification and education as to help me.

Art Museums Revert to In-House Collections

In the article, “Money Tight, Museums Mine Their Own Collections” by Robin Pogrebin of the New York Times, many museums in the United States have reverted to only exhibiting in-house collections. Specifically, the article focuses on how the economy of the United States has shaped museum exhibitions and collections. In the article, Pogrebin contends that the economy in the U.S. has caused museums to look inward at existing collections rather than going out acquiring new ones, or even loaning other museums collections. The curators of various museums across the United States have put more effort into making in-house museum collections the focal point of exhibitions, supplemented by very few pieces of loaned collections. This has allowed many museums to increase their audiences and increase revenue flow, which is an effective means of saving precious endowment funds.

In the article, Pogrebin examines various museums across the United States such as the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both of these museums have reverted to using in-house collections to attract revenue and save endowment funds. Specifically, the Cincinnati Art Museum received a 10 million dollar cut in endowment during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. As a result, the Cincinnati Art Museum, who was spending 2.5 million dollars a year on special exhibitions decided to exploit in-house collections like circus posters and Dutch contemporary design collections to supplement. The use of in-house collections gave the Cincinnati Art Museum a 30% increase in attendance. In comparison, the Metropolitan Museum of Art did a popular exhibit on various Picasso pieces, which drew in over 700,000 people in 2010.

Although these museums have been particularly effective in cutting costs and doing it without hurting revenue, some critics have complained that these museums are duplicating collection pieces in other exhibits. The article for example, mentions that the Metropolitan Museum of Art was criticized for using Picasso paintings that were “stodgy and bizarrely lopsided”. Another Museums, the Guggenheim Museum in New York overlapped works of art in two shows which caused a negative review of some exhibits. The director of the Guggenheim basically stated that the people who complained about the overlap were extreme insiders and that he believed it was okay to show exceptional works of art twice.

Too Strange To Not Talk About

I found this article today talking about a recent controversy at the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West, Florida. There was recently a decision made that the special cats that live on the grounds had to have special care. Why are cats involved? Because Hemingway was apparently a big cat lover, and the cats roaming the grounds are actually descendants of a special cat given to Hemingway by a ship captain- all of them have six toes. The whole problem arose when a visitor complained that they didn't think the museum was taking proper care of the cats. In 2003, the USDA said the museum was subject to the Animal Welfare Act, and as such would have to cage and tag the cats at night, and provide additional facilities for them. In 2009, the museum appealed to a federal court to appeal the decision, but the judge rule against them.

I am not generally a cat person, but I thought that this was such a peculiar incident it was worth mentioning. I can see how the museum would be upset about the decision- in a way, the cats are very much a part of the Hemingway story. I don't think I've heard of other history museums having large numbers of animals on the grounds (or any animals at all really), so I don't know if there have been similar situations in which a museum has to contend with regulations regarding a completely different subject (such as keeping animals). Either way, it is an interesting story.

The full article can be read here:
http://todaytravel.today.com/_news/2012/12/11/15842617-cat-fight-pits-government-against-hemingway-museum?lite

Exhibiting our Dreams: Surrealism and the Museum Exhibition

In my current Master's Program (Humanities), Art history has become my central focus, and because of this I have been studying early 20th century art including my favorite style Surrealism. For those of you who may not be familiar with that style, Salvador Dali (melting clocks) was one of the prominent artist of it. Now the idea I want to discuss involves the integration of the style into gallery and museum exhibitions of their time but also in modern day museums. The Surrealist wanted their gallery and museum space to reflect the art that was being shown, they wanted the dreamlike essence that their work had and also the random objects and textures integrated into the gallery and museum space. An example of this would be the use of mannequins, trees and ready-made art into the open space. They transformed their space to reflect the art they were exhibiting as if the experience itself transgressed beyond the art itself. They invited their audience to explore the elements of surrealism by incorporating a sensual experience that stimulating all senses either at the same time or throughout the exhibit (devices making random noise, unstable floor, spider webs or rope used to brush against the visitors. These artists wanted the experience to be a reflection of their art and to allow the audience to experience it to the point where they will never forget it.

one of the most famous exhibitions was in London on June 14- July 4 1936.

 http://www.luxonline.org.uk/history/1900-1949/the_surrealist_exhibition.html

The link takes you to a history and overview of the exhibit and the highlight from it, (Salvador Dali doing a lecture in a full on deep sea diver suit). The photos from the exhibit show how they fully embraced and integrated their ideas into the exhibit.

The Surrealist were innovative in their ideas in exhibiting work and elevating their open space into a working piece of art that connects to their paintings and sculptures. They also wanted to bring the viewers into their experience and allow them to experience their style of work first hand.

Surrealism is a recognized style today and is still widely celebrated and exhibited in museums across the globe. Just like back in the days when Surrealism was at its height, current exhibitions try to integrate their themes into their museum or gallery space as for example the "Surrealism: Poetry of Dreams' exhibit in Queensland

http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/past/2011/surrealism_the_poetry_of_dreams

Museum Preservation

In the article, “Even in a Museum, Elements Eat at a Sunken Ship” written by Sindya N. Bhanoo of the New York Times, the preservation of a Swedish warship known as Vasa is discussed. The main problem with the Vasa is that the nails and rivets which were used to build the ship, have caused Iron Oxide to seep into the ships wood. This chemical reaction of Oxygen and Iron, also known as Iron Oxide, allows rust to corrode the metal alloy in the Iron. This can also be true in terms of wood, which can also corrode due to over-exposure of rust. Similarly, another preservation problem could be Iron Stains. These are stains in the wood due to contamination from Iron. Basically, oak wood contains many types of tannin. The various types of tannin react with the Iron to produce a blue and black stain on the wood.

The second preservation problem which plagues the Vasa is the fact that ships wooden hull is warping and shifting a few millimeters a year. When warping of wood occurs, the shape of the wood changes primarily as a result of a moisture change within the wood. Considering the Vasa was pulled out of the Atlantic Ocean, the waterlogged wood is exposed to oxygen. This moisture change causes the wood to shrink and the piece tends to wrap. The shift of the wood is a result of the warp, in which the hull of the Vasa is warping at a bowed angle.  With these two major preservation problems, the staff has decided to come up with a plan to make sure the Vasa gets better support.

Being a student and studying various kinds of preservation methods, this article greatly shocked me. Even although the Vasa was well taken care of and housed in a museum, it still began to deteriorate and falter. This is typically true of items which are not taken care of, but the Vasa was preserved according to preservation standards and sheltered from all the dangers of the world. It almost seemed to me that the Vasa would be better preserved in its natural environment, which prior to 1956, was at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

After reading this article, I began researching various ways which the Vasa could be better taken care of. First, the biggest problem facing Dr. Bjurhager is that the Vasa are primarily made of oak wood. This type of wood is considered one of the most problematic types of wood because of the vapors which are produced. To block these vapors, the team at The Vasa Museum may consider apply a coat of paint to prevent the harmful vapors of the wood from escaping.

After researching the museum site, the staff has created an innovative way in dealing with the Iron Oxide problem. Basically, the staff extracts the Iron from the wood and nails using chemical agents known as chelators. These chemical agents remove 80% of the Iron from the Vasa wood along with the conservation chemical PEG. This causes the re-conservation of the wood because the conservation staff must place the PEG back into the wood to further conserve it.