As a long time Museum staff member I have been distressed by Dr. K.’s blog posts. She is too far removed at this point to make any informed comments, and has too many personal reasons to be negative about Penn Museum.
I was particularly confused by this last sentence “I believe the museum should have proudly used its inside knowledge and its smart and creative staff (not just the show fabricators, the academic staff) to make shows from its own collection.” as I very clearly remember Dr. K. suggesting at all All Museum Staff meeting that we should, perhaps, pursue getting exhibits into the Museum like the Lego exhibit.
LEGOs are extremely cool. I stand by my recommendation. See the work of Nathan Sawaya and start thinking about how the message is not in the medium. We don’t need exhibits with pretty things and precious objects that speak of exclusivity and valuable materials. The material is immaterial. We need IDEAS that can be expressed outside the stereotypical gallery box. The LEGO show I referred to was inspirational and each museum that showed it did it’s own local contribution that made the exhibit truly interactive. And it wouldn’t cause World War III if something went wrong wit parts of the show.
I just realized, after re-reading this because of our entry in the Harry Potter LEGO building challenge, that the opportunity missed by the museum was a chance to talk about material culture in a new and fascinating way. LEGOs, and all the odd and wonderful things built out of them (I once saw a Holocaust project built with LEGOs and its was amazing) prove that there is nothing inherent in materials like wood or stone or ceramics that makes them essential for human expression. Humans will take whatever that can lay their hands on and say something meaningful to the world. The obsession with fine materials as defining the most important objects is derived from an alliance with a fine arts perspective, not an anthropological one. The key to understanding human creativity would be to look at why so many people use LEGOs and other odd materials to express ideas and make statements. “The material is immaterial” (a quote from a another denigrated format, popular films: Pirates of the Caribbean 3).
[...] Our model of Professor Sprout’s “Greenhouse 3″ has been chosen as one of the semi-finalists for the LEGO Harry Potter Building Challenge! If you would like to vote for us, go to this website and choose “Greenhouse 3.” You will be asked to register so that you can’t vote more than once. Help support LEGO activities by kids and adults and defeat the naysayers who claim LEGOs are silly! [...]
[...] Our model of Professor Sprout’s “Greenhouse 3″ has been chosen as one of the semi-finalists for the LEGO Harry Potter Building Challenge! If you would like to vote for us, go to this website and choose “Greenhouse 3.” You will be asked to register so that you can’t vote more than once. Help support LEGO activities by kids and adults and defeat the naysayers who claim LEGOs are silly! [...]
[...] friend just sent me a link to an amazing LEGO site and it reminded me of the silly attempt by some anonymous staffer at the Penn Museum to ridicule my interest in LEGOs. The link was to a full world creation of Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings movies and books. [...]
As a long time Museum staff member I have been distressed by Dr. K.’s blog posts. She is too far removed at this point to make any informed comments, and has too many personal reasons to be negative about Penn Museum.
I was particularly confused by this last sentence “I believe the museum should have proudly used its inside knowledge and its smart and creative staff (not just the show fabricators, the academic staff) to make shows from its own collection.” as I very clearly remember Dr. K. suggesting at all All Museum Staff meeting that we should, perhaps, pursue getting exhibits into the Museum like the Lego exhibit.
LEGOs are extremely cool. I stand by my recommendation. See the work of Nathan Sawaya and start thinking about how the message is not in the medium. We don’t need exhibits with pretty things and precious objects that speak of exclusivity and valuable materials. The material is immaterial. We need IDEAS that can be expressed outside the stereotypical gallery box. The LEGO show I referred to was inspirational and each museum that showed it did it’s own local contribution that made the exhibit truly interactive. And it wouldn’t cause World War III if something went wrong wit parts of the show.
I just realized, after re-reading this because of our entry in the Harry Potter LEGO building challenge, that the opportunity missed by the museum was a chance to talk about material culture in a new and fascinating way. LEGOs, and all the odd and wonderful things built out of them (I once saw a Holocaust project built with LEGOs and its was amazing) prove that there is nothing inherent in materials like wood or stone or ceramics that makes them essential for human expression. Humans will take whatever that can lay their hands on and say something meaningful to the world. The obsession with fine materials as defining the most important objects is derived from an alliance with a fine arts perspective, not an anthropological one. The key to understanding human creativity would be to look at why so many people use LEGOs and other odd materials to express ideas and make statements. “The material is immaterial” (a quote from a another denigrated format, popular films: Pirates of the Caribbean 3).
Sorry I didn’t say this before.
[...] Our model of Professor Sprout’s “Greenhouse 3″ has been chosen as one of the semi-finalists for the LEGO Harry Potter Building Challenge! If you would like to vote for us, go to this website and choose “Greenhouse 3.” You will be asked to register so that you can’t vote more than once. Help support LEGO activities by kids and adults and defeat the naysayers who claim LEGOs are silly! [...]
[...] Our model of Professor Sprout’s “Greenhouse 3″ has been chosen as one of the semi-finalists for the LEGO Harry Potter Building Challenge! If you would like to vote for us, go to this website and choose “Greenhouse 3.” You will be asked to register so that you can’t vote more than once. Help support LEGO activities by kids and adults and defeat the naysayers who claim LEGOs are silly! [...]
[...] friend just sent me a link to an amazing LEGO site and it reminded me of the silly attempt by some anonymous staffer at the Penn Museum to ridicule my interest in LEGOs. The link was to a full world creation of Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings movies and books. [...]