Keeping objects live
Candlin, Fiona (2013) Keeping objects live. In: MacDonald, S. and Rees Leahy, H. (eds.) Museum [Transformations/Theory/Media/Practice]. The International Handbooks of Museum Studies 4. Hoboken, U.S.: Wiley, pp. 1-23. ISBN 9781405198509.
Abstract
It is often assumed that museum exhibits are inert but, in contrast to artifacts in most mainstream institutions, those at the Museum of Witchcraft, The Valiant Soldier community museum, and the Dartmoor Prison Museum are felt to be fully functioning and, to some extent, potent or dangerous. In order to consider why this is the case, this essay investigates how museums are considered to “kill off” their exhibits and why this process does not occur in these small, independent organizations. Notably, the three venues have few or no paid members of staff and limited opportunities for gaining state funding. Operating largely independently of the public sector, they have no need to adopt official priorities and in consequence their modes of practice differ from those encountered in major institutions. They also have close links to their immediate location and communities. Focusing on these museums therefore raises the possibility that the “death” of objects is not a necessary condition but that their demise depends upon the specific character and circumstances of display.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | belief, community, Dartmoor Prison Museum, display, location, Museum of Witchcraft, museum script, Quatrèmere de Quincy, The Valiant Soldier, Theodore Adorno |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Birkbeck Knowledge Lab |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Jan 2014 13:39 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:06 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/7985 |
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