SPACES The newsletter of the University of Michigan Museum Studies Program
No.4, 2007
The MSP at Five Years It is hard to believe that the Museum Studies Program is now entering its sixth year. This has been an exciting year for the program, the fifth and final year of our “incubation” period, during which a formal review of the program was conducted. I am happy to report that we passed with flying colors! A couple of short excerpts from the review committee’s report reflects the general tenor of the commentary: The Museum Studies Program overall has been an unqualified success, whether measured by the extent to which it has fulfilled its original aims, by the quality of the student experience—both intellectual and professional—it has offered, or by the role it has played in creating a forum for intellectual exchange among university museum directors and museum professionals and faculty with a research interest in museums. The program is particularly exceptional for the extent of its interdisciplinary reach, which has spanned both the liberal arts and professional schools. It is a model of the kind of interdisciplinarity that Rackham seeks to foster. The Deans of both Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies and the College of Literature, Science and the Arts renewed the program’s funding for another five years. Another happy outcome of the review process involved my being offered another stint as Director of the program. I have found my involvement with the Museum Studies Program to be an extremely exciting and fulfilling experience. It doesn’t get much better—working with really smart and engaged graduate students coming from a host of academic and professional disciplines across the university. It was not a difficult decision. I’ve signed on for another five years. The program’s success is due in large part to our small but superb staff, especially our Associate Director, Bradley Taylor, and the support we receive from our affiliated faculty who teach our cognate courses, serve on our Steering Committee and participate in the Museum Studies year-long proseminar. We also owe a great deal of gratitude to U-M’s museums as well as a number of museums in Michigan and northwest Ohio that host site visits and whose staff members participate in our proseminar.
MSP06 students in conversation with Curator Jim Klodzen at the American Museum of Magic.
The review process offered a good deal of valuable feedback that has prompted new thinking regarding objectives for the next five years. In a nutshell, we plan to pursue initiatives in two areas. We have established a strong pedagogical program that wraps the disciplinary knowledge of each of our students with an understanding of how museums work. We will sustain and enhance this activity, but in addition, during the next five years, we will develop strategies for supporting graduate student research. The second set of initiatives will be focused on creating an undergraduate curriculum in museum studies. We have already developed a proposal for an interdisciplinary minor that, in many respects, parallels the graduate certificate program. We are optimistic that the College of LS&A will soon approve the new undergraduate program. We’ve got our work cut out for us . . . the next few years should be exciting.
Ray Silverman Director, Museum Studies Program
Newsletter Editor Bradley L. Taylor Newsletter Design Chris VanWyck CiesaDesign Staff Director, Raymond Silverman
A Letter from Chicago [Ed.: Graduate students are required to complete a practicum experience as part of the requirements for the MSP certificate. For most students the practicum takes the form of a summer internship completed at the host museum of one’s choice. The projects undertaken by our students are so wonderfully diverse that, on occasion, we like to share these stories with a broader audience. Here, Ph.D. candidate Christine DeLisle (History and Women’s Studies), provides an account of a fascinating summer experience.]
Associate Director, Bradley L. Taylor Unit Administrator, Nancy Murray Museum Studies Program University of Michigan 4700 Haven Hall 505 South State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045 Office phone: 734-936-6678 Fax: 734-786-0064 www.umich.edu/~ummsp ummsp@umich.edu Regents of the University of Michigan Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor Laurence B. Deitch, Bingham Farms Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich Rebecca McGowan, Ann Arbor Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor
Last summer, under a Regenstein Pacific Internship at the Field Museum, I had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing Chicago’s communities on ways they might better utilize and benefit from a traditional Maori whare nui (“meeting house”), a structure more properly understood by its original tribal owners, the Ngati Porou from Tokomaru Bay, New Zealand (Aotearoa), as an ancestor, Ruatepupuke. Because Maori distinguish the larger physical and cultural space surrounding the whare nui as the tribe’s marae (“gathering place”) or community grounds, I also helped address and develop what has come to be called the potential for “Chicago’s marae.” This effort to assess the way Chicago communities might best utilize the whare nui and/or the marae is a continuation of the Field’s more recent efforts to face the challenge of what museum studies scholars have called the changing museology around objects and the museum practices around them. Specific issues and challenges go beyond increasing accessibility to the public, to the need to be more sensitive about how objects are represented, displayed, and cared for, including the need to be properly accountable to those peoples from whom such objects have been procured. In the case of Chicago’s marae, for instance, the whare is a living ancestor whose care is still a vital part of his descendants’ concern and well-being despite its/his displacement and the transfer of legal ownership to the Field over a century ago.
Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park S. Martin Taylor, Grosse Pointe Farms Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor Mary Sue Coleman, ex officio
About Our Logo The MSP mark is derived from an ideogram created by the Akan peoples of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The name of the design, nkyinkyin, may be translated “twistings” and embodies ideas of change, resilience, adaptability, and creativity.
Potential whare/marae projects among/between Native American, Latino (namely Mexican and Puerto Rican), and other ethnic family and youth groups include a mix: wood carving, drum making, tattooing, dance, storytelling, hip-hop, professional development and college-level coursework. But from my interviews I also discovered there were concerns and potential obstacles. I experienced a fundamental tension from Maori and Maori/Native American regarding indigenous matters on the one hand, and aspirations of the museum for multi-ethnic usage on the other. As Maori and Maori marae kawa (“protocol”) for instance, place great emphasis on the significance of genealogy to locality — evidenced in the concept and practice of acknowledging and honoring a locality’s tangata whenua or people who make first claims to the land in question — it was no surprise to learn that Maori, during previous visits to the Field, made it clear they wanted Native Americans to play an important role as custodians of the whare.
This of course presents a specific set of challenges for the Field, which has labored for the last two decades to establish and maintain good working relations with descendants from Tokomaru Bay, including collaborating with them on the conservation of the whare, and which now must also strengthen its relations with Native American tribes. The development of a set of cultural guidelines or set of protocols governing the care and use of both the whare nui and the space surrounding it must be forged in a threeway relationship initially between the Field Museum, Tokomaru Bay, and Chicago’s Native communities. This, as I indicated in my final report and recommendations to the Field, is a prerequisite for building a viable “Chicago marae” for all to enjoy in a truly culturally sound and honorable way.
Above: Interior of Ruatepupuke II, Ruatepupuke II, built in the late nineteenth century in Tokomaru Bay to honor and remember the Maori ancestor who brought the art and gift of woodcarving from Maori God of the sea, Tangaroa.
Alumni Profile: Timothy Chester A Distinguished Career Turns to…Magic When Timothy Chester was completing his course work in Michigan’s Museum Practice Program in the late 1970s, he planned for a career of promise, maybe even for a charmed career, but he certainly wouldn’t have guessed that magic would come his way. And yet it has. In the most recent turn in a long and distinguished career, Tim Chester has recently joined the Board of Directors of the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, home to the largest collection of materials relating to the history of magic and magicians in the United States. But before this move, Chester’s career was marked by important posts as Associate Director of Collections at the Louisiana State Museum and as Director of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. In New Orleans Chester provided direction to curatorial and exhibition activity at eight historic structures in the Vieux Carré, and in Grand Rapids, among many accomplishments, he oversaw the planning, fundraising, construction and successful operation of the Van Andel Museum Center. What might appear to have been the “magic” that Chester created in those roles was, in fact, the result of years of hard work, considerable talent, and an innate ability to work with people that established Chester as a gifted leader.
Museum consultant and Museum Practice Program alum, Timothy Chester.
In a recent interview, Chester identified a variety of skills learned at Michigan as being critical to his career—the ability to conduct research, experience working with objects, and the capability of sifting through large collections seeking the best pieces for exhibits (his cohort worked specifically with the map collections at the Clements Library). While those skills served him well, Chester acknowledges that the field has “completely turned upside down” since he entered it, noting an increased emphasis on public accountability/responsibility intended to give rise to programs and services that are more directly audience centered: “We always need to be able to ask ‘on whose behalf are we doing this, to what end?’” Chester takes his responsibility to future generations of museum professionals seriously as well. In Ann Arbor Chester has been a featured speaker on public museums and a lecturer in the graduate proseminar while he has served the broader needs of the field through extensive participation in a variety of professional and service organizations. Chester serves as a peer reviewer for the AMM Accreditation Program, as a Grant Review Panelist for the IMLS, and as Grant Reviewer for both the NEH and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs among his many professional activities. Since his retirement from the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Chester has formed Timothy J. Chester & Associates, LLC and consults extensively with museums across the country, keeping in touch with the many close friends he has made along the way. He continues to explore the museums of the world as well through extensive travel. Recent discoveries that have rekindled his enthusiasm for the field are the Vatican Necropolis or Scavi located beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City. Among Chester’s current activities is managing a collaboration between the Muskegon Museum of Art and The Henry Ford, using the latter’s Herman Miller Design Collection to organize a design education traveling exhibition focused on the company’s products over the last eight years that will tour sixteen cities. A long and distinguished career notwithstanding, it looks as though we still have more of Chester’s magic to look forward to in the years ahead.
Exhibition Projects Deepen Collaboration with Area Museums As the capstone project of the proseminar, students are assigned to participate as a member of a team charged with developing an exhibition proposal. A specific problem in a specific museum setting are assigned to each group, and each team works with MSP faculty and staff members from area museums to develop a solution for the museum. A final proposal is presented to an audience comprised of members of the university and museum communities at the end of the term. Students also traveled to host institutions to make formal presentations on these projects to interested in-house staff. We are grateful to the many professionals who support our students through their collaboration on these exhibition projects. The Rock: Canvas of a Community, presented by Kelly Fayard, Mya Gosling, and Anna Perricci Partner: Ann Arbor District Library Liaisons/mentors: Karen Schaefer and Terry Soave The Social Museum: Creating a Third Space at The Henry Ford, presented by Donald Buaku, Drew Ciancia, and Susan Frekko Partner: The Henry Ford Liaisons/mentors: Christian Ă˜verland, Patrick Reynolds, and Donna Braden
Jason Nargis, Alison Byrnes, and Tammy Shreiner meeting with Curator Jim Klodzen at the American Museum of Magic.
Running a Small Museum: It Isn’t Magic, presented by Alison Byrnes, Jason Nargis, and Tammy Shreiner Partner: American Museum of Magic Liaisons/mentors: Jim Klodzen Illuminations: An Exhibit of Artwork in Light Media for the Toledo Museum of Art, presented by Morgan Daniels, Ksenya Gurshtein, and KeunYoung Kim Partner: Toledo Museum of Art Liaisons/mentors: Jutta Page, Karen Serota, and Carolyn Putney
Controversy Colloquium Caps Varied Public Offerings In 2007, the Museum Studies Program presented a winter semester colloquium examining the provocative theme of museums and controversy. The lectures featured prominent figures from the museum profession whose stands on issues relating to art, science, race, politics, ethics, sexuality, and terror have thrust them or their institutions, often unintentionally, into the public spotlight. The lectures in the Exhibiting Controversy series were taped for subsequent telecast to a local audience and are available for purchase as DVDs; selected titles will also be presented as streaming video on the MSP website. Winter 2007 Colloquium Exhibiting Controversy: From Mapplethorpe to “Body Worlds” and Beyond January 11, 2007 Mapplethorpe in Cincinnati: The Controversy, the Myth, and the Legacy Dennis Barrie, Barrie Projects and Director of Cultural Planning, Westlake, Reed, and Leskosky March 6, 2007 Beyond “Body Worlds”: Ethics and the Public Display of Anatomical Specimens Robert Juette, Institute for the History of Medicine of the Robert Bosch Foundation March 15, 2007 Passion on All Sides: Planning a Memorial Museum at Ground Zero Alice Greenwald, World Trade Center Memorial Museum March 29, 2007 Hijacking History: Culture, Politics, and Exhibition at the Smithsonian Kristin Hass, Program in American Culture, University of Michigan April 5, 2007 Spoiling Public Spaces: Exhibiting Racist Artifacts in a Public Museum David Pilgrim, The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, Ferris State University “Exhibiting Controversy” was cosponsored by the University of Michigan Museum Studies Program, the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Arts on Earth and the Office of the Vice President for Communications, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Office of the Dean of LS&A, The Bentley Historical Library, U-M Museum of Art, School of Law, Life Sciences & Society Program, Ethics in Public Life Initiative, the Department of the History of Art, Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, and the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures.
Issues in Museum Studies Public lectures on topics other than controversy were given throughout the academic year as well. September 18, 2006 Community Museums of Kenya: A Paradigm Shift in the Concept of the Museum Eustace Gitonga, Community Museums of Kenya November 21, 2006 Conserving the Memory of District Six: Issues of Heritage Management in Cape Town, South Africa Ciraj Rassool, University of the Western Cape and African Programme in Museum and Heritage Studies, Cape Town February 8, 2007 New Media Technology in Archaeological Contexts: Potential Applications for Public Interpretation Douglas Gann, Center for Desert Archaeology (Tucson, AZ) February 13, 2007 Navigating Jewish Heritage in Poland: From Academia to Public Culture Erica Lehrer (MSP04), University of Washington Hannah Smotrich, University of Michigan
David Pilgrim, Director of The Jim Crow Museum, talking about racist memorabilia during his Exhibiting Controversy presentation.
Museum Studies Brown Bags Provide Forum for Student Work MSP students maintain an active program of brown bag sessions throughout the academic year that add to informal learning opportunities available within the Museum Studies Program and contribute to the creation of a museum studies “culture” at the University of Michigan. Since the program is managed entirely by students (led very ably by MSP04 student Deirdre Hennebury), the topics chosen for discussion/presentation are as varied as the interests of the students themselves. Many of the sessions are given over to student presentations of their summer practicum experiences; some are “test runs” that are being prepared for presentation at professional meetings; and others allow students to learn about faculty research in an informal setting. The popularity of these sessions is true testament to the vitality of academic life in the program.
September 28, 2006 Into the Heart of an African Museum: An Anthropologist at Work Henrike Florusbosch (PhD, Anthropology and Museum Studies) October 6, 2006 Listening to Ann Arbor’s “Rock” Karen Schaefer (Independent Researcher) October 26, 2006 Exhibitions at the UM Institute for the Humanities Elisabeth Paymal (Curator and Designer, The Institute for the Humanities) November 9, 2006 Remembering District Six Olga Khroustaleva (MSI, Information Science and Museum Studies) November 30, 2006 The Methodology of Collaboration: Ethnomuseology and Partnering in the Exhibition of Indigenous Cultures in non-Native Museums John Low (PhD, American Culture and Museum Studies) December 14, 2006 Cracking Open a Museum of Books: Education Outreach at the NYPL Research Libraries Kathryn Stine (MSI, Information Science and Museum Studies) January 25, 2007 Re-thinking Museums in Africa Raymond Silverman (Director, Museum Studies Program; Professor, History of Art and Afroamerican & African Studies) February 9, 2007 From the Visual Arts to Visitor Studies: Curatorial Practices at the Art Institute of Chicago Katie Raff (PhD, History of Art and Museum Studies) March 23, 2007 Washtenaw County Historical Society: Exhibitions at the Museum on Main Alice Cerniglia (Director, Museum on Main Street) April 12, 2007 The Mosaic Image to Intersections: Exhibitions and Education at the Fowler Museum Leah Niederstadt (PhD, Anthropology and Museum Studies)
Classroom Experience Enriched by Visits to Regional Museums Throughout the academic year, MSP students travel with faculty to visit area museums. MSP faculty work with museum hosts to identify an itinerary for the visits, which frequently include time spent with museum professionals learning about their areas of expertise and discussing the application of theory in real world situations. Site visits, which usually last for a half day, succeed due to the sincere commitment of host institutions to the education of young professionals. We are pleased to acknowledge the contribution made by site visit sponsors in 2006/07.
Fall
Director Gregory Wittkopp speaking with MSP06 students during their visit to the Cranbrook Art Museum.
Cranbrook Art Museum Cranbrook Institute of Science The Henry Ford University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology University of Michigan Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
Winter Alfred P. Sloan Museum Cabela’s Flint Institute of Arts Toledo Museum of Art Toledo Zoo University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Museum Studies Program University of Michigan 4700 Haven Hall 505 South State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045
Events Coordinator, Rick Garrett, talking with MSP06 student about the diorama of the African “Dangerous Five” during their visit to Cabela’s (World’s Foremost Outfitter).