Museums and the Appropriation of Culture (Edited by Susan Pearce) – OR, Bruno Latour visits the museum

The main theme of the book is that traditional Western museums are essentially halls of cultural artifacts, stolen from other civilizations in the name of science and learning. This systematic pillaging of other’s culture is essentially the product of colonialism.

The presentation and display of these collections of “stolen booty” convey control and power, e.g. DO NOT TOUCH. In the article “Please don’t touch the ceiling,” Beard and Henderson play with the notions of the museum to make the patron realize these cultural norms. For example, they add life-size cutouts of people’s heads among the plaster casts to give the patron feel that the observer is being observed. They ask people to look outside the windows, question what the curators forgot to include in the displays, add plastic sculptures to the collection, put price tags on objects and create joke displays. A “do not touch” sign is placed on an impossibly high Victorian ceiling. Above the visitor’s book are hung mirrors so that patrons become aware that they are indeed part of the exhibit. In sum, by playing with (or is that mocking?) many of the traditional ways museums create use objects and space, they make us aware of the narrow social norms we traditionally apply to museums.