CalOar

Dr.Moffet
1PM
11/17/15

MUSEUMCRITIQUE

1.Whichmuseumdidyouvisit?
UniversityofUtahNaturalHistoryMuseum.

2.Describeatleastoneofthepermanentcollectionexhibits
The Behind the Scenes exhibit was one the first that we visited. In it they showed a
lot of anthropology collections with objects that date as far as as 11,500 BC. Mostoftheitems
on display were from North America. Discovering things they found such as fossils, insects,
plants, and animals, was essential for uncoveringthemysteryofhumanhistory. Theyhaveover
1.5 million objects that they've uncovered, and only show a few of the select teams in their
display. Id imagine this is one of the first displays because it paves the way for the rest of the
museum by showing the scientists/archaeologists and some of the processes they go through to
get these items forus. Thebigfocusisontheideathathistoryishiddenawayintheserocksand
fossils until we discover them. Once found, it can open the door forevenmorediscoveriesand
theories,whichibelieveeverypersondoesastheytravelthroughthehistorymuseum.

3.Giveabrief,oneparagraphdescriptionofaspecial,temporaryexhibit
The museum's special temporary exhibit for our visit was the BirdsofParadise. Two
men by the name of Tim Laman (photographer) and Ed Scholes are the ones responsible forall
of the researchandlaborthatwentintotheexhibit. Thetwofriendsgottheideato traveltoNew
Guinea and discover the lucrative species of the crow family that reside in the region. While
they were there, not only did they name all sorts of birds and snap their pictures, but they also
learned a great deal about how much the birds meant to these people. They learned of the
ceremonies that take place, and even got to take home some of the masks and outfits that came
from these birds to show in their honor. Thebirdsareagreatsymbolicfiguretothepeople,and
i'msuretheyaremorethanhappytosharethatwiththerestoftheworld.

4. What do you think the museum administration and/or exhibit curators want you to
learnorgainfromtheexhibitsyouviewed?
I think the museum administration would like us to consider what it means to be in the
culture we have today. One day it will be in thesemuseumsjustliketherestofthemare. They
want to spread awareness and knowledge of how things once were. Some of the stories on the
rock walls seemed to have deeper meanings than what they appeared tobeatfirstglance. They
did a great job with cluing in the viewer to what they think it might mean or translate to. It
requires us to think critically, and question exactly why these people did the things they did.
Theyhadtohavehadapurpose,andthismuseumshowsthispurpose.

5. What kind of information is provided about the works? Where might you look for
furtherinformationifyouwereinterested?
Basic information was provided such as the name of the exhibit and who the owner is.
They also included information on the time period of the exhibit. There was a big range from
prehistoric dinosaur stuff, to modern current technology of Astronomy and Weather

Forecasting. It's important to know the time frame of the piecesthatyouarelookingatinorder

to have a better understanding of why that piece is there in the first place. To know that
something is old and ancient, helpstheviewertoputthemselvesinotherculturesshoestofigure
out the story. Locations were also provided of where the objects were discovered. To know
where something is discovered can reveal loads of information about a specific culture that it
belongsto.

6. Chooseseveralworksthatparticularlyappealedtoyou.Explainwhyyouweredrawnto
theseworks.
The first part of the Birds of Paradise really caught my eye right off the bat. The
research for the exhibit was done in Eastern Indonesia. I previously described this exhibit, but
the most appealing thing was the inspiration for the idea that came to be this magnificent
showcase for the birds. The two guys running the show and doing the research were simply
inspired by a TV show while they were lounging around on the couch doing whatever
archaeologists do on their time off. It shows that humans can drastically change at the blink of
an eye, and it only takes one idea to discover something new, or make new pushes in culture.
Within the exhibitwasadisplayofthe feathersthatthisparticularcultureinNewGuineausedin
their ceremonies. Theywoulddressthemselvesupinthesebigsuitsoffeatherstoshowofftheir
areas birds. They thought of these birds to be very important, so they symbolized them as a
major staple to their way of life. It eventuallyturnedintoawaytoshowprideandwealth forthe
peopleoftheisland.
The First People exhibit was interesting to me because of the objects that these
archaeologists were able to obtain. Most material things would eventually decompose and be
lost forever. Lucky for us, most of what was displayedwaspreservedinadrycave. Thisdry
cave is a historic time capsule for whatever inhidesawaybecauseitisshieldedfromeverything
that would decompose it. It made me think about everything that wasn't preserved. Howmuch
of history have we lostofearlycivilizations? Theremustbesomuchthatwedon'tknow. Some
objects that were shown were shoes, clay figurines, arrowheads, ceramics, pottery, and misc
clothing. These items alone can tell us a great dealofhowthesepeoplelived. Forinstance,the
materialthattheclothesweremadeofcanleadustohowtheyweremadeandexactlywhyitwas
made that way. The figurines could be little actionfiguresforiconicpeopleoftheirtime. Alot
of this stuff we seem to have figured out, but since theirisnowriting,it'sreallyjustguesswork
fortheseguysuncoveringtheobjects.
The navajo section of Astronomy is very appealing to me because I never knew there
were more ways to look at the stars than our traditional way. They have their very own
constellations, each with its very own story and meaning. They use these stars as their way of
preserving their culture. They sharethestorieswiththeirchildrensotheymaytelltheirs. Much
like other people drew their stories on walls, the natives used the sky as their canvas. In fact,
they quite literallyusedtheskyastheircanvas,becausetheydrewtheirconstellationonceilings.
They calledthesestarceilings. Itamazesmehowmany differentwaysthesedifferentkindsof
people decided to preserve their history. Without these past remains, we would have no clue

howthehumanitiesevolvedandcametobe.

7.
How
didtheartworksyoulookedatrelatetomaterialwehavediscussedinclass?
The exhibits that i looked at the most in the natural history museum really showed the
evolution ofcultures. Throughtthe museumwereshowcasesofwhatparticularculturesbelieved
in and why they believed in them. The art that was on the pottery and walls toldstories. From
these stories were able to tellthehistoryofpastpeoplewholivedonthisearth. Wecansee how
they thought, what they believed in, and share their past experiences. Some cultures used
symbols of animals, or even feathers or fur from the animals to represent their cultureorstatus.
Theywouldwearthesetostandout fromtherestoftheworld.Itevenwentasfarassomepeople
having their own unique constellations in the sky to tell their stories I find it interesting that
everyculturehastheirownwayofshowingofftheirstoriesandachievements.

8. What was your personal reaction to this experience? Would you enjoy attending this
typeofeventagain?Whyorwhynot?
I would like to experience more museums that give us insight to how the humanities
came to be what they are today. Seeing how far we've come from our upbringing as humans
really inspires me to push forward and learn more about myownculture. Ithinkalotof people
don't really give their culture enough credit orattention,andwithknowledgetheycanovercome
this. We should all visit museums so we can learn from our past, and show respects to how
people once lived. People need to get inspired,andcontinuetodevelopashumanbeingsto keep
improvingourownculture.