Contents

ICOFOH symposium 1904, its aims and organization

by Vi'no~ Sofka

Defore you write your paper

A provocative check list
by Zbyn~k Z Str~nsky

List of the contributors to the symposium

15

Contributions to the symposium

17

Sub-topic No. 1
Museum object - what and why?
van Hensch, Peter J A - Leiden, The Netherlands 18
Schreiner, Klaus - Alt Schwerin, German Democratic
Republic 24
Tsuruta, Soichiro - Tokyo, Japan 29
Sub-topic No. 2
Criteria for the selection of museum objects
and the current constraints that.limit the
selection
Cedrenius, Gunilla - Stockholm, Sweden 41
Ennenbach, Wilhelm - Berlin, German Democratic
Republic 48
Russio Guarnieri, Waldisa - Sao Paulo, Brazil 51
Sola, Tomislav - Zagreb, Yugoslavia 60
Venegas, Haydee :.. Ponce, Puerto Rico 70
Sub-topic No. 3
The global dimension of collecting and
reassessment of new and current holdings
Bellaigue Scalbert, Mathilde - Le Creusot, France 75
Gupte, P G - New Delhi, India 87
Maranda, Lynn - Vancouver, Canada ?4

17

40

Sub-topic No. 4
Current acquisition policy and its appropriateness
for tommorrow's needs
Bene!, Josef - Praha, Czechoslovakia 102
Burcaw, GEllis - Moscow, USA 110
Forrellad i Dom~nech, Dolors - Sabadell, Spain 122
Grote, Andreas - Berlin (West), FRG 135
Rasmussen, Alan Hjorth - Hirtshals, Denmark 139
Str~nsky, Zbyn~k Z - Brno, Czechoslovakia 145

.*

ICOFOH Study Series available

This issuo of ISS has been prepared

by the Chairman of ICOFOM
with the assistance
of the Museum of National Antiquities
in Stockholm, Sweden

74

101

161

Sommaire

ICOFOM symposium 1984, ses buts et organisation

par Vino!! Sofka

Avant d'~crire votre communication

Une check-list provocative par Zbyn~k Z Stransky __ 12

liste des contributeurs au symposium

15

Contributions au symposium

17

Sous-theme no 1
l'objet de mus~e - quoi et pourquoi?
van Mensch, Peter J A - leiden, Pays-8as
Schreiner, Klaus - Alt Schwerin, RDA 24
Tsuruta, Soichiro - Tokyo, Japon 29

17
18

Sous-theme no 2
Criteres de la s~lection des objets de mus~e et
contraintes courantes limitant la selection
Cedrenius, Gunilla - Stockholm, Suede 41
Ennenbach, Wilhelm - Berlin, RDA 48
Russio Guarnieri, Waldisa - Sao Paulo, Br~sil
51
Sola, Tomislav - Zagreb, Yougoslavie 60
Venegas, Haydee - Ponce, Puerto Rico, USA

40

70

Sous-theme no J
Dimension glob ale de la collecte et r~~valuation
des collections nouvelles et courantes

74

Bellaigue Scalbert, Mathilde - Le Creusot, France 79

Gupte, P G - New Delhi, Inde 87
Maranda, Lynn - Vancouver, Canada 94
Sous-theme no 4
Politique courante d'acquisition et adaptation
aux besoins de demain
101
Bene!!, Josef - Praha , Tch~coslovaquie 102
Burcaw, GEllis - Moscow, USA 110
Forrellad i Domenech, Dolors - Sabadell, Espagne 128
Grote, Andreas - Berlin, RFA. )35
Rasmussen, Alan Hjorth - Hirtshals, Danemark 139
Stransky, Zbyn~k Z - Brno, Tch~coslovaquie 152

ICOFOM Study Series disponibles

Ce num~ro de 1'155 a ~t~ pr~par~

par Ie Pr~sident de l'ICOFOM
avec l'aide du Mus~e des antiquit~s nationales,
Stockholm - Suede

161

ICOFOM symposium 1984, its aims and organization

by Vinos Sofka
Scientific activities are a permanent feature of the meetings
of ICOM's international committee for museology. The Leiden
meeting in 1984 will remain true to this useful and stimulating
tradition.
In the framework of the Committee's carefully thought out
long-term programme and its Triennial Programme for 1983-1986,
a subject of utmost interest has been chosen for the symposium
this time. The extremely topical and much discussed question
concerning the collecting activities of museums should be
examined by the museologists from different parts of the world
gathered in Leiden.
Collecting today for tomorrow, the theme for the symposium, is
a very large complex of problems. The danger is that too genera)
statements mights be forthcoming. In order to avoid such a
situation and to prepare a more detailed analysis of the subject,
the main theme has been divided into four sub-topics, which
should be discussed separately in the symposium papers.
Appointed writers have been ask.d to tackle one of the following
sub-topics:
1

Museum object - what and why?

A definition or description of just what a museum object is
or should be.

Criteria for the selection of museum objects and the current

constraints that limit the selection.

The global dimension of collecting and reassessment of new

and current holdings.
What should we continue to preserve of the present
collections?

Curre It acquisition'policy and its appropriateness for

tomorrow's needs.

One of the conditions for the success of the symposium is its

high intellectual level and, in relation to this, a presentation of concepts representative of different parts of the
world. For this reason, four regional sub-groups af the
Committee's Programme Working Group have been requested to
present the proposals of at least four experts each, i.e.
one specialist per sub-topic. About 25 eminent museologists
have then been invited to participate in the symposium
- by working out a basic paper on a particular subject/
sub-topic
- by presenting the comments on the ideas in the co-contributors' papers, and
_ by taking part in the panel in Leiden and discussing the
topic of the symposium together with the other contributors
and the members of ICOFOM present.

Till now, the result Qf our efforts is more than satisfying.

17 papers in all h~ve been" received, 3 of which examine subtopic No.1, 5 discuss No.2, 3 tou~h on the problems of No.
3, and 6 analyse questions under sub-topic No.4. Even if
the interesting theoretical question "what is a museum object
and why" (sub-topic No.1) and the current problem of growing
museum collections and the need of reassessment of the new
and older holdings (sub-topic No.3) have only been approached
by 3 writers each, we can note with satisfaction that
the first condition for the symposium, getting together
sufficient and highly qualified material for discussion, has
already been reached. The time up to the opening of the
symposium may bring in a few more late papers, some of which
might fill the gaps mentioned.

From the list of the contributors, it is evident that the

majority of the writers, 11 in all, are Europeans, America
being represented by four museologists and Asia by two. It is
to be regretted that the experts invited from Africa and
Australia have not yet been heard from and that more contributions have not arrived from Asia and America. To be exact,
however, it has to be said that the number of museologists
from Europe keeping in touch with ICOFOM is much higher than
that from the othet continents and that this fact is the
basis of the disproportion mentioned above.
Another condition for the success of the symposium is that a
genuinely stimulating discussion will be developed in Leiden.
To make this possible, some steps have already been taken:
Basic papers have been gathered and pyinted in this separate
volume of ICOFOM Study Series in order to be mailed in advance
to all registered participants of the symposium" at the meeting
in Leiden. Furthermore, the contributors have been asked to
write down their views on the co-contributors' ideas presented
in their basic papers. The comments received will be printed
in the next issue of ISS and distributed at the beginning of
the symposium.
Finally, preparation for a panel discussion in Leiden in the
form of a hearing with the contributors has begun with the
appointment of four interrogators, asking them to assist the
Chairman at the symposium.
This condition, that of a lively and rich discussion, can,
however, only be fulfilled in Leiden. Neither can it be
carried out by the organizers themselves. It lies in the hands
of the participants at the symposium and is fully dependent
on their experience, interest and activity. By reading this
issue of ISS and studying the basic papers published in it,
the first step towards a fruitful meeting in Leiden has been
taken.
Stockholm, August 21, 1984

ICOFOM symposium 1984, ~,asbuts at organisation

par Vinos Sotka
.
Les activites scientifiques ant toujours une place de choix
aux reunions du Comite international de l'ICOM pour la
museologie. La reunion de Leyde en 1984 reste fidele a cette
tradition utile et enrichissante.
Dans Ie cadre du programme a long terme et du programme
triennal pour 1983-86, soigneusement elabores par Ie Comite,
un sujet du plus grand inter~t a ete choisi pour Ie symposium
de cette annee. Un sujet d'actualite urgente concernant les
activites de collecte des musees, dont on a beaucoup discute,
sera soumis a l'examen des museologues des endroits differents
du monde reunis aux Pays-Bas.
Collecter aujourd'hui pour demain, Ie theme du symposium, est
un ensemble de problemes tres large. Le risque de recevoir
des formulations beaucoup trop generales est grand. Afin
d'eviter ce danger et de preparer une analyse plus detaillee
du sujet, Ie theme a ete divise en quatre sous-themes, lesquels
seront presentess~arement dans les documents du symposium. Les
auteurs invites a participer ant ete pries de se m.ttre a un
des sous-themes suivants:
1

L'objet de musee - quoi et pourquoi?

Definition de ce qu'un objet de musee est et doit

~tre

Criteres de la selection des objets de musee et contraintes

limitant la selection

Dimension globale de la collecte et reevaluation des

collections nouvelles et courantes
Que faut-il continuer a conserver des collections
actuelles?

Politique courante d'acquisition et adaptation aux besoins

de demain

Une des conditions de reussite du symposium est son haut

niveau intellectuel et, a ce propos, une presentation des
concepts qui representent les endroits differents du globe.
Pour cette raison, quatre sous-groupes regionaux du Groupe
de travail pour Ie programme du Comite ont ete invites a
presenter les propositions d'au moins quatre experts chaqu'un,
c'est a dire, un specialiste par sous-theme. Environ 25 museologues emi~ants ont ete invites a participer au symposium av~c
les t~ches suivantes:
_ presentation d'un memoire de base sur un sujet particulier/
sous-theme
_ preparation des commentaires sur les idees presentees
dans les memoires de base des aut res auteurs
_ participation au panel a Leyde et a.la discussion sur Ie
theme du symposium avec les autres auteurs et en presence
des autres membres de l'ICOFOM.

Jusqu'ici, les fruits de nos efforts ont ete plus que

satisfaisants. En tout nous avons re9u 17 memoires de base,
dont 3 examinent Ie sous-theme no 1, 5 traitent du soustheme no 2, 3 s'attaquent aux problemes du sous-theme no 3,
et 6 analysent les questions sou levees par Ie sous-theme 4.
Bien que la question theorique tres interessante "qu' est-ce
que c'est qu'un objet de musee et pourquoi" (sous-theme 1)
et Ie probleme actuel de l'accroissement des collections et
Ie besoin de reevaluer les collections recentes et anciennes
(sous-theme 3) n'ont ete traites que par 3 auteurs
par sous-theme, no us pouvons remarquer avec satisfaction que
la premiere condition pour Ie symposium, celIe de rassembler
suffisamment de materiel hautement qualifie pour une discussion,
a ete atteinte. D'ici l'ouverture du symposium nous pouvons
recevoir encore quelques memoires tardifs, dont certains
pourraient remplir ce creux.
D'apres Ia liste des auteurs, il est evident que la majorite
des auteurs, 11 en tout, sont europeens, l'Amerique etant
representee par quatre museologues et l'Asie par deux. II est
~ regretter que les experts invites de l'Afrique et de l'Australie
ne nous aient pas encore donne de nouvelles, et que d'avantage
de memoires de base n'aient ete re9us de l'Asie et de l'Amerique.
Mais pour ~tre juste il faut dire que Ie nombre de museologues
en contact avec l'ICOFOM est plus eleve en Europe que des autres
continents et que ce fait est ~ la base du desequilibre cite
plus haut.
Une autre condition de la reussite du symposium est qu'une
discussion reellement enrichissante se developpe ~ Leyde.
Certaines demarches ont dej~ ete prises afin de la realiser
des memoires de base sont dej~ assembles et reproduits dans ce
volume de l'ICOFOM Study Series afin de les expedier ~ l'avance
~ tous les participants inscrits au symposium. En plus, 'nous
avons demande aux auteurs de noter leurs points de vue ~ propos
des idees presentees dans les memoires de base de leurs
collegues. Les obser~ations re9ues seront reproduites dans Ie
prochain numero de 1'155, circule au debut du symposium. Les
preparatifs pour une discussion autour d'un panel ~ Leyde ont
dej~ commence. Quatre interrogateurs ont ete nommes qui aideront
Ie President de l'ICDFOM mener les deliberations. Neanmoins,
cette condition pour la reussite du symposium, celIe d'une
discussion animee et enrichissante, ne peut ~tre realise .que
sur les lieux du symposium. Et ce ne sont pas les organisateurs
qui peuvent l'assurer. Seulement les participants peuvent Ie
faire, et cela depend entierement de leur experience, de leur
inter~t et de leur activite. C'est en lisant ce numero de
1'155 et en etudiant les memoires de base qui s'y trouvent
que Ie premier pas est pris vers une reunion fructueuse ~
Leyde.
Stockholm, Ie 21 aoOt 19B4

Before you write your paper

Some words from the ISS Editor

When asking the appointed writers for collaboration in the
ICOFOM symposium 1984, a provocative check list has been
added to the letter of invitation. Some thoughts around the
theme of the symposium, outlined by Zbyn~k Z Str~nsky, have
been found rather stimulating and for this reason m~fled to
the potential contributors of basic papers.
Here they are in extenso!

A provocative check list by Zbynek Z Stransky

In the topic of the symposium we are confronted with an

important museum problem. It we are to contribute to its solution,

we should aim at the tollowing partial problems:
1) Museum collecting - the traditions and new demands
The development of collecting and, in it, of museum collecting
has always been conditioned historically and socially. Contem"
porary museum collecting in its

~ajority

follows from very

traditional approaches: it is aimed namely at the past and

is satisfied with the collecting ot what belongs to the sphere
of "classical'systematics" or what was caught in the "sieve
of history". The society of today, forming itself on a new
scientific-technical basis, requires the museums to be
directed at the present times and to become an active selector
of representatives of their values. Traditional museum
collect~g

cannot meet these demands, neither from the

point of tendency nor methodological standard which

view~

expressiv~ly

latis behind the general development of science.

2) Specificity of museum collecting
"Collecting is part of living" wrote J .Reinard. 'rherefore,
7

~..

museum collecting can. understood as a type of human activity.

It must be comprehended historically and limited within a
context of delimiting factors of the contemporary society.
It is a manifestation of an interest in curious or rare
objects, an effort to concentrate the sources of knowledge of
.science, a tendency ~o exclude from the original natural or
social reality the w.Ltnesses of their significant phenomena,
possibly as a way of concentrating the cultural inheritance.
Such an activity, hOllever, may have the right for an indepen=
dent existence only :.1' we .succeed in differentiating it from
other similar activi-;ies and de11lll1ting the features which
determine its specif:.city. At the same time we must also
determine the charac';er ot this activity and delimit the
methods and techniqu,!s realizing it. It we do not succeed in
this achievement, we cannot manipulate with the concept ot
specificity ot museWl collecting in museology, not even with
the concept ot musewl collecting in itself.
J) Museum objm

As seen

traditionall~',

the museUm object is a three-dimensional

Object having a certain significance (curious, historical,

documentary, esthetic:, commemorative, property) and plays its
part in the functional structure of the museum. However, 1s
this general concept enough for us to differentiate this
object in an objecti"e way from other non-museum objects?
Can we prove what di;;tinguishes a museum object e.g. from a
scientific source,
media? Can we

a~'chive8,

determ:~ne

relics, audiovisual or information

selective criteria for its identifica-

tion in the totality of material reality? Selective criteria

cannot be found only in the object

it~elf,

because in it we

must see merely a medium of museum collecting. Thus the

8

demand for a qualitative change in museum collecting organic811y

also brings forth demands for a new understanding of the
museum object. It is necessary to consider to what extent
must our traditional concept of this object exceed the limits
of narrow three-dimensionality, on "hat levels must we jUdge
the extent of its authenticity, how do we affect those aspects
of reality which do not make themselves felt in the material
media, or how do we cope with relationships among the

materi~l

elements of reality. This together forms the existential

problems of the museum object as such.
4)

~useum

collection

In the traditional concept a museum collection is a collection

of museum objects, and/or documentation made up according to

a certain aspect of arrangement. These aspects may be
different, in due proportion is then the quality of the
collection. If the whole museum collecting efforts culminate
in the form of a collection, it is namely in the museum
coll~tion

where we must find the appropriate meaning of

this activity. The question reads: what kind of reality does

such a museum collection represent? Is it merely a spatially
delimited grouping of material elements of the reality? Is
the quality of the collection given by the quality of its
elements, i.e. by their sum, or does it mean a higher quality,
the quality of the product?

Should we judge the collection

as such, or in relation to the reality from which its material

elements, the museum objects, were selected? Is the reality
from which the museum objects were

sel~cted

a reality different

from the collection of these objects? What is

aC~lally

the

siJnificance of the reality of the museum collection in

relation to the reality which is, to a certain extent, reflected
in it? These are all questions leading us to the need Of
9

revaluating the standard of present museum collections, namely

in relation to the scientific and cultural demands of the

present and future society. Only in such a way can we reach
the desirable theoretical knowledge necessary to increase
gradually the qualitative standard of museum collections and
to justify their specific role.
5) Social significance
Man is man through culture. By means of museum collecting we
contribute to the formation of a new, cultural reality.
However, if museum collecting is to fulfil this culture-bearing
mission, we cannot see it isolated. Museum collections do
not play their social role merely by the fact that they come
into being and exist. Essential for their mission is the
fact that they are preserved against the nature of decline
of their elements. Only on this level can they partake the
role of bearers of material memory and thus to operate
socially in a relatively permanent way. The postulate of
preservation, however, brings about the demand of intentional
isolation, i.e. also isolation from social consciousness.
Museum collections, however, canmot accomplish their mission
without effecting social consciousness. As we know from the
history of museums, this discrepancy was solved in such a
way that at certain occasions the collections were opened to
those interested, and/or to those whose consciousness they
should effect, later on

th~y

were intentionally shown in

specific forms. However, should museum collections be interpretec

merely as communication media? Is there a principle difference
between the creation of a collection and its communication?
If so, then we cannot only

sho,~

the collections, but on their

basis build special systems as communication media. Provided

10

it is our opinion that museum collections are created

unambi~

gously as communication media, we can abandon both the momentum

of authenticity and cultural values, and the demands of preservation and re-opening, because any means capable of visual
communication is sufficient. It is only in the context of
our

whole museum approach to reality that we can reach the

essential aspects of museum collecting and comprehend the

whole dimension of this activity and of its means and
results.

Brno/CSSR
November 1983

11

Avant d'ecrire votre communication

Queltlues mots du redacteur de I'ISS

Lorsque nous avons demande aux auteurs leur collaboration
afin de preparer Ie symposium de l'ICOFOM 1984, une checklist de quelques idees provocatives etait jointe a la lettre
d'invitation. Ces reflections autour du theme du symposium,
elaborees par Zbynek Z Stransky, nous ont paru enrichissantes,
et par cette raison envoyees aux auteurs invites a presenter
des memoires de base.
Les voila in extenso!

Une check-list provocative par Zbynek Z Stransky

Par Ie theme du symposium nous sommes confrontes a un important
probleme museologique. si nous souhaitons contribuer a sa solution, nous
devons tenir compte des problemes particuliers suivants :
1)

Collectionner pour un musee - la tradition et les nouvelles options

L'accroissement des collections et, parmi elles, celles des musees a
toujours ete motive historiquement et socialement. Les musees actuels,
dans leur majorite,collectionnent selon des approches parfaitement traditionnelles : pri.ncipalement orientees vers Ie passe, its se contentent
de collectionner ce qui peut e'tre classe en "categories systematiques"
ou ce qui a ete retenu par Ie "tamis de l'histoire". La societe d'aujourd'
hui, s'organisant elle-meme sur de nouvelles bases plus techniques, plu&
scientifiques,requiertun musee oriente vers Ie temps present qui doit
devenir un temoin actif de ses interets et de ses nouvelles valeurs.
Le musee qui collectionnera de faeon traditionnelle ne pourra pas satisfaire aces souhaits, a ces aspirations ni atteindre un niveau methodologique
qui ne soit pas en retard par rapport a l'actuel developpement scientifique.

2)

Specificite de l'acte de collectionner pour un musee

"Collectionner est un moment de la vie" ecrit J. Heinard. Aussi collectionner pour un musee peut etre compris comme un des aspects de l'activite humaine. Cela doit etre compris historiquement et limite a un certain
contexte dans 'la societe contemporaine. C'est la manifestation d'un interet
pour un objet curieux ou rare, un effort a partir de celui-ci pour concen~
trer.des sources de connaissanc~ ou de science, mais une tendance a l'isoler de son origine naturelle ou de sa realite sociale, un temoignage de
phenomenes significatifs et moyen possible de conserver un heritage culturel.
Cette activite particuliere, nous devons essayer de la differencier d'activites similaires et cerner les caracteres qui determinent sa specificite.
En meme temps que nous devons determiner les caracteres propres a cette
activite, no us devons formuler les methodes et les techniques en permettant
la realisation. Si nous n'y reussissons pas, nous ne pouvons pas discuter
du concept de la "specificite de l'acte de collectionner pour un musee"
en museologie J merne pas du concept ttcollectionner pour un musee ll

12

3)

Objet de musee
Vu traditionnellement, l'objet de musee est un objet a trois dimensions
ayant une certaine signification (curieux, historique, documentalre,
esthetique, commemoratif, d'appartenance) et jouant un role dans la
structure fonctionnelle du musee. Pourtant est-il suffisant pour nous
dans un concept general de differencier cet objet d'une faeon objective
d'un autre objet non museal?
Pouvons-nous montrer ce qui distingue un objet de musee : d'une source
scientifique, d'archiv~~ de relique, d'un audiovisuel ou d'information
pour media? Pouvons-nous determiner des criteres selectifs pour son identification dans l'ensemble de sa realite materiel Ie? Des criteres selectifs
peuvent etre trouves seulement grace a l'objet lui-meme, car en lui nous
devons voir surtout Ie moyen de collectionner pour un musee. Le souhait
pour un changement qualitatif des collectes pour musees conduit au souhait
pour une autre comprehension de l'objet de musee. II est necessaire de
considerer jusqu'a quel point, notre concept traditionnel de cet objet
depasse les limites etroites des trois dimensions, a quel niveau devonsnous juger les possibilites de son authenticite, comment tenons-nous compte
de ces aspects de la realite qui ne sont pas sensibles dans Ie materiau
au comment reagissons-nous aux relations entre les materiaux, elements

reels. Tout ceci est Ie probleme existentiel de l'objet de musee en tant

que tel.
4)

Collection de musee
Dans Ie concept traditionnel, une cOllection de musee est une collection
d'objets de musee, et/ou une documentation realisee selon un certain type
d'arrangement. Ces aspects peuvent etre differents, proportionnellement
alors a la qualite de la collection Si les efforts de collectionner du
musee entier culmine dans Ie but de former une collection, c'est principa-'
lement dans la collection du musee que nous devrons trouver la signification appropriee de cette activite. La question est: quel genre de realite,
une celle collectio n de musee represente-t-elle? Est-ce seulement un arrangement specialement groupe d'elements materiels d'une realite? Est-ce que
la qualite de la collection est donnee par la qualite de ses elements, ou
par leur ensemble, ou cela signifie-t-il une qualite superieure, la qualite
du produit? Devons-nous juger la collection en tant que tel Ie, ou en relation
avec la realite dont ces elements materiels les objets du musee, ont ece
seleccionnes, cette realite est-elle differente de celIe suggeree par
l'ensemble de cette collection d'objets? Quelle est actuellement la signification de la realite de lao collection du musee en relation avec la rea lite
qui est, jusqu'a un certain point, reflechie en elle? Ce sont toutes les
questions qui nous amenent a la necessite de reevaluer la qualite des
collections des musees actuels, principalement en relation avec, les interets scientifiques et culturels de la societe presente et future. Ce n'esr
que de cette faeon que nous pouvons atteindre la connaissance theorique
souhaitee, necessaire pour accro!tre graduellement la qualite des collections de musee et justifier leur role specifique.

5)

Signification sodale
L'homme est 1 'homme au travers de la culture. Grace aux collections des
musees, nous contribuons a l'elaboration d'une nouvelle realite culturelle.
Mais, si collectionner pour un musee est remplir cette mission culturelle,
nous ne pouvons la considerer isolement. Les collections de musee one
jouent pas leur role social simplement par Ie fait qu'elles se forment ,
et existent,il est essentiel pour cette mission qu'elles soient preservees
de la deterioration de leurs elements. Ne peuvent-elles assumer leur role
de porteur de memoire materielle qu'a ce niveau et ainsi agir socialement
d'une faeon relativement permanente? Le postulat de conservation, pourtant,
suggere Ie souhait d'une isolation volontaire, done aussi isolation de 1a
conscience sociale. Les collections de musees, pourtant, ne peuvent accom-

plir leur mission sans tenir compte de la conscience sociale. Comme nous
13

Ie savons historiquement, des musees ont resolu ce probleme en ouvrant

occasionnellement leurs collections aux personnes interessees et/ou pour
ceux dont elles pouvaient influencer l'intelligence. Plus tard , elles ont
ete montrees volontairement de facon intentionnellement specifique. Pourtaol
ne faut-il
interpreter les collections de musees que comme un media
de communication? Y a-t-il une difference fondamentale entre la creation

~.

d'une collection et son message? Si c'est Ie cas, no us nc pOllvons pas

uniqu('menc expo~cr la coll~ctiont mais devons baser sur ellc des SY~l~IUl'~

speciaux aptes a ~ire utilises comme medias de communication . Nous cscimons que les collections des musees doivent etre creees sans abiguite
comme medias de communication. Des lors, nous pourrons renoncer aussi bien
aux criteres d'authenticite qu'a ceux de valeurs culturelles, et ne souhaiter
la conservation et la reouverture des musees que si les moyens de communication visuelle sont suffisants. C'est seulement dans Ie contexte de notre
entiere approche museale vers la realite que nous pouvons resoudre les
problemes essentiels poses par collectionner pour un musee et cerner l'entiere dimension de cette activite et de ses possibilites et resultats.
Brno, Tchecoslovaquie
Novembre 1983

:)

Traduit de l'original anglais par Janine Schotsmans, Bruxelles.

14

.."

List of the contributors to the symposium

Liste des contributeurs au symposium
BELLAIGUE SCALBERT, Mathilde
Director of the Ecomus~e de la communaut~ Le Creusotl
Montceau-les-mines, Le Creusot - France
BENES, Josef
Former Secretary of the division of. cultural heritage
at the Min i s try 0 f cuI t u reo f the .CS R, Pr a ha Czechoslovakia
BURCAW, GEllis
Professor of anthropology at the University of Idaho,
Moscow - Idaho, USA
CEDRENIUS, Gunilla
Curator at the Nordiska museet and Secretary of SAMDOK Samtidsdokumentation vid kulturhistoriska museer,
Stockholm - Sweden
ENNENBACH, Wilhelm
Member of the Committee for Museology of the German
Democratic Republic, Berlin - GDR
FORRELLAD I DOMNECH, Dolors
Director of the Museu d'Art de Sabadell, Sabadell - Spain
GROTE, Andreas
Director of the Institut fur Museumskunde SMPK,
Berlin (West)
GUPTE, P G
Planning officer at the National Museum of Natural History.
New Delhi - India
MARANDA, Lynn
Curator of ethnology at the Vancouver Museum,
Vancouver, B.C. - Canada
van MENSCH, Peter J A
Lecturer in museology at the Reinwardt Academie,
Leiden - The Netherlands
RASMUSSEN, Alan Hjorth
Director of the Nordspmuseet, Hirtshals - Denmark
RUSSIa GUARNIERI, Waldisa
Technical Assistant in the Cabinet of the Secretary
of the State of S. Paulo, Museu da Industria, Com~rcio,
Ciencia e Tecnologia and Coordinator of the Training
courses in museology FESP, Sao Paulo - Brazil
SCHREINER, Klaus
Director of the Agrarhistorisches Museum,
Alt Schwerin - German Democratic Republic

15

SOLAj Jomislav
Oiiector of the Muzejski dokumentacioni centar,
Zagreb - Yugoslavia
STRANSKY, Zbyn~k Z
Director of the Department of museology at the Moravsk~
Muzeum and Director of the Department of museology at
the Faculty of philosophy of the Jan Evangelista
Purkyn~ University, Brno - Czechoslovakia
TSURUTA, Soichiro
Professor of museology, Department of Education
at the Faculty of lettres of the Hosei University,
Tokyo - Japan
VENEGAS, Haydee
Assistant Director of the Museo de Arte de Ponce,
Ponce - Puerte Rico

16

Contributions to the symposium

.
Sub-topic No.1
Museum object - what and why?

Contributions au symposium
Sous-tMme no 1
L'objet de musee - quoi et pourquoi?

17

Peter J A van Mensch, Leiden -

The Netherlands

Society - object - museology

A stuffed tiger in a museum is a

stuffed tiger in a museum and
not a tiger.
Kenneth Hudson. 1977
The question

What is a museum object? implies a series of other questions,

like:
- vhat is an object
vhat is a museum
- in vhat differs a museum object from any other object
- vhat happens vhen an object becomes a museum object
I vill try to ansver each of these questions from a theoretical, museological
point of viev (1).
Burcav in his "Introduction to museum vork" is very clear in his definition
of an object: "a material, three-dimensional thing of any kind". Objects in
this viev can be: (a) "superorganic" elements of material culture (artifacts),
and'(b) inorganic and organic elements of nature (naturalia).
The distinction betveen artifacts and naturalia is not alvays clear. As
taxidermy is a craft, a stuffed animal is in my opinion an artifact. A
living domesticated animal is to some extent an artifact too. During
centuries man moulded a natural form according to his vis~Js. As to landscapes the distinction betveen material culture and nature is even more
gradual. Deetz considers domesticated animals and landscapes as parts of
material culture. I agree vith Deetz' definition of material culture (2)
as that sector of our :?hy:.ical environment that ve modify through
culturally determined behavior. This includes not only "material, threedimensional things", but also landscapes, our body vith all aspects of
human motion (dance, parades, crafts), music and even language ("Words
after all are air masses shaped by the speech apparatus according to
culturally acquired rules", Deetz 1977).
At this point there is a conflict betveen the definition of an object
and the definition of the main focus point of museological consideration,
i.e. the subject matter of museology. Museology should, in my 0p1n10n,
also deal vith "non-material" elements of material culture. Within the
framevork of this symposium I am inclined to equalize "object" and
"subject matter' of museology" in the phrase: museoZogicaZ object, to be
18

defined as: any element belonging to the realm of nature and material
culture.
Each object has, alone or in relationship to other objects, a certain
value. Because of these values societies think it useful to preserve,
to copy, to document objects. An important question is: do we preserve
the object OI the idea? Artifacts are cultural statements, "fossil thought".
As such artifacts enable us to gain an understanding of the culture of
other people, separated from us in time and space. Collecting Objects is
also a way to document our own culture; its diversity, its roots and its
development. Material culture reflects social and mental culture, but has
at the same time an enormous impact on them. Depending the value the
Objects stands for and the intended use, it is not always necessary, neither
desirable to preserve the original Object. In certain situations copies
and/or documentation will do as well. Collecting Objects is just one way
to preserve heritage and to generate knowledge and social development.
"Myths, poetry, songs, stories, dance, rituals, religion, social rites,
kinShip structures, are all strong systems which have provided societies
with such services" (Taborsky 1982).
Anyway, when we concentrate on objects it is important to realise that
the information value is not restricted to the object itself. Documentation
and context-information are of equal importance. "Hardware" (Object
information) and "software" (documentation and context information) together
make a testimony ("Sachzeug", "objet temoin") out of an object.
The preservation of museological Objects covers a wide range of possibilities:
in situ, functional ("living")
2

in situ, "dead ft

ex situ, functional ("living")

4 ex situ, "dead"

5 by documentation
Each possibility has its own institutional solutions:
nature reserve, ecomuseum

museumvillage, historic house museum, site museum

zoological and botanical garden, (some) open air museum(s)

4 museum
5

archive, film, book

Such institutional solutions are by themselves museological Objects,

depended as they are of historical and cultural determined views.
19

The traditional west-european museum is solution 4 and to some extent

solution 3. Typical for these solutions is the preservation ex situ. The
transform from the "original" context ("systemic context") to the museum
context is part of a cultural formation process called collecting. This
transform can be the last stage in a long history of transforms through
successive sociocultural systems ("lateral cycling").
I

systemic context I museum context

I

procurement -

r-

r:;~:~l

mYOHog

manufacture

1 . use

I
I
I
I

collechng - I

maintenance!

"'

(flow model after Schiffer 1972)

Preservation can have two options:

a

to maintain the fUnctionality of the object in its systemic context;

to put the object in safety by removing it to a "sanctionary", the

museum context.

Option a can be considered as a dYnamic solution, option b as a static one.

In the first option the preservation of the fUnctionality prevails, in the
second option the "conservation of the object information (the preservation
of the physical integrity) prevails.
The interest in option a is growing. This, of course, is connected with the
growing interest in cultural identity. "The traditional museum is no longer
in tune with our concerns; it has ossified our culture. deadened many of
our cultural Objects, and allowed their essence, imbued. with the spirit of
a people, to be lost ( ). (New types of museums) should break out of
their walls and install themselves in pUblic places, schools and places
of work; they should maintain traditional associations and encourage those
that engage in modern and diversified activities" (Konare 1983).
I hope to have made clear that in a theoretical museological discussion it
is useful to consider the preservation of the "museological object" in
general. The museum option (sanctuary option) is just one of the many"
possibilities. So the phenomenon "museum Object", defined as "an Object

20

in the collections of a museum" (Burcaw 1975) is to limited as starting-pain"

for a discussion about "collecting today for tomorrow", even when we
broaden the concept of museum and also include private collections.
This notion is especially important because a museum is not always considered
as a sanctuary. Apart from ecomuseums, I would like to point at two trends
in the traditional museums: (a) the emphasis placed on the sign-function of
objects, and (b) the reconstruction or maintenance of the functional aspects
of the objects. These developments mean that less attention is payed to the
full physical authenticity and integrity of the objects. In museums the use
of copies (replica) becomes fairly common, especially in thematic displays.
It also became rather =mmon to show objects "in function", which very often
means an accepted loss of authentic (physical) information. When an object
is used intens, worn parts have to be replaced. In this wayan object

become~

gradually a copy of itself.

Two categories of objects I would like to set apart under the heading
"museum objects": exhibition hardware (panels, showcases, etc.) and
didactic materials (labels, graphics, models, audiovisuals, etc.). Very
few musei.uDs keep record of developments in exhibit design. Especially old
models are interesting as record of the development of scientific theories.

One of the main focus points in museology is the assessment of values.

The attach of values can be based on object information, but also on the
documentation or context information. Ordinary cigar-stubs are thrown away
by millions, but the cigar-stubs of Winston Churchill are auctioned for
some hundreds of punds.
At this point it is useful to reconsider the definition given of
"museological object". A more refined definition could be: any element

belonging to the realm of nature and material culture that is considered

worth to be preserved, either in situ of ex situ, or by documentation.
With regard to the ascribed values an adequate preservation is chosen.
Protective legislation is a general tool, collecting is a specialized
tool. A museum object (defined again as an objectin the collections Of

a museum) differs only from any other Object in the fact that it is
chosen to be a museum object.
The very act of the assessment of values adds a new value to the Object:
the value of being chosen. This value increases in time. B"cause of
protective measures the chosen Object will survive, while other objects
21

gradually fade
~ill

a~ay.

Objects, not found to be

disappear completely, or

~ill

~orth

of some preservation,

at most survive fragmented in an

archaeological context. Objects that are kept ex situ in a museum etc.

are thus special by their very nature. The presentation in a museum
adds enormously to this. Besides, the museum context forces very often
a distorted

~ay

of

vie~ing 'upon

the visitor. The most common "distortion"

is that of "estheticism", the inclination to stress the esthetic

qualities of objects more than historico-cultural aspects.
Connected

~ith

ex situ preservation is also the phenomenon of alienation.

"Many of these objects had been stolen of confiscated from their owners.
( ) Neither ~as the local population consulted, nor did it ~ant its
goods taken

a~ay

to be subsequently stripped of all value and displayed

in places inaccessible to their creators. ( ) The ne~ owners of the

cultural Objects in question deprived them of their original function and
projected their own vision of the

~orld

and value systems on to them,

reducing them to the level of commonplace consumer goods" (Konare 1983).

A recent example is the attention payed to graffitti, Graffitti re alienated
from their original context and presented in a clinical museum room as art.
Above mentioned consequences of the musealization process do not affect the
object information, i.e. the physical integrity of the object. But
preservation is connected

~ith

~hen

conservation and/or restoration

physical interferences can be considerable. "A stuffed tiger in a museum

is a stuffed tiger in a museum and not 'a tiger" (Hudson 1977). In this case
the museum object is but a faint

shado~

of its original, stripped of

its essence: life.

22

Note (1):
For a general outline of my understanding of museology, see the contribution
of Van Mensch, Pouw & Schouten to the symposium "The methodology of museology
and professional training" (Stockholm-London 1983).

MuseoZogy encompasses the whole complex of theory and praxis involving the
caring for and the using of the cultural and naturaZ heritage.
Further literature:
G.E. Burcaw, Introduction to museum work. Nashville, 1975.
J. Deetz, In small things forgotten. Garden City NY, 1977.
A.C. Konare, Towards a new type of 'etnographic' museum in Africa. 14useum
35, 1983, (3): 146-149.
M.B. Schiffer, Behavioral archeology. New York, 1976.
E. Taborsky, The sociostructural role of the museum. The International Journal
of Museum Management and Curatorship 1, 1982, (4): 339-345.

23

Klaus Schreiner, Alt Schwerin - German Democratic Republic

All phenomena in society have their history. This also applier,

to the museal phenomene. Museal activities, intarpretations,
theories, methods, objects, institutional forms, and organizations already have, as part of social conditions, a historically provable long history. The historic forming and developing
process of acquirement, peservation, decoding, and use of
museiia was and is - as the analysis of historic development
shows - due to society. At this you can point out that, with
different reception and use, the musealia acted and act as a
part of authentic historic irrefutable evidencea of nature anD
society. In what are there the reasons?
In nature and society the regular process of alteration and
evolution permanently takes place, This process is not reversible. Because of the irreversibility of time and other conditions
a returning or leading back, in every regard, to its original
conditions is not possible. Evolution processes are completely
irreversible processes. Living processes, e.g. follicle maturing,
birth, and growth, or the process of human history cannot run
down in reverse direction. The human action of cognition, too,
is part of the evolution process. Man can only recognize thOSE
things, phenomena, and processes the information of whicb get
to him: The reflection of the objective reality in human
consciousness is a particular way of manufacturing information
processes. In the evolution process the information ia accumulated, so to speak treasured up, as historic experiece and is
used. The permanently increasing a~quirement of knowledge by
the human society is inseparably connected with the accumulaticn
of historic experience. This accumulation takes place, from the
view the theo ry of cogni tion, by the abil1 ty of the brain to
treasure up feeded information and to utilize them in reactiong
afterwards.
The forming of the literary language enables to fix the knowledge of mankind, achieved hitherto, in written form, and thus
to facilitate the passing-on of knowledge from one generation
to the next essentially; nowadays additionally by means of
~ound carri~ra aven. The source of a11 human cognition is the
objective reality. Objects of direct sense cognition, that
24

means, conc rete and pe rceivable obj ects 0 f na tu re and society.,

have an essential importence as irrefutable evidences of the
historic evolution process in nature and society.
The accumulation of historic experience also includes the
accumulation of authentic irrefutable evidences from nature

.!!!.!L soc i e.!.Y.:.

What is an authentic irrefutable evidence?
This is an object that is. by its concrete sensually perectible
existence. a true, certain proof that cannot be doubted, resp,
a direct evidence to a determined state, locally and secularly
fixed, of a natural and social phenomenon which it descends
from. Such authentic irrefutable evidences like fossils. that
have been preserved in rock strata of different formations
and mediate an approximate true picture whet flora and fauna
looked like hundreds of million years ago and what steps in
evolution have taken place since that time, descend from the
natural historic evolution. Carbo-alga, silicified parts of
trees, a print of an archaeopteryx, and others belong to this.
as natural history objects at all from past and present natu raJ.
events, which can serve as study object for taxonomical, minerological, geological, palaeological and other cognitions, as
well as from the' view of fauna and ecology. Historic means of
production, commodities. arms. relics, objects of civilization,
mummies, urns, funeral extras, treasures, commemorative pieces
connected to persons, trophies, originals, curiosities, rarities,
antique relics, works of art, pictures,' documents, contemporary
publications, archivalia, monuments, or other irrefutable evidences of material and spiritual civilization belong to the
authentic social-historic irrefutable evidences. Historic
irrefutable evidences from recent time are absolutely to reckon
among them. It is indispensable to include the natural-historic
and social period of the topical present in the museum collecting work, because, on the one hand. the natural-historic and
social development does not stop at any time nor anywhere and,
on the other hand. the guarantee of future museum documentatiDn
will only be guaranteed by collecting actual objects with
museum value.
The degree of authenticity depends on the degree of coincidence
of the information included in the social-historic irrefutable
evidences with the historic events. An object is always authenti.c
only within a relational statement and in regard of determined
2:'

conditions. that means it is alway to consider what the

authenticity refers to.
An authentic irrefutable evidence is always en individual expression of social or natural phenomena. an expression of forces
of a be-ing resp. 0 f na tu re having become an obj ect.
What are euthentic historic irrefutable evidences from nature
and society necessery for?
The increasing scientific knowledge ~nd artistic acquirement
of the objective reelity within the social process of reproduction will not be possible without these historic irrefutabie evidences. They are "graduator and indicator of
economic. political. social. and cultural development in e
certain time. a certain society. and e -certain territory 1)
or serve as compadson of stages of evolution of historic
natural phenomena, be that as for comparison, possibility of
repeating and verifying of cognition processes or for mediation
of cognition."Z) Authentic historical irrefutable evidences
from nature and society act. in manyfold way, as authentic
sources of emotional and rational cognition actions, of emotional
influence, and of knowledge. For instance the necessary source~
of historic science, such as archivalia and others. belong to
these authentic irrefutable evidences, too.
The irreversible character of the development events and the
fect of the trensitoriness of single phenomena lead to the
tendency of withdrawing certain authentic historic irrefutable
evidences from the normal natural or SOCi~l process by taking
them out or making modified conditione, and thus to keep resp.
to preserve them durably or long-lasting. The durable preservation and communication of authentic historic irrefutable eVidences from nature and society is part of the social reproduction
process. The reproduction is objectively necessary for the'existence and development of human society. for each social re~
production process causes the conditions for the following reproduction processes. By this way not only the material conditions but also the socia! ones of the production are reproduced.
In increasing degree, especially qualitatively decisive since
the arising bourgeoisie, science and art became an essential
impulse of the social reproduction process. The growing
scientific knowledge and artistic acquirement of the objectiv~
reality as important parts of the social reproduction process
involve, because of the irreversibility of development events,
26

the objective social necessity of durable preservation and

communication of authentic historic irrefutable evidences
from nature and society. These irrefutable evidences serve
as non-renouncable sources of rational and emotional cognition
activities. The objective. social necessity of durable preservation and communication of authentic historic irrefutable
evidences from nature and society is, in division of labour,
indeed realized in different specialized ranges, such different
ranges belong to them that deal with the preservatLon and care
of cultural heritage. We all know the increasing importance
of acquiring this heritage by means of preservation, use, and
presentating the objective cultural heritage and the natural
history heritage. The world congress of IeOM 1980 in Mexico
~reated, as comprehensive theme, the responsibility of the
museums for the world heritage.
Objects of cultural and natural heritage include e.g. museal
objects, archivalia, books, and similar literary documents,
social and natural monuments and reservations, animals and
plants in zoological botanical gardens a.s.o.
Thus musealia are ~ part of our cultural and natural heritage,
What does its specific consiat in?
Musaalia are such movable authentic ~bjects which, as irrefutable evidences, exemplify the development of nature resp.
society for a long time, are set to a fixed state, and were
chosen and acqired for the collection stock in order to preserve, t~ decode, to exhibit them resp. for further use in reaearch, teaching, education, and recreation.
By taking them out or making modified conditions musealia
were withdrawn from the normal natural or social events, e.g.
also in terminating the living state intentionally; in order
to praserve them or parts of them in this fixed state for a
long time, e.g. by means of preparation. According to their
sort, state, and function they are preserved, prepared, restored, looked after, inventorized, decoded, researched,
storaged, exhibited in different way and intensity resp. they
are communicated and cataloguad according to their sciantific,
historic, and cultural importance. We subdivide in objectivesubstantial, written, figurative, and acoustic musealia, that
means on sound-carriers preserved sounds.
Musealia often appear in combination, e.g. a paper illustrated
with pictures, a sound film and similar. Musealia act as im-

27

portant .means of production and represent the basis of work

as objects of research for various technical, social science,
and natural science branches, such as botany, zoology,
palaeontology, mineralogy. geology, history, history of art,
archaeology, ethnography.
The museum work - as practise shows - is restricted to the
complex range of collecting. preserving, decoding. exhibiting.
and further communicative use of the musealia, arid thus
differs specifically from all the other ranges as an independel~
range.
Notes: 1) Zeitschrift f. Geschichtswissenschaft, Heft 1, p 12 (W,
2) Neue Museumskunde, Heft 2,
Herbst), Berlin 1972
p 76 (r. Jahn) , Berlin 1980

28

Soichiro Tsuruta, Toky!? ---.: Japan

Theme :'

Proposa! for the Museum !Caterial - E'nvironment

System

The concept of museum obj;ct exists as part of the museum context, so the
putpose of the museum is a subject claiming prior settlement. Dr. stransky
has already provided a useful basis ~o the later discussions on collecting
.
from this point of vie'll'
and collectioll8",iiCJl:l.s pre-cJ.rCUIa1:illg paper for the Symposium 84.
r should like here to begill my discussions with the museum object followed
a cOllSideration of its detailed components withill the framework of the concept of the museum object. Pirst. however. I would like to express my. 'inte!:-pratation of the relationship between collecting and collections that are
two related aspects of a whole as for example the law of cause and effect.
we have no appropriate word for this whole and most museums use different
.thoda for thelll. 3"0', in these interill prOCleSa8S of collect'ing and collee;'
tiona there might be different phases and sOllIe difterencies of practical
edIIIs, 1hIt these should be cOllSidered as progressiVe' st51188, and they are

e
ideally tIted as inane totality.
Ssoondly, r wou:1d like to propose the use at the term museum lII&t-erial
instead at museum objeot

ReUOIlS

are given later in this paper,.

1. The review of the historicl development of the conoept of museum III&tllrial

In my opinion

~he

historioal development of the concept of museum material

can be clusified in four stages; that is to say,

~
1). lluseum materi&l is actually' il'part of museUIII material which has lIl&:tnly
"-

morphological upect of reality,

2). ~ whole museum material mostly frOlll the rlewpoint of shapes and typf>S,
3). llwseum material has been recognized as having a synthetic existence with
both a morphological and functional or phenomenal aspectrof reality,
4). Museum material is or should be recognized as a systematic combination
of a concept of the above mentioned synthetic existence and its mvironment.
~eedless to say,
'museum material ' has been developed and difterenoi~
ated- from the general concept of material which has been recognized,col-,
lected and used by human beings. And, the general concept of material h&~
.volved by using and collecting natural resources. As far as using and
collecting natural resources is conoerned, we should consider about those
difference~f recognition of natural resources among our ancestral ape~men
and other apes of prilll&tes whioh already had not only instinct for collecting but also the ability of conditionalresponses for collecting. Ie should
remind about that they had been almost the same, but we have developed
from that stage.
r have taken &3 my starting point the period when the concept of

mUSA'~

29

material came into eJdstence, and I do not want to elvell too long on this,
but would just like to point out the following:
That the general concept of material had been established when human collecting was done with an apparent purpose. A prototype museum had already been

founded at that time; in other words, prototype museum material had also been
founded. in the same way. The appearance of the museum and museum material are
likely related.
In short, the concept of museum material should be recognized as the continuously developed recognition of material from instinct, conditional response,
purposelike status, human purpose in general, and finally definite museUlll
purpose.
Now I would like to return to. the former points.
1). Jl.s part of museum material "hich has a mainly morphological aspect of
reality
~

far as the concept of first and buic prototype museum material is

concerned, thosa objects and material have been collected, deposited,

and utilized ddrectly from nature's resources for the purpose of live-

lihood such as food, clothing, and shelter. Added to this, after davel
oping the prototype concept into real museum material, still in, its
simple meaning of course, musem material had been collected, reserved,
and exhibited mainly for thr purpose of demonstrating it u a symbol rI
wealth, power and predominance, and also as " a manifestation of an
interest in curious or rare objects
In other words, people never thOUght about having museum material
for itself or of knowing about the

tota~ raality

of it. They had just

a portion of it, and mostly the external morphological features of it

except in the case of material of economic value such as gold, silver,
etc.
~ven

in a more advanced stage of museum development this point is still

not clear. For example, a specimen of stuffed lion is recognized as a

real total specimen of lion, whereas the tangible part of the lion :i.s
the tanned skin of it only. A part of lion as the real unit object is
the most reasonable

,,~t to express its existence. Here, r should like

to propose this as the concept of " part of museum material stage ".
2). Jill "hole museum material mostly from the viewpoint of shapes and types
It is quite a natural tendency to try to recognize whole aspects of
reality of

muse~terial

"hen people have begun to concentrate

abun~

dent memories and experiences into logical experience and to systematize

them as science. They have tried to learn about museum material itself
such as pieces of and the total shape of museum material, from exterw.l
to internal, system, organ, tissue ,and then to its totality. But most
of those efforts were made through the morphJlogical aspects of museum
30

lII&terial.'l'he words .. whoJ.e museum material stage" could be the concept ot

the second stage museum material.

3) .lliJ3eum material hes been recognised as having a synthetic existence ,,~,th

both a morphological.and a functional or phenomenal aspects of reality
With the development of pure, natural and applied sciences, and furthe"
needs of society, the concept of museum material has beeqrequired to
grasp the total reality of it by further interpretation of the functional
or phenomenal contents.
Taking the example of the lion again;
The ' whole museum material stage ' of the lion consists of stuffed
lions, skeletal specimens, spirit systems, organs and tissues, sample
specimens of foods, droppings, etc. Photographs, tapes, video tapes,
and other written materials such as reports of research and surveys,
books, journals, eto. But alJ. tbese are seen mostly from tbe morpbolo-gical aspect.
Then, living conditions 'and live lions become tbe next indispensable
aspect of museUlll material foil;. the lion. laons in a zoo are one aspect
of this. Keeping lions in experimental facilities sbould also be included
in this category.
There is the concept of intangible cultural property in th e

,)tAc..

panese National Law of protection of Cultural Properties, and it is

treated as one of the characteristic types of museum material, too. 'l.'his
actually includes ability, action, function and phenomenon, and the

bea~er'

wbo has tbos~xtraordinallysplendid techniques sucb as the craftsman

producing highest level traditional cultural property or the distingu:i~hed
traditional performing arts player is designated as a " human tre...,ure ".
DOllS not this intangibilitiee recogzUzes as~J.IIlportant functional aspect
of museum material ?
On tbe other hand, can tbose people who have no experience of a car C'
an auto mobile be made to understand witb only its static display?
Could you keep the car in running condition

a real morphological

museum object'? Is, then, the function of automobile not a museum'subjec~ ?

The Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Science Centre in Ontario, Cane<ia
and newly established K1crarium in Ruxton, England are other examples
of eJ.ibiting functional aspect of museum material. The same to the
performing arts museum.
~l these examples substantiate the existence of the recognition of museum material with morphological and functional aspects in a more

prof~und

way than the previous concept in item 2). So I should like to use the
phrase " synthetic recognition of whole museum material stage " for tfus
concept.
~).'

lluseum material' is or should be recognized as a systematic

combi~~ion

31

of a oonoept of' the above mentioned synthetic existence and ns environment,

~er

reaching the synthetio recognition of museum material in its totality,

we begin to reoognize those problems of interaction between museum

materia~

and its environment. The above mentioned total reoognition of museum <nateri"l

itself might also be a part of the real totality of museum material. Could
we understand museum material isolated frOIll' its oircumstanoes and its enn..
ronmental influences? .&bsolutely not.

In fact, we already have

m&QY

kinds of attempts and devioes in relation to

this. What are the basic meaning of panoramas, diorll.lll!i!!J. period rooms',
habitat groups, and even museum theatres? I believe t~e are examples of
the practical expression of this concept as

,.

e,

exhibits ".

What are the , sigD.if'icatice of development found in zoos such as keePinat in

oages,changing cages into open enclosure systell1a'. and diversifying into nat-

f.'::- ~~~:: ~~
,.'

.i\~,~:g~
.

. :....,

- ~"7:,;.~

:f: 1;:';-

.~~:,.. ~r.'~:;.

:t

.'.

ural soos such as the Ken,yan national parks ? Such tendencies in zoos imply
very basic problelll8 of. domestication of wild animals. In other words, domB-"ticated wild animels might sometimes be transformed into another species of
enim al What about th8 relation between wiaents and cattle of E'uropian origin ? lNW the true wild an iJD8l might be changed into different speciu when
it has been isolated from its own original environment over a long period.
C:ould'museum material'maintain its reality absolutely cut off from its enVJ "
rnnment?
Open air museums, trailside lIluseums, site lIluseums, outdoor transport museU!E3,
etc. are examples of symptOlll8 of this concept on museums. There is a tec.deoo.l"
for indoor museums to try to provide outdoor facilities and outdoor museum:;
naturally try to have indoor sections and to develop indoor functions. Thess
also the examples of evidence of the synthetic recognition of museum material
with its environment.

One of the lIlost recent examples is the proposal and realization of the"ecomuseum ". I personally feel that there is still dit'1!erent opinions on what
constitution of the eco-museum,but

nevertheless, this is a representative

of this concept.
E'ven thOUgh I have introduced several examples of attempts and devices on
this concept, I could not find any actual expression of the basic, common
concept running through them, so

now propose the above mentioned concept

as " museum material - environment system", to which I would like to refer

in the final chapter of this paper.
If I summarize the above mentioned tendencies from the viewpoint of reality.
they may also be expressed as follows:
tst stage --- A part of the reality of material evidence
2nd stage ---T'otal reality but limited in the aspeot of material evidenof
3rd stage --- Total reality with both material and funotional aspects
4th stage --- Total reality 'Kith both materia] and functional aspeots
and its sooial ana natural environments

3<'

a.

Problems on the recognition of museum materi&l by the three criteria of

reality, number! and kind
I should like to refer to the problems concerning the classification of

museum material from the criteria of reality, number and kind which are

very common at present and still not funa&mentally clarified.

1). The problem of classification of museum material by its reality
Weedless to say, the main objectives of having museum material in museums has been recognized as for material evidence of reality, but when
we are faced with the problem of what category the museum material be~
longsto from the viewpoint of reality, we cannot find' a prcise definition of it.
Numerous. descriptions of kinds of material or items of ,it are found for
example in monographs of artifacts, catalogues of natural history speeimens, some art collections, and so on; but there is no description of
what the extent of real museum material is or what shape, type or qual,"
ity of materials\constitute it.
I question whether these points should be examined in relation to contemporary informationalized social needs and heavily acculturated humanistic requirements or not?

as~

I feel they are out:-of-date, weak

pect of the present museum situation.

We stick too closely to the narrower meaning of materi&l evidence, i.e"
the morphological aspects of museum material. I have already mentioned
the indispensability of its functional and phenomenal aspects. Museum
material .in its totality should be the synthetic total of forms and
functions with their environments.
Provided this is recognized, then suddenly a new problem of the recognition and naming of the functional attributes of museum materi&l rises
to the surfac~. Details and practical examples of this have been given
in former pages, so I should like ay propose the following;
(1). Aa the words" mUSeum object " are usually used and limited to the
expression of the morphological aspect of the narrower meaning of tb~
real museum object,we should apply the words" museum material'
instead of the museum object.
(2). Vuseum material could be classified into the following two

categori~s,

i;e., primary museum material and secondary museum material.

i). Primary mUSeum materi&l
Real museum materi&l is the evidence directly concerned with reality and totality. And so, I should like to call this primary
museum material.It may be claSsified into the following five
categories from the viewpoint of degrees and contents of reality
and totality.
a. Part of museum material
33

b. tTnit aDject ---

A.

minimum form or form and function of' mWleU!i:

material which is recognized as a

complete.iiJ~

dependent unit such as an. indindual of' a s-pecies in biology

c. Unit group of' mWleum material

A single item which, although it may be

recog~

nized in itself, in reality it only exists meaJ'lingf'ully as part of' a larger whole.
d. l;ompound mWleum material --Assemblage of different kinds of mWleUlll mateM a1,
but should be recognised as a set. or compound.
e. S'ynthetic mWleum material Synthetically combined mWleum material of b.,
c.,d., or e. with their ennronments recognill'O';i
as a museum mat:erial - environment system.
ll). Seoondary museum material
There are those kinds of' museum material which are not real matedal
but have and express morphologioal or functional aspects of attributes of real material. Their significance is indirect and secondar.v,
so I fe.el the words " secondary museUlll material" are suitable fo;'
them. Needless to say, this does not mean they are less valuable
than the primary material.

:rn

other words, these are the typical

carriers or vehicles of museUlll information. They might be classified

into the following items by their roles.
a. Ilorphological secondary museum material
Such models ( life-size, magnified, reduced ), replicas, copies,
other imitations, and I would also like to include a forgery
which is one of the most effective comparative models 1!
b. Functional secondary museum material
For example, audio-nsual materials and aids, graphics, labels,
catalogues, and other publications of academic

work~d

museum

managements, etc. Ilost of the so called information belongs in

this item.
c. General museum guides and information material
l;olour postcards, colour slides, general guidebooks, exhibiti.on
guides, popular models of museUlll specimens, posters, walk about
sheets, museUlll adventure series,commemorative goods, and so on.

believe the already mentioned two proposals of adopting the concept

of ' museum material ' and recognition of the important role of

seconda~~v

museum material are the minimUlll requirements relating the needs of such
an informationalized society.
2). Problems on counting.numbers or units of ' mllseUlll material'

34

Recognition

o~

o~

a number or unit

with the purpose and methods

o~

conce'~1ed

museum material basically is

academic research qn museum material,

but ther are also other practical problems related to it. For example,
in the case

o~

o~

the accreditation

museums in the U.S.A. , the U.K:

and the registration

o~

museums in Japan, the number

numerical assessment

o~

museum material are considered as criteria

evaluation. I believe this done by groups

o~

~ollowing

U~ortunately I

collections or
~or

senior museum specialists,

so there might be no problem with the concept

seum material.

o~

o~

o~

number or unit

mut~

have no exact data on it, so even 1

makes unnecessary comment on it, I should like to raise sev-

eral is sues.
&. necklace composed of some sixty jade stones may be counted as one

museum object in the field of fo1Jcrore, but an excavated single piece

or one broken piece of similar jade is also counted as one museum speoe.
!men in the field of archaeology.
AI. pressed specimen of bamboo ~ herbarium could be counted as one mu-

an existing bamboo forest may be considered one eco-

seum object, but

logical unit

o~

bamboo. Ji<. granite specimen in the sample box is appar..

ently one museum object:, but a huge underground mass o~ that granite i.s
also the same kind

o~

one museum specimen 1 we could excavate it all

One each of eight cut pieces from a Japanese

counted as single

~olding

screen might be

muse~ specimens r~ctively.

All these examples mean that the concept o~ one or ~t of museum specimen

di~ers

from academic field to field, subject to subject, objeot

~t

to object, and methodology to metnodology.

does the question

ho..:

many collections have you in your museum mean ?

I have no absolute solution to this, but l:.1ve used the following method

~dr comparison of numbers o~ museum collections. If we could calculate

a common base number, each differ~-based number of collections could
be replaced by a multiple

o~the

common base number. Another.hyposesis

is needed. I estimated each minimum requirement

o~

the number of

colle(';~

tiona in museums which are classified by kind3 of collection. After

~inding

that the number

o~

collections in

art museums is the least,

&nO.

taking its number of 500 as the common base number, the results are
shown in the following table.
Kinds

o~

museum

Number of collections
( mostly kinds )
MultiplE
..

Art museum

500

. _..

_._-

c;oe~ficiel1t-~or

calcolating relative
number
-~-

~.~.~-

Local general musum

5000

10

Folklore museum

1000

1/2

50000

100

1/1 00

Archaeology museum

1/10

--35

History

m~eum

10000

20

._.-

1/20

..

If".atural history
100000

200

1/200

of science
and industry

1500

1/3

Zoological garden

1000

1/2

llOtanical garden

10000

20

1/20

Aquarium

50000

100

1/100

m~eum"

~~eum

According to this table, one object in an art museum equals 200 in a

natural history museum on the evaluation of the number of cOllections
in general. We could caloulate each coefficient for getting the relatiYl
numller trom which we can compare those numbers directly. For example 30('

art objects equal. 300 xi,. JOO. 60000 archaeological objects stand for
60000 x 1/100 = 600. Then the comparative- ratio between the art muuum
and the arcb&eology mWleum i.s 300 : 600 = 1 : 2.

'rhia i.s only a tentative !Lttempt, but implies some suggestions for fur"ther trials in the field of museology.
I should like to introduce three more examples pertaining to this item.
Could a museum exist havinlf omly one museum material or not?

I know

the example of thi.s, i.e. there is the Convent Refectory )(useum of

San~

Varia delle Grazie in man. It has only one piece of the " Last Supper "
by teonardo de Vl.noi, and millions of people visit it cOntinuously. SUch
a reputation depends

mostly on Leonardo, but at the sama time the fae!;

re~l

that the maaterpiece i.s existence in closely concerns the real City,

T'emple and the presentation of the original upper wall of that hall. Ifut.
I do not like to meet the imitation tendencies sometimes seen in recent

art museums that" having one ultra- gorgeous'masterpiece is enough "

pribciple adopted commercially or incorrectly for attracting people. )(y
question is whether one museum object is enough for a museum, and if not,
then how man,y are L
Secondly.;we have a common understanding a museum having IllUcl;I museum materia,+, then" what the meaning of much" is comes out as another que:.""

&l'e

tion. T'hue ""

the "Vonkey Vountain .. outdoor museums in .Tapan, and ill

there the same species of Japanese monkey being kept in each mountain
as one or

~everal

population groups of it.

These are quite accepted

as one of JTapanese museums .Whether large number of single kind museum

material constitutes a museum or not is worthwhile discussing.
E would lll:e to introduce other examples in this category. A colony of
coral polyp and a reef belong to the" same problem.

An insect as a

seum object is the next similar problem, that is to say, an insect

lllUe

WlU~

ally has several different life types in its life cycle. So, should one
set of all the life types of a species be counted as one museum materi'1-1
or 'should" each stage be counted"" e ;g. an egg, each stage of larva:',-a-pupa,
36

or each male

f'emale adU1't '1

a.IlCl

one inBect usually produce m.a.n,y eggs I

so, should bEl- total number of eggs counted as one unit or is one egg e
nough ? Could lilt. Puji be oounted as one museum object in a geographioa)
museum? On the other hand, as far as numbers of mUSeum material is COll.
cerned, could you- ima~ne the number of amoeba ir{lmuseum of protozoa OJ
virus in a museum of cold?

r am afraid these are extreme examples, bui-

I believe these points should be discussed as one of the basic concepts

in museology.

3). Problems on
I

Id)l:.s

of museum material from the viewpoint of totality

llJ.seum material

is usually classified into the following basic

grouV~

relating to those fields of academic subjects;

Art objects including performing arts material

N"atural hUtory objects including related functions and phenomena

History objects including environmental material
Science and technology objects including functional material
Further classifications are made, for example in hUtory, such as folklore, archaeology, ethnography, general hUtory, local history, heritage-,
hUtorical site, etc.
BUt, are these classifications alwaYll adequate from the viewpoint of th.,

totality of museum material?

jects of art only?

Are art objects always and definitely

o~

rhe main purpose of their production is esthetic,

but when we observe them very carefully from the viewpoint of totality,
there may be found m.a.n,y other aspects of museum material in them, such
as hiatorical, follcloristic, technological, sociolog:l,cal and even natural
scientific. If r take the famous paintin!" La Gioconda " as an example,
that might be made of a thick wooden plate of Lombardy -poplar and several
of old fragile- paints. The quality, shape,
.
making the plate may be the subject of folklore,
~

size and technique for

technology and botany,

and also example of the social needs: of that time. Paints are evidence

of the level of scienCe and technology of that period.

Here,

would like to point out that even though the main purpose of thib

artifact is exactly the art, thU object also holds posioilities for all
subjects not only academic but also practical. r believe we are noll' facing
a need to reconfirm all museum material from the viewpoint of its totality
inBtead of sticking to its traditional specialized academic field only.
In other words, with regard to classification of museum material, we should
add the nell' concept of

museum material ' in its totality or a synthetio

, museum material '. PTom this point of view, we could expect to get the
total reality of

museum material

through finding its combined aspects

of form and function, doing research by multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and syndisciplinary methods.
~._

rs _ I mus8Ul1l-JIlaterial

me-r"ly- a- vehicle

~f

information---?

37

Aooording to information scienoe,

museum material ( known as museum

objects ) is usually treated as a vehicle of information. If we agree wit.t,

this concept, we suddenly meet again the problem of what .the reality and

r quite agree that museum mate-.

basic important role for oarrying information, but is tbat

totality of museum material is. Of' oourse

rial has such a
all ?

A:c ~ in a library is one pf the best examples of' an information carrier,

but I am sure you never think of a boak in a library as equivalent to mllseUlll material ' in a museum. UnfortunatelT these are both mixed up in one
category of vehiole in information soienoe. !fere I would like to olarify
the oharaoteristios of'

museum material relating to this point.

1). So far as libraries and information soienoe are concerned,

Primary

Information' oomes only from museum material.

Aooording to my opinion, information oould be divided into three olasses:
primary, seoondaryand tertiary. &nd, , museUlll material' has indefinh6
oontinuous possibilities of produoing information of reality and totality
in itse1J, and when hUllla.n beings beoome aware of i1:', it beoomes primary
information.
Ready-made information is found in books as seoondary information, but-

any other suitable carrier oould bear it too.

Colleoted, a.nalized and synthesized information from primary and

seoond~

ary souroes might also beoome tertiary information usually used in int'or'IIllLtion soienoe.

In the midst of superabundance of seoondary and tertiary information,

, museUlll material " as a resouroe and a produoer of primary information
is one of' the best and the most basic necessary possibilities for peoplo
who want to excavate or reoonfirm those total realities from real objeots

and

real phenomena.

2.). JiB a peouliar indi viduaJ: existence

, Museum material oan not usually be replaced by other similar materiaJi,
beoause it has a peouliar reality as with the hUllla.n oharaoter and there
is. nothing- ideIltical for it. This point is also basic differenoe among

other secondary and tertiary information vehicles.

~). lI\l.seum materiaJ: ' is alive.
, Museum material can live, develop. inorease. refine, and synthesize
its possibilities and contents through human beings. This is just an
illustration, but if I compare a dictionary with a wallcing dictionary,
the latter has a similar potential to a live producer.
4. C'onclusion: - We must have the " museum material - environment system".
After summarizing all the aspects and points mentioned above,

should

like to propose the creation of the new basic concept of ' museum material
as the museum material-- environment system to reorganize and synthesize-'

38

th08e concept8 on existing museum objeot8 into one systematic knowledge

.i',

and actual methods.

We 8hould try to attach to museum object8 all aspects of reality, and I

have already proposed the use of the concept of museum material instead of

the existing concept of museum objects. After that, we should reorg&niz~

museum material itself into a synthetic combination or system of museum
material and its environments as a museum material - environment system.
~his recognition of total reality or real totality could be a minimum unit
concept of systematics of knOWledge and actual methoda on museum

mate~

i.e., a unit microcosmos. Then we could deve1@QJ from a micro system, to

6'

macro system and systematics in total.

liBedless t'o say, in this paper I have only produced new basic common

conc~ots

including the new concept of ' lIIuseum material '. So. after getting your
reactiona on these. I would liJl:e to have another opportunity to refer to
my further trials on these points.

39

Contributions to the symposium

.
Sub-topic No.2
Criteria for the selection of museum objects and
the current constraints that limit the selection

Contributions au symposium
Sous-theme no 2
Criteres de la selection des objets de musee et
contraintes courant~s limitant la selection

4fJ

Gunilla Cedrenius, Stockholm - Sweden

"Collecting today for tomorrow" is the theme for

ICOFOM~s

meeting. For my part "Collecting today for today and tomorrow"

would be a more appropriate title.
I do not think that in the collection of objects we can ever
disregard our own time. Each generation has its cultural spectacl.,
through which we regard history and our own age. About the value
of our efforts we know little. But one thing is certain. Whatever
we do and think, our successors will need other information and
material than what we have collected.
Therefore it is extremely important that all collection is done
with an exactly defined purpose and is combined with documentation
that places the objects in their context, and that the collected
material 'is researcheRnd used by those who made the collection.
Blind collection of objects for the benefit of coming generation.
is a poor investment. Magnificent scquisitions that were made
some decades ago show that the material seldom meets the needs of
future researches since, however complete

it appears to be, it

seldom answers the questions they ask.

Today's museum collections differ from those of earlier generations in that we also include the contemporary. Owing to the
rapidity of change and the short period of circulation of todny's
products the museums must devote some of their attention to our
own time and the immediate past. The increased interest of
ethnology in our own time has also influenced the

museums~

working methods.
Analysis of museum acquisitions
In Sweden an analysis of the acquisitions of the museums of
cultural history was made about ten years ago. It showed that
both the national and the regional museums had large gaps in
their collections, both as regards subject-fields, epochs and
social groupings. Above all, the many-facetted working life of
the 20th century was recognized to be poorly covered, not least as
41

regarcLt,
vigourously expanding service sector. Not unexpect. tile
.
edly the entire postwar period was poorly represented in the
museums~

collections.

In conjuction with the analysis, cost estimates were also made

of what a donated object actually cost the museum. The heavy
outlay was not the price of an object but the cost of recording
care, conservation and future storage. The recording work.alone
was calcutatedto take one hour of a

curator~

s time

and altogether

one hour of the time of different categories of assistants as

well as material costs amounting to about

SEK 190

or

us

$ 24

per object. Every acquisition thus represents a heavy investment

for the museums, a thing we often forget when we are offered as
donation large collections of objects of varying quality.
Entirely free they are by no means. Especially as we must add
long-term and hidden costs that the reception and preservation
for eternity involve.
The new knowledge provided by the analysis stimulated a debate
on acquisition and document~tion. A concrete result of this is
SAMDOK. (Contemporary Documentation), which is a voluntary
organization for cooperation between the Swedish museums of
cultural history and was formed with the aid of government funds
in 1977.

The goals for its activities are

to promote active contemporary documentation
to coordinate documentation and acquisition so that duplicate
work is avoided and financial and staff resources are utilized
as effectively as possible
to divide the responsibility so as to document as much as .
possible of Swedish life and work.
What also became clear in the course of the discussion was that
the only realistic possibility for museums 'to continue to reflect
historical changes was to divide the tasks between them. To
cover everything within a region, as previously, is not only an
utopia but also
alike both in

fran~ly

one~s

unnecessary, as mass-produced goods look

own country and internationally.

SAMDOK is today not merely an instrument for surveying the

museum&~

acquisitions and documentation principally of what has a

contemporary character, but also a forum for the development of
theory and methods within this field.
42

Retrospective collection and contemporary collection

If we choose to confine the discussion to the collection of
20th century objects, one can make a rough distinction between
retrospective collection and contemporary collection.
In general it may be said that a half century of incubation time
seems to be needed before we judge it to be of interest to study
an epoch. In the same way as during the early period of the
museums we are still running a constant race with time in an
attempt to rescue what can be rescued of the life conditions of
earlier generations. The chief sources of information have been
the elderly, whereas the selection both of subjects and objects
has been made by younger people with the facts in their hands.
In practice it is the museologists of the eighties who mould
the history and the reality of the thirties - often without
having any memories or experience of their own from that time.
We often make things very easy for ourselves when we let
time decide what shall be preserved for posterity.

~y

postponing

acquisition a natural screening of the material culture, and of

the knowledge of it, occurs. The valuable, beautiful, unique
or curious have the greatest chances of survival, while the
simple and everyday obejcts run the risk of being used up and
~isappearing

although they tell more about the people and the

life they lived during a given period. In practice the acquisition

methods of the 50-year quarantine accord entirely with those -that
our first museumsfollowed in their thirst for knowledge and
national frenzy, without on that account having the same expressed
goal.
Importance of a documentation programme
What mainly distinquishes contemporary from retrospective
acquisition is the quantity of information and objects, which quite
naturally increases the nearer to our own time we come. This
makes the need for selection criteria and documentation programme
more necessary than ever. Merely to collect objects because they
have a long tale of years to their account is no longer possible.
Nor do the museums of cultural history still have the ambition
to collect everything which concerns people's life in a country,
a region, or a very limited area, This was conceivable when it
43

was a matta: of a static and object-impoverished type of

community such as the preindustrial, but is unimaginable for
the expansive and mass-producing 20th century. Here the museums
must make an extremely strict selection if the investments in
time, money and staff are to yield a reasonable result.
When the Swedish museums decided to assign part of their
documentational and acquisitional resources to SAMDOK, it was
partly in order finally to be able to catch up with time,
partly to improve their acquisition methods.
An important aspect of this work is to see a country"s museums

as an overall resource, each being responsible for the areas it

is best fitted to cover.
The point of departure in SAMDOK"s work is our own society as
it looks today, a useful study for museologists who, in their
everyday~ork, are concerned more with a historical reality.

We thought for a long time that we could use the same acquisitioll
methods as for retrospective collection, i.e. proceed from objects.
But we soon realized that the greatest gain that contemporary
acquisition would bring was not to preserve objects for posterity,
but that which is more fleeting, namely people's thoughts,
experince, value-judgments and attitudes in realation to their
fellow-beings and the material culture. It is, above all, this
that we lack in the historical material.
In contemporary documentation acquisitions are only a part of
the whole, but an important part, since the task,of the museums
is to collect, care for and exhibit, and in this task the threedimensional objects have a decisive role, not least peda,ogically.
Six selection criteria
In SAMDOK"s final report which was published in 1977 it was
suggested that the following six selection criteria should be
followed:
44

the frequency criterion - the commonest objects

the step-ladder criterion - emphasis on longer-term changes.
There should be no confusion with short-term and superficial
changes such as the year's model.
the representativity criterion - objects which represent ideas,
value-judgments, i.e. symbolically charged objects which stand
for something more than the mere representation of a field of
use. TV, jeans, the pill, are some examples
. the appeal criterion - objects associated with a particular pers,)"
or event who or which played an important role.
the domain criterion - things in our immediate proximity which
tell something about the individual, in contradistinction to th
frequency and innovation criteria which see objects rather from
a broader, ideo - historical perspective.
the form criterion - a

re~nant

of our delight in form, colour and

richness of variation.
To show how ip practice we work today, a quick presentation of
~AMDOK's

method of work is needed. As earlier noted, acquisitions

are only a part of the museums' collection of facts, one which

comes at a late stage in the process. An essential part of the
museums'

contemporary studies is concerned with work. The great

changes in technology, production and markets involve transformations that affect all [}ople, as work has a significant role
not only a8 means of livelihood but also for their identification.

On the basis of the International Standard Industrial Classification

we have divided all economic activity among ten working groups
or pools which the museums can join. Each pool then discusses
to which economic activities the various museums should allocate
documentation resources. In deciding on their subject-field two
of the aforesaid criteria are of particular reLevance, namely
the frequency and the representativity criteria. That which is
most common, i.e. the industries which employ the largest number
of people, must have its place in the documentation. To persist in
describing agriculture with its 5% employment, and never to
attempt to depict the working environment and conditions in the
public sector, which today employs more people than the production
and agricultural sectors together, is a risk to which a
museologists with an eye too much to the historical past is
4.5

readily exposed. Scope must also be allowed, of course,

for spheres which are not so labour-intensive. And here it is
primarily as representatives for the vital and forward-looking
that they are described.
Possiblity of supplementation
Once the object for documentation has been selected and
documentation consisting of descriptions. measurements,
observations,

intevie~s.

photography, sound recordings, and sometimes

films, has been completed, it is time to decide on the collection

of objects. Everything is to hand. It is merely a matter of
helping oneself. But what to choose? It is here that the six
selection criteria can iunction not as a sacred text to be
followed to the letter but as a memorandum from which to make
a free choice:
Large and expensive objects are the constant worries. In many
cases they can be replaced by substitutes or the acquisition
can be postponed to the future. In the case of contemporary
acquisition there is always the possibility of supplementing
them within the next two decades.
The work on contemporary documentation has shown that the
prequisite for a successful result is that there exists a
thoroughly prepared documentation and acquisition programme.
The up-to-date county analyses which have been made of the
museums' acquisition areas have functioned as a stimulating
basis for their contemporary acquisitions. A way of dealing with
the documentation of 20th century history is to make similar
analyses at different intervals from the turn of the century
onwards.. Another method of acquisition is to link the collection
of objects to the research results produced by university
researchers, government agencies, and institutions. In this
way the museums acquire abundant all-round documentation
without needing to draw upon their resources, as well as the
opportunity to bring up topical questions under discussion in the
public debate.

46

Make the museum a vital and perspicacious communal memory

and not - as a Swedish professor of cultural geography so
disrespectfully but appositely remarked - and old-age home
for cultural objects.

47

Wilhelm Ennenbach, Berlin - German Democratic Republic

Some notes on principles. posSibilities, and

museal selection

prob~~~~

1. Proper selection demands the knowledge of the attributes

and the ~elations of the objects.
The museums in their totality contain things coming
from all reaches of nature and show a material character.
But not each single object can be held by a museum as
musealia (museum object, museum thing a.s.o.). There
must be a primary selection. which has to ~ake place
according to the appointed principle if it is to satisfy scientific pretensions. At this the attributes and
relations of the things have to be considered and that
can only be done if you realize and estimate these attributes and relations. In it consists the character of the
selection as a scientific function.
The decision on the receipt ion of things from the extern~l
into the internal museal reach can be connected to the
acquisition or the discovery of the object. but it cen,
also take place afterwards in the course of the museal
cataloguing events. In any case, the selection, which is
to be demanded because of scientific reasons. presumes
expertness and sense of responsibility to a high degree.
2. The selection as a fundamental museal operation needs
principles.
THe material prerequisite to all further activities in
the museum is a collection stock. Its single objects,
the musealias, have to be taken from external museal
reaches by means of methods and techniques of the museel
stock forming. It is not the question of a simple accepting or picking up of things, but it is a scientific
operation which has to take place according to fixed
principles - the selection principles. This selection
is to designate as a primary selection contrary to a
secondary selection that takes place on selecting objects
of the stock for a special kind of utilization. e.g. a
museal exhibition.

What things with which properties have to be regarded

as museum-worthy? There were and there are very differelli
opinions on it. Determined demands. such as the materia)
character, a certain durability, the property as an
authentic evidence of evolution in nature or society,
scientific or artistic importance, rarity value, and
others may be acknowledged, but also the attribute of an
object to be a carrier of mental. humane values. In
much regard, however, the opinions on being museum worth,gape asunder. There are stocks the principles for their
selection were apparently or quite obviously not used,
and there are ethers with very strict, elect measures
of selection, and there are all inconsistencies, transition and mixed forms. For all thes& possibilities ther~
are more or less plausible arguments to be,;stated.
Thus in the course of the museal history there were
stocks accumulated in the museums that meet in very
different degree our modern ideas of scientificly based
museal selection.
3. The selection is limited.

Almost any material thing is potentially suitable to be

used as a musealia, irrefutable evidence for special
facts, events, and connections in nature and human
society. Its authenticity is decisive. Life in its multiform produces a nearly unlimiteq abundance of things
that can be incorporated in the museums by selection.
This nearly unlimited number of possible objects opposes
the impossibility of turning the whole globe or just only
an essential part of it into a museum. Even the existing
museums and those that are reasonably to be built would
not be able to hold such quantities. It is not necessary
at all, however, to take stock in a museum all suitable
things. It is just the sense of the selection to take
one's pick of examples. and only these ought to get into
the museum. Only for special purposes all things or a lot
of them of the same sort are needed.

49

The selecting operation determined by museological

principles and those of special branches of science
must be carried out by approperiately qualified people.
According to the general level of sciences, but als~
to the individual possibilities of everyone different
objects were picked up and selected uOnder various circumstances, in different times, and at different places,
and they were catalogued in the stocks as museum-worthy.
Once special groups of objects got in the foreground,
another time entirely others. Thus collections arose that
might appear incomplete on succeeding treatment.
Qualified experts are not available everywhere in order
to close those gaps. Ancient places where museum objects
had been found were emptied or did not exist any longer.
The museums often haven't got the material and financial
possibilities for getting them out or for acquiring them,
Very often traders or private collectors are financially
stronger, faster, and cleverer, but also more unscrupulous
in appropriating a desirable obj~ct, which will never get
into a museum or only much later, and thus can be utilized
by the public.
A world-wide problem of extraordinary importance is the
fact that due to the wasteful exploitation of nature or
by destruction or the qlearance s-ale of cultu,.al gooOds
the museums are deprived of the chance to undertake a
selection of museum-worthy objects at all. Much is irretrievably lost by wars. force. unreasonableness. and
covetousness.
One of the noblest tasks of reOM is to counteract these
pernicious and antihumane influences.

50

Waldisa Russia Guarnieri, Sao Paulo - Brazil

" Le temps n'ex1.ste pas par soi melDe, mais seulement par l~s,aPj~s seoslbles,dont resul$e ls notion de passe, present et futur. "
(Lucrecius-"De rerum natura" )
Dans ce symposium, dont le sujet principal "Collecter
(ou: Collectionner) aUjourd 'hUi pour demain" est attache a un c~
dre majeur de r:ference ("Musee et objets"), 11 faut penser aux
"crit'lires de selection des objets de musee et contraintes couran,
tea limi tant la selection"
Comme d'habitude, je ne cherchersi pas de formuler des
definitions, ~ais simplemen~ d'esaayer quelques 2nep!l ouverts
mis
la discussion, plus pour faire plue" vif un debat que, d a.'lS

ce que me concerne, il me augere

plus des doutes et d~inquietude

que des certitudes.

J~ crota qu'avant meme d'essayer une :n13~-au-poillt du

theme
centr~, il taut souvenir quelques concepts preliminaires,
quelques una deja exnoses dans l~OP NQ2
en ~useologie) ainsi que dans le colloque

(L'Interdisciplinarite

a Londres,

le dernier

1983.

Ainsi, avant de parler sur l'objllll mu",e~ 11 taut so~

venir ~ue le musee eili,
mon avis, h une enceinte (Cae narius) in~
'()
,
u ..
,
titutionnalise ,1 du fait museologique.
Pait museologique
est

le rapport pr.otond entre l'homme, sujet connaissant, et l'objet ,

,
partie de la realite a laquelle.l'homme appartient egalement
et

sur laquelle il a le pouvoir d'agir.

Cependant, quelles parties "objetuelles" de ls reali te

,

sont preservees
dans les musees?
5i nous ne collectons pas tous les
.
.
les criteres qui nous tont elire quelques objets ct

ob.j~ts,

quels
,

sont

me~riser d'a~

tres?
Pourqlloi la collecte n'est

~C1s

totals, mais

a~lectivp.?

51

...., ,

.'

PREMIER POINT: LE

TEt~S

SOCIAL

La selection
des objets est

1.

.. '

conditionneepar
le temp8

social, historique, culturel et est attach~e ~ l'avancement scie~

tifique et esth~tique acquis par un group ou par la societ~. Elle
est, aussi, li~e au concept de mus;e de cette societ~.
Des petits artifacts que, dans le pass~ ant ~te sujets
et exposes
dana les musees

de devotion, sont collectes

pnr des rei
(
sans tout a fait differentes par exemple: en raison de constituer

une information esthetique

ou scientifiq~e, au les deux ).
Mais ce que nous fait collecter,preserver et communi~
quer un objet c'est la valeur qu'il atteint devant

~~

nous sommes partie, de la civilization a laquelle nous

.
de la sociate ou nous sommes inclus;
.,

re at du tempe *oo101ogique

dont

appartenno~

enfin, de le stade civilizatoi

qui caracterisent l'univers de ceux

qui collectent les objets.

, . . .

1.1-

titues par d'autres, d 'ordre

estheti~,

ou, par contre, par les criteres

tisme , du

.Dans le passe, les cr1 teres de sacrali te ant ete subs.

~,

emotionnel,

"no8talgique~

de l'inedit, du bizarre, de

l'ex~

de l'unique.

Notre

civilizat:tlll~

dicte "occidentale", a une grande

pr;tention du rationalisme, du "scientifisme" , qui s' en vont de -

boucher dans la grande caractheristique du notre

siecle:l'infor~a-

tion.

LE CIUl!llElf'EE

==

=====i====

Alors, dans notre contexte actuel, quels sont les

jets que ~ous collectons?

~b

Avec quels criteres?

Il est possible que, comme des vestiges dll passe en i!!!.

pregnant le present, nous preservons encore quelques objets

.
,
le respect a la sacralite et,

des motifs exclusivement emationnels et subjectifs auxquels ne

que pas la nostalgie,

zarre et l'exotique, le rare et l'unique.

par
ma~

parfois, le bi

~i telles caracteristi-

ques sont prcsentes

tres
souvent dans les collections de famille ,
ce n'est pas moins vrai qu'elles ant parfois d'influence sur la cal

lecte et la select10nn
de certains objets et artifacts en leur fai

52


sant atteindre la condition d'objets de musee.
C'est bien vrai que quelques objets, ou queLaques se
ries d'objets, collect~s de cette fS90n et sous de crit~res qujo~
d'hui consid~r~s archa!ques, acquiercnt une notabl~ vigueur
re-interpret~s

lUmiere

des nouvel~es formes de discernement.

i'alb~ de photograpr~es d'une famille illustre'6a~

(par exemple:
de par

a la

quand

'

par ,mse sorte de respect

nostal~ie CU

p::-~(l:lue

seryil. Ce -

pendant, il nous donne des informations au su,j,H d'lS personn,'l[;e:J,

de son epoque, de sa condition sociale, de 1a oode (l'ha~illement,
la coiffure, la bijouterie ou l'orfr~v;rie); su pone et son nttit~
de nous inforr.ll!lt

sur les habitudes, la f'a90n d'etrc, tout cela

en rendant plus fAcile la .l12!!lpr6hension du mom~nt histnriqJle qutile

ont v~cu, y co~pris (dans l'historique) le scientifique et l'esthe
tique car ils sont cultarelll.
DEUXI~;~

-------

POINT : NON REVISION

-

--

--- ----

Ainsi, il ne me semble

pa~s~r~a~i~s~0~n~a~b~1~e~_ _~9~u~e~s~t=i~0~nn~e=r~1~e~s

'
criteres
de collecte du passe mais revoir les ,objets collectiones
(collectes) dans un nouveau prisme, en les recyclant (actllalisant)

et en les attachant de valeur; surtout, en admettant que les vieux

criteres meme de selection nous donnent des renseigncments sur

dans
temps, l'environnement et la societe

l~squels

le

les personnes

ont fait la collecte

Alors, il sera interessant d'essnycr d'identificr les cIi

'teres
sous lesquels nous faisons la selection
des objets de musee;

.,...

...

quels sont les contraint.cR opposees a ce3 critcre3 at,

.....,

mCM~,

In

collecte at B~lection
Lorsqu'on admet 11 validi te du concept de Mus:'e-eneeinte
O~l se realise le fait mus.ial, rapport profond entre l'homme et l'ciL

jet, il faut admettrc aURsi qu 'on fait la s~leetion des objets <tue
rendcnt possible ee rapport profond.

53

Si l'on sdmet encore 'tue ce rapport profond ent.raine de l'~

MIRAT~ON (2), ce que veut dire perception,intprnalisation,concept~

,
alisation, alimentation du repertoire de la
~

. sens critique

~emoire,

l'aboutir

du

qUi elabore des comparaisons et sugcre le conformis

me ou les changements(la stimulation ~ l'action consciente), si l~n

admet tout cela, par consequent on doit admettre que les objets en
A

train. d'etre preserves et communiques doivent posseder des qUalit;s qui pUissent conduire ~ tela niveaux d'approfondissement.
51
l'objet, partie du monde naturel, est " app ris" pour rendre possible
la transformation

en image, idee, concept, au moyen de l'interna-

lisation, il doi t avoir. des caracteristiques

que rendent possible
cette internalisation (passage du monde naturel au mende culturelk
L I 01lJ~ EN SOI i.tEME

3. 1 -

~,

--

Le pr~m1er rang des criteres concerne ~ l ' OBJET Elf SOI t!E
mais considere en ranport avec Ie contexte social, culturel,

hist6ri~ue

dans lequel il est place;

o~

devra aussi tenir compte

de l' homme qu fait la cc1lecte et ln selection, ninsi que du ~w

(enceinte, IcoenaI'ium") . aUlJuel l'objet est dcstin~
3.1.1-

L'oLjet doit avoir une significatio~etre un signe ct, eventuellement) un symbole.

A

chose ou d'ull etre; m:,i!::,

.
quenn

,~e

L'objet est un

sig~

de quelque

signe a un sens, une signification

il fait la communication de quelque chose, quond il dit

que chose.

~~

Les objets maintiennent une logique et u.'1.e dialecti

que internes, dans C8 qui concerne a eux-memes et

l'ensemble,au

systheme (ouvert ou ferme) auquel et dans lequel ils s'attachent

et ils inter-agissent.

Dont, le discours objetuel: l'objet a uno

semantique
et un leXique, en se pla9ant dans une siGnification at
dans un contexte.

Ell termcs de semiotique (ou semiologie,comme

disent, en general, les europeens) l'objet est,

all

meme temps,

le signifiant et le signif1e
Quels
Ceux

objets-~ignes
t'}Lti

i1 faut collecter ?

scient den indices, des ic~ne!) eu des .!!.ynboles,~

de ~uelG.ue ..:hos"J, c\e q'.Je1'lU'un, d.'u:1e :.!it,1.lation, d'ane conjcnctu-

re eu fi 1 utl ~p.riode (3)

54

.<,
"

Tout en simplifian':;, l'objet doit avoir de "REPRESEHTATI

~": i1

do~t rendr~ pr~se~te

que1que chose,que1qu'un, un fait,

une periode, un processus

pcut
Cette representativite

at':;ei~dre

p1usieu:s

res, mais dans ce qui concerne ~ l'objet de "lls~e,

'3

entraine ceux deux principaux:

(4)

latelllGl1gnali te

caract~

Il'.on avid, i1
et In do~

menta1ite
La t~mOigna1ite (valeur de t~ffioignage), comme j'ai deja
souligne (r.rtr,VoP NO 2), est condition "sine qua" de 1a musealisa -

tion des objets: 11 faut que l'objet donne son temein,

~ulil

dise

qu'il soit informnteur de que1que chose ou de quelqu'un

Il est aussi condition de la musea1isation

1a documenta
!lie, 1e pouvoir d'~ig~r tdocereJ, de faire savoir.
A mon aVis, Ie temoiP;~ (t~moignnlit~) entraine d I ~

tre pr~sent co~e des debris, des restes, des vestiges,(res l~~

a
des reliqUies, tandis que In documenta1ite f est attachee
mation

a ~tre

transmise, c!est

a dire,

l'info~

1e message.

Il me ser"b1e 106i'1ue que, tous 1es deux 80nt tres 3tta _

ches au rapport de significatioQ.

traAlors, il eRt fond:uilentHl que Ie I..;"'l!"t'Hif'ntativi te,

dU1 te par Ie tp.noir:nag~ (terr.oignali te) et p"r la doc"",,,n tali te ,
,
....
...
a!e fldelitc, c'est a dire, 1n qua1ite d'etre vrai, fidele
~...

Il ,BUt sou"ten1r que 1a fid eli t~

l'authentique

all

O~llS

entraine du vrai, de

de rapport entre l'objct reel

at non mes-

sage, entre l'objet-communication et 1a lecture de l'homme;

la
.,
.."
,
fideli te n' entralne 1?8S necessairement I' authfontici te de l' 0bjet
en SOl marne (un "modele" peut etre sl vrai qu'un objet ancien et
authentique, dans ce sens.) ;

L'ODJET DA~S CE QUI CONCRR~~

AL'HO~~~
,

La signification d'un objet est directement attachee

l'inte11igence
de l'homme.
par 1e cu1II,ais 1a signification est aussi condi tionnee
l'histoire
ture, In societe,

chaque periode de l'Hintoire,cha,!ue culChaque societe,

55

ture a sa table

des. vale",rs , en cO!1di tion d I etre transmis soi t

chroniquecent (1'h~rit3ge culturel), soit diachroniquement (contact

culturel, change culturel).
La meme chose on peut dire sur la valeur attribu; aux o~
jets, soit unc valeur morale, soit une valeur econOmiqQe
On ne peut pas oublier que la nature et, donc, les cho _
ses (les objets) sont changeants, mutables. Alors, la raison humai
ne dO.it atteindre la logique des rapports, de la contradiction et
du mouvement; c'est a dire, c'est une raison "en se faisant",
conna~t

le monde pour le transformer, historiquement.

Alors,le maE

de, la nature, les choses, les objets, ne sont pas "appris"

une

intuition, mais comme une activite

huma~ne

qui
cOl!lllle

concrete. Dans

ce

constant exercice, la raison humatme se construit , en cherchant la

comprh~sion, l'apreh~nsion (ADMIRATION) du monde, en tant que nature

et tant que culture.

Les valeurs, les significations et, lors, les objets te#

mains et documents eeront mutables selon l'homme at le monde, et la

raison qu, connait ~t que peut changer Ie monde et l'homme,lui meme,

sera , elle aussi, mutable.
Cela signifie que 18 collecte des objets sera

touj~

diverse, toujours nouvelle, selon Ie nouveau hOffin,e avec une nouvelle

raison dans un mende

en perpetuel devenir

,-

,.

&'

Chaque periode, chaque societe a son type special de muses

#

Le musee est, surtout, une institution bumaine; c'est

i'institution de base o~ se r:alise ie processus mus~al; c'est l'eE
cetnte du fait mus~ologique (rapport profond entre l'homme et l'objet).

Cette enceinte ~hangera toujours dans un processus dialogique

et dial:ctique.

Alors, chsque mus~e, dans son temps (surtout dans

sont temps social)

eXiff~Ia

des collections

diff~rentes,

selon Ie

dele social, la nature et la culture, la raison de l'hornme.

deja

Dans Ie moment present, on doit considerer ce qu'existe

dans les collections; on doit considerer Russi

...,.

le devenir.

II

faut systematiser ce qui est deja collccte, col1ectionne; il faut

faire la revision des objets, les

re-interpr~ter

et il faut

~enser

aeden nouvelles acquisit ions.

56

3.4

L~s crite=es de collecte :res objets f.e rnus~e se confo.!l

dents avec les criteres de mus~alisation; ils sont variables et

valables selon les conjonctures.

Ils seront plus valables ~ mes~

l'idee, l'enregistremmt, la memoire

re qu'ils nous donncnt

et
la refl~xion , la possibilit~ d'action consciente et de conscience

present

critique sur le passe,

et futur, mais aussi sur l'homme,le

monde, la societe

4.

LES CONTRAINTES COURANTES LIMITANT LA SELECTION

~ ~=-=-~=-~=~=~=-==~=

=======-= ======== == --===-===

Les contraintes sont,aussi, coniJoncturnlles. Le II:usee

exprime son:temps, meme

quand il s'occupe du passe ou du futurJil

l'exprime dans le critere

meme de selection
des objets, dans la fa
~on

de les exposer aux

pu~lics;

dans la philo sophie de travail que

il adopte. Et les contraintes sont egalement

lisibles dans les lacu
nee existantes.

Toutes les contraintes sont crees

par l'hornme et par la

le musee,

societe;
tant qu' institution, subbit les consequences de
l' action des hommes et de la societe qu 'ils
4.1 -

con~truisent

Il Y a, d'abbord, des raisons econo~iques (je parle tou ~

jours de la conjoncture pr;sente); dans um monde ou il y a des va -

comment peuvent les musees

leurs de marche,
etre
en competition EWec
les grands collectionneurs?

Dans un monde ou l'oeuvre d'art (pour

donner seulement un exemple) est, surtout, un investis;;i:nent,

" des plus courantcs contraintes
musees trouvent. ici~une

les

4.2-

Il y a des raisons ethi9u~.

Le museologue
de notre temps

doit avoir bien conectence 3ur le fait que les objets qui sont enco~
re ~ l'usage dans une fonction sociale, doivent ~tre enregistr;s

de son contexte
mais jamais retires

Il Y a des exemples extremes,

dramatiques , comme la trans!or

mation en musee,
la
musealisstion des grands etablissements
de produ

Comment peut-on musealiser

en mepris
de la vie humaine ?
Cela veut dire qu'on ne doit avo~eulement des criteres
sur 1a sel~ction, sur la musealisation, mais aussi sur le UOj~1T de

la musealisetion,
ce que veut dire qu'on doit ndmettre m~me le ris-

tion.

que de ne museali3er
pas des choses potcntielle:ncnt mus;alis"b1es

57

II Y a des raisons politi9u~., surtout dans un monde qui ne

La gr=de <1iscllssion sur Ie r"tour des biens cuI
est pas solid3ire.

sallS 12 domination poli tique,

ture1s auy. peuples qui sont, ou ant etc
economique

0'-1

oulturelle, c'est Une denon::;tration 1a plus claire

satisfaisunte u ce

et

sUje~o

I1 y a des raisons 8111tentiiltigues et esthetigues

sousjacentes

4.4 -

a l' election
des valeurs.

. .

ment ecicntifique est,

'man avis, llideologli.

un exemple: ou ecoute tres

se pour feire une

bor_~e

i.lais, plus fort que 1e stade de devc10ppe~ouvent

Je don.:''le seu.le!iial t

dire qu l 11 fmlt avoir un temps

., ,
selection des objets.

...
Ce1a, a

~~n

pa~

avis, c'est

1a negation ~maide l'affirmation de J. HEINftJRD (Cit; par Str~sk;) -"Collectcr (Collectionn'3r) c 1est pal"tie de la vie ll

veut elire que J.es

hor.",~es

Surtout, eela

ne sont pas capab1es d I e1ire

les veleurs

de

SOIl t

torps, qu I ils n r ont paz de conscience critique et, per conseq::.lent,

lie conscience histori'1ue.

Et, ccpendant, nous connaissons qucJ.Ciues

exemples de collectionneurs (je souviens ici seulement de~c n:us~es resultants des collections d'une stJule personnel Gulbenkian et Hirschol"n)
peur ne riJire pas mention ~ l'action

des mus';oloE;'lues lucides et

representatifs de 1a mise
conscients, qui sont treIJ

e.'l

valeur des ob -

jets que reflechissent

3ieurd;emps moi s q'.u n I etaien
t pas suffisa:::ent
adrnir~s

au ju ste momen t de~ la production 'Exemple: La :t.in e e:l yaleurs

des oeuvres de La1ique par Ca10uutc

Gu1benki~~,

toujours

par !.rme
ci tee

Gomes Ferreira, Dir;c~rice du iJuseu Calouste Gu1bellician avec beucoup de

sens de jus tice)

J'e co:r:Giderl:
Clue la typologie meme de~ mus~es,
cer (formuler des cri t~res et deG contraintes )
est surtout une

qu~stion

l~

..

qui va infl.uen

selection des objctfi,

de dcveloppemen"t scientiiique et ideolcgiquc

a

A ce mon:C:lt, le:,; eCO;~llsees

son j,ci pour nous parler des profond03 cont~ar1icti()l'lS

du notre tempSa

. (1) - efr, ~.jJWOP i,~ 2/1981 et "!.5ethodo!ogy of r.1useolo~' :-:.nd profesGio.~

nal Trainninglt : Joint colloqui:.:l - ICOFO;~ a.'1d Internl":.tional
Comi tee for t.!~e Trail"'..n ine of Perrwnr..cl" - Lo~c"!o!l -Jul:.r -1983
- ira fa:l.3 toujours ltusobe ..du mot CC!rCEPT, j3.~~i9 DE?IXITIOrr,
justc!r.ent Dour donner ltj.dee d ttu1 procesnu:3 ouvcrt, :l~J con _
.
(
tra:"!'c de (~!tr-=l<1up.r chone deja ache",ce de-fi11:.tio;dcfi~liticn,
definitive).
.

..

- 1 'e~lce~~~(~(coenaril.11'r1)- l:.u Portueuis Itc(;n~ricn. Sclon lc Di-

58


ciono.rio

d~

LinGua
Portu{:;uena,de CALDAS AUL'ETE, Ie rr..ot Ifcenario"

(cncuinte) :.3ignifie ltllendroit

pris 1ci aus sens que

au

no~alernent

sa donne un fait".

lUi donnent las

Le mot e~t

antropoloGues~

nu sens que lui donne PAULO ?~SIREt

(2) - . \D1;iIRATIOr: : est cr.;ployee
,

clest ; di:-c: apreheu$ion du reel qUi, internulise,pessc ~u

des concepts et pe~et a

monde cUlturel, intelcctuel, des id~es,
la conscience
l'homme passer de In con~cience ingenue (~agique)
critique.

. ,

- Je ne m'arrete ici a idee

.. ... -- laquelle .je Jme souviens
.. parfois
de 1 'objet -symbole, amene a le condition d objet rr.useoloc;inue.
...
'" '"
...
~ous savons ~u~ le eymbole, p~r definition, fait,reference a quel
Que choue differente d~ soi meme(et cctte caractcri9tique e~t
,
exscreree dans les symboles -synthese, dont 1 ~ex ..r.tple c!;.lseique

c' cst celui des drapeuax nacionau."t).

Preserve "in 51 tu", d:::..n,s

son contcxte
et dans sa fonction prirnitive(dans les cas
,
, orieinal
\

des ecomuseesj,il a la tendence de se nain~~ir COmL1e symbolc -pur; ~ais ret.ir~ d I;! ~on contexte cuI turel et, ai1:!51, sUb"~~lCi~ulnt
detache de S~ fonction primitive (qui, alors, a besoin d) etre ~e#'

#'

#'

#'

trouvee par 1a mc~oire, au moyen de qU~lques tec~i~ues nusdkraphiques, y inlus l'a~bience), i~ peyt etre, au meme temps, la sYB
bole ett soi-meme,chose symbolisee (ebranlant Ie conecpt p11110sonhique de base: l'esaenciel du ~Jmbole est la qualite d'etr~ tout
"
.
, )
a fait different
de la chose symbolisee

, ,

L'idea de l'objet temoin a ete approfondie par JEAli GAEU:; (l.mSEUl.l

101. XVIII, nQs. 1 et 2, 1965)
Geo~'&es -Henri RiVIERE a exploi telargement, dD.!ls se~articles ct dans scs classes de Museolo,gie -les idecs d 'OliJI;-:r Ti::
if.OIH et d I OBJS'r DOCU;.iZliT. Hugues DE VARIHE :bOWd-j le fait aussi
dans 80S ecrita

REMARQUE FINALE:

#'

. . .

#'

59

Tomislav Sola, Zagreb - Yugoslavia

In the basic definition of museums there is collecting,

preserving, and presenting - all of which concerns objects.
It is more than evident that we start by collecting, which
determines the character of those parts which follow in the
museum working process.

Collecting itself is dependent upon

the definition of the aims of museums, the nature of the

museum institution, and especially on the nature of museum
objects.

In a drastically simplified scheme, the problem is

about the relation between museology and collecting as a

particular museum obligation, within the context of responsibility towards the entire heritage.

In a world of continued

revolutionary changes, from biotechnology to sociology, the

museum pehnomenon is growing and spreading over the bounderies
of beloved, simple definitions.

Besides, what is a museum

object; or perhaps more accurately, what is the object of

museum collecting?

If the objective of a museum is to trace

disappearing languages there will be nothing but tapes in the

storage rooms.

Since all museum activities grow directly from

the character of the collection, it is of utmost importance to

define its policy.

The answer to the question expressed in the

title of the symposium is of vital importance for the existence

of museums.

It is a search for a survival model in the museum

world.
The nature of museum objects
Museums are given a choice of many possibilities between
the two extremes, that of a mortuary, a morgue for dead objects
and that of a place of lively communication where objects continue to live, fulfilling some function.

Much has been written

60

on the concept of "living museums".

Within this affirmative

relation towards the life of objects, museums should make use

of some artistic, yet related experiences: pop art and hyperrealism were rather museological reactions to the superficiality of consumer society;

the essential part of their process

was the individualization of an annonymous object condemned to

rejection.
An object, especially when exhibited as an isolated fact
in a glass case, represents merely the physical substance of
the message - as meaningless by itself as a human body after
death.

The

important element is the language that en-

tru~y

ables storage, interpretation and communication.

Therefore,

most of the innovations concerning collecting will be within

the sphere of museum language.

The language is the transfer

of meaning from an object to the user of the information the

object carries.

It is therefore of essential importance to

study the nature of museum objects.

The objects have inscribed

in themselves the genetic codes of either nature, or of civilization and culture.

of a hologramme:

Every object is like the dismembered part

it contains the character of the whole.

Consequently, there should not be a hierarchy among

objects

all are important, but some have to be preserved in their actual

physical

sta~e.

It is most probable that the criteria for selec-

tion should be based on making this choice.

Every historical civilization has recognized, as Malraux
put it, a deity called "fate" which is, in its turn, "in controversy with the freedom of the individual, of mankind, of the
world".

By playing the merely passive role of memorizing,

61

museums seem to subordinate completely to fate.

If we follow

Malraux who says that art is in a totally different correlation

to fate, i.e. that we feel it as an anti-fate, then museums
should free themselves from their passive role by making their
working process creative.

The tendency is already present that

draws museums closer to the art concept, not so much in the sense
of some artistic anarchy or improvisation, but in the sense of
resistance to any all-embracing definition.

Considering all the

scientific seriousness that is so inevitable in some components

of the museum working process, the final character of the museum
message must be artistic.

Only in the creative divergence of

artistic approaches and in the uniqueness of the art concept is

it possible to realize the total impact of a message.
The need to define the future
In spite of concerted efforts, the future of this world of
ours seems still largely unknown.

We know only vaguely the

future needs and possibilities by following the logic of present

changes, but questions like "what shall be the art of tomorrow"
or "what shall we have to keep in our art museums" still remain
.1

unsolved.

Therefore, a substantial part of an effort to create

a collecting policy for tomorrow would be defining that tomorrow

and those future circumstances.

Without that we shall continue

to collect remains of yesterday for today.

The concept of museums will return to the time of free' association of humanistic and natural sciences, and become places of
a new unity between science and art.

The informational value of

museums will not be measured by thousands of objects and their

uniqueness, but by their capacity of millions of bits.

All the

changes, as previous revolutionary changes demonstrate, will not

result in replacing the present values by new ones, but rather

62

in enhancement of these values and in qualitative additions to

them.

The majority of traditional museums will remain like they

are, due to various reasons (except for entering the universal

museum computer network) while some of them will become protected
forms of tradition.

Product orientated and object addicted

museums will inevitably suffer the shock of a future based on

information processing.

Museology will have to act as a shock

absorber to keep museums steadily on their way.

A critical view of collecting
If you accept that paying a million dollars for a single
vase (because it is one of the biggest and in one piece) is a
rather strange way towards seeking Truth, you are on the way to
finding it yourself.

Sooner or later one sees that hoarding is

not always collecting, and that collecting is not always the way
to make a museum.

The biggest museum collections that were im-

posing models for other museums were themselves rather casually

formed and, at best, represent the variety of amalgamated tastes
and ideas of some few collectors and

museu~

directors.

A.museum always mirrors the qualities and limitations of its

society.

If there is an understanding for that which is marginal

and alternative in the socia-political environment, the fact will

be reflected in museums too, and in their collecting policy.

As

we all know, there is a strong dependency of museums on politics

and ideology which brings sad results in their collecting.
not see an

efficien~

I do

method of gaining the necessary independence

since museums will always be regarded as an attractive means of

influence and manipulation.
Traditional collecting, in spite of all scientific seriousness, has too often caused the devastation of entire cultures.

63

An urge to possess that is so fiercely demonstrated by museums

is more than a dangerous vice.

The traditional museum (bour-

geoisin character) consents to monetarisation voluntarily.

Its

constant hunger for new objects created an army of suppliers,

many of whom are covered by the name of private collectors.
Possession of an original is now a clear sign of power.

The

problem evidently arises when the prestige game becomes the aim
itself.

Strange controversies are created : a museum, in

charg~

of the preservation of identity and of inherited values, would

have the last specimen of an animal killed to have it stuffed ir,
its collection.
There is still the living urge of prehistoric man to hold
the entire environment (at the least) by symbolic capture and
possession.

Addiction of museums to the real,

tridimensional

object has, in addition to some scientific reasons, also a fetishistic component.

an expedition coming

A rather ordinary example would be that of

back from Africa

it brings a certain

quantity of written records, some visual data (until recently in

the form of sketches), and a number of original objects.

Taken

out of the entire context that could be only vaguely suggested,

these .original objects represented, more than anything else, a
trophy-like testimony of adventure and of fetishistic capture.
Museums inherited too many sources of problems from their
founders and collectors.

They can neither afford the luxury of

following certain tastes or individual preferences in their collecting policy, nor can they strive to become all inclusive, universal, encyclopaedic in character.

Most of the museums are too

ambitious (if they have their policy defined at all) which brings
only frustration and poor service to the community.

Some particu-

lar ambitions in collecting were formerly covered by university

collections, which were both logical and fulfilled their function.
64

Not every collection is either meant or suitaril~ to becoming

a museum collection.
Defining future circumstances and future needs would be of
the most service to finding the best collecting policy today fOe
use tomorrow.

It is up to museology to define these needs, but

there are current constraints that limit the collections, whatever

they may be
- lack of space and facilities
- lack of trained personnel
- lack of professional awareness to what a museum object is
- representatIve choice (the pharaonic syndrome)
- lack of a defined policy
- lack of finances
- poor organization of collecting
- lack of ield work
Museums will have to join with all other instruments for

th~

protection of the heritage (natural and "artificial" alike) and

it is only concerted action that can bring considerable advancement.

The conceptual structure of caring for the heritage will

change; it will become a coherent study area. Beside advances in

museography there will evolve a new museology,and we may be able
to find a better name for it than the word Heritology already proposed.

New museums that do not obey IeOM's definition already

exist, but new structures will -still be coming into existence.

For instance, something like a "transitional depot" may be created
and it would serve for collections and collecting, functioning as
follows:
- temporary shelter for endangered objects (sudden donations,
findings, etc.)
- "clearing house" where museums could get objects for their
collections (trade, exchange, etc.)
65

- repository for the surplus of objects that museums would

like to keep if given the option
- recycling facility for objects (where people could obtain
renewed, restored objects that are of no interest to museums)
- facility for lending objects to interested clients (museums
and private alike)
Again, the idea is not to deprive museums of their competence
and independence, but to help them to perform their work better
with less obligations.

The quantity of tasks that they are sup-

posed to cover is such that one can start having doubts about the
plausibility of museums.

Any facility or organization that would

enable museums to collect more with a temporary pause for final

evaluation would contribute heavily to their collecting ability.
At any rate, if tasks are not made easier for museums, they will
become prey to fastly developing media' structures like telematics,
that will eventually force museums to act as mere data banks.
The temple of Mnemosis and new technology
What was in ancient Greece called "the temple of the Muses"
would never be called a museum. However, if we do accept the etymology - we might say that'museums are on the way to becoming
temples, but of a single godess : Mnemosis.

Art museums admitted

the ugly work of art, and other museums do.not collect only "rara
et curiosa"; their primary goal is to document, to memorize.

The

collecting sphere is infinitely enlarged, but it makes collecting

still a more complicated problem.

If museums become a sort of

data bank whatever the character of the data is (since it falls

into the area of the museum's professional interest) - the task
is enormous.

It can be limited only by defining precisely the

territory and public within the network.

The self sufficiency and

r4ther casual nature of traditional museums may begin to look like

66

an attractive sinecure.

The completeness expected almost to

perfection in acquiring

tridimensional and other data can be

performed only by the new electronic technology.

of solving the problem of a perfect memory.

It is capable

Instead of being

fragmentary and casual, museum storage should contain the most

relevant and exhaustive data.

The new technology uses the pos-

sibility of prodigious concentration of information that, almost

demonstratively, solves the breath-taking problem of the
of museum objects.

sto~age

The Smithsonian Institution manages to exhibit

only about 15% of the total number of stored objects which is,
nevertheless, a lot: it fills up the exhibition rooms of 14 huge
museums.

The percentage will hardly increase, as there are

already almost 70 million objects stored.

uninterested laymen

should be worried, not to mention museum curators, or artists

whose works will never see the daylight.

The situation is

hopeless and will become more absurd if it continues.

Together with the unrivaled possibilities of concentrating
information, electronic technology offers equal ability of retrieval:

within fractions of a second a search through the files

brings results from storage to the screen.

There is no magic

either suggested or implied : behind all that, there will always

be the diligent work of professionals.

Technology does not free

from effort, it only makes the results accessible and useful.

Equally important as well, it could ensure again a valuable feeling
of- wholeness of the museum working process.
Not mentioning the examples already in existence, we have to
bear in mind that we witness only the start of what will soon
become an amazing potential of information reconstruction.
Exceedingly high screen resolution is already within reach, and
very soon we shall have the possibility of
diagrams, instant analysis, etc.

tridimensional illusion,

The idea is not to replace the

67

real object, at least, not entirely.

It is to give context,

to complete, to make easily accessible.

The rather populistic approach that museums are obliged to
take lowers the level of communication, whether we like it or not.
Educational obligations affect the principle of excellence that is,
as many would claim, legitimate to museums.

Electronic technology

seems to have a good answer to satisfy these diverse requirements.

Maybe, one can finally collect the excellent and record the subsidiary.

In any case, there is some choice possible.

Competing with all other media and playing their role as a

communication centre, museums will have to become, in what once
~as

only a vague metaphor, a time machine.

A visit to a museum

will become a hallucinating trip. As new technology never destroyed

the previous one, museums will .remain the place for contemplation
they have always been : it will finally be possible to separate
some levels and types of communication.
To the disappointment of some

at the communicational level

the difference between the original and copy will be almost

wiped out.

Computerized analyzers and robotronics will make the

copies next to perfect.

For the sake of an expertize on an ori-

ginal object, no distance ever mattered, and nobody except the

experts ever needed the opportunity.

Besides, we expose so many

replicas and exquisite "fakes" in our museums that they should be

given the risht to exist.
glass case, you may have a

Instead of an original exposed in a

tridimensional, perfect illusion on

the "screen", that can turn and offer magnificent details if

desired.

A provincial museum will finally

~ave

the chance to

show either a perfect illusion or a perfect replica of the

million dollar vase.

Technology will have given us the opportunity

to see the nature of greatness, and museums may start to ask for
royalties for the right.
68

Owning the original will remain an undeniable fact, yet

the idea of richness of a museum collection will undergo some
considerable changes.

However, we should not forget that good.

and far-reaching examples of new art clearly demonstrate that

the time without sacred originals is already here.
are in the past.

Only, we

My impression was that collecting as a basic

museum duty cannot be discussed outside of the context of the

entire destiny of the museum institution as I see it.

There is

also that fatal word "tomorrow" which inevitably opensthe gate

to speculation.

One thing seems to be sure : tomorrow is not

going to be easier, like no tomorrow ever was, but things do

take shape already.

The only realistic and yet powerful means to

fight back the constraints imposed upon our profession (collecting

as well) I see in professional training and in a well-defined
(and revolutionary) museology

. July 1984

69

Haydee Venegas, Ponce -

Puerto Rico,USA

Since the first museums were established up to the present, criteria fo,'
the selection of museum objects have changed dramatically. Today there are
more requirements for selection. The modern museum is not only responsible
for the preservation of the cultural patrimony of our countries, it must also
perform an educational and formative function.

This puts a very considerable

responsibility on the shoulders of directors and cur'ators, who have the power
to decide what will be conserved for the future and how these objects will
affect their peoples.
It becomes more necessary with each passing day for museums to have
very clear criteria for selection. To achieve this the first step is to define the
institution's 'purposes and objectives' and carefully'plan for its development,
before, beginning to acquire' indiscriminately; The responsibility of preserving
the objects that are indispensable to the understanding of our history or
determining which will become the emblems of the history of our countries

is a delicate

task which requires courage and vision.

, A second step is to define and evaluate the criteria for selection that the
curator must follow when confronted with the objects. Each object must be
carefully studied, both in terms of Its aesthetic qualities and its intrinsic
historical value. We must bear in mind that one of the principal objectives of
museums is to expose visitors to the past, to understand its evolution and
comprehend its process. The curator must have a deep humanistic and ethical
conscience, understa~d the historkal process and be something of a visionary.
Since all objects acquired by museums will form part of its p.ermanent
collection, their authenticity must blfe"stablished beyond doubt. The physical
condition of the objects must be taken into account as well as any legal problems
involved In their acquisition. At this moment the curator must work very closely

70

with other departments in the institution, and in the case of small institutions,
consult outside experts in the field.
Criteria for selection used by other institutions and other countries should
be studied and evaluated, keeping in mind that we live at a time of rapid
change and new fields of interest. The speed with which we receive information
and the vast array of knowledge we are forced to acquire make ever more
necessary the search for'new values, new goals. We need to expand and
refine our vision, to explore in depth the meaning and roles of our institutions.
Visitors no longer come to museums to admire curios. The modern spectator
visits museums for aesthetic purposes, to achieve greater understanding and
above "II to obtain an education.al and cultural formation.
Faced with these' needs the curator must' ,establish a scale of values that
should include two basic points: each object to be chosen should help visitors
first of all raise a number of questions and secondly offer solutions. How
effectively'does it fulfill these goals; how significant can it be for visitors,
how representative is it of the values of its historical moment, each object mut-t
be evaluated in these terms. Moreover each object must be considered, visa:-vis its relation to other' works in the collection as all should 'work together
to achieve a central purpose. If the object to be chosen meets all these criteria
in a satisfactory manner, its significance will be enhanced and' it will naturaily
better serve the objectives
The criteria for selection I have outline may be very clear in our minds,
yet the reality we have to deal with is quite different. In the developing
countries such as those of Latin America, criteria for selection playa
secondary role to the grave constraints that limit selection. Administrative
inertia, lack of knowledge, of interest, climate, looting and what is even worse,
the precarious economic situation have resulted in the destruction of a large
portion of our cultural heritage. In most countries of Latin America there are

71

no resources for the acquisition of objects and much less for their maintenance,
preservation and restoration. Argentina. Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Ric"
and Venezuela, to mention some, have restoration centers, but the mayority
are of recent date. Yet the conserv,ation needs by far exceed available resources.
In all these countries museum storages are filled with works of art and all manner
of museum objects in danger of destruction, and there, is little 'that can be done
to better this situation with the existi'ng economic resources. Many of these
objects will 'be damaged beyond repair before anything can be done to restore
them; most before, they can be registered, catalogued or photographed so that
at least these documents can serve' futiJre researchers. There are time,s', and
not too unfrequently, when museums exhibit works in precarious conditions,

Scm. countries, in an effort to 'safeguard their cultural patr':imony send their

works to be restored in other places. This is the case with Panama; which
utilizes the restoration centers of Mexico and Spain:
It is quite common in Latin America to find museums with deffident climate
control systems. In the Caribbean, where the combination of high temperature
and high humidity" termites and all types of vermin affect works drastically,
this practice becomes very dangerous.
Another of the grave constraints with which we are faced is 'looting,
taking place prinCipally inarchaeplogiC,al remains. The case of C.olombia is the
mpst sad, as looters in their quest for gold have made it almost 'impossible to
reconstruct past civilizations, but it is by no means the only 'one., New internaticma
laws limit in parta practice which we hope will become less common with time.
, Some objects have been returned to the country of origin.' Speci,al' mention in
this area' should be made of the International Foundation for the new National
Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology in Peru established to repatriate
objects looted from this country.

Faced with this difficult economic situation, some museums in Latin Amerir.<\
have found solutions which. while they do not solve the problems have been
instrumental in the bettering of their collections. Many museums have been
able to acquire works through donations, yet this practice is not as common
as it is in the United States as private collectors do not have the incentive
of generous tax deductions. The Museum of Art of Costa Rica depends to a
large extent on works on loan from private collectors. The Ponce Art Museum
has been able to update its collection of Puerto Rican painting thanks to artists
who have generously lent recent works, while the collection of the Museum
of Contemporary Art of Panama was begun with the donations of the artists
for whom the institution organized exhibitions. Many museums supplement their
meager collections with an active temporary exhibitions program. This practice
serves a double 'purpose for the Museo delChopo in Mexico as in' this way it
better serves its inain purpose as a community museum.
One of the more effective and more widely employed methods of obtaining
works of good quality are the national competitions in which the acquisition
prizes become part of the museums'collections. The National Gallery of Venezuela
)

has depemted mainly'on this strategy.

In spite of the efforts in many Latin American countries to create restoration
center,s,

documentation centers"

national museum surveys such as those done

by PNUD and the recently established (COM Committee for the Museums of
Latin America and the Caribbean, the museological reality of Latin America
and possibly of all other developing nations is one that leads us to rephrase
the wording of this theme to "what criteria can be used to deal with the current
constraints that limit the selection of museum objects".

73

Contributions to the symposium

Sub-topic No.3
The global dimension of collecting and reassessment
of new and current holdings

Contributions au symposium
Sous-tMme no 3
Dimension globale de la collecte et reevaluation
des collections nouvelles et courantes

Of 4

Mathilde Bellaigue Scalbert, Le Creusot -

= THE

TRIFLI:lC ~ID ESSENTIAL

France

ETlI!mGRAPlIICAL AR'!'Z!'Jl.CTS

This paper is the reassertion of

pop~rly

concrete example of the

de 130 Communaute, I have taken in account

Ecomu~ee

ecomuseal positiolls. Fro:ll the

the ethnographical object as related to a lively territory/that into which

the ecomuseum is rooted. This situation determines the curator's attitudes
and collecting politics.
Space,
People
And time, not anyones.
TI.ey constitute a special, identified environment

: the territory of a

social group The ecomuseum is organically related to this living environment.

x
X

An ecomuseum can start before the collections exist,

museum

i~

wher~s

a classical

preceaed by a certain amount of material things to preserve.

The Ecomusee de 130 Communaute La

creusot/Hontceau-Les-~ines is

the ecomuse-

urn of an industrial area in which mine and metallurgy are :'lei,hbours to cattle
raisiftg activity. The area in characterized then by the deep ~brication of
country culture alld industrial culture ; different specific heritages, ways
of living, mentalities, memories are

intertwined.

The Ecomus~e was born upon the eesire of. knowing ana creating knowledge
the constitution of its collections procedes fro:n that"
,.

I t ' s a ":lluseum" because there has to inventory and preserve what belongs
to peop:e, what is thei: heritage - things, engines, buildings, sites and
also artistic heritage and traditions. IL is a museum for exhibiting those
things, restituting to their owners their numerous significances, the sen.e
of their history, sharpening their attention to ordinary daily life :
evert
an

landsc3~e,

instr~~ent

every house, every artefact

for knowledge as

sue researchin; at

ho~e

~ell

and outsije.

as a
~he

beco~es

writt~n

w~e:e

book, a

diversity of

it stands -

sti~ulus

to pur-

t~e envir~~~ent

75

determines the

ecomuseu~

scientific field : ecology, architecture, techno-

logy, ethno-history. The museum goes outdoors.

Globality of the study and restit.ltion as well as the refuse

o~

museifica-

tion of the territory have to coexist.

x
X

But an ecomuseum can't go whithout using visible things. On the contrary

8rt efacts are not an aim, they are instruments for knowledge. Threedimensional, material, not only do they help to inform, but they are informations. They can be diversely approached : artefact as a sign, as a
symbol, as a historical testimouy, (often affectivelY,loaded as daily ordinary things)
Artefact as an answer, as a question. Original

rtefacts have a preponde-

rous part to play in an ecomuseum.

The Ecomuseum collections

a "kind of community solidarity"

(I)

Weaving relations on the field has to be added to a scielltific program of

museal collecting so that not' only artefacts get their full signification,
but people become the real collectors, and even curators of their own heri-tage, everybody prop03ing to the'community elements which will bear the
complex picture of it.
Here comes a change,

owning, knowing, remembering do not belong anymore to

the only same people. To the Curator's science one has to add one's technical
knowledge, one's know -how, the sensibility of the users of the artefacts.
NO systematical collecting, but rather, in-between the museum the population,

a-mov~~ent

staff and

to and fro, and interpersonal relations: in

that way, gifts, loads, deposits appear as sediments laid by living, by

remem~ering,

by sensibility in the most natural way.

Collecting politics
One has to deal with some problems
- the value of the

artef~ct

does not miss its part

n~tion

0:

can be positive or negative

positive when it

instru:'nent for knowledge;

negative when the

of merchant value appears. Against that the staff has to intensi:7

the relation with

t~e

i~habitant5

of the territory through a

co~~une

?6

research and study work,

collections, especially in an ecomuseum dealing with technical culture
(industrial archaeology and history of

technics~

set the following

ques~

tion : has one to preserve series .. of artefacts or comprehensive unities?

Here comes one of the fondamental differences between

museum of tech-

A~

nics and industry and ecomuseum in an industrial environment : the former,.

to make the evolution of technology be understood, will normally present

chrono-logical series of devices and artefacts ; the latter replaces one

or more artefacts into its historical, social and economical context : so
that the successive stages of a tool or of an engine will take importance
by the evocation of the labour conditions, social strives or economical
progress they have gen..rated. That perspective determines the selection
and the standards of representativity of the artefacts to acquire.

x
X

Of course the museum curator is a man for collecting, for preserving, for
researching and exhibiting things. More, the ecomuseum curator is a man
on the field : related to every social or cultural class, dealing with
every responsible and competent actor. He is not an isolated person: he
works upon preservation, restoration and restitution together with a
scientific staff and also with

t~e inha~itants

themselves in their own

fields of competency and interest. According to the specificity of artefacts

(v.g. engines), the collections topics (v.g. schooling from Jules Ferry
to nowadays), the inhabitants'interest for such and

suc~

researching,

the curator will get from those persons (workers, teachers, etc.) a responsible help for studying, preserving and repairing the artefacts. This
will be done under his scientific supurvision.
Recording, preserving and repairing buildings is part of collecting. It does
not mean sterilizing those buildings into a museum, though this is a possible solution. Il means re-inventing new attributions so that they are
lively pieces of the collections.
"Involvement" alludes to the common. work of people and curators: it
sounds as if there was an effect of transmission of the activity :rom one

to another.

x
X

77

Using the collections : reconstitutions

~rt~facts

as symbols

new

significances to artefacts
More important than preserving things is enlightening the sense of the history, of the life they

w~re

inserted in. This needs not only looking at them

as they were but see in.; them througl'c other perspe.:tives. Several solutioros
are possible among which the

eye

of the artist can bring

to light new

senses : th:ee different examples are available here :

- "The School-House" : inside a school - still used as such - three class rooms identical to those of 1900, 1940 and 1968 reconstituted by teachers
themselves with the help of the ecomuseum staffoffar the'possibility of

affec~

tively merging the mind into its memories, provo~ingan active reflexion
about school

: how was-it ? How is it now ? (Ecomusee/Montceau-tes-

Mines) (2).
- "Picturing labour"

WQS

an exhibition of paintings ans sculptures (Renais-

sance - 1914) showing how and why men's labour. had not been - until very
late - truly figured. Technology and art were neighbours in that exhibitions, akin or foreigner to the technical population of te creusot
{Ecomusee!te Creusot - 1976).
- WooJen foundry models from creusot-Loire, among which many are preserved
as such inside the museum, have also been ore-shaped" by a polish artist
(1983)
That leads to remember how people use things, so:netimes diverting them from
their initial use through their own creativity.
Crossing the senses of artefacts ask questions, deye:ope a

m~ltiplicity

of

significances, leads to reflexion, imagination and creation :

every word nominating a' thing, the thing itself, are often fami}iar
enough to us to becOlUe, ..when thinking requiras it, suddenly
unusual , it is a condition which an artefact, or a word belonging to
a far-away civilisation does not fulfil". (3).
1. Hugues de Varine - Bohan.
2. See the book "Cent Ans d'Ecole" ,. Foreword by Georges Duby, texts from
P. caspar, S; Chassagne, J. O:ouf, A.?rost. Y. Lequin. G. Vincent and
the

g~oup

of the School-House;

Champ-Va~lon,

publisher I collection

"Milieux" - 1981.
3. Marguerite Yourcenar : "Le temps, ce grand sculpteur, p. 48: - Gallimard
78
publish.

Mathilde Bellaigue Sealbert, Le Creusot -

France

DERISOlRE ET ESSENTISL : L'OBJET ETHNOGRAPHIQUE

Ce texte constitue l'affirmation de positions proprement ecomuseales :

m'appuyant sur l'exemple concret-de
pris en compte l'objet

l'Ecom~see

ethnoqraphiqu~ d~1s

de la Communaute, j'ai

sa relation l un milieu

vivant, celui dans lequel s'insere l'ecomusee. Cette situation

determine l'attitude du conservateur et la politique-des collections.

Un espace.
Des qens.
Le temps.

Le temps qui les a

fa~onnes_et

tout ce qu'avec lui ils ont nature 1-

lement secrete: paysaqes, villes, habitats, lieux detravail, de

meditatio~

machines et tous objets de la vie quotidienne, rurale ou urbaine, pratiques

aqricoles ou industrielles.
Tout cela : un "milieu, bien identifie parmi d' autres

un territoire

de l'homme.

De ce territoire, l'analyse en train de se faire n'est pas Ie prealable

de l'ecomusee mais l'ecomusee lui-mame en train de se faire lui aussi, organiquesent lie l ce Jilieu vivant.

x
x

L'ecomusee precede les collections.

L'Ecomusee de la Communaute Le Creusot / Montceau-les-Mines

est done

celui d'un milieu determine: ce bassin industrieldans lequel Ie developpement de la mine et de la metallurqie a envahi un espace rural - une

peti~

te region d'elevage - en Ie laissant toutefois subsister alentour avec sa

pro~re

vitalite ; milieu que caracterise done l'imbrication intime de la

culture paysanne et de la culture industrielle, ou se celent leurs patrimoines, leurs pratiques, leurs mentalites, leurs memoires specifiques.

79

Ne d'une volante de connaitre et de faire savoir, i1 vit du desir com-

munautaire de faire reconna!tre une identite et ce desir jaillit et s'alimente - comme un feu - de tout progres de la connaissance.
Toute 1 'histoire de 1 'Ecomusee et de la constitution de ses collectioN
procede de cette demarche.

"lolusee" puisqu'il s'agit de faire l'inventaire et de proteger ce qui

a1~

partient aune population et qui constitue son patrimoine - que ce soient

des objets, des machines, des b4timents, des sites et aussi son heritage

~r

tistique et ses traditions. "Musee" pour montrer et done pour eveiller l'attention a ce qui nous entoure dans la vie quotidienne, afin que chacun

pUi~-'

se y reconniUtre l' histoire de sa propre vie et de ce qui l' a prece&!e

chaque paysage, chaque maison, chaque objet devenant

sa place instrument

de connaissance tout autant qu'un livre, incitation a poursuivre la recherche chez soi, autour de soi. L'ecomusee n'a done pas d'existence en luimeme : il n'a de raison d'etre que si ce sont les habitants de la region
qui le font. Ce sant la diversite et les richesses du territoire qui determinent les differents champs d'etude et d'activites de l'Ecomusee : la nature, l'architecture, la technologie, l'ethno-histoire. Le musee depasse
danc largement l' espace d' un b4timent.
Soit : la globalite a laquelle l'Ecomusee se refere constamment et en
mAme temps le refus de museification d'un territoire.

x
x

"L'Ecomusee du Creusot / Montceau-1es-Mines, un musee sans collections";

tel etait le titre d'un seminaire organise par l'Institut

holm

fran~ais

Stock~

la suite de nombreux echanges entre nos deux pays sur l'ecomuseola'

gie.

80

5'i1 se constitue autour d'un desir, d'une memoire, i1 ne se passe

p2S

pour autant de la mediation du visible, bien au contraire ; mais l'objet

n 'est pas une fin en soi, il est Ie moyen premier de la connaissance.

Dal1:-:;

ses trois dimensions, par sa materialite meme, non seulement 11 sert a

l' information, mais il

l' int:~rmation. Son approche est plurale : obje ,;-

signe, objet-symbole, charge d'histoire et - ici souvent - d'affectivite :

sites, batiments, objets,potentiellement protectibles,.reutilisables, musealisables.
Banque d'objets, banque de donnees.
Objet-reponse, objet-question, objet primordial.

Les collections de l'Ecomusee, "forme de solidarite inter-communautaire 1

Lie ! une population dans son desir de conna!tre et de se faire recon"

naitre, l'Ecomusee s'attache au patrimoine communautaire qui la

caracteri~e.

A l'activite muse ale de collecte systematique selon un programme scientifique coherent, s'ajoute obligatoirement la constitution d'un tissu de relations sur le terrain afin, non seulement de donner leur pleine signification aux objets, mais de faire des habitants les vrais collecteurs, voire
meme des conservateurs actifs de leur patrimoine, chacun proposant a la
communaute entiflre les elements qui, organises, en seront l'image complexe,.
reelle, accessible.
Ainsi derivent des notions qu'on croyait pourtant bien etablies : propriete, savoir, memoire ne sont plus l' apanage des memes : ce patrimoine
est, par ses heritiers, offert

tous. A la memoire du conservateur,

sa

science, s'ajoutent ceux - savoirs techniques, savoir-faire, connaissances

sensibles - des utilisateurs du patrimoine
Pas de collecte systema.tique; mais plut<3t, entre l'equipe professionlH!lle de l'Ecomusee et la population du territoire en question, tout un systeme
d'allees et venues - relations de personne a personne - est a la base des
collections: dons, mises en depot, prets constituent alors les sediments
deposes par Ie vecu, Ia memoire, Ia sensibilite des gens, de la
la plus naturelle ec la plus

co~erente

fa~on

avec ce qu'on veut exprimer.

la

81

Politique

d'ac~ui5ition

Ici se posent, par rapport a ce mode de constitution des collections,

des problemes qu'il ne faut pas minimiser :
- la valorisation de l'objet est, selon les cas, positive ou negative
positive lorsque

~elui-ei

remplit la mission d'information ou d'outil de

reflexion grace a une presentation contextuelle forte ; negative lorsque

surgit la notion de valeur marchande. Ainsi, apres 1 'exposition sur le
ChAteau de la Verrerie, vit-on se rarefier et atteindre des prix beaucoup
plus eleves les anciens cristaux de la Manufacture Royale. C'est une preoccupation de l'equipe professionnelle que d'essayer de desamorcer ce phenomene en intensifiant les liens avec les habitants dans une activite commune
de recherche et d'etude du terrain (reunions periodiques dans les communes
pour l'etude et l'expression de leur identite).
- Le contenu des collections, particulierement dans un ecomusee tourne
vers la culture technique (archeologie industrielle et histoire des techniques), pose la question suivante : privilegier des series ou des ensembles?
La se manifeste l'une des differences fondamentales entre un musee des sciences et des

te~hniques

et un ecomusee en milieu industriel : le premier, ayant

pour vocation de faire .comprendre l'evolution d'une technologie, la presentera tres naturellement a travers une serie.chronoloqique d'objets ; la mission du second est d'integrer cette evolution dans son contexte historique,
social et economique : les differents etats d'un outil ou d'une machine tirerontalors leur importance de l'apprehension qu'ils permettront des conditions de travail, des luttes sociales ou

do. "';e",,- t~1e.

. economique qu'ils

auront engendres. Il ne s'agira donc pas de presenter la serie de ces

e~ats

mais plutOt des signes de ces etapes significatives. Cette optique determin&
les choix et les criteres de representativite des objets techniques a

inte~

grer dans l'Ecomusee. La politique d'acquisition n'est done pas menee de

fa~on

systematique et volontariste : elle est plutOt une attitude

d'incita~

tion et de receptivite aux volontes de collaboration.

82

De la mission du "conservateur" au sein de l'Ecomusee

On a beaucoup qlose sur la presence de conservateurs au sein des ecomu.

sees, celle-ci apparaissant comme la qarantie justement indispensable A la
bonne qestion des collections. Par.contre, il semble qU'au sein des autoritl!s de tutelle, on n'ait toujours pas per..u que nul "conservateur" au sens
traditioilhel - encore malheureusement trop souvent admis - ne peut etre Ie
directeur qualifil! d'un l!comusl!e. Ajoutons que la formation encore clonnl!e
A ce jour aux conservateurs ne saurait, de loin, l'y prl!parer
Homme de conservation? certes.
Homme de recherche

? bien evidemment.

Homme de terrain, indispensablement, c'est-A-dire l'homme des relationh

avec un qroupe humain A tous les niveaux sociaux, A tous les niveaux de C'Om
petence et de responsabilite.
Un conservateur d'ecomusee certes n1aura rien A dire s'il n'a la con-

naissance du patrimoine qui lui est con fie , s' il n' a la COlllpetence de Ie
qerer scientifiquement, de Ie presenter sensiblement. Mais il n'aura pas
lieu d'etre s'il n'a, avec la communaute qu'il sert, les contacts multiples
et diversifies susceptibles de provoquer en chacun l'interet, Ie besoin
d'expression, l'apport de connaissances, de, temoiqnaqes et d'objets-temoins.
DaQs un ecomusee, Ie conservateur a la chance de n'etre pas isole comIDE!

Ie sont bien des conservateurs de beaucoup de musees municipaux en

France. II mane conservation, restauration et diffusion du patrimoine en

liaison avec une equipe scientifique mais aussi avec les usaqers eux-memes
dans leurs propres champs de competenc~ et d'interet.

Selon la specificite des objets (machines par exemple), Ie theme des

collections (materiel et mobilier pedaqoqiqueSdep~is'Jules Ferry a nos
jours par exemple), l'interet des usaqers de l'Ecomusee pour telle ou
telle recherche, le conservateur trouve,auprss des personnes concernees

l'aide pour l'etude, pour la conservation et la restauration des objets.

Celles-ci s'effectuent sous son cont~6Ie.

83

Le patrimoine industriel (batiments at machines) pose bien evidemment

des problemes museographiques plus ou moins rapidement resolus en fonction
de tout un contexte geographique (transports), financier

et politique (pr-

sentation et liew< de stockage). La' conservation est envisagee pour une

petite partie en vue de certaines reconstitutions mais bien davantage dans
une perspective de reutilisation (Combe des Mineurs, anciens ateliers industriels de Creusot-Loire, maison eclusiere).
Les Anglais ont un'terme excellent pour designer l'implication des personnes dans une activite commune : "involvement" I il laisse entendre une
espece d'effet"d'entra!nement" de meme que les courroies de transmission
mettent en action d'autres unites, de meme, au sein de l'Ecomusee, l'activite
des uns,peut susciter celle des autres, de proche en proche, jusqu'au jour
ideal ou l'equipe incitatrice, coordinatrice, deviendrait presque superflue.

x
x

Usage des collections:

Reconstitutions,presentations symboliques, detournements de sens.

"La Maison d'Ecole" : dans une ecole toujours en activite } trois salles
de classe reconstituees ! l'identique, pour illustrer trois etapes de
l'evolution du systeme scolaire (vers 1900, 1940, 1970) composent une
sorte de "bain de memoire vivante" dans lequel chaque meuble, chaque
objet en situation reelle,degagent un parfum sensoriel,

declench~n

nous

des souvenirs: c'est la conscience rendue sensible! l'extreme. (2)

"La Representation du travail" (exposition temporaire au Chateau de la

Verrerie - 1976) : rassemblait des oeuvres plastiques - peinture et

sculpture - de la Renaissance! 1914, et des documents techniques et
ethnographiques evoquant le theme du travail! la mine,

la forge,

l'usine ; elle faisait surgir, en merna temps qu'une sorte de connivance

avec ia population technicienne du Creusot, des "ruptures" de sens dues

I'intrusion de l'art.

84

car

ltEcomus~e ne propose pas au premier degre l'image de son territoire :

de meme que les ouvriers de Schneider ont detourne l'ordonnance imposee des
jardins que leur attribuaient leurs maitres par l'introduction d4routants
de leur propre creativite Ide meme que le fameux marteau-pilon de 1876,
legendaire dans le monde entier, a qui tte l'usine pour etre erig' en monument sur une place de la ville

de meme que la "bricole" a ate la pratique

clandestine et liberatrice des ouvriers de l'usine qui, par leur inspirll.ti""

creatrice, en transformaient A leur profit des fragments de materiaux ; de
meme il nous semble important que certains elements du patrimoine local
puissent , A travers la creation lI.rtistique, connaitre des metamorphoses
differemment questionnantes : c'est ainsi que de gigantesques modiles de
fonderie en bois de l' usine ont pris forme "autre" par l'intervention du
sculpteur polonais Magdalena Abakanowicz
Croisements de sens qui deconcertent, interrogent, developpent la polysemie de l'objet.
Le jour

o~

l'Ecomusee aura acquis la possibilite d'informatiser son im-

portante banque de donnees (1 300 000 instruments documentaires si l' on

considere les collections de machines et d'objets, le fonds audiovisuel et;
photographique, les archives .et la bibliotheque technique de 70 000 volumes
et revues), ce jour-1A chacun sera maitre non seulement de conna1tre, mais
de rememorer, recreer, rever le patrimoine de notre societe industrielle.

x
x

Les objets du quotidienont la valeur que leur attribuent ceux qui ont
v~cu

avec eux ; leur banalite merne, mise en situation dans un "contexte

dialectique et une globalite reelle, devient subitement l'etrange, l'insolite. Je ne saurais mieux conclure, consciente que la paille des mots
masque le poids des objets en question, c;u'en citant un texte

de

85

(i''''.. . t-9-.
Marguerite

Yource~arYqui

,,,,I'\1U:

ce...........

;J.N-,\ ')

se rapporte absolument A mon propos. chaque

mot recouvrant un obJet, et l'objet lui-meme, nous sont souvent ,pour

combien de temps encore ?) assez familiers pour devenir, quand la medita-
tion de Zenon l'exigeait, subitement insolites, condition qu'un objet ou
un mot appartenant A une civilisation trop eloignee de la nOtre ne rempUt pas'. (3).

1. Hugues de Varine - Bohan,

2.

ct.

l'ouvrage collectif, Cent.ans d'ecole, preface de G, Duby, textes

de P. Caspar, S. Chassagne, J. OZouf, A. Prost, Y, Lequin, G, Vincent

et du groupe de la

Mai~on

d'ecole, Editions du Champ Vallon, Collection

MiHewc, 1981.

3. Marguerite Yourcenar, Le Temps, ce grand sculpteur; p. 48,

Gallimard, 1983.

~ditions

86

P G Gupte...}JElw
. .. Delhi -

C011ec~ing
scien~ific

r01e in

and

socia1
has

men~

of

~he

~he 1as~ ~hree

oen~red

oarefu1

(ii)

ro1e of

A ohange in

~o ~he

prob1em of

of

signifioan~

~he

decades or so and

oo11ec~ions

in

~he

conoep~

new

~he
~o

fu1fi1

o011ec~ing

The who1e prob1em of

oon~ex~

and

of

~he

change~

oo11eo~1ng preserva~ion

around four major issues and eaoh

aspeo~

needs

The issues are:

Co11eo~ions and ~heir

re1evanoe for ~~re;

Change in oonoep~ abou~ ~he roJ.e of museums in

~he

(iii)

p1ays a

museums are now required

oonsidera~ion.

(i)

ma~eria1s

of objeo~s. neoessi~a~ing review and reassess-

oircums~anoes.

is

as we11 as

of a museum.

new dimensions

preserva~ion

ar~

~echn010gica1 impor~anoe

ob1iga~10ns ~he

brough~

of

objec~s

func~ioning

of a museum in

India

sooie~;y;

Asses.men~ -

o1d. ourren~ and new oo11ec~ionsl

and
(1v)

Wha~

needs ~o be preserved for fu~e.

87

I.

Co~ec~ions

~he
Bduca~ion,

IIlUseWlls

and

1op. .n~

o~

have

~oday

research and

A cursO%7 100k

~ion.

museWll

a~

are

b~~

a few

~he his~or;r

reveals

~he resu1~ o~

was

fu~re:

lIlU1~ip1e func~ions ~o

preserTa~ion

co~eo~ion

ao~ivi~ ~i~i~

re1evance for

~heir

perform.
men-

~o

deve-

o~
~ha~

al1

personal

0011eo~ing

in~eree~ o~

an individual in ~he ~ie1d o~ his/her in~eree~ - ar~ or

eoienoe, or jU8~ because o~ hie/her curiosi~ ~o ga~her a
of

varie~

ance.

~e

organised
whioh
ums
villi.

priva~e ar~

~oda:r.

ar~

n010gy
in

of individual

grow~h

eubeequen~1:r

o~

cl.pio~

~e

1aid

museums

museums.

in

soien~ifio 0011eo~ione

~ounda~ions ~or deve10pmen~ o~

depending upon

~e

o~ soien~i~io impor~-

co11ec~ions resu1~ed

gal1eriee or

end arcli.e010gioal,
'"

e~c.

~elll.

or speoimens

ar~ objeo~e

~hU8

formed were

na~elhie~o%7,
~he na~ o~

whe~her ar~

in a broed sense, a

o~

man;r kinde

soienoe

in

housed

a~~emp~ ~o

S~o%7 o~ ciTi1illla~ion

advanoemen~ ~hrough ezhibi~s

.t: ~eoh-

co~eo~ions

or eoience,

muse=

o~

~heir c011ec~ions

mankind

sinoe

auseWlle now aim a1: providing educa1:ion in' a non-f01"lllal

WIIJ',

a 001llp1ete series

o~

0011eo1:ions is neoess&%7 to bui1d up

1:he wh01e eto%7.

Man;r lIIuseums do have 1arge 0011eo1:ions,

bu1: of1:en gaps are s1:i11 noticed making the sto%7

~he

museWlls endeavour 1:0

fi~

incolllp1e~&.

in these gaps b;r 'adding suoh

missing 1inke in the 0011eotions, acquiring suoh objeots b;r

VIIJ'

of purohase. gif1:, or 1:hrough 1:heir own fie1d

co~eo1:ior!.

88

programmes.

Ths museums 'thrive 'to provide in1'orma1:ion and

impar't know1edge and 'this ca11s 1'or ac'tive research wi'th a

view 'to 'tracing 'the his'tory and deve10pmant of objec'ts or
even 1:echniques,

1'ina1~

documen1: (pub1ioa'tion).

resu1'ting in'to a sound research

C011ec'tione 1'o~ 'the very basis 01'

a11 ac'tivi'ties in a museum and 'there1'ore 'c011ec'ting's'ti11

remains one 01' 'the mos't impor1:an't

~c'tions

01' a museum.

}for, i't needs 'to be ensured 'tha't 'the museums are ab1e 1:0
.ee't wi'th the demands 01' 'the socie'ty in response 'to i'ts
ohanging needs.

The Na'tiona1 Museum 01' Na'tura1 His'tory,

New Delli, a unique museum 01' i'ts ldnd in India, has 'the
main objeo1:ive 01' promo'ting awareness in 1:he area 01' oonserva'tion educa'tion, and i'ts co11eo1:ion programme has been
orien'ted 'taking 'this par'ticu1ar aspeo't in'to oonsidera'tion.
The 1'ur'ther discussion on 'the subjeo1: in 1:his paper wi11 bs
based on 'the e%periences in 1:he 1'ie1d 01' na1:ura1 his'tory,
~hGUgh

b7 and 1arge. 'these obserwa1:ions wi11be

~e 1'or
,

o1:her 'type. 01' mu.eums as we11.

II.

A Changed oonoep'ti
4e disoussed ear1ier, museum.

as

ini'ti~ ~o'tioned

reposi'tories 1'or 'the oo11eo1:ions, housing and

ing as muoh ma'teria1 as possib1. 1:0 1:hs

o1:her in1:eres1: 01' a

hende~

speoific in'ter.s1:.

The museums 1:oday are

pre.en~~

pub1io, rving

of soho1are and 1:he persons wi'tb

oon~red

as

et1~

ec'tive means 01' non-forma1 &duoa'tion and endeavour 'to. promote

89

educa~i_

by

e~~ec~iTel.;y

under~aking
oommunioa~ing

par~ioul.arl.;y

80

re8p_8ibil.i~

ma;l or change,
~ion

....

~or ~he

0:1'

~e

o~

review

museums

~ha~

maBeee.

~o

change now cal.l.s

eduoa~ion

l..~ ~oward8

eums as reeearoh
ee~i.a~ed.

I~

:1'iel.d as

~hie

i~

onl.y in

ecope

enjoy

~e pas~.

eel.eo~ive

ot

earl.ier.

~e

however, ehoul.d

oon~inue ~o

~erms

s~ic~l.y wi~hin ~he

museum.

under~aken

did in

museums are Tery

~hem no~

80hol.are.

~hi8

~or oo~l.e~e reasS.8emen~

in8~i~~ions

ehoul.d

~he

in

popul.ar educa-

"

programmee

ie

~hie

oh~ed wi~h ~he

are

oonaerTa~ion

approaoh now

programmee G1d

ool.l.ec~ione, ~e eY8~eme o~ preeen~a~ion

eduoa~ional.

~he

meeeage

~he

pro.o~ing

Tarie~ o~

againe~ ._~ing ~he requiremen~8 o~

eigni~ican~

in

a l.arge

I~

~he

qUal.i~ bu~

(rel.evan~ ~o

~he

rol.e ot mue-

no~

8ame

be underimpor~anoe

ie &1.eo

in acquiring

and

and

no~iced

ool.l.eo~ions

~hat

tor

oon:1'ine new acquisitione

the

objec~ivee)

0:1' the

Yet another significant change that is now apparent'

in the

na~al. hie~or;y

towards understanding the probl.em in its

e~ep

museums is

~he

in~egrated

approach as

~otal.i~

and

dispensing with:compartmental.iza~ionot the 80ienti:1'ic divieions.

ABasssment - ol.d, current and new co1l.eotionsl

III.

I~

in the
~hing

has been obserTed el.sewhere in this articl.e

e~l.ier d~s

and

Whereas

~ied

~he

~a~

museums used to ool.l.ect anything and

eve~y-

to displ.a;y as muoh material.s as poesibl.

impor~anoe

ot

~he

richness and al.so the Tariety

90

aDd

diversi~7 o~

in orowding
~os~ ~o

en~a~ion
~he

ez~en~

in museum

~or

beoomes research

oo~eo1:ions

~he

soien1:i~io

o~ presen~a~ion

s7s1:em

generaJ.

orien~ed.

baaed on

1:he chaZlge in approaoh in

vi8i~ors

Seoond~,

~azonomio

1:he

1:owards

under~aken

recen~ r,nova~ions o~

ive and

in~egra1:ed

presen1: oon1:ez1:.
1:0 .0

~e

!his

Ho1:

oo~eo~icrns o~

order 1:0 ID&ke

.ADo1:11er

o~

i~s

pres-

~he

mos~ o~
o~

oonsidera1:ione.
eduoa~ion,

~ema~ic disp~~8

museum

~he

o~ presen~a~ion,

approaoh has

as

!his becomes evi-

in a number of l.ea4ing na'turaJ.

wor~d.

of 1:11e

is

in

popuJ.ar

as oPposed ~o ~azonomio oonsidera~ions.

den~ ~om

impao~

presen~a1:ion

~avour o~

shi~~ing

is

underes~ima~ed,

gaJ.~eries ~he

museums, approach 1:0

his~ory

is

be

co~eo~ions oanno~

o~ exhibi~s

grea~

na'turaJ.

Vi~

~he

own

g~eries

his~ory

museUlU

with very sel.eot-

impor~anoe

1:11at bu1: 1:11is

lIIakeS

in the

i1: neoessary

o1:her suppor't1ag IDa1:eriaJ.s . .

"e~~

in

en~re

presen1:a1:ion a

oomp~e1:e

S1:ory

shif~

in 1:he oonoep1:

o~ ear~ier oo~eo1:ions

& diversi1:7) haa beoome neoessary with 1:11e in-

(e.g. variety

ore. .inc s"tress 1:ha1: is now being l.aid on popuJ.ar eduoation

.As a relSU.1.1: a
IDobi~e

tiOl1

~arge

o~

ou1:reaoh progr_ _ s suoh . .

lIInSeUlU, exhibit banks (sohool. ~oan kits), delllonstra~

~eo'tures, ~ih

o~

"i1:h a number
~

number

museums.

o~ oo~o1:ione

requiremen~s

shows eto. has been

This &1.so

~e

usual. praotice

o~s ~or

dif~erent

taking into oonsideration the overaJ.J.

and does no1: now permi1: 1:0 restrio1: the

1:ine programlll8

to aoquiring of a varie1:y

o~

oo~eo-

speoimens.

91

The concep't

orBanising special 'thema1:io ezhj,bi1:ions

as

o~

&1.so 'the programme

o~

lla'tion&1. Museum

Na'turaJ. His't017 1:0 promo'te1:he oause

o~

organising regional oen'tres

o~

1:he
o~

en?ironmen't&1. eduoa'tion, gives a new dimensions 1:0 'the collec1:ing programme 'to _e1: wi1:h our
Th.

po~icY' o~

requiremen'ts.

~1:Ure

collec'ting has 1:0 be re?iewed 1:0 oOPl!J up vi'th

'the changed oiroume'tanoes.

IV.

Wha1: needs 1:0 be preserved:

The conolusion is ob?ious.

.tnY' objeo1: 1:ha't is likelY'

'to help in undere'tanding 'the progress

kind or 'the process
gic&1. advanoes or
'todaY'

~rom

o~

~or

o~

man-

developmen1: in science and 1:eohnolo-

1:ha1: ma1:1:er aJ:lY'1:hing 'tha1: is impor'tant

1:he view poin1:

o~

undere1:anding 1:he pas1: or 1:ha't

is likelY' 1:0 provide e?idence

~or ~1:ure

1:0 be oolleo1:ed and preserved

~or

Doug~as

civi~iza'tion o~

researoh will have

pos'teri'tY'.

And

~inaJ.lY'

Ulan has observed The raw aa1:uraJ. ma1:eri&1.s

oan s1:ill be go1:,

oourse, bu1: 1:he earlY'

o~

soien'ti~io

ins1:ru-

men'ts and 'the pionser engines and 1:heir aooessories have all
1:00

o~'ten

Bone 1:0 'the breaker's Y'ard, 'the sorll,ll heap or 1:he

.e~1:ing-dovn ~aoe.

app~ianoes

wor1:hY'

o~

ManY'

were somewha't

saTing

~or

o~

1:he earlY' ins'trumen'ts and

makeshi~1: ~~&irs, ~ikelY'

pos'teri1;y- and in aJ:lY' oase m081:

simplY' wore ou1: wi'th use.

'to s.om

o~

'them

liven 1:he ins1:rumen'ts used b;y

Savan'ts and engines bui~'t b;y now world ~_ed invea'tors no

doub1: seem4fd

o~ li't't~e

v&1.ue .1: 1:he 'time 'the;y were disoarded.

It was 'the r8sul1:s in 1:he one oase and 'the produo1:S in 1:he

o'ther whioh lIla't'tered.

To make sure 'tha't :tu'ture IINseume azld

:tu'tur. IINS.UIIl cura'tore do no't suff.r 'the S&1118

i't is

.s8.n'ti~

disabi~i'ti.s,

'tha't everT lIN8.wa ehouJA oon'tinue 'to ooll.o't

&o'ti..... ~.

.A.ucus't 1984.

93

Lynn Maranda, Vancouver - Canada

. l":ARKETPLACE ETHt;OLOGY

A.

Orientation
The writing of this paper is to provide ideas that deal

with a shift in the basic philosophy of museum ethnology, to

present a case of opinion as example of one problem facing
global collection and the assessment of future holdings, and
to offer the symposium these points for discussion.

B.

Introduction
Historically, museums acquired their ethnological

collections on a haphazard basis from many parts of the world.

As a result, ill conceived assemblages lacking in pertinent
data comprise the vast majority of holdings in today's
museums.

Nevertheless, in spite of its indiscriminate

acquisition practices, the traditional museum was, at the time

of its inception, a repository for materials of great
educational value as it made available to European cultures
the then significantly different habits and life-styles of
I

contemporary' but 'primitive' peoples.

The building of these

initial collections had been the relatively simple matter of

acquiring the material culture illustrative of how people were
'living' and it was in this forum that the discipline of
ethnology was developed and the standards for its scientific
orientation were established.
However, as time passed, ever increasing intrusions were
made on the aboriginal life-styles and as a consequence, the
manufacture of materials has altered and created a confusion

94

for-museum ethnology as to what is properly collectable.

Faced with the disintegration of 'traditional' cultures and
with a diminishing supply.of 'traditional' objects, ethnology
has come to be a discipline that deals with an older time and
with the sUhject of how people 'lived'.
In an attempt to assemble meaningful collections,
ethnologists continue to scour indigenous societies for
artefactual materials and compete in this arena not only with
other museums but also with commercial dealers and private
collectors.

However, the disappearance of 'traditional'

cultural environments and the recent introduction of national

legislations protecting heritage materials

hav~

compelled

museums to concentrate their trade with entrepreneurs and

collectors for the last available remnants of indigenous
life .
Dealers have a different financial situation than most
museums and are motivated to acquire goods to realize a profit
over the short term.

Collectors choose objects to satisfy

such desires as personal enjoyment or long term investment.

It is becomin9 common in North America for collectors to
donate gifts to an institution in return for a tax benefit.
Whatever, museums have become involved with a marketplace
which deals in ethnological materials.

The museums may be

large ot small players in this market, but by the very nature

of what they represent, they set standards of collectability
both of an aesthetic and monetary nature.

Thro\lgh their

actionz,museums are promoting ar.d legitimatizing values.

C.

Assessment of Current Situation

There is an ethnological collections marketplace in

existence which has the following components:

1.

A scarcity of 'traditional' objects

As 'traditional' cultures and the old styles of living

have all but disappeared, the manufacture of viable
ethnological objects has virtually ceased.

Without

thi~

indigenous manufacture, collectable objects have become

scarce.

What was manufactured has been either collected

or lost.
2.

Supply and demand

with the scarcity of 'traditional' objects coupled with

an ever growing demand from museums to assemble new
collections, ethnological material has experienced a
corresponding dramatic increase in value.
3.

Reauirement for successful collecting

In the contemporary circumstance, even while facing the

dilemmas of scarcity and supply and demand, it is still
possible to build new collections.

Ho~ever,

this would

require that a museum be well endowed financially, have

a large well trained staff, and be able to institute a
programme of systematic collecting.

There is a limited

number of museums capable of participating at this level.

4.

The pursuit of acguisition

The consequence of museums competing against each other

ever a limited supply of objects has encouraged values

96

to rise and has helped to sustain the

activity~oi'the

marketplace.
5.

The creating of museum artisans

The market has brought about an economic pressure to

have 'indigenous' artefacts created, and so museums find
themselves encouraging the production of ethnological
'replicas' by contemporary native peoples.

By so doing,

museums have inadvertently established 'museum' artisans

such as jewellers, carvers, weavers, and so forth.

6.

Social complicity

While creating a class of 'museum' artisans,

museum~

are

at the same time, supporting these people and their

families, and are establishing economic dependencies and
a way of life quite different from that in which the
'traditional' objects were originally manufactured.

As

a result, a small and special caste is being nurtured to

support the show-cases of contemporary museums.
7.

Fiscal participation and influence

The ethnological marketplace is much larger than the

specific trade that goes on through museums as private
collectors and commercial dealers are vying for the same
kinds of objects.

However, through their acquisition

activities, through published catalogues, the purchase

of collections insurance, and so on, museums exert a
strong influence in setting the scale of value in the
trade.

The acquisition of a collectable has become a

venture in business financing rather than one of opening

new horizons of education as was the motive in the

97

nineteenth centuryo

Citizens and corporations

participate in the museum economics by donating gifts

for tax benefit purposes where ascribed values of the
donations are encouraged to rise in order to

a mor

gai~

favourable advantage.
8.

The museum gift shop

A prime example of the duality of contemporary museums

is evident in the phenomena of the museum gift shop
which directly encourages the production of ethnologicaJlike material for cale on the open marketplaceo
way;

th~

In this

museum is acting like an art gallery for native

artisans and the gift shop is selective to the point of

authenticating contemporary artistic outputo
9.

The show-case business

The museum has an impact on what kinds of contemporary

ethnological material is being produced.

This is so

because museums are in a showcase business and are

therefore out to satisfy the pUblic's curiosity and
tastes, and are purchasing those items which best fill
these needs.

It is curious to note that there is a

tendency not to display 'traditional' and 'contemporary'

materials together in the same exhibition theme.

There

is an intuitive underlying sense of their distinction.

Do

Summation of Current Situation

The ethnological marketplace is one comprised of price

evaluations, speculations, of a limited supply of 'traditional'

naterial with a new abundance of contemporary, market-created

98

objects.

The museum market has created artisans, establishe0

economic dependencies, and thus given support to a larger

community.

E.

Future Problems
1.

New ethnological material is being produced for

sale in the marketplace and the utility of these items

is beirig governed by their ability to sell, making
tourists or the museum show-case creators of cultural
meaning and value.

Such production is distinct from any

indigenolls manufacture of similar items from 'traditional'

cultures where artefacts were created for particular
employment.

The problem is that for the future, museums

will function as arbiters of value and will end up

creating their own new body of ethnology, that which
sits well in the show-case.
2~

Concurrent with the production of the new ethnology

materials, there will be in the future as in the present,

a main-stream world development of art which will be
seen to be different, though contemporary, with that
created by native artisans.

The special difficulty

which arises from this predicament is that a special

class is encouraged to exist excluded from the mainstream trends of the general world artistic awareness.
Clearly this is a museum problem because as in the
nineteenth century those initial museums were very much
a part of a curiosity and scientific examination of the
world and were in the forefront of human progress and

99

. ".

~,

development.

On the other hand, the training of

artisans to reproduce traditional forms for

contemporar~

sale will have the tendency to maintain the status quo

rather than to promote any growth of science.
3.

special problem is associated with the livelihoods

that have been established through museum involvements

and devestating consequences may result, especially to
those individuals who have placed their trust in the
museum marketplace, should such a market lose its
credibility.
In conclusion, museum ethnology is facing three problems:
a shift in museum self-perception; the creation of a new
material ethnology; and, the dependence of artisans and other
classes of people on a marketplace economics.

100

Contributions to the symposium

$ubtopic No.4
Current acquisition policy and its appropriateness
for tomorrow's needs

Contributions au symposium
Soustheme no 4
Politique courante d'acquisition et adaptation aux
besoins de demain

101

Josef Benes, Praha -

Czechoslovakia

Fundamental theses can be briefly formulated as follows:

1. Museum collections are gathered for the future generations,
for their needs that must be foreseen in order that we do
not fail as qualified builders of collections who have beel',
charged with that important task by the society.
2. Qualitative aspects are preferred to quantitative approaches, as it is better to preserve a smaller number of top
quality objec.ts than a number of items of lower value ths.t
do not express as "pars pro toto" the reality in a way adequato to the needs of representing the national or universal
cultural heritage.

3. We take into account the right of future

generations~r

collection documentation, since these needs are an impera~

tive to which the creation of preconditions for formation
and preservation of collections for the future is submitted.
When evaluating the existing collections we often criticize
our predeessors that~r a large number of preserved things
they failed to provide documentation' on some subject circles, processes and phenomena that are considered today as
important. That they did not furnish the collections with
things that are considered - after a lapse of time - as typical of the given period and stuf~ed instead the depositories
wi th objec.ts of little documentation value being influenced
by temporarily fashionable colle~tion waves that were overcome by further development.
We forget at this rather unfair
criticism that they provided documentation about the development of the society under the then valid opinion and knowledge without any museological basis being available and emphe~
size that in gathering collections - mostly by acc.epting the
offered presents - they did not take into account the future
needs, they did not care what we would-be looking for in the
collecitions a century later, what we would consider as docu~
ments typical of changes in work, life, and environment of
people who used to live in the 19th century. Today, we can
see the then facts with all the consequences, which obviously
were unknown to our ancestors. After all, they concentrated 102

almost exclusively on the past, whose documents they safeguar~

ded under the pressure of far-reaching changes of the industrial revolution that brought new dimensions and ideas in their
life. Thus they preserved documents with no possibility of a
deeper insight into pertinent relations and links. With a little objectivity we must recognize they did a lot to preserve
the "materialized memory of mankind", especially if taking into account the meagre preconditions and possibilities in terms
of space, technical facilities, personnel, end funds avai1ab1ec
Thanks to immense enthusiasm and devotion they left behind a
relatively broad collection basis containing a number of docu~
ments of irreplaceable scientific, historical or artistic value. We owe them a lot and should not criticize them unjustly
on the basis of principles of museum documentation as they are valid at present. After all, we shall be in a similar situation in the eyes of our' successors, also we shall be subject to criticism in view of the future requirements.
Ad 1. We work in the scope of eternity related to the life of
an individual and therefore we are.not.concerned with satisfaction of needs in a short-term look at and approach to museum documentation. We should think of people iiving~~e next
century, because it is for them we create the scientific model of reality we live in and at the same time we complete
collections from the past epochs. On the basis of museum collections the future generations will form their ideas about
our living and feelings, work and deeds in our environment
and way of life, in spite of having - apart from museum documents - also the information furnished by other documentation
systems. In order that a scientifically well founded model of
the present reality could be created for the futu~e, we must
not only well know our presence, but we should also be able to
estimate what will be important for people whose life will be,
quite different from ours on the threshold of the next centrury, not to speak about its later course. If considering the
increasing rate of scientific and technical discoveries, and
all the changes experienced by the society during the life of
one generation, the image of the future world can be inconceivable for us, as we are not endowed with the vast imaginat~
ion of Jules Verne, who surprisingly well predicted the technical achievements of the present time. It would not be fair
103

to confine these changes only to the area of science and tech"

nology. Man himself will be changed
by a number of stimuli
from the environment regarding the material and spiritual
needs, as well as the ways and forms of their satisfaction, the
wide scope of individual activities, knowledge, and skills
within the extent and positions rather guessed than foreseen
in concrete dimensions and parameters. Many of these changes
are already predi~ted by futurologists, but some of them are
not even considered in this position. I f because of fundamental reasons of preservation of mankind the apocalyptic extinut~
ion of life on the Earth as the outcomof nuclear warfare is
precluded, there remains for examination a broad spectrum of
the development of society and man in a disturbed environment,
i.e. deteriorated in climatic terms, but abundantly outfitted
in every respect so that man can satisfy his material and spiritual needs on a higher level to achieve the harmonic growth
of his personality in agreement with humanistic trends of peo~
ple's efforts for peace and welfare of all people, irrespective of the colour of their skin, religion confessed or social
system used. For this new way of life preconditions are created already today, when science, technology, and arts are 8QCcessfuly developed. Let us look at the present achievements in
context of the future as at a relatively simple foundation for
future possibilities, new dimensions of human life embracing
new knowledge and~acoveri.s, journeys to outer space, yet undetected benefits of biological, chemical, and physical inventions, projects, and processes, .as well as new ways how to
gather information and live through the so ~ar unheard stimuli for experience of unknown quality and shape. In this
world of phantastically looking thi~s of man of the 21st
century we are. to put a set of
works
and values that
should qualitatively express the roots of new things that are
expected to be invented and implemented in M. s environment.
It should embrace creations selected in such a way that their
set could bear adequate witness to our time, our life, and
our environment. One cannot visualize
the future without
imagination, even though we must take the risk of errors. BU.t
without the risk of errors the development of society can be
predicted neither in global respect nor in individual areas of
human activities, which means we have no safe ground for pre104

prediction of the required image of museum documentation,

neither in museums focusing on the general picture of social
development nor in museums specializing in specific di~ect
ions.
Ad 2. At the first glance it may seem it is obvious and free
of any problem if we emphasize the principle of predominance
of quality over quantity. But this can be true only if we ~e~
lyon the illusion that everyone is able to distinguish a
creation valuable in documentation respect from a little valuable one, everyone who has been acquainted with materials
pertaining to his specialized branch of science. However, th~
creation of human hand cannot be reduc.ed only to a source of
scientific knowledge in the pertinent branch of science, because the interdisciplinary approaches to exploitation and consequently to evaluation of any
work
can largely modify the
opinion of a narrowly oriented specialist who sometimes cannot
see the wood for the trees. They will modify his opinion subjectively taken as a correct one - based on traditional do-cumentation approaches in the pertinent branch and consequent=
ly also the justified allocation of the pertinent museum value
to the selected
work As far as quantity is concerned, it
should be considered only to such an extent that is defendsb10
for the necessary representation of the appropriate subject in
cultural heritage, in sources of scientific knowledge, and
means of specifically museum educational effects on the public
- this everything within parameters o~ a museum of pertinent
type and kind. It is not desirable to include into collections
an excessive amount of th~ngs only for their gathering as cul~
tural values and objects of national representation or even
to convert them to financial values of proprietary or speculative character. The recognition of the above approaches
in building up collections in. any museum or branch outlineB t
at least in general terms, the required number of documents
in collections of a concrete subject circle so that it does noc
essentially exceed the estimated extent of social needs in the
future.
This general thesis will obviously be modified in different
ways in individual types of museums, depending on concrete requirements of na1Ura. arn technical 3ciences, and humanities. In
105

biological branches the number of species that are on the danger list already tod~, will continue to decline. On the other
hand, in technical branches the number of instruments and machines will be added - as it seems - in a geometric series.
at similar rate there will increase the number of published
books, paintings, cultural programmes - not only in the mass
communication media where already tod~ surpassing of man's
perception abilities is imminent. Only the number of handmade
goods will be on decline and consequently their value as
works documenting individual creative skills on man will rise not only in curiosity shops, but also in museums. This is
conditioned not only by unique expression and direct realization of the author, but also by contradiction to mass pro~uction of goods of uniform appearance by which man will be
ever more abundantly surrounded. At the same time, we shall
have to answer a number of serious questions referring to
the environment and the way of life in the future. What will
be the life like in cities, where already today the multitude
of cars occupies the space for people? How the ever greater
number of people will spend their leisure time in the nature,
when suitable, i.e. relatively undisturbed areas quickly disappear? How will be nourished the further billions of people,
when already today the sources of foodstuffs are insufficient?
These questions refer to the essence of some types of museums,
while for others they give general information streamlining
the principal trends of the acquisition policy. \Vhethe~ the
museum workers will accept concrete works as documents for
their collections or will refuse them, they will always be
held responsible for every step in the documentation, may
they realize it or not, may they bother about it or wave~eir
hand. The principles of professional ethics cannot be so
simply ignored.
Ad 3. The documentation of collections is seen today as an
active operation controlled by plan, free of any random and
spontaneous extension of collections by adding problematic
or useless accessions. It means to observe the programme profile and territorial coverage
of the museum, to restrict
the number of new additions only to those really needed. The
estimated need of documents is to determine the extent of new
106

additions and influence preconditions for their acquisition,

storage, and safeguarding. In line with the growth of collections following the above principles it means to provide
depositories with adequate technical facilities and also com~
mensurate funds for their acquisition, since purchases will
most probably be the main SJurce:fbr extension of collections,
even though presents and bequests cannot be underestimated
provided that they are in line with programme of the museum<

,J

For its further development the s:>ciety will also need origi~
nal documents stored in museum collections, since the future
generations will not content themselves with indirect second
hand knowledge. Therefore do not underestimate the documentation and communication possibilities of sUbjects of collections, because they are irreplaceable in those positions when
they play the role of :>riginal information carriers and concrete sources of sensuous experience needed to live a full
life. That's why they will not be ousted by no matter how
boisterous further development of technical devices is, be~
cause they will pertain to man's life and the society even in
the future. Individual branches represented in museums should
carefully examine the required extent and composition of collections, justify further documentati:>n practice in theoreti-cal and methodological respects so that it is not based only
on experience and sUbjective opinion of. individuals. Thus we
could avoid serious mistakes and errors that are incorrigible at a later date. Do reject the opinion that it is better
to accept a lot elf subjects to be on the safe side. This will
bring about uncontrollable problems concerning space, technical, personnel, and organizational requirements. We cannot
make excessive demands on a great number of new buildings
at exorbitant requirements on personnel, technical facilities,
and funds, since the means for cultural purposes should be used efficiently and economically in every social system. To
burden the museum budget with unreasonable demands is a hinQrance for the future, which means that such deeds are in 'fact
irresponsible. It will be difficult to. get for museums outstanding works of art and excellent antiquities whose prices
mostly exceed the possibilities of the majority of museums
and favour private collectors and their speculative aims,
107

to which also the illegally imported arte~acts fall victims.

An excessive outflow of signi~icant collection values o~
scientific or artistic character to private collectors is not
favourable ~or museums in view of their acquisition policy
and in the ~uture they cannot rely on such a generous support
that the most precious collections are donated to pUblic museums.
Conclusions: From the above principles o~ the acquisition policy ~or needs o~ ~uture generations there follows the requirement o~ a prompt substantiation of the documentation practice by the museological theory and methodology elaborated having the future needs and requirements in mind. The general mu~
seology together with individual branch museologies have been
charged with the task of not only clarifying the subject circles, but especially the documents that are optimal, necessary or indispensable in the pertinent type and kind of museum
~or its documentation. On this basis
the acquisition policy
could be carried out on a qualitatively higher basis using
all theoretical, methodological, technical, organizational,
and qualification possibilities. They will decide, if the acquisition policy of museums ~.oommensura~~the needs o~ the
next century.
One of the key tasks is to c~arifY the c~aracter of the subject of museum collection in general terms and in modifications for individual branches so that it is in line with the
demands on works seen within the complex of cultural goods,
original source o~ scientific knowledge and educational means.
Another task is to decide in which cases the authentic document can be replaced with a model, dummy or reconstruction
of bulky units the museum is unable to accept in their full
size - the only exception being the open-air museums with
the prospects of substantial expansion in the future - when
only a secondary documentation will do in the form of projects, drawings, and when the reality can be expressed by
graphical representation, photos, films or sound recording,
eventually by their combination. It is an established fact.
that museum cannotoonte~ itself only with information picked
up from documents , Which is satisfactory for the pertinent
branch of science, but chiefly it is concerned with mainten108

ance of authenitc and well proven existence of the work as fin

irreplaceable and specific subject of the museum collection
at present and in the future as well. Neither today nor in the
future the original documents in museum collections can be ~e~
placed with information "tins" of any kind, because they are
irreplaceable as authentic testimony to their time and environment.

109

GEllis Burcaw, Moscow - Idaho, USA

Aa

I under.tand it,

coll.cting
last

30

of
or

the concern of thia .y.pOSiUM

i.

th~

r.cent or contporaneou. obJecta (thoa.

of

th~

40 yeara) by .uuaa of hiatory or

history in the preaent. Ther.fore,

in

thia

context we .ean hi.tory

lIuseuMa.

.'

.'

~oreover,

the

cultural

when w. uae the .t.r. . . . 1.1 1.1....

.1.1 1.1 ,

b.ginning

not

art

or

of the pr.s.nt

..today," haa not been arbitrarily aet.

ning

hu.an

acience

p.riod,

or

It designate. the begin-

of nor.al life after the disruption of World War

II.

For

.any countries it .arks new govern.ent., new social and politicsl

ori.ntation for public aervic.,
ialia.,
ary

colon-

and an increased intert by intellectuals in the ordin-

li~e.

reasona,
ing,

a decline in .liti and

of ordinary people.

For .o.t countrie.,

for varioua

World War II .arka the beginning of our rapidly

in .any way. new,

collecting

the

present

world.

chang-

The point to be obrved i. that

.eana .ore to

.0..

auseologi.t.

than

collecting what is available and faailiar today.

To ol.l~

colleagues in the .ocialist countries it also serve. the

i.port-

ant

of

.iaplY

function

working

of

classes

docunting the changes in the

liv..

after the institution of socialist

thG

governaent<

We shall cOile back to this point.

Even

though they lIay not be aware of it,

all good history

110

museums

make

a decision concerning contemporary

they set their scope;

World War I,

1930,

The Ruseum

conronting the question,

should

World War II, 1960, or

some other time marks the near end o their scope.

thus

as

that is, decide when the past ended as ar

as their collecting interests are concerned.

decide whether 1900,

collecting

In spite

outside o Sweden and

ew museums seriously engage in

socialist

countries

very

present.

The topic o this symposium, never-the-less. is perti-

nent to all museUMS o history.

collecting

The question we are

the

addressing

is, "Should these MuseUM. engage in contemporary collecting?"

It would have been nearly impossible prior to now to discuss
this

question

and

Internationally,

related

questions on

world-wide

basis.

we have been limited to knowledge o the philo-

sophical position on the SUbJect in the socialist countries,

the

SAMOOK

the

proJect in Sweden,

lack o them.

or

Other contributions to this symposium look at this

such basics as what Museums collect, and the diicul-

question,

ties o collecting well.

however,

and our own local activities

in

I need to reer to those areas briely,

order to set the basis o my reasoning 1n regard to

policy.
The
the

public,

public

them.

proessional Museum today collects either what

wants to see or what

peopl~

in charge want

to

show

(A museum with a completely haphazard collecting policy is

perhaps

not deserving o the description

another

way,

educational
guidelines.

"proessional . )

the museum operates either to be popular or to

according

to

oicial

or

Put
be

socially-acceptable

Most museums, no doubt, represent a mixture o both.

111

Contemporary collecting. r suggest. may not be popular: and,

indeed. Gunilla Cedrenius o SAMDOK reported at reOM 83 in London
that

there

is

it. 1

a general lack o interest in

certainly true o North America.

This

The museum obJects the

is
public

is interested in are those that seem worthwhile because:

1.

they are entertaining (and/or aesthetic),

2.

they cater to the visitor's existing interests,

3.

they are mentally stimulating,

serving to astound

or intrigue.
Museums,
that

to

serve the public,

collect and make use o

are unusual (as ar as its public is concerned),

obJects
and

are illustrative of something the museum wants to teach.

o

ine

art

by deinition is unusual

personal expression).
eign,

(being

that
A work

one-o-a-kind

Historical obJects that are old,

or for-

or belong to a particular crat are unusual to the average

visitor.

Biological

or

geological specimens are

daily experience of most people.

obJects are also unusual.
these

things

outside

the

Archaeological and ethnological

People enJoy going to museums to

because they

are

stimulating,

see

interesting,

and
I

entertaining;

being

different---removed

rom

their

ordinary

lives.
ConteMporary collecting runs counter to this general rule in
that
of

it proposes to collect what is common today,

no

interest.

The furnishings of my home are

interest to my riends.
typical
Mongolia.

hOMe

They would be ascinated,

furnishings from Bulgaria,

Sri

and thereore
of

no

great

however,

Lanka,

or

by

Outer

Perhaps my ordinary possessions would form an interes-

1 12

>

~.

ting

museum exhibition in some other part of the world.

rule,

general

experience,

the

more

an

obJect

is

the more it belongs in a museum,

removed

As

from

daily

from the visitor's

point of view. It is foreignness that creates the museum obJect.

Twenty
curator

five

years ago at the Colorado

of collections,

Sally

contemporary collecting. 2
the

main

~ewis,

State

Museum,

the

and I began a proJect

of

We felt a little silly doing it, and

problem was to keep the cleaning people from

the materials out as trash.

throwing

Now, a generation later, aome of the

obJects may be sufficiently old-fashioned (and therefore foreign>

to be exhibitable.

We had the freedom,

the time, and the space

to begin the collection of contemporary clothing and food

ging

packa-

in a small way as an intellectual exercise and aa a gift to

the future.

It is probably significant that we are both anthro-

pologists; I do not think a historian would have had the interest

to

do what we did.

aware

of

It was a pioneering effort.

We

any other contemporary collecting being done

were

not

at

that

time.
Colorado
known.

tax payers might not have been amused if they

If our board of trustees (the supervising authority) knew

of

our actiVity I am sure they were not enthusiastic.

we

were completely serious.

for tomorrow was supported,

that

represented

today

we felt, on the museological ground&

a museum. being theoretically eternal,

kind of altruism,

However,

The principle of collecting

staff members

might legitimately serve their museum's public tomorrow.

as

had

today
It is a

however; taking money from the public today--by staff time and museum facilitiea aa

well

as

funds---for the benefit of other people in the future.

113

If
1950>,
est,

history

museum were to collect

the

pr.esent

(since

running counter to usual practice and maJor public interit

would have to be for one of more of the following

rea-

sons:
1.

fQliti~~l,

and

to document the recent changes in society

culture

governmental
emphasi~es

under

new

system.

philosophical
Such

and

documentation

how things are changed (for the better>

since the 'former way of life (villages in the last

30

to

prior

40 years as compared with folk life

time>.

Recent

reports

from

of

socialist

countries maintain that it is the duty of a museum

of

history

cultural

document

and

improvement,

in a socialist

prent

to

its

country
public

The museums, thua, play an active

role in, the building of socialism and the

society.3

Other

countries,

their poiitical ideology,

new

nation

the

under aocialism, of the lives of the

under classes.

of

to

too,

molding

whatever

might be so served.

in Africa or in Southeast

Asia,

A
for

example, might instruct its museums to demonstrate

that

people are better off under the

new

regim.

than they were under the old.

2.

~Qt~lgi~ Q~ ~~gbiY~!,

similar to keeping a family

scrapbook

or

thoroughly

the total way of life of a

small

photograph

album,

and homogeneous cultural unit.

documenting
relatively
I

suggest

114

this requires central control and support,

a high

degree of literacy,

a high standard of living,

strong

nationalism,

sense

of

relatively

homogeneous population experiencing rapid

and

change,

an established base and public acceptance

such

contemporary

libraries,

documentary

work

governmental

archives.

(as

the

words.

of
in

agencies.

business, folk museums, and open-air museums).

other

Swedish situation.

The

In
best

example, of course. is that of SAMDOK, the Swedish

contemporary collecting program.
3.

~B !gg1i~1!9~1 ~11!me1 ~1 immg~1~li1~.

that is, the

desire to try to pres.rve an existing way of life.

its material culture.

with its values,

the

thoughts

motivated
social

of

its

and

practitioners.

in this way are saying.

even
People

"Let us create

heirlooms so our grandchildren

and

their

children will not forget us."

4.

~B

!n1!11!g~Y~1 !~!~g1!,

anthropology

combining the science of

and the science of museology with an

altruistic attitude toward the people of

tomorrow

in bequeathing to them more exact knowledge of us,

the

people of today.

As previously referred to,

the reasoning is that:

A.
continue
therefore,
tomorrow's

museums
to

be
museum

will
in

continue

the

service

staffs

museum -ataffs in

today
their

to

exist

of
should

and

society:
assist

interpretive

11 ';

work.

Let present day people contribute to future

day work;

and let people of today pay for it

people of the future reap the benefit.

and

It is also

reasoned that:
B.

our

appreciate

the

interested

in

descendants
gift.
us

in

That

the
is,

future
they

will

will

be

how

we

and will want to know

lived and what we thought.

For countries that are in neither the socialist
nor the Swedish (archival) situation,
porary

collecting

the aotivations to contea-

will be found under reason a 3.

localized exceptions perhaps.

(political)

or

4.,

with

Three (romantic) is likely to be

the more universal possibility but existing on a small scale

and

with no coordination, no national plan, and very little intellectual

content.

An

example

is pre.ented by the custom

in

the

United States of marking great occasions like our recent national

bicentennial
container

celebration

with

time

Thia

inwhich present day obJects are sealed and which

not to be opened for a hundred years.

local

capsule.

ia

a
is

In my home town in 197& a

aan with a farming background on hia own

initiative

pre-

pared such a contemporary gift to the future for the local county
historical society.
in

the

newspaper

activity,

it was clear that this had

been

personal

with the selection of obvious trivia and a bias toward

agricultural
collecting

When the list of the contents was published

statistics and seed catalogues.

for tomorrow,

Such contemporary

even when done by a museum,

does

not

call on social science. much less museological science.

116

All these motivations, one, two, and three, might be thought

of as examples of applied museography;that is, the use of museum
methods (in this case, collecting) for a particular purpose aside
from pure,
tion,

general education.

They are for specific indoctrina-

or for a portion of a broader,

even

for romantic fun.

likely

to

be

record-making activity, or

Only number four,

it seems to

applicable to all professional museums

me,
in

is

their

traditional rolea as educational servants of a particular public.

It ia,

at least,

and

in

and

locally

the only feasible course in the United

other countries in which museums are locally

the

spending

of public moneys in all

Justified in terms of the pUblic good.

I

as I see it, is

countries

is

Justified

must

be

This is as it should be.

believe contemporary collecting as an instrument

policy

controlled

supported.

The difficulty of contemporary collecting,

that

States

in socialist and developing

of

national

countries

in

which a very different new way of life needs to be documented and

in

which the public must be made familiar with the

significance

of contemporary rapid and far-reaching change.

Similarly,
fiable

the admirable SAMDOK program in Sweden is Justi-

as a logical extension into the realm of material culture

of established archival work,

of

and as on extension to the present

the folk and popular culture collections and museums

past;
example

in other words,

bringing Skansen up to date.

the

The SAMDOK

might be emulated by other small countries in

circumstances.

of

favorable

If I do not appear to embrace it and advocate its

application in the United States and all countries,

or, for that

matter, if I see no application of the scientific and educational

117

contemporary collecting in socislist countries to countries with

other

political

systems it is because I feel

that

acquisition

policy must fit each museum's own situation.

The

local

characteristic
produces

control and local financing of museums

of

North America and other parts of

practical attitude toward

their

will

the

public

Taxpayers and private donors want to feel that they,

that

is

world,

services.
personally,

benefit in the near future from money which they have given

out

of

their own pockets.

insufficient funds,

In the competition for

the

always

staff, space, time, and the other aspects of

museum capital, conteaporary collecting stands little chance.

the

first place,

the everyday obJects of the present hold

little

interest for the public or for museum staffs.

likely

prospects

tools

for collecting of today

are

the

very

The

most

specialized

of craftspeople and local industries (since these are

familiar

to the general public).

If each museum will

local,

specialized work,

tional

coverage of a sort will result;

not

document

and other specialized activities,

but,

In

of course,

na-

with a

great amount of wasteful repetition.

In this regard, our state
J
historical societies which have broad responsibilities and properly

a paternalistic role toward the local historical

within

their

states can serve a coordinating function

societies
to

some

degree.
The

other deterrent to contemporary collecting is that

seum

trustees,

much

interested in,

There>

administrators,

mu-

and professional staffs are not

or even aware

o~

a science of

is no general enthusiasm for the collecting of

museology.
today

for

118

that

tomorrow,

have observed.

at IIny level.

Our

national

museum complex. the Smithsonian Institution. does some contemporary collecting.

such as protest signs and banners from political

demonstrations in Washington it has been reported. but the Smithsonian can hardly take on the entire tremendous Job itself and it
has no authority over the museum profession in the United States.
For any museum to spend money.
cal

assiat.. nce.

little interest.

..nd so on.

staff time. storage space. clerito ..cquire ..nd preserve obJects

being commonpl ..ce.

of

for the benefit of people e

gener.. tion .. nd more in the future would not .. ppe.. l to the

Ameri"

can public .. nd does not appeal to museum workers.

As

I a .. id e ..rlier.

cial reasons.

there .... y be loc.. l exceptions for &pe"

A recent article by a popular

cultu~e

histori .. n in

the United States ..dvoc..ted th .. t ethnic muaeums .. nd societies

in

order

of

to

reaffirm

their sep..rateness from

the

m.. instre.. m

American society document their di::erences by collecting contem

por.. ry

materi .. ls

0:

all kinds aimed .. t that

special

purpose.

This would not be an e::ort at general public education.

mainly,

but more a kind 0: ritu.. listic group identific..tion. 4

CONCLUSIONS
Current acquisition policy would appear to be adequate wherever and however contemporary collecting is taking pl ..ce.

not

where

convinced that in countries such aa the United States

am

there is neither contemporary collecting nor policy that they are

needed.

beyond

the

customary and obvious responsibilities

capabilities of at ate and local historical societies.

stitutions

and

Such

in-

aeek to record significant aspects 0: buildings.

10-

119

and ways of life as they are passing away,

dustries,
countries,

including the United States,

are not more

in the recent past than in more" distant times.

of

American

creation,

But

intereste~

A typical concern

historical societies and museums today is

for demonstration purposes,

the

life

style

is foreign to most people.

We have

the

interest

present scientifically is beyond

of

American museums,

and,

the

By now,
not

thoroughly documented the past by conventional methods.

ment

re-

of farm life before elec-

tricity and mechanization, sixty or a hundred years ago.

this

many

yet

To docu-

capability

I dare say,

most

and

museums

everywhere.
The second part of the title of this paper,
symposium

organizers,

is

really a question:

assigned by the
"Is

collecting adequate in regard to tomorrow's needs?"

question,
first.

present

day

The unspoken

"What are tomorrow's needs?" would have to be answered

I do not know that societies in the future would benefit

greatly by an elaborate effort by museums to collect contemporary

obJects

to

document

the

present.

Documentation

tremendous by publications of all kinds,

records,
recordings,

scientific
mail

studies,

order

motion

already

is

government and business

picture

catalogues---the list

and
is

television
long.

additional effort is needed in collecting actual obJects?

What
It may

be that when tomorrow comes the people then alive and in need
education

and entertainment will find our type 'of museum,

~f

based

on collections of obJects, less important than we now suppose.

I feel that where our colleagues are confident regarding the
future needs of their societies,

their present day policies

ar~

120

probably adequate.

I also feel that where no clear understanding

exists regarding the needs o the future,

the lack o contempor-

ary collecting policy may not be unsatisfactory.

.0 a museum is to itself,
functioning

The first duty

its public, and its present.

Its best

is not necessarily served by .an altruistic or

self-

glorifying orientation to the future

REFERENCES
1Editorial report on ICOM 1983, IgQ~ H~~~, Vol 36, no 2/3, 1983

2G. E. Burcaw, "Active Collecting in History M\1seuas," ~!.!~!n!!!

March, 1967

H~~~,

(In regard to rapid

packaging

technology,

nutrition

conference

at

decade's

end

it

news

item in June

Cornell University

may be easier to find glass

change in food

1984

regarding

stated

that

"By

bottles

and

tin

cans in auseuas than in supermarkets.")

3Karel

Jani!,

"Perspectives

o Our Museums in the

Light

Conclusions Drawn at the XVIth -Congress of the Communist Party of

Czechoslovakia," t!!.!~!!QIQgl!:!si ;2!!~gy, VIII/81

Ludv!k Kunz,

"Ethnographic Museology in the Socialist Society,"

~!.!~!!21291!:!s ;2!!~i~Y, VI/76

etc.

4Thoaas

J.

Schlereth,

"Contemporary

Recollecting," t!!.!!!!!!.!!!!

;2~!.!!:!1!!!!

Collecting

for

Future

,zQ!.!!:!!!!l, 1/3 Spring 1984

1:l1

Contributions to the symposium

Sub-topic No.3
The global dimension of collecting and reassessment
of new and current holdings

Contributions au symposium
Sous-theme no 3
Dimension globale de la collecte et reevaluation
des collections nouvelles et courantes

/4

Mathilde Bellaigue Scalbert, Le Creusot TRIFLI:m AND ::SSEHTIAL

:0

France

TH:: ::nmOGRAPlIICAL AR'n".CTS

This paper is the reassertion of poperly ecomuseal positiolls. Fro:ll the

concrete example of the

Ecomu~~e

de la

I have taken in account

Communaut~,

the ethnographical object as related to a lively territory/that into which

the ecomuseum is rooted. This situation determines the curator's attitudes
and collecting politics.
Space,
People
And time, not anyones.
ortaey constitle a special, identified environment

: the territory of a

social group The ecomuseum is organically related to this living environment.

x
X

An ecomuseum can start before the collections exist,

museum
The

i~

wher~s

a classica.l

prece6ed by a certain amount of material things to preserve.

Ecomus~e

de la

Communaut~ ~

creusot/Montceau-Les-~inesis

the ecomuse-

urn of an industrial area in which mine and metallurgy are "ei,hbours to cattleraisixg activity. The area in characterized then by the deep

~brication

of

country culture alld industrial culture ; different specifi.;: heritages, ways

of living, mentalities, memories are

intertwined.

The Ecomusee was born upon the ~esire of,knowing ana creating knowledge
the constitution of its collections procedes fro:n that"
,.

I t ' s a ""useum" because there has to inventory and preserve what belongs
to peop:e, what is thei: heritage - things, engines, buildings, sites and
also artistic heritage and traditions. I! is a museum for exhibiting those
things, restituting to their owners their numerous significances, the sense
of their history, sharpening their attention to ordinary daily life:
evert landscape. ever; house, every artefact
an

instr~~ent

for knowledge as

sue researchin; at

ho~e

~ell

and outsije.

as a
~he

beco~es

writt~n

w~e~e

book, a

diversity of the

it stands -

sti~ulus

t~

pur-

envir~~~ent

75

determines the

ecomuse~~

scientific field: ecology, architecture, techno-

logy, ethno-history. The museum goes outdoors.

Globality of the study and

restit~tion

as well as the

refuseo~museifica

tion of the territory have to coexist.

x
X

But an ecomuseum can't go whithout using visible things. On the contrary

srt efacts are not an aim, they are instruments for knowledge. Threedimensional, material, not only do they help to inform, but they are informations. They can be diversely approached , artefact as a sign, as a
symbol, as a historical testimouy, (often affectivelY,loaded as daily ordinary things).
Artefact as an answer, as a question. Original

rtefacts have a preponde-

rous part to play in an ecomuseum.

The Ecomuseum collecLions

a "kind of community solidarity" (1)

weaving relations on the field has to be added to a scielltific program of

museal collecting so that not' only artefacts get their full signification,
but people become the real collectors, and even curators of their own heritage, everybody propoaing to the'community elements which will bear the
complex picture of it.
Here comes a change,

owning, knowing, remembering do not belong anymore to

the only same people. To the Curator's science one has to add one's technical
knowledge, one's know -how, the sensibility of the users of the artefacts.
No systematical collecting, but rather, in-between the museum -

staff and

the population, a"movement to and fro, and interpersonal relations, in

that way, gifts, loads, deposits appear as sediments laid by living, by
remem~ring,

by sensibility in the most natural way.

Collecting politics
One has to deal with some problems
- the value of the

artef~ct

does not miss its part ol

n~tion

can be positive or negative

positive when it

instru.11ent for knowledge;

negative when the

of merchant value appears. Against that the staff has to intensi:7

the relation wit!l

t~e

i~habitants

of the territory through a

co~~une

76

~esearch

and study work,

collections, especially in an ecomuseum dealing with technical culture

(industrial archaeology and history of

technics~

set the following

ques~

tion : has one to preserve series., of artefacts or comprehensive unities ?

Here comes one of the fondamental differences between

museum of tech-

Ah

nics and industry and ecomuseum in an industrial environment: the former,

to make the evolution of technology be understood, will normally present a
c~ono-loqical

series of devices and artefacts

the latter replaces one

or more artefacts into its historical. social and economical context : so

that the successive stages of a tool or of an engine will take importance
by the evocation of the labour conditions, social strives or economical
progress they have

ge~.rated.

That perspective determines the selection

and the standards of representativity of the artefacts to acquire.

x
X

Of course the museum curator is a .man for collecting. for preserving. for
researching and exhibiting things. More. the ecomuseum curator is a man
on the field : related to every social or cultural class. dealing with
every responsible and competent actor. He is not an isolated person : he
works upon preservation, restoration and restitution together with a
scientific staff and also with

t~e inha~itants

themselves in their own

fields of competency and interest. According to the specificity of artefacts

(v.g. engines), the collections

topi~s(v.g.

schooling from Jules Ferry

to nowadays). the inhabitants'interest for such and

suc~

researching.

the curator will get from those persons (workers, teachers, etc.) a responsible help for studying. preserving and repairing the artefacts. This
will be done under his scientific supervision.
Recording, preserving and repairing buildings is part of collecting. It does
not mean sterilizing those buildings into a museum. though this is a possible solution. Il means re-inventing new attributions so that they are
lively piece3 of the collections.
"Involvement" alludes to the common. work of people and curators: it
sounds as if there was an effect of transmission of the activity :rom one

to another.

x
X

77

Usinq the collections : reconstitutions

.rt~facts

as symbols

new

significances to artefacts

More important than preserving things is enlightening the sense of the history, of the life they

w~re

inserted in. This needs not only looking at them

as they were but seein.. them througl'l other perspe.:tives. Several solutio,"s
are possible among which the eye of the artist can bring

to light new

senses : tn:ee different examples are available here :

- "The School-House" : inside a school - still used as such - three class rooms identical to those of 1900, 1940 and 1968 reconstituted by teachers
themselves with the help of the ecomuseum staffoffar thepossibility of

affec~

tively merging the mind into its memories, provo~ingan active reflexion
about school

: how was-it ? How is it now ? (Ecomusee/~ontceau-Les-

Mines) (21.
- "Picturing labour"

WQS

an exhibition of paintings ans sculptures (Renais-

sance - 1914) showing how and why men's labour. had not been - until very
late - truly figured. Technology and art were neighbours in that exhibitions, akin or foreigner to the technical population of Le Creusot
{Ecomusee/Le Creusot - 1976).
- Wooden foundry models from Creusot-Loire, among which many are preserved
as such inside the museum, have also been ore-shaped" by a polish artist
(1983)

That leads to remember how people use things, so:aetimes diverting them from
their initial use through their own creativity.
Crossing the senses of artefacts ask questions, deve:ope a

m~ltiplicity

of

significances, leads to reflexion, imagination and creation :

every word nominating a thing, the thing itself, are often

fami~iar

enough to us to become, ..when thinking requiras it, suddenly

unusual , it is a condition which an artefact, or a word belonging to
a far. away civilisation does not fulfil". (3).
1. Hugues de Varine - Bohan.

2. See the book "Cent Ans d' Ecole" .. Foreword by Georges Ouby,' texts from
P. Caspar, S; Chassagne, J. O:ouf, A.?rost. Y. Lequin: G. Vincent and
the

g~oup

of the School-House;

"Milieux" - 1981.
3. Marguerite Yourcenar
pUblish.

Champ-Va~lon,

publisher I collection

"Le temps, ce grand sculpteur, p. 48; - Gallimard

78

Mathilde Bellaigue Sealbert, Le Creusot DERISOIRE ET

ESSENTI~L

France

: L'OBJET ETHNOGRAPHIQUE

Ce texte constitue l'affirmation de positions proprement ecomuseales :

m'appuyant sur l'exemple concret-de
pris en compte l'objet

l'Ecom~see

ethnoqraphiqu~ d",~s

de la Communaute, j'ai

sa relation I un milieu

vivant, celui dans lequel s'insere l'ecomusee. Cette situation _

determine l'attitude du conservateur et la politique-des collections.

Un espace.
Des gens.
La

temps.
Le temps qui les a fa<;onn'b _et tout ce qu' avec lui ils ont naturel-

lement secrete: paysages, villes, habitats, lieux de-travail, de

meditatio~

machines et tous objets de la vie quotidienne, rurale ou urbaine, pratiques

agricoles ou industrielles.
Tout cela : un "milieu, bien identifie parmi d' autres

un territoire

de l' hOIlllllll

De ce terri toire, l' analyse en train de se faire n' est pas le prialablE'
de 1 'ecomusee mais l'ecomusee

lui-~me

en train de se faire lui aussi, orga-.

niquesent lie I ce Jilieu vivant.

x
x

L'ecomusee precede les collections.

L'Ecomusee de la Communaute Le Creusot I Montceau-les-Mines

est done

celui d'un milieu determine: ce bassin industriel-dans lequel le developpement de la mine et de la metallurgie a envahi un espace rural - une

peti~

te region d'elevage - en le laissant toutefois subsister alentour avec sa

pro~re

vitalite ; milieu que caracterise done l'1mbrication intime de la

culture paysanne et de la culture industrielle, OU se melent leurs patrimoines, leurs pratiques, leurs mentalites, leurs memoires specifiques.
79

Ne d'une volante de connaitre et

d~

faire savoir, il vit du desir com-

munautaire de faire reconnaItre une identite et ce desir jaillit et s'alimente - comme un feu - de tout progres de la connaissance.
Toute l'histoire de l' Ecomusee et de la consti tution de ses collection>.
procede de cette demarche.

"Musee" puisqu'il s'agit de faire l'inventaire et de

prot~ger

ce qui

aF.~

partient 4une population et qui constitue son patrimoine - que ce soient

des objets, des machines, des b!timents, des sites et aussi son heritage crtistique et ses traditions.

pour montrer et donc pour

nMus~en

~veiller

l'al;-

tention 4 ce qui nous entoure dans la vie quotidienne, afin que chacun pu;.s-'
se y reconnaItre l'histoire de sa propre vie et de ce qui l'a
chaque paysage, chaque maison, chaque objet devenant

prec~~e

sa place instrument

de connaissance tout autant qu'un livre, incitation a poursuivre la recherche chez soi, autour de soi.
m~me

: il n'a de raison

qui le font. Ce sont la

minent les

diff~rents

L'~comus~e

d'~tre

que si ce sont les habitants de la

diversit~

champs

n'a donc pas d'existence en luir~gion

et les richesses du territoire qui deter-

d'~tude

et

d'activit~s

de l'Ecomusee : la na-

ture, l'architecture, la technologie, l'ethno-histoire. Le

mus~e d~passe

donc largement l'espace d'un b!timent.

Soit : la
m~me

qlobalit~

temps le refus de

laquelle l'Ecomusee se

mus~ification

r~fere

constamment et en

d'un territoire.

x
x

"L'Ecomusee du Creusot / Montceau-les-Mines, un musee sans collections":

tel etait le titre d'un seminaire organise par l'Institut

holm

fran~ais

la suite de nombreux echanges entre nos deux pays sur

Stock-

l'ecomus~olo-

gie.

80

S'il se constitue autour d'un desir, d'une memoire, il ne se passe paS

pour autant de la mediation du visible, bien au contraire : mais l'objet
n 'est pas une fin en soi, il est le moyen premier de la connaissance. Daw,,;;

ses trois dimensions, par sa materialite meme, non seulement il sert a

1 'information, mais il est l' in~?rmation. Son approche est plurale : obj" ,;signe, objet-symbole, charge d'histoire et - ici souvent - d'affectivite :
si tes ,- b.1timents, objets, potentiellement protectibles, _reutilisables, musealisables.
Banque d'objets, banque de

donn~es.

Objet-reponse, objet-question, objet primordial.

Las collections de 1 'Ecomusee , wforme de solidarite inter-communautaire 1

Lie A une population dans son desir de conna!tre et de se faire recon-naitre, l'Ecomusee s'attache au patrimoine communautaire qui la

caracteri~e.

A l'activite museale de collecte systematique selon un programme scientifique coherent, s'ajoute obligatoirement la constitution d'un tissu de relations sur le terrain afin, non seulement de donner leur pleine signification aux objets, mais de faire des habitants les vrais collecteurs, voire
m~me

des conservateurs actifs de leur patrimoine, chacun proposant a la

communaute entiere les elements qui, organises, en seront l'image

complexe~

reelle, accessible.
Ainsi derivent des notions qu'on croyait pourtant bien etablies : propriete, savoir, memoire ne sont plus l' apanage des memes : ce patrimoine
est, par ses heritiers, offert

tous. A la memoire du conservateur,

sa

science, s'ajoutent ceux - savoirs techniques, savoir-faire, connaissances

sensibles - des utilisateurs du patrimoine
Pas de collecte systematique" mals plutOt, entre 1 '-eq-i.Jipe professionll.elle de l'Ecomusee et la population du territoire en question/tout un systeme
d'allees et venues - relations de personne a personne - est a la base des
collections: dons, mises en depot, prets constituent alors les sediments
deposes par le vecu, la memoire, la sensibilite des gens, de la

fa~on

la plus naturelle ec la plus coherente avec ce qu'on veut exprimer.

la

81

Politique d'acquisition

Ici se posent, par rapport a ce mode de constitution des collections,

des problemes qu'il ne faut pas minimiser :
- la valorisation de l'objet est, selon les cas, positive ou

n~gative

positive lorsque ~elui-ci remplit la mission d'information ou d'outil de

r6flexion grace a une

pr~sentation

contextuelle forte

n~gative

lorsque

surgit la notion de valeur marchande. Ainsi, apres l'exposition sur le

Chateau de la Verrerie, vit-on se
plus

~lews

cupation de

rar~fier

et atteindre des prix beaucoup

l'~quipe

professionnelle que d'essayer de

d~samcrcer

mene en intensifiant les liens avec les habitants dans une

de recherche et d'etude du terrain
pour

l'~tude

(r~unions ~riodiques

et l'expression de leur

vers la culture technique

activi~

industrielle et histoire des techni-

privil~gier

~comusee

pour vocation de faire .comprendre

tera tres naturellement
sion du second est

de.s

s~ries

ou des ensembles?

d'int~grer

~conomique

: les

cette

s~rie

qu'ils permettront des con-

1h,"e"lC i'~1e

pr~senter

la

_ ~conomique qu' ils

s~rie

de ces

mais plutOt des signes de ces etapes significatives. Cette optique

repr~sentativite

~tats

d~termine

des objets techniques a inte-

grer dans l'Ecomusee" La politique d'acquisition n'est donc pas

fa~on

la mis-

d'un outil ou d'une machine ti-

ditions de travail, des luttes sociales ou r)...

les choix et les criteres de

dans son contexte historique.

l'appr~hension

auront engendres. Il ne s'agira donc pas de

pr~sen

d'une technologie, la

chronoloqique d'objets

~volution

diff~rents ~tats

rerontalors leur importance de

des scien-

mus~e

en milieu industriel : le premier, ayal,t

l'~volution

travers une

commune

~comusee tourn~

La se manifeste l'une des differences fondamentales entre un

ces et des te 7hniques et un

ph~no

identit~).

(arch~ologie

ques), pose la question suivante :

ce

dans les communes

- Le contenu des collections, particuUerement dans un

social et

pr~oc

les anciens cristaux de la Manufacture Royale. C'est une

men~e

de

systematique et volontariste : elle est plutOt une attitude d'incita-

tion et de receptivite aux volontes de collaboration.

82

De la mission du ltconservateur" au sein de l'Ecomusee

On a beaucoup glose sur la presence de conservateurs au sein des ecomu'

sees, celle-ci apparaissant comme la garantie justement indispensable a la
bonne gestion des collections. par.,contre, il semble qu'au sein des autorites de tutelle, .on n'ait
toujours pas per9u que nul "conservateur" au sens
.
traditionilel - encore malheureusement trop souvent admis - ne peut 4tre 1..
directeur qualifie d'un ecomusee. Ajoutons que la formation encore donnee
A ce jour aux conservateurs ne saurait, de loin, l'y preparer
Homme de conservation? certes.
HOlllllle de recherche

? bien evidemment.

HOlllllle de terrain, indispensablement, c'est-a-dire l'homme des

relation~

avec un groupe humain a tous les niveaux sociaux, a tous les niveaux de com-petence et de responsabilite.
Un conservateur d'ecomusee certes n'aura rien a dire s'il n'a la connaissance du patrimoine qui lui est confie, s' il n' a la competence de le
gerer scientifiquement, de le presenter sensiblement. Mais il n'aura pas
lieu d'etre s'il n'a, avec la communaute qu'il sert, les contacts mUltiples
et diversifies susceptibles de provoquer en chacun l'interet, le besoin
d'expression, l'apport de connaissances, de. temoignages et d'objets-temoins,
Dags un ecomusee, le conservateur a la chance de n'etre pas isole comme le sont bien des conservateurs de beaucoup de musees municipaux en
France. Il mene conservation, restauration et diffusion du patrimoine en
liaison avec une equipe scientifique mais aussi avec les usagers

eux-mem~s

dans leurs propres champs de competenc~ et c'inter4t.

Selon la specificite des objets (machines par exemple), le theme des

collections (materiel et mobilier pedagogiquesdep~is Jules Ferry a nos
jours par exemple), l'interet des usagers de l'Ecomusee pour telle ou
telle recherche, le conservateur trouve/auprEs des personnes concern~e5

l'aide pour l'etude, pour la conservation et la restauration des objets.

Celles-ci s' effectuent sous son cont.rOle.

83

Le patrimoine industriel (b4timents et machines) pose bien evidemment

des problemes museographiques plus ou moins rapidement resolus en fonction
de tout un contexte geographique (transports), financier

et politique' (pre-

sentation et lieux de stockage). La-' conservation est envisagee pour une

petite partie en vue de certaines reconstitutions mais bien davantage dans
une perspective de reutilisation (Combe des Mineurs, anciens ateliers industriels de Creusot-Loire, maison eclusiere).
Les Anglais ont un'terme excellent pour designer l'implication des personnes dans une activite commune : "involvement" ; il laisse entendre une
espece d'effet"d'entra!nement" de mame que les courroies de transmission
mettent en action d'autres unites, de mame, au sein de l'Ecomusee, l'activite
des unspeut susciter celle des autres, de proche en proche, jusqu'au jour
ideal oil l'equipe inci tatrice, coordinatrice, deviendrai t presque superflue.".

Usage des collections:

Reconsti tutions ,presentations symboliques, detournements de sens.

"La Maison d'Ecole" : dans une ecole toujours en activite } trois salles
de classe reconstituees ! l'identique, pour illustrer trois etapes de
l'evolution du systeme scolaire (vers 1900, 1940, 1970) composent une
sorte de "bain de memoire vivante" dans lequel chaque meuble, chaque
objet en situation reelle,degagent un parfum sensoriel,
des souvenirs: c'est la conscience rendue sensible

declench~n

nous

l'extreme. (2)

"La Representation du travail" (exposition temporaire au Chateau de la

Verrerie - 1976) : rassemblait des oeuvres plastiques - peinture et

sculpture - de la Renaissance

1914, et des documents techniques et

ethnographiques evoquant Ie theme du travail

la mine,

la forge,

l'usine ; elle faisait surgir, en merne temps qu'une sorte de connivence

avec ia population technicienne du Creusot, des "ruptures" de sens dues

a I'intrusion de l'art.

84

Car l'Ecomusee ne propose pas au premier degre l'image de son territoire :

de MeMe que les ouvriers de Schneider ont detourne l'ordonnance imposee des
jardins que leur attribuaient leurs maitres par l'introduction daroutante
de leur propre creativite ; de meme que le fameux marteau-pilon de 1676,
legendaire dans le monde entier, a quitte l'usine pour <1tre eriga en monument sur une place de la ville

de IIllme que la "bricole" a ate la pratiquE!

clandestine et liberatrice des ouvriers de l'usine qui, par leur inspirati""

creatrice, en transformaient .1 leur profit des fragments de materiaux ; de
IllI!me il nous semble important que certains elements du patrilllOine local
puissent , .1 travers la creation artistique, conna!tre des metamorphoslls
differemment questionnantes : c'est &insi que de gigantesques modellls de
fonderie en bois de l'usine ont pris forme "autre" par l'intervention du
sculpteur polonais Magdalena Abakanowicz
Croisements de sens qui deconcertent, interrogent, developpent la polysemie de l'Objet.
Le jour

o~

l'Ecomusee aura acquis la possibilite d'informatiser son im-

portante banqull de donnees (1 300 000 instruments documentaires si l' on

considere les collections de machines et d'Objets, le fonds audiovisuel et
photoqraphique, llls archives .et la bibliotheque technique de 70 000 volumes
et revues), ce jour-l! chacun sera maitre non seulement de connaltre, mais
de rememorer, recreer, rever le patrimoine de notre societe industrielle.

Les objets du quotidienont la valeur que leur attribuent ceux qui ont
vecu avec eux ; leur banalite meme, mise en situation dans un "contexte

dialectique et une globalite reelle, devient subitement l'etrange, l'insolite. Je ne saurais mieux conclure, consciente que la paille des mots
masque le poids des objets en question, qu 'en citant un texte

de

85

(i'<a ....... 9..

Marguerite

lourcer~rYqui

I' ce.............

~ ...... J;\1U..

N~'\ ")

se rapporte absolument ! mon propos. chaque

mot recouvrant un obJet, et l'objet lui-meme, nous sont souvent ,pour

combien de temps encore ?) assez familiers pour devenir, quand la meditation de Zenon l'exigeait, subitement insolites, condition qu'un objet ou
un mot appartenant ! une civilisation trap eloignee de la nOtre ne remplit pas. (3).

1. Hugues de Varine
2.

ct.

Bohan,

l'ouvrage collectif, Cent.ans d'ecole, preface de G, Duby,

te~tes

de P. caspar,S, Chassagne, J. OZauf, A, Prost, Y, Lequin, G, Vincent

et du groupe de la Maison d'ecole, Editions du Champ Vallon, Collection
Mil.ieux, 1981,

3. Marguerite Yourcenar, Le Temps, ce grand

Gallimard, 1983.

sculpte~;

p, 48, Editions

86

P G Gupte,.-.J~ew Delhi -

Co~~eoting

scientific and

India

objects of art as well as

teohno~ogic~

importance

role in funotioning of a museum.

materi~s

p~ays

of

a significant

A ohenge in the conoept

of a museum in the

~ast

soci~ ob~igat~ons

the museums are nov required to

three deoades or so and the new

has brought new dimensions to the

prob~em

of

fu~fi~

co~~ecting

end

preservation of objeots, neoessitating review end reassessment of the role of

oo~ections

oircumstanoes.

who~e

The

in the oontext of the chenge$.

problem of

oo~~ecting

preservation

is centred around fcur major issues and each aspect needs

oareful oonsideration.
(i)
(i1)

Co~eotions

The issues are:

and their re~evanoe for ~ture;

Change in oonoept about the

ro~e

of museums in

the sooiety;

(iii)

ABsessment- o~d, current and new oo~eotions;

and

(iv)

What needs to be preserved for future.

87

I.

Co~ee~ione

~he

Bduea~ion,

tion.

and

~heir

re2evanee for

museWlle today have aau2 ~ip2e

researoh and

preserTa~ion

A cursory 200k at the

20pment of museWII

eo~ection

ac~ivi1:7 irii~i~

fu~re:

fune~iolls ~o

are

bu~

a few

his~or7

perform.
~o

men-

of deve-

revea2s that

c022eoting

"as the resu2t of persollal. iIlterest of

an individual. ill the fie2d of hiS/her iIlteres~ - art or

science, cr jus~ because of hiS/her curicsi1:7 to a~her a
varie1:7 of art objects or specimellS of soientifio importanee.

The

groy~h

of individua:L

collec~ions resu2~ed

in

organis.d private art ga:L2eries or soientific o022ections

which subsequent27 2aid fOUlldatiollS for deve20pment of .use=
ums of

~od&7.

The museums thus formed "ere of mall7 kinds

"viz. art &:Id arch.e020gioa:L,

na1:ur1iL history, scienoe

n020gy etc. depelldiDg upon

ill them.

~he

nature of

a:

eo~eo~ions

~eoh-

housed

The museums, whether art or science, attempt to

depiot ill a broad sellSe, a story of civi2ization of mankiDd

or 1:r7 to traoe

~he

history of scientifio and

advanoement through ezhibits ill their

~echn020gioa2

eo~ections

since

museums now ailll at providina education ill' a non-formal. WS7,

a oOlllp2ete series of
the wh02e story.

co~ections

is neceSSarT

~o

bui2d up

M8Z17 museums do have 2arge c022eotions,

but often gaps are still noticed lIIaking the stcry inoolllp2e1:&.
~he

museUIIIs endeavour to

fi~

in these gaps b7 'adding such

missing 1inks in the c012eotions, acquiring suoh objects b7

WS7 of purchase, gift, or through their own fie2d

co~ectio~

88

programmes.
impar't

~e

know~edge

museums 'thrive 'to provide

c~~s ~or

and 'this

view 'to 'tracing 'the his'tor,y and

even 'techniques,

~or,

o~

deve~opmen't:

of objec'ts or

a sound research

Co~ec'tions ~O~ 'the ver,y b.-is o~

&Ll ac'tivi'ties in a museum and

remains one

'there~ore 'co~~eo'ting's'ti~~

'the mos'timpor'tan't

~c'tions o~

a museum.

i't needs 'to be ensured 'tha't 'the museums are

.ee't wi'th 'the demands

ohanlrinlr needs.

o~

and

ac'tive research wi'th a

~inal17 res~'t:ingin't:o

documen't (pub~ica'tiOD).

in~orma'tion

ab~e

'to

'the socie't7 in response 'to i'ts

The Na'tional Mu.eWll

o~

Na'turaJ. His'tor,y,

New nelli, a unique museum of i'ts Id.nd in India, has 'the

.&in objec'tive of promo'tine awareness in 'the area of oon.erva'tion educa'tion, and i'ts
orien'ted 'taking 'this
The

~'ther

co~eo'tion

par'tio~ar

o'ther

II.

~ie~d o~

na'tural

wi~

be

his'to~,

b3" and J.arlre. 'these obsezowa'tions riUbe 'true for

~es

of mu.eums as well.

A changed ooncep'tj
As disoussed

as

aspeo't in'to oonsidera'tion.

discussion on 'the subjeo't in 'this paper

b . .ed on 'the experiences in 'the

1:hOUCh

programme has been

ear~ier,

.useums

ini'ti~ ~o'tioned

reposi'tories for 'the oolleo'tions, housi~ and pre.en~~

ins as muoh ma'terial as possibJ.e 'to 'the

o'ther in'teres't

o~

speoific ini:eres't.

h.nde~

pubJ.io, servin.

of sohoJ.are and 'the persons ri'th

The museums 'tod&7 are

oon~red

as

ef~~

eci:ive meane of non-formal eduoa'tion and endeavour 'to. promote

89

educa'l:iQII. b;y W1der'l:aking a J.arge Tarie'l:;y

e~~ec'l:iTeJ.;y

responsibiJ.i'l:;y

~or'l:he

~his

is

museums 'l:ha'l: are oh-sed w:1'l:h 'the

o~ promo'l:i~

oonaerva'l:ion eduoa'l:ion in 'l:he

enTironmen'l:aJ. pro'l:eo'l:ion.

o~

progrlUlllHs _d

oommunioa'l:ing 'l:he message 'l:o masses.

par'l:iouJ.arJ.;y 80

~ieJ.d

o~

1D 'l:he

J.i~h'l:

o~

'l:hi8

ma,1 or ch_ge. 'l:he approaoh no.. J.e&DII 'l:owards popuJ.ar educa-

siSDi~io_'I:

revie..

o~

change now CaJ.J.8

~or

ooapJ.e'l:e reaseessmen'l: _d

ooJ.J.ec'l:ions. 'the 8;YS'l:ems

o~

presen'l:a'l:ion _d 'l:he
/

eduoa'l:ionaJ. programmes under'l:aken earJ.ier.

~e

roJ.e

mus-

o~

eums as researoh in8'1:i'l:u'l:ion8 however, shouJ.d no'l: be underes'l:ima'l:ed.

in 'l:his

I'l: shouJ.doon'l:inue 'l:o enjo;y 'l:he eame impor'l:ance

~ieJ.d

as i'l: did in 'the pas'l:.

I'l: is aJ.so nO'l:iced 'l:hat

'l:he museums are Ter;y eeJ.eo'l:ive in acquiring ooJ.J.eo'l:iona

them no'l: onJ.;v in 'l:erms

o~

quaJ.i'l:;y but

oon~ine

new acquisi'l:ione

s'trio'l:J.y within the soope (reJ.evant '1:0 the objectives)

museum.

~or

o~

the

Yet another signi:f'ican'l: change 'l:hat is now apparent

in 'the na'l:uraJ. histor,y museum8 is the integrated approach as

a s'l:ep 'l:owards understanding the probJ.em in its 'l:o'l:aJ.i'l:;y and
dispensing wi'l:h' oompartmen'l:aJ.iza'l:ion

o~

'l:he soien'l:i:f'ic divi-

sions.

IU.

ABsessmen'l: - oJ.d, curren'l: and new coJ.J.eo'l:ions:

It has been observed eJ.sewhere in this articJ.e 'tha'l:

in 'l:he

e~J.ier

da;ye museums used to ooJ.1ect &D;Y'l:hing and

eve~~-

thing and 'tried to diep1a;y as much ma'l:eriaJ.s as poesibJ.e.

Whereas 'l:he impor'l:ance

o~

the richness end aJ.so 'l:he Tarie'l:;Y

90

diversit~ o~

aDd

in orowding

o~

the

co~eotione

exhibits in museum

to a great extent

~ost

~or

oannot be underestimated,
gal~eriee

the general visitore as the presSeoond~,

entation beoomee researoh oriented.

the na1:ural

h:l.eto~

oo~eotione

is

soienti~io

&II

presentation ie

~om

the recen1:

~avour o~

sh:l.~ting

the museum

g~eries

Ho1:

to 40

of other euppor1::!.Dg .ateri&ls _

'tha1: bu1: 'this makes it neceesary

order 1:0 make en1:ire preeentation a

oomp~e1:e

.&:Ao'ther shif1: in the concep1: of

le.g. variev

a:

re~1:

.obi~e

we~

di_reit~)

~arge

in

sto~

ear~ier oo~eo1:ione

has beoome neoessary with 'the in-

oreasine s1:1'eee 1:ha1: is nov being

U

museums

impor1:anoe ia the

presen1: oontex1:.
oo~eo1:ione

disp~&ye

!rhis becomes evi-

~eadinc na1:ur~ histo~

iva aDd in1:egrated approaoh h_ i ts

o~

popuJ.ar eduoation,

towards 'thematio

~nova1:ions o~

undertaken in a number of

o~

based on taxonomio oonsiderations.

oPposed to 1:axonomio oonsiderations.

den1:

o~

in most

mueeume, approach to preeentati on

With 'the change in approaoh in

e~etem o~

the impact is

~aid

on popuJ.ar eduoation.

number of ou1:reaoh progr_ _ s suoh

museums, exhibi1: banks

lsohoo~ ~oan

&II

kite), demonstra-

tieD J,eo1:ures, fiJ.m shovs e1:o. hall been 'the UIIU&l prao1:ice
with a number of museums.
~

of

oo~o1:iODll

This &leo

c~e

for a

taking into oonsideration 'the

dif~eren1:
over~

requirements aDd does no1: nov permit to restrio1: 1:he

1:ine programme

1:0 acquirine of a

varie~

oo~eo-

of epeoimens,

91

The concep1: o~ arlranising speoial 1:hema1:io ezlrl.bi1:ions as

also 1:he proBr_ _

o~

lla1:ionaJ. Museum

lila1:ural His1:o17 1:0 promo1:e 1:he oause

o~

organising regional oen1:res

~ves

enTiroZ1lllen1:al eduoa1:ion,

o~

o~

a ne" dimensions 1:0 1:he co1.-

1.eo1:ing progr8lll_ 1:0 _e1: "i1:h our

The po1.icy

1:he

o~

requiremen1:e.

~ 1:ure

coUec1:ing has 1:0 be reTie".d 1:0 oop_ up ri1:h

1:he changed cirOUJllll1:anoes.

IV.

Vha1: needs 1:0 be prellerved:

The oono1.usion ill obTiows.

J.:D.Jr' objeo1: 1:ha1: ill 1.ike1y

1:0 he1.p in unders1:anding 1:he progreslI

kind or 1:he proc811s
gical advanoes or
1:oda:v

~rom

o~

~or

o~

oivi1.iza1:ion

o~

man-

deve1.opmen1: in science and 1:eohno1.o-

1:ha1: ma1:1:er any1:hing 1:ha1: is impor1:ant

1:he vie" poin1:

o~

unders1:anding 1:he pas1: or 1:ha1:

is 1.ike1.y 1:0 proTide eTidenoe

~or ~1:ure

1:0 be oo1.J.eo1:ed and preserved

~or

researoh "ill have

p081:eri1:y.

And

~in&LJ.;y

Doue1.as Al.1.an has observed The ra" na1:uraJ. lIIa1:erials

oan s1:ill be eo1:,

oourse, bu1: 1:he earl.;y

o~

soien1:i~io

ine1:ru-

_n1:s and 1:he pioneer engines and 1:heir aooessories have &Ll
1:00

o~1:.n

Iron. 1:0 1:he breaker's yard, 1:he sorll;l heap or 1:he

ae1.1:ing-down

~ao..

Me:1;y

app1.ianoes ".re so_"ha1:

"or'l:hy

o~

8aTing

~or

o~

1:he earl.;y ine1:rumen1:s and

aan8hi~1: ~~&ir8,

unJ.ikel.;y 1:0

pos1:eri1:y and in any oase 11I081:

silllpl.;y "ore ou1: "i1:h use.

~en

o~

S tiI

1:hem

1:he in81:rumen1:s used by

Savan1:s and engines bui1.1: by no" "or1.d ~amed in_n1:ors no

doub1: seemjd

o~

1.i1:1:1.. value a1: 1:he 1:ime 1:hey "ere disoardea.

:1:1: "as 1:h. resuJ.1:s in 1:he one oase and 1:he produo1:8 in 1:he

92

o'th.r whioh lIla't't.r.d.

To 1Il&k ure 'tha't :tu'ture

:tu'tur. lIl\l.eUlll aura'tor. do no't euffer 'the . . . .

1Il\l uma

.z1d

di.abi~i'tie.,

i't i. n'ti~ 'tha't .ver;y lIl\llIewa .houJ.d oon'tinue 'to ooll.o't

ao'tiTe~.

93

Lynn Maranda, Vancouver - Canada

. !"':ARKETPLACE E:THt;CLOGY

A.

Orientation
The writing of this paper is to provide ideas that deal

with a shift in the basic philosophy of museum ethnology, to

present a case of opinion as example of one problem facing
global collection and the assessment of future holdings, and
to offer the symposium these points for discussion.

B.

Introduction
Historically, museums acquired their ethnological

collections on a haphazard basis from many parts of the world.

As a result, ill conceived assemblages lacking in pertinent
data comprise the vast majority of holdings in today's
museums.

Nevertheless, in spite of its indiscriminate

acquisition practices, the traditional museum was, at the time

of its inception, a repository for materials of great
educational value as it made available to European cultures
the then significantly different habits and life-styles of
'contemporary' but 'primitive' peoples.

The building of these

initial collections had been the relatively simple matter of

acquiring the material culture illustrative of how people were
'living' and it was in this forum that the discipline of
ethnology was developed and the standards for its scientific
orientation were established.
However, as time passed, ever increasing intrusions were
made on the aboriginal life-styles and as a consequence, the
manufacture of materials has altered and created a confusion

94

for-museum ethnology as to what is properly collectable.

Faced with the disintegration of 'traditional' cultures and
with a diminishing supply.of 'traditional' objects, ethnology
has come to be a discipline that deals with an older time and
with the sUhject of how people 'lived'.
In an attempt to assemble meaningful collections,
ethnologists continue to scour indigenous societies for
artefactual materials and compete in this arena not only with
other museums but also with commercial dealers and private
collectors.

However, the disappearance of 'traditional'

cultural environments and the recent introduction of national

legislations protecting heritage materials have compelled
museums to concentrate their trade with entrepreneurs and
collectors for the last available remnants of indigenous
life.
Dealers have a different financial situation than most
museums and are motivated to acquire goods to realize a profit
over the short term.

Collectors choose objects to satisfy

such desires as personal enjoyment or long term investment.

It is becoming common in North America for collectors to
donate gifts to an institution in return for a tax benefit.
Whatever, museums have become involved with a marketplace
which deals in ethnological materials.

The museums may be

large or small players in this market, but by the very nature

of what they represent, they set standards of collectability
both of an aesthetic and monetary nature.

Throllgh their

actionz,museums are promoting ar.d legitimatizing values.

C.

Assessment of Current Situation

There is an ethnological collections marketplace in

existence which has the following components:

1.

A scarcity of 'traditional' objects

As 'traditional' cultures and the old styles of living

have all but disappeared, the manufacture of viable
ethnological objects has virtually ceased.

Without this

indigenous manufacture, collectable objects have become

scarce.

What was manufactured has been either collected

or lost.
2.

Supply and demand

With the scarcity of 'traditional' objects coupled with

an ever growing demand from museums to assemble new
collections, ethnological material has experienced a
corresponding dramatic increase in value.
3.

Reouirement for successful collecting

In the contemporary circumstance, even while facing the

dilemmas of scarcity and supply and demand, it is still
possible to build new collections.

However, this would

require that a museum be well endowed financially, have

a large well trained staff, and be able to institute a
programme of systematic collecting.

There is a limited

number of museums capable of participating at this level.

4.

The pursuit of acguisition

The consequence of museums competing against each other

ever a limited supply of objects has encouraged values

96

~?

."

to rise and has helped to sustain the acti vi tY"of' the

marketplace.
5.

The creating of museum artisans

The market has brought about an economic pressure to

have 'indigenous' artefacts created, and so museums find.
themselves encouraging the production of ethnological
'replicas' by contemporary native peoples.

By so doing,

museums have inadvertently established 'museum' artisans

such as jewellers, carvers, weavers, and so forth.
6.

Social complicity

While creating a class of 'museum' artisans, museums. are

at the same time, supporting these people and their
families, and are establishing economic dependencies a.nct
a way of life quite different from that in which the
'traditional' objects were originally manufactured.

As

a result, a small and special caste is being nurtured to

support the show-cases of contemporary museums.
7.

Fiscal participation and influence

The ethnological marketplace is much larger than the

specific trade that goes on through museums as private
collectors and commercial dealers are vying for the same
kinds of objects.

However, through their. acquisition

activities, through pUblished catalogues, the purchase

of collections insurance, and so on, museums exert a
strong influence in setting the scale of value in the
trade.

The acquisition of a collectable has become a

venture in business financing rather than one of opening

new horizons of education as was the motive in the

97

nineteenth century.

Citizens and corporations

participate in the museum economics by donating gifts

for tax benefit purposes where ascribed values of the
donations are encouraged to rise in order to

gai~

a mor

favourable advantage.
8.

The museum gift shop

A prime example of the duality of contemporary museums

is evident in the phenomena of the museum gift shop
which directly encourages the production of ethnologicallike material for

~ale

on the open marketplace.

In this

way; thf' museum is acting like an art gallery for native

artisans and the gift shop is selective to the point of
authenticating contemporary artistic output.
9.

The show-case business

The museum has an impact on what kinds of contemporary

ethnological material is being produced.

This is so

because museums are in a showcase business and are

therefore out to satisfy the pUblic's curiosity and
tastes, and are purchasing those items which best fill
these needs.

It is curious to note that there is a

tendency not to display 'traditional' and 'contemporary'

materials together in the same exhibition theme.

There

is an intuitive underlying sense of their distinction.

D.

Summation of Current Situation

The ethnological marketplace is one comprised of price

evaluations, speculations, of a limited supply of 'traditional'

naterial with a new abundance of contemporary, market-created

98

objects.

The museum market has created artisans, establisheci

economic dependencies, and thus given support to a larger

community.

E.

Future Problems
1.

New ethnological material is being produced for

sale in the marketplace and the utility of these items

is beirig governed by their ability to sell, making
tourists or the museum show-case creators of cultural
meaning and value.

Such production is distinct from any

indigenous manufacture of similar items from 'traditional'

cultures where artefacts were created for particular
employment.

The problem is that for the future, museums

will function as arbiters of value and will end up

creating their own new body of ethnology, that which
sits well in the show-case.
2~

Concurrent with the production of the new ethnology

materials, there will be in the future as in the present,

a main-stream world development of art which will be
seen to be different, though contemporary, with that
created by native artisans.

The special difficulty

which arises from this predicament is that a special

class is encouraged to exist excluded from the mainstream trends of the general world artistic awareness.
Clearly this is a museum problem because as in the
nineteenth century those initial museums were very much
a part of a curiosity and scientific

ex~mination

of the

world and were in the forefront of human progress and

99

development.

On the other hand, the training of

artisans to reproduce traditional forms for contemporary

sale will have the tendency to maintain the status quo
rather than to promote any growth of science.
3.

special problem is associated with the livelihoods

that have been established through museum involvements

and devestating consequences may result, especially to
those individuals who have placed their trust in the
museum marketplace, should such a market lose its
credibility.
In conclusion, museum ethnology is facing three problems:
a shift in museum self-perception; the creation of a new
material ethnology; and, the dependence of artisans and other
classes of people on a marketplace economics.

100

Contributions to the symposium

$ub-topic No.4
Current acquisition policy and its appropriateness
for tomorrow's needs

Contributions au symposium
Sous-theme no 4
Politique courante d'acquisition et adaptation aux
besoins de demain

.,,

101

Josef Benes, Praha -

Czechoslovakia

Fundamental theses can be briefly formulated as follows:

1. Museum collections are gathered for the future generationB,
for their needs that must be foreseen in order that we do
not fail as qualified builders of collections who havebeeh
charged with that important task by the society.
2. Qualitati?e aspects are preferred to quantitative approaches, as it is better to preserve a smaller number of top
quality objeClts than a number of items of lower value that
do not express as "psrs pro toto" the reality in a wayadequato to the needs of representing the national or universal
cultural heritage.

3. We take into account the right of future

generations~r

collection documentation, since these needs are an impera~

tive to which the creation of preconditions for formation
and preservation of collections for the future is submitted.
When evaluating the existing collections we often criticize
our predecessors that~r a large number of preserved things
they failed to provide documentation On some subject circles, processes and phenomeria that are considered today as
important. That they did not furnish the collections with
things that are considered - after a lapse of time - as typical of the given period and stuf~ed instead the depositories
wi th objec.ts of little documentation value being influenced
by temporarily fashionable colle~tion waves that were overcome by further development.
We forget at this rather unfair
criticism that they provided documentation about the development of the society under the then valid opinion and knowledge without any museological basis being available and emphasize that in gathering collections - mostly by aCClepting the
offered presents - they did not take into account the future
needs, they did not care what we would-be looking for in the
colledtions a century later, what we would consider as docu~
ments typicsl of changes in work, life, and environment of
people who used to live in the 19th century. Today, we can
see the then facts with all the consequences, which obviously
were unknown to our ancestors. After all, they concentrsted 102

almost exclusively on the past, whose documents they safeguar~

ded under the pressure of far-reaching changes of the industrial revolution that brought new dimensions and ideas in their
life. Thus they preserved documents with no possibility of a
deeper insight into pertinent relations and links. With a lit,tle objectivity we must recognize they did a lot to preserve
the "materialized memory of mankind", especially if taking into account the meagre preconditions and possibilities in terms
of space, technical facilities, personnel, end funds availablec
Thanks to immense enthusiasm and devotion they left behind a
relatively broad collection basis containing a number of docu~
ments of irreplaceable scientific, historical or artistic value. We owe them a lot and should not criticize them unjustly
on the basis of principles of museum documentation as they are valid at present. After all, we shall be in a similar situation in the eyes of our' suceessors, also we shall be subject to criticism in view of the future requirements.
Ad 1. We work in the scope of eternity related to the life of
an individual and therefore we are.not.concerned with satisfaction of needs in a short-term look at and approach to museum documentation. We should think of people iivingn~e next
century, because it is for them we create the scientific model of reality we live in and at the same time we complete
collections from the past epochs. On the basis of museum collections the future generations will form their ideas about
our living and feelings, work and deeds in our environment
and way of life, in spite of having - apart from museum documents - also the information furnished by other documentation
systems. In order that a scientifically well founded model of
the present reality could be created for the futune, we must
not only well know our presence, but we should also be able to
estimate what will be important for people whose life will be.
quite different from ours on the threshold of the next centrury, not to speak about its later course. If consid,ering the
increasing rate of scientific and technical discoveries, end
all the changes experienced by the society during the life of
one generation, the image of the future world can be inconceivable for us, as we are not endowed with the vest imaginat~
ion of Jules Verne, who surprisingly well predicted the technical achievements of the present time. It would not be fair
103

to con1'ine these changes only to the area of science and tech<~

nology. Man himself will be changed
by a number of stimuli
from the environment regarding the material and spiritual
needs, as well as the ways and forms of their satisfaction, the
wide scope of individual activities, knowledge, and skills
within the extent and positions rather guessed than foreseen
in concrete dimensions and parameters. Many of these changes
are already predi~ted by futurologists, but some of them are
not even considered in this position. I f because of fundamental reasons of preservation of mankind the apocalyptic extinc.t~
ion of life on the Earth as the outco~ of nuclear warfare is
pmcluded, there remains for examination a broad spectrum of
the development of society and man in a disturbed environment,
i.e. deteriorated in climatic terms, but abundantly outfitted
in every respect so that man can satisfy his material and spiritual needs on a higher level to achieve the harmonic growth
of his personality in agreement with humanistic trends of people's efforts for peace and welfare of all people, irrespective of the colour of their skin, religion con1'essed or social
system used. For this new way of life preconditions are crea~
ted already today, when science, technology, and arts are 5UCcessfuly developed. Let us look at the present achievem.nts in
context of the future as at a relatively simple foundation for
future possibilities, new dimensions of human life embracing
new knowledge andd~coveri.s, journeys to outer space, yet undetected benefits of biological, chemical, and physical inventions, projects, and processes, .as well as new ways how to
gather in1'ormation and live through the so ~ar unheard stimuli for experience of unknown quality and shape. In this
world of phantastically looking thinRS of man of the 21st
century we are. to put a set of
works
and values that
should qualitatively express the roots of new things that are
expected to be invented and implemented in M s environment.
It should embrace creations selected in such a way that thei~
set could bear adequate witness to our time, our life, and
our environment. One cannot visualize
the future without
imagination, even though we must take the risk of errors. But
without the risk of errors the development of society ean be
predicted neither in global respect nor in individual areas of
human activities, which means we have no safe ground for pre104

prediction of the required image of museum documentation,

neither in museums focusing on the general picture of social
development nor in museums specializing in specific di~ect
ions.
Ad 2. At the first glance it may seem it is obvious and free
of any problem if we emphasize the principle of predominance
of quality over quantity. But this can be true only if we ~e
lyon the illusion that everyone is able to distinguish a
creation valuable in documentation ~espect from a little valuable one, everyone who has been acquainted with materials
pertaining to his specialized branch of science. However, th~
creation of human hand cannot be reduced only to a source of.
scientific knowledge in the pertinent branch of science, because the interdisciplinary approaches to exploitation and consequently to evaluation of any
work
can largely modify the
opinion of a narrowly oriented specialist who sometimes cannot
see the wood for the trees. They will modify his opinion sUbjectiv.ely taken as a correct one - based on tradi tional do~,
cumentation approaches in the pertinent branch and consequent~
ly also the justified allocation of the pertinent museum value
to the selected
work As far as quantity is concerned, it
should be considered only to such an extent that is defendable
for the necessary representation of the appropriate subject in
cultural heritage, in sources of scientific knowledge, and
means of specifically museum educational effects on the. public
- this everything within parameters of a museum of pertinent
type and kind. It is not desirable to include into collections
an excessive amount of thiPgs only for their gathering as cultural values and objects of national representation or even
to convert them to financial values of proprietary or spe~
culative character. The recognition of the above approaches
in building up collections in. any museum or branch outlines t
at least in general terms, the required number of documents
in collections of a concrete SUbject circle so that it does n~
essentially exceed the estimated extent of social needs in the
future.
This general thesis will obviously be modified in different
ways in individual types of museums, depending on concrete re~
quirements of na1Ura ard technical sciences, and humanities. In
105

biological branches the number of species that are on the danger list already today, will continue to decline. On the other
hand, in technical branches the number of instruments and machines will be added - as it seems - in a geometric series.
at similar rate there will increase the number of published
books, paintings, cultural programmes - not only in the mass
communication media where already today surpassing of man's
perception abilities is imminent. Only the number of handmade
goods will be on decline and consequently their value as
works documenting individual creative skills on man will rise not only in curiosity shops, but also in museums. This is
conditioned not only by unique expression and direct realization of the author, but also by contradiction to mass pro~uction of goods of uniform appearance by which man will be
ever more abundantly surrounded. At the same time, we shall
have to answer a number of serious questions referring to
the environment and the way of life in the future. What will
be the life like in cities, where already today the multitude
of cars ,occupies the space for people? How the ever greater
number of people will spend their leisure time in the nature,
when suitable, i.e. relatively undisturbed areas quickly disappear? How will be nourished the further billions of people,
when already today the sources of foodstuffs are insufficient?
These questions refer to the essence of some types of museums,
while for others they give general information streamlining
the principal trends of the acquisition policy. Whether the
museum workers will accept concrete works as documents for
their collections or will refuse them, they will always be
held responsible for every step in the documentation, may
they realize it or not, may they bother about it or wave beir
hand. The principles of professional ethics cannot be so
simply ignored.
Ad 3. The documentation of collections is seen today as an
active operation controlled by plan, free of any random and
spontaneous extension of collections by adding problematic
or useless accessions. It means to observe the programme profile and territorial coverage
of the museum, to restrict
the number of new additions only to those really needed. The
estimated need of documents is to determine the extent of new
106

additions and influence preconditions for their acquisition,

storage, and safeguarding. In line with the growth of collections following the above principles it means to provide
depositories with adeauate technical facilities and also com~
mensurate funds for their acquisition, since purchases will
most probably be the main IDur~~r extension of collections,
even though presents and bequests cannot be underestimated
provided that they are in line with programme of the museum,
For its further development the society will also need origi~
nal documents stored in museum collections, since the future
generations will not content themselves with indirect second
hand knowledge. Therefore do not underestimate the documentation and communication possibilities of subjects of collections, because they are irreplaceable in those positions when
they play the role of original information carriers and concrete sources of sensuous experience needed to live a full
life. That's why they will not be ousted by no matter how
boisterous further development of technical devices is, be~
cause they will pertain to man's life and the society even in
the future. Individual branches represented in museums should
carefully examine the required extent and composition of collections, justify further documentation practice in theoreti-
cal and methodological respects so that it is not based only
on experience and subjective opinion of.individuals. Thus we
could avoid serious mistakes and errors that are incorrigible at a later date. Do reject the opinion that it is better
to accept a lot of subjects to be on the safe side. This will
bring about uncontrollable problems concerning space, technical, personnel, and organizational requirements. We cannot
make excessive demands on a great number of new buildings
at exorbitant requirements on personnel, technical facilities,
and funds, since the means for cultural purposes should be used efficiently and economically in every social system. To
burden the museum budget with unreasonable demands is a hindrance for the future, which means that such deeds are in fact
irresponsible. It will be difficult to get for museums outstanding works of art and excellent antiquities whose prices
mostly exceed the possibilities of the majority of museums
and favour private collectors and their speculative aims,
107

to which also the illegally imported artefacts fall victims.

An excessive outflow of significant collection values of
scientific or artistic character to private collectors is not
favourable for museums in view of their acquisition policy
and in the future they cannot rely on such a generous support
that the most precious collections are donated to public museums.
Conclusions: From the above principles of the acquisition policy for needs of future generations there follows the requirement of a prompt substantiation of the documentation practice by the museological theory and methodology elaborated hav~
ing the future needs and requirements in mind. The general museology together with individual branch museologies have been
charged with the task of not only. clarifying the subject circles, but especially the documents that are optimal, necessary or indispensable in the pertinent type and kind of museum
for its documentation. On this basis the acquisition pOlicy
could be carried out on a qualitatively higher basis using
all theoretical, methodological, technical, organizational,
and qualification possibilities. They will decide, if the acquisition policy of museums ~.mmmensura~~the needs of the
next century.
One of the key tasks is to c~arifY the c~aracter of the subject of museum collection in general terms and in modifications for individual branches so that it is in line with the
demands on works seen within the complex of cultural goods,
original source of scientific knowledge and educational means.
Another task is to decide in which cases the authentic document can be replaced with a model, dummy or reconstruction
of bulky units the museum is unable to accept in their full
size - the only exception being the open-air museums with
the prospects of substantial expansion in the future - when
only a secondary documentation will do in the form of projects, drawings, and when the reality can be expressed by
graphical representation, photos, films or sound recording,
eventually by their combination. It is an established fact
that museum cannotronte~ itself only with information picked
up from documents , which is satisfactory for the pertinent
branch of science, but chiefly it is concerned with mainten108

ance of authenitc and well proven existence of the work as nn

irreplaceable and specific sUbject of the museum collection
at present and in the future as well. Neither today nor in the
future the original documents in museum collections can be replaced with information "tins" of any kind, because they are
irreplaceable as authentic testimony to their time and environment.

109

GEllis Burcaw, Moscow -

Aa

I underatand it,

collecting
last

Idaho, USA

30

o
or

the concern o thia ayapo.iua

ia

th~

recent or conteaporaneoua obJecta (thoae

th~

40 years> by auaeuaa o hiatory or

history in the preaent. Thereore,

in

this

.1.

.'

Moreover,

the

beginning

not

art

or

o the preaent

"today," haa not been arbitrarily set.

ning

cultural

when we uae the .tera "auaeu."

context we aean hiatory auaeuaa,

lIuseuaa.

huaan

acience

period,

or

It designates the beg1n-

o noraal lie after the disruption of World War

II.

For

aany countries it aarks new governaents, new social and political

orientation for public service,
ialisa,
ary

colon-

and sn increaaed intereat by intellectusls in the ordin-

li~ea

reaaona,
ing,

a decline in eliti.a and

o ordinary people.

For aoat countriea,

for varioua

World War II aarks the beginning o our rapidly

in aany waya new,

collecting

the

pre.ent

world.

chang-

The point to be observed ia that

a.ana aore to

aoa.

auseologists

than

collecting what ia available and aailiar today.

To ou~

colleagues in the aocialist countries it also servea the

iaport

ant

of

function

working

of

claaaes

docua.nting the changes in the

lives

after the institution of socialist

th~

governaent.

We ahall co..e back to this point.

Even

though they lIay not be aware o it,

all good history

110

museums

make

a decision concerning contemporary

they set their scope;

The museum

World War I,

1930,

conronting the question,

should

World War II, 1960, or

some other time marks the near end o their scope.

thus

as

that is, decide when the past ended as ar

as their collecting interests are concerned.

decide whether 1900,

collecting

In spite

outside o Sweden and

ew museums seriously engage in

socialist

countries

very

present.

The topic o this symposium, never-the-less, is perti-

nent to all museums o history.

collecting

The question we are

the

addressing

is, "Should these museums engage in contemporary collecting?"

It would have been nearly impossible prior to now to discuss
this

question

and

Internationally,

related

questions on

world-wide

basis.

we have been limited to knowledge o the philo-

sophical position on the subJect in the socialist countries,

the

SAMDOK

the

proJect in Sweden,

lack o them.

or

Other contributions to this symposium look at this

such basics as what museums collect, and the diicul-

question,

ties o collecting well.

however,

and our own local activities

in

I need to reer to those areas briely,

order to set the basis o my reasoning in regard to

policy.
The
the

public,

public

them.

proessional museum today collects either what

wants to see or what peopl.e in charge want

to

show

(A museum with a completely haphazard collecting policy is

perhaps

not deserving o the description

another

way,

educational
guidelines.

"proessional.")

the museum operates either to be popular or to

according

to

oicial

or

Put
be

socially-acceptable

Most museums, no doubt, represent a mixture o both.

111

Contemporary collecting. I auggest. may not be popular: and,

indeed, Gunilla Cedrenius of SAKDOK reported at lCOK 83 in London
that

there

is

it. 1

a general lack of interest in

certainly true of North America.

This

The museum obJects the

is
public

is interested in are those that seem worthwhile because:

1.

they are entertaining (and/or aesthetic),

2.

they cater to the visitor'a existing intereata,

3.

they are mentally stimulating,

serving to aatound

or intrigue.
Kuseuma,
that

to

aerve the public,

collect and make uae of

are unuaua1 (as far aa ita public is concerned),

obJects
and

are illuatrative of aomething the museum wants to teach.

of

fine

art

by definition is unusual

personal expression).
eign,

(being

that
A work

one-of-a-kind

Hiatorical obJects that are old,

or for-

or belong to a particular craft are unusual to the average

viaitor.

Biological

or

geological specimens are

daily experience of most people.

obJects are also unusual.
thea.

things

outside

Archaeological and .thnological

People enJoy going to auaeums to

because they

are

the

stiaulating,

interesting,

sae
and
J

entertaining;

being

different---reaoved

from

their

ordinary

livea.
Conte.porary collecting runs counter to this general rule in
that
of

it proposea to collect what is coaaon today,

no

interest.

The furniahinga of ay hoae are

interest to my friends.
typical
Kongolia.

hoae

They would be fascinated,

furnishings iroa Bulgaria,

Sri

and therefore
of

no

great

however,

Lanka,

or

by

Outer

Perhaps my ordinary possessions would fora an interea-

1 1.2

ting

.useum exhibition in some other part of the world.

rule_

general

the

more

an

obJect

ia

the more it belongs in a museum,

experience,

removed

As

from

daily

from the visitor's

point of view. It is foreignness that creates the museum obJect.

Twenty
curator

five

years ago at the Colorado

of collections,

Sally Lewis,

contemporary collecting. 2
the

main

State

Museum,

the

and I began a proJect

of

We felt a little silly doing it, and

problem was to keep the cleaning people from

the materials out as trash.

throwing

Now, a generation later, some of the

obJects may be sufficiently old-fashioned (and therefore foreign>

to be exhibitable.

We had the freedom,

the time, and the space

to begin the collection of contemporary clothing and food

ging

packa-

in a small way as an intellectual exerciae and aa a gift to

It ia probably significant that we are both anthro-

the future.

pologists; I do not think a historian would have had the interest

to

do what we did.

aware

of

It was a pioneering effort.

We

any other contemporary collecting being done

were

not

at

that

ti
Colorado
known.

tax payers might not have been amused if they

If our board of truate.s (the auperviaing authority) knew

of

our activity I am aure they were not enthusiastic.

we

were completely serious.

for tomorrow was supported,

that

represented

today

we felt, on the museological grounds

a museum. being theoretically eternal,

kind of altruism,

However,

The principle of collecting

staff members

might legitimately serve their museum's public tomorrow.

as

had

today
It ia

however: taking money from the public today--by ataff time and museum facilities as

well

as

funds---for the benefit of other people in the future.

113

1
1950).
est.

history

museum were to collect

the

present

(since

running counter to usual practice and maJor public interit

would have to be or one o more o the ollowing

rea-

sons:
1.

f21i~i~~1.

and

to document the recent changes in society

culture

governmental

under

new

system.

philosophical
Such

and

documentation

emphasizes how things are changed (or the better)

since theormer way o lie (villsges in the last
30

to

prior

40 years as coapared with olk lie

time).

Recent

reports

rom

socialist

countries maintain that it is the duty o a auseum

o

cultural

document

hi.tory

and

improvement.

in a sociali.t

pre.ent

to

its

country
public

The museums. thus. play an active

role in the building o socialism and the

society.3

Other

countries.

their poiitical ideology.

new

nation

the

under .ocialism. o the live. o the

under classe..

to

too.

molding

whatever

aight be so served.

in Arica or in Southeast

Asia.

A
or

example. aight instruct its auseua. to demon.trate

that

people are better o under the

new

regiae

than they were under the old.

2.

~2~~lgl~

~~blY~l.

similar to keeping a aaily

scrapbook

or

thoroughly

the total way o lie o a

small

photograph

album,

and homogeneous cultural unit.

docuaenting
relatively
I

suggest

11~

this requires central control and support,

a high

degree of literacy,

a high standard of living,

strong

nationalism,

sense

of

relatively

homogeneous population experiencing rapid

and

change,

an established base and public acceptance

such

contemporary

libraries,

documentary

archives,

work

governmental

(as

in

agencies,

business, folk museums, and open-air museums).

other"

words,

the

of

Swedish situation.

The

In
best

example, of course, is that of SAKDOK, the Swedish

contemporary collecting program.
3.

~n !gg~!~~!g~! ~~~!me~ ~~ !~mg~~~!!~~,

that is, the

desire to try to prrve an exi.ting way of life,

with it. value.,
the

thoughts

motivated
social

its material culture,

of

its

and

practitioners.

in this way are saying,

even
People

"I.et us create

heirloom. &0 our grandchildren

and

their

children will not forget us."

4.

~n

!n~!1!!~~Y9! !~!~~!!,

anthropology

combining the science of

and the science of museology with an

altruistic attitude toward the people of

tomorrow

in bequeathing to them more exact knowledge of us,

the

people of today.

As previously referred to,

the reasoning is that:

A.

continue
therefore,
tODlorrow's

museums
to

will

be

in

museum
museum

continue

the

service

staffs

~affa

today
in

their

to

exist

of
should

and

society;
assiat

interpretive

115

work.

Let present day people contribute to future

day work;

and let people of today pay for it

people of the future reap the benefit.

and

It is also

reasoned that:
B.

our

appreciate

the

interested

in

descendants
gift.
us

in

That

the

future
they

is,

will

will

be

how

we

and will want to know

lived and what we thought.

For countries that are in neither the socialist
nor the Swedish (archival) situation,
porary

collecting

the sotivations to contes-

will be found under reasons 3.

localized exceptions perhaps.

(political)

or

4.,

with

Three (romantic) is likely to be

the sore universal possibility but existing on a .mall acale

and

with no coordination, no national plan, and very little intellectual

content.

An

exasple

is presented by the custos

in

the

United States of sarking great occasiona like our recent national

bicentennial
container

celebration

with

tise

This

in'which present day obJects are sealed and which

not to be opened for a hundred years.

local

capsule.

is

a
is

In sy hoae town in 1976 a

san with a farming background on his own

initiative

pre-

pared such a conteMporary' gift to the future for the local county
historical society.
in

the

newspaper

activity,

it wa. clear that this had

been

personal

with the selection of obvious trivia and a bias toward

agricultural
collecting

When the list of the contents was published

statistics and seed catalogues.

for tomorrow,

Such contesporary

even when done by a suseua,

does

not

call on social science, Much less auseological science.

116

All these motivations, one, two, and three, .ight be thought

of aa examples of applied muaeography;that is, the use of museu.

methods (in this case, collecting) for a particular purpose aside
from pure,
tion,

general education.

They are for specific indoctrina-

or for a portion of a broader,

even

for ro.antic fun.

likely

to

be

record-making actiVity, or

Only number four,

it seems to

applicable to all professional museuas

ae,
in

is

their

traditional rolea as educational servants of a particular public.

It is,

at least.

and

in

and

locally

the only feasible course in the United

other countries in which auseuas are locally

the

spending

of public moneys in all

Juatified in terms of the public good.

I

as I see it, is

countries

is

Justified

must

be

This is as it should be.

believe contemporary collecting as an instrument

policy

controlled

supported.

The difficulty of contemporary collecting.

that

States

'in socialist and developing

of

national

countries

in

which a very different new way of life needa to be documented and

in

which the public must be made familiar with the

significance

of contemporary rapid and far-reaching, change.

Similarly.
fiable

the admirable SAKDOK program in Sweden is Justi-

aa a logical extension into the realm of material culture

of established archival work,and as an extension to the present

of

the folk and popular culture collections and museums

past;
example

in other words,

bringing Skansen up to date.

the

The SAMDOK

might be emulated by other s.all countries in

circumstances.

of

favorable

If I do not appear to embrace it and advocate its

application in the United States and all countries,

or, for that

matter, if I see no application of the scientific and educational

" 17

contemporary collecting in socialist countries to countries with

other

political

aystems it is because I feel

that

acquisition

policy Must fit each Museum's own situation.

The

local

characteristic
produces

control and local financing of museums

of

North America and other parts of

practic4l 4ttitude tow4rd

their

will

the

public

T4xpayers 4nd private donors w4nt to feel th4t they,

that

i8

world,

services.
person41ly,

benefit in the ne4r future from money which they h4ve given

out

of

their own pockets.

insufficient funds,

In the competition for

the

4lw4ys

staff, sp4ce, time, and the other 4spects of

museum capital, contemporary collecting st4nds little chance.

the

first place,

the everyd4y obJects of the present hold

little

interest for the public or for museum st4ffs.

likely

prospects

tools

for collecting of tod4Y

are

the

very

The

most

speci4lized

of cr4ftspeople 4nd 10c41 industries (since these are

f4miliar

to the general public).

If e4ch museum will

10c41,

specialized work,

tion4l

cover4ge of 4 sort will result;

In

not

document

4nd other speci4lized 4ctivities,

great amount of w4steful repetition.

but,

of course_

In this reg4rd,

with 4

our at4te

historic4l societies which h4ve br04d responsibilities 4nd

erly

4 p4tern41istic role tow4rd the 10c41 historical

within

their

st4tes C4n serve 4 coordin4ting function

prop-

societies
to

some

degree.
The

other deterrent to contempor4ry collecting is that

seum

trustees,

much

interested in,

There'

adminiatr4tors,

au-

4nd profeaaion41 at4ffa are not

or even 4W4re of,

4 science of

is no general enthusiasm for the collecting of

auseology.
today

for

118

that

tomorrow,

have observed,

at any level.

Our

national

Museum complex, the Smithsonian Institution, does Some contemporary collecting,

such as protest signs and banners from political

demonstrations in Washington it has been reported, but the Smithsonian can hardly take on the entire tremendous Job itself and it
has no authority over the museum profession in the United States.
For any Museum to spend money,
cal

assistance,

little interest,

and so on,

staff time, storage space, clerito acqUire and preserve obJects

being commonplace,

of

for the benefit of people

generation and more in the future would not appeal to the

Ameri-

can public and does not appeal to museum workers.

As

I said earlier,

cial reasons.

there may be local exceptions for spe-

A recent article by a popular culture historian in

the United States advocated that ethnic museums and societies

in

order

of

to

reaffirm

their separateness from

the

mainstream

American society document their differences by collecting contemporary

materials

of

all kinds aimed at that

special

purpose.

This would not be an effort at general public education,

mainly,

but More a kind of ritualistic group identification. 4

CONCLUSIONS
Current acqUisition policy would appear to be adequate wherever and however contemporary collecting is taking place.

not

where

convinced that in countries such as the United States

am

there is neither contemporary collecting nor policy that they are

needed,

beyond

the

customary and obvious responsibilities

capabilities of state and local historical societies.

stitutions

and

Such

in-

seek to record significsnt aspects of buildings,

in-

119

dustries.

and ways of life as they are passing away.

countries.

including the United States.

are not more

in the recent past than in more" distant tilles.

of

American

creation.

But

intereste~

A typical concern

historical societies and IlUSeUMS today is

for dellonstration purposes.

the

life

style

is foreign to Ilost people.

We have

thoroughly docuMented the past by conventional Methods.

Ilent

the

present acientifically ia beyond

interest "of

AMerican Museulls.

and.

re-

of farm life before elec-

tricity and mechanization. sixty or a hundred years ago.

this

Ilany

the

By now,
not

yet

To docu-

capability

I dare say.

MOst

and

MuseUIlS

everywhere.
The second part of the title of this paper.
syllpoaiuJII

organizers.

ia

really a question:

assigned by the
"Is

collecting adequate in regard to tOMorrow's needs?"

question.
first.

present

day

The unspoken

"What are tOllorrow's needa?" would have to be answered

I do not know that societies in the future would benefit

greatly by an elaborate effort by Museums to collect contellporary

obJects

to

dOCUMent

the

present.

Docuaentation

treMendous by publications of all kinds.

records.
recordings.

scientific
Ilail

studiea.

order

Motion

already

is

governMent and business

picture

catalogues---the list

and
is

television
long.

additional effort is needed in collecting actual obJects?

What
It Ilay

be that when tOMorrow COMes the people then alive and in need
education

and entertainJllent will find our type 'of auseum.

of

based

on collections of obJects. leas iMportant than we now suppose.

I feel that where our colleagues are confident regarding the
future needs of their societies.

their preaent day policies

ar~

120

probably

adeq~ate.

I elso feel that where no clear

exists regarding the needs of the

f~ture,

the leek of conteMpor-

ary collecting policy Mey not be unsatisfactory.

.of a

Muse~M

is to itself,

functioning

~nder.tanding

The first duty

its public, and its present.

Its best

is not necessarily served by .an altruistic or

self-

glorifying orientation to the future

REFERENCES
1Editorial report on ICCK 1983, IgQ~ H~~, Vol 36, no 2/3, 1983

2G. E. Burcaw, "Active Collecting in History KuseuMs," ~Y~Y!!

Karch, 1967

H~,

(In regard to rapid

packaging

technology,

nutrition

conference

at

decade's

end

it

Janill,

iteM in June

Cornell University

May be easier to find glass

cans in lIluseUJIIS than in

3Karel

news

change in food

1984

regarding

stated

that

"By

bottles

and

tin

s~perl1larkets... )

"Perspectives

of

C~r K~seuMs

in the

Light

of

Conclusions Drawn at the XVIth -Congress of the COJIIlllunist Party of

Czechoslovakia," !:!Y;l;~QIQg1g~i :2~~g~, VIIII81

Ludv!k Kunz,

"Ethnogrephic Kuseology in the Socialist Society,-

!:!Y~!21gg1g~ ~!~1~~,

VI/76

etc.

4Tholllas

J.

Schlereth,

Recollecting,"

"ConteJllporery

Collecting

!:!Y!Y~ :2~Y~!! ~QY~n~l,

for

Fut~re

1/3 Spring 1984

1 :t 1

Dolors Forrellad i Domenech, Sabadell - Spain

-It seems that mowadays the idea of collecting testimonies from our days
to provide a knowledge of this period to future generations is widly
spread in the museum's world.
Obviously, as curators, we must be aware of this responaability but
I would dare to saythat the desire of collecting is what is actually
spreading but infortunately, the need of a theoretical knowledge leading to a fit outcome, doesn't still puzzle enough.
The world is lively at present, the vital rhytm itself leads to it,
but the leadsrs of this activity themselves, can hardly explain the very

reason of it. We are witnessing a large promotion of movements and

cultural and artistio activities, but in most of the occasions, they exceed the initial purpose and end up by beeing only thata actions.
I don't intend to say that I don't believe in the necessity of these movements but I do really believe that theoretical planning must be done
so as to carry on the enterprise, to lead it to its last conaequences
and to avoid that the final aim should be surpassed by intermediate aims,
I thunk that many times, and I don't want to 1cIok: pessimistic, even those
who should be aware of this faot, get astray. There is much trouble-lack
of understanding of those who should stimulate the schemes, financial a.nd
time problems, political profitabilitu.
I do believe that the subjeot of aquisition policy is

compara~le

to that

explained before.
Most of museums still follow traditional patterns about acquisition policy without a well-formed approach.
This policy is conditined bya
laclc of planning.

the museum's own colloction(in the sense that increasing the material 15
considered more important than following the historical evolution).
lack of budget.

donations.

122

,1,

Even when luckily, there are some exceptions, most of museums lack of
a Imng term planning. The final aim of the museum is sometimes concealed, blurred by short term plannings which, logically, provide an easy
evaluation .'mistaken.most of the times - of the museum's development.
So as to carr,y on an appropriate acquisition policy, according to fUture needs there should be a well settled global
aim. We should first know what the museum

planr~ng

with a prefixed

intends to explain and so, we

will be able to chbose the objects that it actually needs. Since the mu
seum exists, it means that it has a certain amount of collections and
you should decide if they are fit for the proposed aim. Then you should
detect the possible gaps in the collections and this already implies
the need of acquisition. Next, you should investigate which is the present evolution of the objects so as to 4ecide if collecting should be
carried on to explain this evolution.
Collecting eagerness without a responsible evaluation should be avoided
since the fact is to give a picture of the contemporar,y testimonies

whic~

doesn't imply only quantity.

Donations can't ever determine the character of the museum. This is a
subject to be considered since donations are

logical~y

convenable acqui-

sitiOli sources, when there is a lack of budget.

Acquisition policy and political acquisitions. A great care must be paid
to it. Sometimes it is determined by the lack of an specific planning
since if it actually existed, it would be easier to establish what is a
prior need in an euphoric situation.
Presently, I would like to make you know which is the situation of museums in Catalonia, so as to make you know the atmosphere were I work and
which I have at lon last been thinking about.
I want to refer to

Dom~nec

Miquel and Eulalia Morral's article publisheQ

in !rowop number 21
"The modern catalan culture has been and is still a Resistance culture.
The conquest of Barcelona in 1714 by Philip the Fifth's army during the
spanish Sucession war, implies the downfall of Catalonia which gets its 123

institutions and laws suppressed and its tongue forbidden. Nevertheless

people will remain aware of its own personality supported and transfered
from generation to generation.
So catalan identity. is preserved by material testimonies and public exhi
bition and cultural divulging, made by museums, helps a communal conscien.ceo
In Franco's last years, either local or regional museums have Widely spread.
And after the comzing of .Democracy and the recovery of the institutions,
the spreading of museums means a need of strengthening of Catalonia's personality.
This, with an arsa of 31.930 Km2. and a population of more than 6 million
people, has pressntly 252 museums from which only one belongs to the State.
Local museums in.Catalonia come from the cultural eagerness of people or
group of people who know the importance of material testimonies. Valunteering is an specific and paradoxal feature of local mus eums".
The recovery of the Governement of the Generalitat of Catalonia in 1980
and the new setting-up of the Department of Culture, allowed the creation
of a net of local and regional museums in Catalonia in 1982.
The museum organisation proposals are given in the White Book of Museums
in Catalonia, pUblished by the Service of Museums of the Generalitat.
So, .given the specific characteristics of catalan museums and so as they
might f'ulfill the conditions set up by IeOM, the Generalitat has set a policy of coordination and completion of museums in order to provide every
point of vue and to reach most of people.
On the whole and excepted for some specific occasions, the creation of
new museums is not intended, but only to standardize the old ones in order
to get from them a new structure with an acceptable cultural profitability
To this purpose, several museum standards have bean planned according to
their aim:
- National Museums: devoted to a global sight of Catalonia from a general
point of view or from an specific line. Their services spread over the :

- Regional Museums: Explaining the region on the whole from the natural ebvironment to the historical approach, stressing the distinctive features.
124

Their services spread over the region.

- Local Museumsl Related to a town or to a specific territory in a

regio~_

The description above already implies the selection criterion which will
be used in a global Museum planning_, so as to achieve interdisciplinarity
excepted for a monographic Museums.
If we actually believe that materials should be

col~ted

so that they

might witnese about our cmvilisation, we should first find out the

sele~

tion criterion to acrry it out.

Obviously, we can hardly have an overall view nor an historical outlook
to evaluate the very importance of thinghs.
Things are material witnesses "per se" but to be selected as objects fit
for a museum, they must witness as well, something elae than what is implied in their material appearence.
It all, "a priori" points out a seleotion criterion to seleot some of thel!'
from the others.
Then we should consider a selection criterion based upon

representativenes~.

Representativeness of a History that we know partially (through testimonies

kept arbi traaily)
Representativeness of a present we can hardly sUlJl up and find out the aspects worth to be transmitted to future generations. And so, the risk of
subjectivity is higher.
An object can be

repr~aclltativo

of

parioi, either because it is unique,

or because it is rare, or because of the amount of specimens high production is a reference too.
First, they are representative the objects from which a reliable recontruotion of the context they have been made in,can be infered.
It should be considered too, that objects fit for a museum are not only
those made by man since, if we accepted tee ecomusuem, we must consider
the natural elements or those related to the natural environment (animals,
minerals, etc.).
Evolutions criterionl I think is is very important nowadays because stagee
are overcome by technological progress, causing a very quick substitution
of the objects which, consequently, are short lasting.

125

So as to natural elements, perhaps they will not be able to survive sinc,'

they are living creatures compelled to an end. In that case I think that
audio-visual techniques should be used so as to preserve these

testimoni~s.

Selection criterion based upon preservation. It should be directed to the

actual peesibilitiesof preservation of the objects since the topic "today
for tomorrow" should be considered of the most importance as "tomorrow" has
not a fixed end.
We realize now that some materials are very short lasting.
We should consider that every day implements even those up to now

consid'~

red long lasting, are thought to last no more than ten years - as to their
working - but besides, the materials are easily get worn.
All the same can be said about Art masterpieces whoee materials are hardly
preserved, as exper's have been for long pointing out.
At present, I think using audio-visual techniques is essential so as to
keep tese testimonies alive.
Fortunately we have means nowadays, allowin reliable documents from

eve~"

sort of objects. Either to reproduce things hardly preservable or to allow

duplicates to be operated by the public.
It too enables to keep dOCQments related to cultural or artistic actions
which couldn't be preserved because of their short life (action painting,
body art, etc.).
Presently, we ere witnessing the video-technique revolution and we should
get profit from it, since it has a wide ranging utilization.
Besides the advantadge of keeping many events otherwise weakened by time,

we can as well use it as a document when refered to objects of difficult

preservation. We should take into account the easy storage of video-tapes o
So, and spite of some extreme opinions envisaging a future Museum with no
objeets as technical means will enable the knowledge of the historical process of mankind by themselves, I do believe that the impact caused by the
. direct contact with the objeot, material witness connecting with a past or
unknowm civilisations, 'lill never be replaced.
I dare say that the most difficult thing when a criterion of select~on is
to be settled, is to avoide the mistake Qf replacing real objects as well
as to avoid extra stock which besides, would imply a problem of storage. 126

I don't think My contribution to be definitive but it Might be the grain

of sand for a collaboration between we all so as to unifY efforts and to
achieve tmgether reliable selection criteria to go on in .the Most realistic
and objective way when we are thinking about a selection policy of "tow.,y
for tOMorrow", and without neglecting the possibility of a natural selection which in spite of our foresight will certainly affect it.

127

Dolors Forrellad i Domenech, Sabadell - Espagne

Il parait aujourd'hui que dans le monde des HusAes s'est 6tendue

l'id6e qu'il taut recueillir les t6moins materiels d'aujourd'hui qii
vont pr6tormer la connaissance de l'Histoire de cetts 6poque aux gnerations tutures. Evidemment que comme mus601ogues nous devons etre
conscients de cette responsabilit6,

~is

j'oserais dire que cs qui

c' est propag4 est le souoi de r6colte mais malheureusement ce qui ne

pr6000upe encore sutfissament o'est la n6oessit6 d'un expos6 th6orique qui doit nous conduire a des r6sultats valides.
Actuellement ls monde est aotit, le r,ythme vitale meme neus y amene,
mais dittioilement nous trouvons que cee mimes gens qui poussent l' ao-tivit6 se soient pos6 s6rieusement le pourquoi de cette activit6.
Nous assistons

a une

grande promotion d'aotivit6s oulturelles et

tistiques, mais dans la plupart d'occasions e118s surmontent l'intention initiale et finissent pour itre seulsmsnt 9al des actions. Je ne
veux pas dire que je

~s

oroie en la n6oessit6 de ce mouvement maia je

auis convaincue qu'il taut 6laborer des programmations th60riques que

1

en plus de les amener dans la pratique pal"9'iennent jusqu'l leurs dernieres oons6quences et ne reste l'objectit finale d6pass6 par lss objeotifs interm4diaires.
Je pense que beaucoup de tots, et je ne voudrais pas paraitre pessill.ie=
te, mime ceux qui avons l'obligation d'etre consoients de cst atfaire,
nous neus 4garons par le ohemin. Les ditfioult4s sont grandes, manque
de comprension de ceux qui d4vraient aiguilloner les projets, des problemes Aconomiques, des problemes de temps, de "rentabilit4 politique,
etc.
Je crois que dans le theme de la Plitique dlacquisition le ph4nomene
peut itre comparable

a ce

que j'ai expos4 jusqu'a ce moment.

128

Dans la plupart des

core des

mod~les

mus~es

traditionnels sane un

Cette politique se voit

Ie manque d'une

la politique d'acquisition actuelle suit en-

conditionn~e

crit~re bie~ trac~.

pars

program~tion.

la collection propre du

mus~e

(dans Ie sens qu'on

consid~re

plus im-

portant de multiplier Ie materiel plutot que celui de suivre

l'~vo

lution de l'Histoire).
Ie manque de budget.
les donations.
Bien qU'il y a heureusement des emceptions, dans la plupart des
crest difficile de trouver une programmation A
final du
court

Mus~e

d~lai,

reste parfois

L'objeetif

par les programmations A

cach~, voil~

lesquelles logiquement Bent

lon~d~lai.

mus~es

oelle~

qui permettent

~va

luer facilement, bien que beaucoup de fois avec erreur, la trajectoire

du

mus~e.

'Pour que l'on puisse suivre une politique d'aoquisition correcte et adapt~e

du

aux

b~soins

mus~e

du futur il faut avoir une programmation bien

globalement aysnt

se propose.

fix~

~tablie

prfalablement quel eet l'objectif qU'il

Nous savons d'abord ce que Ie

mus~e

veut expliquer et nous

pourrons ainsi conna1tre.quels sont'les objets dont il a vraiment

~soin.

Au pr4alable et puisque il existe, ga veut dire qu'il dispose deja d'unes

collections
marqu~.

donn~es

et on doit

Alors il faut

~tudier

d~cider

si.elles r4pondent a l'objectif

les vides

qu'o~

llection existante et d'ici ne1t deja une

suite il faut rechercher

~'~olution

les objets actuellement,pour

afin que Ie

mus~e

d~cider

d'~viter

Ie

necessit~

d'acquisition. Tout

que eont en train d'experimenter

s'il faut poursuivre la rfcolte

puisse expliquer cette

II faut aussi avoir oure

peut trouver dans la co-

~olution.

d~sir

collectioniste dans Ie sens

unique d'augmenter Ie nombre d'objets sans une

~valuation s~rieuse,

puisque en fait,c'est que l'on doit attsindre est de donner une vision
des
la

t~moins

de l'3poque, mais ga vraiment ne convient pas seulement a

quantit~.

129

11 ne faut jamais accepter que les donations puissent conditionner le

sens du mus6e. C'est un aspect qU'il faut consid6rer puisque c6presente une source d'acquisition qui nous convient, 6tant donn6 que dans
beaucoup d'occasions il y a des difficult6s 6conomiques.
Politique d'acquisition et acquisitions politiques, il faut faire
attention sur cet affaire. 11 est parfois provoqu6 parcequ'il manque
un programme concret, s'il existait vraiment 9a serait vraiment bien
plus facile d'atteindre ce qui est prioritaire quand le moment

dl6uph~

rie arrive. 11 faut etre en pr6vision le cas Acheant.

Maintenant je voudrais vous pr6senter la situation des mus6es en Catalogne, afin de vous fairs connaitre le contexte dans lequel je travaille,
et q'! fin de comptes c'est celui qui m'a fait r6flechir.
Je vais faire rAference a l'article que DomAnec Miqusl et.EulAlia Morral
ont publi6 dans le n Q 2 de MuWoPl
"La culture catalane moderne a hA et continue A etre une vAritable eul=

ture de r6sistanoe. La conquete de Barcelone en 1714 par l'armee de Philippe V, au cours de la Guerre de Succession d'Espagne marqua la chute
de la Catalogne qui voit la suppression de ses institutions et de

ses

lois et l'interdiction de sa langue. La peuple resters malgrA tout,

cODScient de sa personalit6 propre qu' il soutiendra et trsDSllletna de
g6n6ration en gAn6ration La sauvegarde de l'identitA catalane passe
aussi par les vestiges matAriels, et l'exposition publique et la diffU=
sion eulturelle r6alis6es par les mus4es contribuent 1 une prise de
conscience collective. Les

derDi~res'anndes

du franquisme ont vu la

multiplication des musdes locaux et rAgionaux et, avec l'arrivAe de la

ddmocratie et la rAeuperation des institutions, on a assi8t6 A une
lIIultiplication des musdes explicable par un besoin d'affirmation de 18
personalit6 eulturelle de la Catalogne. Celle-ci, pour une superficie
de 31.930 km2. et une population de plus de 6.000.000 de personnes,
compte actuellement 252 musdes dont un seul appartient a l'Etat
Les mus4 es locaux catalans sont tous nds du souci culturel de person130

nes ou de groupes de gens qui on:!: compris l'importance du

riel Le volontariat

conf~ra

t~moin

done aux mus4es locaux un

mat4-

caract~re

sp4ci fique qui devient' paradoxal."

La r4cuperation du Gouvernement de la Generalitat de Catalunya en 1980

et la

r~modelation

du Departement de Culture a permis la or4ation en

1982 du R4seau de mus4es locaux et r4gionaux de Catalagne.

Dana le Livre Blanc des mus4es de Cetalogne publi4 par le Service des
mus4es de La Generalitat on peut connaitre la proposition d'organisation
des nos mus4es.
Comme ya,et 4tant donn4 les particull~res caracteristiques des md4es oa=
talans et dans le but qu' ils puissent accolllplir les conditiona qui se
d4rivent de la d4finition de l'ICOK pour le mus4e, la Generalitat s'est
assign4e une politique pour arriver a coordiner et completer tous ces
mus4es aiin de remplir tous les aspects et arriver au maximum de publio,
Dans l'enselllble, _et sauf des occasions esp4ciales, il ne s'agit pas de
cr4er des mus4es, sinon de normaliser le fonctionnelllent de ceux qui
tent deja

4xis~

parceque _A partir d'eux l'on puisse obtenir une estruoture

qui rende A l'ensemble

un~rentabilit4

culturelle acceptable.

Dans ce but on a r4alis~e planification qui propose la division des

mus4es en differents niveaux en fonction de- leur concepte.Kus4es Nationauxl ceux qui offrent une vision globale de Catalogne,
du point de vue g4nerale au dans une certaine sp4cialit4, et r4pandint
leurs services A tout le pays pour ce qui concerne le

-do~in

discipli-

naire-de chacun d'eux.

- Mus4es R4gionauxI ceux qui bsaient d' expliquer la ngiond de !agon
globale, d4s le

mi~ieu

naturel jusqu'au

proc~s

historique, en posant

l'accent sur les traits differentials, et en 6ttendant leurs services

A toute le domaine correspondant.
- Mus4es locauxl se rapportant A une ville concrete ou dans certaines
occasions

a une

partie sp4cialemat d4finie du territoire compris par

un Mus4e R4gional.
Cet

expos~

nous donne dejA une id4e du crit4re de selection qU'il faudxa

131

contempler dans le programme glooale des

terdisciplinarit4

except~

mus~es

pour aboutir

a une

in-

ceux qui pourront convenir comme monographi-

ques.
Si nous consid4rons la convenience
continuer la

r~collection

ner une connaissance

devons

~tudier

r~elle

que le

mus~e

doit 4ssayer de

de materiel parceque dans un futur puisse don-

document~e

de ce que a 4t4 notre civilisation, nous

en premier lieu des

crit~res

de selection pour la

m~ner

bonne fin.
11 est 4vident que pour nous c'est difficile d'avoir une vision de conjoint ainsi qu'une perspective historique pour 4valuer

r~ellement

la va-

leur v6ritable des choses.

Les objets sont dss t4moins materiels "per se", mais p6ur-etre selection--n~s

comme des objets museables est indispensbles qU'ils soient aussi des

documents qui

t~moignent

quelque chose de plus que ce qui peut s'en d4ri-

ver de la simple perception visuelle.

Ceci dejA "a priori" nous marque un cd t~re de selection au moment de
choisir les una et pas.les autres.
Tout de suite nous devrons tenir compte d'un crit4re de seleotion
dans la

r~presentativit~.

R~presentativit~ d'une

histoire de laquelle nous avons une connaissance

partielle (acquise A partir

R~presentativit~

re une

bas~

synth~se

d'un

~es t~moins

pr~snt

et d4cider en

conserv4s de fa90n arbitraire.

duquel nous sommes

suret~

a peine

capables d'en tai

quels sont les aspects m4ritant

d'etre transmis aux g4n4rations futures. Et le danger de subjectivit4

est ici plus grand.
Un objet peut etrs repr4sentatif du moment soit pacequ'il est unique, par
sa raret4, et aussi par sa quantit6 (production nombreuse qui nous donne
aussi une ref6rence).
Pr.mi~rement

ils seront repr4sentatifs les objete duquels on peut en ins6

rer une reconstruction digne de foi de sa r4alit6, du contexte dans lequel ils ont 4t4 produits.
132

11 faut aussi penser que l'objet

~t~

mus~ale

n'est pas

produits par l-homme, doncs si nous acceptons

tenir compte des

~l~ments

limit~

a cew:: qui ont

llecomus~e

noUB devons

naturels ou propres du milieu naturel' animaux,

mineraux, etc.).
crit~re d'~volution,

Le

pr~cisement

~e

de

progr~s

parceque le

tr~s

voque une substitution

tr~s

je crois qU'il est

important en ce moment

technologique brnles les

~tapes

et pro-

rapide des objets qui pour cela ont une du-

courte mais qu'il taut rechercher s'ils sont vraiment representatifs

l'~chelon

qu'ils

ontsignifi~

dans l'escalade technologique ou bien

ils ne'le sont pas.

Par rapport aw::

~l~ments

ne pou=ont survivre

naturels il faut penser que les,uns peut atre

les effoJlts que lion puisse y verser, vu

mal~

qUlils sont des atres vivants et pourtant

obli~s

D'ici que je crois que l'on doit penser aw::

d'arriver A un final.
techniques

possibilit~s

qUlaujourdlhu noUB sont offertes, de pouvoir recueillir le document

quoique l'on ne puisse conserver l'objet.
Le

crit~re

de selection

bas~

sur la conservation. 11 faudrait

vers les

possibilit~s r~elles

le

"aujourd'hui pour d..main", nous devons le

th~me

de durabilit4 qu'aient les objets, donc

consid~rer

importance grave du moment que ce demain n'a pas un final

Actuellement naus assistons
dur~e tr~s

peu

l'oriente~

a llevidence

qu'il

ya

d'une

dat~.

des materiels dlune

courte. Pensons aw:: objets d'usage quotidien (mame cew:: qui

d'ann~es

en

arri~re

on

consider~

de lonque

dur~e),

aujourd'hui naus

savons que l'on pr~voit sa dur~e tout juste pour dix ans (r~terent 1 son
fonctionnsmsnt), mais il ya aussi des materiels
Ceoi il faut llavoir
par les materiels
et sur

lesque~s

pr~sent

us~s

tr~s p~rissables.

tout aussi que dans les oeuvres d'art, qui

presentent des graves problemes de conservation

les restaurateurs il fait deja des

ann~es

qui nous adve-

tissent.
A ce moment je crois qU'il est fondamentale l'UBag8 des
visuelles pour faire persister ces

t~chniques

audio-

t~moins.

Heureusement aujourd'hui nous avons des moyens qui nous permettent d'ab133

tenir des documents digaes de foi de toute classe d'objets. Ceci faisant

r~ference

cile comme

a la

aux

r~productions

possibilit~

fideles d'objeta de conservation diffi-

de disposer de copies qui vont permetre la

manipulation pour Ie pUblio.

9a va aussi nous permetre de oonserver des documents par rapport
actions culture lIes ou artistiques qui pour Ie fait d'etre

a des

ephim~res,

ne

peuvent etre conserv~es (action painting, body art, eto.).

Nous assistons maintenant

a la

rfyolution qui vient d'impliquer la

t~ch~

nique du video et nous devons en profiter puisque va nous donner unes

possibilit~s

tres larges d'aplioation. En plus du factsur de recueillir

beaucaup de faits que dans une autre forme

res:ter~n1r

dilu4s par Ie

temps, nous pouvons aussi nous en servir domme document quand il s'agisae
d'objets diffioiles de conserver. Il faut

consid~rer

en plus la

facilit~

d'emmagasinage que rdpresente une videoth4que.

Pourtant et malgrd quelques opinions extr4mes qui prdconisent Ie

orit~r~

que le mus4e du tutur sera un mus4e sans objets parceque les moyens
t4chniques vont permetre la connaissance du proo4s historique de

l'huma~

nit4 par eux memes, je crois que jamais l'on pourra substituer l'impact
qU'implique la prise de contacte direote aveo l'objet, tdmoin materiel
qui noue met en rdlation avec les oivilisations pass4es au inoonnues
. Ce qui peut etre devient difficile au moment d'dtablir un orit4re de
reoolleotion dans Ie moment actuel o'est de trouver Ie point juste par
lequel nous n'aboutissons pas dans l'erreur de substituer les objets
r~els,

et non plus dans l'aocumulation de materiel

rdcolt~

par excds,

ilaquel d4viendrai t un grave probUme d' emmagasinage.

Je ne orois pas que l'aportation que j'ai fait soit ddfinitive, mais 'S<t
serait le grain de sable pour une oollaboration entre nous tous afin
d'unifier les effots pour reussir ensemble dans Ie but de trouver dee
orit4res de selotion valides et adaptables

a taus

les contextes, qui

vont nous permetre d'aller en avant d'une fa90n plus

ve au moment de penser

a une

demain, et sans oublier la

r~aliste

et objeoti

politique de collection d'aujourd'hui pour

possibilit~

de selection naturelle que malgrd

nos efforts et nos pr~visions certainement aura son inoidence.

134

Andreas Grote, BElrlin (West) - FRG

Avant-p!:p~:

Whose aquisitions should be taken under scrutiny? Which kind

of museums, which curators might live in deadly sin (,dthout
even knowing it)? What countries, which society and/or
which pol.i tical. systems are especially notorious .for

not

collecting, for destroying their own or the cultural

heritage of others, or perhaps for overdoing things by

col.l~~

ting and preserving too much for tomorrow's .needs, thereby

depriving us today ?
What will be tomorro,,'s need ? Whose need ? If the board which
has formulated these questions might kindl.y enl.ighten us,

W6

will perhaps be able to describe, measure or judge and appraise

today's collecting activities against the background of
this vision.
Current aquisition policy_:
Is there just one? Museums collect, so do archives and
libraries. It is their "bounden duty". Their coll.ections are
the resul.t of: history, of formul.ated aims for their activities, of the material possibilities (availabil.ity of funds,
mobil.ity, outreach, vision) they have, ability and professional. standard of the responsible museum personnel (curat.orial
<-A
staff) and/or the "collectors" (f.e.in archaoological field
work, ethnographical. field work, in collecting material for
natural history coll.ections),

of political situations and

systems, of pressure from interested parties etc. etc. The question, however, seems to point to

cur r e n t

aquisition policy, i.e. today's. Fe" museums have awritten

policy for this side of their activities. Picture galleries
tend to aquire masterpieces and try to keep abreast of the
l.atest fads

in

art, ethnographical museums will try to

complete their documentation of

history collActioJ1s try to

(10

dyin~

~lle

cultures, natural.

same "ith nature, tech-

nological. museums have to compensate their urge to collect

today I s technical appl.innces "i th the danG"er of being transformed into crigantic scrap heaps.
Eventually all collectors, musoums includod, face tomorrow's
noeds: SPACE!
135

. ',,
!pp~priateness

If we try to appraiso the "appropriateness" of the collectinc

activities of one given museum in view of this first need
of tomorrow in museums - SPACE -, each museum probably shoulr;
close shop the minute it has filled the space available
to it. no,.,.
This rather facetious way of looking at what "appropriatenes::J"
might have been intended to sianify in the board's .mind(s),
of course is quite intolerable, the board being professionaJJ.y
dead serious.
What, then, might have been it's intentions?
Tomorrol.' 5 need

Tomorrow's need certainly will be the result of hunger and

thirst, sickness, p~l~ed envir onment (inclUding weapons
'--

pollution), violence, common stupidity and oppression of

human rirrhts. If mankind will be able to take time out
from the pursuit of these

self~imposed

problems it might

have the wish to examine what has been preserved of its own
cultural heritage and that of our world. And that in its
entirety

and not just what certain indiviuals in the past

miffht have deemed fit to meet posterity's eyes. We do not

and we calIDot know today what mankind in the future might
choose to consider its cultural heritage. Everything that
is currently

bein~

destroyed by violence, neglect, wilful

ignarance or belief that it was not "appropriate" to conserve,

will lack from the image we project into the future,
tomorrol/.

Again: what might be intender! by "tomorrow's need" ?

Quite certainly the need of tomorrow is not today's need.
Tomorrow's political environments quite certainly will not
be the same as they are today. One has to

t~ce

into account

that tho intellectual and spiritual progress of mankind

quite certainly is much slower than its ability to develop
its technical skills - certainly the skill to kill itsolf,
and all for the best reasons.
In order to develop its intellectual and spiritual capacities,
humanity direly needs as much information about its past
as possibly available. Models ,;ill be looked for, in order

136

to be able to decide which errors to avoid or which positive

elements to take over from the past. Only

b~kest

ignorance

tries to destroy any part of its history.

In nature collections, types have to be prp.served in order
to be able to eventually reconstruct an ecological situation
b e for e

the one that has led to the extinction of these

living organisms. Examples of the high achievements reached

in the past are needed to construct a future.
Current aquisition policy_:
It must immediately be said that nothing ICOFOM might say
could possibly change or modify current aquisition policy.
~very

museum will continue to aquiro what it deems fit, or

what it can lay its hands on, or what it is being forced to

aquire - or, on the other hand, it ,rill

not

aquire, bec-

ause its aims are contrary to current political or ethnic

belief, to fashion, or simply because it has no money nor staff
to cope with aquisitions. Or the museum will sell from its
collec tions what it is being told to solI (there is a real pr':.'blem I). Xn this rat race nobody has the time to stop and

consider what ICOFOM has chosen to ponder; in the end nobody

wants to lose one's job.
Museums are archives. They should' be helped in fulfilling
this important function for mankind. It is very fashionable
today to hold forth about

musoum~

role in society, and mostly

its educational functions are being spoken of. In this

meeting we are cencerned with the museum as a treasure house,
its functions of collecting and

preservin~,

not with political

or educational aspects.
'Museums must (within their given field) collect everything
they possibly can. They must be allowed to chose freely from
the material they face,

effect their selection from the base

of their professional standard. To make these choices implies

awful decisions about what to preserve and what not. Museums
must be allowed to be as free as possible in the valu ation
'--'
of the items they collect,. and society must give them that
liberty, must trust them. Valuations change with each
generation, especially "official", i.e. political valuation.

137

Museums therefore in their collecting activities cannot bow

to political opportunity, if they want to be taken seriously.
Political opportu,!ity may force them to make this or that
educational choice from the collections, but the collections
must be there to choOse from. The responsibility of museums
towards posterity is so high that they should forthwith
be declared sacrosanct by all political systems and all
kinds of governments - and that means

all museums. They

must be declared holy and inviolable places.

Only blackest ignorance destroys historical testimony,
historical material.
Regrettably a rather large percentage amongst the persons
which ffovern this world seems not to be aware of these facts,

138

Alan Hjorth Rasmussen, Hirtshals -

Denmark

To enable you to understand the point of this paper it is

necessary to give you an overview of the type of museum I
am representing. The North Sea Museum situated at the fishing
harbour, Hirtshals,in the upper part of Jutland, Denmark,is a
genuine contemporary museum. It was opened on January 3 1984
and shall never contain museum objects or other documentation
elder than 1983-84. The museum must at any time be up to
date.
Traditional museum collecting has to a great extense been
a job with the museum staff in a defensive role. The tooth
of time has already done the selection job and "saving" has
been the key word and main criteria for determining which
documentary material, including objects, museums acquire.
Thus the general

la~k

of representation in museum c911ections

arose and thus the biggest challenge to museums is facing us

in the future.
Not at least to a contemporary museum the question of current
acquisition policy is essential. Methodological and qualitative
the present society offers you an extremely good possibility
to collect museum documentation which might fit both the present
and the coming needs. The real problem is the selection of the
documentation. We shall probably never be so clever that
we can predict both the scientific and the other cultural needs
to the museum collections but we can try to do our best.
. 139

In the

acquisition policy of a

cu~~ent

museum must play the offensive

me~ely ~eceive.

In this

It must select and not

~ole.

~espect

the tooth of time is out of

question and the concept of saving is

of selection.

it is most

Howeve~

~eplaced

necessa~y

by the concept

to have a

base and a museum policy to be able to select in

create a

As a

highe~

backg~ound

qualitative

museum the

contempo~a~y

sta~da~d

theo~etical

o~de~

of the collections.

an acquisition policy it may be of

fo~

to put the question: which

a~e

to

the demands of

p~esent

inte~est

man to

museum collections? As society but not man itself develops,

the demands may
As it is
I shall

fa~

p~obably

out of my theme to

concent~ate

If we focus on the
inte~ests
cent~al

answe~

the

gene~al

on one single aspect of the

histo~ical desc~iptions o~

whe~e,

question

p~oblematic.

at the

gene~al

to the

whe~e

~ow

of questions -

why and how. When putting these questions

p~esent

and living society you shall

st~ategy

the offensive museum goes

natu~ally

focusing on innovations. When

di~ect

to the place, conditions and

innovations and news

a~e

bo~n

we shall at least

have the chance of being able to walk the paths which may
fo~m

time.

of man when he is looking back into the past the

develop a collecting

context

ve~y ~adically du~ing

point is a simple and fundamental

who, wnen,
al~eady

not change

the main

st~eets

innovations as a key

of the

wo~d

cultu~al

late~

development. With

in the acquisition policy of a museum

you may as a minimum have a chance of comply with some of the

demands of the

futu~e

Many museum people

a~e

society.

well educated academics, often

140

historians, ethnologists etc. During their education and later

studies they have been confronted with a lot of innovations
but in spite of that it is often difficult for the museum to
see the mechanisms behind the cultural integration in modern
societies. It is nearly a self-contradiction.
It ought to be a main task for museology dealing with the
society of to day to initiate studies leading to a better
understanding of the placing of (museum) objects in the
innovation proces - not to say that objects are exceptional
compared to other aspects of human culture. - but because the
three-dimensional object as museum object contains a symbolic
value and a social significance well suited as communication
and information media.
When developing a current acquisition policy for contemporary
museums it must be taken into account that contemporary
museums when communication modern material have a much bigger
group of interest than traditional museums. When communicating
When communicating cultural material before it grows old and
becomes a genuine museum object in the traditional meaning
you have the whole population as your goal and not only people
with historical interests. In that way you will be able to meel
the cultural demands of the present society. Storing the
innovations as traditional museum objects you will be able to
meet the demands of the future society.
The present human culture has become so differentiated and
strange to modern people that they have a need to go to places,
e.g. museums, where they can get information not only about
foreign cultures and the old days but also about the present
141

society. To me there is no doubt that the type of museum within

a few decades will be museums containing material from the past,
the present and the future.
Focusing on innovations in the acquisition policy and
communicating news and daily life from the present society you
cannot isolate tDe selected (museum) objects from the rest of
the human culture. When having an evident possibility of throwing
light over the objects and their context because they are part
of our own time and society - the museums simply must use the
best audiovisual and information media available. Objects
themselves are silent: Provided that one of our aims is to
meet the cultural demands of the present and

fut~re

society

you merely cannot neglect using audiovisual media when collection

and communicating contemporary material.
Facing up to an acquisition policy appropriate to meet the
demands of both the present and the coming society the main
problem is the criterion for selection. The good old days where
museums would scrape the material culture unrestrained

togethe~

have gone. Many museums are now forced to be rather restrictive

in their.acquisition policy. Life and society however go on
and the growing material world which might be collected and
represented in the museums is unfortunately often neglected.
There are more ways in which to oppose the tendency: to
specialize further more and to share the responsibility among
museums and to raise the qualitative standard of the collections
by means of a more restrictive selection.
It shall probably not be possible to find a world-wide
acquisition policy which fits all museums. The policy depends
142

on the aim and the type of museum. A technical museum will

put more value on technical criteria in its policy than a
local museum etc. By means of a well organised collaboration
between the museums on the reponsibilitu for museum
documentation in general - a demand which has been actualised
by the present industrial and electronical revolution and the
mass culture - it will be possible to consider different
criteria covering most types of museums. The programme for
contemporary documentation at Swedish museums of cultural
history is a good example of collaboration between museums
towards a current acquisition policy appropriate for tomorrow's
needs. It is also my opinion that collaboration and spread of
the responsibility will prove to be the most fruitfull way to
meet the demands of the furure society. Moreover it is evident
that a collaboration will also be the best to consider the
scientific interests.
As it is rather impossible to develop a common, policy without
a collaboration between tme museums and as this collaboration
as a matter of fact does not exist at the moment I will confine
myself to mention the acquisition policy of the North Sea
Museum. This contemporary museum is a fisheries museum
covering the Danish sea fisheries of the North Sea, Baltic Sea
etc. The staff uses all sorts of media documenting their field
of work, join fishermen at sea, join industrial workers in the
fishing industry ashore, use video tape instead of tape recorders,
EDP etc. The documenting

of innovations in general plays a

an essential role, but also documenting of daily life within the

field has got a higt priority.

143

Objects within fisheries, e.g. fishing vessels, have become so

large that the museum has no or little chance of saving the
voluminous three-dimensional objects as traditional museum
objects. These objects are instead documented by means of
secondary media, e.g. photoes and drawings. Objects which have
or are expected to become a common distribution within fisheries
are being collected. Where prototypes are conserned which form
the steps of cultural development they get a high priority.
Prototypes as museum objects seem to be very uncommon and non
representative at the beginning but their type may grow common
and traditional. In that respect the prototype

~ontains

a much

greater scientific and communication value than the corresponding

product from the mass industry.
When collecting innovations, e.g. prototypes, it is important
to emphasize that a contemporary museum in my opinion cannot
be satisfied with collecting prototypes and examples of recent
development but must take into account that objects, methods
and t"radi tion with old roots are also part of the present
society. The putting of traditions and innovations in order
of priority however may be discussed. Personally and with
special respect to tomorrow's scientific and cultural needs
I would give innovations in general a high priority in the
acquisition policy of contemporary museums.

144

Zbynek Z Stransky, Srno -

Czechoslovakia

1. 0

As the term "acquisitilon" is too narrow, it would be'

better, acccrdiitg to my opinion, to use the term "museum
collecting" the content o which much better expresses the
character of the phenomenon followed.
When considering the present standard of museum collecting
(further only MC) globally, we find it reflects some, already
traditional, approaches:
1.1
In the first place it is the expressively predominating
orientation towards the past having its roots somewhere in the
19th century. It is usually aUbstantiated by the need for a
"lapse of time", on the one hand, and by its function as a
"sieve of history" on the other.
1.2
Ruling is also the aspect of collection of 0 b j e c t g,
or, as is often given, "three-dimensional objects", or "material
objects". H~wever, they become objects of collection only
provided they satisfy the so often very one-sided as well as
purely subjective interests.
1.3
The motivation of collection also e;a~ates - especially
in the sphere of natural sciences - from the demands for a
completion c~ "classical systematics" which has its impact
also on some branches of social sciences (archeology, ethnography, numistmatics, among others).
1.4
However, also the source and heuristic aspect~ is
being asserted with which we have met especially in the past
decades, i.e. in connection with the coming of professional
scientific and specialized workers into museums.
2.0
The predominating outliving of traditional approaches
in MC is namely the evidence of the fact that MC is not merely
a kind of contemporary or once-given phenomenon, but that it
is a phenomenon having its own development. From the methodo~
logical point of view it is very important to realize the
historicity of this phenomenon especially with regard to the
fact that this phenomenon is frequently comprehended very
statically and the quest for the deeper roots of its origin
14',

is considered to be unsubstantially analogizing. 11 All the

more, according to ~ opinion, is it neceosary to emphasize
that MC must alway8 be judged d i a c h ron i c a l l y ,
i.e. historically.
The ar~ent of the historici~ of the phenomenon,
however, is not sufficient enough for defending the existence
of the phenomenon at the present and in the future. Therefore,
~C must also be judged
s y n c h ron i c a l l y , i.e. in
the structure of the present society and its developmental
trends.
If we judge MC from these diachronic and synchronic
aspects, the following complex of problema arises:
2.1
If we study the role of MC in the individual ijistorical
formations, we find that the motivation of this collecting
differs very much according to ch~nges in the economic, social
and cultural conditions. In this historical and social context
MC acquires the most expressive assertion - as can be verified
for example on the Renaissance - only provided it meeta the
social demands of that period. That is thus the basic existential prerequisite of this phenomenon.
2.2
Realization of the fact that MC does not satisfY the
social demands, leads us today to the fact that manv museum
workers try to find a firm point for these activities. Some
find it in that they transfer these activities into the sphere
of obtaining sources of scientific knowledge, others think
that in this case it is only the seeking of means for visual
communication of scientific knowledge. At" the same time there
is also the action of pressure emanating from the developmental
needs of the socie~ which leads to some museum workers
realizing more and more that the traditional approaches in Me
are untenable and they seek a new orientation corresponding
to the present developmental stage expressively stigmatized
by the factors of the scientific and technical revolution.
Evidence of this fact is the assertion of what is called museum
documentation of the present time. 2/
2.3
If MC is really to fulfil the social needs, then mere
orientation to the instantaneously topical and attractive
problema is not enough, as can be now seen in many cases. MC
can be trully functionally applied only if it is to fulfil
its own specific role and if it will fulfil it on a methodical
146

level corresponding to the parametres of the given period.

3.0
Therefore, according to my opinion, the key to the
solution of the problems of the standard of present MC must
be found namely in the field of met hod 0 l o g Y
If we judge the present MC from this. aspect we can
observe the following shortcomings:
3.1
MC has no univocally delimited object of its intention,
As a consequence we find that these activities are transferred
into other spheres. For example, MC is sometimes subordinated
to the source and heuristic needs of the individual disciplineu.
Widely spread is the idea that it is merely a selection of
suitable media/exhibits for presentation purposes. Thus it
can be seen that in the past years MC has been transferred
into the sphere of widely comprehended documentation. However,
also a cultural and historical orientation exists which comprehends MC aa an activity satisfying the needs for creating
and preserving the cultural heritage. This~ltiformed interpretation signalizes that the problem of the object of MC has
not yet been satisfactorily solved and nor has it yet been .
apprehended what it is that makes this activity specific and
what distinguishes it from the other types of human activities;
this is, of course, of paramount importance.
3~2
In ad~ition, MC lacks its own methodic equipment.
Traditional procesaes, such as collection in the field,
purchases or gifts have mostly been on a not necessary methodical level. That is why the connection of MC with scientific
and research activities is being ever more enforced; to be more
exact, with its heuristic phase. In such a context, consequently~
this activity acquires a certain methodic basis. However, the
practice of many museums shows that the very preference for
scientific and research activities does not automatically lead
to an increase of the collections. These methodic problema
of MC are most marked namely in connection with what is called
museum documentation of the present time where it can be seen
that the disciplines applied - say beginning with history and
ending with sociology - do not have at their disposal those
methods which the solution of this very task would demand.

14"?

3.3
However, MC cannot be apprehended isolately, or can be
only the acquisition seen in it. It is a complex of activities
which are not self-serving but their meaning is determined by
the goal to which they are to contribute, i.e. collection. The
meaning of MC is given by the meaning of the collection. This
is the very moment which leads us to the problems of collection
formation, to the problems of its systematization. If we
divert from collections formed on the basis of systematization
aspects of natural sciences or some systems of social sciences;
then the majority of present sets of collections in museums
lack the needed systematization standard. We mostly find
thematic classification only, or the so called developmental
series. Thms formed collections indeed lack, for example,
that phylogenetic value of representation which many collections
of natural sciences have. We are faced with a co~cated problem
of the relation of the formed collection to the reality from
which we select its elements, i.e. with the problems of what
is called structural conformity between the original reality
and the reality of the collection.
4.0

From the indicated problems of the whole standard of

~C at the present time it follows that MC lags behind the
development and that we have not yet succeeded in solving, on
a necessary level, the basic problems conditioning directly
the functionsl application of these activities in the present
stage of development of the society~ Even more important is
this shortcoming in relation to further perspectives because
this bsckwardness could lead in its consequences not only to
a.loss of the social importance of these activities, but also
to its direct extinction.
It is therefore my opinion that it is a pressing need
of the present time to concentrate our endeavours to the
solution of the problems. indicated. Accordir~ to my opinion
we should aim namely at the following problems:
4.1
In the first place it is necessary to reach a univocal
delimitation of the object of MC and its social mission, viz
also in the intentions of both historical development and
namely of present and prospective social demands. Only if we
prove that it is a genuinely specific phenomenon having its
148

own social mission does it make sense to deal with its proble~~.
4.2
If we really succeed in proving that in the case of
MC it is our specific relationship to reality, prerequisites
will also be created for us to graduallY work our way to our
own methods of MC which would correspond with both the nature
and mission of these activities. Through our own methods also
prerequisites will be created to enable, in a functional
manner, to apply methods from related disciplines into these
activities without any one-sided deformations of MC as can be
seen in present practice.
4.3
We must also gradually overcome the one-sided histori~8l
orientation in MC and to connect it dialectically with an
orientation towards the present. In museology it means to
comnect what is called passive selection with active selection.
Only in this way is it possible to immediately connect MC with
both the present and future needs of the society and to place
MC, as a whole, on a methodological functional basis~
4.4
The enforcement of active selection in MC simultaneou8}Y
brings forth~ also the demand for re-valuation of our present
comprehension of the museum object. MC cannot further be
content with apprehending only these aspects of the natural
and social reality manifested quite spontaneously in the object
but it must seek methods and forms of apprehending also those
aspects of reality which, in themselves, are not thematically.
fixed but Which, at the same time, are often of completely
paramount importance for the apprehension of the essence and
value of the phenomenon studied. Namely with the aid of modern
recording technics can this reality be apprehended, what of
course necessitates quite a different approach to MC activities.
~~eeding the limits of traditional apprehension ot the museu~
object not only qualitatively new prerequisites for a collection
apprehension of the natura~ and social reality are formed but,
simultaneously, also new possibilities both for a scientific
and cultural use of museum collections created in this way.
4.5
By shifting MC onto a level of trully specific scientific
adoption ot the reality it will.be possible to reach, gradually,
not only a much more expressive application at results of
these activities within the framework at further development
of science and education, but namely to participate in a
149 .

principle way through museum collections in the enrichment

of the cultural reality and thus in the circulation and
intensification of cultural values.
July 1984

150

Not e s :

liOn problems o~ the continuity o~ historical development

compare:
SCHLOSSER, J. von: Die Kunat- und Wunderkammer der Spatrenaissance, Leipzig 1908
BAZIN, G.: The museum age, Brussels 1967
Naturalohiator,y collections. Past-present-~uture,
Washington 1969
KALINOWSKI, K.: Geneza kolekcjonerstwa I Muzealnict~o 20,
1972/
SULC, B.: Zbirke umjetnina u anticko doba /Muzeologija 22,
1978/
SCHEICHER, E.: Die Kunst- und Wunderkammer der Habsburger,
Wien-MUnchen-Zurich 1979
2/ On contemporar,y museum documentation proper and its
methodological problems compare:
ST~SKt, Z.Z.: Methodological questions of the documentation
o~ the present time IThesesl Muzeologick~ sesity, V 11974/
Today ~or tomarrow .. Museum documentation o~ contemporary
society in Sweden by acquisition o~ objects, SAMDOK,
Stockholm, 1980
For museum documentation. A programme ~or contemporar,y
documentation at Swedi8~ museums o~ cultural histor,y,
SAMDOK, Stockholm 1982

31 The di~~erentiation between what is called passive and

active selection was determined ~or the ~irst time in the
study STRANSKt, Z.Z.: Grundlagen der allgemeinen Museologi~
IMuseologick~osesity - supplementum 1,19711. The theoretical conception o~ active selection was then elaborated
in -the study STRANS!d '0 z. Z.: Aktivni muzejni documentace
IMuseologick~ sesity IV/19721 and in later studies within
the ~ramework o~ instruction in museology. Distinguishing
between "active and passive collecting" can also be ~ound
in the study o~ BURCAW, G.E.: Introduction to museum work,
Nashville, 1976, only in a di~~erent conception.
151

Zbynek Z Stransky, Srno - Tchecoslovaquie

1.0
sera

La notion de 1 '''acquisition'' etant trop limitee, il

a mon

avis plus ccnvenable d'utiliser celIe de la "col-

lecte museale" dont Ie contenu correspond mieux au caract~re

du phenom~ne en' question.
Consider ant globalement Ie niveau contemporain de la
collecte museale /CM/, on se rend compte de certains procedes de venus deja traditionnels:
II s'agit tout d'abord de l'orie~tation preponderente vers Ie passe qui date du 1g e siecle. D'habitude, elle
1.1

est motivee par la necessite du "recul temporaire" et per

la fonction du "cible de l'histoire".
1.2

La collecte des

c h

s e s

ou, comme on dit

souvent, des "objets tridimentionnels" ou "objets materiels"

predomine. Cependant, ils deviennent objets de collecte
seulement dans Ie cas qu'ils satisfont des inter~ts souvent
tres
1.3

~ncomplexes

et subjectifs.

La collecte est egalement motivee - et cela surtout

dans Ie domaine des sciences naturel1es - par l'exigence

du cooplEhement de la"systematique claseique" ce qui se reflete sur certaines sciences sociales /archeologie, ethnographie, numismatique etc.!.
1.4

Le point de vue heuristique des sources se fait

valoir egalement, surtout au cours des dernieres decennies,

en relation avec l'arrivee des specialistes et ~fessionnels
aux musees.
152

La "survivance des approches

2.0

traditio~nelles

a la

CM

est une preuve de ce c;ue la 01 n est pas un phenomene contemporain ou donne une fois pour toutes, mais qu'il s'agit
d'un phenom~ne avec une propre evolution. 11 est tr~s important - du point de vue methodologique - de se rendre compte
du caractere historique de ce phenomene, surtout en vue du
fait que souvent on le consid~re de fa90n tres statique et
,

"

qu on Juge que la recherche de sa naissance et evolution

est une.chasse aux analogies inutile. ll Mais
mon avis, il

faut d'autant plus souligner qu'il faut considerer la CM

toujours du point de vue diachronique, c'est-o-dire historique.
L'argument du caractere historique d'un phenom~ne n'est
cependant pas suffisant pour defendre l'existence du pheno-

"'
mene
au present et au futuro 11 faut done considerer la CM
en m~me temps du point de vue synchronique, c'est-~-dire
dans la structure de la societe contemporaine et de

se~

ten-

dances d'evolution.
Dans la lumiere diachronico-synchronique, les

probl~mes

. suivants apparaissent:
2.1

En etudiant Ie r3le de la CM dans differentes for-

mations historiques, on voit que sa motivation differe nettement en relation avec les changements des conditions economiques, sociales et culturelles. Dans ce contexte sccial,
la CM ne s'impose nettement - comme l'illustre l'epoque de

la Rennaissance - que dans le cas ou elle repond aux exigences de

~a

societe de son temps. Ceci est done la pre-

"
,
m1sse
fondamentale de 1 , existence de ce ph'enomene.

2.2

La prise de conscience du fait que la

C~

ne repond

pas aux exigences sociales a pour consequence que beaucoup

153

 de travailleurs des musees s'efforcent de trouver un point

stable de cette ectivite. Les uno trensposent cette'activite
dans le domaine de l'acquisition des sources de le connaissance scientifique, lea autres croient qu'il ne s'agit ici
,

que d une recr.erche des moyens de la communication expressive des connaissances scientifiques. La pression des besoins
d'evolution de la sooiete joue ausai son r~le et mene

a ce

que les travailleurs des musees se rendent de plus en plus

compte de l'insoutenabilite des approches traditionnelles

a la

C~

et cherchent une orientation nouvelle corespondant

au stade d'evolution contemporain, fort marque par les facteurs de la revolution scientifique et technique. La tendence

d'imposer Ie soi-disente documentation museale du

present en est une preuve. 2/
5i la CM doit vraiment satisfaire les exigences socia-

les, il ne suffit pas qu'elle s'oriente uniquement vers

les questions attractives du jouri, comme on Ie voit souvent. La CM peut se faire valoir de fa90n vraiment foncticnnelle sous condition de remplir son propre role specifique
sur le niveau methodique correspondant aux parametres de
l'epoque.

3.0

C'est pour cette raison qu'il faut, ~ man avis,

chercher la cle de Ie solution des problemes du niveau de

la CM contemporaine surtout dans Ie domaine de la museologie. En considerant la CM contemporaine de ce point de
vue, on constate les insuffisances suiventes:
3.1

La

eM

ne possede pas un pro pre objet d'intention

nettement delimite. Ceci a pour resultat qu'on transpose

cette activite dans d'autres
des

~usees

subordonnent la CM

~pheres.
a~x

Certains travailleurs

besoins heuristiques et
154

de sources de differents domaines scientifiques. L'idee

qu'il ne s'agit que de la selection des media/objets exposes a;propries au but de presentation est tres repandue.
Dens les dernieres annees on constate Is transposition de
la

C~

large.

dans Ie domaine de la documentation con9ue d'une fa90n

~ais

il y e aussi l'orientation culturelle historique

qui con90it la CM cornme une activite satisfaisant les besoins de la creation et conservation du patrimcine culturel.
Ces interpretation) dif:f'erentes signalent qu'on n' a pas,
jusqu'a present, reussi
de la

C~

a resoudre

la question de l'objet

de fa90n satisfaisante ni seisir par quoi cette

activite est l'lpecifique et par quoi elle

difi'~re

des autres

sotres de l'activite humaine ce qui est, naturellement;

d'une importance essentielle.

3.2

,
Une me thodologie pro pre a la C1! fait egalement de-

faut. Les procedes traditionnels, tels la collecte .surle

terrain, les achats ou dons rnanquent, dans la plupart des
cas, du niveau methodique necesseire. C'est pour cette raison que la liaison de la CM et de l'activite scientifique
,.
de recherche s ~mpose de plus en plus, plus exactement la
liaison avec sa phase.heuristique. Dans ce contexte, cette
activite acquiere une certaine base methodique. Cependant,
la pratique de beaucoup de musees demontre que Ie preference de l'activite scientifique de recherche n'a pas pour
effet autometique l'accroissement des collections. Les probl~mes

methodiques de la CM sont les plus prononces en con-

" il
nexite avec la soi-disante documentation du present ou
est evident que les domaines engages - commen9ant par
l'histoire et terminent par Ie sociologie - ne disposent
4

pas de methodes que necessite la solution de cette tache.

15:'

J.J

Cependant, on ne peut pas voir la CM isolee, Ie cas

echeant comrr.e Ie moment d'acquisition uniquement. 11 s'agit

de l'ensemble d'activites qui ne sont pas autoteliques mais
leur sens est determine par Ie but auquel elles doivent
serYir, c'est-a-dire

a Ie

collection. Le sens de la

eM

est

donne par celui de la collection. Et cette constatation nous

amene aux problemes de la formation de la collection, de sa
systematisation. Sans tenir compte des collections constituees

a la

base des points de vue systematiques des domaines

.
"
des sciences naturelles ou de certa~ns
systemes
des dOI;leines
des sciences socieles, Ie plupert des ensembles de collec,

tions existents des musees n a pas un niveeu systematique

necessaire. Le plus sauvant, on ne trouve que Ie classement
thematique ou les soi-disantes lignees d'evolution. les
collections constituees de cette fe90n manquent cependant
de la valeur phylogeheti~que du message que possedentde
nombreuses callections des sciences naturelles. Naus voici
devant la

~uestion

compliquee de la relation de la collection

en voie de constitution et de la reaiite dortt on choisit

" . devant la problematique du soiles elements, c , est-a-d~re

disant accord structural de Ie realite originelle et de celIe
de la collection.
4.0

II resulte de la problematique du niveau de la CM

de nos jours indiquee ci-dessus que la CM

I'

eta

sur l'evolution et qu'on n'a pas encore reussi

I'

d e

a resoudre,

au niveau necessaire, les questions fondamentales qui conditionnent directement la participation fonctionnelle de
cette activite dans la phase contemporaine de l'evolution

..

de Ie societe. Ce manque est encore plus grave en vue de la

perspective future, car ce retard peut, dans ses consequen156

ces, signifier non seulement Ie baisse de l'importance so'ciale de cette activite mais merr.e sa disparition complete.
Je crois donc qu'il est ~ present vraiment necessaire
de concentrer nos efforts sur la solution

de~roble~atique

indiquee. eela exige, e mon avis, que nous nous concentrerions surtout sur les questions suivantes:
4.1

T~ d'abord il faut elaborer Ie delimitation uni-

voque de 1 obJet de la

Q~

et de sa mission sociale aussi

bien dans les intentions de l'evolution historique que et cele surtout - dans les exigEnces sociales contemporaines
,.
'.
,
et futures. Seulement si noua prouvons qu ~l s ag~t d un
phenomene vraiment specifique avec une pro pre mission sociale, il sera justifie de s'occuper de sa problematique.
4.2

Si nous reussissons vraiment ~ prouver qu'il s'agit,

dans Ie cas de la CK, de notre relation specifique vers la

realite, les conditions seront
vrions pas

cre~es

pas des methodes propres

pondent et au caractere et

a la

pour que noua decou-

a la

CM qui corres-

mission de cette sctivite.

A l'aide d'une methodique appropriee, les conditions seront

creees pour qu'on puisse appliquer, de fa90n fonctior~elle,
des methodes des sciences apparentees dans cette activite,
sens deformations unilaterales de la

C~,

comme on Ie voit

souverit dans la pratique contemporaine.

4.3

Egalement faut-il pas

a pas

depasser l'orientation

purement historique dans la CM et la lier de fa90n dialectique avec l'orientation vers Ie present. Cela signifie,
du point de vue museologique, lier la soi-disante selection
passive ~ la selection active 3/. Seulement de cette fe90n
on peut directement lier la

eM

avec les besoins actuels et

futurs de la societe et elever la CM sur une base methodo157

logiQue fonctionnelle.
Imposer la selection active dans la eM, cela signi. '.
,
fie auss~ 1 ex~gence dune nouvelle evaluation de notre
4.4

conc2Ption actuelle de l'objet de musee. La CM ne peut pas

prochainement se contenter de ces cetes de la realite naturelle et sociale qui se reflete spontanement dans l'objet,
mais elle doit chercher des moyens et formes de saisir ces
cetes de la realite qui ne sont pas fixes materiellement
,

mais qui pourtant sont souvent d une importance essentielle

pour la.saisie de l'essence et de la valeur du phenomene
suivi. Surtout ~ l'aide de le technique moderne d'enregistrement on peut saisir ce fait ce qui suppose une approche
tout

a fait

fronti~res

differente ~ la

eM.

Par le depassement des

de la conception traditionnelle de l'objet de

musee non seulement les premisses qualitativement nouvelles

pour la s8isie par cellections de la realite naturelle et
sociale sont creees msis en m~me temps aussi de nouvelles
possibilites pour l'utilisation scientifique et culturelle
des cpllections de musee ainsi constituees.
4.5

A l'aide. du rel~vement de la CM au niveau d'une

assimilation vraiment specifique et scientifique de la realite on pourra pas

e pas

aboutir non seulement ~ une appli-

cation beaucoup plus concrete des resultats de cette activite dans la cadre de l'evolution ulterieure de la science
et de l'education mais surtout participer - ~ l'aide des
.
,
collectio~mgseeles - de fa90n beaucoup plus eff~cace a
l'enrichissementde la realite culture lIe et sinsi

a l'e-

largissement et l'approfondissement des valeurs culturelles,

Juillet 1984
158

.',

Not e s

1/ Four la problematique de la continuite de l'evolution

culturelle de la cr.! cf.:
SCHLOSSER,J.von: Die Kunst- und Wunderkammer der

Sp~t

renaissance, Leipzig 1908

BAZIN,G.: The museum age, Brussels 1967
National history collections. Past-pre sent-future , Washington 1969
Y~LINOW~~I,K.:

Geneza kolekcjonerstwa /Muzealnictwo 20,

1972/
SCHEICHER,E.: Die Kunst- und Wunderkammer der Habsburger,
Wien-MUnchen-Ztirich 1979
2/ Pour la conception de la documentation muse ale du present et sa problematique methodologique cf.:
STRANSKY,Z.Z.: Methodological questions of the documentation of the present time /Theses/,/Muzeologicke sesity, V/1974/. ,Today for tomorrow. Museum documentation
--!

of. contemporary society in Sweden by acouisition

of
objects, S&V,DCK, Stockholm 1980
For museum documentation. A programme for contemporary
documentation at Swedish museums of cultural history,
SNf.DOK,

Stockholm 1982

3/ Pour la premiere fois, la differenciation entre la soidisante selection passive et active a ete definie dans
le travail de STRANSKY,Z.Z.: Grundlagen der allgemeinen
Museologie

/~uzeologicke

sesity-Supplementum 1,1971/.

La conception theorique de la selection active a ete

traitee dans le travail de

STRA1JSKY,Z.Z.: Aktivni mu-

159

zejni

doku~entace /~uzeologicke

se8ity IV/1972/ et dans les

etudes ulterieures dans Ie cadre de l'enseignement de la

~useclogie.

en trouve la differenciation de "active and pas-

sive ccliecting" egalement dans Ie travcil de EL~C~,G.E.:

Introduction to ~useum work, Nashville, 1976, m~me si dans
une conception

un

peu differente.

160

fCOFOM Study Series available

The Committee's new publication, started on the occasion of
the London meeting 1983, continues to appear. The issue that
you have in your hands right now is a tangible witness to
this.
What is ISS and what role does it play in the work of ICOrOM?
ISS is a very unpretentious and simple print among the other
ICOrOM publications. Its aim is to make quickly available
theoretical or methodologica~ reflexions on museology, first
of all in connection with the preparation and course of the
Committee's scientific activities as symposia, lecture
programmes etc. In this way, stimulating discussions in re
are made possibl~ and interesting topical ideas are spread
without unnecessary delay.
To reach this aim, unpretentious' methods must be used in
producing the series. Papers received to the symposia etc.
are published in the state they arrive to the Editor - without
any editorial encroachment and without being retyped or set.Only
some very simple typographical measures are being practised
(headlines etc.) in order to present the material clearly.
The manuscripts are simply copied in a limited edition and
distributed first of all to the participants of the scientific
activity in question. The rest of the edition is then
distributed on request.
The manuscripts are protected by ICOrOM's copyright. Depending
on the current financial possibilities the texts may be
published in an editorially and linguisticly revised form in
ICOrOM's theoretical journal Museological Working Papers.
Up to now, the following issues have appeared of ISS:
No.

Joint colloquium London 1983

Methodology of museology and professional training
with 10 basic papers, 6 comments and 1 summary, 146 pp.

No.

Symposium London 1983

Museum - territory - society
with 8 basic papers and 1 comments,60 pp.

No.

Addenda 1
with 1 basic papers, 1 commenm to the symposium, and
2 comments to the colloquium, 31 pp.

No.

Addenda 2 to the symposium 1983

with 2 basic papers, 1 comments, 1 intervention
and 2 'summaries, 36 pp.

No.

Addenda 3 to the colloquium 1983

with 3 basic papers, 2 comments, 3 interventions
and 1 summary, 60 pp.

No. 6

Symposium Leiden 1984

Collecting today for tomorrow
with 17 basic papers, 161 pp.

ICOFOM Study Series disponibles

161