Penn Museum African Galleries | 2017

Over the past four years I have become familiar with the twist and turns of the halls of the Penn Museum, and maybe even too familiar with its internal logic as an institution to the point that examining its exhibits in the lens of an introductory visitor seems impossible.  I am realizing that this  familiarity can be detrimental to my ability to access and fully grasp ways of meaning-making outside of my established knowledge of the institution. Touring the halls this afternoon, however, was an exercise that has helped reorient my pre-established thoughts and feelings concerning the story that the institution is telling especially concerning the role of objects in crafting narratives.  According to the museum website, the self-described mission of the institution is to "encapsulate and illustrate the human story: who we are and where we come from." Thus, people are described as central to the mission and reasoning for the museum's existence, but is this expressed an...

If we view the museum's role as that of a storyteller, what story is the Penn Museum trying to tell with its collections? This afternoon,  I attempted to see what narrative was being weaved throughout the museum as I wandered through the exhibits. While each exhibit had a specific aim, the story overall was the creation of personhood and the step-by-step development of human civilization. For each region, the exhibits builds an idea of life and death and the influences a specific society had on contemporary life. Each region is presented as foundational to the innovations of modern society; however, there is stark line between which regions are plunged into the past and which are a blend of past and present. Overall, I believe that the Penn Museum attempts to answer the question, "Who am I and where do I come from?" It roots the birth of humanity in Africa, the origin of personal identity to Canaan and Ancient Israel, the creation of modern civilization to Roman, Greek, ...

This morning, I was introduced immediately to the work that needed to be done with inputing the data collected from the comment cards collected from 'Imagine Africa.' These 'Leave us a note' response sheets can be accessed throughout the gallery at multiple stations, and allow visitors to complete and leave handwritten responses and demographic data in deposit boxes. These responses have been collected throughout the tenure of the exhibit, but currently are not represented in the evaluation written by Elizabeth Tinker, which focuses on the in-person interviews and survey data. In fact, 'Leave us a note'/Comment stations are mentioned in the evaluation as the least utilized form of feedback seen during observation periods. There are, however, around 1000+ responses from comment sheets inputed on excel spreadsheets housed within the main folder of analyzed data collected throughout the tenure of the gallery. Two further cardboard boxes of responses were found ...

Monday was a whirlwind of introductions and scheduling details! I already knew Lara from a class this fall, but it was great to meet Isabella and start getting to know each other. We also met Jessica, who showed us the new plans for the African galleries. I'm glad that they're going to attempt to draw connections between Africa and other areas of the world, because it's often treated as its own isolated continent. This past year, I was helping a professor research contemporary connections between Africa and China, and I did some historical research that revealed how many African countries have been trading with China and other Asian countries for centuries without these relationships really being acknowledged in the West. It also reminded me of the textile exhibit at Creative Africa last summer, which painted a more global picture of what constituted "African" art and prompted a lot of interesting conversations with visitors. The Penn is also rearranging the Afric...

I hope it is alright to keep this entry short, as I will have even more to update everyone on this afternoon. Yesterday was extremely exciting, and I am as eager as everyone to get started on the research! After we went our separate ways yesterday, I was able to explore the Imagine Africa gallery more in-depth. The glaring issues with the exhibit became obvious, especially its vagueness, it's lack of cohesiveness, and problematic approach to the topics presented. With a more established feel for the exhibit, exploring the data collected on visitor responses has been enlightening and surprising, and despite my misgivings of the exhibit, I think there can be a lot of use made in the data collected from gallery visitors. There is even two whole boxes of 'Leave a note' response forms that have yet to be inputed, so I intend today to look through them and find a way to organize and make sense of them. I look forward to reading how everyone's day goes, and sharing more ...

As I unwind after my first day at the Penn Museum, I feel both incredibly energized for the summer to come and a little bit overwhelmed with all that I have to absorb. There is a lot to think and feel all at once, which makes blogging the perfect venue to deconstruct where I am at this moment. As an international studies major, I feel that I am coming to the group with less of a background in anthropology and art history. I feel anxious about this, but I want to turn my nervous energy into a positive frame of mind. For one thing, I am bringing a new perspective and a different interdisciplinary background to the research team. For another thing, instead of looking at my limited experience as a setback, I want to pose it as an challenge. I also could not have felt more supported by Monique and the members of my team, which makes any challenge feel exciting and approachable. Already,  I am teeming with questions after our team conversation with Jessica. I was especially intereste...

Les Statues Meurent Aussi http://africasacountry.com/2014/03/from-the-archives-alain-resnaiss-film-on-african-art-statues-also-die-1953/