Talk on Victorian Costume - Dec 10/09 London Ontario

This looks like fun and free:

Victorian Costume: Demonstration and Talk
Thursday, December 10, 7:30 pm
Lorraine Ivey Shuttleworth Community Gallery

After graduating from the Fashion Arts Program at Niagara College, Karen Harley dedicated 25 years to theatre, working in various venues such as the Stratford Festival and the Grand Theatre. She now teaches sewing, history of costume and textile science in the Fashion Design Program at Fanshawe College. Karen will speak about why people dressed the way they did in Victorian times, and will elaborate upon the styles, influences and attitudes of the era. She will display a collection of Victorian costumes from the Stratford Festival, and will show us what it took to get undressed as a woman in this period.

Admission: FREE

(Source: http://www.museumlondon.ca/d.aspx?s=/Programs_Events/Listen_Learn.htm)

Vicky's Knickers

I think I am turning into the Perez Hilton of historic clothing with my useless commentary.

This was no doubt my favorite Globe story of the week: "Toronto woman snaps up Queen Victoria's knickers"

Check out the comments! Love it!

The textile conservation side of me is saying - stop yanking on the waistband and get those knickers off! But I guess that's one of the joys of having a personal collection of historic clothing - you get to prance around in the stuff!

MAY I PLEASE HAVE MY HISTORY BACK? PT 2

To follow up with a previous posting on museums wanting artifacts back, I thought I would post these two really interesting video clips from National Geographic regarding Egyptian antiquities and the Parthenon Marbles. Interesting debates, who do you side with?:


Egypt Wants Treasures Back


Parthenon Marbles Battle

I was not aware of this but there are some pretty amazing history videos on the National Geographic Website under the video of the day section/history.

Thinking Outside the Box: Indigenous Digital Archives

First semester I spent a significant amount of time thinking and reading about the usefulness of digitization for Indigenous societies as a way to manage historic and cultural records. With an upcoming discussion in my Public History class on First Nations involvement in Canadian Museums, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my findings...

Indigenous archives have long been associated with colonization as a reflection of the alienation of knowledge, culture and physical property.1 Like museums, libraries and other cultural institutions, archives face spatial as well as cultural constraints in preserving Indigenous cultural materials, but they are also recognized as being powerful places which house valuable information that for Indigenous societies can help them to "reassert their rights and reclaim the past."2 In recent years, archives have joined communities and other cultural institutions to design new digital technologies to improve archives recognizing that the digital environment offers accessibility and platforms for collaboration which can provide a broader perspective of cultural collections. However, digital technologies, like these institutions, pose a new set of concerns for Indigenous groups and those caring for collections. Here I will take a brief look at three factors which should be considered when planning an Indigenous digital archives.

1.) Accessibility: ensuring that digitization is an appropriate way for communities to have access to their records, either through the Internet or shared computers at community centers.

Computer access for Indigenous communities varies across Canada. Statistically it has been looked it in the context of education, so mainly access has been provided to communities for uses in schools and community centers. Due to geography, some reserves, or more rural areas of the north however still have not been provided with Internet access. In these cases, efforts should be made to provide them with computers or digital surrogates. Telecommunications can offer the opportunity to share culture and history. The negative point remains, however, that Indigenous societies run the risk of being exploited if they do not have control over their involvement with technology which could result in further undermining cultural values rather than empowering. 3

2.) Recognizing that there are limitations to digitization which can be carried over from the physical archives, for example the quality of collections documentation.

The process of archives going "digital" has for many analysts been one that involves rethinking the space in which archives will be presented.4 What seems to be the key difference is that the the physical archive is displaced in favor of digitization which appears as a more ideal alternative which can transcend space and time. Everyday new Internet archives are appearing on the World Wide Web. Some believe that it is merely "old wine in new bottles?"5. Others feel that digitization can make information more available and allows for more dynamic interpretations of data than what is possible on paper. Hypertext for example offers what one historian has described as: "a non-linear narrative, a form that, by providing the reader with multiple links, presented choices that involved him or her in the process of interpretation."6 This is arguably more immediate than the interpretive linking that occurs in a physical archives.

Generally speaking though, an Internet archive must be "defined" before it comes into existence.7 Selection in this space has the power to shape historical memory, so understanding history and culture before presenting archival information on the Internet is vital. The example of Maori Land Court records management illustrates this point.8 This involved the digitization of historical materials that were considered tapu (meaning sacred and forbidden), so access should have only been made available to particular groups instead of being posted on the Internet. This further demonstrates that only Indigenous peoples can decide what approach is appropriate for digital media.

Archivists and historians have important roles to play in historical research and archival practices which are both key components in the creation of digital archives. Past systems of records management pose difficulties as seen in the example of maps, which have been described and understood differently throughout history. This is reflected in the ways they have been recorded and categorized in archives or within different archival institutions.9 For Indigenous peoples this could effect the research of land ownership or genealogy for instance. Answers to the questions: Who created the map? When was it created? When was it cataloged? Where/how was it acquired? help to determine the reliability of records. Challenges with archival practices are not limited to understanding old cataloging systems, but can also be seen in conservation issues whereby maps are too fragile to actually digitize due to their natural curvature or poor condition, making them unavailable digitally and thus, left out of the digital historical record. The limitations of this media are due to circumstances that exist within records management and have carried over into the "virtual" world. These examples demonstrate that physical archives and digital archives both offer very different experiences, but they are by no means completely independent from one another.

3.)Acknowledging that artifacts in their physical form have special meaning in society is important because although digitization can offer improvements in caring for cultural collections, it cannot always replace what objects symbolize in their physical form and the feelings they evoke.

Withers and Grout have stated that: "there remains an emotional and aesthetic relationship between the observer and the original object that the digital image-viewer relationship cannot replicate."10 However, it is possible that digitizing records can support the access, loans or repatriation which bring communities closer to cultural materials. The Indigenous Management Project(IMP) based out of the University of Queensland, Australia with the Museum of the American Indian explores this concept by"enable[ing] traditional owners to describe and conceptualize museum context in their own words and from their own perspectives."11 IMP highlights the possibilities of emerging grid technologies which provide a digital infrastructure that supports communication, collaboration and what the project has termed "digital repatriation" programs. Maori for example require strict privacy laws which the IMP project supports. Access can be maintained through tools, which enable traditional owners to define the specific rights requirements associated with digital objects, for example the tribe or gender. This new programming element is an extremely valuable asset for collections management. Also, IMP has proposed through a digital repatriation program to relocation digital versions back to a local repository because although gaining control over materials may be ideal, actually having the resources to physically care for them has posed problems.12

I could go on forever with this discussion - but I won't! From what I have outlined here though, it is possible to see that there are numerous considerations when designing ways to present and preserve history in digital form. There is a lot to be gained particularly from the collaborative possibilities that go along with computing. However, in a world increasingly shaped by non-Indigenous people and driven by differing value systems and forms of knowledge, it is in the best interest of Indigenous societies to control the degree to which they will participate in the digital medium.

For further information I recommend checking out these projects as well as the citations listed below:

Project Naming (2005-current) based out of Library and Archives Canada which involves the identification of photos dating back to the 1800s in Nunavut. Local youth were hired to take laptop computer with these images to visit elders from communities where the images originated. This project also aimed at strengthening the bond between elders and youth while tackling a major issue with digital accessibility.

Ara Irititja (‘stories from a long time ago’) is a community-based initiative in Australia. The software engineer’s instructions demonstrates the complex considerations for developing this archive. They were to create a database that handles different media, incorporates cultural restrictions, and is easy to use for an audience with limited literacy and often, failing eyesight.

1. Evelyn Wareham, "Our Own Identity, Our Own Taonga, Owr Own Self Coming Back': Indigenous Voices in New Zealand Record-Keeping" Archivaria, no. 52 (Fall 2001): 27.
2. Ibid., 26.
3. Cora J. Voyageur, Telecommunications, Technology and Native Americans: Opportunities and Challenges, Journal of Distance Education, (2001) http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol16.1/voyageur.html (accessed Dec. 7, 2007).
4.Bernadine Dodge, "Places Apart: Archives in Dissolving Space and Time,"Archivaria, no. 44 (Fall, 1997, 118-131).
5.Lilly Koltun, "The Promise and Threat of Digital Options in an Archival Age,"Archivaria , no. 47 (Spring, 1999), 117.
6. Stephen Robertson, "Doing History in Hypertext," Journal for the Association of History and Computing, vol VII, no. 2 (Aug. 2004)
http://journals2.iranscience.net:800/mcel.pacificu.edu/mcel.pacificu.edu/JAHC/JAHCVII2/ARTICLES/robertson/robertson.html
(accessed December 4, 2007).
7.Koltum, "The Promise and Threat,"119.
8.Wareham, "Indigenous Voices," 41.
9.Charles W.J. Withers and Andrew Grout, "Creating a Digital Web-based Map Archive," Archivaria, no. 61 (Spring, 2006), 39.
10. Ibid., 45.
11.Jane Hunter, Ronald Schroeter, Beavan Koopman & Michael Henderson. "Using the Semantic Grid to Build Bridges between Museums and indigenous Communities,"
http://metadata.net/filmed/pub/GGF11_SemanticGrid.pdf (accessed Dec. 4, 2007),1.
12.Ibid.

The Modern Museum: Caring for Collections and Cultures

In Museology class last week we discussed the issue of loaning museum objects to indigenous and special interest groups for important occasions, ceremonies or other specific uses. One student in our class questioned this suggesting that there was a risk that just anyone might decide they wanted to borrow museum objects (I think the example given was a classic Rolls Royce of which we would all enjoy taking a spin). Another student focused on the conservation problems, as it goes against what museums have traditionally stood for - collecting and caring for treasured historic materials for the future. I wanted to take the chance to discuss this further, as it is not a question that is only stumping our class, it's part of a much larger discussion on the role of the museum, specifically in the area of collecting.

While working at Puke Ariki caring for their European textile collection, I experienced how sensitive historic objects can be to physical risk. Textiles particularly require special care; cotton gloves are worn to prevent oil from damaging them over a long period, a temperature-controlled environment and handling considerations - often being carried on trays to not break the aging fibers. All this and more is important for the long-term preservation of the object. Museum conservator Miriam Clavir has explained this controversial loan activity as one of the biggest challenges facing conservators because many of them see objects as their "fundamental clients." Also, the idea that conservators see their role as being one that facilitates the long-term preservation of objects for future generations, not necessarily for current-day use.1 I would argue that a move from this direction is inevitable because museums are no longer viewed or exhibiting materials in the same context as they once were - places where history that is "over and done" is maintained. Museums contain materials that are living history; some artifacts are still central points of reference for particular groups of people and desired for usage.

I think the major issue here is that there has to be flexibility within the museum collection policy to make decisions on when this type of loan activity is appropriate. In New Zealand, Maori work much closer than indigenous peoples in Canada, mainly because the Waitangi Treaty has granted Maori ownership rights over their taonga (meaning all material and non-material, heirlooms, significant places and geneology). They are involved in the collections process and making these decisions, seeing it from both a conservation standpoint as well as the present-day needs. If museums deny people the right to objects that originated with them, most importantly the objects lose meaning or connection to their history and secondly, it is more than likely that the objects will be removed. Like the example of New Zealand, museums need to collaborate right from the beginning with indigenous and other groups who are looking to reconnect with their history and culture using objects. It's really just the way of the future and it's how museums do it that counts.

Source:
1. Miriam, Clavir, "Reflections on Changes in Museums and the Conservation of Collections from Indigenous Peoples," Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol. 35, no. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp99-107.

Notes on Images:
The image of the wood-carved face was taken while in New Zealand in the city of Wanganui. I can't remember if I took it or my friend Sarah Patterson (if so, thanks Sarah). It was located outside in a public space, I don't know anything about the provenance - but it's quite striking. If anything, for the sake of this discussion, it's an example of a carving that needs some serious conservation treatment or it will be damaged by the weather beyond repair.

The second image is of a Maori cloak. I came across this example on the Hallie Ford Museum website which I hope they won't mind me using. It was woven by Kahutoi Te Kanawa in 1989, an accomplished NZ weaver who has named the cloak Korowai: Nga Taonga Tuku Iho. It toured with the NZ museum exhibition, The Eternal Thread. Cloaks are of great interest to me not only because they require impressive traditional weaving techniques called whatu but like other types of taonga, it is believed that they embody ancestors. So one can see why it would be of interest to wear these as link to the past - we can relate to this connection as like having an ancestor at a wedding, graduation, celebration, etc. If they are restricted to only a museums use, their original purpose is lost.

MAY I PLEASE HAVE MY HISTORY BACK?

"Chinese antiquities at ROM under renewed scrutiny," published in the Globe and Mail on Saturday January 19 looks to the recently released book: "Cross Culture and Faith" written by Linfu Dong and published by the University of Toronto Press. It traces the story of the Chinese antiquities that were "secretly spirited out of China by a Canadian missionary" and further states that it "provoked mounting resentment in China, where many people are angry that foreign museums amassed fabulous collections by scooping up vast amounts of ancient Chinese treasure when the country was weakened by civil wars in the 1920s and 1930s."

The story of museums collecting international materials is a greatly contested issue with repatriation being considered at the forefront. Although the article explains that the Chinese government is not asking for the materials back, there has been a recent uproar among special interest groups to have these antiquities returned to their homeland.

The Globe and Mail has chosen to focus on the unethical manner in which the collection was formed. There are still other sides to this story that should be considered. Regardless of what, how or why these artifacts ended up at the ROM, the artifacts still have a history of their own and different perspectives should be acknowledged.

The first, which probably doesn't need to be explained in too much detail is that of the society in which the antiquities were removed from. It is clear that the loss can be deeply distressing as artifacts are part of China's history and were crafted by their society. Getting materials back where they can be managed and studied by the descendants of the makers can be a rewarding cultural experience which supports China's rich history.

Another side which should not to be forgotten is that of the ROM. This museum provides extensive information on it's collection and for many visitors interested in Asian history in Canada, access to a collection that has been well taken care of and researched since it was acquired in the 1930s is of great value. A 2001 study by Stats Canada "Chinese Canadians: Enriching the Cultural Mosaic" by Chu, Tran and Flanders has shown that Chinese Canadians make up the largest minority group in Canada with most residing in the Toronto and Vancouver areas. It might be worth asking Chinese Canadians if they would like to have more input in the future of this collection, afterall, this collection is a link to their homeland too.

Although it was highlighted in the article that some of the artifacts were "smuggled" out of China, history does work in mysterious ways, and the odds of these antiquities being destroyed during the Chinese civil war was possible. Sometimes, looking back, although decisions were made for reasons we might not presently agree with, they end up protecting important treasures that could have been lost forever. Maybe continuing to look ahead at the continued preservation of these materials is what is most important.

So, it is possible to see, that during a time when many are looking to museums and asking them: May I please have my history back? there are tough decisions to be made. But artifacts, like the museums that house them, do not have a static history. Museums are looking at new ways to connect their artifact collections to those who they originated with (and putting a great deal of funding into this area I might add). Digital repatriation projects are being used in countries like Australia and New Zealand, setting new standards for connecting indigenous societies to their material history. As well, the USA and Canada are offering exhibitions in collaboration with different cultural groups, offering them support to present their history. This leaves me to conclude with the other big question... are these efforts enough?

Collecting Experiences - The 1980s Wild Child Website

Digital history provides new opportunities for people interested in memory, oral history and the recent past. There have been a number of websites created to collect people’s recollections such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, critical infrastructure and MemoryArchive. In our Digital History classs we were asked to explore some of these projects and then write a short proposal for a new one...

For my assignment I propose that there be an online memory archive that is not only fun to contribute to but useful for historians and researchers in the future. It would be aimed at children born in the 1980s. The 1980s Wild Child Website would provide visitors with the opportunity to share memories about music, history, fashion, televison or popular cultural trends in the 80s. This would be a place to upload photos, videos, music or post personal stories. Just the other day I was discussing growing up in the 80s with some fellow classmates. Once someone mentioned Chip n' Pepper t-shirts, followed by Jem and the Holigrams it was on!