AMBIGUITIES
'Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think what else it might be.'
(Roger von Oech)
Ambiguity unpacked
Museums face many difficult questions when planning exhibitions. Problems arise from the fact that they often know very little about the factual context of their objects. This uncertainty can lead to biases; curators may try and fill in the missing gaps.
In doing this, they can exaggerate or extrapolate information about an object; their interpretation of an object depending on their own experience and worldview.
Question everything
Curators may not know the answers to many of the questions surrounding their objects...
- Where was the object found?
- Was the object incomplete?
- Does it have missing pieces?
- What was its function?
- When was the object found?
- Is it a fake?
- How was the object found?
Consequently, with the ambiguity and uncertainty associated to objects, there is a fine line between what is fact and what is fiction. This heightens the danger of curators getting too creative with the limited information they have.
It is therefore important that we think critically when we visit museums, we must think about the selectivity of information that goes on behind the scenes.
Check out this cool video!
Click on the link below and see how museums are interpretations of the past. They choose a stance or lense through which they view history, one person might say the Victorian period was brutal and dirty and another person might say it was idyllic. Thus, curators pick and choose what to include in their exhibitions.
Now lets get active...
With a friend think about your local museum and think about what they have decided to include about the past and what they have not.