"Can These Bones Come To Life?" II: From Collector to Curator to Craftsperson (In Memory of the Higgins Armory Museum)
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Societas Johannis Higginsis
Organizer Name
Kenneth Mondschein
Organizer Affiliation
Westfield State Univ./American International College
Presider Name
Kenneth Mondschein
Paper Title 1
Boardwalk Emprise: John Woodman Higgins and the Atlantic City Tournament of 1935
Presenter 1 Name
Michael A. Cramer
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY
Paper Title 2
Erasing the Ladies: Issues in Curating the Legacy of Female Collectors
Presenter 2 Name
Lisa Evans
Presenter 2 Affiliation
DISTAFF
Paper Title 3
A Curator's Challenge: Arms and Armor Collections in France
Presenter 3 Name
Marie-Anne Michaux
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Independent Scholar
Start Date
16-5-2015 3:30 PM
Session Location
Bernhard 210
Description
Reconstructing material culture requires close cooperation between would-be reconstructors and the curators of surviving artifacts. Interpretation, both material and academic, also requires an appreciation for how an object comes to be chosen for inclusion and display in a museum; issues of connoisseurship, curatorship, and conservation; and how a designation of historical significance is either assigned or withheld. Added to this are issues of reconstruction in a museum setting, from repairing damaged stonework at an archaeological site, to using modern replicas to interpret objects, to the use of reenactment to reach the public in living-history museums. Furthermore, the collector is not the curator; certainly, Henry Clay Frick and J.P. Morgan's motivations were not the same as those who now have charge of their collections. We therefore propose a session examining in a critical light how objects come to be collected and curated in museums and the effects of this process on their interpretation, both academic or material. Topics include how attitudes towards female connoisseur-collectors has affected the curation of their contributions to museum collections, the challenges of curating French arms and armor collections, and John Woodman Higgins' apparently allowing parts of his collection to be used in a jousting tournament in the 1930s.
Kenneth C. Mondschein
"Can These Bones Come To Life?" II: From Collector to Curator to Craftsperson (In Memory of the Higgins Armory Museum)
Bernhard 210
Reconstructing material culture requires close cooperation between would-be reconstructors and the curators of surviving artifacts. Interpretation, both material and academic, also requires an appreciation for how an object comes to be chosen for inclusion and display in a museum; issues of connoisseurship, curatorship, and conservation; and how a designation of historical significance is either assigned or withheld. Added to this are issues of reconstruction in a museum setting, from repairing damaged stonework at an archaeological site, to using modern replicas to interpret objects, to the use of reenactment to reach the public in living-history museums. Furthermore, the collector is not the curator; certainly, Henry Clay Frick and J.P. Morgan's motivations were not the same as those who now have charge of their collections. We therefore propose a session examining in a critical light how objects come to be collected and curated in museums and the effects of this process on their interpretation, both academic or material. Topics include how attitudes towards female connoisseur-collectors has affected the curation of their contributions to museum collections, the challenges of curating French arms and armor collections, and John Woodman Higgins' apparently allowing parts of his collection to be used in a jousting tournament in the 1930s.
Kenneth C. Mondschein