Exhibiting Dilemmas: Issues of Representation at the Smithsonian

ISBN: 1560984449

Author: Henderson, Amy

Condition: New

In twelve essays on such diverse Smithsonian Institution holdings as the Hope Diamond, the Wright Flyer, wooden Zuni carvings, and the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth lunch counter that became a symbol of the Civil Rights movement, Exhibiting Dilemmas explores a wide range of social, political, and ethical questions faced by museum curators in their roles as custodians of culture.Focusing on the challenges posed by the transformation of exhibitions from object-driven cabinets of curiosities to idea-driven sources of education and entertainment, the contributors-all Smithsonian staff members-provide a lively and sometimes provocative discussion of the increasingly complex enterprise of acquiring and displaying objects in a museum setting.