Learn about Political Displays in Art Museums!

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:48:39 -0400

Political Displays in Art Museums: How Italy Exhibits Objects Repatriated from the United States;
Christina Ross

Richard Mason, Lecturer, Ancient Studies

UC 310 | 10:30-10:45 PM

Repatriated objects are antiquities that were smuggled out of a country and then later returned to their country of origin through international negotiations. They are a new ‘genre’ of items to be curated because they are politically charged. I visited the archaeological museums in Naples, Paestum, and Aidone in Italy and researched how each museum curated repatriated artifacts, which were previously exhibited as solely aesthetic objects in the United States. In the past two decades, numerous works, purchased for millions of dollars, have been returned to Italy from museums in the United States with no reimbursement on the basis that they are the cultural property of Italy. This link to modern politics, international cooperation, and cultural heritage makes them unique to study as a set and each museum handles the display in a different manner. I studied this by visiting each museum, observing the exhibit, and making note of how each was advertised, highlighted, or discussed within the framework of the museum. Ultimately, it was clear that the three individual museums each emphasized different agendas driven by such various influences as nationalist politics, the connection between art and human emotion, and local history.