ICOM International Council of Museums - International Institute for ...

MUSEOLOGY AND HISTORY: A LOCAL PERSPECTIVELynn Maranda, Vancouver Museum - CanadaThe peoples of a locale, and via them, their museums, explore a meaning of ‘history’through the use of sentimentality and emotional attachment to convey their sense ofbeing a people. This approach to museum material is not done with consideration tothe astringent idea of history, but takes into consideration a populace interest in seeingrelationships that have sentimental value. These relationships, however, are not trulyhistorical.History tracks the chronological causes and effects in human activity. The tracing ofcause and effect leads to an explanation of the evolution of human activity, of why it isthat we exist in the present. Museums use the term ‘history’ in a vernacular sense toevoke nostalgia, not to give explanations of cause and effect. The primary tools at themuseum’s disposal are the three-dimensional objects from a bygone age which itcollects and preserves. Museums are permanent repositories for these objects whichare used to illustrate anecdotes and events from the past and which impart a sense ofwhat it was like to live in earlier times. They do not effect historical consequence.Museums are unique to themselves and find legitimacy as collectors and storehousesof precious material culture objects which may or may not have historical importance.While, for example, a musket may come from a particular era, this does not mean ithas historical significance. For all intents and purposes, it is a relic and no more.Nevertheless, it is of interest to see objects from the past and speculate on theirrelation to past events. This is, however, ‘curiosity’ speaking, not an explanation in thesense of historical importance.History is more like a living organism, while objects are matter of the earth. Museumsprovide windows into the past and create ‘human dioramas’ of an age, but this hasnothing to do with history. History and the keeping of ‘history’, therefore, are notsynonymous.While museum objects remain permanently consistent to themselves, history is anevolving process. As history evolves, the meaning and significance of these objectscan change to take on ‘attributes’ of then current ideologies. For example, the Marxist‘peoples revolution’ would interpret history commensurate with their peculiar form ofideology, and as this change occurs, museum objects can become subject to newinterpretations.Real or imagined representation, conjecture, hypothesis, are all within the museum’svocabulary. Objects are used to illustrate historical events, or historical events arechosen to coincide with or constructed around available objects. Subjects that cannotbe illustrated using objects are either marginalized by being given fleeting mentionthrough words or by illustrations, or ignored altogether. Occasionally, objects are fullydetached from the historical storyline and serve only as decorative embellishments.Regardless, all interpretations of the past are based on fabricated perceptions made inthe present.Local interest museums abound with virtually every community taking part in collectingmaterials and displaying information related to its own past. In fact, the communitymuseum is a ‘growth industry’ of sorts, and those communities which have ‘something’unique attached to their existence (e.g. rare mineral mining, a famous ‘son’, sasquatchsightings, etc.) can garner ‘fame and fortune’ through the tourist marketing of their327