ICOM International Council of Museums - Museo Estancia Jesuitica ...

Maranda : Museology and History: A local Perspective
unique attached to their existence (e.g. rare mineral mining, a famous ‘son’, sasquatch
sightings, etc.) can garner ‘fame and fortune’ through the tourist marketing of their
museum ‘treasures’. The importance of such to small, back-water towns cannot be
underestimated as they entreat the curious to stop and experience, thus contributing to
the economic well-being of the community as a whole. For some of these ‘museums’,
the ‘museum’ appellation, regardless of whether it is a stand-alone building or a back
room in the local coffee shop, is essential for legitimization and appeal. In many cases,
the relation between such extremes and any form of museological undertaking may
only be, at best, coincidental.
Larger urban museums, whose mandates require the exploration and explanation of
the community’s past, can only focus on selective events and histories. While provincial
and national museums are expected to cut a much broader historical swath as their
coverage dictates, these, too, are selective in what they present. There are many
reason for this - space, object availability, and re-creative capacity being a few of the
determining factors. There are also other reasons for the selections that are made, and
these include, for example, the museum’s choice of what it feels is historically
significant, as well as its perception of its audience’s tastes.
On the other hand, museums which address very specific subjects, for example,
aviation, are more likely to have items which are tagged chronologically and set in
evolutionary or explanatory patterns. Physical aircraft and other related objects would
be used as illustrations of the historical storyline of the museum. Such museums,
therefore, come closest to having an established sequence of explanation, the objects
housed being illustrative of that explanation.
Whereas history is a chronological evolution which explains why the presence exists,
general museums take an anthropological type of approach. Objects are not set in
explanatory patterns and while they are ‘historical’, they do not explain history.
Museums are like three-dimensional books, designing exhibitions to make
‘connections’ with their visitorships and by so doing, create often disparate vignettes
from the past which are presented under the guise of ‘history’. This is the reality of
‘historical’ representation in museums.
By way of illustration, examples are drawn from the Vancouver Museum (Vancouver
being the third largest city in Canada, and, the Vancouver Museum being the largest
civic museum in Canada; founded in 1894 - old by west coast standards!) which has
been opening a series of new ‘permanent’ ‘history’ galleries since 2002. In concert with
the museum’s mandate, these exhibitions set out to fulfill the stated obligation by
reflecting “... the development of Vancouver and its peoples to both residents and
visitors in an engaging, relevant, and responsible manner.” and by involving “... the
public in the exploration of their heritage and environment, [the museum] will build an
understanding of the city’s past, present, and future.”
“The ‘50s Gallery” was the first to open. It invites the visitor to “Have a Wonderful Time”
and to “Share Memories of the Hopeful Decade” - ‘memories’ which are presented in
no particular order. Collage panels, replete with texts and graphics, are captioned with
alluring verbal images and representative objects.
“Behind the Wheel” is depicted by an old 1950s car fitted with a eat-in-car tray
supporting reproduced food in the back seat to represent the local White Spot Drive in
Car Service phenomenon that was popular in that era. The surrounding walls sport
street signs, licence plates, verbal captions, graphics, and other ‘memorabilia’.
342