Analysis Practice

Assignment Overview

This week we viewed objects, artworks, monuments, and architectural examples from several unique and incredibly diverse regions, from the grasslands, deserts, and tropics throughout the Asian and African continents to the plateaus, mountains, and tropical coasts of the islands in Oceania and all of the climates and geographies above in the vast spanse of the Americas. Although these works were created in completely different parts of the world and across a wide stretch of time, they share in common many aspects regarding their designs, techniques, purposes, and meanings for their respective cultures.

What’s more, many of these works also share in common the experiences of being removed from their original contexts and circulated through collections of museums and private (usually wealthy) individuals throughout the rest of the world, especially throughout collections in Europe and the United States. Given the fraught history of global colonialism in recent centuries, when more industrialized nations sought to exert control over the societies located in these regions of Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania, and took advantage of this control to take possession of many local artworks and objects, should viewers of these works today be more aware of how, when, and why these works were removed from their original contexts and placed on view elsewhere? What may be the benefits, the drawbacks, and the ultimate impact of bringing the circumstances of collecting and displaying these objects into the viewing experience of them?

Assignment Instructions

Artwork I picked: Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa”

1. Select one (1) artwork, monument, or object from any of the topics we covered this week that is currently in the collection of a museum outside its original location. For example, a work from Papua New Guinea that is currently in a collection in the United States, or a work from Nigeria that is currently in a collection in England.
2. Explain what you think are some of the benefits of viewing this work as it is currently displayed. For example, its current display may showcase unique materials and techniques, or offer viewers examples of important ceremonial objects they otherwise may never see in person. Your explanation should answer the following questions:
   1. What is the greatest benefit of viewing the work as it is currently displayed?
   2. How do you think collecting, displaying, and viewing this object in its current context has helped preserve the physical artwork?
   3. How do you think the original cultures who made and used this object or artwork are highlighted or showcased to foreign audiences?
3. Explain what you think are some of the drawbacks or controversies of viewing this work as it is currently displayed. For example, its current display may oversimplify or obscure its original use or meaning, or may inadvertantly incur damage to the object’s materials. Your explanation should answer the following questions:
   1. What is the greatest drawback of viewing the work as it is currently displayed?
   2. How do you think collecting, displaying, and viewing this object in its current context has hindered preservation or damaged the physical artwork?
   3. How do you think the original cultures who made and used this object or artwork are oversimplified or miscommunicated to foreign audiences?
4. Provide a final reflection (just a couple of sentences) on whether you think works from indigenous cultures across Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania should be displayed in distant museums and collections of typically wealthier, more industrialized nations and individuals, OR whether they should remain and be displayed in the places where they were made, and WHY.