Learning Objectives Flashcards
(36 cards)
What are some examples of buildings where art was displayed in ancient Greece and what purpose did it serve?
Unit 1
The Stoa in Athens held a variety of paintings and war loot and the pinakotheke (“picture gallery”) was a hall of paintings hanging where people ate during religious festivals. These were meant to impress visitors and publicize works during religious days.
Where does the term “museum” come from? How might this affect our understanding of what a museum is today?
Unit 1
The term “museum” comes from the word mouseion which means “seat of the muses” who were the personifications of arts and various areas of knowledge. This can affect our understanding of modern museums because these early institutions were what first associated objects/texts with learning and the importance of objects when gathering knowledge.
How did the philosophical school of Athens established by Plato and Aristotle and the patronage of the Ptolemaic rulers in Egypt elevate the importance of the mouseion and library in ancient Greece?
Unit 1
This institution was used for non-religious literary purposes and focused on the study of arts and sciences, like zoology and taxonomy. Ptolemy built an institution that saved and preserved objects from political turmoil when he saw the prominence of the Lyceum and mouseion.
Who paid for the construction and endowment of libraries in the ancient Mediterranean world? What do we know about their purpose and contribution to society?
Unit 1
They were paid for by rulers like Ptomely and his dynasty and high-ranking people like Aristotle and Plato. They contributed to the studies of various sciences like astronomy, zoology, taxonomy, and formed a more organized study and focus on material evidence. They were also safe places for objects/texts to be stored during times of political turmoil.
What is a relic and what role do they play in world religions like Buddhism and Christianity?
Unit 2
A reliquary is a container for the preservation of relics, usually the physical remains of a holy person or stuff worthy of specific reverence. They were used/put on section altars, carried in processions, worshiped on feast days, or displayed in high class places/churches.
What do relics contribute to a religious faith and its practice?
Unit 2
They were meant to be seen as mediators/conduits to the holy and enabled the worshiper to interact directly with the saint. They were seen as funerary objects or objects of protection/devotion.
What role did monasteries play in the collection and transmission of manuscripts?
Unit 2
They brought relics from all over the world to bring them back to churches and cathedrals. It was supposed to be a divine presence in the world. Scribes translated Arabic translations of Greek texts into Latin (important in bringing about the Renaissance). Copying manuscripts in monasteries/scriptorias ensured the study and dissemination of knowledge from the ancient world. These monasteries would also profit off of the sale of illustrated manuscripts to private patrons.
What is meant by “cabinets of curiosity”?
Unit 2
They were privately owned collections of scholars, nobles, etc. They had a lot of exotic objects and had various organizational systems/illustrated catalogues.
What was the purpose of cabinets of curiosity?
Unit 2
They were meant to figure out the divine hierarchy/pattern of God’s creations and how he intended the order of nature to be. They were microsoms of the universe that pointed to the ideal order of creation. Meant to show evidence of a divine presence in the world and to elevate their owner’s social prominence.
What do we know about collectors in the Renaissance? Who were they and why were they motivated to develop personal or public collections?
Unit 2
Ferrante Imperato used his collections of natural history specimens to teach and encourage study. The Medici family collected a bunch of artworks like paintings and sculptures. This was intended to show off their powerful status and social standing; by owning objects of great power, they too had great power. A lot of the time, these collections aided the owner’s self-identity and helped interpret the divine presence in the world.
What are some of the collections amassed by the Medici family in Florence? What buildings or spaces were created for their collections and what is their legacy to the present day?
Unit 2
They collected art, busts, reliefs, inscriptions, and funerary markers; some of these were permanently adhered to the wall. They collected books and all manner of art. Their buildings are still used as a museum and research center today. The Palazzo degli Ufizi was originally made to be public offices of the state and act as a museum for the Medici collections.
What motivated people such as Olaus Worm, Ferrante Imperato, and Levinus Vincent to collect and display objects for others to view? What do we know about the collections and who might’ve visited them?
Unit 3
These people were motivated by the hope of spreading a better scientific and religious understanding of the world around them. These collections had no regulations in displaying them and these collections were typically only reserved for close friends and family of the collectors or for more high society people who were curious and had an invite. Occasionally, some museum assistants would be hired to organize these collections.
What is the difference between accumulating objects and collecting them?
Unit 3
Accumulating objects is done by chance while collecting objects is done with purpose.
Can you think of an example of a classification system that helps us interpret and understand the world around us?
Unit 3
The order of these collections can be interpreted only by the collector themself but the intention of these objects is important b/c it shows the revolution of the perception of certain objects over time. Some classification systems were based on personal value, or a wish to preserve official documents or religious paraphernalia. It’s a reflection of personal thought.
What are some of the criteria used to define museums by national and international museum organizations?
Unit 3
-Whether it’s profit or non-profit
-Whether education is one of its core functions
-The care, display, and preservation of objects
-Whether it has a physical location and carries out its functions in that location
How does criteria establish the function of a museum? Is there one criterion that’s more important than another, or is it more beneficial to focus on several different criteria?
Unit 3
These criteria are important because they can provide a guide for what can make an institution a museum. The ultimate goal of education through a collection of objects, living or nonliving, would be the dominating criteria in what makes a museum a museum. Other criteria can emphasize its identity as a museum, but doesn’t diminish it if id doesn’t meet that criteria.
What are the most important changes in the International Council of Museums’ original definition of a museum (2007) and its 2019 proposal?
Unit 3
The most notable changes are the switch in a museum’s role in acknowledging social conflicts and issues apparent in the world; taking on a more involved role, almost politically.
What are some of the arguments for and against this revised definition (Marshall 2020) of the ICM?
Unit 3
Arguments against it are potential issues with museums in countries w/ authoritarian governments who can’t abide by that definition, it could negatively impact funding if they couldn’t meet that mission, or that it could seem too wishful for an educational institution. Arguments for it are that a better defined social role for museums could improve their funding and can help museums in countries trying to actively improve human rights.
What are some of the primary and secondary criteria used to define types of museums?
Unit 3
Some of the primary criteria is the exact function that a museum says they carry out and the existence of a collection in their ownership.
What are the most common types of museums in the United States?
Unit 3
History, historic sites, and art museums are the most common types of museums in the United States.
What percentage of museums have a budget of over $1 million? $100,000 dollars? Less than $50,000?
Unit 3
-8% have a budget over $1 million.
-57% have a budget of around $100,000
-38% have a budget of less than $50,000
What are the most important sources of income for museums?
Unit 3
36.5% of support comes from donors, 27.6% comes from earned income like entrance fees and gift shop sales, 24.4% comes from government sources, and 11.5% comes from investments.
Describe a history mueseum
Unit 3
History museums usually collect things that are directly related to important people, places, and events. They are unique and important rather than common or typical things you would find in a science museum. Collections are more meant for exhibition rather than research, and objects are seen more for their history rather than what it actually is. They can vary in size but smaller ones are manned by all-volunteer staff or local community members. They serve the public to represent a comprehensive and broad reflection of culture.
Describe a specialized museum
Unit 3
Specialized museums focus on their own little specific niche and collect based around that subject. Most of them are private and have a dedicated audience to keep them running. They are often advertised as tourist hotspots with the uniqueness in their collections/subject. Some based themselves in humor/entertainment but some try to offer a serious critique of culture.
