Alexis Randolph MS300 Spring23

  As I was looking for an article I wanted to study about a specific case of reparation from a museum, I found myself so bombarded with articles pertaining to it I started to wonder why there was still so much push back from museums in returning their stollen and looted artifacts to their places of origin. There arguments are feeble at best and the overwhelming instances of a museum saying they would return one or a few things to look good in the public eye; only to have the government have to step in and seize items and on some occasions multiple times is astonishing. These places are supposed to be setting the standard in stewardship, inclusion, and sharing history and art with the masses; yet they continually fail to put the general well being of people (even most of those working for them) in the background as much as possible for the sake of maintaining an enormous amount of value in their collections that are rarely have on display for the people (but only the people that can...

       The term living wage seems to mean so many different things to people. It also seems that people making the most do not think lower earning people really need that much to survive. In a country that has become more of a pyramid scheme than a “dream”; labor unions have become an absolute necessity. It is no secret that if the boss or owner could get away with paying people room and board they would and have. The company store was not that long ago in our lustrous history.      It is fair to say that without the unionization in America; companies would feel free to take far more liberties than they already do with how they compensate their workers for the company and profits the workers built. Again, the government has to step in to make sure company profits are dispersed enough through the work force to facilitate stimulation of the economy with requiring companies and corporations to provide minimal health care opportunities and compensation f...

Museums have a unique atmosphere. Their facades are large and imposing, giving off an immediate impression of grandeur. Their interiors often opening into impressive, bright, areas that echo the smallest murmurs from patrons. With the exception of a few, the general air of the place states one keeps their hands to themselves and politely appreciate what has been displayed for their viewing pleasure. But who has decided what that was going to be? And who they thought they were trying to target by this particular arrangement and assemblage of artifacts or works. The type of museum one visits dictates what they will be viewing as well as the context in which works are presented. In this case Art museums are the main focus, which carries its own set of highly traditional and nonsensical rules of what can be included within its highly prosperous walls. In short, the Curator is responsible for deciding what is displayed and how it is presented to the public. Curator’s in most large museums...