The AIA has named Harrison Ford to its Board and is promoting his new Indiana Jones movie on its website. See
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10477. While I agree that Indiana Jones is a cultural icon and probably has done much to stimulate interest in archaeology, I find it a bit humorous that the AIA is honoring Ford for playing a character whose excavation methods must be viewed as "unscientific" to say the least. Even worse, doesn't Indy rip artifacts from their original context and spirit them out of source countries which likely have laws that declare all artifacts "found in the ground" state property? And then, doesn't Indy arrange for such artifacts to be displayed in [fictional] US Museums where they cannot possibly be appreciated in their original cultural contexts? Perhaps by honoring Ford and Indy, the AIA has signalled that the past transgressions of the museum and collecting community are not as bad as they have been made out to be and that the AIA is willing to offer an olive branch after all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment