NASA Faces Political Backlash Over Final Shuttle Landings

NASA's space shuttles are not going into quiet retirement in Washington, Florida, New York and Los Angeles. Instead, NASA is facing a backlash from disappointed lawmakers from Texas, Ohio and Oklahoma. See http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110413/NEWS02/104130327/Not-everyone-s-happy-Bolden-s-space-shuttle-announcement and http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7518917.html


NASA suggests that it made awards to Los Angeles and New York based on the number of tourists that visit those areas, but irate Republican lawmakers claim that Democratic politics was behind the decision. Texas, Ohio and Oklahoma trend Republican. In contrast, New York and California trend Democratic. As proof of a political motive, these lawmakers note that the Space Program has a greater connection to the Johnson Space Center and the Air Force museum than either New York or the Los Angeles area.

When Ancient Artifacts Become Political Pawns

While bloggers steeped in an "archaeology over all" perspective claim that only "looting matters," those cultural property observers with a broader perspective recognize the importance of the political and nationalistic dimensions to the debate about restitution, import restrictions and the like.

Michael Kimmelman has written an interesting article in the New York Times that explores these issues, particularly as they relate to Egypt's latest demands for repatriation against state run museums in France and Germany. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/arts/design/24abroad.html?emc=eta1

While some in the archaeological community may claim Kimmelman's analysis is just another one of many "conspiracy theories" fostered by those who do not agree with an "archaeology over all" perspective, I for one cannot agree more with Kimmelman when he says,

That’s what restitution often comes down to these days.

Nationalism by other means.

Politics by proxy.

More Art and Politics?

While archaeological bloggers seem unwilling or unable to consider the possibility that politics impacts how nations deal with cultural property issues far more than their polestar of "preservation of context," three recent news stories suggest otherwise.

• France has just announced that it will repatriate some reliefs that Zahi Hawass says were stolen. See http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091007/sc_nm/us_france_egypt_louvre Hawass had threatened to break off contacts with the Louvre on account of it. "Culture Grrl" has noted that the Louvre (which is building a museum in Abu Dhabi) values its ties to the Arabs and the Middle East. See http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2009/10/news_flash_hawass_cuts_off_egy.html Apparently so. Unlike the Saint Louis Art Museum (which continues to contest Egypt's claims to the Ka Nefer Nefer Mask), the Louvre has quickly acceded to the Egyptian demands.

• In the meantime, Iran has threatened to cut off ties with the British Museum because the Museum has delayed a loan of the "Cyrus Cylinder." http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aZmy0YWB2aKo The British Government (along with most of the Western world) has raised serious concerns about the recent Iranian election. In return, Iranian authorities have branded Britain the "Little Satan" to associate it with its ally, "the Great Satan," i.e., the United States. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1907066,00.html I suspect the "Cyrus Cylinder" is not leaving the British Museum soon, despite Iranian threats.

• Finally, one museum in Taiwan has declined a donation of the bronze rabbit and rat fountain heads from the Qing Dynasty's Yuanmingyuan (Summer Palace) that were subject of a disputed auction earlier this year. See http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpBbcQZ9T56kgQFFBVeOcuw1kPzQ Taiwan recently elected a government more friendly to the mainland. Could that have something to do with the decision? Despite the comments of the legislator associated with the ruling party, quite probably.

Archaeologist David Gill Celebrates Italy's Latest "Trophy Art" Exhibit

Archaeologist and SAFE associated blogger David Gill "celebrates" Italy's latest display of "trophy art" repatriated from North American collections in his latest PRNewswire release. See Looting Matters: Italy continues to celebrate the return of antiquities

But doesn't all this just divert attention from the real problems-- Italy's inablity to reform its cultural bureaucracy, unwillingness to fund its cultural establishment adequately, and to adopt more rational laws-- like the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Treasure Act --that would ensure that the State only keeps what it can reasonably be expected to take care of?

Gill certainly ignores the politics behind the exhibit. The latest display, celebrating 40 years of the Comando Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale, continues the theme of a far more prominent "trophy art" exhibit, entitled "Nostoi," that opened before the last Italian election. Efforts of then Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli, "the Great Repatriator," to use the exhibit to drum up nationalist sentiment and votes before the last election failed miserably. See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2008/04/arrivederci-rutelli-time-for-rational.html

Rutelli's Center Left Coalition was defeated resoundingly by a Center Right Coalition headed by current Prime Minister Berlusconi. Since then, the Berulsconi Government has taken a less confrontational approach to repatriations and has instead focused its attentions on trying to reform -- with limited success-- Italy's entrenched cultural bureaucracy. See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2009/01/mario-resca-to-rescue.html In revenge, Italian cultural bureaucrats have helped hype tape-recorded revelations that the Prime Minister failed to report Punic tombs under his Sardinian estate in a sex scandal that the Center Left hopes will undercut Berlusconi's popularity. See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2009/07/archaeologists-demand-investigation-as.html

The fact that these exhibits are so mixed up with Italian politics should raise questions for "cultural property observers" unencumbered by the "archaeology over all" perspective of Gill and his associates at SAFE. One suspects Italian cultural bureaucrats hope the new exhibit will encourage the government to return to a more aggressive stance on repatriations, and forget about real reforms of the system that could undercut their own power.

But one need look no further than the condition of the Castel Sant' Angelo, where the latest "trophy art" exhibit is being held, to conclude that true reforms are desperately needed. According to a 2005 article, the cultural landmark is badly in need of repair and is in danger of collapse. See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hadrians-neglected-mausoleum-close-to-collapse-503950.html

The same can be said of Italy's cultural heritage establishment despite efforts to divert attention away from its problems through "trophy art" exhibits like that publicized in Gill's latest press release.

Greece Fails to Take Care of its Own Cultural Property

The nationalistic Greek government has made a big show of seeking repatriations of artifacts from museums abroad. Yet, as this article indicates, it is doing a poor job of taking care of its major archaeological attractions at home: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/23/greece.heritage/print

There has been other embarrassing news about Greek cultural officials recently, including corruption charges and a suicide attempt by a former minister.

What gives? A cynic might suspect that the Greek government's "chest thumping" on repatriatons may at least in part be an attempt to create a diversion from real problems at home.