Anthropologist
James Clifford asks, “Who has the authority to speak for a group’s identity or
authenticity?” (1988: 8)
Clifford
recognizes these as two “meta-narratives: one of homogenization, the other of
emergence: one of loss, the other of invention” (1988: 17)
Yet,
Clifford tells us that “It is more than ever crucial for different peoples to
form complex, concrete images of one another…; but no sovereign scientific
method or ethical stance can guarantee the truth of such images” (1988: 23).
Vogel’s
remarks concerning exhibitions give us a start. “The fact that museums
re-contextualize and interpret objects is a given, requiring no apologies. They
should, however, be self-aware and open about the degree of subjectivity that
is also a given. Museum professionals must be conscious of what they do and
why, and they should inform the public that what it sees is … not a broad frame
through which the art and culture of the world can be inspected, but a tightly
focused lens that shows the visitor a particular point of view.” (1990: 201)
