Journey into an Art Detention Center
Hello, welcome to the Art Detention Center. Today I will be giving you a tour of someone of our prized stolen works.
First, we have Egyptian hieroglyphics. Our Egyptian experts found this while excavating in a site 60 miles south of Cairo. It was on the property of an Egyptian farmer. Since he couldn't speak English, French, Spanish, German, Latin, or Greek, our experts just dug up his farm. We did buy him a new house however.
Second, we have an Olmec statue. The Olmec was a civilized group, living in the Central Americas almost 3,500 years ago. Since the modern day Central Americas are not as civilized as the Olmec, we as a Western nation decided that they have no right to claim the Olmec as their ancestors, therefore they cannot claim these statues. Besides, it is by far better use here at the Art Detention Center where civilized people can marvel at its beauty.
Last, we have Chinese calligraphy. If you heard in recent news, China is not a strong government. There is a lot of chaos there. Western troops, including us Americans had to go there to bring order back to China. As punishment, we just stole this scroll. I am not sure what it says, as I don't speak Chinese.
First, we have Egyptian hieroglyphics. Our Egyptian experts found this while excavating in a site 60 miles south of Cairo. It was on the property of an Egyptian farmer. Since he couldn't speak English, French, Spanish, German, Latin, or Greek, our experts just dug up his farm. We did buy him a new house however.
Second, we have an Olmec statue. The Olmec was a civilized group, living in the Central Americas almost 3,500 years ago. Since the modern day Central Americas are not as civilized as the Olmec, we as a Western nation decided that they have no right to claim the Olmec as their ancestors, therefore they cannot claim these statues. Besides, it is by far better use here at the Art Detention Center where civilized people can marvel at its beauty.
Last, we have Chinese calligraphy. If you heard in recent news, China is not a strong government. There is a lot of chaos there. Western troops, including us Americans had to go there to bring order back to China. As punishment, we just stole this scroll. I am not sure what it says, as I don't speak Chinese.
This is absolutely hilarious! I love how you combined comedy with this central issue displayed in Mumbo Jumbo.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tour script for a museum, but without all the euphemisms. When it's said like this, it undermines the idea that displaying things in a museum is paying homage to the places they came from, making a museum much less palatable.
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Woah this is a really cool post. I think the Mu'tafikah are a very interesting group in Mumbo Jumbo, their cause really opened my eyes about museums. I remember watching Black Panther and the first thing I thought of in the scene of the museum was the stealing of foreign objects for show, which shows how much the book influenced me!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool post and it made me think about how disturbing the concept of museums that display stolen work are. Before reading "Mumbo Jumbo," I didn't consider how offensive displaying things like mummies were, especially when tombs which are supposed to be closed forever, are opened and the remains of 'foreign' people are displayed. Not only is there an element of exoticism, but it's disrespectful to their cultural practices.
ReplyDeleteTri, I really like this post. I think by associating the objects we store in museums with people, a reader can really see the crimes we commit not only by stealing the objects, but also the heritage associated with them. The next time I go into a museum, thoughts of "where did this object come from?" and "what does it mean for the area we stole it from?" will absolutely go through my mind.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really cool interpretation of a museum or art exhibit from the perspective of the atonists. It seems to portray the way the Mu'tafikah would think about an art exhibit through the use of irony. What this reminds me of is the scene in the museum in Black Panther.
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