Fieldwork Task 1: Portfolio A Museum Task 500 words (plus photo) Museums collect and display artefacts from the past. But what do those artefacts really tell us about the past? Your task is to visit a museum FAIRFIELD CITY MUSEUM & GALLERY and select one object to address the question: What does this object teach me about the past? Clues to answer the question: a. What is the object? b. What was it made of? c. Who made it? d. Where was it made? e. When was it made? f. What was it used for? g. Is it an authentic object or a copy? h. If authentic, is it unique (ie only one in existence), rare (one of a few) or common? Some points to know about the object that I picked: please note to write this task in your own words and do not copy word by word the points made below. 1. These are two statues about Japan and China have known for thousands of years that eating puffer fish or “fugu” can be deadly. 2. It is this risk that makes fugu such an expensive delicacy in Japan. 3. Fugu chefs consider themselves to be the elite of Japan’s highly competitive culinary world. 4. I am poking fun at this exclusive culinary practice by placing a puffer fish with protruding spikes made from Western style dining forks on top of a sandwich stack. 5. A woman named Lorraine Maggs made the Statue, 16 February 2016. 6. Estimated date made 16 February 2016. Where Sydney, NSW Australia. You may find the answers to these questions in a museum label, or you may have to deduce them from the context of the object, for example as part of an exhibition on a particular theme, or you may find that there is no obvious information at all and you are (mysteriously) meant to absorb meaning by contemplating the object in isolation. In the latter example, you may indeed want to question whether there is anything to be learnt from the object, beyond an appreciation of it as a physical thing of beauty or ugliness, if the visitor cannot deduce basic information about it. In analysing the usefulness of this object to tell us something about the past, much depends on the philosophy of the museum curator. The position of the object in the display, the presence or absence of specific information, the setting such as the prominence given to it, or its placement near another object, lighting – all these external factors set a tone for the way the object is to be interpreted. Don’t forget to identify the museum you visited, and you may include a photo. This is a detective quest. It is OK to come up with the answer that the museum tells you nothing – but you might then contemplate why it is on display! Note: References are required for all non-observed information and background details obtained from published or online sources. Chicago style. Please be mindful of the word limit I asked and keep it at that extent only 100 more words above is allowed. The main purpose of these tasks is to make personal observations, You certainly should do a bit of background research on the (object, etc). The volume and quality of material may vary widely according to what you focus on. As ever you should provide references for any details gained from any other source such as guidebooks.
