Museum International

No 184 (Vol XLVI, n 4, 1994)

Cinema museums
and archive

C O N T E N T S

Dossier:
Cipzetzza museums
and archives

Appeal by Mr Federico Mayor,Director-Generalof

UNESCO

A hundred years of cinema YkesLabeige

Guardians of the treasure:a moving-imagearchive

in Aotearoa (New Zealand) JonathanD e m i s

Front cover

Scene from Charlie Chaplin's.

film Modern Times.
Photo:O Roy Export CO.Est.

N o . 4 , 1 9 9 4

11

The 'houseof collective dreams'

Dorniizique Paiiai

the Optical Room of the

Museum of the Moving Image;
it was designed to disorientate
visitors and make them aware
of the early optical illusions of
the pre-cinemaperiod.
Photo:O MOM1 London.

14

Accent on conservation:the National Film Archive

of the Democratic People'sRepublic of Korea
Pak Sun Tai

16

Gosfilmofond:the film archive of the Russian

Federation Hadimir 1: Dnziti-leu

Editor-in-Chief:
Marcia Lord
Editorial Assistant:Christine
Wilkinson
Iconography:Carole Pajot-Font
Editor,Arabic edition:
Mahmoud El-Sheniti
Editor,Russian edition:
Irina Pantykina

21

The Museum of the Moving Image in London

Leslie Hardcastle

26

The movies at MOMA: the first cinema museum in

th United States May Lea Band?

32

Creating a film culture:the National Film Archive

of India Suresh CIJali-ia

37

The InternationalFederation of Film Archives:

a 'UnitedNations of moving images'
RobeiS Daudelin

Funding

39

A model of private philanthropy:the Fernbank

Museum of Natural History Lee KimcheMcGrnth

Prof&

44

A real museum for fake objects:the Museo

del Falso Laura Colly

Back cover
Part of the first exhibition in

Advisory Board

Gael de Guichen,ICCROM
Yani Herreman,Mexico
Nancy Hushion,Canada
Jean-PierreMohen,France
Stelios Papadopolous,Greece
Elisabeth des Portes,SecretaryGeneral,ICOM,ex officio
Roland de Silva,President,
ICOMOS,ex officio
Lise Skj~th,
Denmark
Tomislav Sola,Croatia
Shaje Tshiluila,Zaire
O UNESCO 1994
Published for the United Nations
Educational,Scientific and Cultural
Organization by Blackwell
Publishers.
Authors are responsible for the
choice and the presentation of the
Facts contained in signed articles
and For the opinions expressed
therein,which are not necessarily
those of UNESCO and do not
commit the Organization.The
designations employed and the
presentation ofmaterial in Miiseum
Iittematioizaldo not imply the
expression of any opinion
whatsoever on the part of UNESCO
concerning the legal status of any
country,territory,city or area or of
its authorities,or concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or
boundaries.

DisabiZitypoZicy

48

Deaf guides in French museums

Bati-iceD eycke

-~
~~~

Training
~~~~~

51
~

Viewpoint
Features

54
59
63

Training restorers in Russia Galina Klokova

~

Thoughts on museology in Spain Aurora LeOn

Museum - Museums
Professional news

ISSN 1350-0775,Museum Intenzatioital (UNESCO,Paris), No. 184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 10s Cowley Road, Oxford, O X 4 1JF (W
and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

STOLEN
Antique clockface, dated 1639, of elaborately engrauedgilded copper,featuring two cherubs in the centre
of the dial andfigurespersonifyingthe elements in thefour corners of theface; stolenfrom a m u s e u m in
Copenhagen (Denmark> in September 1993.(Interpol Copenhagen Reference 13-292-93-bph)

Photo by courtesy of the ICPO-Interpol General Secretariat,Lyons (France)

Editorial

O n 22 March 1895,Louis and Auguste Lumire presented to the Parispublic an invention

they called the cinematograph.Considered by the Lumire brothers as a scientific
curiositywithno commercialpossibilities,the new techniquewas tobecome thedefining
art of the new century.Embracing as it does all the other arts painting,theatre,music,
literature,photography-the cinema is,in the words of art historian Erwin Panofsky,the
modem equivalentofthemedievalcathedral:allmembersofthefilmteam,fromproducer
to director to technician to actor,work together,like the cathedral architect and the
glaziers and stonemasons,with a single purpose in a joint endeavour.

The results of their labourshave enchantedus all.Motion pictures are a constant source
of wonder and revelation,an excitement from which w e never recover.And yet this
quintessentialexpressionof the twentieth centuryis under seriousthreat.As pointed out
by the Director-Generalof UNESCO in launching his appeal for the safeguardingof the
international cinematic heritage on 2 November 1993 (see page 4),morethan threequarters of the perishable and highly inflammable nitrocellulose-basedfilmsmade prior
to the 1950s are lost for ever,while some 60per cent of the cellulose-acetatefilmsmade
after 1950 are threatenedby a process of deteriorationknown as the vinegarsyndrome,
which bleaches the image if they are not properly conserved.All the wealth of images
captured in art films,features,documentaries,full-lengthfilms,shorts,popular-science
films,newsreels,instructional and educational films,cartoons,etc.,is in danger of
disappearing for ever.7he cinenia has to be saved.
For this reason, on the eve of the centenary of the birth of the cinema,A4useunz
Intei-natioizalpays homage to the cinema museums and archives dedicated to preserving and restoring the treasure of perishable moving images for generations to come.
Throughoutthe world -from Brazilto Egypt,fromAngola to Viet Nam -theseinstitutions
have become the caretakersof thememory of the twentieth century.They deserve our
support - and our gratitude.

A final word of thanks to Yves Laberge of Laval University in Quebec (Canada), whose
limitless enthusiasm and knowledge of the cinema helped make this issue possible.
M.L.

ISSN 1350-0775,Mzrsezltn I?itenzational (UNESCO, Paris), No. 184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road,Oxford, O X 4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,M A 02142 (USA)

Appeal for the Safeguarding of the

International Cinematic Heritage,
Memory of the Twentieth Centuw
J

by &Ir Federico Mayor,Director-Generalof UI\TESCO

Under its Constitution,UNESCO is responsible
for assuringthe conservation and protection
of the worldsinheritance of . . . works of art
and monuments of history and science,and
devotes itself to fostering the action needed to
safeguard them.The conservation and restorationoftheinternationalcinematicheritage entail
specialproblems that private supportand spontaneousgesturescannot by themselvesresolve.
It is accordingly considered necessary to look
for answers to them through a partnership
arrangement.
This is why,on behalf of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and of the Honorary Committee for the
Celebration of the Centenary of the Cinema,

I solemnly appeal to the Member States of

UNESCO to take appropriate legal,administrative and fiancial steps to set up or
strengthen the structures that are essential
forsafeguardingthe internationalcinematic
heritage,suchas film archives,filmlibraries,
cinema museums and restorationlaboratories.If this action is to be successfulit w
i
l
l
have to be carried out in consultationwith
the International Federation of Film Archives,the specialistinternationalorganization that embraces more than 100 such
archives in 63of UNESCOsMember States.
I invite cinema specialistsand filmgoersto join
their effortsto thosewhose task it is in every
country to ensurethattheirnationalcinema
is safeguarded,so as to make it possible to
compile exhaustive filmographies.

I invite the photography, cinema,video and

television industries,film producers and
distributors and all industries concerned
with cinema generally to participate generously inthe nationaland international effort
being made by associations and organizationsto safeguardthe cinematicheritage,by
contributing to the creation of an international fund designed to defray the cost of
filmrestorationand preservationwork.This
fundwiiibecreatedintheFIAFandndUNESC0.

I invite cinema and television film producers

holding rights to filmsor successorsin title
to join in the safeguarding operation by
participating in it financially or setting up
appropriate restorationprogrammes;I also
ask them to do their utmost to facilitatethe
distribution of restored films in commercial
and non-commercialcircuitsby concluding
agreementswith film distributorsand distribution agencies.

I invite film festivalsall over the world to create

a sectionin their programmes on filmsthat
have been savedand to organize public
showingswith theco-operationoftheinternational Council for Film,Television and
Audiovisual Communication (IFTC).
I inviteschoolsof film,televisionand the audiovisual professionsto take appropriatesteps,
inconjunctionwith theInternationalLiaison
Centre for Film and Television Schools,to
alertfutureprofessionalsworking inthefilm
industry to the problems of conservingand
safeguardingcinematic works.

I invite theindustrialized countriesto co-operate

I invite film producers,actors,directors,technicians and operators to join forces, as is
already happening in some countries,and
set up national foundations or associations
to alertthe public to the urgency ofpreserving the national and internationalcinematic
heritage,collect private or public funds to
help fiance the restoration of the national
film collection,encourageprojectsforcreating copyright registration systems in countries where archives for the preservation of
the cinematicheritage do not yet exist,and
ensure that the national preservation practices introduced are consistent with the
norms laid down by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF).

with the developing countries, so that the latter cansuccessfullyengagein researchon their
film production and ensure the training of
conservation specialists through the requisite transfers of&owledge and technology.
In conclusion,I invite members of the international community,such as film critics,specialists,cinema-goersand others,to contribute in all appropriateways to the movement
to safeguardthe cinemain conjunctionwith
the national, regional and international
bodies of the International Federation of
Film Archives (FiAF).
Federico Mayor

46,No.4,1994)
O U N E S C O 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, O X 4 1JF tue)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA O2142 (USA)
ISSN 1350-0775,Mzrseum Intemational (NESC0, Paris), No. 184 001.

A hundred vears of cinema

J

Yves Laleyge

Yves Laberge lives in Quebec where be

zum bona.An active naeinber of the
InternationalAssociation of FrencbSpeaking Sociologists (AISU), be is also a
inenaber of the Board of Directors of the
Association of Canadian Studies (AEC)
and of the Board of Directors of the
Franco-CanadianAssociation for the
Advancement of Science (ACFAS). H e bas
taught the history of cinema at Laval
University in Quebec and coiztiibuted to
various events Telated to the cinemafor
the Muse de la Civilisation of Quebec
and for UNESCOsOflice in Quebec City.

In 1995, the cinema w

i
l
l have accom- screen?Naturally,movie theatresthat speplished its first century and the innumer- cialize in what are called artfilmsor film
able celebrationsinitshonour are all,itw
ill cyclesstill exist in some major cities and
be agreed,amply justified. Rare are the can therefore present, often with much
people who would dare to admit openly passion and courage,period pieces and
that they do not enjoy the cinema.
not always on account of their box-office
success at tlie time or their potential sucAdmittedly,the cinema is 100 years old, cess today.Alas,onlya fewmajor citiescan
which is considerable in relation to its claim such privileges.
astonishing development since the early
years of silent films up to very recent
technological developments and, at the
For the love of the cinema
same time,relativelylittle when compared
with other art formssuch as sculptureand A considerable number of museums spemusic.But when w e think about it, how cializing in the cinema and some 100 or
old are the filmsthatw e can actually go to more film libraries around the world do
see at any given time?The commercialfilm exist. Their geographical distribution,
networks, television, and video-cassette however,varies enormousiy as most of
retailers and rental services mostly offer them are to be found in Europe and there
recentfilmsand submitto passing fashions are very few in Africa and the Pacific.In
created by previews and productions that this centenary year, it is fitting to pay
cause a stir because everyone talks about tribute to these institutions that protect
them and they are ultimately profit-making what could be termed a dream world,
in the short term;as a consequence,films better known as the cinema. Naturally,
on showing tend to be relatively recent, the articles of this issue of Museum intertoo recent perhqps;and,furthermore,far nationaldo not claim to present all these
too many worthwhile works do not cross various institutions,especially in view of
geographical borders or historical eras as the actual nature of their collections and
the distributionnetworksare not adequate their specific priorities. W e have not,
enough or because they have not aged furthermore, attempted to investigate
well.
those which might seem more important
or especially prestigious,which in any
Nowadays,in spite of the best w
i
l
l in the case would have proved both futile and
world, cinema enthusiasts who frequent virtually impossible to determine in a
commercialmovie theatres often see what serious and objective manner.
is inevitablyoniy the tip of the iceberg in
terms of cinema histov.Seeing the latest Three specific priorities have guided our
hit is notenough to embracethe entirefilm research and our choice ofthemes.First of
world,a veritableopendooronworldwide all,w e have endeavoured to give as much
culture.More than 100 countries produce importance,if not more,to cinema musecinematographicworks each yearbut how ums as much as to film libraries,because
many of their films can w e actually see? filmshave brought into play the appropriWhat should w e do to have access-tothe ate environment,a universe of specific
innumerable productions from all these objects and established patterns of behavcountries?Likewise,where else canw e see iour.To make a simpledistinctionbetween
animated films,avant-gardefilms,docu- them,let us observe that the former instimentaries or former classics on the big tutionsaccentuatedtheimportance ofarte-#

ISSN 1350-0775,Mtcseiun hiternational (UNESCO, Pans), No.184 (Vol. 40,NO.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford,OX4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

Yves Laberge

facts which have a more or less direct

relationship with the cinema as cultural
and social practices; and, for example,
preserve the film sets and costumes,posters and photographs,books and magazines,souvenirsand archives,camerasand
other projection equipment.Conversely,
the main task offilmlibrariesis to preserve
copies and negatives and also to disseminate films of all kinds while avoiding,as
much as possible,making any judgement
as to the relative value of the works with
which they have been entrusted.There
w
i
l
l therefore be considerable reticencein
eliminating a film under the pretext that it
has become a work ofalesservalue.Lastly,
film libraries have the task of guiding
researchers who wish to consult their
archives.

advocating a specific course of action by

giving pride of place to Oceania. Similarly,the case of the new Museum of the
Moving Image in London demonstrates
that a major metropolis can house a
number of institutionsall dedicated to the
history of the cinema.

The belated emergence of early

institution

While the conceptunderlyingearly cinema

museums was by no means new, it was
some considerabletime before films were
actuallywelcomed intomuseums.Furthermore,special conditions were required in
order to adapt to their capricious requirements, their extreme fragility and rapid
ageing.It proved necessary,at one particuW e have also attempted,wherever pos- lar time,to dwell upon how filmscould be
sible, to describe the variety of various adequatelypreserved,as well as all objects
geographical and social contexts in order related to them.Thomas Edison and the
to highlight different approaches and ap- Lumire brothers are known,for example,
praisals.An eclecticcoursesuch as thisw
i
l
l to have preserved theirnegatives from the
inevitablydepriveus ofportraits of several outset,but this was more to protect their
of the major European cinema museums, copyright.Nevertheless,around 1929,the
which,none the less,enjoy a worldwide history ofthe cinema was disrupted by the
reputation.It is our hope,however,that advent of the talkies and,within the space
our readers and even specialistsw
i
l
l dis- of a few years,virtually no one was intercover within less well-establishedinstitu- ested in silent films any more and no one
tions other aspects of the field that w
i
l
l bothered further about their possible dearouse their curiosity.
struction,all the more so as the nitrate film
of the time was dangerously inflammable.
Finally,w e thoughtit would be useful to In point of fact,the advent of the earliest
present a few young institutionsas,while institutions dedicated to the conservation
w e have the impressionthatthe history of of cinema dates back to the 1930s with the
the cinema is relatively short,the history creation-ofnational film libraries in Stockofcinemamuseums throughout theworld holm in 1933 and then in Berlin in 1934,
is even shorter. The example of New followed by London, New York, Rome,
Zealand provides adequate proof of this: Paris and Brussels.In 1938,a world organiits first national film library was founded zation was then set up,which still exists
in 1981, which might initially involve today, namely,the International Federacertain limitations but has nevertheless tion ofFilm Archives(FIAF), ofwhich most
provided the opportunity of benefiting film librariesand cinemamuseums throughfrom the experience of other institutions out the world are members,with a view to
of the same kind and,what is more, of promoting collaboration and exchanges.

O UNESCO 1994

A hundred years of cinema

Many filmlibrariespossess impressivecollections of more than 10,000 titles and

some of them,such as Gosfilmofond in
Moscow, can,boastof over 50,000films,
that is,more than anyone could ever hope
to see in a lifetime! This amazing
cinematographical heritage takes on vertiginousproportions,especiallywhen compared with contemporary production,
which is often entertaining, sometimes
banal and rarelyinspired.Notwithstanding
the impressiveheritage bequeathed by the
leading film-makers of the past, w e are
regrettably unable to create in just a few
years as many landmarks as in a whole
century of cinema.Alternatively,however,
if w e neglect past works so promptly,w e
are likely to lose what matters most,as if
librarieswere,one day,to neglectthe major
classics of literature and to offer their readers nothing more than detective novels.
Films remain both eternal and ephemeral,
sometimes unforgettable in our experience and yet often as fragile as they are
fabulous.Even works of the 1960s have
already been lost for ever.Furthermore,if
w e continue to dwell on the future of the
cinema,which,in the late nineteenthcentury,was thought to be only short-lived,
w e may also wonder whether w e have
reallymade use ofallthe possibilities it has
to offer.In addition to being a distinctive
form of cultural expression and a significant socialphenomenon,the cinema may
also serveas a privilegedtool in education.
The time would therefore seem to have
come to reassert the need for an authentic
cinematographic education,that is,an introduction to the art ofthe cinema as such,
and notmerely a form oftrainingin the use
of the cinema as some sort of ancillary
medium, in order to shed light on its
origins,development,aestheticforms and
social role and thereby grasp the intrinsic
importanceof all the specific features that
underlie the cinematographic art in each
O UNESCO 1994

culture and each country.All peoples have

their own method of relating their experience and perceiving the world through
their films and it is this diversity that
constitutes one of the treasures of the
cinema. is not the process of excessive
commercializationwhich w e are witnessing increasingly likely precisely to impose
uniformity and standardization on one
of the most original forms of collective
expression?

The didatic role of museums

While this problem becomes more pronounced,the mission of cinema museums
has yet to be fulfilled.One can but rejoice
at seeing their number increase,even today. Nevertheless,quite a few of them
have to contend with difficulties inherent
in the artefacts they have to preserve,in
addition to other problems specific to all
museums.For instance,how should filmsets actually be stored?H o w should thousands ofreels of nitrate film be preserved
when they are likely to explode at the
slightest shock, particularly when it is
known that no other copy exists? What
should be done to introduce the works of
yesteryear to a new public accustomed to
contemporary production standards?
Answers to these questionsare to be found
on a daily basis in the untiring and monumental endeavoursofthe filmlibrariesand
museums dedicated to the conservationof
thisvast fundofhumanexperiencethatthe
cinemarepresents.W e are quiteconscious
of the partial and inevitably incomplete
nature of current museographical practices.Throughthesevarious representative
portrayals,our aim has been to honour all
of these museum institutions for their invaluable work and their true mison dtre,
that is to say,the cinema,which is now
celebrating its centenary.
1

Guardians of the treasure:

a moving-image archive in Aotearoa
(New Zealand)
Jonnthn n Dennis
&lere[v thirieenyears old, the New
Zealand Film Archive has already niade
an internationalreputation for its
innovative approach to meeting the needs
of a bi-cirltttralcounty.Jonathan
Dennis w m thefounder andfirstdirector
of the Archiue and is editor of several
publications including Film in Aotearoa
New Zealand.In 1993he wasgranted
the Pordenone Film Festitials eighth Jean
Mity Award in recognitioii of his
activities in safegitarding the silent-film
heritage and in developing new
philosophies for film archiving.

In 1901 the Limelight Department of the

SalvationArmy from Melbourne,Australia,
filmed the royalvisitto New Zealand by the
Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
onbehalfoftheNew Zealand Government.
The SalvationArmy had quickiy recognized
the potential of this new medium,and they
wrote at the time to the Premier of New
Zealandtosuggestthatthenegatives[ofthe
royalvisit film1could be placed among the
archives ofthe history ofthe state so that at
any future period the scenes which took
place could be reproduced with the actuality of life and movement.However,no archivesexistedatthattimetoreceivethefilm
and it was not until 1981 that a film archive
was finally established in New Zealand.
This was late,already eighty-threeyears
after the first filmshad been made in New
Zealand. While the archive was safely
modelled on the aims and objectives of
older archives in Europe,North America
and Australia,m y aim was to createin New
Zealand a moving-image archive which
would be recognizably part of the South
Pacific.

our flexibilityand our independence.From

the outset w e were committed to the dual
aims of preservation and accessibility.The
guidelines and standards as set out by the
International Federation of Film Archives
were relatively straightforward.They state
clearlyenoughwhatw e should do as a film
archive in the fields of preservation,cataloguing,and documentation.Access,however,was not so clearly defined.There is a
widespread (and not undeserved) view of
archives as passive ratherthan active,aloof
and exclusive rather than accessible and
welcoming.Accessby anyonenotarchivally
or institutionally literate is, if not discouraged,then certainly not always made easy.
Traditionally film-archiveaccess was provided only on-siteto seriousresearchers,or
throughspecialistprogramming ofnational
film theatres or cinemathques.
Our problem was that w e didnthave an
archive cinema at all,neither were there
copies available of the repertory of established classicsto show.Film making in
New Zealand was largely local,personal
and irregular, based primarily on nonfictionworks suchas documentaries,newsreels and sponsored films.it was not until
the late 1970s that the country could even
begin to speak of having a film industry
which produced a regularstream offiction
features.The country itself consistsof two
main and anumberofsmaller islandsinthe
south-westPacific,with a total land area
about the size of Ecuador or Italy.At the
southern tip of the Polynesian triangle,it
has a populationof3.3million,13 per cent
of whom are Maori,the tangnta wheizita,
or firstpeople of the land.

Starting a film archive thirty or forty years

after most other developed countries had
someadvantages.I could startwith a pretty
clearknowledgeofwhat I didntwant it to
be like:therewere plenty ofmodels around
the world that would have been inadequate or inappropriateto our particular
situation.As w e near the end bf the twentieth century(and the centenaryofcinema)
many colleagueinstitutionsseem closer to
nineteenth-centurylibraries or museums
than repositories of our major contemporary form of cultural expression and communication.
The institutionI had helped createwas still
strongly rooted in its European and
On the New Zealand Film Archivessidewas monocultural conceptsand value systems.
oursize(Staysmall,Irememberas seminal For a New Zealandfilm archive to survive,
advice from a friend at one of the more however,it was very clear it would have to
venerable and weighty Europeanarchives), turn this around.
8

ISSN 1350-0775,fifilsetim Internntionfll (UNESCO,Paris), No.184Cvol. 46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road,Oxford,OX4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,M A 02142 (USA)

Guardians ofthe treasure:a moving-imagearchive in Aotearoa (New Zealand)

W e were aided in this process by a strong

curiosity about the films this new archive
was discovering or uncovering,and people, both Maori and Pakeha (those of
European descent), wanted to see them.
Many of the images that survived seemed
to hold a special eloquence and still reflected just how personally films were
taken by the people for whom they were
made.

H o m emoviesc o m e h o m e
What began almost by accident in 1983
Broken Barrier.
cametobe known astheNew ZealandFilm mud pools,combined with a strong local Posterfor the 1952film,
Archives Trauellitzg Picture Shows.These Maori community,was aconvenientcentre
grew out of various preservation projects formany earlyfilm-makingactivitieswhere
and eventually encompassed a way of re- Maori people were needed as exoticextras
turning and sharing the moving images in to enhance the scenery.A number ofthese
the archives collections with people at early films had survived.
local,regionaland tribal levels.The archive
had been invited to a small provincial city When I arrived in Rotorua there was a
with copies of films made there around requestfrom some ofthelocalMaori elders
1912.The response was immediate peo- to see the films I had brought with m e in
ple gathered to see them with an enthusi- advanceofthepublic screening.Ail theold
asm approaching that of when they were people came,crammed into a little screenfirst made.The TaranakiHerald reported: ing space,to see what I had brought.At the
end they clearlywould have been happyto
watch everything all over again. I took
It was quite evident that the local elesometo a private home thatnight,to share
ment in the programme was proving a
big draw. . . .As scene after scene was
with the family ofsomeonewho appeared
in one of them.The same thing happened
unfolded before the audience, parents
-wewatched thefilmsonce,and thenthey
joyfully recognizing their o w n particuwanted to see them all again.
lar Jimmysand Nellies. . .gave vent

to their feelings in little suppressed

exclamations of satisfaction.

By the time of the actual public presentation,in the requisitioned ballroom

As preservation projects developed,wider of a local tourist hotel,several hundred
invitations could be contemplated.After people had to be turned away. The rethe rediscovery of a reel from a British- sponse was astonishing. There was a
producedfeaturebased on a popularMaori terrific sense of excitement at being able
legend,neRomance ofHine-Moa(Gustav to greet these images.It was as if a whole
Pauli, 19281, made on location in the regionshome movies had been returned.
centralNorthIslandtouristtownofRotorua, The occasion was deeply, enthusiastipeople here expressed a strong desire to cally and personally felt by both Maori
see it. Rotorua,with its geysersand boiling and Pakeha alike.
O UNESCO 1994

Jonathan Dennis

Photo taken by James McDonald during

hisfilming expedition to the Wangawiii
River in 1921.Thefilm,now cnlledHe
Pito Whakaatui te Nohoate Maori te Awa
O Whanganni/Scenes of Maori Life on
the Whanganui River,includesa similar
sceneshowing the makiizg of eel traps.

10

The films were beginning to shape and

changethearchivesperceptionsand methods of operating.To be a nationalfilm
archive was beginning to mean being responsible for offering balanced and equitable services far more widely than just in
the city where the institutionwas based.

ments,but as living objectswith their own

zunimia (spiritual energy) and inam (authority,prestige,power).

The archive worked hard to take seriously

the concepts embodied in its Maori name:
Nga Kaitiaki O nga Taonga Witiahua (the
guardians of the treasured images of light).
The changesbecame clearer over time and However it was clear after several increasin turn offered new insights into the films ingly turbulent years that really to fulfil its
themselves in ways that were more pro- potential the archivewould have to restrucfound,more thought-provoking,
more en- ture itself.This entailed exploring with its
tertaining and richer than w e could ever various constituenciesways to make the arhave imagined.Thefilmswere being given, chivesoperations compatible w
ith its bias contemporaryMaori film-makerMerata cultural aspirations without compromising
Mita puts it, backto the people,where,as acceptablearchivai standards or obligations.
I liketo expressas a film-maker,theimage
takenfrom the people has been restored. The first step towards real change came
with the development of a constitutionin
The film archive went to particularlengths 1988 as the working document for the
to engage in dialogues to ensure that archive. This incorporated into the armaterialwith indigenouscontentwas seen chivespolicies and practices important
by,and accessibleto,those whose ances- principles regarding partnership,particitors and lifestyle were the subject-matter. pation and protection for both Maori and
Whatever skills and qualifications I had in Pakeha peoples.From this,it ishoped,real
archiving,they had not necessarily pre- structuralchange can follow,allowing the
pared me well for dealing with living archiveproperly to fulfil itsrole as kaitiaki,
images.Initially this involved learning to or guardian of the treasures placed in its
regard these images not merely as docu- trust.
O UNESCO 1994

The houseof collective dreams

Dominique PnZni

jefiat Frenchfihn nauseuin is due to

open in Paris at the Palais de Tokyo,
which used to house the National
P/JotographyCetitre.Dominique Paini,
director of the Frencbfiknarchive,the
Cinmathque Franaise, tells u s here
how appropriate that decision was.

Dreams are thefilm-makersstock intrade. The second stage came after the Second
Indeed,thecinematographicart was dreamt World War when the concern was no
before it was invented by Diderot,look- longer just to preserve but to demand
ing at the Fragonards on his visits to the recognitionforfilm as art.inpresenting the
1765 Salon(letter to Grimm on thepainting first major seasons of works by particular
CoresusSacriicesHiiizselftoSave Callirhoe?. directors, Langlois started the trend toCan a museum be imagined for such a wards the promotion of auteuiisnzeand
dream? As yet, France still has no film new critical attitudes and paved the way
museum capable of collecting,preserving for the New Wave directors,who after
and showing dreams and teaching the studying the classics he had helped to
history of the major art of the twentieth reveal then went on to do otherwise.
century.
The third stage is the present. Motion
H o w far have w e come since Langloiss pictures are no longer the only leisure
first attempt at the Palais de Chaillot?The activityavailableto the public or their main
CinmathqueFranaise,infactfilmlibrar- sourceof images-imageswhose physical
ies in general,has a stormy sxty-odd- form (film must compete with videotape,
year history,marked by the jealously kept videodisc and computer-generated picsecrets of collections, fierce theoretical tures) and function (other media have
debate and the violently opposed person- taken on the task,in their own way, of
alitiesofthe pioneers.The firststagebegan reportingthe newsofthe world) are now
at the end of the 1920s when silent films in the balance,at a time when the funding
gave way to the talkies.At stake was a of cinema by television has modified its
sizeable chunk of cinema history which aesthetic.What then is being preserved in
was in danger of being wiped out by film libraries? One of the forms of the
industrial and commercial developments. history ofart,or the still livingrecordofthe
Iris Barry in the United Kingdom and later origins of communication?
the United States,and Henri Langlois in
France, along with others, moved into Film now benefits from heritage status,
with preservation policies and legal de-)
action to preserve the silent classics.

A display in the Lumire Brothers Room

showing various itenis of
ciizeinatographic equipment.
ISSN 1350-0775,Museum Intentational (UNESCO,Paris), No.184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)
O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (Vk3 and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

11

Dominique Paini

plane through the metonymic effect of the

art collection,throughthe incorporationand
contaminationof the object in a museum.

A challenge to the age of

individualization

Dcor of thefilm The Cabinet of Dr

Caligari,directed by Robes Wieiie ii7
1920.

12

Why then has the establishment of a genuine film museum alwaysmet with such stiff
opposition?In the first place,because the
artistically impurestatus of film,its razzposit.Aesthetic,philosophicaland histori- matazz(beingpart of show business), has
cal studies are made of it, which are resultedin a very belated awarenessof the
gradually integratingit into the history of need to preserve it for its heritage value.
art. At the same time,film buffs can no This impurity
has alsoengendereda rather
longer,like cinema-goersof old,plot their particular passion, that of the film buffs
way acrossa town,going from one cinema who,andthis is thesecondreason,have shied
to another.Thisismainly because thereare away from official or monumental forms of
fewer cinemas around, and those that expression.Film lore has tended to be a
remain are concentrated in the few areas secretlore,smuggled out of the temples of
with an active nightlife.Discovering films the seventh art behind the backs ofits merno longer means going on a romantic, chants.Cinemashavelongbeen a common
labyrinthinejourney.EarlyChristian-type stamping ground for lowbrow and highcrypts like Ulm and Chaillot in Paris have brow audiences,and this has rendered the
lost their symbolic value even though the museologization
of the cinema superfluous.
CinmathqueFranaise has recovered its
educationalfunction in recent years.
Television and video are putting an end to
this dual dimensionof cinema-going:now
But overand above allthat,being a filmbuff w e can all watch filmsin our own homes.
no longermeans what it used to.Film has Cinema has not escaped the great wave of
ceased to be a counter-culture,held up individualizationthat marks the close of
againstthose symbolsofestablishmentcul- this century,destroying in one fell swoop
ture,the university and the museum.Now, a cultural diversity that was once gaining
cinema is on schoolsyllabuses and the word ground in a supposedly homogeneous
nnmnthquehas been taken over by public.That iswhy,in this age ofindividucinema owners avid for cultural recognition. alization,the museum,Walter Benjamins
houseof collective dreams,is part of the
This is not so radical a change as it might challenge facing the cinema.
seem:film archives were indeed the direct
descendants of modern museums,serving Time,the very nature of the matter of film,
as places where common or garden objects is an additionalcomplicationin designing a
are invested with an artistic aura.Putting museum for the cinema.H o w can time be
together a season of films in some sort of exhibited?This is a question central to the
meaningful sequenceis not so far removed development of a museography specific to
from theactionofa Duchamp settingindus- the film-makers
art and dominatesthinking
trialobjects(which includefilm)on a higher about how to make the best of the whole
O UNESCO 1994

The houseof collective dreams

collection of the Cinmathque Franaise,

which doesnotconsistoffilmsalone.There
are,forinstance,thescrollpaintingsofHans
Richter and Viking Eggeling, Oskar
Fischingers gouaches, Duchamps
Rotoreliefs,thefuturistgouachesofSurvage,
surrealistobjectsfrom Man Raysfilms,Fox
Talbotsprints,the drawingsand serigraphs
made by the Russian constructivists for
propaganda films,countlessposters,some
drawn by the great actor Alain Cuny and
some by Femand Lger, set designs by
Bilinsky and by Trauner,etc.
This is a deliberately random list, which
must suffice until the general public can
actually see the treasuresthat are currently
stored in the Cinmathquesinadequate
warehouses,which any of the greatmuseums of modern art would be proud to
display.Indeed,recently museums have
opened with a tenth of such a collection.

As long ago as 1961 Henri Langlois

observed:
The museum ofcinematographicart isa
museum not of a technology but of an
art which,since 1909,has been at the
meeting point and crossroadsof all the
artisticschoolsanddisciplines.Theitems
it containshave consequentlybeen produced by some of the most prestigious
names and movements in twentiethcenturyart:Picassoand Eger,Boldiniand
Marinetti,Survage and Viking Eggeling,
Exter and Alexandre Benois,Man Ray
and Salvador Dali, Cavalcanti and
Siqueiros,Mallet-Stevensand Poelzig,
ErikSatieandprokofiev,Germanexpressionism,ofwhich the Cinmathquepossessesnearly 300 items,constructivism
and maximalism of which the Cinmathque owns the oniy collections outside the SovietUnion,Noh,kabuki,the
popular artoftheUnited Statesand pop
art, not to mention the greatfh-makers.
O UNESCO 1994

This substantive problem is compounded

by others.There is the legal qqestion of
how to make acquisitions lawfully and
without depending on other archives,
and then there is the architectural question of how to encompass the history of
an art that has condensed into 100 years
aesthetic transformations comparable to
those that have taken other arts several
centuries.

Robotfrom thefilni Metropolis,directed

by FritzLmzg iv 2927.

In the currentremodelling of the Palais de

Tokyo,thesearetheessentialchallengesto
be met in the run-upto 1995,anniversary
year of an art of which France is the nearlegendary powerhouse.
Note

This article first appeared in the newspaper Le

Monde on 25 June 1993 under a different title.
Ed.

13

Accent on conservation:the National

Film Archive of the Democratic
PeoplesRepublic of Korea
-

Pnk Sun Tai

The National Film Archive of the
Democratic PeoplesRepublic of Korea
has made significantstrides in applying
a host of methods and techniques to
preserue its niore thail 400,000reels of
film.Pnk Sun Tai,director of the archive,
explains.

The National Film Archive of the DemocraticPeoplesRepublicofKorea,thecountrysonlyfilmarchive,is housed inmodern

buildings with an overall capacity to preserve 700,000reels.

The countrysleader,Kim JongIl,inquired

aboutthe situation ofthe Film Archive and
then took the initiative of creating a modern film archive as a global structure for
film conservation.He declared that the
originalsoffilmswere pricelessstate propA Film Archive was established in erty,and that the work done to preserve
Pyongyang in February 1961,but lacked film documents was of very great importhe necessary conservation buildings tance.He approved the plan for the conand equipment.As a result,filmsmade in struction of the Film Archive, attaching
the country were kept in the indivi- major significanceto it, and even going on
dual production studios,while imported to choosethe siteforit himselfin one ofthe
ones were stored by the import-export best locations.He ensured that all concompany.
structioncostswould be borne by thestate.
The buildings of the Film Archive now
occupy a total surface area of 20,000mz,
including the documentation section of
3,000m2and an underground gallery of
660 m2.
In 1961, the Film Archive was a corresponding member of FLAF.It became an
observer at the twenty-ninthCongress of
the latter in 1973, and was granted full
membership in May 1974 at its thirtieth
Congress.
The Film Archive,which is a non-profitmaking institution,has no source of income.The stateallocatesan annualbudget
to it of500,000won ($250,000)
forcarrying
out its activities, which are, inter alia,
acquisition,preservationand externalrelations.Its primary purpose is to collect all
kindsoffilms(artistic,documentary,scientific,etc.), conserve them in the long term
and put them to rational use.

Poster for thefilm

A Flower Girl.
14

Its initial efforts were aimed at recovering

the film documentsproduced in our country before and after the liberation,as well
as duringthe war ofliberation.During this
latter period, many films were lost or
burned and the documentaries made by
war correspondentshad disappearedwithout trace. It succeeded in recovering a
ISSN 1350-0775,hfziseirmhztenzntional (UNESCO,Paris), No.184 (Vol.46, No.4,1994)
O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road,Oxford, OX4 IJF(UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,M A 02142 (USA)

Accent on conservation:the National Film Archive ofthe Democratic People's Republic of Korea

large number of them by appealing to all

the country'scinematographicinstitutions,
and to film archives and entrepreneurs of
foreigncountries.It is now responsible for
the copyrighting of all films made in the
country,with the negative and a copy for
archiving being deposited at the Film Archive on the completion of each film.In
addition,the Film Archive actively collects
filmsmade in foreigncountries,and,being
a member ofFiAF,has been able to obtain
thousandsoffilmsthroughexchangeswith
its foreign counterparts.A new copy of
each imported film is deposited with the
Film Archive.
As a film museum,it puts its collectionsat
the disposal of the general public.It possesses a cinema in town (600 seats) and
four rooms in its own buildings (50 seats
each) in which retrospective documentaries and other filmsare frequently shown.
The Film Archive regularly loans out its
collectionsto specialists and universities,
at their request.Under the country's legislation,all loans are free.

humidity of 50-60per cent and colour ones

atatemperatureof-SoCand relativehumidityof30-40per centwould remainstablefor
over 100 years. The Film Archive establisheda unitarysystemofair conditioningin
conformity with these standards.Twenty
years of research on mildew led to the
conclusion that,under present conservation conditions, anti-corrosion treatment
was notrequired to forestallthe growth and
spread of fungi.Technical personnel created,and put in each place ofconservation,
agaugefordetectinganyvinegar syndrome
as soon as it started.When the gauges
revealed any deterioration in a film,it was
washed and repairedbeforebeing put back
in storage.The formulafor a new detergent
has been completed.Research work aimed
at safeguarding this twentieth-centuryheritage is still continuing.
The Film Archive staff,in the same way as
people who work in the cinema throughouttheworld,are intenton celebratingthe
centenary of the cinema. In conjunction
with the management of the Film Archive,
they plan to organizea variety of national
events:

Conservation suited to the country

In order to increase public awareness,the

The Film Archive has drawn on the SUCmagazine Kol'ean Cinema and other
cessful experience obtainedworldwide in
similar publications have begun to
the preservation of films to establish conpublish the programme of events,thus
servation conditions which are suited to
creating an appropriate social climate.
the country,thusgaining much experience
itself.It is proud of the fact that it has no A retrospectiveview of the Korean cinema
nitrate filmsamong the 400,000reels in its
is to be organized inApril and Septemcollection.All the nitrate films were transber 1994.
ferred to acetate reels in the mid-l970s,
and each new nitrate film is transferred An internationalfestival of the cinema of
when it is received.
Third World countries w
i
l
l be organized in April 1995.
Technical personnel systematically measuredtherateofchangeinimagethicknesses An exhibition of posters and photoover a period of fifteen years,and came to
graphs w
ill be mounted to show the
the conclusion that black-and-whitefilms
different stages in the development of
keptat a temperature of +12OC and relative
cinema.
O UNESCO 1394

15

Gosfilmofond:the film archive of

the Russian Federation
Vindimir Y.Dmitriev

Despitepolitical zlpheavals a n d economic

stress,Russia sprernierfilm archive has
played a major role in safeguarding the
coimtysinestimnble cinematographic
heritage. The author is Gosfilmofonds
Deputy DiTector-Generalfor
Interriationid Relations and head of its
Scietzt@c Infomiation Centre.H e is
active in the work of the International
Federation of Film Archives a n d has
written articles on the histo y of the
cinenm

16

The government decree setting up

Gosfilmofond,theSovietstatefilm archive,
was signed on 4 October 1948,more than
fiftyyears after the officialbirthday
ofthe
cinema on 28 December 1895. Russias
main cinema archive is thus the child,or
perhaps grandchild;of this great twentieth-centuryart form.

The situationchanged afterthe end ofthe

Second World War.The film archiveshad
suffered badly and had been dispersed
throughout the Soviet Union.Space had
also to be found to house the film taken
as war trophies in Germany after the
overthrow of the Nazi regime.The question of establishing an archive institution
to be responsible for tracking down,
The establishment of Gosfilmofond was restoring, printingand preserving film
preceded by long arguments.First there materialswas put on the agenda,and this
were heated disputes with art specialists time neither the cultural nor even the
who made the collective nature of film- ideological arguments were allowed to
making and its industrial basis a reason stand in the way. A first step in this
for relegating the cinema to the second- direction was the decision taken at the
ary role ofimpartialchroniclerofan ever- highest level-which therefore had to be
changing reality, or else illustrator of unswervingly carried out - that all film
literaryworks.They contrastedtheunique- studios,film-hireoffices,and related inness of a painting,of which there is only stitutions and organizations should be
one copy, with a film of which any obliged to submit the films in their posnumber of copies can be printed. After session to what was to become Gosthese,many more material factors came filmofond.It was at this time,in the first
into play.In the Soviet Union,the cinema five to seven years of its existence,that
was called upon to play a primarily ideo- the basis of its constantly growing collogical role and was directly influenced lections was laid.
by current circumstances,the tastes of
those in authority and the demandsofthe The 1948 decree made Gosfilmofond recurrent political situation,so that what sponsible for the conservation of feature
one day was thought to be essentialsoon films,including animated and popular scicame to be regarded as meaningless, entific films,while Soviet and Russian
harmful or even dangerous.The regime, documentariesandnewsreelswere brought
which liked to cover its traces,looked together in a different archive.
with suspicionupon archives,whosemain
purpose was preciselytopreserve records Since its foundation forty-sixyears ago,
and evidence,
albeit wrapped up in an Gosfilmofond,sited in the township of
artistic form.
Belye Stolby,50 kilometres from Moscow, has grown to become one of the
The firsttimid attemptsto setup a statefilm worlds largest collections.As a member
archive were made in the 1930s by mem- of the International Federation of Film
bers ofthe staffoftheAil-UnionInstituteof Archives (FIAF), it has working relations
Cinematography,but despite their heroic with similarinstitutionsin dozensofcounefforts the paucity of the funds available tries.Beginningwith a few hundred copand the suspicious attitude of the authori- ies,it has increased its holdings to nearly
ties prevented them from achieving any- 55,000titles,including quite a number of
thing worthwhile;they nevertheless de- cinematographicraritieswhich have been
serve the credit for being the pioneers in preserved only because forthe staffmembers responsible for hunting the films
this field.
ISSN 1350-0775,hrzmiinz International (UNESCO, Paris!, No. 184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by Blackwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (LIK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

Gosfilmofond:the film archive of the Russian Federation

down and looking after them thiswas not

only a job but their main purpose in life.
Whatever the changes in the political
situation,the film archives consistently
upheld the principle that the whole ofthe
national film output,regardless of artistic
value, should be preserved. It was not
and could not be for any one person to
make a selection and in his or her own
name issue films with a passport to the
future.In all the history of Gosfilmofond,
not a centimetre of film was ever destroyed unless replaced by a full duplicate print.
One point of particular importance in the
many internationaldiscussionsconcerning
archive conservationhas been the dispute
over what should be done with filmsshot
on inflammable nitrate stock. The great
risk involved -the fact that such filmscan
catch fire owing to negligence, or by
spontaneous combustion if not properly
stored -caused someresearchersto begin
insistingthat old films,including the original negatives,should be destroyed.Other
experts argued,on the contrary,that the
originalswere culturaltreasures comparable to the incunabulae kept in libraries.
Each side was right in its own way,and
Gosfilmofond tried to find a solutionafter
listening to both sides of the case. Some
O UNESCO 1994

of the nitrate stock had nevertheless to

be destroyed because of fear that the
whole collection might go up in flames,
but the originalnegatives were transferred
to special storage areas for permanent
conservation.

i%e director V.Pudozikin with posters of

hisjhns.

Reclaiming the past

One of Gosfilmofond's most important

tasks is to produce the fullest possible
master copies of all the filmsmade in the
country.Suffice it to say that,to take an
example from the 197Cs alone,after years
ofresearch carried out with the help of the
Mosfilm studio, it was possible to put
SergeiEisenstein's masterpiece ne Battleship Potemkin back together again,inserting frames that had been missing. The
inserts were,of course,very small,but in
the case of great works of art even the
smallest scientifically justified modifications are important,not least because the
absence of a few centimetresof stock can
alter the whole rhythm of a sequence.
There is one phenomenon that is peculiar
to the Soviet cinema or at least unfamiliar
elsewhere.Some films,particularly those
made in the 1930s and 1940sor even later,
exist in severalversions.They were merci-

i)

17

lessly truncated,re-editedor dubbed with

the voices of differentactors.This was not
as a rule because,after a certain time,the
film directors themselves thought a new
version was needed.The motives for this
were changes in the political situation in
the country.The violence so successfully
perpetratedagainsthistoryby officialpropaganda led,in the case of the cinema,to
ruthless pruning of the originalsof several
classic films.The examples are legion.
First,depictions of Trotsky were excised,
then those of Stalin and finally those of
Khrushchev.The director Mikhail R o m
re-edited his films Lenin in October and
Leniia in 1918withhis own hands,so as to
avoid even the slightestmention ofStalins
participation in the October Revolution.
When Beriasthugs killed the leadingJewish actor Solomon Mikhoels, a short sequence in which he appeared was cut out
of Grigoriy Aleksandrovsfilm n e Circus.
The list is a long one;these were not the
most gloriouspages in the history ofSoviet
cinema.

No one is entitled to pass judgement;the

staffof Gosfilmofond have done,and continue to do,everything possible to restore
the original versions of films,making use
of miraculously preserved copies,including some obtained from their colleaguesin
FiAF.The history of this art form,however
unpleasantit may have been,must be told
to posterity as it was,and only posterity is
entitled to pass sentence.
The list of Soviet films that were banned
by the censors is also a long one.Itwould
be wrong to think thatmost of them were
films made in the 1960s and 1970s.The
processbegan in the 1920sand continued
uninterruptedlyfor more than fifty years.
This dismal catalogue includes films by
SergeiEisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin,
Mikhail Kalatozov and Abram Roon,
Marlen KhutsievsIlZyichsGate,Aleksandr
AskoldovsThe Commissar,A BndJokeby
Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov,
and many others.When,with the beginning of glasnost,the question of lifting

Stillphoto from thefilm The Battleship

Potemkin,1925.Directed by Sergei
Eiseizstein .
18

O UNESCO 1994

Gosfilmofond:the film archive of the Russian Federation

the ban and issuing these films arose,it

turned out that Gosfilmofond had preserved the vast majority of them,in the
form in which they had been originally
made, thus saving them from oblivion
and destruction for the benefit of world
culture.If anyone still had any doubts as
to the need for film archives,they were
then dispelled.

Celebrating the centenary

Gosfilmofonds international activities

merit a separate chapter in its history.
From the moment when it joined FIAF,it
established contactswith many otherfilm
libraries and did everything possible to
maintain its place in the international
archive community.Even during the most
difficult years of the Cold War,it kept up
those contactsand did not allow political
interests to affect the way it operated.
Gosfilmofond sent over 10,000copies of
films to other members of the Federation
and received several thousand copies in
return from them.
Although films-Russian,Sovietor foreign
-constitute the bulk ofitsholdingsand the
raison dtre of the institution,it also has
collections of scripts,dialogue lists,posters,stills,publicity material and other cinematic artefacts.All itsholdingsare open to
students,researchers,historians,directors,
I
cameramen and artists. Gosfilmofond incontestably occupies a unique place in day forthe staffoffilmarchives,thanks to
film-makingtoday.There is hardly anyone whose hard work, knowledge and skill
connected with the cinema,whether an many thousands offilmshave been saved
acknowledged expert,a budding scholar for posterity. Gosfilmofond approaches
or simply a cinema-goer who regularly this centenary confident in the knowledge
attends the Illyuzion cinemathque in that it has carried out its basic task:it has
Moscow,who does not know and appre- built up a collection,preserved it and kept
it together in spite of attempts to break it
ciate the work of Gosfilmofond.
up. Much,however remains to be done.
The forthcoming centenary of cinematog- There may be small archives that have
raphy is without exaggerationa red-letter copies of Russian or Sovietfilmsthatwere

OT

O UNESCO 1994

MOCE bnP[IMA
Poster 6y the constructiuistartist Isaac
Rabitchev for thefilm A Cigarette Pedlar
~ i r from
l
Mosselprom,1924.Diyected by
yuri Zf~elyabziz/~sky.

19

Vladtmir Y.Drnitriezi

previously thoughtto be lostforever;they

need to be retrieved.There are stilldifficulties in developing contacts with film archivesin some countries;everything possible needs to be done to persuade them
of the mutual benefit of exchanges.Unfortunately and this is a permanent
headache for Gosfilmofond- because of
its economic problems Russia is not in a
position to allocate the resourcesneeded
to build new,up-to-datestoragefacilities,
to purchase specializedequipmentand to
introduce state-of-the-art
technology for
the conservation of cinema materials.
And who knows when the situation w
i
l
l
improve?

films on the basis of material kept in

Gosfilmofond.Thesefilmsw
i
l
ltake a fresh
look at the history of the cinema,at the
traditional mythology of screen images
and at the way in which artistic and ideological problems were thrashed out and
resolved.W e hope to make some unexpected discoveries and reach some original conclusions along the way.Particular
emphasis is given in Gosfilmofondsplans
to its participation in FIAF international
cinema projects.

Although forward-looking,
Gosfilmofond
is in at least one respect conservative.
It keeps its films on celluloid stock.
Videocassettes and other modern mateLife goes on nevertheless.O n the occasion rial carriers of audiovisual information
of the centenary of the cinema, are used only as an auxiliary and not
Gosfilmofond hopes to be able to show as a replacement for the original film
some rare items from its collection.One of materials.
these is an unfinished film by the great
director Aleksandr Dovzhenko,Farewell Cine film as a means of preserving movAnzerica!, a vev curious relic of the late ing images may disappear in the future
1940s, the time of United States-Soviet and give way to something else.In that
confrontation.It may also be possible to case,Gosfilmofond w
ill remain not only
restore another work that was banned by as an archive but as a monument to a
the censors,OurSongs,anotherunfinished great art,and its new staff members w
i
l
l
film,by SergeiVasilev,one ofthe directors not allow the precious celluloid footage,
of the celebrated film Chapaeu.There are invaluablerecordsofour times and docuother similar projects. New filmographic ments of the cinematic art,to fade into
manuals w
i
l
l be issued,and there w
i
l
l be oblivion.By helping film archives,in the
special cinema and television screenings same way as by helping libraries and
and exhibitions.Young Russian directors museums, humanity is given another
have started or are about to startcompiling chance of immortality.

20

O UNESCO 1994

The Museum of the Moving Image

in London
Leslie Hardcastle

A newcoiner to the niuseuna world,the

Museuni of the Moving Image was an
instant success.In 1992,only four years
afier its opening,it was crowned with the
Grand Prix of thefirst Tozwmus
Competition sponsored by the
International Council of M u s e u m aiid
the Group of National TrauelAgentsand
Tour OperatomAssociations ulithiii tile
European Conamunity. Citedfor having
broken izew ground with itsproniotion
and aduetfising and its special
exhibitions,the museum bas regularly
maintained a place in the top ten
London admission charging attractions.
Leslie Hardcastle,curator of the museum,
explains why.

The Museum of the Moving Image in

London is now six years old and has
attracted more than 2.5 million visitors.
MOMI,as it has become known,has also
been the recipient of seventeen awards,
ranging from outstandingnew tourist attractions to international awards for
culturalmerit.

Education is central to the purpose of

MOMI and theEducationDepartmentconcentrateson making a visit to the museum
as meaningful and accessible to as wide a
range of people as possible.Thousandsof
children and school groups visit the museum eachyearontheir own initiative.The
Education Department in its study rooms
provides a pre- and post-visitservice to
The overall aim of the museum is to about 1,200formal education groups per
educate the widest possible audience in year,involving a total of more than 35,000
the history,production process and critical schoolchildrenand adults.Thework ofthe
understandingofthemoving image.Thisis department centres around the requireachieved througha comprehensivepolicy ments of the National Curriculum and the
of collection,conservationand display of provision of a broad range of educational
moving-imageartefactswithin their social activities that not only relate to media
context.
studies but also to other curriculum subjects,such as English,contemporary hisThebasis ofMOMIcomprisesseveralover- tory, photography,biology, foreign lanlaid chronologies:the development offilm guages and culture.
as an art form;the development of television as a major force in our lives; the The multi-ethnicand socialmix of London
development of the two respective tech- schools requires the MOMI education ofnologies;and the background ofthe socio- ficers to cater for many different groups.
political history of our times.
They have been particularly successful in
providing servicesfor people with special
The museum was designed as an in- needs,ranging from those with hearing
troduction to the study of the history difficulties to children with learning diffiand development of film and television cultiesto thosewho are partially sighted or
and to satisfy the needs of both the blind.The appeal of the Museum of the
knowledgeable and the uninitiated. A Moving Image to the latter group is at first
casualvisitor seldom leaves the museum amazing until it is realized that MOMI is a
without being touched or influenced in hands-on museum, with a great deal of
some way.
relevantbackgroundsound;inotherwords,
it is also a museum of experience and
MOMI is also an educational experience participation.
for the whole family.It attempts to maintain a unique balance between education One ofthe many innovativefeaturesofthe
and entertainmentand has pioneered new museum has been the use of specially
ways of presentation and communication. trained actors to explain,demonstrate and
It was always the intention of its creators involve visitors in the film and television
that MOMI,despite its flamboyant style, process.Faced with the fact that the Local
should be a museum in the truest sense of GovernmentLicensingDepartmentinsisted
the word.Despite some initial opposition, that there must be at all times a certain
MOMI is now accepted as a museum by its number of staffon duty to evacuate 1,000
peers and it works hard to retain that people in case of emergency,the decision
distinction.
was made thatthese staffmembers should

ISSN 1350-0775,Museum Intmintionai (UNESCO, Paris), No.184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by BlacLwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

21

Leslie Hardcastle

*-

e.;*-:
i..=
.-e

&IOMI is built between WatevlooBridge

and an access road.he nzilsetlm's roof
is infact the bridge rond.

become part ofthe exhibitand shouldfulfil

an educational as well as a security role.
The Actors'Company is now a vital part of
themuseum'sOutreachProgramme,which
involves a variety of educational work,
from pro-activeschoolvisits totheproduction of educational videos based on the
work of the museum. Ambitious plans
exist to take MOMI on tour,comprising
two ten-week tours of cultural centres
throughout the United Kingdom as part of
the Cinema Centenary celebrations.

'Nothingwas left to chance'

MOMI shows how humanity has used

moving imagesfromthe days of the Asian
shadow plays of2000 B.C. to the development of the cinematographic and electronic television images of the twentieth
century. It explores concerns ranging
from pre-cinema,the film as propaganda
to television as a major force in our lives.
As the story it tells is so vast,the use of
22

icons is frequent:a carriage from a Russian agitprop train (Cinemaand Reuolution); a hand of enormous proportions
with emerging ants (Bunuel and the
Avant-Garde); to a full-scalereplica of an
Odeon cinema (British Cinema and Cine m a Architecture).
The museum is laid out chronologically,
with exhibits designed to satisfy three
levels of appreciation: (a) the informed
visitor; (b) the young visitor seeking an
introduction to the history of film and
television;and (c) the casual visitor who
has no preconceived ideas about the
subject.
The exhibits were designed according to a
strictand detailed designbrief,which anticipated how the museum would work,how
thevisitorswould reactand how thedesign
shouldlook.Nothingwas leftto chanceand
every effort and reaction has been anticipated or pre-planned.The design brief
comprised thirty-threesections,which adO UNESCO 19%

The Museum of the Moving Image in London

dressed suchkey elementsas Bow patterns, As it is a Museum of the Moving Image,

exhibition rhythm,levels of appreciation, most exhibits contain an element of movuse ofsound,guardsas guides,contentand ingimage infact,there are over1,000film
displayemphasis,languagesused,duration and television extracts contained in the
of stay and videodisc usage.
totalexhibitionarea,the majority ofwhich

MOMI Catalogue,used at the tin7e of the

nzziseziin C; 1988 Inuizcl!.

O UNESCO 1994

23

Leslie Hardcastle

An exhibit describing uariozis inethods of

animation encouragesyoung visitors to
make their own zoetrope strips.

24

are transmitted on laser-videodiscsfrom

seventytwolaser-discrecorders.In addition,there are five 35 mm and two 16 mm
film projections.Information is transmitted onto video monitors and skilfully
absorbed into the design of each exhibit
covering the period prior to 1952. It is
only at that point that the visitor sees a
television monitor overtly displayed.All
technicalappliancesand servicesare controlled from a single control room,which
is visible to the public and is an exhibitin
its own right.The duty technicians work
in full view of all visitors,as indeed the
cinema projectionistsdo,behind a glasswalled projection box to the rear of the
museum's cinema.A visit to the cinema is
automatic as all visitors have to walk
through it as part of the museum tour.
They can see a programme of extracts
from key film and television productions
which runsona continuousbasis throughout the day.In the evenings,a different
feature is shown in repertory every day
as part of the 360 Treasures from the
National Film and TelevisionArchive series. These programmes form part of the
2,000that include televisionprogrammes
that are shown each year at the National

Film Theatre,which occupies the adjacent archway forming part of Waterloo

Bridge.
The museum architect,Bryan Avery, designed a building which astonishesmany in
the sheer quantity of space it captures
beneathwaterloo Bridge.Italso sportsa 73metre wall of movie images behind a vast
sheet of glass,supported by a laceworkof
white painted steel quite beautiful when
the sun sparklesagainstit. MOM1 has circular windows on the other side large
aluminium eyes that stare across to the
Royal Festival Hall,the Queen Elizabeth
Hall and the Hayward Gallery,which together with the Royal National Theatre
constitute MOMI's neighbours.There is a
main deck with an undercroftofsimilarsize
(25,000m?)below and a mezzanine floor
(288 m2>above.The mezzanine holds a
series of visiting exhibitions and special
shows.The main deck holds the principal
exhibition of forty or more exhibits which
tell the story offilm and televisionsincethe
First World War. The undercroft contains
exhibits covering earlier periods (all forms
of images as far back as cave paintings) as
well as housing the Wolfson Study Unit.

O UNESCO 1994

The Museum of the Moving Image in London

MOMI was financed entirely from private

donations,the largest of which came from
the late Sir Y.K.Pau,the Chinese shipping
magnate,and Sir Paul Getty.The building
cost 510 million and the exhibition &14
million.No contributionwas received from
any government source.

Focusing on the future

There are museums in the world which

are concerned with pre-cinema toys or
with the development of cinematography
and television production,but MOMI is
the only museum that attempts to relate
the entire history of moving images.The
story it tells is enthralling,important and
relevant to the livesofthe average citizen.
It is a story to which most people can
relate,the viewing of cinema and television images taking up such a considerable part of our leisure hours. In 1946,
1,635million cinema tickets were sold in
the United Kingdom;in 1993,the average
18-year-old
w
i
l
lhave viewed two yearsof
television and video.For more than fifty
years,our lives have been dominated by
moving images. Peoples social ,background and political beliefs,their appreciationofothers,sometimestheirmisconceptions of howthings really are,are all
influencedby what they see in the cinema
and on the televisionscreen,for seeingis
believing.Within the realm of moving
images,misunderstanding and enlightenment go hand in hand.

transmission systems that w

i
l
l undoubt- Temple for the Gods is a transition
edly occur within the next decade.If this exhibit covering tl!eperiodbetween the
revolution in everyday communications First World War a d the coming of
proves to be as far-reachingas has been soziizd which celebrates thegreatstars of
predicted,the effects on our lives could be the silent screen.
startling.An opportunity to examine the
possibledirectionand consequences,based
on the existing knowledgeof communications systems portrayed in the museum,is
importantand timely.Afocus on thefuture
based on analysis or understanding derived from past experienceis arguably the
most important aspect of the museum.

MOMI is the brainchild of David Francis,

OBE, now of the Library of Congress,
Washington (then curator of the National
Film Archive,London); Leslie Hardcastle,
OBE,curator ofMOMI (then controllerof
the NationalFilmTheatre,London); David
Robinson (film historian); and Tony
The story continuesto evolve.The impact Smith,CBE,president of Magdalen Colon our daily lives of the moving images of lege,Oxford (then director of the British
the new video technology,fibre-optic Film Institute). The technology was sucable-distributionsystems,satellite televi- pervised by Charles Beddow,MBE,and
sion and other innovationsremains to be the exhibition designed by Neal Potter.It
fully understood.MOMI is concernedwith is supported by the resources of the
the visual literacy of young people and British Film Institute and with contributheirneed to challengeand understandthe tions from others, especially film and
origins of the technological revolution in television producers.
O UNESCO i994

25

The movies at MOMA:the first cinema

museum in the United States
Mary Len Bandy

The Illuseirm of Modern Art in New York

set its sights onplacing the most popular
entertainment mediion of the time i ~ 7an
nttistic and educationalcontext.
Convinced that the only great art
peculiar to the twentieth centu y merited
the same soitnd curatorial approach m
otherforms of artistic expression,the
museum (known to all as 11lMAlfrom
the outset worked hand in hand with the
pioneers of the American cinema.Mary
Lea Bandy,formerly director of the
Departnierat of Film atI1/IoMA, h m been,
since 199.3,chief curator of its expanded
Department of Film and Video.She bas
been curator of a nimber offilm series,
inclirding one on the Cannes
InternationalFilm Festiual,and has CO-,
edited Jean-LucGodard:Son + Image,
New York,1992.

Strictly speaking,there is no such thing as

a cinema museum in the United States,that
is, a museum devoted exclusively to collecting original motion pictures and artefacts relating to their production and exhibition. In our vast nation,there are only
three museums that collect and preserve
original35 mm film materials,and they are
all museums ofart:theMuseum ofModern
Art, New York;the InternationalMuseum
ofPhotography,Rochester,New York;and
the UniversityArt Museum,Berkeley,California.The other major film archivesare at
the Library of Congress and the National
Archive in Washington,D.C.,
and the University of California in Los Angeles. The
principalcollections and activities at these
institutionsare not related to film;they are
divisionsor departments of largercultural
and educational institutions.And this is
what distinguishestheAmerican approach
to archiving cinemas history: w e have
developed regional and federal archives,
which taken together hold the bulk of
originalmaterials of the American cinema,
as well as an extensive sampling of international films. Additionally, w e collect
equipmentand artefacts including photos,
posters,publicity and production materials;so,too,does ournewest partner in this
effort to preserve our cinema heritage,the
American Museum ofthe Moving Imagein
Astorid,New York,but it does not collect
original film materials.
The Museum of Modern ArtsFilm Library
was unique in concept and content when
it was established in 1935,and the story of
its origin is,likethemuseum itself,glamorous and seriousin equal measure.At that
time in the United States there were no
museum film programmes, no film festivals,repertory theatres,graduate schools
of cinema studies, or twenty-four-hour
television movie channels. There were,
instead,lavish movie palaces playing the
newest Hollywood sound films to more

26

than 100 million people each week. The

museums first film curator, Iris Barry,
wanted to make it clear that the work of
the new Film Library would be firstand
foremost to create a consciousness of tradition and of history within the new art of
film.Its goal would be to present the
worldsmost popular entertainmentin an
educationalcontext,to assemblea collection of motion picture films suitable for
illustrating the important steps historically
and artisticallyin the development of motionpicturesfrom their inceptionand making the said collection available at reasonable rates to colleges,schools,museums,
and other educational institutions.
This was a radical notion,indeed,and it
proved possible to realize at the Museum
ofModern Art because it fittedthevision of
the museums founding director, Alfred
Barr.A modern
museum had been conceived both to bridge the gap between
avant-gardeartists and the public,and to
promote the appreciationand understanding of the visual arts of the modern era.
Alfred Barr had been influenced by his
studies with art historian Charles Rufus
Morey,who taught a course at Princeton
University which focused on the principal
medieval visual arts as a record ofa period
ofcivilization:architecture,sculpture,paintings on walls and in books,stained-glass
windows.Barr applied Moreysmedieval
model to the twentieth century,and he in
turn taught modern painting and sculpture, together with film,photography,
music,theatre,architecture and industrial
design. He also visited the Bauhaus at
Dessau,Germany,where theatre,cinema,
and photography were taught alongside
the fine arts; it is the Bauhaus that is
considered his model for the organization
of the museum as a multi-departmental
institution,including the so-called commercial and popular arts as well as fine
arts.

ISSN 1350-0775.Museim intenzntiorzni (UNESCO,Paris). No. 1% IVOI.46,No.4,1994

0 U N E S C O 199-1
Published by Blackwell Publishers,Ici6 Cowley Road,Oxford,OX+ IJF (UKland 238 Main Street,Cambridge. hlA 02142 (USA)

The movies at MOMA: the first cinema museum in the United States

For the museums opening exhibition,in ship with producer David O.Selznick, Back of Hollywood, 1977, Edward
November 1929,Barr organized a histori- which would culminate three years later Ruscba. Oil O H cawas.
cal survey of four pioneers of modern art, with Gone With the Wind.Whitney agreed
Czanne,Gauguin,Seurat and Van Gogh. to serve as chairman of the Film Library,
He developed an exhibition roster that and he sent Iris Barry to Hollywood to
included current as well as historical persuade industry leaders to donate films
retrospectives of the art of Europe and for the Film Library.He arranged for her
America,and this became the structure of to be receivedby Hollywoodsnobility,at
museum programmesfordecadesto come, a reception at Pickfair,the famous home
and precisely that followed by Iris Barry. of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
She showed films and argued convincingly that movies should be deposited in
In 1932 Alfred Barr commented:
a museum.Assuring the guests that the
museum would notbe commerciallycomPeople who are well acquainted with
petitive,Barry pointed out that in 1935,
modern painting or literature or the
film alreadyhad a brief (some fortyyears)
theatre are amazingly ignorantofmodbut important history, and that unless
ern film.The work and even the names
somethingis done to restoreand preserve
of such masters as Gance,Stiller,Clair,
outstanding films of the past and the
Dupont,Pudovkin,Feyder,Chaplin [as
present, the motion picture from 1894
a director],Eisenstein and other great
w
i
l
lbe as irrevocablylostas the Commedia
directors are, one can hazard,practidellarteor the dancing of Nijinsky.She
cally unknown to the MuseumsBoard
illustrated her point by showing a selecofTrustees,most ofwhom are very well
tion offilmsfrom 1896to the thenpresent,
informed in other modern arts. . . . It
including 7ixGreat T7aiizRobbe?y(1903),
may be said without exaggeration that
scenesfrom 73e GoldRus/~
(1925) and All
the only great art peculiar to the twenQuiet on the Western F~ont(19301,and a
tieth century is practically unknown to
contemporary Walt Disney film of 1935,
the American public most capable of
Pluto3-JudgFizent Day.
appreciating it.
~

Barry had secured donations from Paramount, Twentieth Century-Fox,Samuel

Goldwyn,Warner Bros,Harold Lloyd and
The exceptionto BarrspremisewasJohn Walt Disney,with further donations to
Hay Whitney, a museum trustee and come from Columbia, M O , Universal,
prominent art collector, who had ac- Mary Pickford,Walter Wanger and Leon
quired a major interest in the new SchlesingerProductions for Mlis films.
Technicolor film process and started a Charlie Chaplin and D.W.Griffith both
production company,Pioneer Pictures, refused (with help from Lillian Gish,
whose principal producer was Merian Griffith would acquiescetwo years later).
Cooper,the producer of King Kong. In In 1936 an agreement was worked out
the mid-1930she entered into a partner- with Paramountand MGM,which most of
Convincing Hollywood

O UNESCO 1994

27

Ma y Lea Ban&

The General.2926.Directed by Bister

Keaton and Clyde Bntckmnn and
stnmngBuster Keaton, thefilm is a
masterpiece of the golden age of silent
filmcomedy.

28

The year 1939 was a splendid year

for Hollywood movies, capped by the
December premire of the wildly successful G o n e With the Wind.That autumn
the Museum of Modern Art opened
its permanent home on 53rd Street
in New York City, and launched the
first daily film exhibition in the United
States,in its new 450-seatcinema.The
inaugural film programmes included Georges Mlis: Magician aizd Film
Pioneer and m e Nola-Fiction Film:Fvom
Uninterpreted Fact to Docwnenta y. Iris
Barry was vitally concerned with placthe major studios signed,that the Film ing D.W.Griffith in the museum context
Library might make prints, at its own in these early days of the exhibiexpense,from negativesheld by the com- tion programme, having finally perpanies,and thatsuch prints could be used suaded Griffith to donate to the Film
within and outsidethe museum forstrictly Library his papers and negatives and
educational use.
prints of his features.In 1938 and 1940
she also acquired Griffiths Biograph
The importance of this principle cannot films of 1908-14,part of a large collecbe overstated.Barry successfully had ne- tion found in a warehouse. She congotiated the equivalentofindefiniteloans, ceived a project to study the prints
and in some cases outright gifts,with the at first hand, then to show the films
pioneers and practitioners of the Ameri- and write a monograph on Griffiths
can motion picture.It was a brilliant step, career. Barry had hoped to restore
ensuring that the study of film history Griffithsfading fame and also to
could be independent of commercial ex- overcome the long-lived intellectual
ploitation.For the first time,Hollywood prejudice...thatbecause Griffithworked
producers would allow their films to be for a vast audience and made (and
seen without charging a fee.
lost) a vast amount of money, his
achievement could not be classed with
The Film Library was conceived like the realart.
other museum collections to be internationalin scope.In 1936 Barry travelled to What the Griffith project established was
London,Paris,Berlin,Warsaw, Moscow the curatorial apparatus for the medium
and Stockholm,meeting film archivists offilm:Barry demonstratedh o w and why
who were building collectionsand would he was a pioneer through the study and
exchangefilms.
InMoscow,shemet Sergei showing of works that had become unEisenstein and acquired a selection of available in originalform.The essence of
Soviet films.In Paris,in addition to ac- curatorialwork,which is the analysisand
quiring a print of Fernand LgersBallet conservation of the object itself and its
mcanique, she added films of Louis placement historically and critically
Lumire,Ferdinand Zeccaand Emile Cohl, throughexhibition and publication,could
as well as avant-gardeworks of Marcel have no finerparadigm than in the Griffith
Duchamp,Ren Clair and others.
project.
-> UNESCO 199r

The movies at M O W the first cinema museum in the United States

Pioneering principles

Barrys efforts were not immediately

widely understood at the time. But she
was doing what Alfred Barr had done in
opening the museum in 1929 with an
exhibit of modern,if not contemporary,
masters:she was placing Griffith,a pioneer of a modern art,in context.That he
seemed old-fashioned at that time, or
since,was not the issue;she wanted the
public to realize that because filmsentire
history falls within the period generally
labelled modern,from the late nineteenth century on,tlie debate of modern
versus contemporary becomes irrelevant.
Griffithsdevelopment of narrative was
no less worthy of study than the Cubism
of Picasso,or the Fauvism ofMatisse.Her
pioneering efforts, and those of future
curators of film at the museum,were key
to the structuring of methodologies for
filin cataloguing,preservation,and education,which in turn became models for
the field.
The Film Library was renamed the Department of Film in 1965, and was
again changed in 1993 to the Department of Film and Video, to reflect its
broadening role in both collecting and
exhibiting the full spectrum of the 100
years of cinema,and the younger medium of video art. The collection today
comprisesmore than 13,000titles.Among
its strengths are its holdings of American
silentfilms,including productions of the
Biograph, Edison, and Vitagraph companies, work by Griffith and Douglas
Fairbanks,Buster Keaton and the slapstick comedy artists,and film-makersof
westerns such as William S. Hart, Tom
Mix,W
i
l
l Rogers,and John Ford.Collections of American studio productions include holdings of Twentieth CenturyFox,Warner Bros, R K O and David O.
Selznick films.
O UNESCO 1994

The collection is distinguished as well

by its holdings of international films.
Through exchanges with members of
the International Federation of Film
Archives, the Museum has acquired
Polish and Bulgarian films from the
post-Second World War period, Czech
films of the 1930s and new wave films
of the 1960s,French filmsof the nouvelle
vugue, Italian films of the 1930s and
1940s, early Danish films, classic Japanese features,and Chinese films of the
1950s.

TheFull of Babylonsequencefrom the

filmIntolerance.1916.
Directed by D.W.
Gruith. 173e reconstruction of the
original3411-length version (ouer thee
IJOUTS lo& wus n colluboratiue effort
between the Museuin of Modern Ail,
wl~icbrestored thefilm elements,und the
Library of Coizgms, which reconstructed
the o?dJestral scol-e.

Experimental or avant-garde,animation
and documentary films,particularly of
the United States,the United Kingdom,
France and Canada,enrich the archive.
To complement our important collection
of the American pioneers of film-making,
we actively seek today to acquire films
by film artists of the past half-century
whom w e consider to be significant.
W e have substantive holdings of the
work ofJohnCassavetes,Martin Scorsese,
Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, Stan
Brakhage,Shirley Clarke,HollisFrampton,
Andy Warhol, each in his or her own
way representing a direction taken by
an independentfilm-maker,whether
working alone or within a film-studio
structure.

29

fiiaq Lea Bandy

as studios, directors, producers, writers

and actors,cinemaofmany nations,schools,

genres.W e collaboratewith archives,studios,and national film boards around the
world to organize and exchange programmes.Several series,which are a balance ofhistorical and contemporarywork,
focuson particulardevelopmentsthroughout film history,to extend our celebration
of the centenary of cinema throughoutthe
1990s. In 1993,w e presented a tribute to
the late Lillian Gish,for example,and w e
began the 1994 season with a survey of
Gaumont, the worlds oldest active film
studio,and a retrospectiveofthe careerof
JeanneMoreau.InJune 1994,w e hosted a
special seminar to identify the surviving
films of the 1890s,organized by Domitor,
an international society of early-cinema
historians.

Broken Blossoms.1919.Directed by D.
W.Griffithand starring Lillian Gish.ne
originalfilm materials donated by
Griffithto the Il/lzrseumof Modern Art are
being restored thanks to the generous
support of the late Miss Gish.

30

Our study centres acquire special collections ofphotographs,posters,screenplays

and dialogue continuities,critical articles
andreviews,publicityfiles,referencebooks,
guides,periodicals,sheet music, set designs, animation drawings, correspondence and legal records. The collections
Reaching out to the public
include original papers donated by filmmakers,such as the production recordsof
W e have continuedour mission to provide D.W.Griffith and sketches of Sergei
films to schools, archives and festivals Eisenstein,as well as many treasures such
around the world,through our Circulating as David Selznicks enormous scrapbook
Film Library of 1,300titles on 16 mm film. on Gone With the Wind. In all, a broad
Thiscollection,drawnfrom themuseum as variety ofdocumentationis acquired,catawell as international archives and film logued,and made available,as is our film
production boards,spans the history of collection,to scholars,students,archivists
cinema, with emphasis on the interna- and curators,critics and journalists,artists
tional silent cinema, documentaries and and directors,screenwritersand actors.
experimentalwork.W e are the only American museum or archive to distribute films, Our principal activity has always been,
and w e have recently added a selectionof and remains,the acquisition and preseroriginal video art.
vation of works that w e believe to be
important representationsof the history
Ourfilm exhibitionprogramme has contin- and development ofthe art ofthe cinema.
ued since 1939 to present daily viewings, Of the thousands of short and feature
expanded to two cinemas,on themessuch filmswe have catalogued and preserved,
O UNESCO 190r

The movies at MOMA:the first cinema museum in the United States

Center,in the state of Pennsylvania,to

provide the requisite temperature and
humidity-controlledenvironment to enable these films to survive for hundreds
of years. W e have envied many of our
European colleagues,whose archives as
national film institLitions receive major
support from their governments,for example in the United Kingdom,France,
Germany and Switzerland,and who have
consequently already built new vaults
and have the staff they need to catalogue
and preserve films.The American archives must continue the struggle to
persuade the government and the public
of the critical need to acknowledge cinema as the major new medium of the
modern era, vitally important for the
study ofthe art,the culture and the social
and political events and movements of
the entire twentieth century.In this regard,w e celebrate the centenary of the
Our most ambitious project is the con- cinema every day at the Museum of
struction of a new Film Preservation Modern Art.

w e can give only a brief sampling.But

suffice it to say that our work,and that of
our archiveand museum colleagues,is to
keep our film heritage alive.Our knowledge and appreciation of the history of
cinemahas been broadenedthroughstudy
of such films as The Great nain Robbeiy,
A C o m e r in Wheat, Intolerance, Broker?
Blossonzs, TolaOle David, Manbatta,
Nnnook of theNorth, n e Coueered Wagoiz,
The General, Suwise, Little Caesa?; Q u e
Viva Mexico!, It Happened O n e Night,
DodswortlJ,i%e Plow hatBroke tbePlai?is,
MeetMe in StLouis,Notoriotis,M y Darliig
CIetneTitine, On the Wate$ront and Enipire,ofwhich originalmaterialsand prints
are safeguarded at the museum. And
should w e not also Beep an eye on
todaysmajor artists,forinstance with our
newestacquisitionsofprintsof Uizforgiuetz
and The Age of Innocence?

Nanook of the North.1922.Directed by

Robert Flahetfy, this docunientaiy tuas a
tv-creation of the Eskimo waji of ltfe a n d
spawned a movement to depictpeople as
in their natural enuironnient.
tl~en~selues
0 UNESCO i994

31

Creating a film culture:the National

Film Archive of India
TTlJe Indian cinema is one of the most
flourishing in the UJOrid-and one of the
mostpopular.More than 800featiire
films are produced each year and tnany
bave enjo-yedworlduiide distribution and
esteem. Comeruing and protecting this
extremely rich storehouseposes special
challenges,uhich are described bv
Suresh Chnbria,Director of the Archiries.

It is well known that the Indian film

industry has been the worlds largest for
several decades.What is less generally
recognizedis that India also has one of the
mostvibranttraditionsoffilm-makingwhich
goes back at least to the end of the first
decade of this century.
The Lumire films were presented in
Bombay as early as July 1896,and within
a few years touring and permanentcinemas and tent theatres exhibited hundreds of European and American filmsall
over India.

However,a combination of political,historical and economic Factors prevented an

indigenous film industry from emerging
before 1910.Ingeneral,participationinthe
modern sectorsofthe economy by Indians
at the turn of the centurywas no more than
a couple of decades old and that,too,was
limited and rathertentative.Naturally,notwithstandingnumerous actualities shotby
keenlocal amateurs,Indian entrepreneurs
confronted with the new medium of film
initially preferred to distribute the finished
product imported from abroad.
Fascination with the imported medium of
film and the rising senseof nationalism and
anti-colonialsentiment first fused in the
mind of D.G.Phalke.He consciouslyand
single-handedlyfounded the Indian film
industryas part of the SLLJc&Shi movement
(the nationalistprogramme ofself-reliance)
between 1910 and 1913.The rest is history.
While imported filmsdominated at the box
officeuntil the arrivalofthe talkiesin 1931,
Indian silent cinema,like its counterparts
in so many other countries,successfully
created its own identity and mass following.Its staple was the wholly Indian genre
and form of the mythological; but the
influence ofWestern filmsled in the 1920s
to the rise of the hugely popular socialand
stuntfilms with their flashy male stars and
glamorous heroines.

Posterfor thefilm
Pather Panchali,
directed by Satyajit
Ray in 1955.

37

With the coming of sound and the largescale application of studio methods and
economics of film-making,
the Indian film
industry finally came into its own. The
audience showed a distinct and irresistible
preference forfilmsthatspoke and sang in
one of its own numerous languages.The
Indian film industry was thus perhaps the
first to be wrested from foreign control,
albeit with the all-importantexception of
manufacturingfilmequipment and the raw
stock itself.
(Vol.;t6.No.4,139t)
O UNESCO 133.i
Iihlislied Iiy Ulckwell Iiil~lishers,108 Cowley Itodd. Oxford. 0% IJF ILIIi)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge. M A 03+3 (llSA1
ISSN 1350.0775, Iftrseziin iii/cvnci/ioiznl(UNESCO,lmisi, No. 1%

Creating a film culture:the National Film Archive of India

Ever since then film has remained an

inseparable part of Indias public life.
In its hold over the average Indians
imagination it can only be compared
with some of the traditional forms inscribed with ancient legends and myths
which intermingle with the religious and
folk festivals and the daily life of the
people.

I have begun this article on the film

archive with a short rsum of the early
decades ofIndianfilm history to highlight
two difficulties which affect its work to
this day.
First,much of our rich film heritage has
perished since it coincided with the latter
part of the colonial period and in the
absence of self-ruleIndia was not able to
create the structuresthat were required to
protect the long-termphysical survival of
the films.
Second, and more insidiously, while
it reaped huge profits and actively

Constraints and achievements

Thus,when a national film archive was

finally set up in 1964,it had an extremely
difficult task cut out for it to salvage what
had survived of the foundationsof Indian
cinema with the meagre resources which
the newly-independentIndian state could
spare for this purpose,and also,with the
same resources,
to set aboutacquiring and
preserving contemporary and future productions of a highly popular and prolific
film industry,which still acted as if it were
totally oblivious to the evanescence of the
film medium.
Inthe mid 1950s the NFAI was first planned
by the Government of India as a national
film library to acquire important films for
record purposes.But soon the diverse and
specializedtasks ofsuch a film library came
to be realized - that it must not only be a
collection of films but also a preservation
agency.Thus the conceptof a nationalfilm
library was extended and developed into
the concept of a fully fledged film archive.

participated in the creation of our national ethos, the Indian film industry
was a victim of the general colonial
psychology of inferiority and lack of
self-esteem.For there seems to be no
better explanation besides these two
reasonsfor the factthat so much ofIndian
cinema up to 1950 was allowed to vanish
completely.

From its modest beginningsin 1964 (when

it was housed in small sheds with makeshift vaults in the premises of the Film
Institute of India, Pune), the NFAI has
today grown in stature and experience to
be counted among the leading film archives of the world and has since 1969
been a full member of the International
Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). More
It is true that factorslike nitrate decompo- importantly,it has managed to salvage and
sition,climatic stress and the negligence preserve severallandmarkfilmsof the first
of purely commercial-mindedfilm pro- five decades of Indian cinema.This was
ducers and laboratories also wreaked largelydue to the governmentsinitiativein
incalculable havoc.But to our mind,the setting up the archive,the liard work and
deepest causes were the lack of control dedication of its founders and the role of a
over our governmental and administra- fewstalwarts of the film industrysuch asJ.
tive machinery before 1947 and the film B.H.Wadia,B.N.Sircar and others,who
industrysinferiority complex about the believed in the need for film preservation
technical and artistic standards of our and deposited their personal collections
cinema.
with the NFAI.
O UNESCO 1994

33

Stiliphotofvom thefilm Chandrasena

dinxted b y V. Shantnvnnz in 1935.

in its new building complex which was

opened in January 1994,NFAI finally has
its own film vaults designed according to
international film-preservationstandards,
a reasonably well-equippedpreservation
department,a well-stockedbook and periodical library and a cataloguing,research
and documentation,centrewhich contains
a precious collection of cinema posters,
stills and other ancillary material.The archive now also has an auditorium for the
public screening of films from its collection.

Kapoor, Guru Dutt, A. R. Kardar, L. V.

Prasad and B.Nagi Reddi. Alongside examples of the mainstream cinema,excellent prints of major works of the aiitem
of new Indian cinema such as Satyajit
Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak,Adoor
Gopalakrishnan,Mani Kaul,G.Aravindan,
Kumar Shahani,Shyam Benegal and others
are also preserved by the archive.

The NFAI also has a very large collectionof

ancillary material such as cinema posters,
stills,songbooklets,foldersand disc records
and audio cassettesrelating to every perAmongst the treasures of the NFAIsfilm iod ofIndiancinema.But due to the shortcollection are the surviving fragments of age offundsand adequatestaffthe archive
the films of D.G.Phalke,the silent films was unable to acquire a sufficient number
of Himansu Rai and Franz Osten,a repre- of artefacts such as annotated original
sentativenumber of filmsof the great film scripts,sets,costumes,and pre-cinemaand
companies and studios of the 1930s and other antique film equipment.For exam1940ssuch as the Prabhat Film Company, ple,the magic lantern and hand-painted
New Theatres,Bombay Talkies,Minerva slidesof the PatwardhanBros are the only
Movietone,Wadia Movietone,Gemini and major example of pre-cinema equipment
others.Equally importantare the archives available in the archive.One of the most
holdingsof the great independentbanners cherished projects of the archive is to
which emerged after the collapse of the convert its former premises at the Jayakar
studio system in the late 1940s,such as Bungalow into a museum of Indian
those created by Mehboob Khan, Raj cinema.

34

Q UNESCO i99r

Creating a film culture:the National Film Archive of India

Acquisition policy

With annual national production in India

mounting to more than 850 feature films
and an equally large number of shorts,
newsreels and documentaries,the NFAI is
compelledto be selectivein its acquisition.
In addition,there is no legal deposit system,and there is the perennial shortageof
funds.The resultofthese factorsis that we
have less than 10 per cent of the national
film production preserved at the NFAI.
The main criteria for acquisitionframedby
NFAIsAdvisory Committee are as follows.
First,the archive should acquire all available Indian films of the pre-1955period,
since most of these filins are on nitrate
base and have alreadybeen destroyed.As
such, there is no point in making a
selectionfromwhateverhas survived from
this period.
Second,as regards the post-1955filmsthe
NFAI must acquire the following:
nationaland stateaward-winningfilms;
all films which have been popular at
the box office;
films shown in international film
festivals and the IndianPanoramasection of the InternationalFilm Festivals
held in India;
all films financed/produced by the
National Film DevelopmentCorporation and the erstwhile Film Finance
Corporation;
film adaptations of well-knownliterary works;
films representing different genres of
Indian cinema such as the mythological,historical,social and family
dramas,stunt films,childrensfilms
and so on;
newsreels, documentaries and short
films produced by private and official
agencies;
O UNESCO 1994

selectedforeignfilm classicsincluding
the works of major film-makers of
different countries and representing
various national styles and genres.

Posterfor thefikn ICalyan Khajina,

directed 6y Ba6zi-aoPail?ter in 1924.

Also,under the Indian CinematographAct,

censored portions of films exhibited in
India are deposited with the archiveby the
CentralBoard of Film Certification.All this
material awaits zealous researchers who
can catalogueit and unscramble the chequered history of Indiancensorshipin relation to changing Indian social mores and
values.Perhaps,it has been more useful to

35

Suresh Chnbiin

world cinema. Some of the major topics

taught during the course are the basics of
the film medium,cinema as an art, film
history,film theory and the relationshipof
One of the special features of the NFAI is cinema to otker arts. The archive also
thatby itsconstitutionit has been entrusted conductsshortercourseson similarlines at
with the task of disseminatingfilm culture various othercentresin the country.These
all over India.This may probably be con- courseshave evoked a tremendous popusidered a quaintnotion by somebut it is an lar response and contributed in a genuine
article of faithwithus.For this purpose, sense to the spread of awareness of the
NFAi has acquired a large number of need to have an analytic framework in
foreign films by purchase or exchange which to view and study films in our
from other archives. These are regularly cinema-saturatedculture.
shown in the NFAIs own premises to
researchers,film-makersand others,and
Celebrating the centenary
are also loaned to the Film Institutefor its
academicprogrammes.W e also frequently
As far as the celebration of the cinema
loan viewing copiesfrom our collection
both Indian and foreign-for joint screen- centenary is concerned, film-heritage
ing programmesto filmsocietiesand edu- screening programmes and retrospectives,
cationaland culturalorganizations all over exhibitions on the history of cinema,sevthe country. Small 16 mm distribution eral publications and a seminar on Indian
libraries located in Pune and the NFAis film studies and theory are planned over
regional officesin Calcutta,Bangalore and the next two years to stimulate and renew
Thiruvananthapuramprovide similarserv- thinking about the importance of film
icesto scoresoforganizationsinterestedin preservation and studying the role and
showing films as a part of their regular influenceofthe moving image on contemporary society.
programmes.
have the deposit ofover 20,000film scripts
by the CBFC,since the films relating to a
large number of these have vanished.

For almost two decadesthe NFAI has been

conducting an annual Film Appreciation
Course of five weeksduration in Pune in
which participants belonging to various
walks of life and professions from all over
Indiaare exposed to thebest ofIndianand

36

To sum up our mood on the eve of the

cinema centennial,w e have achieved a
lot so far,but there is much more to be
done and w e look forward to facing all
the challenges of the next century of
cinema.

Q UNESCO 1394

The InternationalFederation of
Film Archives: a UnitedNations of
moving images
Robe?? Daudelin
No dossier on ciizenia arcbives and
nwseuitis w ~ d be
d complete iuithoi~t
paying bonmge to the ?oleof the
IitteniationalFederatioit of Film
Archives.Robeit Daildelin,President of
the Federation,provides a bt-ief look at
the activities and acbievenaentsof this
exemplary ?ion-gove7in?eiital
oiganization.

Film libraries,film archives,museums of

the cinema or moving images,whatever
theirindividualnamesmay be,theseplaces
are all devoted to the conservation of
images and their diffusion:in other words,
to preserve and to show.And,irrespective
of their origin and status,these institutions
are all members, in one capacity or another,of the International Federation of
Film Archives [FIAF).
FIAF was founded in 1938 by a group of
collectors/archivists/cinema enthusiasts
who already represented a certain degree
of internationalism (London/Stockholm/
Berlin/Paris/New York). Today it encompasses over 100 archives on all continents,
including three in Africa,thirteen in North
America,sixteen in South America,nine in
Asia and three in Oceania.

ics of the cinema,and whose services are

available to the general public.Their principaltask must be the acquisition,preservation and cataloguing of films and documents relatingto the cinema.In additionto
these crucial activities,without which no
filmarchive canbe worthy of the name,the
member institutions of FIAF are all places
for promoting and diffusing cinema art and
culture: film-shows,symposia,meetings,
exhibitions,publicationsallprovide the loci
for the usual functions of a film archive.

FIAF itself,which is the first to benefitfrom

the varied experience of its members,has
producednumeroustechnicalpublications
(Manueldes archives dzifihn,Pyeselvation
and Restowtion of Moving Images and
Sound, Glossaiy of Fikiaograpbic Terms,
be Usage of ComputersforFilm Cataloguing, etc.) which are indispensable referFIAF resembleda private club when it first ence works for new archivesas well as for
cameinto being,but can now be likened to older ones.The many seminars organized
a United Nations of moving imageswhose by FIAF over the past twenty years have
annual GeneralAssembly is supplemented also resulted in a number of publications.
by historical and technicalsymposiawhich Titles such as Liiifueizce du cinma
are attended by delegates from all over the sovitique sur le cinma mondial,Redisworld.Created at a time when the idea of covedig the Role of Film Archives: To Prethe film archive was stillrelatively new and serveaizdtoShow,Ciiaema 1900-1906:A n
found expression in very few institutional Analytical Study depict some of the substructures,FIAF established aims for itself jectsdealtwith in thesepublications.Lastly,
which are as appropriate today as they FIAF publishes the bilingual (in English
were over fifty years ago:first,to promote and French) Joumal of Film Preservation
the preservation offilmsasworks ofart and which concerns the activities of film arhistorical documents;second,to promote chives throughout the world and also dethe creation and development of film ar- votes appropriate space to historical eschivesin all countries;third,to facilitatethe says,technical reportsand critical reviews
collection and international exchange of of specializedworks.
films and documents relating to cinematographic history and art for the purpose of FiAFwas foundedontheideaofthe consermaking them as widely accessible as pos- vation of the worldscinematographicherisible;and,finally,to develop co-operation tage,and is the framework inwhich meetings
and discussionsare held by all those who
among members.
are campaigningForthesurvivalofcinematoThe members ofFIAF are independentnon- graphic works.In 1993 alone,over 90,000
profit-making institutions which are de- titles(shortandhull-lengthfilms)were added
voted to the studyofthehistoryand aesthet- to the collectionsofthe member archivesof

ISSN 1350-0775,
Mtrseirm Intematioital (UNESCO,Paris), No. 184 (Vol. 46,No. 4,1994)
O UNESCO 1994
Published by Ulackwell Publishers,108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

37

Robert Daidelin

FIAF. During this same period, some 70 the question of the organic link between
million metres offilm were examinedand archives and museums - or,better still,of
treatedby the technicians of these same the museum function,strictly speaking,of
archivesand detailed- and frequentlycom- film archives now assumes unquestionputerized catalogueswere establishedfor able relevance and urgency.
200,000films.Again,in 1993,twenty member archivesofFIAFbegan orconcludedthe At its annual General Assembly,in spring
constructionof scientificallydesigned con- 1993, FIAF organized an initial workshop
servation depots (with monitoring of their onthesubjectofcinemamuseums.Itbrought
temperature and relative humidity) for the together thirty or so participants from some
long-termpreservationoffilmsand,inmost twenty countries,belonging to all the recases at present,videotapes.
gionsofthe world,who tookinitialstock of
thevariousquestionsand approacheswhich
In addition to this fundamental task of characterizethis rich subject.The question
preserving cinema works, film archives of museums
now forms a permanent asfrom the beginning began carrying out a pect of the work programme of FIAF,and
genuinely museum-typeactivity:the pro- an Executive Committeemember is personjection of films in which the work of the ally in charge of the dossier.This concern
film director is dealt with in the same way led to such concrete resultsas theparticipaas that of a painter in a museum,subjectto tion of two Executive Committee members
comparisons(forexampleinthe contextof in the symposium held in Dusseldorf in
a historical,national,stylistic,or thematic 1993,the publicationoftexts in theJozrmnl
cycle! and,more particularly,situated in ofFilrn Puesewation,the introductionofthe
the general framework of the production subject on the agenda of the General Asof the film director concerned during a sembly of Bologna (April 1994) and the
retrospective view. This was an initial extension of the terms of reference of the
breakthrough in this direction.
FIAF Programming Commission to include
the subject of museums.
Since very early on,the showing of films
has been coupled with exhibition activi- In the broader sense ofmuseum activityor
ties.Brussels and Copenhagen,Paris and the more restrictedsense ofthe exhibition,
Rochesterthus establishedmuseums,or at the question of cinema museums, and
least exhibitionrooms,inwhich old equip- more generally of moving images,forms
ment, costumes, miniature models and part of the fields of reflection and activity
various types of drawings and documents of FIAF.The centenaryof the cinema is an
narrate the technical,aesthetic and social appropriateoccasion for pursuing this rehistory of the cinema.
flection and ensuring the harmonious development of the projects to which it
More recently,London has offered us the should give rise.
Museum ofthe Moving Image,a prominent
Note
centreforthe celebrationofmoving images
which,by its very success,poses the burning question of cinemamuseography.With The Permanent Secretariat of FIAF is located
the subsequentcreationof the Museums of at 190 rue F n n z Merjay, 1180 Brussels,
New York and Dusseldorf,in particular, Belgium, w h o can provide information on the
and the plans announced by Madrid,Mon- worldwide movement of film archives and
treal,Lyons and Lisbon,to name but these, assistance in creating n e w archives.

38

Cl UNESCO 199+

A model of private philanthropy:the

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Lee Kitizche McGath

Despite the iecession in the United States

and a fall in charitable doiiatioiis,a nezu
$45million finamialsz~ccessstoiy called
the Fernbank Museuni of Natuml History
opened in Atlanta, Geo-gin,on 5 October
19-92,
71e largest niuseuni of natzniml
bisto?y to be built in the United States
since the 1930s,Fenabank is apected to
attract niore than 1 million uisitors a
year by 1995.Lee Kii?ic$e McGrath
describes how a donated tract of forest
was tmnsfomied by private corztributiois
and coniniunity szlppoif into a major
inuseuin acbieuemeiit.l..e author is
president of a firm specializing in
intemationalcultiwal coiiit~ititiicatioris;
she served as thefirst director of the
bistitzrte of Museum Semices and of the
Association of Science-Technology
Centers,and euas the assistant director of
the Aniericaii Association of Museunis.

The Fernbank MuseumssuccessfulfundraisingdrivehasfollowedtheclassicAmerican model of private philanthropy.The

15,000 m museum, the largest in the
south-easternUnited States,lus been built
with funds raised entirely through the
private sector,and w
illbe a self-supporting
institution.
Historically,in other countries,Church
and state have shouldered the primary
responsibilityfor preserving,maintaining
and restoring cultural properties including museums. This has evolved into direct government support.By contrast,in
the United States,wealthy individuals,in
most cases the captainsof commerce and
industry, have traditionally footed the
bills for culture.Some 90 per cent of the
$125 billion donated to American charities during 1990 came from individual
donors.
The seminal idea for the Fernbank Museum came in 1917 when a young woman
named Emily Harrison wrote to her parents
suggestingthattheforestedtracttheyowned
in Georgia should be used as a school in
the woods. Miss Harrison wrote: Gradually I had come to feel that Fernbank was
too big and too beautifulfor [one]familyPs1
consumption... .The best thing to do with
it would be to put it into the lives of
children.
In 1938,Miss Harrison sold the core 28
hectares of the property for $35,000to
Fernbank,Inc.,a group of conservationminded citizens which registered the organizationas a not-for-profitcorporation a
yearlater.Fordecadesyouth clubscame to
the forest for day camping and other educational activities.But Miss Harrison was
not content.Shewanted a teachingfacility,
and she wanted to preserve the forest,
already threatened by encroaching development.

Three visionary individuals emerged:Dr

RobertB.Platt,a botanyprofessoratEmory
University;DeKalbCounty Superintendent
James Cherry;and Fernbanks Chairman,
W.A. Horne. Seeing opportunity where
others saw only problems, these three
leaders negotiated a unique agreement.
The DeKalb County Board of Education
would purchase 6.5 hectares of the forest
and build a science centre;the remaining
woods would be leased by the board for
educationalpurposes.
The Fernbank Science Center opened in
1967.Today,in additionto classroomsand
laboratories,the centreboastsaplanetarium
and an observatorywhich are open to the
public as well as students. The centre
serves approximately 400,000 students
annually, out of a total of more than
800,000visitors of all ages.But,it wasnt
enough.

From science centre to n e w museum

Even while they were building the science

centre,Fernbank educators dreamed of a
new and larger institution which would
reveal the mysteries of the earth - the
FernbankMuseum ofNaturalHistory.They
dreamtwith the right people. Fernbank
has consistently applied one of fund raisings most important principles: people
give to people,not to projects.
In 1964, Cherry met with Boisfeuillet
Jones,then president of the Robert W.
WoodruffFoundation,to secure fundsfor
the Science Center. (As a young man,
Robert Woodruff,founder and chief executive officer of the Coca-Cola Company, rode horseback through the
Fernbank Forest with his wife Ne11
Hodgson whose family owned the property adjacent to Fernbank.)Jones asked
Cherry what Fernbank really wanted to

ISSN 1350-0775,Mz~setiinh~enzationnl(UNESCO,Paris), No. 184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Published by Ukdckweii Iublishers, 108 Cowley Road,Oxford, O X 4 1JP (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,MA 02142 (USA)

39

Lee Eimche McGrath

do.Two weeks later Fernbank educators

presented Jones with a sketch of the
property that included a botanical garden,an aquarium and a natural history
museum.Themuseum seemed the most
important thing to us, so we quietly
started giving them money,Jonesis reported as saying.
Over the years the Woodruff Foundation
has donated more than $13 million to
Fernbank,Inc.And in 1979 Jones introduced Fernbank to Rankin M.Smith,the
owner of the Atlanta Falcons (the citys
professional footballteam) and the former
chairmanofthe board oftheLife Insurance
Company of Georgia. The result was a
devoted benefactor who soon joined
Fernbanks board, and a $1.25 million
donation which turned the dreams into
plans for the new museum.

museum. She assembled an international

advisory panel ofeighteen experts,including representativesof the Smithsonian Institution and the Franklin Institute. The
panel defined theideasthatwould become
the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
It had to be unique;it had to be a one-stop
destination for tourists;and it had to use
Georgia as the stage from which to tell the
story of natural history.

The Fernbank Museum is the first natural

history museum in the United Statesto be
built based on a storyline rather than an
existing collection.In its permanent exhibit, A Walk Througi3 Time in Georgia,
visitors stroll through re-creationsof the
stateslandform regions - its mountains,
plateaux,valleys,swamps and coastal areas.Adjoining Earth Development Galleries such as a two-storeydinosaur hall
feature videos, high-definitiontelevision
In 1984 Dr Kay Davis,a former physics, (HDT)projection,soundtracks,interactive
biology and mathematics teacherwho was computers and other items that explain
serving as the science centresadministra- how Georgiasgeography mirrors the evotive co-ordinator,
was named to direct the lutionary stages of the earth.

The entrance to the Fernbank Muse1:tmof

Natural Histoy Lilas designed by
architect Graham Gzmd to blend in with
the existing Druid Hills coniniunity.
40

O UNESCO 1994

A model of private philanthropy:the Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Community support translates to

funds

museum was six and a halfkilometresfrom

the centre of Atlanta and in a separate
county Atlanta would benefit from increased tourist revenue and the further
enhancement of its growing reputation as
a major cultural centre in the south-east.

Building communitysupportwas crucialif

the trusteeswere to securefunds.Thetasks
fell respectively to then chairman Robin
Harris and vice-chairman Rankin Smith.
Harris,a former state representative with
an impeccable conservationistspedigree,
brought widespread respect to his position.That was vital. The Fernbank property is located in Druid Hills,an elegant,
prosperousneighbourhood.Residentswere
livid over a recent state transportation
project because they felt the government
had ignored their concerns.Contemporary
newspaper reports state that neighbours
feared that Fernbank would become the
green monster that ate Druid Hills.
For more than four years,Harris met with
the Druid HillsCivic Association involving
them directly in th planning of the new
museum and agreeing to meet all of their
conditions.
Boston architect Graham Gund, an art
collector and gardener with a reputation
for environmentalsensitivity,was selected
to design the new Fernbank Museum.His
design won the neighbours support.
Fernbank wasa model ofhow to dealwith
neighbourhoodgroupsaccordingtonewspaper reports.
This congenial relationshipcreated a base
of public support for Fernbank. It also
brought the new museum extensive,positive publicity which broadened the awareness ofthefacilityamongpotentialfunders
and helped convince them that Fernbank
was a sound investment.

Smithsrole exemplifies an important rule

forfund-raisers:Peersshould solicitpeers.
Because he was their peer, Smith could
approach wealthy patrons,the heads of
Atlantasmajor corporations and foundation presidents to secure their support.
Nevertheless it wasnt always easy. As
Smith says:Youhave to keep digging to
find out who unlocks the doors.
Smith used every connection he had. He
approached local, national and internationalcorporationswhich were doing well
in spiteof the recession and those that had
vested interests in tourist dollars. And,
recognizing that a recession does not impact all organizations equally,Smith approached foundations,whose endowments
gave them a relatively stable source of
funds.
The trustees debated various revenue
sources to augment the fund-raising efforts.With Fernbank,Inc.,being a nonprofit corporation,it could issue tax-exemptbonds.Harris favouredthis approach.
Bonds could provide cash immediately
through attractive long-termfinancingthat
would be repaid by the future revenues of
the museum.

The Fernbank staff were convinced that

themuseum couldbe self-supporting.
They
maintained that the combination of admission fees, memberships, tickets for the
theatre, contributions and special funcWhile Harris met with the community, tions would provide more than enough
Smith began to work the oldboysnet- income to cover operating and maintework.H e had to convince Atlantasbusi- nance expenses plus debt service for the
ness leaders that - even though the new proposed $20.7million bond issue.
O UNESCO 1994

43

Lee Kimche McGrnth

But convincing bankers that the museum

could supportitselfproved to be a difficult
task. The credit markets had begun to
tighten as a result of the savings and loan
dbcle in the United States,a failing realestatemarket,and therealizationthatmany
of the leveraged loans of the 1980s were
headed for serious trouble.Local bankers
wanted to see the project scaled back
significantly.They did not think the bond
issue could be repaid.
In May 1989,after several failed attempts
with commercial banks and investment
bankers,Fernbank hired Merchant Capital
Corporation,a regional investment banking firm,as its financialadviser.A detailed
business plan and loan proposal was developed,and Arthur D.Little,an international management consulting firm,was
hired to conduct a feasibility study to
determine the museums ability to repay
the proposed debt.
The study analysed factors including
Fernbankspotential market,supportbase,
financial viability, and its business and
marketing plans. Completed in October
1989, the report concluded that the museum would attract more than 1 million
visitors annually,and thatby 1995 it could
add as much as $100 million per year to
the citysrevenues.The report projected
long-term annual revenues of approximately $7.3 to $8.9 million and annual
costs of roughly $4.8to $5.9 million,
which would allow approximately$2.5to
$3 million for debt service and expenses.
Littlesstudy confirmed the claims made
by Fernbanksstaff - the museum could
supportitself and repay its debts-but the
study was more persuasive because the
conclusionswere made by an independent third party.
Armed with a thorough business plan,
Littlesstudy and pledges totalling more
42

than $11 million, Merchant was able

to secure a commitment from Barclays
Bank PLC to provide a letter-of-creditto
secure $11 million of the proposed $20.7
million bond issue. Barclaysoffer was
contingent upon local Atlanta banks
providing the remaining sum in letters-ofcredit.
Persuading local banks was an uphill
battle because they had rejected the
project a year earlier and because the
financial community had become very
cautious. Smiths connections were
crucial as was his willingness to address
the banksspecific concerns.H e worked
with Gund to scale the project back in
ways that would not harm the museum.
Then, Smith and Davis told the
bankers that any furthercutswould result
in the facility being less than world
class. In fact,they would jeopardize the
museumsability to generate the necessary revenues.
Through a persistent and well-organized
effort,the Atlanta banks began to change
their opinion.Eventually six local banks
committed for an $11 million participation in the needed letter-of-creditfacility
- $1 million more than required by
Barclays.
During this same period, Smith, along
with otherboard members and Fernbanks
staff,continued his successful fund-raising effort and secured pledges totalling
more than $18.5 million. In May 1990,
Merchant sold $20.7 million worth of
bonds,which w
illbe repaid overa twentyyear period with a fixed interest rate of
7.5per cent.
With total funds raised approaching $40
million,the FernbankMuseum project was
on firm financial ground and finally on its
way to becoming a reality.
Q IINESCO 1994

A model of private philanthropy:the Fernbank Museum of Natural History

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has

awarded the museum and science centrea
Smithssuccess in fund-raisingillustrates joint,highly competitive grant of $250,000.
i
l
l be used to develop a fourtwo other key points:set your sights high The funds w
week intensive programme for educdtion-it is as easy to raise $1,000as $100 -and
maximize your efforts.Smith sought large ally disadyantagedstudentsfrom the inner
donations.Most ofthe approximately$24.3 city and rural school districts.
million that Fernbank has raised in private
contributionshas comefrom roughlyforty- Fernbank is also on the cultural forefront.
five individuals,corporations and founda- Committed to teaching natural history
tions.The impact of individual contribu- through art as well as science,Fernbank
tions was greatly enhanced through an hosted,as part of itsgrand opening,a major
extensivematchinggrantprogrammewhich exhibitionof art inspired by the rain forests.
secured more than $5 million.
AtlantasCommittee forthe 1996 Olympic
With the Fernbank Museum now open, Games chose Fernbank to host the Culfund-raisingw
i
l
l continue to play an im- tural Olympiads inauguralart exhibition
portant, though diminished, role. The from Norway in February 1993.The exhimuseumsprojected annual budget is $7.2 bition was part of a two-weekfestival
million.Ninety per cent is expected to be which launched a four-yearplan of intergenerated from the museums revenue nationalexhibits,festivalsand otherevents
sources,and 10 per cent w
i
l
l come from to pave the way for the 1996 Olympic
Games.
fund raising.
Setyour sights high

More than 15,000visitorsfloodedFernbank

during opening week,and 600 membershipswere sold,The museumspopularity
and financial future appear secure. But
there are other signs of its promise.
O UNESCO 1994

The 26-nietv-highGieat HaIl is tiled with

limestoiefi-ointhe Solnbofeii Quany in
Gemzaiy.IlJe tiles contain fossils that
are 150-180 tiiillion years old.

Miss Harrisonsdream of a school in the

woods has evolved,thanks to the private
support for a worthwhile public institution,to become a classic model of private
philanthropy.

43

A real museum for fake objects:

the Museo del Falso
Laiira Colby

In sa~enao(Italy) a new museuin is

dedicated to the serious stzdy of
coiintevfeitobjects that are a g~ouiing
phenomenon in our euerydaji lims. he
azithor is a freelance journalist based in
Paris.

<

COMUNEDIALRNO
W ~ R A T O A L L CULTURA
A
I

The museums ochre faade looks like

carefully restored and painted stone.But
on closer inspection,one can see that one
corner of the faade is loose and curling,
almost as if it could be peeled off like a
piece of pasteboard.

on the otherhand,can assume any aspect,

infamous or sublime.
Professor Casillo is the mastermind behind
the Museo del Falso,an institution studying
and exhibiting fakesand counterfeitobjects
that are part of our everyday lives. The
museum was opened in 1991 with funds
from the city of Salerno,the University of
Salerno and a local savings bank,and has
since housed exhibitions on counterfeit
silver,detergents and,most recently,food.

In front is a stonetablet inscribedin Oscan

characters,used by the tribe that inhabited
this southern Italian region in the fifth
century IK., before the Romans came.But
when translated,the inscriptionrevealsno
ancientwisdom,just a phrase by Professor
Salvatore Casillo,circa A.D. 1991:Itsnot A professor of industrial sociology who
possible to ask the truth to be beautiful focused on entrepreneurship,Professor
rather than ugly,or vice versa;falsehood, Casillo came across hundredsofexamples
of entrepreneurs who went into illegal
business, sometimes with brilliant ideas
VMVW~ITADISALEWO
rEsaE
thatmade you wonder what they could
CFNTRO STUD1SUL FALSO
accomplishinlegitimatebusiness,he says.
He decided in 1988 to found a studycentre
on the phenomenon,called the Centro
Studi su1 Falso (Forgery Study Centre),
attached to the University of Salerno.Its
members include fellow professors from
theuniversity who are sociologists,anthropologists,psychologists,archaeologists,art
historians and legal experts,all of whom
had come across the trend in their own
research.
The study centre servesto allow expertsin
different fields to exchange ideas and informationabout various types of forgeries
they have run across and to conductjoint
research.

Posterfor the
exhibit on food
forgeries.

.I

1
1

44

DA LUNEDI.16DICEMBR1991 ORE I830

The ideaofthemuseum,the professorsays,

wasan outgrowthofthestudy centre,away of
attractingattentiontotheproblem outsideacademia,and urging institutions,manufacturers and consumersto take action to combat
the problem.In its short existence the museumsexhibits have already sparked official investigationsand,accordingto ProfessorCasiiio,a changein at least one Italianlaw.

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O UNESCO i99+
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A real museum for fake objects:the Museo del Falso

Forgeriesand forgers have always been

active throughout history,says Professor
Casillo.Butit is only in recent years that
forgeriesof a seriesofmanufacturedproducts have become widespread and assumed characteristicsthat make them not
only an economic menace but also a danger to the safety of mankind.
Walking along the crowded main promenade of Salerno,a sunny port about 50
k m south of Naples,he stops in front of
a streetvendor.The man has laid out neat
rows of the usual sunglasses and leather
belts bearing false designer insignias but
alongside them is a new counterfeit product a cellular phone.The phone looks
like the real thing,which has become the
inaccessory for Italian businessmen in
the past couple of years, but it doesnt
actually work. None the less,it enables
the status-consciouswith only about $20
to spend to create the impression that
they are importantenough to own such a
phone.

Most of us think of forgeries as fake

watches,jewellery or designer clothing.
But forgeries have expanded along with
technology in recent years to include
chemical products,medicines,fertilizers,
electrical equipment,spare parts such as
brakes for cars and even aeroplanes.All
of these forgeries can present obvious
danger to human life.The use of desktop
publishing,with its increasinglysophisticated software,has also led to an explosion in financial fakes such as stock
certificates and savings bonds.

As a result,when the professor decided to

create a museum to draw attention to the
problem of forgery,he received little cooperation from the companies most often
victims of forgeries,and which should
have an interest in combatingthe problem.
Individual corporations have also shied
away from helping to fund the museum or
specific exhibits.
But because of the track record of his
Centro Studi su1 Fdso at the local university,he was none the less able to get the
city to donate an old building for the
museum and to obtain local sponsorship.

So far, his main sponsors have been the

Cassa di Risparmio Salernitana (Salerno
Savings Bank) and the city authorities as
well as the university.He is looking for
other sponsors to help defray the museums operating costs,but says it is likely
i
l
l be businesses such as banks
they w
whose products cannot be forged,rather
thanluxury or consumer-goodsproducers.

Almostanyone can counterfeit

aimost anything

The museum building,donated by the city,

had been a garbage depot formuch of this
century,but before that it had a long and
glorioushistory.It stands on the site of the
medieval walls that encircled Salerno in
the second half of the eighth century
Longobard artefactswere discovered during the renovation of the building for the
museum.Ironically,locallegendalso has it
that an early forgerywas committedon the
s
ite: as part of a peace pact with an
But companiesthatmake the realproducts
emissary
of Charlemagne,the local prince
are very reluctant to draw consumers
Grimoald0
agreed in AD. 788 to demolish
attention to the problem, according to
the
f
o
r
t
i
f
i
c
a
tions surrounding Salerno.He
Professor Casillo.They fear that admitting
did
demolish
the existing walls,but at the
that some of the products on the market
bearing their names are forgeries w
i
l
l same time built new walls further back,
making them higher and stronger and the
cheapen their image.
O UNESCO 1994

45

examples offorged foodprodricts.

city more protected than ever from attack.

The museum building was part of this
second set of walls.

frontof the large colour-televisionscreen.

Printed copies of the research are also
available.

By the seventeenthcentury,the walls were There is no permanent collection at the

partly destroyed and what is now the museum,and individualexhibitions,which
museum had become a communal oven, generally last a few months,are funded in
or forno, used for baking bread and the part by interested organizations.The reubiquitouslocal pizza.It was downgraded cent exhibition on food forgeries,for exto a garbage depot in the present century. ample, had support from Ln Goln, an
Italian food magazine, and FederAlthough the building today is neat and its consumatori,an Italian consumer organiinteriorfreshlypainted a pristinewhite,the zation. Opening hours are fairly short:
decoration and layout are spartan in order three half-daysa week after the first week
to keep operating costs low.The museum an exhibit is open,plus private visits for
is essentially a large open room with a groups and schools by appointment.
small loft which serves as an office for the
museumsonly employee,a part-timesec- As for the theme of the museum,Professor
retary.
Casillo shrugsoffthe idea that the proximity of Italyscounterfeitingcapital-Naples
Downstairs,itswalls are lined with a series - may have helped give rise to the idea.
of glass cases displaying false products.
Printed placards explain the displays and It doesntjust happen in Italy,it happens
direct the visitor through the exhibits.In everywhere in the world,he says. The
one corner,a video recorder runs a cas- problem of falsification is the problem of
sette showing interviews with experts giv- thefuture.With advancedelectronicequiping more details about the theme of the ment availableeasily today,almost anyone
exhibit.A few rows of chairs are placed in can counterfeit almost anything.

46

O UNESCO 1994

A real museum for fake objects:the Museo del Falso

He cites in particular the inexpensive colour laser printers that run with personal
computers,engenderinghundredsofdesktop counterfeiters who can produce authentic looking labels at very low cost.

The Falso Food exhibit closed at the

end of the summer, held over four
months longer than the originally scheduled closing due to strong popular
demand.

The recent exhibit entitled Falso Food included some startling examples of this.
There was falsewine,containingmethanol;
a Motet Chandon champagnemade in
Naples;extra-virgin
olive oil made by adding dorophyil to far-cheapersunflower oil;
and a ring of counterfeiterswho replaced
labels on jars offoodslike Nutella and Kraft
mayonnaise with new onesonce the date of
expiry for recommended use had passed.
(The ring was uncovered when spoiled
food landed a whole family in hospital.)

Forthe future,an exhibitis being prepared

on false talismanssuch as crystalballs and
good-luck charms. There has been increasinginsecurity of our rationalworld in
recentyears,says Professor Casillo.Many
people try to take refuge in magic. The
theme of our exhibit w
i
l
l be that these
talismans actually do work for those who
believe in them.

From Germany,Ireland and the Netherlands,powdered milk protein for animal

use,which is eligible for European Community payments, was exported bearing
labels that falsely claimed it was suitable
for human consumption,and made into
products such as cheese in the export
market,bringing a higher price.

Other exhibits are in the works on false

archaeological artefacts, historical falsehoods such as false television news,and
counterfeitwatches.

In the autumn of 1992 an exhibit called

False Industyies was opened. This included a look at companies that are
fronts, products that are never sold.
It is a phenomenon that is particularly
widespread in Italy, where government aid to help areas like the depresProfessorCasillosaystheItaliancarabinieris sed south seeks to create industry.The
special health-inspectionsquad each year exhibit showed it often creates mere
sequesters around 900 billion lire ($850 phantoms.
million) of products in Italy alone,but not
Note
everything on exhibit was illegal; there
were also products such as caffeine-free
coffee,alcohol-freebeer and cholesterol- 1. Since this article was written, the m u s e u m
freeeggs -all foodsthat are notreallywhat lias moved to n e w quarters o n the campus of
the University of Salerno.- Ed.
they claim to be.

O UNESCO 1994

47

Deaf guides in French museums

Batrice Deycke

In July 1989 the Association Ail Visitel

International des sourds (International
Association of VisualArtfor the Deafl
u~m
foainded in Francefoi- thepuqose of
setting up a thee-yeartraining course
for the deaf in the histoty of art.
Suppotled bji theMuse du Lourire,the
Direction des Muses de France, the
Fondation Crdit Lyonnais and the
mirnic@ali<y of Paris, the association has
broken new ground in opening up the
world of museums to deaf visitors.The
author was one of the guiding spirits
behind this initiatiue,thefirst of its kind
in the auorld.

The idea behind the creation of an international association for visual art for the
deafcanbest be describedas an attemptto
turn a dream into a reality.For initially it
was just that: my dream of young deaf
childrenvisiting museums where works of
art would be presented to them in their
own language - sign language - by niuseum guides who were themselves deaf.
For me, this feature was and remains of
key importance:contactwith deaf adults
who possess special knowledge can give
deaf children a sense of their own worth
and help them to see themselves later
playing an active role in the cultural
world and thus in society. When this
dream turned into reality in September
1990 at a lecture given at the Louvre as a
practical exercise forming part of the
training course,to a group of children
from a school in La Rochelle,I must say
it brought a lump to m y throat,so rarely
do w e have a chance to see our dreams
materialize before our very eyes.
it was also a pivotalmoment forus all at the
time:it gave us renewed strength to carry

on.Forfrom startto finish,the undertaking

has been far from easy despite the
support of Michel Laclotte,director of the
Louvre - but he results are indescribably
rewarding.

Innovation and persuasion

A fully custom-built bilingual teaching

method had to be devised,but first people
had to be persuaded
of its utility,persuasion being the key to all action,especially
innovative action.

is not enough. Having a catalogue or

display card as the sole introduction to a
painting or sculpture is woefully inadequate for a deaf person.It is inadequate
foranyone but doubly so for the deaf,who

must struggle to understand a language

that,when all is said and done,is not their
natural form of expression.
in countries the world over the deaflearn
a spoken language that is referred to as
their mother tongue but is in reality one
they have to learn. The language that
comes naturally to them is signing: a
visual language in which they express
themselves by moving their hands in the
air.

Over the past few years,through the mass

media and films (particularly the film Children of a Lesser God), w e have witnessed a
growing fascinationforsigning on the part
ofthosewho canhear,and it isperhapsfor
this reason that the deafhave felt a heightened sense of responsibilityfor their language and a desire to studyit properly and
enhance it. The eightdeaf museum guides
who have been trained will help to enhance it: over the past few years they have
conducted systematic research on the vocabulary of art history.
Sign language,as used by deaf museum
guides,w
i
l
l thus enable the deaf to do
something they have never before been
able to do: go around museums at their
own pace,reactingspontaneouslyto each
work ofart and asking questionsdirectlyof
the guide, therefore taking part in an
aesthetic dialogue and no longer being
relegated to the passive role of receivers.

After all, why are deaf people needed to

present works of art to other deaf people
in museums?Theycan read!is What I was
told time and time again.But reading alone

48

And this with most importantly the

benefit of their own culturalreferences,
which allow them a perspective all their
own and can reveal new aspects of some
paintings. H o w often have non-hearing-

ISSN 1350-0775,Museunz Iiztrnzntionol (UNESCO.Paris), No. 1st [Vol.46,No.4.1994)

Q UNESCO 19?+
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Deaf guides in French museums

Lectzler]. F I. Perhost explniils La Mort de

Sardanapale by Delacroix to n g?'OUP cd
deaf visitors to the Lozive.

impaired museum guides who participated inourtrainingcoursebeen surprised

by remarks and personal interpretationsof
our traineesthat opened their eyes to new
dimensions in paintings they had seen
hundreds of times before!
Deafvisitorsfrom other countries,who in
the past have had little motivation to visit
museums,w
ill now be able to take time
to discover and contemplate the wealth
of our artistic heritage.Sign language,by
dint of its international character, w
ill
make this possible.A number of groups
- some of thein from countries as geographically and culturallydiverse as Sweden,the United States and Japan have
already had an opportunity to visit our
museums.

may be interested,w
ill lend their support
to the development of this new medium
of communication in museums
sign
language.

The newly acquired deaf visitors w

ill thus
be afforded an opportunity to become
completely integrated into the hearing
museum public,who may well,once they
have got over their surprise, show an
interest in getting to know the deafvisitors
better.Anotherinterestingpointisthatsign
languageitselfhas somethingto contribute
to the museum environment,as it is by
definitionan aestheticgesture.What could
be more lovely than the combination of
beautiful things and graceful gestures?

What lies ahead?

It is also significant that a number of

foreign museum curators encountered at
international conferences such as the
ICOM Congressin Quebechave expressed
enthusiastic interest in our project. W e
sincerelyhope thatthesecurators,together
with any other individuals or groups who
O UNESCO 1994

Thus far,eight deaf people in France have

been trainedto serveas museum guides:to
be cultural intermediaries between the
museum world and the deaf community,
which has as a result gained renewed
enthusiasm for art in general.

49

Batrice Detycke

Most importantly,as a result of the French

Ministry of Culturesrecognition of deaf
museum guidescompetence to work in
the samecapacity (i.e.with the same rights
and responsibilities)as their hearing colleagues,an integration process has been
activated and must at all costsbe sustained
in the years to come.

It is with this in mind thatw e are currently

discussingthe feasibility oftrainingyoung
deafstudentsin coursesgivenby the cole
du Louvre,using special facilities such as
interpreting equipment.
Inorder to diversify and expand our action
w e are also continuing to work in cooperation with other cultural bodies such
as the French Caisse des Monuments
Historiques et des Sites,for which w e are
currently developing a specialized yearlong training course.However,it is essentialaswellfordeafofficialsto be appointed
within museums,or even the state cultural
ministry,inorder thatthe most appropriate
structures be developed for this small but
nevertheless real segment of the public.

50

Here,of course,we are referring specifically to the situation in France,but the

same is true for other countries,where w e
haveobservedsimilardeficiencies;indeed,
w e did notmeet a singledeafofficialat any
of the international cultural events w e
attended.

I believe that one of the strongestclaimsif not the very strongest - of all disabled
people is the rightto empowermentrather
than assistance.It is my fervent hope that
through informativejournals like Museum
Intemntioiznlthis claim w
ill be heard and
understood.For,within the framework of
the new Europe that is being formed and
of the new,better and - w e hope - more
humane world ideally awaiting us in the
new millennium,the deafmust be allowed
to play their full part.

As I have had the opportunityto observe

over the years I have spent with them,
the deafhave not only a specificcharacter
of their own but also something to
offer,and w e should allow them to share
it with us.

0 UNESCO 19%

Training restorers in Russia

Galha Klokova

Galina Klokovn is a highly qual~edart

restorer who gracltiatedfionithe
Departtneiit of Art Theoty a?idHistoiy at
the Ilya Repin Institute of Paiiitiizg,
Sculptzire and Architecture in St
Petersburg VomieiS,Letziugmd). She
workedfor many yenis at the All-Russian
Art Restoiatioii Centre (theIgor Grabar
Centre) in Moscow.At present, she is the
bead of the restomtion department of the
1905 Arts College in.Moscow.

Before the mid-1960sthere was no provision for the training of restorers at state
level in Russia.Young people who had
studied the arts or art criticism went to
work in a museum or in one of the major
restoration workshops where they learnt
the restorers skills under the guidance
of an experienced craftsman.Essentially
what they learnt was restoration techniques and they received no serious theoretical grounding.
Russiasfirstrestorationdepartmentswere
established in secondary colleges,the first
in 1965at the 1905Arts CollegeinMoscow,
and another a year later at the Vladimir
SerovArts College in StPetersburg.Shortly
afterwards,two higher-leveleducational
institutes began to provide training for
restorers.These were the StroganovInstitute of Industrial Art in Moscow and the
Ilya Repin Institute of Painting,Sculpture
and Architecture in St Petersburg.The
length of study today is five years in
secondary arts colleges and six years in
higher-levelinstitutes of art.Restorers are
trainedinthe followingareasofspecialization:easelpainting intempera,easelpainting in oils and monumental art.
Those wishing to study in the restoration
departmentofa collegeor institutemust sit
an examination in academic drawing and
painting in accordance with the requirements laid down for entrants to secondary
or higher educationalinstitutions,and also
be successful in a competition. Subsequently,a considerable amount of attention is given to academic drawing and
painting inthestudyprogrammeforrestorers.The required subjectsin both colleges
and institutes include:materials technology,chemistry,biology, museum stocktaking and storage,methods of technical
and technologicalresearch,history of the
arts and iconography.Two specialsubjects
related to restoration work are studied

from the outset.Towards the end of their

course, the students themselves decide
which of the two intereststhem more and
carryouta graduationprojectin the special
subject which they have chosen.
Since the l960s,there has been a system in
Russia for certification of restorers.This is
done by a special commission composed
of the countrysleading restorers and art
critics,who cover all types of restoration
(before the dissolution of the USSR,the
commissionwas attachedto theMinistry of
Culture of the USSR;now it comes under
the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism of the Russian Federation). Restorers are assigned to the third,second,
first or top categoryfor a particular area of
specializationon the basis ofthe degree of
difficulty of the work which they have
carried out independently.
Thefunctionofthe secondaryarts colleges
is to train restorers in the third or lowest
category.Restorers at grade-three level
must be fully competent in conservation
methods.They must be able to disinfect
exhibits and exterminate insects in them
and should be familiar with the rules for
keeping records of restoration work.The
curriculum is also based on these requirements.Much timeisallotted toteachingthe
trainees how to consolidate gesso and
paint,to removenon-persistentdirt froin a
base,to carry out very simple operations
forgluingtogetherthe panels ofa base and
making good the loss of wood on icons.
They also learn how to correct canvas
distortions,put inedges,consolidatepriming cwat and paint,repair torn canvas and
old under-framesand removenon-persistent dirt from pictures.Students are trained
to restoremonumentalart firstofall on test
pieces which they themselves have produced.They make a base,apply a layer of
plaster to it and paint onto theplastera first
layer using fresco technique.Above that#

ISSN 1350-0775,Mtiseiwt itzfen?uliot?d(UNESCO,Paris), No. 184 (Vol.46,No.4,1994)

O UNESCO 1994
Iublished hy Ulackwell Ittl~lishers,108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)

51

Galinn Klokom

they put oil paint and then a final layer of

sizecolour.When thework iscomplete,the
piece is purposely damaged in a variety of
ways and exerciseson methods of consolidating the plaster and paint are carried out.
Initialtraining in the removalofpaint isalso
carried out on these test pieces.

mendation for admission to a particular

category,which they must then submit to
the examination board responsible for issuing certificates.

In art institutes,students likewise work

only on the conservation of icons and
pictures during the firstthree years oftheir
The conservation skills acquired during six-yearcourse.Inthefourthyeartheystart
the academic year are consolidated and to specializeand study in depth the type of
extendedduring a summersessionofprac- conservationwork which they theinselves
ticalwork.Restorersofeaselpainting(icons have chosen. Future restorers not only
and pictures) are given practical trainingin learn how to remove darkened drying oil
major museums while restorers of monu- but also the many layersofpaint which are
mental art work in buildings under the frequently encountered on Russian icons.
Greater use is made than in art colleges of
supervision of experienced restorers.
variousmethodsofpre-restorationinvestiThe seniorclassesin art colleges provide a gation,such as X-rays,infra-redand ultrageneral idea of more complex restoration violet examination,analysisof the priming
processes. Icon restorers learn how to coat, pigments and surface. Icons with
remove darkened drying oil from well- extensive losses are retouched.The Same
preserved icons,to replaceminor lossesof applies to the restoration of pictures.Stuprimer and to apply simpleretouchesand dents learn to work with paintingsnot only
on canvas but also on card,wood and
protective coats.
metal. Complex techniques are learnt for
After being orally examined on their thinning coats of lacquer and for making
theses,graduates may receive from their good and retouching areasofpainting with
collegesrestoration committee a recom- major losses.Pictures and iconshave to be

Galim K ~ O ~ teaching
O L J ~ icoii restoration
to thirdyear students of the 1905 Arts
College in Moscozu.
57

O UNESCO 1991

Training restorers in Russia

copied using the original techniques and

materials.A full restoredwork and a copy
of it are submitted as the studentsgraduation project.When they leave their institute,graduates inay apply for inclusionin
category two.
Systematiceducationin restorationwork is
in its early days in Russia and there are
many problems that have not yet been
solved.The experience of the last thirty
years or so has demonstrated the inadvisability of training restorers at art schools,
where priority is attached to the development of the studentsown creative potential, whereas tlie restorerstask is to renounce their own creativity and concentrate on saving works created by others.
There is a basic contradictionin relationto
drawing and painting lessons. In all art
schoolstheyarethemain subjects,whereas
in tlie study of restoration they must be
downgradedto the statusof auxiliarysubjects,giving pride of place to chemistry,
physicsand biology.A solutionmight be to
establishspecialrestorationschoolswhere
restorers would be trained to work not
only on pictures,iconsand murals but also
on graphics,books and works of applied
art. There is a huge demand for such
specialists and there is nowhere at present
where they can be trained.There is also a
problem of teaching staff.It is extremely
difficult to persuade a qualified restorerto
work inaneducationalestablishmentwhere
salariesare extremely low and tlie responsibilitiesconsiderable.The restoreris,after
all, entirely responsible for the quality of

O UNESCO 1994

the restoration work carried out by his

students.The shortage of teachers means
that it is impossible to start training restorers anywhere except Moscow and St
Petersburg.Restorers for regionaland district museums are trained in the old way,
learning on the job in the large restoration
workshops.Quality control of the restorationwork carriedoutinprovincial townsis
limited and depends to a great extent on
the chancearrivalofan expert.Restorers in
the provinces are cut offfrom their professional milieu and there is often only one
restorer for tlie entire region. Trips to
Moscow or St Petersburg are rare because
of the distancesinvolved.All this necessarily has an effect on tlie quality of restorationwork.Therearevery fewgrade-oneor
top-graderestorersin tlie provinces.
Russia is extremely rich in architectural
monuments,easel paintings,works of applied art and drawings.It is the restorers
task to preserve this wealth.The modern
restorer is required to possess not only
virtuoso technicalskillsbut also tlie ability
to carry out a comprehensiveinvestigation
of a work.It is only possible to decide on
tlie optimal method for restoring each
individualwork by combining all the conclusionsof chemical,biological and physical research. The restorer must also be
familiarwith the historical period inwhich
thepicture,sculptureorembroideredcloth
was made. Ail this knowledge can be
acquired oniy in a special educational
institution with a planned systeh for the
study of the relevant subjects.

53

Thoughts on museology in Spain:

an open letter
Aiwom Leon

Airrora Leon is a hoiisebold ? m n e in the

Spanish-speaking museum world.Her
1978 book, El museo:teoria,praxis y
utopia,is now in its sixth editiou and is
considered iiidispensable reading for the
museum profession. Yetfarfrom pleasing
her, this sitlintion hm led ber to raise
serious qirestions as to the uitality and
releLmice of rnziseiims in Spain (and
elsewhere). hi thefolloioing open letter to
mzrseologists, she sets out her concerns.

fundamentalisms,Ibelievethat itsfunction
is to raise doubts,stimulate new points of
view,encourage further study of the subject-matter,and push ahead in our universe of ideas in order to make life more
rewarding.I believe that the authorsexplicit wishes should be respected,but they
are not.The AuroraLeonis a museological
catechism in Spanish universities and a
dailysleepingpill ortranquillizerforwouldbe museum curators. The complacency
Please letit be clearfrom the outsetthatmy of long-sufferingreaders is proverbial.
thoughts stem mainly from my biblio- My desire that other - updated! studies
graphical experience.My book El mzrseo: should replace mine is very strong,and my
teotfa,praxis y utopia was prompted by perplexity at such a lack of response is
the glaring lack of publications about mu- boundless.
seum matters in Spanish.Since I teach the
history of art,I have to visit museums and, I recently had occasion to express m y
out of museological curiosity,to observe views in theappropriateplace,theMinistry
the inoperativedulness of the motley mul- of Culture,which kindly invitedme to take
titude already decried by Kandinsky. I part in a round table on theprofession of
confess that,were I in any other profes- museologist,as part of a series of lectures
sion,I should seldom darken the door of a for new museum curators and assistants.
museum.And I admit this without shame When I began to apologize for having
but with a twinge of remorse. No one inflicted the printed word on them,they
needs remindingthat Spain is itselfa great were a little embarrassed. For we are
museum boasting a historical and artistic saddled with the accursed myth of a book
heritage of the highest order,with superb culture! And I went on to set out my
buildings,outstandingcollectionsand some thinking on the points I had been asked to
servicesthathave been markedly improved, cover:(a) museology and museum profesto be sure,but from which I have still not sionals;(b) the past,present and future of
managed to squeeze enough goodness.
the profession;(c) museology training in
Spain;and (d) the role and characteristics
In the foreword to my book, I asked of the museologist.
readers to shed their comfortable myths,
pointing out to them the puerile accept- I began by congratulating the new civil
ance of therift between the ideas,emo- servants and expressing the hope that the
tions and sensations of art and those of novelty of their status would not expose
life,dedicating the work tothat anony- them to the tenaciousvirus of officialdom,
mous group that does not yet go to muse- exhorting them to make sure that such a
ums,or that swarms through the galleries creative profession remained a constant
disappointed and uneasy.I also cautioned stimulus in their daily lives. I said I was
against petrifyingin these lines a body of surprised at the title of the session and
museological doctrine serving as a vade- uncertain whether to hold forth on a promecum for Future professionals or spe- fession that did not exist in Spain, or
cialists.Convinced of the power of whether to offer practical proposals on
a book but shunning any bibliographical how to introduce it. I provided some

I believe in efficacy and the need for

commitmentto progressin museum activities. Having set down this statement of
principles,I w
i
l
l come straightto the point
of my letter.The review Mriseiim Intenantional most obligingly agreed,at my request,to includean article on the situation
of museums in Spain.Although I a m not a
museologist,the subjectis ofsuch concern
to m e that I am sending you this SOS.

54

ISSN 1350-0775,Mzrsezfizlnterncitioizal (UNESCO.Paris), No. 1% (Vol.6,No.4,1994

O UNESCO i99
Iubiisiied hy Ulackwrll Iiiblishcrs, 108 Cowley Road. Oxford. OXr 1JF (UK)and 338 bhin Street. Cambridge. M A 0314 (USAI

Thoughts on museology in Spain:an open letter

clarification of the current confusion between museology

and museography.
To
you,who are in no need of definitions,I
would just point out that the former is a
science unknown in this country,whereas
the latter is museum experience,which is
excellent in some exceptionalcases,ineffectual in most,and,otherwise,downright
harmful. Regarding museum professionals,I mentioned the two factorsbehind the
grave inefficacy and obstructionism in the
running of museums, that is, the excessively pyramid-shapedand outdated hierarchy of management and the dire lack of
museologists. While the rigid structure
makes forprofessionaldysfunction,lackof
co-ordination,dissatisfaction and various
shortcomings,the end result is that there
are no museologists,which amounts to a
sort of scientificblockage in a world moving relentlessly towards specialization.I
thereforestressed the urgentneed to establish a body of museologists.

w e find the responseto its raison dtre: its

vitality and topicality. Otherwise it is
doomed to perish inshinyshowcasesor on
its portion ofwall.The point isthatI do not
believein radicalfundamentalismsevering
traditionfrom innovation.Without the tentative preoccupations and aerodynamic
experiments of Leonard0 da Vinci, there
would be no supersonicflighttoday.As to
the present,museum policy wavers between emphasis on the spectacular aspects, well-intentioned but inadequate
voluntary activity, and an improvisation
dictatedby the lack ofstrictly museological
objectives.The contrast between reality
and desire is called tragedy,but observing
and identifying reality and then failing to
act is the stuff of melodrama.And as I am
not given to endless moaning, I must
acknowledge that our museums have for
about the last decadebeen betterprovided
for. But the rejuvenation manifestly
achieved tends to go hand in hand with the
mistaken notion that they are thriving.
I went on to the second point,wondering Between a rough-and-readyclean-upopwhat profession w e were talking about, eration and palpable beauty there is the
since specialists from very diverse scien- same gap as between modernization and
tific disciplines who work in museums lay progress.The future?I did not venture any
claim to this supposed profession. Why possible scenariosor disasters.All I offered
canw e nothave the sensiblehumility to be was a proposition,which is the need for
what w e are and respect others for being mental receptiveness on the part of the
authorities in co-ordinationwith the staff,
what they are or should be?
a conviction that the museum must grow
from below and not from above,and the
The mausoleumapproach
need for searching analysis of the specific
role of the museologist,who should norI spoke of the past, stressing that the mally ensure that it matches the present
mausoleum approach - and if it persists requirements of society.
toddy, this is because museology as a
science is not practised in museums -has Museological training in Spain is virtually
enabled history to be preserved and has orphaned, both institutionally and acaleft us an invaluable legacy that can be demically.Of that there can be no doubt.
given a spark of life only if w e tackle the Or at leastIwould not want to lullyou into
work with constantlyfresh and open ways the belief that my book and the more or
of seeing and thinking.Only in the critical lesssagaciousand stimulatingthingstaught
interpretation that w e may make of the in university in this discipline (in many
exhibitfrom ourposition inthepresent can facultiesthe subjectis called museography)
O UNESCO 1994

55

come as a substitute for genuine learning

in the matter. The bibliographical spectrum of recent years suggests that no
research,or too little,has been focused on
museology itself,even though branches of
it (scienceof communication,
pedagogy
and architecture,essentially) do much to
throw light on those aspects to which
specialists have been the most attuned.
This feeblenessseemsto me to be a matter
of the utmost consequence,and it is never
amiss to call for a qualitative increase in
theoretical publications on museum matters since,apart from an intellectualfecundity of which w e stand ever in need,this
would also expressa scientific concernfor
knowledge that would not only obviate
unnecessary effort,extra cost or shameless
deterioration but would also make for a
refreshingreinvigorationofmuseum structures for the benefit of all of us.I have an
emphatic proposal to make right away,
which is the establishment of a state-run
national school of museology to turn out
new generationsof museologistswith one
or two years of specialist studies behind
them.I am sorry to disappoint you with a
suggestionthat obviouslyhas nothingvery
bold about it, but here in Spain it would
indeed be a novelty.

action of each professional were properly

understood,and if something were done
about the obduracy of directors,together
with acceptanceofthevoiceofmuseologists
as a necessasr factor and true respect for
their professional qualifications,the museum would have a more impressive and
entertainingimage,its operationwould be
more effectiveand dynamic,and its results
would reflect the dialogue-oriented and
interdisciplinaryattitudeofthe accord linking those involved in the project and its
finalization.

The museologist,I believe,must revitalize

the museum by supplying the knowledge
and the assumptions that stem from an
improved approach to the museographic
phenomenon,and through direct contacts
with the various professionals (director,
curators,architect, cultural activities organizer,manager, etc.) who, with their
respectiveknow-howand experience,put
into practice the findingsarrived at.Why is
it so difficult to accept this recipe for
harmony between the museologist and the
museum staff? The blindness of the latter
stems from the fear of forfeiting a say in
what they regard as their private preserve.
Withoutquestioningwhatthey know about
museums,I have no doubt that they are
Finally,I turned to the role and character- well-schooled in the history of absolute
istics of the museologist,whose basic task monarchies,for they adopt the ltatcest
,
differs substantially from that of the other mol posture. Hence an executive-style
museum staff.I wanted to be quite clearon takeover of the duties of the museologist,
this point,first on account of the specific who obviously becomes a superfluous
character of the museumideologistand, figure.
second,to reassure staff that their duties
would in no way be eroded. The I think there are two essential attributes
museologistsrole would focus on theo- that need to combinein such an execrated
reticalstudyofthevariouselementsthatgo professional:a first university degree and
to make up the museum - which even the diploma delivered by the School of
makes it unnecessary for him or her to be Museology.In addition to these basic rephysically present in the institution- and quirements, the museologist must have
on maintaining contact with the staff in sound theoreticaland practical knowledge
order to plan museum activities from the of museum practice both at home and
infrastructure angle. If the limits of the abroad.Membership of ICOM and a sub-

56

O UNESCO 199.1

Thoughts on museology in Spain:an open letter

scription to ikliiseuin Iiitemnatioizal, intelalia,would ease the inescapable task of

keeping abreast of museologicalprogress.
And while cynics may msh to decry what
I a m about to say,the museologistshumanistic training must foster imagination,
boldness and even fearlessness.Nothing
ventured,nothing gained,is the name of
the game,as reflected in the ability to think
up and make workable something new,
different and original.That professional
ethic would become the art of making
possible what is necessary.

Museums: not merely a showcase

seum director is the person to seek backup from museology.Secondly,my rebuttal

of the new negation of the science of
museology was that it well and truly exists
and,like any science,derives from testing
and proving facts so as to build up its own
body of doctrine.But to leave the matter
there,without interpreting those facts,is
skin-deepcompliance that has no regard
for structure.And suspect compliance,to
boot.Thirdly,this is an appropriate point
ofview for anyone clinging to power;but,
not being so inclined,I believe that once a
revolutionary,always a revolutionary.This
is especially true of those in charge of
science and culture.And,finally,museum
directors must be ambassadorsof the science and culture amassed in their centres.
I therefore find the pronouncement just
aboutas mean-spiritedas can be,sincethe
museum isnot a showcasedisplayingwhat
happens to be currently in fashion but,
among other functions, a research and
study centre both for those working there
and for visitors. And the latter role w
i
l
l
emerge greatly strengthened if the exhibits, in addition to mere overhead or side
lighting,are bathed in the glow of intellect
and imagination. And, as distinct from
specialists outside the museum,such illumination isprovidedby those familiarwith
the exhibits on a daily basis.

My turbulentexpositionthus ended,counter-argumentsrained in from the members

of the panel,all belonging to the Ministry
of Culture. Some made their points well,
although one of them proclaimed apocalyptically:Therewontbe any School of
Museology for the foreseeablefuture.And
another did not argue at all but vented his
spleenfirstby questioning the existence of
the profession of museologist,secondly,
by claiming that theresno such thing as
museology,just accumulated museum experience,
thirdly,by pontificatingthatrevolution nowadays is the path to isolation,
and finally,by winding up with:Letanyone who wants to do research get out of
I sought the views of the new curators,
museum work.
with their first degree in prehistory and
I answered him point for point. First, history of art and as yet unmindful of their
castingdoubt on a profession thatnot only lot. H o w accustomed they are to this
exists but has a proud record in all the abasement of the arts professional!Even
developed countries is not a sound So- so,I was on the lookout for some hint of
cratic exercise,but the masking of a reality disquiet in them, some chink in their
that one does not wish to acknowledge, assuranceopened up by the logicalfear of
other than through hybridisms.And sci- treading the virgin tract of professional
ences today are interdisciplinary,which is experience,somefleetingglimpseofintelnot to deny any of them their specific lectual wavering over the exercise of the
conceptual and methodological profiles profession,somemoral discomfitureat this
and their own body of knowledge.And rarefied air, some glimmer of dismay at
with regard to back-upsciences,the mu- being summoned as jacksof all trades and
O UNESCO 1994

57

hence possibly masters of none.Nothing cal and political defiance,that the intellecof the sort. Nor was I struck by any tual involved in museum matters must be
unbridled passion ofyouthastheymouthed alerted to the absolutenecessityofsubjectthe assertionthat they had been trained as ing the purposeofthe museum to scrutiny,
curator-museologists.
A flash of doubt and finally,that it is necessary to be aware
assails me.After all,I may be the academic of the rift that exists between universities
mother of their delusions fossilized into and museums,together with the resulting
absolute certainties. Doyou .think that ills and sequels.I remember something
becauseyou have read my book you know that Friedrichsaid:Goon inventingrules,
about museology?The unwelcome reply: you arid,dried-upslaves of routine!The
Ofcourse!had an unexpectedly cathartic herd will praise you for the crutches you
i
l
l
effect that made m e yell:Openthe win- hand it, but those with inner strength w
dows and let everyone hear that I abomi- deride you.So I now ask you what you
nate El rniueo: teoria,praxis JJ utopia by think about this, and I thank you for
bearing with me.Answer m e and I shall
Aurora Leon.
hear you out unflinchingly. If you think
Off they all troop quite smugly.I am left that m y book has provided such crutches
with the sensation of something unfin- and is partly to blame for this situation
ished that goads me.I feel the need to let regarding museums,I shall take it off the
rn
some air into the whole set-upand spread market.I believe in museology.
my thinking to broad sectors engaged in
Note
themuseum field,seeing thatthesituations
to be found are not peculiar to Spain,that
it is urgent to carry on denouncing mu- Museti in Intenintionnlwelcomes readers
seum shortcomingswith intellectual,ethi- responses to Ms Leonsopen letter. - Ed.

58

O UNESCO 1994

Museum -Museums
The new vogue for museum architecture
can sometimesshift the emphasis away
from the heritage itself,which the
architecture is supposed to set off to
advantage,and is thus a matter of some
concern for museologists.These new
monuments are in fact our heritage of
tomorrow,but it is not always easy for
the visitor to perceive that the exhibits
and their setting form an alliance,which
should,if possible,be a felicitousone.

The Mziseum Misez~?nslectures at the

Louvre in Paris highlight the differences
in the very concept of what constitutes a
museum.Indeed,this diversity is not so
much a matter of architecture and
content rather,it expresses the history,
culture and outlook of each individual
country.Hence our interest in it.
The museums and cultural centres of the
Japanesearchitect Itsuko Hasegawa,the
Yad Vashem Museum (Israel) and the
Galerie de lvolutiondu Musum
National dHistoire Naturelle (Paris) each
have their own particularway of relating
to the heritage.Lectures on these
subjects were delivered in the autumn
of1993.

Itsuko Hasegawa and Architecturai

Landscape Design

Even the name of the Hasegawa agency

is significantand makes no secret of
what it aims to achieve:Asif to
compensate for the massive destruction
of nature and the cities,the extremely
consumer-orientatedJapanesesociety
has become increasingly dependent on
mass media to simulate a new artificial
environment.Ail its work originates in a

vigorous critique ofJapanese society,the

brutal urban transformations after the
Second World War,the obsession with
technology and the impact of pollution.
It aims to combat all this by observing
three broad rules:

To find elsewhere the harmony that

humanity has lost by destroying
nature;faithful to the eastern concept
that human beings are a part of
nature,it sees architectureas a
second nature.
To devise projects in partnership with
users,as opposed to the centralized,
standardizingand reductionist
concept of culture in a country where
peopleimitate one another.

To link computer-aideddesign
systematically to traditional design
methods and to the manual
constructionof models,like a
cybernetic extension of the body.
The museums and temporary exhibition
halls designed by Hasegawa inJapanare
based on these principles:rethinking the
cosmic cycle;bringing together the
environment and daily life;and
encouraging children to use their
#

%e theatre of the Shona?idaiCultural

Centre by Itsuko Hasegawn, using spheres
thatsuggest afuturistic, cosmic
e?7ui?-o?zme?it.
ISSN 1350-0775,Mzisetrnz hzlenzcrtioncrl (UNESCO,Paris), No. 184 (Vol.46,No. 4,1994)
O UNESCO 1994
Published by Ukackweii Piiblishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (UK)and 238 Main Street,Cambridge,M A 021& (USA)

59

Museum Museums

Auschzoitz cattle wagon on exhibit at the

Yad Vcishenz Mlsetm.

60

imagination.These are the intentions

behind the Shonanddi Cultural Centre
(built in 1989 in the northern part of the
town of Fujisawa). Footpaths and a river
wind their way tlirough natural and
landscaped gardens,which are
interspersed with large domes
reminiscent of the solar system and
housing auditoriums.In Oshima Machia,
a town of 10,000inhabitants,in the north
of the country,the Picture Book Museum
is designed to preserve the culture of the
Ehon,or picture books,and to encourage
the creativity of both adults and children
in this field.The climate there is very cold
and it snows in winter.It is as important
to create the impression of a protective
building as it is to incorporatein it the
fairytaleworld of a snowy landscape.The
building is not intended to be
monumental,and works like a village
greenwhere exchangestake place,with
a theatre,a library,assembly halls and
exhibition rooms.Further south,in view
of Mount Fuji,among the orchards of
Yamanashi Prefecture,the Museum of
Fruit is gradually taking shape:an indoor
and outdoor organic farming area,which

w
i
l
l combine greenhouses,workshops
and librariesin a vast complex of
rounded shapes resembling various kinds
of seeds scattered on the ground (the
chaotic shape of a flying fruit seed).

As Hasegawa has pointed out,very often

these museums
have no collections
beforehand and the art form to which
they refer is in fact an artof living.

The Yad Vashem Museum,Jerusalem

The Yad Vashem Museum is in total

contrast to the foregoing in many
respects,notably in the tragedy which it
commemorates,and in the monumental
and opaque style of its construction
erected as a memorial to the millions of
European Jewswho were killed.Yad
Vashem,situated on Har Hazikaron
overlookingJerusalem,is in fact the
museum of the Holocaust. Yad means
memorial,and shem is a reminderof
every individual victim.The museum
contains works of art and paintings by
children created in the ghettos and in
0 UNESCO 19%

Museum Museums

the camps.It also exhibits later works by

survivors and artists.Tlie photographs
are all deliberately in black and white,
and they are accompanied by ritual
objects from communitieswhich were
wiped out.In a kind of crypt,austere
stelae stand,silently displaying the
names of 5,000Jewish martyrs.Outside,
small white upright stones are a
memorial to the murdered children.Yad
Vashem is a sitemuseumcomprising
several buildings,a natural cave and an
old Auschwitz cattle wagon,situated
along an artificialvalley on tlie hillside.
Tlie museuin was founded in 1953,but
largely renovated in 1992.Renovation
work is still going on and the museum is
being extended underground,
emphasizing tlie deliberate feeling of
oppressionthat it creates.
O UNESCO 1994

Avner Slyalev,themuseumscurator,makes
a point of mentioning the distinction
drawn by the French historian Pierre Nora
between memory and history:memory is
alive as the pain still endured toddy by
the victims of tlie Shoah goes to show wliereas history is a reconstruction of the
past.The Yad Vasliem museum raises
two problems:how to preserve this vivid
memory so that its testimony w
i
l
l never
lose its impact,for when memory slips
into history,it loses its salutaryvirulence.
At the same time,while this visual
reminder of the Jewishtragedy lias great
emotional force,it also brings to mind,
now that this people have fortunately
regained a homeland,the current tense
cohabitationof two communitiessharing
the same territory tension which has
not yet been relieved by the start of an
official peace process.

x Galerie de l!vohtio?z,h!hs8um
National d Histoire Natimlle,Paris.

Museum Museums

The Galerie de lvolution Musum

National dHistoire Naturelle. Paris

Here,the aim is to restore and

modernize one of the finest examples of
an iron-frameconstruction (built
between 1880 and 18871.It is a place
which has nourished the dreams of
generations of children and adults,
on account of both the fabulous
stuffed animals and the magical building
housing them.A hundred years later,the
winners of an architecturecompetition
for the renovation of the Grande Galerie
(1987),Paul Chemetov and Borja
Huidobro,after the spectacular removal
of specimens of all sizes,stripped the
building down to its foundations.Their
task presented three difficulties:how to
exhibit scientific objects and concepts,
the technical constraintsof the building,
and the alliance of old and new forms
and materials.The museographical
project that was adopted,drawn up by
the prefiguration section planning unit
led by Michel Van Prat,a professor at
the museum,falls into three main
sections:the various organisms and their
habitats,evolution,and H o m o sapiens as
a factor in evolution.The area was
divided into three,to accommodate the
permanent exhibition,the temporary
exhibitions (underground,where the
excavations revealed magnificent brick
arcatures supporting the slim cast-iron
columns) and the cultural and
educational activity centre.Attending as
carefully to this symbolic building as to
the collections,Chemetov described the
work undertaken as follows:
Make a feature of the open galleries,
which w
i
l
l be devoted to developing

62

the themes of evolution,transfer

everything which requires natural
lightto the periphery,and faithfully
restore the former bird gallery,
converting it into a reliquary of
extinct species,presented in antique
display cabinets;this reorganization
allows all the temporary exhibition
halls to be transferredunderground,
and linked to the technicalfacilities of
the zoologicaldepository.The whole
of the centrai area becomes a
practicable floor,giving greater effect
to the presentation of the metaphorically marine below-stagearea by
adding a terrestrial upper area
crossed by a procession of all the
large stuffed animals.Whales float
over ocean depths,their powerful
skeletons contrastingwith the huge
pillars of the old foundations.. . . The
restored glass roof,which remains
covered,as the direct rays of sunlight
are harmful to the conservation of
rare specimens,is a controlled source
of light conveying the changing light
and shade of the passing days.

It is theatrical (the scenography is by

Ren Allio,film-maker,who is also
responsible for sound effects and the
adjustmentof the glass roofaccording
to the time of day), it is designed on
strict scientific and museographical
lines (Van Prat/Huidobro), and it
preserves the character of the old
building.In the Galerie de lvolution,
too,dreams and poetry w
i
l
l by no
means be out of place.
Report by fifathilde Bellaigue of the
Laboratoire de Recherche des Muses de
France

O UNESCO 1994

professional news

Professional news
Museums Association of the
Caribbean

The Museums Association of the

Caribbean (MAC) lus recently
established its headquarters in
Barbados.With the help of a grant
from the Organization of American
States,the MAC Secretariat aims to
become an information centre for
museum workers within the region.A
major project now under way,in cooperation with the Caribbean
Conservation Association,is the
creation of a Directory of Museums of
the region.MAC also publishes a lively,
information-packedquarterly newsletter
in English and Spanish;a French
edition is in the planning stage.
For further information:
Museums Association of the Caribbean,
P.O.Box 112,
GPO Bridgetown (Barbados)

Tel:(809)426-9635
Fax:(809)429-8483

Restoration and conservation

Restoration 93,held in Boston,Mass.

(United States) in December 1993,
established itself as the largest
preservation event ever held in North
America.More than 7,600visitors from
across the United States and Canada
and from as far afield as Ecuador,Italy
and Australia came to view the wide
variety of products and services from
over 250 exhibiting companies.The
success of the event has prompted
Restoratio?zsorganizers to schedule the
event on an annual basis. The next
Restoratioiz in North America w
i
l
l take
place on 26-28 February 1995 at the
Hynes Convention Center in Boston;
the 1994 exhibit is scheduled for 12-14
October in Amsterdam (see Museuin
Intemational,No. 181 - Ed.).
Commenting on the results of
Restoration 93and plans for Restoi.atioiz
95,Show Director Steven Schuyler said,
O UNESCO 1994

Weare very pleased with the outcome

of our first show.. . . The strong
response from the market-placehas
shown that a comprehensive
commercial and educational forum like
Restoration is needed,and not just for
the North American market.
Preservation,like the environmental
movement,is becoming an increasingly
global concern.That is why we w
i
l
l see
even more exhibitors from abroad at
Restoration 95and a closer
collaboration between our North
American and European advisory
boards in creating special educational
programmes in 1995.

For further idormationon Restomtio??95:

E.Glew International,
Ten Tower Office Park,
Woburn,M A O1801 (United States)
Tel:(1.617)933.9055
Fax:(1.617)933.8744

Restomtior?,De-restorafion,Rerestoration . . . is the theme of the

fourth international symposium to be
organized by the Association des
Restaurateurs dArtet dArchologiede
Formation Universitaire in Paris in
October 1995.The symposium w
i
l
l
address such questions as:when and
why one should intervene on an
object that has already undergone
treatment;what criteria should be
used in making such a decision;
comparing the approaches and
motivations of the various professionals
responsible for national heritage;
identifying alternative solutions,new
research fields and new approaches;
and suggesting an ethical framework
as a guideline for professional
conduct.

For further information:

ARAAFU 1995 Symposium,
c/o Marianne Moinot,
175 rue du Temple,
75003 Paris (France)
Tel:(33.1)48.94.36.56

63

Professional news

Masters degree in museology in

Amsterdam

conjunctionwith the sixth International

Conference of the Museum
DocumentationAssociation in
The Reinwardt Academy,the only
Cambridge (United Kingdom), 20-24
full-timetraining centre with a Bachelors September 1493.
degree programme in museology in
Europe,is launching a Mastersdegree
programme in September 1994.The new Hvpelmedin nnd Bitet-nctirii[y in
programme w
i
l
l be taught in English and fiiltiserims,No. 14 (19911,340 pp.US$50.
will be open to graduates of all
Proceedings of the first International
recognized universities throughout the
Conference on Hypermedia and
world.It w
i
l
l consist of six basic courses Interactivity in Museums held in
covering management,registration
Pittsburgh (United States), 14-16 October
and documentation of
1991.
collections,conservation,education and
communication,visitor surveys
and exhibition design.Two
Inteuactiuity in American fiIuseLims,by
co-ordinatingand integrating
Stephanie Koester,No.16 (19931,130
courses in theoretical museology
pp.plus supplement.US$30.Research
and methodology form the
report based on interviews with
backbone of the programme.
American museum professionals.
Each of the courses has a course
load of 200 hours,bringing the total
These three recent Technical Reports
course load in the first year to
may be purchased from Archives and
1,600hours;the final stage of the
Museum Informatics,5501 Walnut Street,
Mastersdegree programme consists of a
Suite 203,Pittsburgh,PA 15232-2311
written thesis estimated at about 800
(United States). (Orders outside the
hours.Full-timeenrolment may begin
Western Hemisphere should add US$O
either in September 1994 or February
for shipping each title.)
1995.Founded in 1976 as Western
Europesfirst professional college of
museology,the Reinwardt Academy was
Internntionnl Exhibition Guide.
merged in 1987 with a number of related Published by Parama,Paris,1994,610
colleges into the Amsterdam School of
pp.(Bilingual:English/French). FF580
the Arts.
(shipping charge:FF38 for France;FF55
forEurope). Available from Provinciales,
For further information:
33 rue de Faubourg Saint-Antoine,75011
Amsterdam School of the Arts,
Paris (France).
Department of Museology,
Reinwardt Academy,
This first comprehensive guide of
Dapperstraat 315,
European exhibitions presents a
1093 BS Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
selection of 350-400 museums in 21
Tel: (31.20) 6926338
countries and provides a preview of
(31.20)6922111
1,200-1,500exhibitions scheduled for
Fax:(31.20) 6925762
1994/95.A veritable landscapeof
(31.20)6926836
exhibitions,the guide allows for
systematic comparisons through its
thematic,alphabetical and chronological
New publications
indexes;it also explains how to lead a
group of visitors and organize a cultural
nilriseutns a n d Interactive fiiultiwwhin,
trip,and provides information on
No.20 (1993), 436 pp.US$50.
museum opening hours,facilitiesand
Proceedings of the second International
services,translations in foreign
Conference on Hypermedia and
languages,audio-guidingsystems
Interactivity in Museums held in
available and other practical details.
64

znternational
Correspondence

Questions concerning editorial matters:

The Editor,Mzrsszim Ii~ternntionnl,
UNESCO,7 place de Fontenoy,
75352 Paris 07 SP (France).
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Fax:(33.1)42.73.04.01
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O U N E S C O 1994