‘Permanent Displays’ as Unsettling Layers of Epistemologies, Politics and Aesthetics
This article argues that museum exhibitions often are formed through multiple
layers. It presents readings of two contrasting exhibition narratives, the ethnographic
display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo and the national history exhibition
at Lillehammer Museum. While the latter speaks about the national self, the museum
in Oslo addresses the nation’s radical other. Despite this contrasting thematic
focus, they have much in common. As centres for research and dissemination of
knowledge, they are connected to the development of the academic disciplines
of history and anthropology. This evolution with its shifts and ruptures are visible
as traces, or layers, in the exhibitions. We argue that such multi-layered museum
exhibitions may be understood as intersections of shifting disciplinary knowledge
regimes, curatorial practices, and concrete political agendas. Such layers may
appear as unintended subtexts that often create a sense of ‘unsettlement’ within
museum exhibitions.
layers. It presents readings of two contrasting exhibition narratives, the ethnographic
display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo and the national history exhibition
at Lillehammer Museum. While the latter speaks about the national self, the museum
in Oslo addresses the nation’s radical other. Despite this contrasting thematic
focus, they have much in common. As centres for research and dissemination of
knowledge, they are connected to the development of the academic disciplines
of history and anthropology. This evolution with its shifts and ruptures are visible
as traces, or layers, in the exhibitions. We argue that such multi-layered museum
exhibitions may be understood as intersections of shifting disciplinary knowledge
regimes, curatorial practices, and concrete political agendas. Such layers may
appear as unintended subtexts that often create a sense of ‘unsettlement’ within
museum exhibitions.
Publisert i Museum and Society (M&S), 2019
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