11/1/2022 0 Comments Posts on medieval manuscripts![]() Typically created for the privileged classes, such books nevertheless provide glimpses of the marginalized and powerless and reflect their tenuous places in society. Medieval manuscripts preserve stories of romance, faith, and knowledge, but their luxurious illuminations can reveal more sinister narratives as well. Here is our description of the exhibition, still in draft form: Go for truth (which, like the telling of history, is always changing), and connect art to life.” We were also inspired by Holland Cotter‘s call to arms, as he exhorted museums to tell the truth about art, “about who made objects, and how they work in the world, and how they got to the museum, and what they mean, what values they advertise, good and bad. Groups such as the Medievalists of Color, the Society for the Study of Disability in the Middle Ages, the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, and the Society for the Study of Homosexuality in the Middle Ages, among others, are applying similar lines of inquiry, seeking to decolonize and diversify the field of medieval studies. This year’s meeting of the Association of Art Museum Curators addressed how institutional narratives and implicit bias can skew ideas of history and culture in ways that exclude minorities and gloss over the shameful aspects of our past. Museums are inherently political organizations, in terms of the ways that collections are assembled, displayed, and interpreted. We are striving to make connections between the Middle Ages and the contemporary world-connections that may not be immediately evident, but are powerful nonetheless. Our manuscripts collection at the Getty consists primarily of objects from Western Europe, which can present challenges when trying to connect with a multicultural and increasingly international audience. ![]() We invite your thoughts on an exhibition-in-progress at the Getty that addresses the persistence of prejudice as seen through lingering stereotypes from the Middle Ages.Īs curators in the Getty Museum’s department of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, we are interested in how books, and museum collections more broadly, can spark dialogues about inclusivity and diversity. Update- Read three labels from the exhibition on this follow-up post here. ![]() The Crucifixion (detail), Hildesheim, probably 1170s, from the Stammheim Missal. ![]()
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