Placement is Important: The Spatial Arrangement of the Exhibit

There are many things to discuss in the Hall of African Peoples but one thing that is important to think about is the where the exhibit is in relation to other exhibition displays in the museum. When I was researching this project I read some interesting blogs and comments about the exhibit but one comment from an anonymous blogger talked about how a visitor travels through the museum and finally comes to the Hall of African Peoples. If one looks at the Museum Floor Plan for the second floor the African Peoples exhibit is central on the plan.

What is also interesting is that unlike the rest of the cultural exhibits it has little hut symbols to signal that you are reaching a particular exhibit. The South American Peoples and the Asian Peoples are left without any symbolic image on the plan. However the Hall of African Mammals also shows an image of an elephant to orient the visit. This is pertinent because both exhibits center around Africa but also one can not see the Hall of African Peoples without first leaving an exhibit concerning animals. If you look closely there are multiple entrances to the exhibit but one is a short winding hall way with photos of Coral Reefs but right before that is the Hall of African Mammals. The orientation of people with nature is not a new connection and dates back to the late 18th and 19th century with theories such as Social Darwinism and Social Evolutionism. These theories, in the most simple of definitions, were ways of looking at cultures in both a "scientific" and also "cultural" manner. With particular labels and categories the non-western and western cultures of the world were ordered according to certain ideas of civilization and savagery, who was the west and who was not etc. The spatial arrangements of the American Museum of Natural History subtly hint at the connection between the natural world and the cultural world beyond the fact that they share the same world. The connection made relates the cultural ability and display of African cultures with the display of the natural world and its animals. This is not a passive or harmless connection but one that has its roots in historical understandings of other non-western cultures.

In the 1893 Chicago World's Fair a similar spatial arrangement was used but to a more obvious extent to display how animalistic, natural, and on the periphery many of the cultures they displayed were. Unlike the AMNH's Hall of African Peoples, the things that were displayed were not just objects but living cultures in "Living Exhibitions." On the Floor Plan to the Midway Plaisance, the cultural and entertainment section of the fair the African Dahomey people are at the very end of the Plaisance boardwalk and close to the wooded area of the fair. It is also across from the Ostrich farm and near the Wild West Arab Ottoman show. The placement of the culture on display as well as the fact that these cultures were displayed at all exposes a deep sense western superiority and dominence over African and other non-western cultures. Very few closely examine the spatial placement of an exhibit but this particular arrangement states more about the museum's beliefs about African cultures than for other exhibitions.

The opening of the Exhibit

For the Hall of African Peoples there are multiple exits and entrances. There is no right way to enter and no chronological or linear history to follow. One can enter and read about Ancient People and Ancient Arts as well as the tools used or enter in through the Desert section. What is important to understand initially is that the exhibit is organized by landscape/environment. Rift Valley, Nubia, and Egypt, Grasslands, Forests, Savannah, and Desert are the larger organizing themes. Below that are themes about Age, women, particular cultures like the Pokot and Pygmies, spirituality, trade, African American history, crafts, and ritual and dance. In some ways the exhibit attempts to cover the continent while still exposing the fact that it has selected cultural objects and information from a specific time. The emphasis on the Congo region and the pygmies are two examples that where objects are acquired from and what the Curator's interests is are highly reflected in the exhibit. The AMNH has a history of dealings with the Congo and King Leopold, the former colonial leader of the country. The first curator of the exhibit, Colin Turnbull also spent much of his time doing research and writing about the Pygmies. These two facts expose the fact that personal subjectivity and acquisition mold the exhibit into what it is, not fact but story telling.

The heart of this chapter

Chapter Three consists of multiple interpretations and thoughts about the Hall of African Peoples. Unlike my previous chapters this chapter will consist primarily of my interpretations, the words and analysis of visitors that I spoke to, and some key theory and outside ideas about the presentation of non-western cultures and vision. The domination of text in this field should also be subverted through the use of images. Obviously images, as I describe, and others argue, are not always true but they back up and make visible the statements I and the museum visitors make. Throughout this blog I will discuss various aspects of the exhibit and bring in interesting connections between its displays and the displays of the African Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History.

I hope that this mode of academic and personal analysis is pertinent and helps illuminate the ways in which African cultures and their objects are produced as inferior, historically situated, and most importantly - "Cultural."