It’s a working artifact, the Union Pacific No. 4014 steam locomotive which was fully restored into excursion service in 2019 (revenue service was 1941-1959 in the Wasatch Range). It pulls a sort of moving museum. The locomotive itself is longer than two typical city buses and weighs more than a Boeing 747. There are of course other museum preserved locomotives of this class too.
My favorite museum artifact are a series of ceremonial masks from the West Coast (I was too young to be able to list out all of the different tribes that were represented) held in the collection of The Museum of Man (now the Canadian History Museum) in the early 70's. They absolutely awed me. They were/are beautiful and they had the weight of a ceremonial objects used by their communities. As a small child my reaction to them as objects was that they were real and they were _not_ happy... if that makes any degree of sense. Local Bytown legend has it that the wing of the museum was haunted, so... maybe haunted by the guilt of history? At some point in my childhood they were removed from public display. Later on, in university, I found the rest of the masks story. They were taken from Pot Latch ceremonies, I'm assuming at some point early in the 20th century, maybe the 20. The grandchildren of the people who created them spent decades lobbying for their return, which seemed to have happened at some point in the 80's or 90's. I miss seeing them. But I know that they are home, where they belong. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I am team Lizzo. She was invited by the Library and actually toured to see other instruments being preserved. Kim decided she wanted to Cosplay Marilyn when she could have commissioned a replica to wear the entire time. Kim felt she was honoring the dress while Lizzo felt she was honored to share history with the world.
Here's the thing. Kim K. (or her team) basically went to Ripley's and said, hey, can Kim wear the Marilyn dress. We thing it will fit her. And Ripley's said sure without thinking of the ramifications. They only have the dress because they had the $1 million or so to pay for it and none of the reputable clothing conservation museums did because, you know, lack of funding. (Part of the reason the Met Gala happens is to fund their clothing conservation wing because the it's not considered important enough by the Powers-That-Be to the museum to get a proper budget.) So no, Kim should NOT have worn the dress. And now it's ruined. A reputable museum needs to take the dress away from Ripley's and properly preserve it. As to Lizzo playing James Madison's crystal flute, the Library of Congress reached out to her, she didn't go seeking it out. Plus, nobody outside of the Library's staff curating all the instruments in the Library's collection even knew of the flute's existence. And yes, all instruments need to be played. Granted a crystal flute won't deteriorate like a wooden instrument. And, And the Library encourages people to come in and play any of the instruments they have. And it's not like Lizzo or her backup band go smashing their instruments at the end of a concert like The Who used to do. Yes, all historical artifacts need preserving, specifically textiles because often the fabric used is not made anymore. As is the case with the Marilyn dress. When and artifact is more durable and would benefit from being used, then occasional releases to the public is not necessarily a bad thing. With proper curator supervision, of course.
Well stated. Thank you. While not as fragile as as stringed instrument, even a flute needs to be played on a regular basis or the padding on the keys will start to rot out. Loaning out the flute for part of an evening introduces the collection to a new audience and keeps its voice intact. If Lizzo was a petit white woman performing in a classical concert I'm convinced we would have only heard of this in the passing headline news cycle. Having her perform was a conscious and deliberate choice made by the archive that I actually support. It matters that a classically trained grandchild of enslaved people played it. Dear Kim and her team caused irreparable harm to a unique and singular object created specifically for one woman, and one woman only, to wear. They mishandled the object for clickbate. It should have been a reproduction, not the original dress. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I think that the two situations are barely comparable. The nature and risk of the materials, the intent, and the codes of ethics the institutions adhere to (or don’t) all combine to render the two situations entirely different
Lizzie can play it as she is a flautist and her words and playing while at the museum made history and classical music cool. She opened the minds and exposed a whole group of people to the magic of history and classical music and the flute.
Good take. Museums are not libraries for the rich! I also actually like this shorter form content. I really miss the older days of youtube where, like 5 minutes was pretty standard.
My favourite museum artifact / object: a case with a giant squid. Used to have a coworker who would go have a heart to heart with it whenever they were feeling down.
I agree with your blanket statement 100 percent. I think Lizzo was is in the right in terms of intent and the handling of the artifact, Kim K. was not. Good video!
There's an entire one and a half hour video on RUclips from the LOC about the glass and crystal flutes in their vast collection. It is obvious if any risk was associated with Lizzo playing this leaded crystal flute owned by James Madison, the risk was absolutely miniscule. The right wing meltdown over this has nothing to do with the flute. I don't think I need to explain what they objected to, but I'll say it anyway, it was Lizzo and what they deemed was a disrespectful display. Their motivations need no further explanation.
Clothing shouldn't be worn... by anyone. (Um, historic clothing. I don't mean we should all be nudists.) Instruments played by professional musicians (and who knew this about Lizzo?! I saw her play another flute on her tour of the library and I was thrilled!), that's a different story.
My favourite artifact isn't in a museum, but in our dining room. We have a grandfather clock that has been in my spouse's family for 6 generations, built in the 1780's. It runs perfectly and we love it. It was sent to the Smithsonian for repair by my in-laws in the 1990's, and a professional clock-repair person assembled it when it moved to our home in the 2010's, but it hasn't needed any other repair. We also have a Seth Thomas mantel clock from the 1920's that needs repair every couple of years, even though we keep it running like the grandfather clock. They just don't make them like they used to... 🤣
Also, my favourite artefact (if that's what you call it) was Marilyn's used make up I saw in an exhibition. It looked like it could have been my own make up, and it made me cry.
My favorite "artifact" is my grandmother's 1940s-ish sewing cabinet. She was the first person to teach me how to sew. It's beat-up after all these years, and I can't really use the top to store thread in it because thread spools are different these days, but I do still store sewing items in it. I love it. Edit (Got interrupted): I don't know if these qualify as artifacts per se, but the fossils of non-dinosaur prehistoric creatures are my favorite. I love dinosaurs, of course, but I don't feel like the crazy prehistoric creatures like gigantic proto-turtles, bizarre mammals, etc. get enough love. I saw a traveling King Tut exhibit years ago which was awesome. All of those items are close to 3000 years old, so it was cool to see even everyday items like chairs in the exhibit. (Of course they were chairs for royalty, so the level of craftsmanship was high, but still cool to see).
What's a flute worth if no one knows the sound it makes? Imagine a world where we know the Stradivarius were important because of their sound, but we don't know or can't hear how they actually sound. For instruments, they should definitely be played, of course, making sure they are handled with care. You can put a dress on a mannequin, without damaging it, but still conveying how it'd would look if a regular person was wearing it, so... Full disclosure: I love Lizzo, and she is much more of a national treasure herself than that stupid flute.
Lizzo is a trained professional flautist. Kim wore a dress (that Marilyn had in her dying wishes asked not ever be worn by anyone else) that didnt even look good on her, because Marilyn was pale, and Kim uses fucking tanning injections, therefore making the dress WASH HER OUT. There was no reason to wear the dress. So much more could have gone wrong, she could've gotten makeup and her fake tan all over the dress too. I don't know if flutes deteriorate if they aren't played but I know all instruments should be played and she at the very least would not have done any damage to the flute
And also KIM WORE THE DRESS FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES AND PUT A REPLICA ON AFTERWARDS. WHY NOT JUST DROP THE ARTIFACT ENTIRELY AND WEAR THE GODDAMNED REPLICA!?!? None of it makes sense. It's giving "I have enough money to do whatever I want, and Marilyn Monroe is iconic so I'm just gonna wear HER dress. " 🙄☠️
My problem with Lizzo playing the flute was just the attitude towards it. She could really appreciate it but at the end of the day two things hold true. Number 1 she was very scantily dressed which normally I don’t care what people wear but for something like this I feel that you should dress in a manner that is respectful, also the fact that she was twerking did not help on that point. The second and (probably bigger issue) is her disdain and borderline hatred of America as a country. She talks about how America is racist and needs to change and it’s awful as she is receiving awards and making millions of dollars. Just hypocritical and disproves all of her points on America today.
Lizzo played the flute two times. The first time was during a casual visit to the Library of Congress when she was dressed in jeans and a sweater. The second time was during a concert where she was (obviously) dressed in the same way she and many female artist dress while performing which commonly include tights, leotards, short dresses and bodysuits. Lizzo was dressed perfectly appropriate for both occasions. Twerking, or really any sort of dance, is not inherently disrespectful and that includes dance that is understood as sexual such as Flamenco. Also the most respectful thing one can do with an instrument is to play it properly. Which Lizzo, unlike James Madison while he owned it, can. So... Saying that someone or something, anything, has a negative effect on a specific group and needs to change means that you are hateful? Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King hated America when he said that "A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro"?
What is your favourite museum artifact?
It’s a working artifact, the Union Pacific No. 4014 steam locomotive which was fully restored into excursion service in 2019 (revenue service was 1941-1959 in the Wasatch Range). It pulls a sort of moving museum. The locomotive itself is longer than two typical city buses and weighs more than a Boeing 747. There are of course other museum preserved locomotives of this class too.
My favorite museum artifact are a series of ceremonial masks from the West Coast (I was too young to be able to list out all of the different tribes that were represented) held in the collection of The Museum of Man (now the Canadian History Museum) in the early 70's. They absolutely awed me. They were/are beautiful and they had the weight of a ceremonial objects used by their communities. As a small child my reaction to them as objects was that they were real and they were _not_ happy... if that makes any degree of sense. Local Bytown legend has it that the wing of the museum was haunted, so... maybe haunted by the guilt of history?
At some point in my childhood they were removed from public display. Later on, in university, I found the rest of the masks story. They were taken from Pot Latch ceremonies, I'm assuming at some point early in the 20th century, maybe the 20. The grandchildren of the people who created them spent decades lobbying for their return, which seemed to have happened at some point in the 80's or 90's.
I miss seeing them. But I know that they are home, where they belong.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I am team Lizzo. She was invited by the Library and actually toured to see other instruments being preserved. Kim decided she wanted to Cosplay Marilyn when she could have commissioned a replica to wear the entire time. Kim felt she was honoring the dress while Lizzo felt she was honored to share history with the world.
Here's the thing. Kim K. (or her team) basically went to Ripley's and said, hey, can Kim wear the Marilyn dress. We thing it will fit her. And Ripley's said sure without thinking of the ramifications. They only have the dress because they had the $1 million or so to pay for it and none of the reputable clothing conservation museums did because, you know, lack of funding. (Part of the reason the Met Gala happens is to fund their clothing conservation wing because the it's not considered important enough by the Powers-That-Be to the museum to get a proper budget.) So no, Kim should NOT have worn the dress. And now it's ruined. A reputable museum needs to take the dress away from Ripley's and properly preserve it.
As to Lizzo playing James Madison's crystal flute, the Library of Congress reached out to her, she didn't go seeking it out. Plus, nobody outside of the Library's staff curating all the instruments in the Library's collection even knew of the flute's existence. And yes, all instruments need to be played. Granted a crystal flute won't deteriorate like a wooden instrument. And, And the Library encourages people to come in and play any of the instruments they have. And it's not like Lizzo or her backup band go smashing their instruments at the end of a concert like The Who used to do.
Yes, all historical artifacts need preserving, specifically textiles because often the fabric used is not made anymore. As is the case with the Marilyn dress. When and artifact is more durable and would benefit from being used, then occasional releases to the public is not necessarily a bad thing. With proper curator supervision, of course.
Beautifully said!
Well stated. Thank you.
While not as fragile as as stringed instrument, even a flute needs to be played on a regular basis or the padding on the keys will start to rot out. Loaning out the flute for part of an evening introduces the collection to a new audience and keeps its voice intact.
If Lizzo was a petit white woman performing in a classical concert I'm convinced we would have only heard of this in the passing headline news cycle. Having her perform was a conscious and deliberate choice made by the archive that I actually support. It matters that a classically trained grandchild of enslaved people played it.
Dear Kim and her team caused irreparable harm to a unique and singular object created specifically for one woman, and one woman only, to wear. They mishandled the object for clickbate. It should have been a reproduction, not the original dress.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
Flutes need to be played as their pads can dry out if not played regularly. This applies to open hole and closed hole flutes.
Thank you!
I think that the two situations are barely comparable. The nature and risk of the materials, the intent, and the codes of ethics the institutions adhere to (or don’t) all combine to render the two situations entirely different
Well said!
Lizzie can play it as she is a flautist and her words and playing while at the museum made history and classical music cool. She opened the minds and exposed a whole group of people to the magic of history and classical music and the flute.
Flute's music is only heard by playing it, by a professional. Not my country, but I see no problem there. Dress can be seen without use.
Good take. Museums are not libraries for the rich!
I also actually like this shorter form content. I really miss the older days of youtube where, like 5 minutes was pretty standard.
My favourite museum artifact / object: a case with a giant squid. Used to have a coworker who would go have a heart to heart with it whenever they were feeling down.
That is so adorable, oh my goodness.
I agree with your blanket statement 100 percent. I think Lizzo was is in the right in terms of intent and the handling of the artifact, Kim K. was not. Good video!
There's an entire one and a half hour video on RUclips from the LOC about the glass and crystal flutes in their vast collection. It is obvious if any risk was associated with Lizzo playing this leaded crystal flute owned by James Madison, the risk was absolutely miniscule. The right wing meltdown over this has nothing to do with the flute. I don't think I need to explain what they objected to, but I'll say it anyway, it was Lizzo and what they deemed was a disrespectful display. Their motivations need no further explanation.
Clothing shouldn't be worn... by anyone. (Um, historic clothing. I don't mean we should all be nudists.) Instruments played by professional musicians (and who knew this about Lizzo?! I saw her play another flute on her tour of the library and I was thrilled!), that's a different story.
My favourite artifact isn't in a museum, but in our dining room. We have a grandfather clock that has been in my spouse's family for 6 generations, built in the 1780's. It runs perfectly and we love it. It was sent to the Smithsonian for repair by my in-laws in the 1990's, and a professional clock-repair person assembled it when it moved to our home in the 2010's, but it hasn't needed any other repair. We also have a Seth Thomas mantel clock from the 1920's that needs repair every couple of years, even though we keep it running like the grandfather clock. They just don't make them like they used to... 🤣
My favorite museum artifact is a stumpwork embroidered “casket” in the collections at the Minneapolis Museum of Art.
Also, my favourite artefact (if that's what you call it) was Marilyn's used make up I saw in an exhibition. It looked like it could have been my own make up, and it made me cry.
My favorite "artifact" is my grandmother's 1940s-ish sewing cabinet. She was the first person to teach me how to sew. It's beat-up after all these years, and I can't really use the top to store thread in it because thread spools are different these days, but I do still store sewing items in it. I love it.
Edit (Got interrupted): I don't know if these qualify as artifacts per se, but the fossils of non-dinosaur prehistoric creatures are my favorite. I love dinosaurs, of course, but I don't feel like the crazy prehistoric creatures like gigantic proto-turtles, bizarre mammals, etc. get enough love.
I saw a traveling King Tut exhibit years ago which was awesome. All of those items are close to 3000 years old, so it was cool to see even everyday items like chairs in the exhibit. (Of course they were chairs for royalty, so the level of craftsmanship was high, but still cool to see).
What's a flute worth if no one knows the sound it makes? Imagine a world where we know the Stradivarius were important because of their sound, but we don't know or can't hear how they actually sound. For instruments, they should definitely be played, of course, making sure they are handled with care.
You can put a dress on a mannequin, without damaging it, but still conveying how it'd would look if a regular person was wearing it, so...
Full disclosure: I love Lizzo, and she is much more of a national treasure herself than that stupid flute.
Lizzo is a trained professional flautist. Kim wore a dress (that Marilyn had in her dying wishes asked not ever be worn by anyone else) that didnt even look good on her, because Marilyn was pale, and Kim uses fucking tanning injections, therefore making the dress WASH HER OUT. There was no reason to wear the dress. So much more could have gone wrong, she could've gotten makeup and her fake tan all over the dress too. I don't know if flutes deteriorate if they aren't played but I know all instruments should be played and she at the very least would not have done any damage to the flute
And also KIM WORE THE DRESS FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES AND PUT A REPLICA ON AFTERWARDS. WHY NOT JUST DROP THE ARTIFACT ENTIRELY AND WEAR THE GODDAMNED REPLICA!?!? None of it makes sense. It's giving "I have enough money to do whatever I want, and Marilyn Monroe is iconic so I'm just gonna wear HER dress. " 🙄☠️
Kim is Armenian…. Why do you think she uses tanning injections? That is one thing about her… if anything she has gotten lighter…
My problem with Lizzo playing the flute was just the attitude towards it. She could really appreciate it but at the end of the day two things hold true. Number 1 she was very scantily dressed which normally I don’t care what people wear but for something like this I feel that you should dress in a manner that is respectful, also the fact that she was twerking did not help on that point. The second and (probably bigger issue) is her disdain and borderline hatred of America as a country. She talks about how America is racist and needs to change and it’s awful as she is receiving awards and making millions of dollars. Just hypocritical and disproves all of her points on America today.
There is a lot of racism in America, she’s not wrong.
Lizzo played the flute two times. The first time was during a casual visit to the Library of Congress when she was dressed in jeans and a sweater. The second time was during a concert where she was (obviously) dressed in the same way she and many female artist dress while performing which commonly include tights, leotards, short dresses and bodysuits. Lizzo was dressed perfectly appropriate for both occasions. Twerking, or really any sort of dance, is not inherently disrespectful and that includes dance that is understood as sexual such as Flamenco. Also the most respectful thing one can do with an instrument is to play it properly. Which Lizzo, unlike James Madison while he owned it, can.
So... Saying that someone or something, anything, has a negative effect on a specific group and needs to change means that you are hateful? Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King hated America when he said that "A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro"?