Museums, Objects, and Collections

Download or read book Museums, Objects, and Collections written by Susan Pearce and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the historical context of museums, their collections, and the objects that form them. Susan M. Pearce probes the psychological and social reasons that people collect and identifies three modes of collecting: collecting as souvenirs, as fetishes, and as systematic assemblages. She considers how museum professionals set policies of collection management; acquire, study, and exhibit objects; and make meaning of the objects in their care. Pearce also explores the ideological relationship between museums and their collections and the intellectual and social relationships of museums to the public.