My NY-LON: Road Trip Ethics

September 2015
This week, I'm taking a brief break from My NY-LON Musings to undertake an American rite-of-passage: the cross-country road trip. Last week I flew from New York's JFK to Seattle, and am now five days into the journey back to Brooklyn, resting in stunning Jackson, Wyoming to visit family and stretch my car-cramped legs on hilly hikes. 

Museum visits haven't been on our two-week itinerary, but I always find a way to sneak one in. Yesterday I managed to detour us to Jackson's National Museum of Wildlife Art to see Ai Weiwei's representation of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Set against majestic scenery, these bold, bronze sculptures are a tribute to the the original 12 zodiac heads that once stood in the Yuanming Yuan - the Qing dynasty's Old Summer Palace - which was looted by French and British troops during the Second Opium War in 1860.  According to the museum's website, the artist's intention is to focus "attention on questions of looting and repatriation". 

These issues are always at the forefront of museum professionals' concerns regarding their collections, exhibits, and interactions with community groups.  During my time working for the National Army Museum (NAM) in London, sensitivities around looted objects and war "trophies" were of utmost concern. My colleagues made earnest efforts to connect with migrant communities from which objects originated to better understand how these materials might be cared for and displayed sensitively, without appearing to celebrate (or demonize) British military ventures.  As part of these outreach programs, NAM connected with members of London's Chinese community to create a dialogue about parts of the Collection - like the zodiac heads - that had been pillaged from the Summer Palace by British troops. Many participants felt grateful that NAM's collection included objects taken from the Summer Palace, stating that the museum's ownership of these artifacts meant they could actually appreciate them without having to travel all the way back to China. What's more, some felt that the museum's safe-keeping of these looted materials meant that the objects were spared from destruction during Mao's Cultural Revolution. 

I'm not entirely convinced that these opinions justify the continued ownership of controversially-obtained material cultural. However I'm equally unconvinced by programs of repatriation that  take only contemporary diplomatic niceties into consideration.  For Ai Weiwei, an artist who has been controversially imprisoned by his own country and now lives in self-imposed exile, these questions are surely amplified and deeply personal. They are issues I didn't expect to encounter in the middle of the American wilderness, and certainly didn't think I'd be ruminating over while eating breakfast this morning. So I'm reminded of and grateful for the essential role that museum visits play in provoking thought and stimulating debate.

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