This paper is about the presence of the Salvage Paradigm at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.
Salvage Paradigm at the Bowers Museum
The Bowers Museum located in Santa Ana, California is home to the ongoing exhibition of Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands. The exhibit has a wide variety of pieces from culture across the South Pacific. The exhibit had a guest curator named Chris Rainier. Rainier, according to National Geographic, is a “photographer who specializes in highlighting endangered cultures and traditional languages around the globe”. After reviewing Rainier’s work on his website all his photographs are done in black and white which is a creative touch, but it also continues the idea of a salvage paradigm. A salvage paradigm is when a culture deems itself superior and has the need to “save and preserve” an inferior culture. The salvage paradigm is more prevalent than one notices, and it happens all around us. In the case of the Bowers Museum it’s in the Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands exhibit.
The guest curator for this exhibit was Chris Rainier who is a white man born and raised in South Africa. He is responsible for most of the photographs throughout the exhibit. All the photographs shown were in black and white which deceives the viewer into thinking that the photograph is much older than it really is. Walking into this exhibit for the first time someone may assume that all the objects displayed are much older than what we know. If one was to pay attention to the placards with the information about displayed item, it will tell them that it was made from either the 19th-20th centuries. The layout and design of the exhibit aid in the visitor’s experience because the ambiance of the space creates a visually appealing expectation of what is to be seen in this exhibit. The lighting and sound effects give an exotic touch to let the visitor know that they are experiencing something almost otherworldly and old. The exhibition is put together to make the visitor aware of how everyday life was like way back in the day but, and yes this is like how it was back then, but tradition evolves and transforms with every generation. What we see in the “Fire Dance and Mask Festival” video could be exactly how it was performed in the old days, but it could also have differences that we aren’t aware of.
This exhibit is similarly laid out to those of different cultures that are considered older and more exotic in its traditions. Music from that culture is played so we feel as if we have gone back in time even though that could have been produced within the last 20 years or so. The lighting also makes us feel that we are entering a new time because we must focus more on the object being displayed. The Bowers Museum also has a special exhibit going on right now, ending in Mid-August, about Native Americans. The First Americans: Tribal Art from North America exhibit is a short-lived exhibit at the Bowers, but it brings a lot of attention to the museum. The First Americans exhibit displays a variety of items, yet once again the museum is making the visitor think that they are “ancient” by displaying them with dim lights and “tribal” music to trick the mind. Just like the Spirit and Headhunters exhibit the placards in the exhibit show that these objects are from the 19th-20th centuries.
The ideas going through one’s mind while wandering through the exhibition can vary from person to person. While walking through the exhibit with my husband I had a chance to see how someone who doesn’t have knowledge of the salvage paradigm sees and exhibit from another culture. I watched his reaction more than looking at the pieces on display. When you first walk into this exhibit you are given a little history about where these items came from. One of the first items on display is a necklace made from human teeth and my husband was grossed out and said that he “is glad cultures don’t practice these kinds of things anymore”. I was quick to shut that thought down and to enlighten him that the placard says it is from the 20th century. He couldn’t believe that he had been wrong to assume that these weren’t as old as he was led to believe. He went to check the dates on all the objects and was astonished. Lucky for him he had me to let him in on the idea of the salvage paradigm, but most visitors do not. It is a simple trap to be caught in because most people have never heard of it, like myself before this class. Every exhibit we went to at the Bowers after the Spirit and Headhunters my husband made sure to look at the dates of everything we saw. The museum like to draw its visitors in by saying they have these old and exotic artifacts that are so different from our own society that we must check out how “primal” they are, because our society is the most advanced and there’s no way we could have been similar to those in any day or age. Yet, these cultures are just as modern as we are, but they choose to keep to their sacred traditions that keep them true to their culture. We assume that the people we see in these photos don’t know what a phone is or what a car is, but little do we know that most of those cultures own both of those. Our assumptions get the better of us because we are such a “know it all” culture that since they don’t act like us means that they must either be a dying culture or an “archaic” one but either way we need to save them and bring them to modernization. By “saving” these cultures we are taking away sacred artifacts and ones that are used for secret initiations that are unknown to most of those in that culture and putting them on display for all to see even though that was not the intended purpose of the masks, knives, stools, or whatever the items.
The salvage paradigm is a technique that museums use to draw in potential visitors by offering an “exotic and ancient” experience. The museum takes you on a trip to the past but that past may not be as far back as you thought. You can think you are staring at a wonderful antique tool but, that tool is only 15-20 years old. You are made to think that it is older because of the surrounding items that look old because of the material it is made from as well as the sounds and lighting around you. Even putting photos in black and white or a sepia tone help influence the salvage paradigm. Before going to an exhibit on a particular culture do some research and you might surprise yourself about how sly museums can be when it comes to the salvage paradigm.