So I'm watching the local news last night and there are people protesting the King Tut exhibit that opened in L.A. yesterday. I missed the actual news story, so I looked it up and found out what all the commotion was about. The protesters want the curators of the exhibit to remove three modern representations of Tutankhamun. At first when I read the story, I disagreed with their protest. I think it was due to the quotes by the protesters' spokesman, Legrand Clegg. The focus of the protest is that the busts in question portray King Tut as white rather than black. I looked into the "reconstruction" of King Tut as it was covered on the National Geographic website. It is based on CT scans of the mummy and uses forensic methods of facial reconstruction from skulls. That's all fine, but they do admit that the skin tone is just based on a middle tone of modern Egyptians. OK, so there is varying opinion as to the skin tone of King Tut. Well in my opinion, this will always be a subject that will be in question. From what I've read, there is no conclusive data as to who was King Tut's mother, so his actual lineage is not factually substantiated.
So this leads me to where my gripe is actually going. I do agree with the protesters that the new representations of King Tut should be removed from the exhibit. However, I do not agree with their reasons. The exhibit is comprised of artifacts. Why do the artifacts need to be tainted with modern technology's view of this ancient figure? There are many realistic representations of him in sculpture constructed in his time already. Why do we have the constant need to modernize history. What is so important to know exactly what King Tut looked like. Aren't the representations done in his own time sufficient? Does knowing exactly what he looks like truly affect his rule, his history and his legacy within Egyptian culture and understanding of the ancient dynasties? I don't think so. I think representations of him based on modern technology should have their own place. Forensic science is its own discipline. I believe the use of advanced technology in researching and reconstructing the past needs to be discussed and observed on its own without influencing actual physical evidence of the past in an exhibit such as this one. Just let the artifacts speak for themselves.
This is a privately funded exhibit, so the way to really protest it would be to not attend. I still want to go though. Can I really sacrifice seeing great artifacts because I don't agree with the juxtaposition to modern day technology? Still deciding...
6 comments:
That would be a poor reason not to go. If you were personally offended, maybe. But not over this.
Have you considered why the modern representations of him shade him on the lighter side? As repugnant as it might seem in our supposedly color blind society (you know, the one where we protest in front of museums about the color of a dead pharoah as if it matters, that one), the concept of lighter skin being more appealing (and thus favoring one blood line for kingship, or perhaps vice versa) has a long, long history. And considering the inbreeding that went on in the Pharoic line, its possible that even in a dark skinned region like Egypt, the king could very well have been lime green for all we know.
What is strange about this though, if I may be so bold, is that the following groups are holding the protest: the NAACP, the Committee for the Elimination of Media Offensive to African People, and the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations.
This quote in particular stood out:
"Those images are so critical for our children," says Legrand Clegg, Compton city attorney and a spokesman for the protesters. "We want them to focus not just on rappers, athletes and entertainers but on figures who are high achievers. What could be more elevating than a little boy who ruled the world?"
Essentially, the protesters are making the same sort of assumption that they are riled up about, that Tut was a particular color (in this case black) when in fact he very well might not have been. Some think he was darker, some think he was lighter. The exhibit opted to represent him with a medium tone, about halfway between the lightest and darkest tones you might have found in North Africa at the time.
Essentially, they didn't make any decision -- they just split the difference. Medium.
So, I think they did exactly the right thing. Unless they think he ought to have been that lime green shade, just to avoid controversy altogether.
I'm going Tuesday... :)
Ah I do agree partially about the idea of enhancing the exibit with bias-rich extras. But then what would the curators do? That's their job, to spice it up and put it in context. While King Tut might make an interesting visit even if you just laid out his crap end to end, generally speaking the whole museum experience would be kind of a dud without that extra stuff.
In this case, you're going to get a look at a 3D representation of a series of CT scans done on his coffin. That's pretty dope really. The only bias here is the color they decided to paint it, and again, I think, given that his skin tone is unknown, a nice medium shade seems a reasonable choice.
I can't believe I'm writing about this at 4am... what the hell is wrong with me.
Yes, since I do not morally oppose modern technology, I'm not going to boycott the exhibit, but will make use of their suggestion box if they have one. Keep in mind, my gripe precisely has to do with that we will never know his actual skin color so why bring up this silly dialogue into the national conversation in reference to what should be an awsome exhibit that should raise much more important questions about history. Leave the CT scans to the Museum of Science and Industry and keep them out of the museum of art.
Also, according to a review by the New York Times, the exhibit is actually lacking in historical context, so let's talk to the curator about that too! I'll leave my opinion on that one up in the air until I actually see the exhibit, though.
I just talked to my aunt today who said she saw this exhibit in an earlier form in New York probably over a decade ago, and it was a nightmare to get into... they had to wait in line (on line, haha) for hours just to get their timed ticket, then apparently even then the house was packed.
I really hope it ain't gonna be like that, but I'm sure it will. Dammit!
We all know that according to the World Weekly News that King Tut was an Alien. He was GREEN people. Get over it.
Kristos
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