The Museum of Natural History in New York has a massive statue to Theodore Roosevelt outside. He's on horseback flanked by an African and a Native American, so for obvious reasons it's problematic. (For the record, personally, I think it looks cool, and I can see it in its original context, where in the 30s when they made it, they thought they were doing a diverse and sensitive thing including the other two guys, but they were basically still wrong, and I get why it bothers people.) The museum was having an exhibit to contextualise the thing, but it's shut down right now, so it's an online exhibit.
They talk about the statue in context, they talk about how divided people are about this specific statue, how some people don't care if it stays there, how some want it moved, and others want it hidden from view entirely.
New York City tears itself down and rebuilds itself so often that everything gets lost, and lost things are hard to talk about- even more so when you don't *want* to address them. The Seaport ignores its role in the enslavement of black bodies. Wall Street ignores not only that there was a wall, but who built the wall. Black Gotham is a group actively invovled in trying to re-build, awaken and inform of some of that broken, hidden past and they're basically still a handful of people working in isolation. Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill, a Park Ranger told me, is the best bang for your buck in the entire park system because it's the most expensive to maintain and admission is either free or extremely low (can't recall which). Every school kid in the city knows the word Lenape. Do they see the proof of that past anywhere in their neighbourhood, or it is just a vocabulary word? All of those in combination are indicators that the city and state aren't successfully educating their people or visitors.
In that context, it would be inappropriate to hide the statue and pretend it doesn't exist. Is it possible to speak to the piece's visual impact when you can't stand beneath it and see both how beautifully crafted and huge it is? I don't know. I doubt it. Is it possible to stand in Penn Station and truly reflect on what it used to be in any useful way?
So for the Natural History Museum to be in a position to talk about social history, to stand up loud and proud as a flagship and say, "Hey, this is what happened, this is what is STILL happening, and this is what we are doing because we take seriously our responsibility to address the issue," is valid for that statue AND every single other piece in the museum. If the museum has the courage to make clear their relationship with ALL of their artifacts, then this is just a commitment to starting with the front door. If the conversation ends at the statue, that's not saying much.
The four quotes of Roosevelt's in the museum's atrium are a little cringey, too. They are part of the same legacy. But are they excluded from the conversation because they're inside, and the reality is that the museum receives more complaints about what people can see from the street because they've never been inside? If that's true, how can the museum comment on the statue inside if the only way to receive that commentary is to pay admission to hear that position? What barriers has the museum created to an open conversation? How can they bridge those? Would there have been this virtual element at all if not for Covid? Would they have chosen to link it on their Twitter page if not for the current Black Lives Matter protests, and the specific choices in many communities to remove problematic statues and monuments?
That said, I would just as much love to see a modern sculpture that does speak to Roosevelt's positive impact as a Naturalist and Conservationist. Put it up in the park as a contrast. Make a massive piece to balance the entire facade of the museum around the existing statue. Something.
The museum's exhibit is a start. I understand the museum understands that, and I further understand they're massively constrained by funding, donors, sponsors, staff and time. So while this is a start, it has to become a priority. For this museum and every other. We can't get to 2022 and see nothing else. And that means I, in Colorado, should hear something more. I should hear they partnered with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (and museums across the country) to address these challenges and how the entire field is moving forward.
It's not one statue, it's just a symbol. And that's the problem.
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