To the Editor:Re “Accountability for Museums’ Plunder, at Last,” by Erin Thompson (Opinion guest essay, Feb. 5):Some might cringe at Ms. Thompson’s suggestion that museums that return stolen artifacts could replace them with replicas.
Frankly, my recent museum visits to big-name shows have left me more irritated than awed by being in the presence of revered “originals.”First, the virtual queue tickets, then the snaking lines and then the crush — straining to see over the heads of other acolytes, some of whom cannot resist giving curatorial mini-lectures to their companions as they block your view entirely.
And all those iPhones snapping away, held high to capture every precious moment.
So much of seeing hyped-up museum exhibits today seems to be about telling people you saw them, not learning from them.
Persons:
Erin Thompson