Time.news – “Activists and art historians have lobbied museums to rethink the way they label art and artists, arguing that given Ukraine’s history of subjugation under the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, the its culture should not be confused with that of its rulers,” writes the New York Times.
Translated, it means that on Friday morning the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has changed the label under one of Edgar Degas’ paintings in “Ukrainian Dancers” from “Russian Dancers”, as the National Gallery in London had already done the year before, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The reconsiderations reflect a movement of thought currently underway in museums around the world.
“Academic thinking is evolving rapidly,” said Max Hollein, director of the Met, “due to increased awareness and attention to Ukrainian culture and history since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022” even though “the process is not always simple, especially when museums try to reflect the nationality of the artists, and not just the place where they were born”, underlines the American newspaper.
However, there are errors, because after the Met changed the description of Aivazovsky from “Russian” to “Ukrainian” on its website, some did not fail to point out that in reality “he was Armenian”.
The American newspaper went on to write that “art activists and historians have pressured museums to rethink the way they describe art and artists, arguing that “museums in the United States and Europe are complicit in its colonization if they do not honor the artistic contributions of Ukrainians.” “It’s like stealing heritage,” explained Oksana Semenik, a Kiev art historian who insisted on making the changes to the labels under the paintings: “How can you find your identity? How can you find your culture?”, she asked herself.
“Descriptions of nationality can be very complex, especially when making posthumous attributions,” said Glenn D. Lowry, museum director, in a statement to the NYTimes. “We typically do rigorous research and approach endorsements with particular sensitivity to the artist’s registered nationality at death and birth, the dynamics of emigration and immigration, and shifting geopolitical boundaries,” added Lowry.
As for the Met, the museum has been making corrections since last summer after consulting with curators and outside scholars, concluding that “the changes are in line with the Met’s efforts to continually research and examine the objects in its collection,” he said. the museum said in a statement, “to determine the most appropriate and accurate way to catalog and present them.”