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Sins of Omission, [Fred Wilson’s Mining the Museum] – Judith E. Stein

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The punningly titled “Mining the Museum,” an intervention at the Maryland Historical Society, provided Fred Wilson with his first on-site opportunity to show how museums reinforce racist beliefs. With his tongue only partly in his cheek, High Museum director Ned Rifkin once likened the historical role of museums in our culture to that of the word processor which offered the user two main options: “save” and “display.” Some social critics are interested in going beyond those two functions and fostering introspective examina­tions of the value judgments encoded in what and how museums preserve and present. That task can be as daunting as trying to pro­gram computers to “reflect.” Yet not all institutions are bound to the status quo. Recently some have welcomed critiquing artists and have been rewarded by an invigorating breath of fresh air. Such was the case with “Mining the Museum,” Fred Wilson’s popu­lar, influential and long-running installation this past season at the Maryland Histor

Art in America (October 1993): 110-115. The punningly titled “Mining the Museum,” an intervention at the Maryland Historical Society, provided Fred Wilson with his first on-site opportunity to show how museums reinforce racist beliefs. With his tongue only partly in his cheek, High Museum director Ned Rifkin once likened the historical role of museums in our culture to that of the word processor which offered the user two main options: “save” and “display.” Some social critics are interested in going beyond those two functions and fostering introspective exa

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