Museums are invaluable resources for examining and appreciating other cultures, other worlds, and other times. We now know, more than ever, the evil that humans can engineer. And yet museums remind us of and reaffirm the greatness that the human spirit is capable of creating. Museums also provide incredible insights into the role that art and the artist have played in shaping and reflecting our times, our perceptions, and our judgments. Material artifacts—fine arts, decorative arts, graphic design, and ephemera—are repositories of many stories, documenting man's motivations, opinions, intentions, and ideas. Examined collectively, they provide invaluable insights that cannot be found in written documentation.
The Wolfsonian's collection and curatorial approach can provide the tools and vocabulary to help read and understand the images emerging out of the current events. The symbols haven't changed, nor has the role of the image-maker. What's changed is the historically specific circumstance and the forms of transmitting images. The mass-produced messages we receive are relatively the same. As in past periods of conflict, today we are seeing powerful images of national identity, unity, political and economic policy, tolerance and intolerance, among others.
The
Wolfsonian hopes to engender an appreciation of ordinary objects and
enhance the understanding of how objects and mass-produced images have
been used to effect social, political, and technological change. We hope
that as a result people will become better critical thinkers. As was the
case with the first and second world wars, this time is being documented
in our culture in ways that will take us years to fully understand, if
ever. We are committed to demonstrating how our museum can be an important
resource—in good times and bad—stimulating lively debate and
meaningful discussion.
The Wolfsonian's collection celebrates the industrial age and
how the machine made our world modern. It is therefore appropriate that we
use new and emerging technologies
to continue to develop Wolfsonian.org and make our unique collection accessible.
After you become acquainted with our collection through this Web site, we
hope you will make visiting our museum a priority. The Wolfsonian-FIU is
located in the heart of the historic Art Deco District in Miami Beach, where
you will discover a lively blend of New World cultures. Whether you experience
our museum virtually or physically, we hope you will emerge with an enhanced
appreciation of how objects act as agents and reflections of political,
social, and technological change. So equipped, you may better be able to
draw on the past to gain a better understanding of the present.
Our educational programs provide another way in which we use our collection
to develop a keener awareness of visual culture. Artful Truth-Healthy Propaganda
Arts Project (www.artfultruth.org)
is just one example of our effort to reach students, in this case to support
curriculum for grade-school children across the state of Florida. Funded
by Florida's Division of Health Awareness and Tobacco, this innovative educational
initiative and its corresponding Web site encourages fourth- through sixth-grade
students to develop the critical-thinking skills that will enable them to
become more sophisticated consumers, better able to discern the truth behind
advertising messages, and the signs and symbols that punctuate our environment.
We encourage students, along with their parents, to use the resources presented
in this site.
Our museum shop offers a selection of scholarly and popular design publications
and books as well as an exciting inventory of contemporary design objects,
gifts, and postcards. Proceeds from the shop, along with membership and
ticket income, support the museum's exhibitions and educational programs.
We are very pleased with how the New York-based firm Funny Garbage has helped
create a site that is easy to navigate and beautifully designed.
We welcome your comments and suggestions about both this Web site and the
museum in general. Feel free to write to me at director@thewolf.fiu.edu.
Enjoy your visit!
Cathy Leff
Director
