The Smithsonian

 

In the article How Does the Smithsonian Collect Artifacts?, Steven Turner, a curator in the Division of Medical Science at the Smithsonian, gives an overview of his role in collecting artifacts for the Physical Science collection. The artifacts he collects must speak to America's scientific heritage. However, in order to decipher which objects are important, one must be knowledgeable in the subject and about the object. As designers we have to become curators ourselves for a particular project or for our own development.

For instance, in the current project we are asked to create a book about a particular culture, but in order to represent that culture we have to educate ourselves about the culture. Through researching and collecting imagery of objects that these cultures interact with, we are able learn what importance these objects hold and thus understand the details of the culture. You could say that we become curators of information in which we later use to represent visually.

In the article, Turner mentions that the artifacts he collects are like a time machine because they provide the same experience they did for our ancestors. With that evidence he is able to understand what science meant to people in the past. In context to self development, especially as a design student, it's important to study art history or the history of design because it impacts our process and production. Through observing art and design created in the past we can have a better understanding of the role of the design then, but we can also see what role design plays now through studying contemporary artist and designers.

Article reference: How Does the Smithsonian Collect Artifacts?
Photo credit: The Smithsonian