The process of privatisation of cultural heritage and the arts in Italy: analysis and perspectives

During the last decade, institutional changes in the cultural heritage sector triggered some fierce debate in Europe. This paper analyses the complex process of privatising cultural heritage and the arts in Italy, showing how the relationship between this process and urban regeneration policies is tacitly legitimising it, despite the harsh controversies it previously provoked. From a perspective of ‘territorialisation’ discussed in this paper, this policy process could enhance the involvement of the private sector, bringing to light new fields of research and application in the international heritage debate.     

Newman and his Audiences: 1825–1845

This article examines Newman's communication with others in a variety of modes. It suggests there was a deliberate underlying theme of preaching in whatever he did, not only from the pulpit, where his skills were famous, but in virtually all his other forms of discourse, from letter-writing to his setting up of the "retreat" at Littlemore. He used whatever means were available, including marketing and journalism as well as scholarly work, to bring a concept of public witness to his mission. His social life, as evidenced in his generally scrupulously kept appointments diaries, is analysed to demonstrate that it too was part of his holistic approach. The suggestion is that Newman was much more aggressive and publicly aware than is generally recognized and that he combined an intense personal internalizing with active public performance in a wide range of spheres.     

From Propaganda to Modernization: Media Policy and Media Audiences under National Socialism

To date, historians have worked on the assumption that NationalSocialism used the media to powerful propaganda effect. Yetat an early stage a few voices, especially within Anglo-Saxonscholarship, questioned whether the process was so direct. Increasinglythe individual media have been examined, both technically andin terms of their public the reactions they provoked. This essayexamines how the media can be said to have modernized underNational Socialism, and how newspaper readers, radio listenersand cinema audiences reacted to the development of the media.There were major differences. Radio was conceived as a mediumfor music and entertainment; new formats were developed in responseto listeners turning to programmes from abroad, so that Germanradio could no longer keep a monopoly on information. The majorityof feature films were melodramas and light entertainment, andalthough many carried a ‘message’, the cinema wasfundamentally a commercial, non-political sphere. Newspapersremained relatively conservative in presentation. The presswas largely concentrated in the hands of the party, so informationwas highly controlled, and due to difficulties of productionin wartime they became increasingly unattractive, and by 1942were trusted by few readers. The corpus of the media generallybecame technically more efficient, and sought to please itsgrowing audience. Total control of the media by the politicalleaders was not achieved. Particular elements, such as war films,or the ‘Wehrmacht Request Show’, had memorable success.Agenda setting by the media planners put certain key politicalideas into the forefront, and they were able to disseminatekey symbols and rituals of National Socialism. The media werebut one of many agents used, though, to foster political loyalty.The régime also, and more importantly, achieved thisby using existing attitudes, and through its permanent threatof violence towards the population, whom they also seduced withmaterial ‘treats’. It emerges that it is both possibleand helpful in studying the development of the media to examineit as a process of modernization in the media, in their organizationaland technical structures. This process was however underminedwherever in German society anti-modernist ideology and practicespersisted or fought back.     

Visual arts and cultural contexts: History and prehistory

Leppert, Richard. Art and the Committed Eye: The Cultural Functions of Imagery. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1996. xvii + 348 pp. including notes, references, and index. $63.00 cloth, $24.00 paper.

Carr, Christopher and Jill E. Neitzel, eds. Style, Society, and Person: Archaeological and Ethnological Perspectives. New York: Plenum Press, 1995. xx + 477 pp. including index. $69.50 cloth.     

Intellectuals,nationalism, and the arts

In this article we argue that the role of intellectuals was essential (1) in the formation of Finnish cultural policy and (2) for the development of national cultural administration and public arts subsidy system in the country in the period leading up to the Second World War. The actions of the intellectuals can be considered as political choices in a contingent socio‐political realm, and arts as an essential part of the signifying system. In Finland, intellectuals remained active in the intertwining areas between the state and civil society. We highlight the impact of their actions especially through a study of archival materials obtained from the State Arts Boards. At these Boards, the intellectuals served as representatives of their own fields of arts in general, and of certain professional and civic associations and societies in particular. These intellectuals acted in various roles depending on the subject matter at hand, and as a result the decisions made by the boards reflected predominantly the interests of some groups over those of others.     

Down by the sea: visual arts,artists and coastal regeneration

This paper takes a critical approach to the arts-led regeneration of Margate, south east England. It argues that regeneration policy has effectively utilised local characteristics to recreate Margate as an artful space, and has stimulated a local milieu of artistic and cultural activity. However, though the work of local artists is vital in producing Margate as a creative place, local artists are marginalised by policy interventions focussed on attracting new consumers and investors. Thus, this paper argues that a misplaced policy emphasis is failing to support the labour and social relations on which the interpretation of places as ‘creative’ is built, and arguably undermines the sustainability of an arts-based regeneration. This has implications for culture-led policy, calling for greater attention to be paid to the specific locations in which it is deployed, and to the networks of producers whose labour is critical to its success.     

Virtual anthropology and forensic arts: the facial reconstruction of Ferrante Gonzaga

In the last few years virtual anthropology has been used to solve different problems that could not be properly addressed using a traditional anthropological approach. Mainly when dealing with mummies or embalmed bodies, the virtual approach is the only solution to carry out a detailed analysis of the skeleton without jeopardizing the integrity of the physical remains.     

Indian Messiah: The Attraction of Meher Baba to British Audiences in the 1930s

This article considers the British reception of Meher Baba, an Indian religious figure, who first travelled to Britain in 1931. Following a tradition of Indian religious figures who toured Britain and America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Baba was removed from organised religion and placed emphasis on self‐realisation, and attracted large British followings notably dominated by women. This article argues that the 1930s witnessed a continuing interest in Indian religious figures and adherence to Orientalist stereotypes about Indian religiosity despite changing political dynamics. Exploring a range of public and private responses to Baba, following comparison with his contemporary Jiddu Krishnamurti, and discussing the role of British mediators Paul Brunton and Francis Younghusband, this article explores British impressions of Indian religious figures in the 1930s and how they were informed by notions of race, religiosity, and gender.     

博物馆观众娱乐性需求的认识与博物馆娱乐功能的确立

作为社会教育机构的博物馆与满足观众的娱乐性需求之间是一种既对立又统一的关系。处理好这一矛盾的关键就是博物馆在重视社会教育功能的同时,必须正视观众的娱乐性需求,应该把娱乐功能作为自身的一项重要的社会功能,并尽可能地满足观众的娱乐性需求。博物馆娱乐功能的发挥和加强,这不仅有利于博物馆更好地面向社会、面向观众,而且也有利于博物馆作为一种社会文化教育机构的作用在更宽广的范围里得到有效的实现。