Staff 19th-20th century

Curator: What strikes me most about this staff is the visible hand of the artisan in its making. Editor: I see a wooden sculpture titled "Staff" dating back to the 19th or 20th century, located at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It is simple and imposing, but I am curious about what kind of carving tools would be needed to get this result, and its cultural value? Curator: Exactly! We have to look at the whole process. From felling the tree, to seasoning the wood, the maker had knowledge that guided their skilled labour and understanding of the environment. How did they learn their craft? Was there a market for this type of ritual object, and who benefited economically from its distribution and consumption? What kind of ritual value does this have to the consumer of the item? Editor: Those are some great things to think about! But how would this ‘indigenous Americas’ object enter a museum? Curator: Indeed, it compels us to think about structures of power. What were the trade networks, resource extraction industries and systems of belief at the time that determined the means for the wood and the culture, and ultimately this staff to be circulating in the first place? How do these global conditions give value to the materials here in the museum and, most crucially, for whom? Editor: That makes me wonder how the meaning of the staff has changed over time. It started as an object of labor, became something of ritual and artistic value, and now rests in a museum with a whole different set of values attached. Curator: Precisely. Its meaning isn’t inherent, but constructed and shifting. By studying its materiality, we can unearth those complex processes. Editor: Thanks, that gives me a lot to consider regarding not only this work, but about every artwork’s journey. Curator: Yes. By tracing the making and remaking, the meaning of art reveals deeper truths about ourselves and the world around us.