Randall Craig, Sr.; Aaron Bryant, Curator; Robin Howard, Interviewer; Recorded by the Digital Media Center, Morgan State University; James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; February 2, 2008
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Created in honor of the Newark Museum’s Centennial, Party Time: Re-imagine America is a major site-specific installation by internationally acclaimed artist Yinka Shonibare MBE. Party Time is set in the mahogany-paneled dining room of the Ballantine House, built in 1885 for the prominent Newark brewing family Jeannette and John Holme Ballantine and part of the Museum’s campus since 1937. In this opulent interior, the artist has staged an imagined scene of a late nineteenth century dinner party midway through a multi-course feast. Eight headless figures, dressed in period costume made from the artist’s signature “Dutch wax” fabric, are seated around an elaborately set table as a servant appears bearing the main course, a peacock served on a silver platter. The animated body language of the guests suggests a moment in which proper Victorian etiquette has been cast away as an indulgent celebration of prosperity tips toward misbehavior and even debauchery. Referencing the discrepancy of wealth generated by turn-of-the-century enterprise, this scene of self-indulgence prompts comparison with our contemporary culture of greed and material excess.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Brief lecture and comparative criticism on Robert Houston’s photography
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Seth Bruggeman’s “Studies in Material Culture” class is showcasing the extraordinary stories behind ordinary objects in its exhibit “The First Person Museum.”

This is a brief overview that provides guidelines for doing a museum review.
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This video provides a brief overview of JELMA’s history and collection. The James E. Lewis Museum of Art is at Morgan State University, an Historically Black University in Baltimore, Maryland.
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John Holyfield “Slice of Life” segment on Our World with Black Enterprise; Ed Gordon, Interviewer; TV One, March 2007

Magnes co-founder, Rebecca Fromer, discusses the importance of preserving material culture.During the political upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jews fled their homes and communities in and around India, North Africa, and the former Ottoman Empire. As much of this material culture was being actively destroyed, artifacts from these communities were at risk of vanishing altogether. In response, Magnes co-founders Rebecca and Seymour Fromer, curator Ruth Eis, and volunteer Rabbi Bernard Kimmel traveled to these areas, sometimes at great personal risk, to collect and preserve these materials for future generations. These unique objects were researched as part of the museum’s multi-year Collection Access Project, which will enable the museum to dramatically improve the care, interpretation, and exhibition of the permanent collection. This video was filmed as part of the Museum Loan Network’s “Collecting Stories: Connecting Objects” Grant and the Journeys East, Patterns of Collecting exhibition: dl.lib.brown.edu www.magnes.org Alla Efimova, Magnes Chief Curator, interviewed Rebecca and Seymour Fromer and Ruth Eis on April 20, 2006 at the home of Ruth Eis in Oakland, CA. Filming by Perian Sully and editing by Casondra Sobieralski.
Video Rating: 5 / 5