This summer while at the beach, I finished an interesting book. I spend time at the beach reading when I can. I finished an interesting book called Loot. It is about the ongoing controversy concerning ancient artifacts, the purchase of those artifacts by Western museums (The Met, the Louvre, the British Museum and the Getty), the constant stealing of those artifacts by unscrupulous people, and the incessant making of arguments about who should possess these artifacts. The book is fascinating.
In the past, the West felt such cultural superiority that it took whatever it wanted when it found it. Thus, the bust of Nefertiti is to be found in Berlin, most of the statues from the Parthenon are in London, and the Zodiac ceiling from the temple of Dendera is in Paris. The West took because it believed itself superior and thought that its citizens should be exposed to all of these past beauties. The West takes, but then displays.
Presently, in an age in which the West is ashamed of its taking of things, many arguments are being made to make the West give back everything it took. Some of these arguments are very legitimate. Some items are actually items stolen from non-Western museums (because of corrupt museum officials or lax security). When items are returned, however, odd things happen. First, no one comes to see them. Many of the countries demanding return are Islamic countries and much of the returned art is considered blasphemous by Islamic authorities. Second, when the art is returned it is often not cared for properly because the countries receiving the returned art do not have the funds or inclination to house it in a manner that preserves it. The questions here are myriad and interesting.
Finally, the book subtly calls into question some of the deeply held Enlightenment assumptions of the West. The entire concept of the museum is questioned. Why did (or does?) the West think that taking art out of its place is good and beneficial? Is this art really “property of humanity” or, if not, whose is it? (Often, the people requesting the return of the art are not descendents of the people who created the art.) Finally, and I am not sure that Waxman even intended this interpretation, the cultural fruitlessness of the modern West is on display in this book. Museums, on the surface places or propriety and snobbish high culture, are too often places where the lines of morality are blurred (or effaced). These museums are, in many cases, laundering items that they know, or should know, to be stolen. They try to hide this, but the three piece suits and affectations are not able to hide what is often just plain stealing. Also, the cultures of museums seem to have a smarmy sexual overtones. This was true of the Getty (where it seems everyone was sleeping with everyone), but it seems broader than just the Getty. This sexuality was not productive family life sexuality, but rather adulterous, rapacious, and homosexual. Instead of doing the work of creating art and culture these folks seem much more apt at thieving it and then sitting around with the artifact, admiring it, and pretending that they have some connection to it. One is reminded of the not-too-Christian Voltaire’s advice “Tend your own garden!” But the modern, “Enlightened” West has hit the end of the tether. We can no longer produce beauty. We can no longer create a culture with goals, objectives, and purpose. We have unwittingly cut ourselves off from the source of life (God) and now we twist in the wind. The best these folks can do is to steal things that other people (Christian and pagan) have created and sit around with these beautiful things attending to their own pleasures. It is pathetic.
If you are looking for a fun read that raises interesting questions, Loot might be for you!
