Museum exhibit on Enduring Beauty

ray scupin (scupin@LC.LINDENWOOD.EDU)
Wed, 8 Mar 1995 12:45:48 -0600

Dear Colleagues:

While traveling through Malaysia this past summer I visited the
National Museum in Kuala Lumpur. They had a special exhibit called
"Enduring Beauty" with excellent texts, photos, and artifacts regarding
the use of lip plates, labrets, dental alterations, ear ornaments, neck
ornaments, including the brass coils used by people such as the Padaung,
footbinding in China, corsets among Western women, scarification and body
piercing of all types, tatooing, and head deformation. The exhibit was
global including peoples from all over the world, and the photos and
artifacts were excellent. They also had a section focusing on piercing
and tatooing among the young in Western societies.

The exhibit had loose ties with Nigel Barley in London. However,
it was put together by a Malaysian, Dato Shahrum Yub, who is with the
Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism. I wrote him a letter
complimenting him on the exhibit.

I just received a letter from Malaysia regarding the exhibit.
The exhibit has relocated to Malacca permanently. However, the director
of the exhibit intends to duplicate the texts, photos, and artifacts to
have a world wide exhibition, traveling from country to country.

The director of the exhibit in Malacca, Nik abdul Rashid Bin nik
abdul Majid, wants to show the traveling exhibit on the East Coast,
Midwest, South, and West Coast in the U.S. He wants me to find out who
to contact about a proposed exhibition in these areas.

I believe that the exhibit would have strong appeal in the US and
elsewhere. It is extremely interesting, and the textual material is
anthropologically sound and very impressive. Would anyone know of
someone that I could contact about establishing connections for an
exhibition of this type? Frankly, I don't have a clue about how to
begin doing this. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,


Sincerely,


Ray Scupin
Sociology/Anthropology Dept.
Lindenwood College
209 S. Kingshighway
St. Charles, MO 63301
314-949-4730 (Office)
314-949-9244 (Home)
314-949-4910 (Fax)

Not chaos-like, together crushed and bruised,
But, as the world harmoniously confused:
Where order in variety we see,
And where, though all things differ, all agree

Alexander Pope
"Windsor-Forest."