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  • 1.  Mannequin Color?

    Posted 08-08-2022 02:37 PM
    Hi Everyone-

    My organization recently ran into trouble with mannequin color (i.e., costumes worn by Black and Brown individuals on the solid white mannequins). I'm wondering if anyone here has encountered anything similar, and if you're willing to share any policies you may have on displaying textiles on mannequins?

    Thanks so much!
    Rachel

    Rachel B. Parham
    We all have our time machines, don't we?  The ones that take us back are memories.  The ones that take us forward are dreams  --The Time Machine


  • 2.  RE: Mannequin Color?

    Posted 08-09-2022 12:26 PM
    Hi Rachel,

    The Alaska State Museum uses a neutral grey color for our mannequins. It provides a little more versatility without favoring one skin tone or the other. I don't know if we've encountered a mannequin color issue in the past and that is why we do what we do now or if it was a conscious choice when our new exhibits were designed and installed in 2016.

    I can send you some images if you would like.

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    Amber Glen
    Administrative Assistant
    State of Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives, & Museums
    Juneau, Alaska
    amber.glen@alaska.gov
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Mannequin Color?

    Posted 08-09-2022 12:31 PM
    At my previous org (American Civil War Museum in Richmond, VA), our new long-term exhibit used the typical white forms default wrapped in black fabric, since it went with the aesthetic of the exhibit -- primarily black with pops of color, the mannequins faded into the background and let the artifacts pop.

    We deviated from this on two pieces: 1) We used a white form on a white dress, since the fabric was so sheer and fragile that we the black fabric showed through too much; and 2) we had a 1920s Klan robe on display in the last gallery that we did NOT want to have with a black form, since it unintentionally would have implied Black members of the Klan. 

    There wasn't a set policy, just case-by-case basis with an eye towards how form color would be perceived as it related to racialized threads of the narrative and related misconceptions, etc.

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    Stephanie Arduini
    Executive Director
    The Children's Museum
    Seattle WA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Mannequin Color?

    Posted 08-10-2022 11:32 AM
    Thanks so much, Amber, for getting back to me! Yes, I would love to see some images if you have a few handy. If it is easier, you can email them to me at rmbarnes21@gmail.com. 

    Thanks so much,
    Rachel

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    Rachel Parham MLS
    Archivist
    Newhall CA
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Mannequin Color?

    Posted 08-11-2022 12:02 PM
    Edited by Katherine Hijar 08-11-2022 12:03 PM
    We don't use mannequins at our museum, but my first thought was gray. Artist Amy Sherald uses gray for skin tones in her paintings, which is intended to shift focus away from skin color as a marker of identity.


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    KATHERINE HIJAR
    HISTORIAN
    San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
    San Francisco CA
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    Original Message


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