On April 28, Carnegie Science Center followed a long-standing tradition of celebrating the birthday of one of its most popular attractions—the USS Requin (SS 481) submarine. Commissioned 78 years ago and moored on the shore of the Ohio River since 1990, it serves as a daily reminder of the ingenuity of its creators and the skill and fortitude of the hundreds of sailors who served—80 at a time—on its lengthy defense and scientific missions, some of which are still classified to this day.
What most visitors probably don’t consider is that this 1,516-ton Radar Picket submarine (the first ever built) is part of something extraordinarily vast, infinitelydiverse, and totally unique to Pittsburgh: the collections of the four Carnegie Museums. Tens of thousands of works of art—from paintings and sculptures to films and videos. Many millions of objects, artifacts, and fossils—from the skeletons of colossal dinosaurs to the remains of tiny fleas.
The people who care for them are part custodians, part detectives. Many are scientists, and some are artists. And while they are all archivists who spend many hours alone with their charges, they are also our museums’ ambassadors to the collections—filling information and loan requests from scientific researchers and art curators from around the world. Their work also inspires and informs exhibitions.
In this issue, you’ll read a story about three of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s newest collection managers, each of them passionately dedicated not only to protecting and preserving our collections but also to fostering a deep respect for their natural and cultural origins. You will see a fine example of that dedication in the story of anthropology collection manager Kristina Gaugler’s interaction with members of the Apsáalooke Nation.
In the issue’s cover story, Matt Gray, director of archives at The Andy Warhol Museum, explains how an unexpected archival discovery led to the museum’s current exhibition titled The Velvet Underground & Nico: Scepter Studio Sessions. Matt estimates there are some half a million objects in his care, many of them still arriving in boxes of material donated by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. And he says he is always looking to find a “deeper connection” in every object he discovers.
Recently, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a widely publicized report on what he calls the “epidemic of loneliness” afflicting our nation. The antidotes he prescribes are a restoration of community and a strengthening of “social connection.” Our museums foster social connection in a variety of ways, and one of the most powerful is through their collections, which draw people together around a shared focus of interest.
In short: collections connect. They connect us to history, to current scientific research, to other cultures, to our neighbors, and of course to our fellow visitors. They are at the core of everything we do at Carnegie Museums, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the dedicated staff who protect, preserve, and honor our collections and the stories they tell.
Steven Knapp
President and Chief Executive Officer
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
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