In light of the College's decision to open the Hovey's murals up to the public, the Hood Museum of Art faces challenges in creating exhibition space for controversial subject matter.
According to Tim Rub, Director of the Hood, the space in the basement of Thayer Hall, which now houses Hovey's Pub, will be transformed into an art gallery under the jurisdiction of the Hood between June and September of next year. Lighting and possible seating will be major technical considerations in the transformation.
Other issues stem from the fact that the murals depict Native Americans drunk and scantily clothed. For this reason they have been covered since the 1979 when the administration decided they undermined the College's rededication to its original mission to educate Native Americans.
According to Rub, a public meeting place such as Hovey's was not appropriate for artwork that some people find offensive, but censorship "leads you down a slippery slope." The Hood is now considering how to exhibit the work in its own space but has yet to make any final decisions.
"Our objective is not to provide interpretation but opportunity for exploring the meaning of the murals," Rub said. "My original thought would be to create didactic materials, such as brochures, to accompany the murals. Maybe it would be interesting to have a book for people to write their responses."
The Hood's exhibition committee is primarily responsible for decisions concerning displays. According to Rub, an ad hoc committee may be formed to deal with specific issues of the murals.
"One of the things we need to do is be very careful that any decisions about interpretive material is developed with the Native American Council," Rub said.
Moving the murals from the basement of Thayer was a possibility, but this was rejected because the murals are cite-specific; they were painted as a "lighthearted background for a drinking room," Rub said.
Painted in 1937-38 by Walter Beach Humphrey '14 to the words of the Richard Hovey's 1894 song "Eleazar Wheelock," the murals resemble the cartoon style of Disney movies. They come from the illustration genre of the thirties, similar to Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers.
In the main section of the murals, Eleazar Wheelock, a large bellied character in colonial attire serves ale to Native Americans. The scene is adorned with the words: "Drink to Eleazar and his primitive Alabar, where he mixed drinks for the heathen in the goodness of his soul."
Due to their controversial words and images, the murals were covered for the majority of each year, opened only on certain occasions, usually associated with alumni events and visits. After much college-wide debate over censorship, in the spring former Provost John Strohbehn announced his recommendation that the murals be turned over to the Hood and "uncovered and permanently available for viewing."
"I think this is a turning point for Native Americans at Dartmouth," Colleen Larimore, former director of the Native American program, stated. "While we still consider the murals to be degrading and offensive, we cannot deny how Native Americans were viewed in the past at Dartmouth and in this country. Rather than fleeing from this past, we must face it and learn from it."
The open exhibition space will allow "different groups, different values, different life experiences bring different outlooks to the understanding of the murals," Rub said.
