Heather Alvarado, 5 December 2017
Working with an exhibition for the first time I witnessed some of the joys and some of the pains of the experience, though these were mostly joys. We were given a list of about seventy-five objects at the start of the semester, and told that we could choose items from this list for the show. I went through the list a few times trying to find something that spoke to me, and found a Czechoslovakian book of lace samples. I researched bobbin lace, and it was interesting, but it just was not what I was looking for. We were also given the option of looking into the online database of Nationality Room artifacts (https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/artifacts-nationality-rooms) to see if we found anything in there that we wanted to exhibit. It was also made clear, however, that nothing was a guarantee if we tried to request the use of something from the Nationality Rooms that wasn’t already on the pre-approved list.
I decided to test my luck. I scoured the database for all the Rooms of interest to me, or Rooms that were not greatly represented already, and then I found it! It was small Czechoslovakian kerchief. I knew that was the object I should choose. Even though I knew this was “my” object, I still did not attach any strong feelings to it. At that point, I thought it would be good to use but I did not think we’d be missing anything if the loan request fell through. Writing a loan request for an item I believed would add to the show, but I did not even feel strongly about it, changed the moment I hit the send button to turn in the written request. Waiting for the acceptance or denial was hard. It was always in the back of my mind. The change from finding it to asking for it was dramatic. I knew that this would fit perfectly with Visual Knowledge’s idea of conflict changing the world. I knew after asking for it, the kerchief was something that needed to be in the exhibition. I did receive my requested object, and a small silk kerchief from the former nation of Czechoslovakia was ours to display!
The excitement of the receiving the object for the show continued once I saw the actual article. It somehow was not the same as the photo in the database that I looked at fifty times before. The colors were more intense even on the faded fabric. The silk threads make it almost shimmer under the light. Seeing the blue, red and white that both the Czech Republic and Slovakia still use on their flags and seeing cities I know to be from the separate countries combined together into one country made me feel slightly awkward. I wasn’t sure if I should feel good about how the nation has become two independent countries, or feel bad that were broken apart. I never felt like that before even though I know a good deal of Czech history. I am so glad I found it in the database and took the risk of writing a loan request even when I wasn’t sure the request would be granted. My hope was that this object would make others think about identity and nationality and what conflict can do to these concepts. The message inscribed on kerchief reminds me that even in the worst times, we have to have hope, and have faith that things will get better in time.