January 14 – March 19, 2010
Installation view at the DePaul University Art Gallery
Most museums remove items from their collections from time to time, a process known as deaccessioning. As a rule it is done discreetly, yet the process is fascinating and the issues it raises are profound: How is quality determined? Are canons of taste immutable? This exhibition spotlights the deaccessioning of objects from DePaul's collection, inviting scholars from art history, philosophy, and anthropology—and visitors—to weigh in on the works of art and their fate.