Maybe neither here nor there - I was always taught that Fine Arts had to do with the "intellect and abstract" and Decorative Arts with "functional" items - so you have Arts and Crafts. Then you have the Visual Arts vs Fine Arts distinctions. I am no help, but I am very interested in the outcome of your dilemma. O Olivia Anastasiadis, Supervisory Museum Curator Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. Yorba Linda, CA 92886 (714) 983-9125 fax (714) 983-9111 [log in to unmask] On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 12:20 PM, Sarah Gillis <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Oh wise ones, > > > > I have been deeply rooted in a re-classification of the collection for the > past year, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Well, I > thought I could. Before everyone signs off on the new, expanded types of > classifications for the collection, there is one conundrum that I need to > sort out, Decorative Arts. > > > > Here’s come context: > > Previously, all non-fine art objects shared the same classification of > “Decorative Arts,” with different assigned departments such as “Americas” > “Europe” “Asian,” etc. Through collaborative meetings, a working group > (containing both curatorial and non-curatorial staff) has come up with a > new group of classifications, which eliminates the black hole of “Dec Arts” > such as “Ceramics” “Metalwork” (with sub-classes) “Jades” and the like. > > > > Previously you had to search “Classification = Decorative Arts” AND > “Medium = porcelain, stoneware, ceramic, terracotta” to get anything under > the new stand-alone “Ceramics” classification, and there would always be > something that fell through the search gap. > > > > It turns out, now that Dec Arts is on the verge of being eliminated, some > of my colleagues are getting nervous about this and want it to stay at the > root classification, with each new classification as a sub-classification. > > > > At present, we do not have a department of decorative arts, and I’m not > sure that is on the horizon. > > > > SO, if Decorative Arts is being insisted to remain, then there needs to be > an acknowledgement for what is considered Fine Arts. Since there is no Dec > Arts department, is there a way to create groups of collections together > within the database? From a tree perspective this would be in-between > department and classification. I know in other databases you can, but > wasn’t sure if this was a new feature for TMS (we’re having upgrade issues > so I’m still stuck on 2012!). Ideally being able to assign a collection > for Decorative Arts would solve the problem. > > > > How have other institutions dealt with the Fine Arts v. Decorative Arts > conundrum? It has been such a prevalent classification for so long in this > institution, that my colleagues don’t know what to do without it. > > > > Is there something that can be done in the backend that would accommodate > database queries for “Decorative Arts”? I thought about adding it as an > attribute, which might solve the problem. > > > > Anyhow, I would love to hear anyone’s feedback on this. > > > > Thanks! > > Sarah L. Gillis* assistant registrar, image management* > > > WORCESTER ART MUSEUM / worcesterart.org <http://www.worcesterart.org/> > fifty-five salisbury street / worcester, ma 01609 > direct 508.793.4427 <(508)%20793-4427> / general 508.799.4406 > <(508)%20799-4406> > > [image: cid:9858A6EF-D4FD-4D7C-AA04-57634F049BD7] > > > > *Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Art from the Roberta and Richard Huber > Collection *March 11 - July 9, 2017 > > > > > To unsubscribe, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the > following commands in the body of the email: > > signoff TMSUSERS > > // eoj > > You will receive a confirmation that your subscription has been removed. > To unsubscribe, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the following commands in the body of the email: signoff TMSUSERS // eoj You will receive a confirmation that your subscription has been removed.