Thesis on pre-Jurassic Park dinosaur toys and museum displays

[Retrosaurus]

Kia Ora everyone,

I recently completed my Masters Degree in Visual Arts and wanted to share with you my Thesis, These are not toys: A Sculptural and Photographic Exploration of Popular Palaeontology Representation in Museums and Toys pre-Jurassic Park. It may be of interest to anyone interested specifically in vintage dinosaur toys and museum displays. The link and abstract are below. Please note that many of the images have been omitted from online publication due to copyright reasons.

Thanks 

https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/58b758ed-b9f5-40a5-93f0-2ea67249f2fe

Abstract:

This practice-led research explores the portrayal of prehistoric animals in toys, palaeoart, and museum displays pre the 1993 film Jurassic Park. Of interest is the ever-changing nature of pop-palaeontological culture and how this constant change is reflected in representations and reconstructions of prehistoric life. My research positions 1993 as a division between a pre-digital and digital age of pop-palaeontological culture and museum display methods, and identifies their common pre-digital physical properties. The project seeks to convey that within this context, outdated representations of pop-palaeontological culture and methods of museum display, do not necessarily infer irrelevant knowledge. By constructing a fictitious museum—called The Pop-Palaeo Museum—that uses multimedia sculptural and photographic methods, I express what is lost through a disregard for pre-digital museum displays and highlight the dinosaur as an ever-changing form. Specifically, my methods draw on analogue techniques, which are reworked through contemporary processes aligned with pre-1993 representations of prehistoric life.

[DinoToyForum]

Sounds really interesting, I'll certainly be taking a look.

[KronoGarrett]

That's a neat thing to think about.

I'm thinking about the distinct dusty smell of the old Cleveland Museum of Natural History now, display cases with their headings in Microgramma.  I wonder if it will smell the same after the big reconstruction...

[Libraraptor]

I will definitely be reading this. Stuff like that is of high interest to me. Thanks for sharing!

[Duna]

Oh, that sounds very cool!! I'd love to read it.

[Libraraptor]

@Retrosaurus Worked myself to most of your stuff and I am really impressed from what you brought to the table! A significant contribution indeed!

[Retrosaurus]

@Libraraptor thank you very much