To interpret: v.t. to explain or determine the meaning of something
Museums can play an important role in interpreting objects and sharing them. The permanent collection of the Japanese American National Museum reflects the institution's mission to preserve, interpret, and share. The Japanese American National Museum's permanent collection is made up of a broad assortment of books, photographs, documents, home movies, life histories, recordings, works of art, and other three-dimensional items. The end goal: to illuminate a diverse and dynamic community landscape.
At the Japanese American National Museum, curators arrange objects in exhibitions to convey certain ideas and stories. Sometimes items are chosen to represent broad, collective themes, such as the history of Japanese emigration to another country. Other times items are displayed to highlight the unique and particular journeys of an individual, family, or regional community. Depending upon the frame of reference, the same object will yield different information, evoke different sentiments, and reflect different experiences.
Furthermore, how objects are placed, arranged, or juxtaposed impacts their meaning. The matted and framed photograph conveys a different meaning than if the same work was casually placed in a case.
Summary
Collecting objects - whether they be three-dimensional artifacts, works of art, books, photographs, scrapbooks and albums, documents, archives, home-movies, or oral and life histories - is a form of making history. But simply amassing objects can be meaningless without considering how these objects might "speak." In other words, the stories, contexts, uses, and special meanings that can be gleaned from or inspired by the tangible item are just as significant as the actual object itself. In the case of Nikkei history and culture, there is still much that needs to be discovered and assessed. Therefore, how you make history is even more critical.