A posthumanist approach to heritage conservation. The case of the Wilanow collection

Abstract

This text presents the reasons, the background and some results of the study on preventive maintenance of the historic collection in the Museum of the Palace King Jan III in Wilanow. Being a witness of the crisis of modernity and the opening of a posthuman approach, I propose to use the methodology inspired by Actor-Netwok Theory (ANT) to envisage the mentioned above process as constituted by heterogenous actors-network rather than a personal decision-making sequence. By following the actors, a chart of the museum actor-network has been developed and analyzed. „Black-boxing” and „translations” have been identified and explained in detail as these ANT categories are most recognizable within the museum’s everyday practices. There is also presented an organisational diagram of the Musem in Wilanow as an exact reflection of the ANT approach to the museum’s activities. In general, this study supports the necessity of using a new language to describe the reality which cancels modern subject-object dichotomy.