Autry Museum and the challenge of displaying "convergence" in Western exhibits

Here is an article that may be of interest to many of you. Published yesterday in the New York Times, it addresses many of the challenges involved in presenting a revised portrait of the American West in museum displays. Journalist and critic Edward Rothstein presents a critique of the Autry National Center of the American West's efforts to reconfigure their exhibits and shift focus away from a "Wild West" narrative to one of "convergence," which, as their website explains, is "a way of seeing the evolving story of the American West as an interwoven tapestry of cultures and peoples." As Rothstein trenchantly observes, "The main difficulty has been in the interweaving."

Here is a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/arts/design/at-autry-national-center-in-los-angeles-histories-converge.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnlx=1379953227-89GNE8xZuNpl76mkGzmsnA