Exhibition Reviews

"Treasures Untold: Unique Collections from Devoted Fans." Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37203.
     Temporary exhibition, Oct. 11, 2002–April 10, 2003. 4,000 sq. ft. Michael Gray, curator; Carolyn Tate, designer; Justine Gregory, education head.
     Curator's tours, "Show and Tell: Creating Exhibits" family workshop, Vince Gill instrumental demonstration.
     Internet: visitors' guide, news archive and exhibit information, educational programs, historical timeline and articles, hall of fame members, audio and video clips <http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/index.html> (Nov. 30, 2002).

As the stars of country music are fond of saying, they owe it all to their fans. The same is true of the new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which must support itself essentially by packaging country music history in various formats and selling it to the genre's fans. But since it moved to a new $37 million building in downtown Nashville, the museum's necessary commercialism has led academic historians of popular music to worry that it may abandon its historical mission to focus on the more popular and profitable business of chronicling contemporary celebrities. A new temporary exhibition, "Treasures Untold: Unique Collections from Devoted Fans," should allay some of those fears by departing from the star-driven narrative that dominates elsewhere in the museum and casting the spotlight instead on the everyday social practices that give country music its resonance.	1
Fans have used a striking array of materials to illustrate their engagement with country music, from rare stringed instruments to guitar picks, club journals to amateur discographies cataloging an artist's entire recording career. One case displays several examples of radio logs in which listeners listed and commented on each song played on the air by favorite performers, often over the course of years. Another display presents a remarkable assortment of props and promotional paraphernalia connected with the 1970s performers the Mandrell Sisters; table place settings from fan club parties, a supermarket cutout of Barbara Mandrell endorsing pantyhose, and a costume from the Mandrell Sisters' television show are just some of the ephemera meticulously organized and labeled by Kathleen Betters and Robert Betters of Mechanicsville, Virginia.	2
"Treasures Untold" demonstrates that the documentary impulse is essentially a social one. These collections memorialized for their creators very personal experiences, but many of them also became ways to communicate with the artists who inspired them and with others who appreciated the same work. Ruth Thomason sent her logs of Bob Wills's radio show to the western swing bandleader at the end of each year; Marion Hoffman corresponded with one of country music's early stars, Vernon Dalhart, to compile a comprehensive discography of his work, and his letter of thanks is included in the display. Other material was generated for distribution through fan clubs and similar social networks. Jim Evans began as a collector, went on to found the posthumously organized Jimmie Rodgers Fan Club, and eventually played a pivotal role in creating the Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Festival in 1953, one of the first national events celebrating commercial country music.	. . .