Herron School of Art & Design students craft exhibit for Indiana eugenics project
In 1907 the Governor of Indiana signed into law a bill that is widely regarded as the world's first eugenic sterilization legislation. This law provided for the involuntary sterilization of approximately 2,500 of the state's most vulnerable citizens before it was repealed in 1974.
This dimension of Indiana history can be explored through an exhibit designed by students and a faculty member of the Herron School of Art and Design. Now open at the Indiana State Library, "Fit to Breed? The History and Legacy of Indiana Eugenics, 1907-2007," utilizes the unique architecture of the Indiana State Library to provide a visual experience that is both informative and thought provoking. The visitor not only takes a historical journey through Indiana eugenics, but also gets a glimpse into Indiana's genetic future.
Specifically, the body of the exhibit consists of numerous documents including books, journals, case studies, medical logs, photographs and historical artifacts that illustrate the broad scope and wide appeal of ideas of human betterment, race hygiene, eugenic mating and eugenic marriage. Articles, photos, scorecards and winning ribbons from the "Better Baby Contests" held at the State Fair and tools used to classify people as "fit" or "unfit" to breed, such as pedigree charts, family studies, field reports, I.Q. tests and photographs can be seen.
The viewer can expect to gain a greater understanding of the personalities and activities of key eugenics figures, the duties and operations of significant institutions, and the philosophies of influential organizations. The exhibit concludes by posing questions about contemporary issues involving genetics, bioethics, and human nature, leaving the answers up to the viewers' own reflections.
"History is a continuous process that we all ultimately shape," said Matthew Groshek, Public Scholar in Exhibition Planning and Design, who led the project at Herron. "The purpose of this exhibit is to denote and contextualize a significant slice of history in an effort to cultivate mindfulness of the past, awareness of the present, and knowledge for the future."
The exhibit is the result of the dedicated research of faculty and students from the Herron School of Art and Design, the History Department and the Medical Humanities and Health Studies Program of IUPUI; staff at the Indiana State Library and the Indiana State Archives; and two eugenics scholars from the University of Michigan and Georgia State University. Funding for this exhibit came from the Indiana University New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Program, the Solution Center at IUPUI, the Department of Pediatrics, and the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
The exhibit is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Indiana State Library, 140 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, through Aug. 31. Admission is free. For further information, visit: http://www.bioethics.iupui.edu/Eugenics/events.htm.
