Fred Wilsons Mining Th -Op/111

To demonstrate how museums ignore or misrepresent the cultural contributions and history of blacks and Native Americans, New York installation artist Fred Wilson recently ``mined'' the Maryland Historical Society's collection (with that institute's cooperation) to create a powerful exhibit. His startling juxtapositions, recreated in this remarkable catalogue, include a Ku Klux Klan hood nestled in a turn-of-the-century baby carriage and iron slave shackles alongside a fine silver tea set. Wilson, a conceptual artist of African American and Carib descent, has rearranged and labeled marble portrait busts, reward posters for runaway slaves, cigar-store Indians with backs turned to the viewer, doll houses and other artifacts. This highly provocative album argues for a more open, inclusive relationship between cultural institutions and the communities they serve. Corrin, co-curator of the ``mock exhibit,'' provides an illuminating interpretive essay. (May)