National Museums Liverpool Blog - other museums

When they handling team say they're moving houses they usually mean literally!

As I've mentioned many times before, there's never a dull moment for the handling and transport team. Since I last reported on their activities they have safely transported a huge variety of objects from our collections, including ship models, paintings, a stained glass window and some Hindu Gods (well, sculptures of them, anyway). Some have been moved from storage to the conservation studios for treatment and back again, other objects have been gone on or off display and a few have ben loaned to other organisations.

Some of the more unusual jobs have involved taking a whole rack of uniforms to the conservation freezer to treat a possible insect infestation and weighing weapons from the collection in order to determine the floor loadings of planned displays in the new Museum of Liverpool.

On a rare break from work a few weeks ago the team had a sneak preview of the new galleries currently under construction at the Museum of Liverpool. They were all impressed by the scale and design of the building. However in the back of their minds I'm sure they were all thinking the same thing - they'll have their work cut out installing all of the many objects in this huge building in time for the opening.

You can see what they've been up to in the Moving stories Flickr set of photos.

My view of Trafalgar Square from the Fourth Plinth

It's my first day back in work after a short break today, and I feel that I've returned with a whole new level of understanding of the works of art that I promote on the blog and website. For while I was off I did more than just DIY and sunbathing. I actually experienced what it feels like to be a work of art myself when I spent an hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of Antony Gormley's One and Other project. One hour, one plinth, one Sam.

I've spent many hours amongst the crowds in Trafalgar Square but have never had those crowds watching and photographing me before. One man asked if I was going to do anything, which is a bit of a strange thing to ask a sculpture. I've never heard anyone ask any of the figures in the Walker's sculpture gallery if they were going to do anything, our visitors seem quite content to appreciate the sculptures as they are with no expectations of entertainment.

I did do something on the plinth though - I took lots of photos (which you can see in my Fourth Plinth Flickr set), I talked to people, I chased a very persistent pigeon and I waved at a lot of people on open top tour buses. That's something that I miss now that I've returned to ground level - I still wave at the tour buses that go past in Liverpool but nobody on them is remotely interested in waving back to me any more now that I'm just a regular person again.

With so many distractions the hour passed very quickly. I really enjoyed my time on the plinth but don't think I could handle that level of attention and public scrutiny every day. I'll try to be kinder and less critical of any sculptures I see in the future, now that I know the kind of pressures they face being viewed each day, some of them patiently sitting outside in all weathers for the public's enjoyment.

As usual, when I was down in the capital I caught up with a few familiar faces, in this case 'Echo and Narcissus', who appear in the Walker Art Gallery painting that is currently on loan to the Waterhouse exhibition at the Royal Academy. It's a fantastic exhibition which also features 'The Decameron' from the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Rankin's studio at World Museum Liverpool

The bold and beautiful people of Liverpool called into World Museum Liverpool last Thursday to have their portrait taken by the acclaimed photographer Rankin.

For those who don’t know the name you will certainly know his work as there doesn’t seem to be a member of the glitterati he has not photographed. However it was “ordinary” scousers under the lens last week, as part of the Shoot Me, Rankin! project to photograph 1,000 people and form a portrait of modern Britain.

The whole process was quite fascinating to watch. A team of people looked after hair and make-up, while another team of photographic assistants worked on lighting, props, wind machines and the final touch ups of the portraits on the computer.

Rankin works amidst this whirl of assistants, producers, models and PR people, to produce stunning portraits that are all as different as each sitter but all maintain a Rankin "look".

The Shoot Me, Rankin! portraits will be on display alongside a major retrospective of Rankin's work at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London from 31 July to 18 September 2009.

If you have missed your chance to be photographed by Rankin you can still be photographed by a professional photographer at the Walker Art Gallery. The Iconic Portraits Competition is inspired by the Cecil Beaton: Portraits exhibition (until 31 August 2009).

Hello there

Thank you to everybody who voted for the International Slavery Museum in The National Lottery Good Causes Awards. We find out if we have made it through to the final on 3 August so watch this space. If we do make it through to the live TV show then I'll have to get my suit down to Johnson's, dig out my Homer Simpson tie and practice my TV smile!

Talking of smiles (now that is a good link) I saw the most famous in the world recently whilst I was on a weekend break to Paris. We spent nearly a whole day in the Louvre and 'tried' to get a close look at Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' or 'La Gioconda' (an alternative title as the sitter is probably the wife of an Italian merchant called Francesco del Giocondo). As you can see from the picture the Mona Lisa draws crowds of visitors most museums can only dream of. It really is a sight to behold although there is hardly any room to stand and admire the picture as people are busy barging past. As a museum professional I am almost as interested in the behavior of the visitor as much as the collections themselves though. Don't expect to be able to stand in front of her and act like an art connoisseur but still worth the effort if you ever visit.

The Louvre really is an enormous place and deserves days rather a day to see it. I suggest setting your sights on seeing a couple of galleries or even just several specific objects. It will still take you a while to get there! We also visited the sumptuous apartments of Napoleon III tucked away in their own wing and the Egyptian collections. I think the same goes though when you visit one of our venues here in Liverpool. You will never be able to see everything in one day so think about what interests you the most and start from there. You will undoubtedly pass something else which catches your eye. I loved visiting museums before I worked in them so I still have to fight the urge of spending all afternoon wandering the galleries at the World Museum Liverpool or Maritime Museum after a meeting!

Whilst in Paris we also went to visit the apartment of Le Corbusier, one of the most important figures in modern architecture and design. Something of which I am particularly interested. Another seamless link here is that Le Corbusier, like Da Vinci, used the proportions of the human body to improve both the function and appearance of architecture. Le Corbusier called his system the Modulor whereas Da Vinci's produced a famous version of the Vitruvian Man. You might not know his name or that Da Vinci drew him but think of the multi-limbed man in the square and the circle! 

Le Corbusiers apartment was not particularly large or in any way luxurious as one might expect from someone of his standing but it was truly functional and built around his own needs. It made me think of just how much space we actually need to use in our own homes. The apartment also contained many pieces of furniture and design features we now take for granted – such as its open plan feeling where the living and dining areas are integrated. I could go on but I might become a bit of an anorak.

Closer to home, the Walker Art Gallery has a new exhibition called New Radicals: From Sickert to Freud which features some fine examples of Modernist art for those of you who have a Modernist streak in you.

Au revoir for now.

John Lee's Sweetheart and Wives (1860) makes way for paintings returning from Stockholm

Regular visitors to the Walker Art Gallery may have missed some familiar faces from the Pre-Raphaelite room in recent months. Such is the enduring popularity of the Pre-Raphaelites that from time to time our works go travelling around the world on loan to other galleries. This time it was to an exhibition at Nationalmuseum Stockholm, but I’m happy to tell you they are now back where they belong.

You may well be seeing even more of one the returning works, Lorenzo and Isabella, as it is featured in the new BBC drama Desperate Romantics.

Tracey Emin, In You, 2009. Embroidered cotton. 13 9/16 x 16 1/8 in. (34.5 x 41 cm) © the artist. Photo: Stephen White. Courtesy White Cube.

She might ignite controversy wherever she goes, but Tracey Emin's artwork - particularly her sewn work - has an amazing skill that often seems to be overlooked. I checked out her latest exhibition 'Those who suffer Love' at the White Cube in London , which showed a range of neons, drawings and several sewn pieces.

Even if you don't 'get' what she is trying to say, I think you'd have to try pretty hard to not appreciate the skill involved in sewing what looks like a sketched drawing on a six-foot piece of cloth. You get up close and there are hundreds of small and precise stitches which create something that appears to be quite devil-may-care. One of the tiniest pieces of cloth seemed to hold the most emotion - a sewn 'sketch' of a kneeling figure, with the words 'no, no, no, no' stitched above it. 

I guess a lot of people find her work hard to relate to as it's so personal and she is always wearing her heart on her sleeve. But I think the things she shares seem quite universal; love, lust, loss, pain - they're all things most adults have experienced. I don't think you have to try too hard to find these emotions in her work either - what you see is more or less what you get. It's explicit (sometimes in both senses of the word!), simple, sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful.

I'm biased of course because as you will see from one of my previous posts, I am really into her anyway. But if you're in London in the next few days (it finishes on Sunday 5 July) I say go, give it a try and make up your own mind, rather than listening to the critics!

We'll be looking at the rich variety of work produced by well-known and lesser known female artists in our forthcoming exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery; 'The Rise of Women Artists'. You can see it from 23 October 2009 - 14 March 2010.

Ryoanji Zen garden

Konichiwa

Well I am back at work after my break in Japan, as interesting and exciting a destination as I have ever visited. It really is a mix of the old and the new and this cannot be better personified than the city of Kyoto. I spent 5 days in Tokyo, truly a metropolis of bright lights, fashionistas and the latest gadgetry but Kyoto – what some call the cultural heart of Japan - is where the clash of worlds is most obvious. As soon as you step off the Bullet train you enter Kyoto's futuristic looking plate glass and steel frame rail station building designed by Hiroshi Hara. The Bullet train really is as efficient as you are told and quite a shock for someone used to British trains when your reserved carriage actually stops in front of you and on time. I can only hope a contingent of British rail carriers executives have their next annual conference in Japan and invite the CEO of Japan Rail as the keynote! The area around the station has hotels, offices and shops aplenty like most major cities but scratch under the surface and there lies a hidden world of temples and Zen gardens of all shapes and descriptions.

I wanted to visit one in particular – Ryoanji (part of the Peaceful Dragon Temple) in North Kyoto which is a simple gravel and Zen garden. It was also visited by Monty Don in the BBC programme Around the World in 80 Gardens! On the day we visited there were already hoards of tourists there (Monty Don must have been allowed access before the crowds) and as such it was difficult to have a totally peaceful experience. There was also maintenance taking place on the viewing platform but even so, the simplicity and beauty of the garden was palpable. To get to it though you had to first walk through the beautiful temple grounds with its cherry blossoms, lake and shrines. It made me think of something I was once told by a leading expert on Stonehenge on a visit to the World Heritage Site. We stood like the masses of tourists facing inwards looking at the famous stone structure but then he told me to turn around and face outwards, to look at the surrounding landscape. Nobody else was doing this but to get a real understanding of Stonehenge he said it had to be seen in relation to its surroundings.

I could not resist visiting a few museums whilst I was over there and thoroughly enjoyed the Tokyo National Museum. It is situated in the beautiful Ueno Park which was in full cherry blossom bloom during our visit. The park was packed with families, tourists and strangely... Tokyo rockers! Several rockers were dancing their hearts away to some loud Japanese rock 'n' roll directly opposite the museum entrance. The museum grounds are also the location of the Le Corbusier inspired Gallery of Horyuji Treasures which was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi (he was also the architect for MoMA in New York) which consists of over 300 objects, mainly from the 7th - 8th century, which were donated to the Imperial Household by the Horyuji Temple in 1878. It was a bit too dark for my liking inside the actual galleries but I liked the sense of space in the research area and library as well as the overall design. 

We also decided to take a day trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima. It was as expected a very somber and sobering trip but an interesting one nonetheless. I was particularly impressed with the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb victims and Hall of Remembrance which was a very informative and respectfully designed centre. This was in sharp contrast to the larger Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which in comparison had some rather dated displays. I am fully aware of the need to be respectful when looking at sensitive subjects but you also sometimes need to be quite graphic and not water down displays or exhibits. This museum might have taken that further than I personally would have though, that said; it was very busy with a large amount of schoolchildren who would have had to face issues which unfortunately are still with us in the world today. So it was a great trip and I thoroughly recommend it as a destination for museum aficionados, general culture vultures, amateur gardeners and even rockers!

Bye for now.

 

King Henry in formidable form

I recently watched the film adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s 'The Other Boleyn Girl’ – I can’t say I enjoyed the mixing of fact with fiction, but it made me think about how much speculation, debate and gossip Henry VIII has drummed up in the 500 years since he became King. I am sure he would absolutely thrilled that his reputation is still thriving in the 21st century due to his larger-than-life character, ill-fated marriages and the major decisions he made that have shaped the history of the country (not to mention a million documentaries and dramatisations). Any publicity is good publicity, right?

 

Henry was declared king in April 1509 and just about everywhere up and down the country with a Henry connection is marking the occasion. I am desperate to get to Hampton Court for the Henry VIII: Heads and Hearts exhibition, as well as the Dressed to Kill at The Tower of London and Man & Monarch at the British Library. Infuriatingly I’m missing out on the Great Recreation of Tudor Life at Kentwell Hall this summer which will be focused on the Henrican year of 1535. (Look out for Kentwell on Channel 5's ‘I own Britain’s Best Home’).

In the meantime I am relishing the prospect of David Starkey’s new documentary, Henry VIII - Mind of a Tyrant which starts on Channel 4 this Monday 6^th April. The episodes are billed with the tantalising subtitles of Prince, Warrior, Lover and Tyrant. The Walker’s own spectacular Henry VIII portrait is to be featured on 20^th April with David doing a piece to camera from the gallery. You can brush up (pardon the pun) on our iconic painting on the website – there’s an in-depth write-up and podcast, as well as some fun online stuff for kids to do.

If you’re looking for family friendly activities with a hint of Henry then don’t miss the Walker’s ‘Terrible Tudors’ day on 18 April when there’ll be mask making, music and drawing activities. Sounds fun – though I say less of the Terrible - the Tudor dynasty will always be undeniably terrific in my eyes!

We billed The Beat Goes on exhibition ‘from The Beatles to the Zutons’, but has anyone heard of 'from The Hollies to the Happy Mondays'? That’s what you’ll find if you take a trip to the other end of the East Lancs Road, to Salford Museum & Art Gallery. They’re currently showing Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs – a small but perfectly formed exhibition about the music scene in Salford.

I spent a happy hour there a few weeks ago and thought there were a few gems to be seen. Top of the list for me were notes by Morrissey and Johnny Marr – with Salford Lads Club getting its rightful mention. There’s also handwritten lyrics to Crosby, Stills & Nash’s Teach Your Children, signed by one of my all time idols,  Graham Nash. There are some childhood pictures of Graham at his home in Salford, before his success with The Hollies and later with CS&N stole him from these shores.

The Beat Goes On exhibition

Other items featured in the exhibition relate to Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Anthony Wilson including The Hacienda , The Ting Tings, and even The Salford Jets - former band of Rock Radio 106.1 DJ Mike Sweeney (yes, he's still going on radio, and very good he is too). 

On the other hand, if you are reading this from the outskirts of Manchester, hop on the train to World Museum Liverpool where you’ll find The Beat Goes On exhibition covering Liverpool’s finest music. Morrissey fans will be thrilled by the Billy Fury display. Old Hacienda heads will feel at home in the Cream and Quad sections, while first generation punks and indie kids will be bowled over by memories of  Eric's, The Las and other such legends. Oh, and then there’s that other band from Liverpool. You may well need more than one trip to take it all in.

The 1911 census records for England and Wales have been made public, two years earlier than the 100 year embargo. The returns contain more information than previous years including length of marriage, the number of children in the household, any guests on the night in question and more occupational information. For the first time you can see the actual form your ancestor filled in, complete with crossings out, mistakes and any additional notes not transfered to the official enumerator's summary. You can search them on the 1911 census website.

It's thought that several thousand women boycotted the census in protest at women being denied the vote. Some of these refused to fill in the form but submitted a protest statement, so their presence will be registered although without details. The women who stayed away from home for the night and so evaded the count will not feature at all.