National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, August 07, 2006

Time is ticking by if you want to take part in 'Digital Show' - an online exhibition of international digital art, which is part of the Independants strand of this year's Liverpool Biennial.

www.digitalshow.co.uk is a new website created by our friends at Art in Liverpool. They are looking for "exciting, interesting painting and drawing" created using computer software. The theme of fun because, in their words, "we like fun, its our favourite thing".

Full details can be found on the website. The deadline for entries is 31August 2006 - so you've got three weeks.

For many people summer means just one thing - the opportunity to dance yourself silly to some top bands in a big field, hopefully in the sunshine but more often in the rain and mud.

Nostalgic ravers may be interested to see memorabilia from Liverpool's Creamfields 2000 festival on display in the Reveal permanent exhibition in the National Conservation Centre.

Were you at Creamfields 2000? Or have you been to any major music festivals since then? Your memorabilia from these events could be featured in our new online gallery about the 'objects of your affection'.

Find out more about the unusual objects in the Reveal gallery and the challenges that they poses for conservators in the Revelation database, which is now available online.

Here are some behind the scenes shots of Sudley House, the art gallery and former merchants' house, which is undergoing a bit of a face lift at the moment. The building is currently closed and is due to reopen in spring 2007. The images show the rear first floor exhibition area, the new lift under construction and an exterior view from the former walled garden. More details on the plans for Sudley can be found on our main website.

The new lift will make Sudley House so much more accessible

Gallery attendants admire the revamped first floor exhibition space

Scaffolding surrounds the building

Our latest downloadable mp3 is Robin Emmerson's gallery talk on Fritz Spiegl's 'Loophonium' (mp3/transcript/links). The 'Loophonium' (sometimes known as the 'Harpic-cord') is the Walker Art Gallery object of the month and is a cross between a euphonium and a toilet.

The twenty minute talk covers descending valves, ophicleides, transverse spring slides, the metamorphosis of ajax, bog houses, stink traps, Banner's Patent Drain Trap, Alexander Cummings, Dr Pridgin Teale's 'Pictorial Guide to Domestic Sanitary Defects', the washdown closet, a concerto for two tuning forks, Ibert's 'March for a Dead Parrot', Z Cars, Handel's 'Water Music' and the Loophonium itself.

Robin (Head of Decorative Arts at National Museums Liverpool) will be delivering the talk again at the Walker Art Gallery on Thursday 24 August 2006.

Yesterday Dawn told you it was National Play Day 2006. There was plenty going on at World Museum Liverpool as part of the Liverpool Children's Festival as these pictures show. Hoardes of happy kids got stuck into face painting, dance sessions, dressing-up and making workshops, culminating in a parade along William Brown Street, accompanied by drummers, stiltwalkers and museum staff. Happy days!

Umbrella fun at the parade

See this teddy in the Reveal display

Sad news this morning from the Wookey Hole Caves Teddy Bear Museum in Somerset. More than 100 teddies were damaged last night by a guard dog, including a rare Steiff bear that used to belong to Elvis Presley. Hopefully the teddies are made of stern stuff (and stuffing) and will be able to pull through with a few well placed stitches.

Caring for objects that have either been damaged in incidents like this one, or are just suffering from age and normal wear and tear, is all in a day's work for the staff at the National Conservation Centre here in Liverpool. Our conservators are often asked about the care of treasured objects like teddy bears, photos and other family heirlooms. If you would like advice you can ask them in the opinion service.

You can see another well worn Steiff teddy bear in the Reveal display, which explains how conservators use science to unlock the stories hidden in everyday objects.  If he reminds you of your own teddy bear or another favourite toy, then we'd like to hear about those special memories. Tell us about the object of your affection and we might include it on the website.

For more cuddly fun have a look at the website for the old Teddy Bear Story exhibition, held at World Museum Liverpool a few years ago.

I expect I'm not the only woman who's counting the hours until Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx return to the big screen in Miami Vice. The film, like the 1980s TV series before it, follows two undercover cops on the trail of arms and drug traffickers.

Dancing coke can from the museum collections

If you can't wait to see the film you could always pop along to the Customs and Excise Museum in the Albert Dock to see the real stories of how customs officers in this country protect society from smuggling.

We might not have any Hollywood superstars, but we do have dancing coke cans and a very unusual toilet...

Image copyright Ken Stein

The Brooklyn Museum of Art, have used innovative online services to promote and enhance their current exhibition 'Graffiti'. A series of podcasts are available, allowing visitors to transfer the audio files to their mp3 player and bring them on an exhibition visit. The museum also has its own Flickr account, which it has used to invite the public to upload their own photos of graffiti in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn graffiti flickr group currently has over 1200 photos submitted.

Our own online exhibition Stewart Bale 2.0 features classic photographs from our archives 'recreated' by Liverpool-based flickr photographers.

Today is Playday 2006 (who decides these things?). 

It coincides with Liverpool Chldren's Festival and judging by the PA I can hear booming down William Brown Street, there's going to be lots for children to do throughout the day. But why should the kids have all the fun?

Guy Cheeseman invites you to play the ever popular Pick Of the 'Pool

I can't think of a better reason for a bit of frivolous online gaming, so I thought I'd dust off our resident Pick of the 'Pool compare Guy Cheeseman and create a list of activities for your gaming pleasure. 

Have fun!

• Shipwrecked - Survival game
• Pick of the 'Pool
• Conker Collectables
• Agents of Deterioration
• Fish Olympics
• Beatles Games
• Portrait Detectives

Apparently today is National Yorkshire Day.

This reminded me - on a recent web team outing to Tate Liverpool to see the Bruce Nauman exhibition we also stumbled across the collection display, Henry Moore: Natural Form, which I thought was quite beautfiul. Must go back and spend some more time there. Visitors to the Tate might also want to take a trip to the Walker Art Gallery, to see Moore's sculpture, Falling Warrior. (NB. Actually I've just found out that it's currently at Fundacio "la Caixa", Barcelona and won't be back at the Walker until November - so you might want to wait until then!)

I can't let the moment pass without  congratulating rugby league team Huddersfield Giants who beat fellow Yorkshire heavyweights Leeds Rhinos this weekend in the Challenge Cup semi-finals. They will be joining Merseyside's very own St Helens in the final at Twickenham in August.  (You can recognise Saints by the Capital of Culture logo on their shorts).

Other favourite Yorkshire things (Sean Bean aside) include Leeds Armouries, West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Brontes' Haworth.

Falling Warrior ... or could it be a Leeds player overcome by a Huddersfield tackle?