National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, February 26, 2007

I’ve just been acquainting myself with Merchant Palaces, our photographic exhibition of Wirral and Liverpool mansions, currently on show at the Lady Lever Art Gallery. I was interested to discover that Dawpool in Thurstaston, the magnificent home of Sir Thomas Henry Ismay, was designed by Richard Norman Shaw the architect responsible for the White Star Line offices in James Street. I’ve always had a strange obsession with this candy striped masterpiece and yet again this morning its hooped turrets of copper and cream stirred me from my rush-hour induced slumber as I crept along the dock-road. Ever since I visited Liverpool, as a wide eyed 7 year old Boltonian, I’ve always had a sneaky feeling the White Star building actually has an edible façade. I remember looking longingly and almost salivating at the prospect of a huge building encased in chocolate and icing. So far I have resisted giving its auburn bricks a cheeky lick so I’d like to think there’s still a small chance it could be Liverpool’s equivalent of the Hansel and Gretel gingerbread house.

This got me wondering if there are any more buildings in Liverpool with culinary characteristics and I discovered the Radio City tower is in fact a marshmallow ripe for melting and the columns of the Walker Art Gallery bear more than a slight resemblance to sticks of coltsfoot rock. Ah, if only Lutyen’s Cathedral that Never Was had made it past the planning stage, Liverpool would have been home to an ice-cream sundae of mammoth proportions. 

Our renowned National Conservation Centre in Whitechapel Liverpool is the expert place for conserving fine paintings, but even they'd be hard pushed to make them appear quite as lifelike as photographer John Paul Pietrus has in this stunning Guardian recreation.

 

I couldn’t resist sharing these beautiful pictures of Coleen McLoughlin for those who missed the feature on Saturday. She may share her WAG initials with the Walker Art Gallery but this is taking it too far!

 

 

 

You've already heard about Wallace and Gromit and how they a going down a storm at Animated Adventures at World Museum Liverpool, but the older visitor should take the time to check out the other animation pods too.

The pods are all dedicated to different individual animators or their studios and their approach to developing a particular animation. Each one tells a different story and they are definitely worth a read if you are even remotely interested in the field. I've done a bit more hunting round on the web so you can see some of the work that's under the spotlight:

• A Barbaric Tale by Richard Vaucher
• Theme Planet by Michael Sormann
• Honey by Evan Cagle (whose website seems to be experiencing hiccups so I've linked elsewhere)
• D7 Peacemaker from D7 Studios
• Gene-Fusion AD 2310 by Banjax
• and last but not least, Kaze Ghost Warrior by Timothy Albee Animation.

One of the perks of this job - other than the obvious joy of working in a museum - is flexi time.  We always get back the hours we work which is very convenient when you fancy an early dart to the pub on a Friday or a Monday morning in bed. Not everyone is so blessed though - apparently we (sorry, you) give your employers £23 billion in free hours every year. So the TUC is running its annual 'Work your proper hours day' this Friday to encourage the UK's workforce to leave on time, take a proper lunchbreak etc.

One of the suggested activities is to pop to a museum in your lunchtime, so the 24 Hour Museum has put together lunchtime trails for several cities, including Liverpool. The Walker Art Gallery, World Museum Liverpool and National Conservation Centre are all close to the main shopping and business districts, all have cafes and are all more fun than sitting at your desk praying for home time.

This morning I went on a special staff tour of the Manchester Dock dig site, led by project officer Mark Adams from the field archaeology unit. That's him on the right of the photo - the one with the high visibility jacket and hard hat!

You can get a rough idea of the site layout in this aerial photo. Since that was taken the team have been digging down to reveal a number of key features from around the old dockside, including machinery and the hydraulic system that moved the dock gates.

The internal dock gates at Manchester Dock have now been uncovered and Mark pointed out a number of masons' marks on the dock walls around them.

It's not just the structure of the dock itself that is of interest to the archaeologists, as the material that was used to backfill it is also part of the story of the site. Much of the Manchester Dock was filled with sandstone from the excavation of the Mersey tunnels. A number of sugar moulds have also been found in the fill material. While we were there, archaeologists Sarah Pevely and Helen Jones (in the hole at the front of the photo) uncovered some more.

By the way, in case you were wondering, there was no machinery operating on site today, which is why people were allowed in without safety jackets and hats.

Some Sundays, even living within ten minutes of your intended destination doesn't get you there for midday, especially if there's going to be loads of firecrackers and banging drums. Yesterday I wanted to photograph the Chinese New Year celebrations on Berry Street but didn't quite make it in time. Thanks to Lizinha, Pete Carr, Peter, Indigo Goat, Spectral Shift and ijob, I don't feel that I missed out.

Tim Brunsden at Liverpool Stories produced an excellent video of the events, while Art in Liverpool blogged about them.

This Thursday the Independent will be giving away a colour poster of Poussin's 'Landscape with the ashes of Phocion' as part of their British Art Treasures series. One free in each copy of the paper.

The start of the Chinese Year of the Pig was celebrated in style across the city yesterday, and there are more cultural events planned at our venues next weekend - check out the Merseyside Maritime Museum What's On page for more details.

Somehow I doubt that any of the celebrations looked quite like the party in this photograph of a pig marionette playing musical instruments with his wolf and cat friends!

Museum of Liverpool curator Kay Docherty tells me that the marionettes were part of the Wolohan Marionette Theatre. The family run theatre, originally operated by John and Margaret Wolohan from the 1920s, did many performances in Liverpool and the surrounding area for enraptured children and adults.
 
John Wolohan was a musician in the Philharmonic Orchestra and wrote and composed all of the music for the shows himself whilst the marionette costumes were handmade by Margaret. The family moved to the USA for a few years and continued their shows there.
 
Denis Wolohan, John and Margaret's son and his wife Pat assisted with the shows and later took over the running of the theatre in the 1960s, continuing to entertain children up until their recent retirement.
 
Denis and Pat very kindly donated a selection of their marionettes, photographs, props and stage backdrops to the collections of the Museum of Liverpool in 2005.

Accession number for this photograph: MLL.2005.37.29

We spent last Friday trying to kick some life into our 'Figures of 08' project. We put the project live in December but didn't have the time to give it a proper publicity push. Marc wrote about 'Figures of 08' previously, it's a capital of culture themed project that asks you to send us photographs of unintentional '08's that you come across. There's a slideshow and a google map of the photographs submitted so far.

Discussing how to kickstart our project, Marc showed me a trailer for the new Jim Carrey film 'The Number 23' on Friday. The film seems to be about a man who sees negative patterns in his life that always point to the number 23. I spent a pretty fruitless afternoon on Saturday looking for new '08's, it was annoying to walk out of the Maritime Museum and be confronted with what I now presume to be our nemesis number adorning the side of the pilot boat docked alongside.

This was a story which I, Stephen Guy, worked on as a young journalist.

In 1971 divers from a sub aqua club discovered by chance a remarkable wreck near the Skerries, a treacherous group of rocks off the north coast of Anglesey. Scattered over the seabed was all that remained of a ship that once carried the highest in the land – Britain’s first Royal Yacht, the Mary.

She was presented to Charles II by his allies the Dutch in 1660, the year he came to the throne. Britain had been in the grip of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell since 1649. With the return of the monarchy, popular Charles and the people wanted to party. Bright colours replaced the drab hues that had dominated the Commonwealth world.

The Mary reflected the mood of the age. Her cabins were decorated with gold leaf. Her furniture was made from the finest leather and her figurehead was a unicorn. Charles used her for racing and later she was given to the Royal Navy to transport the great and the good. Not only was the Mary the first yacht outside Holland but she was the ancestress of the thousands of racing yachts and sailing dinghies sailing around Britain today.

Disaster struck in 1675 when she was wrecked on the Skerries, a notorious graveyard for ships. A total of 39 passengers and crew survived – 35 died, including the Earl of Meath. Survivors huddled two days on the rocks before being rescued.

Merseyside Maritime Museum supervised the salvage of items from this important wreck. A gold signet ring with an unidentified coat of arms was worn on the finger of a noble victim who perished in the cruel seas. A silver sword guard is all that is left of a deadly weapon once wielded with great skill. A large pewter plate with the crest of Charles II may have been used by the captain, William Burslow, who died trying to save Lord Meath. The pewter chamber pot was used by the upper classes – the common sailors relieved themselves over the side. A silver porringer bowl for drinking hot, spiced beverages is also in the collection with other silver items such as coins, a spoon and an ornate lion’s head which once graced the handle of a walking cane.

There's more on The Mary, and this model in particular, on our main site.

A new Maritime Tale appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.

One of our best loved pieces has returned home after a long holiday. Henry VIII abdicated his throne at the Walker Art Gallery last September to form part of the Hans Holbein exhibition at Tate Britain. The exhibition was a royal success but we are delighted to announce - after a quick appointment with our experts at the National Conservation Centre, you know how sand gets everywhere after a long break  -  the King has now re-entered the building.    

This man probably knows more about the historic houses in the area than the people living in them do. Many people will remember Joseph Sharples from his time as a curator at the Walker Art Gallery during the 1990s. Since leaving he has been involved in several architectural research projects, including rewriting the Pevsner guide to Liverpool. While he was working on this I occasionally spotted him standing in the street looking up at buildings, which he always claimed was critical research.

Most recently Joseph has been the guest curator for the Merchant Palaces exhibition, which opens today at the Lady Lever Art Gallery. The exhibition features photographs of local Victorian and Edwardian mansions from the Bedford Lemere Collection at the National Monuments Record, the public archive of English Heritage. At the opening yesterday evening Joseph described how he had to wear thermals and fingerless gloves while examining the negatives in the collection, which are refridgerated in order to preserve them.

His painstaking research has resulted in a fascinating exhibition of incredible photographs, beautifully capturing a lost era of grandeur and opulence.

Just heard that former John Moores prize winner, Michael Tyzack, died at the weekend. Michael won the prize in 1965 with his abstract piece, Alesso B (shown). The win put him into the limelight and led to him being invited to Charleston in 1976 to set up a studio art department at the city's college.  More details on Tyzack and his work can be found on the Charleston Post & Courier site.

Judging by the millions of kids streaming in and out of World Museum Liverpool, the latest exhibition, Animated Adventures, is doing ridiculously well (Ian Jackson at the Art In Liverpool blog seemed to enjoy it as well). I've not been yet - promised my 40-something boyfriend I wouldn't go without him.

Fans of Aardman Animations, who's 'Curse of the Were-Rabbit' features heavily in the exhibition, will be chuffed to hear that Wallace & Gromit star, Shaun the Sheep, is getting his own TV series. Some pretty fab pics of the production can be found on the Guardian's site.

I'm used to see various ships and ferries coming and going on the Mersey, but every so often you have a close encounter with a vessel so huge that you feel quite insignificant in comparison. This morning the enormous Chinese ship Le Cong was being carefully manouevred into the Birkenhead docks with help from three tugs, which was quite a sight from our little ferry. I had a quick look for Le Cong online and found it on this handy website of photos of Ships of the Mersey, which includes many other ships I've seen over the years. There's even some pictures of our very own Edmund Gardner pilot boat.

While enormous container ships like Le Cong are an impressive sight when they tower over everything around them on the Mersey, it's easy to forget just how vulnerable even they can be when out on open water. The year before last the Merseyside Maritime Museum opened a small display to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the sinking of largest British registered ship ever lost ast sea, MV Derbyshire. You can read the story of the Derbyshire Family Association's fight for justice and how they continue to fight for safety at sea in our MV Derbyshire feature.

The awards season is upon us, so in honour of the Baftas and the Grammys and in anticipation of the Oscars and the Brits (anyone else think Russell Brand, alcohol and live TV spells a pre-watershed disaster worse than Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood?) I couldn’t resist awarding gongs to my favourite pieces from our collections. 

First up Best Newcomer and it was a photo-finish between Reveal at the National Conservation Centre and the brand new Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress gallery at the Merseyside Maritime Musuem. For me Reveal just edges it in this tightly contested category, where else can you see dirt-busting lasers and look under a mummy’s bandages? 

Best Actor in a leading role goes to David Garrick as Richard III by William Hogarth. David’s in such high demand that he’s currently away from the Walker Art Gallery starring in Tate Britain’s blockbuster Hogarth exhibition running until 29 April, definitely worth checking out if you’re in the big smoke.

Personally I think there could only be one winner of Best Animated Short, Crackers the crab. This vivacious yet vertically challenged inhabitant of the Shipwrecked exhibition, voiced by Ricky Tomlinson, beat off strong competition from Big Arts Little Artists to claw his way to the top of the pile.  

Forget Pirates of the Caribbean and Superman Returns, our Planetarium which scoops the award for special effects, is nothing short of spectacular. My personal favourite show is the Sunshine Show to which I’d also like to award Best Soundtrack.

Sitting resplendant at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, hair with more volume than a gaggle of teenage girls at a Justin Timberlake concert, Anne Duchess of Cumberland painted by Thomas Gainsborough takes the coveted Best Hair and Make up. The fact I’ve got hair as flat as a pancake and thus have extreme volume envy may have slightly influenced this result.

Finally Best Picture goes to the Walker Art Gallery’s Harmony in Green by Dan Hays, for the simple fact that it’s my favourite and I love it.

 

Since opening its doors less than 2 years ago, World Museum Liverpool was poised to welcome its millionth visitor through the door this morning. Then, just to confuse us, twins Elliot and Joseph came in together.

We can't tell them apart, or work out who was first, so the boys are sharing the joint honour. Museum demonstrator Claire Noble was there to greet them with goody bags, dressed as a Samurai warrior in an outfit from one of the Treasure House Theatre shows. She's not as scary as she looks here, honest.

The boys, who come from Chorley, were on a day trip to Liverpool with their grandparents. They hadn't been to the museum before and were looking forward to seeing the planetarium and dinosaurs.

Last week Beatles fans rejoiced when the decades-long battle of the Apples was resolved, meaning that their music could soon be available to download. Now that downloads are included in the singles charts it has been predicted that the top ten could be dominated by the fab four.
 
However it's not just the music charts that they are ruling online. Last week we launched some new Valentine e-cards and one of the most popular so far is the 'All You Need Is Love' bedspread, featuring Yellow Submarine characters, that was used in John and Yoko's bed-in for peace in Montreal. See every stitch of this colourful creation, handmade by the local Montreal Hare Krishna Chapter, with our bedspread zoomify feature.
 
Don't forget, our Valentine e-cards are there for you if you missed the post or if you just want to express your affection without actually parting with any cash (and lets face it, we're all still a bit broke after Christmas, so nobody's going to judge you for that, I hope).