National Museums Liverpool Blog - Friday, May 30, 2008

Alex Shears has had another busy day at the Aigburth Family Centre, who started making their own Liverpool cityscape yesterday. Here's her update on their very own work of art:

"The second day at Aigburth Family Centre began with tons of excitement as we met Chris; a brilliant cartoon artist who helped the children to draw pictures of each other (not to mention power rangers!) We stuck on lots of cartoons and photos of the children’s faces but made sure to leave room fo children who come to the centre in the future. In the afternoon we came up with a name for the picture and made a big sign so everyone could see what it is called... 'My Liverpool'.

The picture is going to go on display in the entrance to Aigburth family centre to welcome everyone in."

Our roving work experience reporter Isobel paid a visit to see Ben Johnson's Liverpool Cityscape 2008 and the World Panorama Series, here's Isobel's verdict on the Walker's latest offering:  

I was lucky enough to be able to visit the opening event and preview of the new Ben Johnson painting of Liverpool. It is hanging in the Walker Art Gallery alongside the other completed paintings of the cities of Zurich, Jerusalem and Hong Kong.

The Liverpool painting is not what I expected it to be. I was anticipating a long, narrow panoramic view of the waterfront but I was greeted with a large rectangular view of the city reaching right back to Fiddler’s Ferry. It’s hard to predict what time of day the painting is supposed to be and it is strange to see a waterfront with buildings not yet constructed. However there is a feeling of pride amongst the people of Liverpool at having their city amongst these impressive paintings.

I do have some reservations about the painting though. It is not the Liverpool I know. It does not show the culture and the people and seems a little bit like a computer made image… leading onto the fact that Ben Johnson did not solely create this image of Liverpool! I had notions of an artist stood traditionally drawing out an image, pencil in hand. That was not the creation process however, behind the scenes lay a team of people working to create stencils (yes, stencils!) for the artist to use.

The sheer detail of the painting is very astonishing though - from the hands of the clock to the lettering of the Radio City tower. A lot of thought and consideration has evidently been put into this painting. It is the main focus of the room, commanding a whole wall, as well as being the largest. The glossy book that partners it tells an impressive story too.

The Jerusalem painting was a favourite of mine with its dusty dusk light. Unlike the image of Liverpool it does have an element of life, a historic settlement with a story to tell. Hong Kong was also eye-catching. The vibrancy of the trees caught in the corner shows something deep within the painting, the light shining from an individual window of a tower block deep in the hillside of a mountain is something special. The final painting is of a city I have never laid eyes on, so in some ways the painting holds a responsibility to show it off, and that it certainly does. The painting gives a glimpse of a romantic city bordering a river - it entices me.

I think the painting of Liverpool is special in its own right and commands attention to finite detail. It is definitely worth a visit, even to just see what it looks like. Take some time out to seek where you live, or find a place only you know then walk away knowing this archive will remain for generations to come to see the place you lived and the Liverpool before the city undergoes another era of transformation.

Next stop Jerusalem for Isobel ...

The week beginning 1 June sees the Volunteers Team out and about as part of National Volunteers Week, promoting the diverse range of opportunities and projects  volunteers can take part in across each of our venues and departments.

You can meet them and find out more about volunteering on Wednesday 4 June, 12.30-4pm at World Museum Liverpool or on Thursday 5 June, 12.30-4pm at Merseyside Maritime Museum. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about our new v-involved Youth Volunteering programme, aimed specifically at 16-25 year olds.

Here's some more information and a few fascinating facts from our youth volunteer officer Claire Olson.

"Did you know that:

- In the past year we have had 361 brilliant volunteers working on a multitude of different projects and placements.

- People regularly travel from as far away as Anglesey, Isle of Man and Yorkshire to volunteer at National Museums Liverpool.

- Volunteers have been an integral part of many successful and unique projects; for example we recently had 30 volunteers who facilitated on gallery during the recent Ben Johnson residency at the Walker Art Gallery. Not only did they work closely with a world renowned artist but they helped directly in the completion of the Liverpool Cityscape. (Photo of Ben Johnson vols)

- In October 2007, one of our Big Art volunteers David Whitby was a finalist in the Unsung Hero category for the Art 07 (Arts Council Northwest) Awards. David didn't win the on the night, but it was a huge achievement for him to be one of the four finalists and his presence is very much appreciated on the gallery.

Look out for more volunteer news and stories all next week on the blog, starting on Monday with a report from the launch of the Young Persons Steering Group on Sunday 1 June. The group consists of young volunteers (aged 16-25) who will meet monthly to discuss all things relating to Youth Volunteering and its role at NML. We'll give you all the breaking news on their new name!

If you have any queries or what to find out more please visit the volunteer section on the website, ring the Volunteers Team on 0151 478 4775 or send the volunteer team an email.

Finally, a big thank you to all our volunteers and staff working with volunteers for their hard work. I hope they know how great we think they are!"

The Ben Johnson volunteers with the man himself (seated at the front)

Here Michelle O'Callaghan, our youth arts officer, talks to two young people about fruit!

Busy on the superlambanana

NACRO Kensington Junior Youth Inclusion Project was the lucky group selected with their winning ‘Superfiveaday’ fruit and vegetable themed ‘Lambanana. Working with professional artist Vince, the group will be working hard over the next three weeks to ripen their ‘Lambanana and bring him to life! During the session I took two of the young participants, Jessica and Ashleigh aside for a quick interview about their initial experiences of the project so far and this is what they had to say…

“Today was our first session with our ‘Lambanana and five of our group came to get started. ‘Lambanana started off purple – which was weird! We expected it to be white or cream.

The boys worked on painting the orange, the broccoli and the banana and we (the girls) worked on painting the strawberry – the 'Lambanana’s head. It felt boss painting the first bit on the ‘Lambanana, actually it was just boss painting it full stop! The best bit about today has been the actual painting, getting started and having fun!

We can’t wait to come down to the Walker Art Gallery when it’s finished to see what it looks like when it’s properly done. There is the proper space set out for it in the Walker and it’s going to be filled with our work - something we’ve done!

Working with Vince the artist has been boss, we didn’t know he was a professional artist at first but when we found out the session just kept on getting better and better. We really like painting and arts, so this is brilliant to be able to do this.

We’re going to be dead proud when we go into the Walker and see our ‘Lambanana, and people say “did you see that Superfiveadaybanana?” and ask us “wow, are you the one’s who did that?” We think that people will be surprised when they find out it is kids that have painted this ‘Lambanana! They might think that kids have designed it, but that it’s been painted by professionals, but when they find out it’s us kids that have done the painting, with a little help from Vince, I think they’ll be shocked!

Our ‘Lambanana will have different textures, details and effects and hopefully people will be able to stroke it. There should be some information next to it at the walker that can tell people about healthy eating and ‘five a day’ and tell people what to eat and where to get it from. So our ‘Lambanana not only looks good, but has a purpose too! The normal Superlambanana is just yellow but ours is dead bright and colourful!”

The next session will see the group adding more layers of paint onto the Superfiveadaybanana and starting to add textures to the fruit. A different group of young people from Kensington Junior Youth Inclusion Project will be coming along to work on the ‘Lambanana next time so more images, interviews and news on progress to follow… keep those eyes and those bananas peeled…

Anne Gleave, our curator of photographic archives, has had an interesting phonecall from a sharp-eyed lady, who discovered a mysterious presence in the Stewart Bale photograph of the Anglican Cathedral under construction from the current Metropolis exhibition.

In the middle of the photograph there is a figure walking along the street, but only their legs are visible. Anne says this is probably the result of somebody walking past during a long exposure photograph.

Update 23/06/2008: After further examination of the image Anne has this update: "It could be that the figure was standing approximately in one place with the top half moving more than the lower half and a slightly long exposure only captured the lower half as the legs were more still. It is also possible that a dye may have been used on the negative to obscure a figure that was not wanted in the photograph; however, examination of the negative does not show any obvious signs of dye use. The detail of the image on the website does indicate a certain change of tone, as if a dye may have been used to remove the top half of the figure but then the question is if a dye was used, why wasn't it used to remove the feet; it does seem to be a bit of a mystery."

However there could be a more eerie explanation - after all, the mysterious figure is walking past the graveyard...

See what you think in this picture.

The camera never lies - but sometimes it only captures half the truth!

Ben Johnson isn't the only person who has made a large painting of the Liverpool cityscape recently. His enormous artwork has inspired some creative half term activities, as community development officer Alex Shears reports:

"Staff from the community partnerships team have been out and about at Aigburth Family Centre this half term meeting Raymond, Warda and Issa.

We were all inspired by the Ben Johnson panorama and decided to get creative and make our own fantastic picture of Liverpool's skyline. We started by thinking of important places in Liverpool and then we drew a plan to mark out where everything would go in our picture. The children worked really hard drawing, cutting out, colouring in and taking photos.  After a short break for lunch we played some games in the Family Centre's garden and then came back inside to stick our picture together.

We are back at the centre for another exciting day tomorrow, when the children are going to meet a cartoon artist who will help them put the finishing touches to their work!"

G Humphrey's 'An interesting scene on board an East Indiaman showing the effects of a heavy lurch after dinner'

Sea air gives me an appetite and it has to be really rough to put me off my food. I fondly remember the old Isle of Man ferry which always sounded the dinner gong immediately after casting off from Douglas, so there were no excuses for wavering.

The welcome return of cruise liners to Liverpool’s waterfront puts into focus Britain’s historical association with sea travel as the world’s greatest maritime nation. As an island, Britain has always depended heavily on sea travel. Until the invention of aircraft, for example, everyone travelling to and from Britain had to do so by ship.

Until the late 19th century sea travel was often unpleasant and hazardous. It was usually undertaken only when absolutely necessary.

At the Merseyside Maritime Museum there is a hilarious coloured engraving of 1818 by G Humphrey called “An interesting scene on board an East Indiaman showing the effects of a heavy lurch after dinner”. Passengers on board a sailing ship attempt to eat at a table as the ship lurches from side to side, scattering food and drink.

Few sailing ships had more than the most basic facilities for passengers, who were largely left to fend for themselves. Early steam ships were usually able to provide reliable, scheduled services regardless of the weather. By the end of the 19th century the age of the floating palaces had arrived, providing comfortable accommodation for passengers.

Although today competing with aircraft and Channel Tunnel trains, ships still carry millions of people to and from Britain every year. Ferries can compete with aircraft because they carry large numbers of road vehicles as well as foot passengers. They can also compete with Channel Tunnel trains because they transport more vehicles and people to a wider range of destinations. Roll-on, roll-off car ferries were widely introduced on routes to and from Britain in the mid-1960s.

In the past holiday cruises were often seen as being for the very old or very wealthy. In recent years, however, they have become less expensive and they are experiencing a boom. People of all ages enjoy cruising because the ships provide the facilities of floating hotels and holiday resorts while moving from place to place. Among the other attractions are sunshine, fresh sea air, excellent food and exotic locations.

Other exhibits include a publicity model of the passenger / vehicle ferry Stena Hengist dating from about 1990. She was operated by Stena Sealink Ltd on the English Channel routes between 1990 and 1993.

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

Isobel at Sudley House

Work experience student Isobel from South Liverpool has been busy working hard in the Press and Marketing office for the last 2 weeks. Isobel went on a visit to Sudley House to check out the recent renovations, here’s what she thought of it:

'Situated in an expanse of picturesque grounds Sudley House is an interesting, historic place full of intriguing paintings and furnishings. For a year now it has been re-opened to the public, following a period of restoration. So today I visited the house to discover whether any changes made have been successful or yet another modernisation of a historic building, ruining its original features.

Although the entrance pathway has been widened to make way for coaches and tourists I feel it makes little difference when the grounds are so elegant, on this sunny day they look beautiful and it is very tempting to spend my day strolling through the gardens!

Sudley House tells a story of Liverpool’s history and the Holt family. Featured on the televisions standing on the ground floor rooms are stories told by Mr Holt, Emily Holt and their maid. The tale starts with Mr Holt, a wealthy man whose business was in ships and Liverpool’s bustling harbour. This man bought the house which was then passed onto his daughter after he died. When Emma, the daughter, died she left the house to the people of Liverpool. 

One update that surprised me was the new lift. It seems misplaced amongst the wooden furnishings and delicate paintings. However after an explanation it does seem necessary for enabling those with disabilities to visit the House.

On the first floor were several exhibitions, all different and appealing to a range of interests. What was particularly special to me was the competition exhibit, in which entrees had to make an arts/crafts piece inspired by something in the house. It was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into the pieces the all seemed to be different and winners in their own right. The winning piece was extraordinary: a stained glass window standing in a window capturing the sun magnificently and glowing in an array of bright colours.

It is somewhat impressive the number of paintings Mr Holt had in his collection and furthermore that they are still intact at the house. My favourite was the bright parrot whose red coat stands proud on an upstairs wall. Another eye-catching display was the china.

To me Sudley House is a motivational member of Liverpool’s variety of museums, catering to the needs of many and doing essential work regarding those with learning disabilities. Sudley House would be ideal for a family outings or school trips and teaching about Liverpool’s heritage.'

We’ve just received an interesting memoir for the Botany library with the intriguing title “Naughty Man’s Plaything”. It is by Roy Vickery, who works in the Botany Department at the Natural History Museum, London and is illustrated by Len Ellis. It’s all about the folklore and uses of stinging nettles in Britain, and covers their uses for food (for humans), beer, food (for turkeys), medicine, plus a long section containing sayings about nettles and their local names. Each story is referenced to its source, making this a valuable addition to our economic botany literature.

One of my childhood memories is going out with my mother picking nettle tips in springtime, from which she made nettle pudding – essentially porridge mixed with nettles. Once cooked, they don’t sting and in fact they are very nourishing, particularly at a time of year when there aren’t many fresh vegetables to be had from your garden. Nettle pudding is a Northern speciality; a similar concoction known as Spring pudding was mentioned in the memoirs of Bernard Ingham, who was born in Hebden Bridge, not far from my own birthplace in Burnley. This was made from Bistort.

Apprentices dhobying on the Malakand,1910. Image courtesy of Liverpool Daily Post and Echo

My late uncle Alfred Guy would tell stories of armies of rats moving between ships and warehouses when he served as a policeman at Liverpool’s docks in the 1930s. It was always in the dead of night when the vermin surged past him looking for holds full of grain or piles of food-filled sacks.

Seafarers have always dreaded illness and disease breaking out on board ship and in the past scourges like scurvy could decimate crews made vulnerable by poor food. Vessels were infested with vermin such as rats and cockroaches which could bring infections that spread like wildfire in the days before immunisation and antibiotics. There were tales of derelicts – ships found drifting months and even years after all the crew members had died from disease.

Before the Second World War mariners were particularly vulnerable to illness. This was due largely to their unhealthy diet and bad conditions on board. Other reasons were the poor health of new recruits and the exposure of many crews to highly-infectious diseases, especially on voyages to tropical countries. Although the situation has improved greatly since the 1940s, merchant seafaring is still a relatively unhealthy occupation.

More than 200 years ago slave ships were particularly unhealthy. Over one fifth of seamen on Liverpool and Bristol slave ships in the late 18th century died due to illness on the voyage.

Between 1918 and 1939 merchant seamen were three times more likely to die of TB than the average British male.

The Seamen’s Hospital Society was established in 1821 and incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1833. Today it is a UK charity which helps people currently or previously employed in the Merchant Navy or fishing fleets and their dependents. From 1821 to 1870 the Society ran Seaman’s Infirmaries on former warships before moving ashore as the Dreadnought Seamen’s Hospital, Greenwich, named after its last floating home. Today the hospital continues as the Dreadnought Unit at University College Hospitals London.

Merseyside Maritime Museum has a display focusing on disease and illness at sea. There are examples of surgical tools used on vessels. From 1894, all foreign-going British ships carrying more than 100 people were required to carry a qualified surgeon.

A large wooden medicine chest for seafarers contains glass medicine bottles, pestle and mortar and scales. It dates from 1854 which was the year British ships were required to carry medical equipment and stores for the treatment of illness and injury.

This photograph shows apprentices dhobying (washing their clothes) on the Brocklebank Line’s Malakand about 1910.

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

Strange things are afoot in the basement of Merseyside Maritime Museum, where a brand new permanent gallery 'Seized! Revenue and Customs uncovered' opens this weekend.

The gallery reveals the mysterious world of smuggling and surveilance that's all in a day's work for Customs Officers, with help from unusual exhibits including exotic birds, dangerous weapons and a highly suspicious garden gnome.

To celebrate the opening a busy weekend of events is planned, including displays by sniffer dogs and hopefully a visit by a Customs cutter - as long as it isn't called away for an official operation.

Also in the basement, the newly refurbished Emigration gallery reopens this weekend.

Everyone dreads airport delays but this week our touring exhibition officer Mary Hesling had to deal with an unusual delayed departure caused by a fire several miles away. Here's her report of how her latest project was cleared for take off:

"I was very pleased to be involved in the installation of seven stunning black and white photographs from the Stewart Bale collections at the Wetherspoons Lloyds Imperial, Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The display follows a broad theme, with images of the old Liverpool Airport, Liverpool city centre and docks.

After more than a year in development, all involved were delighted to see the final display going up. The installation, originally planned for 13 May 2008, was not without its problems! The awful Bluecoat fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning called all our handling and conservation teams in to help. This caused the airport installation to be postponed at short notice - and our thanks to Wetherspoon for their understanding about this!

We finally got out to the airport on Wednesday 14 May and, after only a few more hic-cups (not least of which being two inexplicably flat batteries for the power drill, despite them being charged over night!!!) our wonderful handlers put the display up beautifully, using only hand-powered tools and sheer determination!

The final display will be in place for one year, and I think it looks great. Next time you’re flying out of Liverpool why not get a drink at Wetherspoons and admire the show.

Thanks to Wetherspoons Pubs PLC for their contribution to this project."

Anne Williams and Mary Hesling put the final touches to the display

Hello there

Well I am pleased to announce my return to the world of blogging. The last time I wrote a blog post was way back in October. So what have I been doing since then? Well the answer is plenty!  First if all let me give you an update about the museum. We have had a fantastic response to the museum, from the public, museum professionals, academics and most importantly the local community. To date we have had upwards of 210,000 visitors. This is higher than we expected and we will hopefully exceed our annual forecast. We realise that there is still much work to do but in a way there always should be for a museum.  We aim to be receptive to ideas, comments and indeed criticisms but we truly believe we are a living and breathing museum and as such updating; revising and changing information as well as views and theories is part of that process.

Quite a lot of my time has been spent on putting together various strategies and policies for the museum.  This means that I have been having regular meetings with colleagues from various departments, as well as Angela Robinson - the curator of transatlantic slavery who is the person who looks after the museum collections. Angela quite rightly gets mad when I am sometimes referred to as the curator of the museum in the newspaper or on radio. But I always bring her a small present back from my travels to stay in her good books!

One of those policies is our new collecting policy. Not only do we aim to keep collecting archives and ephemera which relate to transatlantic slavery but we are looking to expand our collections into new areas. For instance, we already have in the museum a number of African American objects, what are often called ‘Black Americana’, objects such as prints, books, toys, games, ornaments or various household memorabilia, often produced from the 1920s through the 1950s in America. Some of these are on display in the Legacy gallery at the museum. Many of these objects depict racist stereotypical images and can be extremely offensive in their nature. We feel it is important though to highlight how these objects and images were used, and indeed tolerated, in popular recent culture.   

What we are now looking to do is increase our Black British memorabilia collections.  Again, some of these objects are very disturbing but we also aim to collect uplifting aspects of Black British life. If someone has an object that they feel we would be interested in please contact us here at the International Slavery Museum.

Another policy we have been developing is our international policy. As an internationally recognized museum we understand the need for us to build collaborations with a number of different countries, especially those who, like Britain, played a central role in transatlantic slavery. As part of this policy I was recently in Guyana for the Commonwealth Association of Museums conference on ‘Museums and Diversity’. I gave a paper titled ‘The International Slavery Museum: an active campaigner’. I wanted to draw attention in the paper not only to the fact that we want to work with museums in other countries, but how I see the museum as actively campaigning against contemporary forms of racism and discrimination as well as forms of contemporary slavery and bonded labour. This makes us an active museum, not a neutral one, and I challenge those that think we should be.

I also got to meet Dr Frank Anthony - the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport. We talked about ways that we could link with museum and heritage institutions in Guyana, a country which we mention many times in the International Slavery Museum but which until 1966 was called British Guiana. There are many links between Liverpool and Guyana. One of them being that the family of four times Prime Minister William Gladstone owned a plantation near a town called Vreed-en-Hoop in a region of British Guiana called Demerara, a word which is now synonymous with brown sugar around the world. It was a very positive meeting and from it came an official invitation to participate in CARIFESTA.  We even managed to make the national press. The picture is probably the worst ever taken of me though!

Along with other delegates of the conference I managed to visit Iwokrama, a rainforest conservation and development centre. It aims to show how tropical forests can be conserved and sustained providing social, ecological and economic benefits to communities locally and indeed internationally.

On the second day we were told we would be going on a short hike up a very small mountain.  Alarm bells began to ring at the mention of the word mountain. Anyway, 2 hours and a lot of puffing and panting later I reached the top of Turtle Mountain. It was well worth the effort with beautiful views of pristine rainforest and the Essequibo River.

So I am pleased to say that the museum is a great success and there are some very exciting, as well as challenging, times ahead.  Thanks again to all of you who have visited the museum, and for those who have not had the chance, I hope you can make it soon.  Watch this space.

Have you ever had one of those afternoons when you want to see some artwork, network with some artists, listen to some performances of poetry and music, maybe join in for a bit of a sing-along yourself, or maybe even listen to a talk about some Liverpool artists but you just can't decide which one to do? I bet it happens to you all the time.

Well the good news is that this weekend you don't need to choose if you go to the Face of the City showcase event at Merseyside Maritime Museum, which features all these things and more.

The free afternoon of fun takes place this Saturday, 17 May, from 1-4pm at the museum's dockside gallery. Have a look at the Maritime Museum What's On page for further details and times of performances.