Thursday 24 October 2013

Head and Heart, Science and Art

I have always been torn between my love of the Arts and my interest in Science. I originally enrolled in a double degree to dapple in both but later dropped the science to focus on the humanities. Many years on, I ‘m finding there's a palpable difference between science and art-based museums (read Nina Simon’s post on this) I experienced a collision of worlds on my recent trip to London.

I arranged to meet and observe members of the learning team at the Natural History Museum where I assisted in the Investigate room. School groups and families with young children are able to explore real museum specimens in a very hands-on way by measuring, weighing, drawing their chosen object(s) and recording their observations/findings.

I spent some time in the live butterfly tent and on the floor in the dinosaur and fossil area where one family (a mum and 2 young children) face-timed dad at work on their smart phones so he could be part of their museum experience. This got me thinking about onsite, offsite and online offerings, and the possible connections between these relatively compartmentalised methods of engagement. 
I also visited the Darwin Centre which I'd studied during my masters degree. Armed with my Nature Plus card (which when scanned enabled me to capture snippets of information to follow up later at home), I spiralled down the cocoon building past collection storage displays, scientists undertaking DNA extraction and tried my hand at packing for a research trip to the jungle via interactive touch table displays. 

Later in the afternoon, I migrated next-door to meet with the head of digital education at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was interesting to compare and contrast the two institutions whilst learning about their respective organisational values, staffing structures and interpretation strategies, especially in light of recent budget cuts in the UK.

The V&A fashion collection was definitely a personal highlight - I found myself gasping aloud impulsively at the exquisite examples on display. I love contrasting styles across the decades but I always settle on the drop waisted 1920s as my favourite era (I grew up watching House of Elliotmy best friend and I renamed ourselves after the 2 main characters Bea and Eve).

I also enjoyed wandering freely around the vast interior of the building. Its sheer scale enabled large artefacts such as fountains and staircases to be displayed in their original context relative to human scale. I really appreciated the very deliberate thought behind the arrangement of these spaces where building and object appeared to make happy bedfellows. 




Visitors seemed equally comfortable inhabiting the museum, taking their time, reclining peacefully on one another's laps and drinking in the atmosphere. With record hot temperatures, culture vultures soaked their feet in the central fountain. I found this informal communion on the green delightfully refreshing as museums are sometimes brandished as formal, foreboding places.


Wednesday 2 October 2013

European Musing - Tate Modern, London

Tate Modern is one of my favourite London haunts. On this occasion the ever-impressive turbine hall was closed for renovation (much to my disappointment as I've previously enjoyed fantastic installations there). However, I was excited to learn of a new building under construction. The vision of the new building is to redefine the museum for the twenty first century, integrating learning, display and social functions (read more about The Tate Modern Project). I liked the way these plans formed a mini exhibit for visitors to explore and that learning was given salient priority. 

I wandered through the permanent collection displays - people watching and eavesdropping in on casual conversations as much as observing the art in this instance. Since making museum studies my career, I'm intrigued as to how people make meaning for themselves within cultural spaces. I find the best way to obtain insight is simply to observe 'real-time' happenings disguised as a fellow visitor and by participating in the same offerings from that 'regular Joe' point of view. As soon as you survey or interview museum attendees their 'honesty' is tainted by expectation or "What do you want me to say?" syndrome. Moreover, it can be hard to maintain fresh eyes when you work in the industry and become embroiled in the backstories behind the scenes.

I hovered in the Surrealism activity room watching visitors try out some of the techniques employed by artists of the period such as 'this exquisite corpse.' The Tate has collaborated with Google and creators Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin to produce a digital version of this game called 
This Exquisite Forest which encourages global collaboration online. Why not start your own tree? Though you'll have to be prepared to relinquish control of your idea as it branches out into myriad interpretations. 





Wednesday 18 September 2013

What's in a name?

Museo: Spanish word for Museum. 
According to ICOM (the International Council of Museums) a museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.

Metamorphosis: A marked transformation in form, appearance, character, condition, or function. To alter, be reborn, change, convert, mutate, remake, remodel, reshape, transfigure, transform, translate, transmogrify.

V&A Museum of Childhood - London, UK
I’m fortunate in that my parents afforded me a strong cultural education. From a very young age I was enrolled in dance, drama, music and visual art classes, which exposed me to a wide variety of creative techniques and media. As a family, we visited many museums and historic sites (which were always at the top of our hit list when travelling). These positive early learning experiences fostered a love of material culture objects. So it’s really no surprise that I later decided to study museums and have come to work as an administrator, curator and educator.

Relationships between museums and their visitors have changed significantly over the past 200 years, indeed even in the last 30-odd years of my own life. From places of worship and quiet contemplation to ‘hands-on’ exploration sites providing 'edutainment' (though that’s putting the transition far too simply!) There's been an ongoing debate in both print and social media about whether this shift is a good or bad thing, but I’m not convinced it has to be an either/or scenario. I believe participative cultural citizenship has myriad forms and that meaningful museum experiences can be as diverse as the very visitors who seek them out.

My motivations for creating the museomorph blog are multi-fold:
  • To think: writing provides precious pondering time. It encourages reflection both on my day-to-day practice as a museum worker and first-hand encounters as a visitor.
  • To connect: blogging is a great way to link-in with likeminded professionals and bandy ideas about, even if we work with different collections or in opposite hemispheres.
  • To make a record: I’m curating my own collection of posts in an effort to capture significant turning points for museums as they shape shift alongside the societies they serve.