Attendant's View
  • Cartoons and Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Links Elsewhere
Picture

A Wunderkammer in Hackney (with cocktails)

29/10/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
So, a new musuem is about to open in Hackney on 7th of November. And it sounds cracking. A true gem of a rare and anecdote providing nature.

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities is one man's antidote to the modern museum, that man being Viktor Wynd - a 'pataphysicist, writer, curator, collector, dealer, dilettante, naturalist and antiquarian'. As a founder member of The Last Tuesday Society in London, their rough mission statement is that it "seeks to create a new world filled with beauty, wonder and the imagination" So that gives some clue as to what the the museum will be like...

“I’m so bored of contemporary museums and their desperate attempt to classify and make sense of everything,” Wynd says. “The world is one big, glorious mess and we should celebrate that.”

Picture
I'm indebted to The Guardian for putting me onto this path towards 11 Mare Street, Hackney, and from their article I've gone poking and prodding around the website for the project, and have even giggled and chucked some money at the Kickstarter campaign.  

Who can fail to have their interest roused by this:
"The Museum will present an incoherent vision of the world displayed through wonder enclosed within a tiny space, no attempt is made at classification and comprehensiveness, instead the museum focuses on the pre-enlightenment origins of the museum as Wunderkabinett – a mirror to a world so suffused with miracles and beauty that any attempt at categorization is bound to fail. "
And when you find that the permanent collection contains:  
Silly books, stone axes, unidentifiable worms, the front bottom of an 18th-century prostitute, McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys, every single British Butterfly, Napoleon’s Death Mask, a casket containing some of the original darkness Moses called down upon earth....

If you aren't a little intrigued at that, then the great news is that the £3 entry fee will also get you a cup of tea (insert a grumble here about the price of a brew alone in many museum and gallery cafes) so there's no real loss if you have a gander. The museum will combine an existing art gallery of some renown, the new area with the museum collection, a 'tiny' cafe and bar, and a 'minute' shop.

Although they have reached the Kickstarter target at the time of writing, it's worth donating (You have until Nov 1st 2014!) as the rewards are pleasantly appropriate to the donation. £5 gets you admission for one, your name on the donor's wall and a thank you card with a kiss in the post. Or you can give £250, and they'll put someone else's name in the lavatory bowl for you. My favourite part of the Kickstarter? I admire any institution who lists these as their priorities:

1. Finish building  The Wunderkabinett, install, light, label & present our wonders

2. hire a Literary Director to program the lecture series 

3. fund the exhibitions program.

4. build the disabled loo 

5. develop London's most baroque cocktail menu

A newly published book looks at similar folks and places with similar tastes in collecting or presenting the bizarre or perfectly ordinary in a loving way. "Wynd takes readers on a tour of homes, private collections and museums that share his fondness for things arcane, desiccated, antique, or just plain odd."

Suffice it to say, my copy is ordered, and will probably join The Museum of Baked Beans, Bollocks to Alton Towers et al on my shelves. 

Expect a review in the future, once I can get a road trip organised...
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Webcomic and occasional blog about the heritage sector.

    ​Follow The Attendant:

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Tumblr

    RSS Feed

    Topics

    All
    Archaeology
    Art
    Behind The Scenes
    Blog
    Book
    Cartoon
    Castles And Houses
    Complaints
    Daft Questions
    Don't Do That...
    Don't Do That...
    English Heritage
    Entrance Desk
    Forrin Tourists
    Guided Tours
    Handy Gallery Attendant Tip #
    Happy Stories
    Kids
    Mischief
    Museums
    National Trust
    Old Dears
    Parents
    Parks And Gardens
    Review
    School Visits
    Submitted
    Tourist Information
    Yuk

    Author

    All text and images are produced by and copyright of the artist, holder of the domain name of attendantsview.com
    Please contact for permission to use images, which will probably be gladly given, but it's only polite to ask first!

    Archives

    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Cartoons and Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Links Elsewhere