Attendant's View Blog and Cartoons

Perhaps a bit late to ask now?

30/3/2014

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Ouch!
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/omcoc/7002403560/

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#MuseumMemories

26/3/2014

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#MuseumWeek continues and today is about #MuseumMemories.

My earliest memories of a museum would be Stockport's Vernon Park Museum, a frequent place for day trips with my gran. I would sort of hide behind her from the cave of neolithic men. Manikins, ugh. I loved that place, as it was a very odd collection of stuff and things, with a great little video about the history of Stockport. It probably started my fascination with how old things can help us see the world a bit differently.

It's a few years since I've been back, and it seems as though the best of the displays were cherry picked out when creating a more centrally placed museum (Stockport Story at Staircase House) and people are now generally disappointed with what's been left and the care it receives.

Still a great set of gardens and park though, and worth a visit just to drop your jaw at the Blue John window - yup looks like stained glass but is really made from stone!

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#MuseumWeek

24/3/2014

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From March 24-30 2014, hundreds of museums and galleries from across the UK and Europe will come together on Twitter for the first ever #MuseumWeek. You can see who is officially taking part here, and you can also join in!
The # thing also works across instagram and Facebook, and you can browse sites without having an account for them (great for you social media phobes)

Visit Europe's museums and tweet pictures with the ‪#‎MuseumWeek‬ hashtag.

This week's themes are:

Monday: ‪#‎DayInTheLife‬
Tuesday: ‪#‎MuseumMastermind‬
Wednesday: ‪#‎MuseumMemories‬
Thursday: ‪#‎BehindTheArt‬
Friday: ‪#‎AskTheCurator‬
Saturday: ‪#‎MuseumSelfies‬
Sunday: ‪#‎GetCreative‬

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What signs?

24/3/2014

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The first of a few cartoons relating to the same art exhibition - where beautiful yet delicate pieces of vellum were displayed in the open on plinths, secured by pins.

The artist insisted that the pieces not be boxed up or roped off, which may have worked well in a dedicated arts venue, but in a mixed heritage site/local museum/visitor attraction it just attracted the wrong kind of attention. One of the best way to educate people about other kinds of contemporary art is to introduce it into areas they are already comfortable with, but then the kind of art and manner of display needs to be taken into account, while people adjust to the new concepts. Otherwise, accidents happen...

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#MuseumWeek

21/3/2014

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Just heard that 24th March to Sunday 30th March is #MuseumWeek on Twitter (source is here)

Hundreds of museums and galleries from across the UK and Europe will come together on Twitter later this month for the first ever #MuseumWeek, a project that will connect people to artwork, culture, history and science in new and interactive ways.

I use twitter for my other little sideline (jewellery business) but will look forward to seeing what museo based things pop up on there. Don't forget that hashtags now also work on Facebook (and of course on instagram) so for those canny enough, this could be a cross social media opportunity to show off/poke around in musuems.

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Dammit Jim - I'm an archaeologist/curator/archivist... not a...

17/3/2014

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Working at home in order to build our venue a new website... Not a skill I've trained for barring a few hours on Dreamweaver as part of my degree (public access to heritage? very forward looking there at Bangor Uni ten years ago), but one of those odd "picked it up along the way out of necessity" abilities. (god bless google and youtube videos...)

I recently realised just how diverse my skillset has become over the years, working in venues without dedicated staff for certain roles, or with difficult access to those skills as the staff are in such demand.

Pop Quiz: Anyone else have a "never thought I'd need to do this, but I've nailed it!" skill you're proud of?

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That Tumblr thingy

13/3/2014

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There are a few rather amusing things I follow, which are on Tumblr, so I've bitten the bullet and now have an account over there. Do find and follow me if you're a user of it, as you'll get my cartoons and other picks from the tumlr world.

http://attendants-view.tumblr.com/

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The Telegraph - A hotbed of museum opinion

12/3/2014

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I've recently stumbled over some articles on the Telegraph website, which are worthy of a read and likely to cause your eyebrows to shoot up for a variety of reasons.

Should children be banned from museums?

Parents allow their child to climb on a $10 million sculpture at Tate Modern, so Telegraph critic Ivan Hewett and Kids in Museums Director Dea Birkett pitched the case for banning children from museums against engaging them suitably.

Here're some points which struck me:

Ban kids under 12

"High culture is like any other product of the grown-up world... It’s inherently difficult, and so beyond the reach of children. To pretend otherwise, by encouraging kids to think of museum exhibits...as so many shiny toys...is just a form of lying."

"When they reach adolescence, these children won’t think of museums and galleries and theatres as enticing, mysterious places of adult pleasures and values. They’ll think of them (as) something adjusted to their needs when they were kids, and therefore to be left behind as quickly as possible, as they head towards adulthood."

Welcome Kids

"But it’s not really children that any of these finger-waggers want to ban. It's joy. ...there’s no passion at all for the great work in front of them. There’s just suppressed appreciation of a very academic, hollow-hearted kind."

"Should children really be allowed to ruin other visitors’ experience... Of course not. But the only reason they might do so is if they’re bored out of their brains."

"So rather than send them home, invite them in, and make sure there’s something to keep them busy. A simple copy of an artwork which they can reach out and touch will do, or a jigsaw of the portrait before them."

Following that article, was this:

Children in museums: it's the parents who need training

"I don’t think this is a limitation on creativity or expression. It is a moment when you learn that there is a code of behaviour to which you must adhere."

"Museums that have children’s areas and interactive displays are great for childish behaviour. But if we ask our kids to look at Van Gogh, or the British Museum’s cabinet displays, then we owe it to them to suggest ways in which they can enjoy such things without putting their needs ahead of those of others."

Where do your feelings lie?

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Know your competition

10/3/2014

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Heard in our main exhibition room - and scathingly delivered to indicate the sheer stupidity of daddy for even thinking to ask that question.

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Archaeology Company robbed + positive attitudes = awesome story

5/3/2014

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"Archaeologists channel spirit of Rastamouse as robber returns iPad to police in Liverpool"

My eye was caught by the above stunning headline while browsing Facebook, and the story itself is a wonderful one. My sources are here, and here and a little extra digging thanks to Big Heritage's Facebook page:

In Anfield, Big Heritage's vehicle was broken into, with the theft of genuine Roman pottery, replica artifacts, and an iPad
Valuable items were left... because they were under a replica bog body...
"They had lifted a lid and they must have ran off. The image of the bog body would give whoever saw it nightmares because it looks like a dead person.There was a head there too. Whoever broke in must have thought that they had found part of Dexter's kill list."
Archaeology company Big Heritage put out an appeal:
"If you were the person who robbed the stuff from our car, we reckon life must be pretty crap for you. Robbing stuff is a short term fix....but learning stuff is a real way out. So here's a deal.

Return what you can to us, and come work for us for two weeks as an archaeologist, and understand the importance of the history of where you live, the skills we use to learn about the past and the way to get from the crap circumstances you are in to a better place. We'll cover your travel costs and you can keep the iPad if you want. We'll support you to find a training/education provider and you'll understand why a few crap bits of pottery from the bag you half-inched are worth more than 10 iPads. Serious, genuine offer....and by the way, the body you found in the boot is a replica bog body (see the pic!), so you can sleep a bit better tonight!"
Stolen iPad is handed in at local police station.
The company is now hoping to trace the returner and offer them the work experience.
Dean Paton, Managing Director of Big Heritage, comments on their Facebook page that "yep, in the words of Rasta Mouse, we've turned a bad thing good!"
Rasta Mouse has now bigged up Big Heritage on Twitter.

This is possibly my favourite news story for some time, because it just gets better and better: Thief has the poo scared out of them (amusing) Victims have positive approach to forgiveness and rehabilitation, couched in great terms (heartwarming) National press picks up on it (yay, good use of media!) Thieves hand item in and may be traceable (wow, it worked?...) Victim quotes animated character, who in turn takes an interest (surreal, and amusing)

No idea who Rasta Mouse is? A crime solving mouse who believes in
"solving problems through mutual understanding, love and respect, and without resorting to punishment. Rastamouse's ethos is redemption and not retribution — "make a bad ting good" — helping wrong-doers to redeem themselves from their mistakes." Here he is tracking down some stolen art: