News in brief!  Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has developed an extensive object name thesaurus, and has agreed to share it with museums and galleries in New Zealand.  The Powerhouse Museum Object Name Thesaurus provides a controlled vocabulary for searching for object names.  This is a great tool for establishing standardised terms for cataloguing collections, and also makes searching your database a lot easier.

More information about the thesaurus is available on the Powerhouse Museum website.

How easy it is to become blasé. After a couple of days among the works of some of the world’s great art masters I realized I had stopped noticing. Caravaggio, Canaletto, Van der Weyden, Bosch, Rubens, Velázquez, Murillo, Goya, Holbein, Gainsborough, Turner, Delacroix, Manet, Renoir, Rembrandt and Degas… all were in danger of becoming wallpaper, the result of information and sensory overload. Six intensive days of good-quality conference in a large European art museum housed in a neo-renaissance palace in a magical city can do that to me.   

Thanks to the support of National Services Te Paerangi, UNESCO New Zealand and Hamilton City Council, in September I was lucky enough to be in Zagreb, Croatia, participating in the ICOM CECA 2011 conference where I presented:  Getting out from under the e-word, the way in which language may programme our thinking patterns and in particular how the word ‘education’ may trigger traditional expectations and assumptions around learning.   

The artistic and cultural centre of Zagreb is focused in the “old” town, a dignified setting of many cobbled streets and nineteenth century buildings. While the earliest record of the city dates to 1094, much of the older built heritage was destroyed by an earthquake in 1880.   

The conference was held in the impressive Mimara Museum, a large institution with nearly 4000 works and a strong art library.   

The team at NSTP was sad to say goodbye to North Island MDO Ian Wards early in September.  Ian has headed south to be Project Curator at Otago Settlers Museum.  Before he left, Ian had this to say:

Kia ora koutou 

Well, it has been a real privilege to travel the country visiting museums and art galleries, dishing out my wisdom …

Seriously now, I have learnt a huge amount over the last year or so working for National Services. Thank you for all those curly questions, to which I have attempted answers – well, I tried! I’ve kinda felt like a knowledge server, soaking in knowledge and advice while on the road or in the office – then flinging it back out across the many, many museums and galleries of our islands.

We have some real stars in Museumland – not just council- or government-funded ones, but also museums of passion: aka the trusts and historical societies who carry on, funded on nothing but air, because they care about maintaining the material heritage of this country. I’ve seen some truly creative ways of sparking the imagination of present-day people – to feel what it was like in the past, to appreciate where we are today.

Understanding what has gone on before us, including the many unfortunate consequences of humans on this land, provides us with valuable lore to focus our vision as we ‘manage’ the land for future generations.

The environmental degradation of this country since the arrival of people is the elephant in the room of New Zealand museums. Do we choose not to interpret it simply because it isn’t pretty or tourist friendly?

This rant ties into my last words, which aren’t actually mine but those of my Chief Executive, Mike Houlihan. Mike, in a recent talk to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, asked:

Have you experienced anything today [at the museum] that will change your attitude or behaviour?

Well, actually, we don’t even bother asking that one. Yet, this life changing area, the social impact zone, should be our battlefield; ironically, that was the original purpose of the public museum.

Food for thought, methinks.

Merry museology! I’ve got exhibitions to make in Dunedin!

Ngā mihi

Ian

The exhibition, Black in Fashion: Wearing the Colour Black in New Zealand, has been designed and realised by the New Zealand Fashion Museum, with Doris de Pont as curator. Timed to coincide with the Rugby World Cup, the exhibition is part of the Real NZ 2011 Festival.

The exhibition breaks new ground as it is the first time the topic of “the wearing of black as part of our identity” has been explored in a museum exhibition.  While there is not a single event or specific date which marks New Zealand adopting the colour black as our own, the exhibition builds a picture whereby the viewer gets a sense of the evolution of a black New Zealand identity.  Black in Fashion incorporates a diverse array of garments and objects which are organised across a number of themes including: black in early New Zealand, black in sport, in music, in film, black in authority, black against authority, black from a Maori perspective, black in a rural view, and black in fashion.  The garments on display span a 120 year period and highlight not just how fashion has changed, but also how immigration and our changing relationship with the rest of the world has impacted on our sense of self and how that manifests itself in a developing New Zealand identity.

A black Victorian dress dated from circa 1890, while made here, highlights New Zealand’s strong historical ties with Britain and our relationship to the dress codes and mores of Mother England.  Another dress woven from harekeke and lurex threads for the Style Pasifika competition in 2007 gives a distinctly contemporary Maori twist to that fashion perennial, the little black dress. The ‘newest black’ is represented by a selection of garments from recent New Zealand fashion design graduates, who claim various ancestry such as Chinese and Palestinian, highlighting our growing ethnic diversity and an evolving fashion aesthetic.

There are a number of famous black garments in the exhibition, including:

• Irene van Dijk’s Silver Fern uniform from the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 where New Zealand took Gold by defeating Australia 66-64 in extra time.
• The TOA Aotearoa gang patched leather jacket, vest, belt and pants made for Taka (Gang Leader), played by Calvin Tutaeo in the New Zealand film Once Were Warriors.
• White Tie Formal attire of Sir Keith Holyoake, the third longest serving New Zealand Prime Minister (1957, 1960-1972) and also Governor General (1977-1980).
• A daring gown by Konstantina Moutos, which won a Benson and Hedges Supreme Award in 1986, which was flown back from Greece to be part of the exhibition.

Opening hours are 10am-6pm Monday to Saturday and Sunday from 10am-4pm. Entry to the exhibition is free and a series of floor talks will be hosted throughout the exhibition.  Black in Fashion will be housed in a new retail space designed by Cheshire Architects at the Britomart Precinct.

To find out more visit www.fashionmuseum.org.nz.

Thursday 15 Sept at 7pm, Telstra Clear Centre Room, Te Papa (Admission free)

William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) was the English inventor of photography on paper. A brilliant scientist, mathematician and linguist, his appalling draughtsmanship propelled him into the invention of the art. Talbot’s recognition that the negative allowed the production of multiples of paper prints defined the mainstream of photography right up until the digital age.  Drawing on the extensive surviving archives of Talbot’s original photographs and manuscripts, Professor Schaaf demonstrates that beyond the act of invention, Talbot learned from what he invented and became the first artist to be trained by photography.

Dr Larry J Schaaf is a lapsed photographer and an independent photohistorian based in Baltimore, Maryland.  His introduction to the history of photography started four decades ago while teaching photography at The University of Texas at Austin, home of the Gernsheim Collection of Photography.  Schaaf is the author of numerous journal articles and books on the early history of photography.  He has held various institutional positions and fellowships, including being appointed as the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University in 2005.  His special area of study is William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of the negative and of photography on paper. Professor Schaaf is Director of the online Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot, which has published full searchable transcriptions of more than 10,000 of his letters.

 Lynette Townsend, curator history at Te Papa, will present at Expressions: http://www.expressions.org.nz/tepapatuesdays.htm. She will talk about the collection and collecting with a focus on some of her favourite objects and their associated stories. She will focus on how the collections have developed, issues around collecting and the selection process, recent acquisitions and future aspirational collecting.

 The history team are regularly offered a huge range of objects each unique and special for different reasons. Even so, it is impossible for any museum to be encyclopaedic in its collecting.  Tough decisions have to be made about what to collect and what not to collect. Lynette will talk about some of the strategies and processes in place at Te Papa to help deal with these issues.

Melanie and Katherine will discuss the new acquisition;

Melanie and Katherine will discuss the specialized practice of paintings conservation, illustrated by the treatment of Poedua.

Poedua (Poetua), daughter of Oreo, chief of Ulaietea, one of the Society Isles, painted by John Webber in 1785. The painting was acquired at the end of 2010 and after travelling to Wellington from London was placed on display to allow the public to see this important new acquisition. Early in the New Year the painting was brought to the paintings conservation lab to undergo technical examination and treatment. While the painting is structurally in very good condition for its age, the painting carries a discoloured varnish layer and a heavy soiling layer, obscuring the colours and tones of the artist’s intention.

Recently I’ve been in Feilding working with the Coachhouse Museum on their redevelopment plans. They are stars – having put together good planning documents and consulting widely before they approach funders, etc. Anyway, that is not the topic I’m writing about in this Diary.

Why I mention the Coach House Museum is because they have a fantastic old Hawkers wagon that was used to sell goods ranging from needles to anchors. The wagon’s former owner, Peter Kerouse, drove it throughout the Manawatu and over into Hawkes’ Bay during the middle decades of the 20^th Century, becoming something of a local legend in the process. 

The hawkers wagon of Peter Kerouse, Coach House Museum, Feilding.

Peter selling his wares.

This wagon, with accompanying photographs of Peter selling his wares, is a marvellous example of how people and things can mesh into one. Rather than being ‘just another wagon’ this vehicle provides a fascinating insight into the lives of New Zealanders from an era most of us can only imagine.

Good things with good stories are one thing, telling those stories well is another. When approaching ways to interpret an object – or tell its stories – try communicating without words. Photographs, illustrations, film, sound and diaramas (my favourite!), are all things to think about before you resort to words. Different people absorb information in different ways.

Surveys have shown that people often only read labels for an average of 2 seconds. It is also very easy to get ‘museum fatigue’: that feeling of being exhausted within minutes of entering a museum or gallery due to the share variety of stimuli you brain is having to process (speaking from experience here…).

A great example of displays that are both sensitive to the environment in which they live, while also being stimulating in their content, can be found at the Colin McCahon House in Titirangi. Initially on entering the tiny house in which the McCahon family lived during the 1950s, everything looks Spartan and clean; as it might have been half a century ago. It is only upon being prompted to open some cupboards by your guide that a whole world of information about the McCahon household comes to life – using photographs, audio-visuals, and text.

Display cases inside Colin McCahon house

So I reckon that when you are planning exhibitions, think about the engaging people related stories and ways to interpret them though means other than text.

What was your reaction to QBW Honours?
Of course, I was surprised as these things seem to come right out of the blue. However, as I’ve discovered, it’s a nice way of the community as a whole acknowledging a contribution made in a given field. I was pleased to see the museum profession in the roll-call, with local colleague Therese Angelo from the Air Force Museum also honoured.

What are you passionate about? 
My work. I have greatly enjoyed being actively involved with the Venice Biennale in 2009 and 2011 and feel strongly that New Zealand should continue to participate in this event.

Tell me about an inspiring Gallery experience? 
Not so much a gallery experience, but seeing British artist Anish Kapoor’s Leviathan (for Monumenta 2011) in the Grand Palais, Paris recently was amazing and inspirational. Visitors pass into a huge blown-up bulbous red membranous space (it’s made of PVC). You’re literally inside with no sense of a surrounding environment, but lights subtlely and slowly bring the web-like patterns of the host building’s framework into focus through the surfaces. Then you view it externally, but still inside the Grand Palais. It’s a more a dense aubergine colour on the outside, but still quite marvellous. I’m not sure that any building in New Zealand would do it justice – and I’m certain such an installation would need a massive budget.

What displeases you in a Gallery? 
I like galleries which allow views of the exterior from time-to-time and, conversely, dislike never getting a glimpse of the outside. I dislike exhibitions with too much in them (unless crowding is a feature of the exhibit itself); exhibitions which are ‘books on the wall’ (they’re probably better absorbed in a book); labels which are too dry, or talk down to an audience, or are hard to find with wording too small; exhibitions which aren’t rigorously re-viewed and re-freshed. Of course, as museum professionals, we notice every little flaw – that’s a given!

How did the earthquake affect you? 
Profoundly - we’re simply not good at shutting the doors. Remaining closed for months goes against every bone in our professional bodies. Thinking on it, Christchurch Art Gallery has become the scene of a clash of civic roles. On the one hand, we’re a publicly-owned building which stood up well during recent earthquakes; we quickly became emergency operations headquarters; and we’re pleased to play such a crucial role in the heart of this city. On the other hand, we’re desperate to do what it is we’re designed to do: to get art back in our lives; to give our people something to do at weekends; to ensure tourist operators don’t think the whole city is closed for business; to help the city towards a sense of cultural and economic recovery! 

What do you see as your Gallery’s strengths?
The staff at Christchurch Art Gallery are its major strength. Our collection has its gems, but it’s not the best in the world and – although it’s stood strong during recent events – the building is not either. But the staff have made us what we are. They’ve shown an ability to step up; they’re oriented to their public and to understanding it and growing it; they’re interested in innovation and making improvements. They contribute to the broader professions within the art world; they’re agile and oriented to opportunities as they arise. We also have a supportive Council, which provides an excellent basis for a publicly-funded gallery.

How much has been lost culturally through the ‘quakes? 
The impact of the total closure of any inner city for a length of time and the destruction of a range of landmark and other buildings is pretty hard to quantify, but cultural losses will be immense. For us, it has been really disappointing to cancel a range of various exhibitions, to return loans, to truncate public programmes. Although we’re lucky to have a place to come to work, it goes against the grain not to have people streaming though the door every day. We were so lucky to have sandwiched ‘Ron Mueck’ between the 4 September and 22 February earthquakes, but it is disappointing that Christchurch Art Gallery will not post a new attendance record (we’d already had 457,000 visitors in 2010-11, which is not bad for being open only 8 months!). However, the earthquake will also present opportunities which we look forward to – including our planned opening programme and the opportunity to contribute to the re-build in whatever ways. There have been some interesting ‘gap-filler’ type art projects emerge in the wake of wider destruction. It’s hard to keep people down…

Any thoughts on how our sector can best help? 
It’s very human to want to do something straight away, and of course we received many personal and collegial messages of concern and good will from all over the world. But needs will be spread out, and may come in 2-3 years. We hope that there will not be too many cold feet within the New Zealand museum sector about lending key items to Christchurch in the future!  That will stunt our cultural recovery.

Anything else you’d like to add?
It’s important to know and understand what is likely to happen in the case of a similar disaster in your area? Make sure your disaster and business continuity plans do not only cover something local, but also take account of when a whole city goes under for a period. Make sure your local area has a plan that ensures cultural recovery is up there as a priority – and that your museum or gallery contributes to it.