A funny thing happened on the way to the V&A

Can you believe we are in week 4 already? The Autumn term pace is nothing if not hectic.

I know my colleague Steve Edwards has been busy, not to mention globally present. He recently posted the final blogpost in a series for the Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland) on ‘The Fire Last Time: Radical Documentary in Britain During the 1970s’; he was an invited participant in the seminar ‘Between fiction and reality’, University of Sao Paulo, July; he gave the paper ‘Suspended Time: Antoine Claudet’s studio at Regent Street and the Shock of 1848’, at the University of Michigan, USA, in September, and next month he delivers a keynote (with Gail Day) in Lisbon to the Bloco Esquerda (the left bloc of the governing coalition).

As usual there’s no shortage of events to attend here at Birkbeck:

You may not have known that Birkbeck has an artist in residence, and you can get involved in her work: Join Birkbeck’s artist-in-residence Lily Hunter Green to hear about her project ‘Bee Composed Live’ and opportunities to get involved in her workshops leading to her final exhibition in May, 2018. In this first meeting (Friday, 27 October, 6-7.30pm) Lily will introduce her work and her new project exploring the connection between the worlds of bees and humans in relation to the timely question of climate change. It is crucial that you attend this first meeting if you are interested in participating the four workshops she will run throughout the year and the exhibition concluding her residency alongside a symposium (Tuesday, 8 May) Dr Seda Ilter will organise. The workshop series is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in participating.

Please do book your space asap as numbers are limited.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bee-composed-live-first-meeting-with-birkbecks-artist-in-residence-tickets-38593738912?utm_term=eventname_text

The Architecture Space and Society Centre has a rich afternoon coming up of new research on the topic of ‘Architecture of Energy’ on Friday 3 November, 1-5pm in the Keynes Library, with speakers from Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leicester, Birkbeck and Goldsmiths. The symposium explores whether there are radical historical and interpretative possibilities in approaches that place energy at the centre of our understanding of architecture and the built environment. It’s organised by my colleague Mark Crinson.

On Monday 6 November at 6pm (Keynes library) the Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies hosts Tate curator Martin Myrone discussing his plans for an exhibition of the art of William Blake (1757-1827) in 2019, in the context of the history of exhibiting Blake from the late 18th century onwards.

I’m now handing over to Francesca Snelling, a student on the MA History of Art with Photography, reporting on an experience shadowing Birkbeck alumna Anaïs Aguerre at the V&A on a momentous day in June. It began with a chance encounter with a prominent personage (who’ll be making an appearance at Birkbeck in February…)

***

Finding myself walking from South Kensington tube to the V&A alongside its director, Tristram Hunt, the day of the UK’s General Election, was just too good an opportunity to resist. Overwhelmingly curious to know how the former shadow education secretary, who had resigned his seat in January, had voted that morning, I boldly introduced myself. He artfully deflected the political question, deferring to the impartiality rules of his new role as civil servant. Party politics for the ‘remainer’, left flying almost solo in what was the 70% Brexit land of his former constituency of Stoke on Trent, was now truly put aside.

As a Birkbeck MA History of Art with Photography student, the day ahead was my first opportunity to get behind the scenes of one of my most loved museums, on a work shadow placement with alumna Anaïs Aguerre in the museum’s International Department. For Hunt, as the country rallied to the polls, it was business as usual. Founded in 1852 by Henry Cole as an offspring of the first International Exhibition, the V & A has from its inception prided itself on being an organisation with global relevance, collections, audiences, exhibitions, and relationships. This poll-morning encounter with the custodian of some of our country’s most prized treasures to me exemplified the “sense of freedom” the museum embodies; pride, accessibility and a sense of ownership for Jo Public over its many treasures. Fresh off Dr Gabriel Koureas’ module Museums and National Identity, this all felt somehow right and good.

Knowing that disillusionment with the Brexit vote was cited as the reason for the resignation of Hunt’s predecessor, the late Martin Roth, a sharp sense of the ongoing negotiation of the institution’s obligations and global positioning added to my interest in the workings of the International Department. With a collection and education program of such global significance and international content, what did and didn’t fall within its remit? With the recent & slightly controversial acquisition of the Royal Photographic Society archive from the National Media Museum in Bradford in mind specifically, I wondered how these obligations aligned with the V&A constituency across Britain itself, beyond its South Kensington site.

Responsibilities to engage with an open face to the world in a Brexit age, it turned out, is an issue as close to Anaïs’s heart, as it is to Hunt’s and Roth before him The day, which comprised of several in-house and Skype meetings to brainstorm the reworking of Henry Cole’s 1867 ‘Convention for Promoting Universally Reproductions of Works of Art for the Benefit of Museums of All Countries’, gave me fascinating insight into the devising of new international guidelines on Reproducing Heritage. As a photographer currently obsessed with the digitisation of archives and the expansion of their visual economy, I had struck gold. Anais also spoke to me at length about the Training Program for museum professionals from overseas as well as the department’s touring exhibitions, like the Bowie exhibition then currently in Barcelona.

In retrospect, it couldn’t have been a more significant day to be there; a day in which the Brexit vote was probably felt by the country most keenly. How this decision will affect and resonate through Britain’s art institutions is still yet to be seen, but knowing that our cultural heritage and its scholarship lies open to the world on principal, at least for now, is some comfort.

 

Francesca Snelling, MA History of Art with Photography

 

 

 

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Opening up Art History: 50 Years at Birkbeck

It was wonderful to see all the new students at the induction evenings over the past 2 weeks – there was a great buzz at the drinks receptions, and it was gratifying to have to eject people from the Keynes at 9pm. I hope the conversations continued elsewhere! I hope too that everyone’s first classes went well last week.

I promised more info on how we’re marking the department’s 50th anniversary over the course of 2017-18. Full details are now available here. You’ll see we have two very prominent museum directors giving public talks: Gabriele Finaldi and Tristram Hunt. Our academics have also organised a series of four workshops under the banner ‘Forward Looking’ which will confront topical and indeed fraught issues facing art history and museums, such as austerity and the relevance of ‘old art’.

The anniversary celebrations have the motto ‘Opening Up Art History’, taking inspiration from Birkbeck’s historic role in radically redefining an elite and esoteric discipline. At the same time, we want to use the occasion to look forward, scope out and have an impact on the future. You may have already seen the posters featuring the 18th-century engraving of a woman – her dress connects her with the servant class – reaching for a book by lamplight, seeking out intellectual stimulation after a day’s work (a cropped version is on the website). We chose it from the British Museum’s open-access databank – an image, itself openly available, which conjures up the pleasures and risks of breaching the boundaries that traditionally surround knowledge.

Étude nocturne, mezzotint by Philip Dawe, after John Foldsone, 1772 © Trustees of the British Museum.

Speaking of women, art and the 18th century, there’s a fascinating-sounding symposium coming up here at Birkbeck on 20 November, organised by our own Kate Retford with Jacqueline Riding, who is an honorary research fellow in the department. Basic Instincts: Art, Women & Sexuality in the Eighteenth Century draws out themes explored in current exhibition Basic Instincts at the Foundling Museum (until 7 January), curated by Jacqueline Riding. Speakers include Kate and Birkbeck PhD student Kirsten Tambling and a great roster of visiting speakers. The symposium is ticketed (£30 for students) and you need to book in advance.

The two research centres based in History of Art, the Architecture Space and Society Centre and the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre have recently announced their events for the term. Please check out their websites for details and booking links. And the Murray Seminar, featuring talks on new research in medieval and Renaissance art, has also announced its programme, which kicks off on 18 October 5pm in the Keynes with Kim Woods on ‘Speaking Sculptures’. All events are free and open to the public.

Do make sure to take some time out from racing around to class, library, tutors’ offices, etc., to spend some time in the Peltz Gallery, with the very beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition Sunil Gupta: In Pursuit of Love, curated by our own Annie Coombes and featuring contemporary photographs with strong art historical echoes.

Sunil Gupta, Untitled #5, ‘The new Pre-Raphaelites’ 2008, ink-jet print

Finally, if you’re interested or think you might be interested in the world of tech, Birkbeck has organised a new series of events with employers from the tech sector called UpSkill – looks like interesting stuff, and is open to all students no matter what they’re studying.

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