Steeped in Museums

Not sure how these cat photos would fair in a museum, but they’re hilarious! Click to see Toxel’s site for more of these hilarious altered paintings.

HBO and TIFF have put on a Game of Thrones exhibition, which is running this week (March 9 - 18, 2012). I had the opportunity to view the exhibition earlier this week, and was extremely disappointed. Yes, it was a free event, but I was still hoping for more than what was put on by the exhibitors.

From the website:

Located in the expansive main-floor HSBC Gallery at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, and designed and staged by TIFF’s world-class exhibitions team, Game of Thrones: The Exhibition showcases a wealth of material from HBO’s global production, including: six costumes; props symbolic of major plot twists; an assortment of weaponry, tableware and banners that illustrate the series’ distinctive Houses; gorgeous still photography from Seasons 1 and 2; and behind-the-scenes videos of the designers and craftspeople who bring Westeros to life. Among the many highlights are: the never-before-seen costume of Melisandre, a major character new to Season 2; a dragon egg; the “Hand of the King” badge and the stag crown of Robert Baratheon.

The anchor to the exhibition is the infamous Iron Throne itself. Located in the RBC Lobby at TIFF Bell Lightbox, fans and passers-by alike will have the chance to be King or Queen for a day and be photographed with the Throne.

Instead of walking into an exhibition space, I felt I had walked into a giant space for HBO to advertise its hit show. None of the costumes or props in the exhibit were labeled, and it was unclear if these were indeed used in the show or copies for the purpose of the exhibition. Most of the exhibition consisted of stills from the show, and only a select few of these stills were actually of behind the scenes. You couldn’t actually hear any of the sound from the behind the scenes video, since 3 screens were grouped close together and the sound was not loud enough to make up for the loud noise from the visitors.

Many were excited to have a chance to “sit on the throne”, but yet again, I found this to be an unwelcome media stunt. Fans lined up to have their photo taken on the throne - for a fee. The throne could not be enjoyed by those wishing to look at it as a museum object, and instead only by those who gave into advertising.

While some of the props were cool to see - such as Stark’s head and the dragon egg, it was still unclear if these were indeed authentic. Overall, I found the exhibition to be disappointing. While I was aware it would be quite small due to the nature of it and it being a free exhibit, I still expect more from the institutions involved in putting on the show. Nevertheless, I am still psyched for the season 2 premiere of the show on April 1st!

From the LA Times:

The planned museum at ground zero in Lower Manhattan has hit yet another stumbling block as families of some of the victims of the 9/11 attacks have voiced opposition to a plan for storing human remains below the museum.

On Sunday, family members spoke at the former World Trade Center site, revealing the results of a survey they said shows that the vast majority of respondents are against the internment of remains at the site, according to reports.

The plan was to bury the remains deep within the walls of the museum. But some relatives said they believe that this is disrespectful to the dead and that the remains should be stored in a tomb above ground.

Last year, the memorial portion of the project was unveiled on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Over the last few months, the adjoining museum has been embroiled in controversy surrounding costs. The planned 2012 opening of the museum has been delayed due to a dispute between the Port Authority and the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum foundation over funding of the project.

A must watch for anyone interested in museums.

Taken from toronto.com:

Feb 18, 2012 

WASHINGTON — Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” are being removed from a Smithsonian exhibit to be conserved.

Curators say the famous shoes are old and need to be prepared for a future display at the National Museum of American History. The last day to see the slippers in their current exhibit is Wednesday. They will return to public view April 5 in a new exhibit called “American Stories.”

The slippers were donated anonymously to the museum in 1979 and have been on display almost continuously since.

The 1939 movie’s costume designer altered red shoes by attaching netting on their tops and heels and covering them with red sequins. Curators say they were made quickly and cheaply.

While the shoes are gone, “Oz” will be represented by the Scarecrow’s hat.

Very neat installation that is taking place at the Queensland Art Gallery.

Taken from Yahoo News: “Obliteration Room uses kids and thousands of stickers to go from plain to colorful

What happens when you give thousands of kids thousands of colored dot stickers, and turn them loose in a completely white room? Art! Turning to the general public for inspiration worked well for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, so it’s not surprising that artists are doing the same thing.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama started with a room painted entirely in pristine white. Everything from the walls, floor, and ceiling to the table, chairs, and piano were perfectly white. She then unleashed the smallest visitors to the Gallery of Modern Art at the Queensland Art Gallery, armed with thousand of colorful dot stickers.

The result is a crazy riot of color, both revealing and hiding the forms and shapes of the objects in the room and providing the installation’s name: the Obliteration Room. Kusama’s work has frequently had an element of interactivity, and the spaces of the Obliteration Room change gradually as visitors add more and more dots to the environment. The installation is part of Kusama’s “Look Now, See Forever” exhibit at GOMA, and runs through March 11. If you happen to be in Australia, be sure to check it out!”

Loving that it’s an installation for kids! Awesome!

This tumblr is hilarious! Check it out for some museum fun. 

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden. My words echo
Thus, in your mind.
But to what purpose
Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves 
I do not know.
Other echoes 
Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow? 
Quick, said the bird, find them, find them, 
Round the corner. Through the first gate,
Into our first world, shall we follow
The deception of the thrush? Into our first world.
There they were, dignified, invisible,
Moving without pressure, over the dead leaves,
In the autumn heat, through the vibrant air,
And the bird called, in response to
The unheard music hidden in the shrubbery,
And the unseen eyebeam crossed, for the roses
Had the look of flowers that are looked at.
There they were as our guests, accepted and accepting.
So we moved, and they, in a formal pattern,
Along the empty alley, into the box circle,
To look down into the drained pool.
Dry the pool, dry concrete, brown edged,
And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight,
And the lotos rose, quietly, quietly,
The surface glittered out of heart of light,
And they were behind us, reflected in the pool.
Then a cloud passed, and the pool was empty.
Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,
Hidden excitedly, containing laughter.
Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality.
Time past and time future
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present. 

A fitting poem… don’t you think?