anencounterwithastranger.blogspot.com

Check out our new blog at anencounterwithastranger.blogspot.com for details of a creativity weekend with Anna Fenemore and MMU Cheshire

This is the new project I'm working on - if anyone knows of a confessional booth for sale please give me a shout. Also looking for artists who've created installations, sculpture, film, animation or photography exploring the subject of identity or the seven deadly sins

THE HERBERT

Okay so another perk of the new job was to go on the staff away day to The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery in Coventry on Wednesday.

It was an action packed day with talks from the curatorial team, a tour of the galleries, lunch outside the cathedral (its so nice that its warm enough to picnic again!!!) tours of the museum stores, very impressive roller racking systems down there and tres expensive environmental controlling!! then the rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the galleries in our own time.

I particularly enjoyed experiencing La  Bouche  Du  Roi:  An  Artwork  By  Romuald  Hazoume.

According to the British museum ' The artwork comprises 304 plastic petrol can 'masks' arranged in the shape of a slave ship. Each mask represents a living person with a name, a voice and beliefs'. 

It was the audio that really struck me, the sound of singing and wailing made the exhibition feel that extra human.

MORE PICS OF SHUGBOROUGH

I thought I'd add a few more pics of my beautiful workplace

To the left here you can see the midden yard where the upstairs windows are to our museum stores - In there are about 23000 objects i think from a wicker coffin and huge old fashioned cameras to a 1930's pram and old war artefacts - not to mention the costume stores and the engine shed where there is a enormous old wooden carraige hearse

Above right is a pic of the ruin, its really beautiful and used to be alot bigger but this is all that is left.  Below is a closer up pic of the statue on top of the ruin - he's a very contemplative chappy. I spent a day photographing the monuments around the estate for an educational resource. I love my job!!

Balloon Sculptures

I've decided today is going to be an arty day i want to make some more of my balloon sculptures i havn't made any for quite a few years now so its time to resurrect the glue gun!! If the little fella is going to help I'd better rummage around in my tool box and find my safety glasses because they can be a little explosive! haha I'll post the results later but here's an example for now

OVER SHOES

I thought I'd find a pic to show you what I meant when I was talking about Over Shoes

The example here is similar to the one I found in our stores at the museum but this image is of a childs over-shoe and is a little more chunky - our version belonging to a lady is much more delicate and feminine.

ARTS AND MUSEUMS TRAINEE

Well! having been made redundant the cloud definately had a silver lining! - I am the arts and museums trainee at Staffordshire County Council.

Working at the County Museum at Shugborough and the Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford in the near future.

Shugborough is gorgeous here is some of the scenery I have to pass everyday on foot, just to get to the offices.

The Chinese House at Shugborough
The Tower of the Winds and The Fountain with the Ruin in the background

So far I've helped put together a touring exhibition that opened at the Chasewater Innovation Centre on Tuesday - This involved going through hundreds of objects in the museum's collection to find interesting objects for a display on sustainable travel - no mean feat to make travel sexy!! 

My favourite object I found was a tiny little 19th century leather Over-Shoe that the well-to-do ladies would have slipped over their fine fabric shoes to keep them clean from the mud - just like olden day wellies!! 

My next project in the museum will be Colour in Costume. I'm thinking of going through the museum costume stores  and putting together an exhibition of non-white wedding dresses from 1800's to 1980's (this is when our current collection ends i think) We have some really beautiful examples its just too bad that being museum artefacts I don't get to try them on!!!

ULTRASOUND OF THERAPY

A couple of summers ago i worked with Stallplaat Soundsystem on their installlation 'The Ultrasoundof therapy.

It was inspired by the ancient French hospital 'La Salle des Malades" the installation mimics a clinical environment. First visitors details are taken, then they will be admitted to a cubicle, complete with hospital bed, where artist 'doctors' and 'nurses' will treat their 'patients' with personalised sound therapies, ranging from relaxing, and energising to slightly disturbing. In addition to the individual therapeutic sounds, an overall acoustic is created for the whole space, unifying it into one immersive sound installation.

I worked as one of the doctors and especially enjoyed strapping people into a hammock with devices attached to certain points on their bodies that emitted sound vibrations. Participations then felt the sound resonationing through their bodies. i was able to control the emissions through complex software.

Being blindfolded, people experienced emotions ranging from fear and anticipation through to sublime relaxation depending of course on their mental state and how tightly I or any of the other sonic doctors bound them in.

Matthew Kern

Matthew Kern's constructions spoke to me when I stumbled across them in cyber space today so I thought I'd share one of his images with you.

The next exhibition I want to see is Tetsuaki Baba’s Freqtric Drums at FACT, Liverpool

Its interactive and they say it 'allows the body to become a drum trigger; use your friend as a drumkit and play an interactive drum game; sound fab to me sod guitar hero get yourself to FACT!!!

Check it out in action here....

http://www.masterlaval.net/competitions/video/freqtric.html

Another interactive piece is by 'Artists and Developers Julian Oliver and Pix, present Fijuu, a gamepad controlled 3D interactive musical object. Use the controller to make improvised electronic rhythms and textures by changing the shape of a virtual object onscreen.' I'm going to take the hubby and my son to this one I think they'll really like it

As promised I've written a review of Emory Douglas's Exhibition at Urbis.

He was Minister for Culture for the Black Panther Party during the civil unrest in America back in the 60's and 70's. It's powerful stuff .

Check out my review at http://boudoirterrorist.weebly.com/emory-douglas-black-panthers-and-power.html