Spoiler Alert! Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Here at the Ministry we have written many an exhibition review in our time. But never one we thought we needed to start with a #spoileralert. If you are planning on going to see Alexander McQueen at the V&A, don't read this post. In fact, if I were you I wouldn't read any reviews, let alone watch that Tinie Tempah tour. The exhibition is an immersive experience unlike anything we've seen before - so you'll want to experience it for yourself with fresh eyes. Although if you are in fact going to try and see it GET YOUR TICKETS ASAP! (Unless you are an MA member then you can of course just rock up). Now that you've been adequately warned, we can move on to our thoughts on #McQueen...

Because I was good and hadn't read any reviews, I didn't have any idea of what to expect. When I first walked into the exhibition, it didn't really seem that special. An industrial looking room, with some mannequins in McQueen clothes. McQueen took inspiration from London, McQueen was a visionary, McQueen had unique lines - yes yes. But when I strolled into the next space, I almost started crying. The floor to ceiling antique mirrors,the towering mannequins in their dark crow-like masks, the evocative soundtrack. This isn't an exhibition...its a journey into the mind of Alexander McQueen.

I think really the best way to think about Savage Beauty is it's not really like an art gallery at all, it's an immersive experience. I mean, I certainly can't imagine any historical exhibition with music that loud, lights that flashy, and labels that tiny, and not being absolutely slammed for it. On that note, the text panels are actually incredibly hard to read - in one room the gilded words were so difficult to read I watched a number of people in front just shrug and walk away. In the next room, one main panel actually used the words 'avatistic', 'fetishistic' and 'dialectical'  - at least two in the same sentence. I can't help but think how many accessibility guidelines are being ignored.

But don't be confused, the exhibition is AMAZING! And that is it's purpose- to overwhelm and amaze, to be an experience, in the style of McQueen. Each room is its own environment, inspired by the collections. Whether its a futuristic cabinet or curiosities or a low, darkly-lit cave evoking the ancient past, the designers have made the intention beyond the clothes into a lived experience.

Something I must say I hadn't quite expected was the diversity of people there with me. Of course it's a huge blockbuster show so why wouldn't a huge range audiences come along. But actually, everyone seemed to be engaging with the subject matter. I heard people pointing out different pieces they were familiar with - isn't that Lady Gaga's dress? I know that headdress! Did you see the clam shell blouse? It's a testament to McQueen's pervasive influence, even for those of us who aren't particularly high-fashion conscious.

What more can I say really - Savage Beauty is something that you have to experience for yourself. It's not an art exhibition, it's art in itself. A truly fitting tribute to McQueen, even if they had to break some of our museum rules to get there.

The Ministry Explains It All: Spoliation in the news

Spoliation is a word you might have heard being use a lot in the museum press of late. The term makes it sound a bit like museums are hiding pieces of off fruit in their stores. But actually spoliation refers very specifically to works of art and objects looted by the Nazis during the Second World War. Simply put, UK museums need to ensure that none of their holdings were taken from their rightful owners between 1935-1945. The principal might be straight forward, but the practice is more complex. So when you hear that the Tate, the Ashmolean and the V&A have been very publicly under review by the spoliation advisory panel, it doesn’t mean that museums don’t take this issue very seriously. The Ministry is here to break it down for you and explain why spoliation is so damn complicated and why registrars are critical to museum work. 

President Eisenhower views looted art in a salt mine

It would be easy to think that in the 70-odd years since the Second World War that any art stolen by the Nazis would have ended up back where it belongs by now. However just a quick glance at the news over the past weeks will tell you Nazi loot is still a hot topic. In Germany, Cornelius Gurlitt was found to be hiding a stash of ‘degenerate’ art over £1 billion which his father had acquired with the intention of selling to raise funds for the Nazi party. Just last week, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was able to identify the owners of a painting by Paul Signac which had been presented to the institution as thanks for a performance for German soldiers. It seems no matter how much work has been done, there is always something more to be discovered.

A seascape by Paul Signac, recently returned by the Vienna Philharmonic.

The way that spoilation works in practice is a bit more confusing. The big name you’ll hear over and over again are the ‘Washington Principles’. In 1998 there was a conference in Washington about Holocaust-era Assets that ended up creating a non-binding set of principles (so best practice guidelines) that 44 countries including the UK signed up to. This includes all the things you’d expect - ensuring you know the provenance of all your objects for the period 1939-1945, making known any art that has an unclear provenance and, if a claim is made, do everything you can to return the object quickly. In the UK, objects with a squiffy history should be listed on a database hosted by the National Museum Director’s Conference (NMDC). If a claim is made, this goes through the Spoliation Advisory Panel, which is exactly whats happening to the Ashmolean and the V&A at the moment. 

Works by artists like Otto Dix have been recovered from Gurlitt's collection

There isn’t a museum out there that would purposefully want to get in the way of returning spoliated art. However the practicalities of understanding the legal protocols and how it applies to their day to day work is something that, in practice, all institutions struggle with. Undertaking a collection-wide provenance review is a thought that would bring any museum person to tears. It would be nice to think all our objects have been thoroughly provenanced, but let’s just admit they they haven’t. The specialist time it would take can seem impossible when all museums feel short-staffed even for core functions. Things are more straightforward with pieces of art from famous artists which are straightforward to check through databases before acquisition. But the V&A and the Ashmolean are dealing with claims over porcelain figures that maybe didn’t send up so many red flags. 

In museum acquisition paperwork, there is always a section in which the donor or vendor needs to specify where that object was held between 1939 and 1945. If this question cannot be answered clearly, and with proof, that object is suspect. A museum might decide even not to acquire it, and if they did they would need to list it as a risk. But what is so often the case is the donor, and the museum, despite their due diligence, despite their best intentions, simply miss something. It’s only really when a claim comes forward that a certain owner, a certain auction house become suspect. Despite efforts to make clear guidelines and widely accessible databases, the only line of defense against the acquisition of spoliated goods is a registrar with a hawkeye for administrative blips. 

American soldiers with art recovered after the war. 

We’ve already demonstrated how registrars are some of the most important people in a museum. Not only do they make sure everything gets where it needs to be safely, their job is to make sure all acquisitions, loans and disposals are done to the highest of standards. This doesn’t just mean making sure you know all the interesting historical details that help out curators for exhibitions, it means making sure that object was never stolen, isn’t made of some bits of endangered species or is likely to blow up in your face (literally and metaphorically). Provenance actually plays a critical role in a museum’s daily activities, as for example an object without a clear provenance can’t go out on loan. It’s unfortunate then that so many registry positions have been axed from museums during funding cuts. Skilled registrars are what stand in between museums and the spoilation advisory panel. 

This is why your registrar's desk probably looks like this. 

What’s important to take away from these stories is that museums are really doing the best they can to follow best practice and make sure looted art makes it’s way home. The current situation of the V&A and the Ashmolean should in no way reflect on the professionalism of those institutions. You can have the hardest working registrars in the world, but it’s all too easy for something to be missed. At the end of the day, the art world is still struggling to come to grips with the extent to which works of art were looted by the Nazi regime. And as any museum person can tell you, objects can travel to the strangest and most unexpected of places. 

Prancing to Playlists: Museums on Spotify.

Maybe it’s just us, but museums seem to be everywhere at the moment? We live and breathe museums whether it’s starting the day with a mug from The Museum of London gift shop, working in one or spending our evenings checking out events. Here at The Ministry we just can’t get enough, and luckily for us their large presence on social media and collections online means that we can be part London’s museums 24/7. So it’s not too much of a surprise that they have even found a place on our favourite free music player is it?

When recently bopping along to some very cheesy music on Spotify I was interrupted (of course I can’t afford to pay monthly fees on a museum wage!) by an advertisement for Lowry: The Painting of Modern Life at Tate Britain. ‘Eh?’ I thought to myself is this really the best way to advertise something so visual? London has been inundated with those matchstick men stomping across posters on the underground and every other wall space in London this summer.  Is it a bit of a sneaky reminder that when I’m shaking my bum to Rihanna I must go and do something of cultural significance or just my Museum geek guilt?

I soon found out however that not only was there an advertisement but a whole Playlist inspired by the Exhibition produced by Tate.  Created by Adrian Shaw, Programmer for Late at Tate he often draws connections between music and art for the Lates. Offering a bit of ‘northern realism’ through The Smiths, working class culture with the Verve and a commentary on Thatcherite Britain by Billy Bragg Shaw the Lowry playlist attempts to echo the moods of the show.  

Upon conducting some more research I found that Tate wasn't the only one engaging in this musical outreach. The V&A have a playlist dedicated to the Post Modernism exhibition of 2011 – 2012 celebrating the music of the 70’s and 80’s ‘when style became an attitude and postmodernism ruled’ But it’s the Museum of London who has perhaps the most comprehensive playlist, not only frolicking on the links of art and music but with playlists inspired by permanent displays, exhibitions, events and even their film club. 

I’ve even heard from very reliable sources that the Horniman are in the later stages of creating a playlist including little gems like this.Horniman advert.

All very exciting for the non stop museum geek like myself. But what is the marketing strategy behind these? A recent  survey conducted by the Digital Media team at the V&A for the Online Managers Forum discussed statistics about ‘what visitors say about using mobile devices in Museum's'.  Typical use of Wi-Fi and engaging with younger audiences came out top. But they also found that participants responded well to the idea of music related to period or place.

However with such playlists its unclear where their use should take place in the museum or at home? I myself would hate to visit a calm and quiet gallery disturbed by the tinny feedback of headphones.  But in a sound appropriate area I think it’s a great way to engage audiences, encourage contextualization and get down to some new  tunes.