Here at the Ministry we are all about London – but on the
occasions that we do get to travel, we obviously have to report back about our
museum adventures. On a recent trip to New York we finally had the opportunity
to visit the place we like to think of as our spiritual home in the US- the Morbid
Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn. We arrived, unannounced, on the eve of the opening
of the Museum’s new exhibition Taxidermy: Art, Science and Immortality,
featuring the famous Kitten Wedding tableau by English taxidermist Walter Potter. Despite
the spontaneous nature of our visit, Creative Director Joanna Ebenstein took
some time out to speak to us about the exhibition and the work of the museum.
As we walked in the door it was immediately apparent we had
not come at a good time. With the exhibition opening shortly, install was not
quite finished yet, and an impending courier arrival was the focus of the
staff. Possibly because she is one of the most generous and kind people working
in the field, Joanna decided to take some time out to take us through our first
visit to the museum and even into the as yet unopened exhibition space. With
the museum all to ourselves, Joanna told us more about the exhibition, the
Library and some of the ins-and-outs of running a small museum.
The dream for the Museum had arisen from the original Morbid
Anatomy Library- a resource centre created by Joanna using her own books and
object collection which she has amassed through her own research and curatorial
work. She explained how, unlike us lucky sods in London with our Wellcome
Collection, our Science Museum, our Hunterian, there wasn’t any space in New
York to have academic discussions about art, death, science and beauty. The
Library still forms the heart of the Morbid Anatomy Museum – an inviting space
on the second floor where people can come to read, chat and explore through
Ebenstein’s ever growing collection. Unlike a traditional museum, you can
actually handle any of the items on open display in the library room – from
votive candles to bottles, artificial teeth and medical x-rays. The space had
been transformed in honour of the exhibition to have a special natural history
twist.
The star of the show however is of course the exhibition
space, consisting of two hall-ways and a large central display area which
showcases the Taxidermy exhibition. The display seeks to delve deeper into the many different aspects of taxidermy - the strange, the funny, the scientific, the familiar and the uncomfortable. Although the art of taxidermy can trace its origins to the ancient Egyptians, it wasn't until the nineteenth century when the practice came into its own. Wide spread interest in the natural world, and arguable the connection between the amateur scientist and the wealthy elite, prompted a craze for taxidermy so it became ubiquitous with the English, and indeed American, middle class home. In the world of ever expanding knowledge which characterised the Victorian era, this method of preservation was ideal for bringing home to the West specimens of exotic animals never before seen by the majority of the population. But taxidermy could also be funny (such as the anthropomorphic spanking frog, or a bear who served as a tray bearer), strange (from the world of carnivals and freak shows), exotic (the wall-mounted specimens of fierce predators from Africa, Asia and beyond), or very close to home (as in the display of a beloved pet). Today taxidermy continues to fascinate and repulse us (see Crap Taxidermy) and has become the subject of a renewed collecting interest.
As we chatted, the staff waited patiently for the Kitten
Wedding to arrive. It’s custom case prepared, it was a countdown to the
courier’s arrival. While we have generally worked in larger museums and all the
protocols that entails, the Morbid Anatomy Museum works largely with private
collectors. Although it might lead to slightly harrowing moments when things
don’t go according to plan, working closely with the private sphere allows
Ebenstein and her collaborators to access untapped resources typically hidden
away in the homes of their owners. The lion’s share of this exhibition had come
from just such a collector, J.D. Powe, who also curated the display and wrote much of
the text. The unique interests of people like Powe and others is what allow Morbid
Anatomy to display things like a large collection of stuffed domestic dogs- a
focus probably too niche for any museum.
While we weren’t able to see the Kitten Wedding in person,
Taxidermy stands alone as a strong exhibition. Of course, the story of
Kitten Wedding and Walter Potter, particularly his amateur but loving attempts
at the art of taxidermy, fits perfectly with the exhibitions themes. However,
from anthropomorphic frogs to elephant’s feat, sawfish tusks, conjoined calves,
and even an anteater there is plenty to see. Potter, while perhaps particularly
appealing to the average visitor due to his cache as an English folk artist,
might be a draw, to overlook the collection of fascinating objects surrounding
Kitten Wedding would be to miss the heart of Taxidermy. It is a show about the
multifarious ways in which we are fascinated and repulsed by death, and the
clever art of preserving life indefinitely. From the show’s earliest examples
in the early nineteenth century through to the present day, taxidermy has
proved to be an enduring interest for specialist and laypeople alike. If we
really had to pick a favourite piece, it would be the Victorian taxidermy bird
fireplace guard. Recalling a time when taxidermy birds were a must for
any fashionable home, this extraordinary piece mimics the elaborate natural
styles of the period in actual preserved animals. Displayed together with a
fireplace for effect, we are reminded that taxidermy was once a part of
everyday life.
In the end, Kitten Wedding arrived and the exhibition opened
seamlessly to glowing reviews in the New York Times and elsewhere. Needless to say, if you
do find yourself in the New York area a trip to Morbid Anatomy now (and in the
future!) is a must. But as we poked through the gift shop and sat at the large
communal table, we were reminded that the Morbid Anatomy Museum is much more
than just the exhibition space. It’s a hub which provides a home for anyone
interested in the strange and unusual – a conversation starter and a study
space. While London has plenty to offer, we think the world needs a few more
places like Morbid Anatomy.
If you can't get to New York to see the show, the Museum has helpfully provided a Youtube tour for all their virtual visitors. Check it out!
NSFW! Contains images of an explicit sexual nature, not suitable for readers under the age of 18.
Well we can honestly say that's the first time we've ever had to start a blog with this kind of a warning, but it comes with the territory if you are attempting to review an exhibition about sex. As you can imagine, when we do get out of London for a brief while, we always try to track down the most interesting museums we can. On last week's trip to the Big Apple, we just had to see what was going on at the Museum of Sex (or MoSex, as it goes by- you know like MoMA? Get it). When it opened in 2002, the message of the museum was clear- they were not another tawdry tourist exhibition, but a critical, cultural take on the evolution and significance of sex and sexuality.
The Museum of Sex defines it's mission as: "to preserve and present the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality. In its exhibitions, programmes and publications, the Museum of Sex is committed to open discourse and exchange, and to bringing to the public the best in current scholarship." The seriousness of this mission has been, since it's earliest days, questioned by the New York Authorities who have been, perhaps understandably, concerned about the idea of a museum about sex. The New York's Regents Board called the idea of a sex museum a 'mockery' of the name museum. Well, you all know how much we love a controversy, so we had to go see for ourselves.
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| Glory hole door, c.1990s |
In most museums, as you enter the main doors to buy a ticket, you wander through a gift shop. Of course, its clever marketing, but in this case, it's a high class erotic shop. Everything from porn to sex toys to high end art books are on display, full of giggling tourists and serious looking bouncers. My initial hopes of visiting a serious take on the history of sex were knocked down a few pegs. Next, I went to buy a ticket which was a full $17. $17!!! Now I know this is America and museums cost money, but that seemed a lot. Since I'd made the trip especially, I coughed up the cash. Only later did I learn that this high admission price is a result of the fact that New York will not grant the museum charitable status due to its subject matter. Fair enough.
Somewhat shaken after empyting my wallet and having to push through squealing college kids playing with dildos, I finally made my way into the first floor of the museum. I have to tell you - I was shocked. And not in the - oh how salacious way. In a pleasant, impressed way. Well designed but darkly lit, with everything you expect to see in a museum (text panels, themed sections, interesting objects), I found myself in an incredibly professional gallery. Entitled 'Hard Core', the first floor of the museum explores the history of pornography (in its drawn, written and filmed forms) from the Roman era to the mid twentieth century. Its introductory panels introduced the authors and curators - almost every single one of them PhDs and post-docs, many from the UK, including Dr Sarah Bull, a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow.
Organised chronologically, the exhibition provided a glimpse into pornographic imagery from the works of the Marquis de Sade, eighteenth century 'fancy books' (pornographic etchings' and directories of ladies of fashion (brothel guides). These printed artefacts provide an interesting perspective on how idea of sexuality were shared and spread in an era before any other kind of communication technology. One pamphlet claimed to tell women how to enjoy sex, as well as including a section on how men might enjoy anal sex. And while the era of print technology certainly took advantage of the new means of communication, the advent of photography in the nineteenth century brought pornography into its own.
As the text label helpfully explained, the Victorians, despite their moralistic outlook on life, were particularly adept at capturing sexuality in imagery. From erotic post cards, images, stereographs, and drawings, you can see why by the 1880s the Victorians felt they were in a moral crisis. Anything they could use to take dirty pictures, they can and they did. And these were no run of the mill cheeky photographs. The Victorians experimented with orgies, mixed race and homosexual encounters, all documented in the Museum of Sex's collections.
By the early 20th century, the film had brought new possibilities for pornography. And indeed, even as early as the silent film era, you can bet there were pornographic films. I learned that these early pornos were called 'stag' films (for the young, presumably single men who watched them), and porn watching parties, were called stag parties. Lolz. As the technology got more sophisticated, so did the porn and what it could capture.
Personally, I found the exhibition incredibly well curated. While somewhat light on materials, each image or object was carefully described and well lit in the dark gallery. The text labels were written critically and intelligently, each ascribed to a particular curatorial voice. Attributing text labels is something museums talk a lot about, and MoSex has put this into action. of course, this is likely an attempt to give their somewhat salacious exhibition some scholastic integrity.
Not to ruin it or bore you with a full description of the museum's three floors, at the moment you can also visit an interactive artistic intervention about sex and nature, browse a gallery about sexual pleasure in the animal world, and visit their object in focus gallery. This last one immediately reminded me of the Wellcome as it has a very similar curatorial style. Single objects are highlighted and jumbled together to provide different sides of the history of sex. Items related to public health, fetishes, technology, and social justice are mingled together side by side.
In fact, I couldn't help but think that the Wellcome's recent exhibition, the Institute of Sexology, really could have stood to learn something from the Museum of Sex. The Institute of Sex was trying to achieve something similar (admittedly with more of a focus on the scientific research into sexual behaviour) but fell down short because, well, it didn't include very much that was sexy! MoSex is packed with very explicit imagery, and yet managed to keep its message firmly on course with its carefully written text. That said, I do believe there was a room full of blow up boobs I could have gone to jump around in. Perhaps more an activity for a group of friends than a lone blogger scribbling notes on curatorial technique.
I left the Museum of Sex informed, entertained, and impressed by what they had achieved with admittedly difficult subject matter. Is everyone ready for a museum with such an upfront treatment of sexuality? Maybe not. There certainly was a lot of giggling happening in the galleries. But in a world in which issues of sexuality are increasingly prevalent, I think everyone could use more of an education. I think the signs for their toilets pretty much sum up why places like MoSex matter:
Definitely worth the price of admission if you are ever in New York! Now let's see how long until this blog gets taken down...
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