Today I had the pleasure of going to Oxford today to visit the Pitt Rivers Museum, the Modern Art Gallery and the Ashmoleum.
Having had no prior expectations, I (as have many 1000s of visitors) found the Pitt Rivers an absolute delight. I'm not normally one who revels in museum displays, but this was totally fascinating and utterly gripping, right from the start.
(To get to the PRM you have to first walk through the Natural History Museum. Again, a real pleasure).
Pathway Project
We have been set our first major assignment, based on any intepretation of the word FACE. Luckily, at the gym last night I was inspired with an idea, and today provided the perfect stimulus for developing my ideas.
I will be basing my project on FACE VALUE - looking at it quite literally and in a more emotional way. More of the project later, but it's worth mentioning it as it informed much of what I was thinking about today.
Some Initial Thoughts
So, I went around the museum thinking about the face value of things, as well as their emotional value. Questions I was asking myself included:
1. How do we place a value on objects as a society (or, moreover, in different societies). Is it primarily influenced by:
- craftsmanship?
- hours of labour involved?
- raw materials used?
- provenance?
- rarity?
- age?
- desirability?
- marketing?
I asked a couple of the guards about the value of the collection, both of whom responded 'priceless'. It would be interesting to know if it does have an official value.
Within the collection, the things valued most highly are those facts and artefacts which are collected by named individuals in the field, supported by detailed information (many of which weren't collected in that way originally). But 'priceless' is still probably a pretty good answer.
Extinction
Walking through the Natural History Museum, there was a Dodo cabinet, and it made me think that the face value of preventing extinction is also 'priceless' as, once gone, you can never get it back again.
The Value of Domestic Items
One of the first cabinets I looked at was full of domestic sewing stuff. There is just no comparison between the labour involved in this sewing box and the factory-made, cheap wooden ones available today:
As 'works of art' I also absolutely loved these display boards for needles. Utterly beautiful.
Another cabinet was one regarding hair removal - again fascinating in its very 'everyday-ness':
although many of the utensils looked rather painful to use!
It was also interesting how a sign was quite dismissive of a model of a Bosnian house 'made by a model maker' in comparison to a model made by an indigenous North European. (Even though both were really well made):
Beautiful Narcotics
I have always associated betel nut chewing as being done by some of the poorest people in places like India. So I was fascinated by a cabinet full of the most beautiful betel nut paraphenalia. The same was true for snuff and opium, and, whilst I wasn't particularly interested in the objects values, it made me wonder whether, in producing such beautiful items, it added value to the practice itself. (Perhaps if heroin/crack pipes were equisitely made the practice would become less frowned upon?!)
Religion and Superstition
What is the value of a talisman if it keeps you out of danger?
Toys
Some of the toys I saw were clearly works of art, and valuable for that reason alone. However, looking at a recycled bicycle, I wondered how much the emotional value of that would be to a child if, perhaps, it's their only toy.
Money/Currency
The museum contained lots of money (as did the Ashmoleum) and it was interesting looking at all the different types of currency that have been used.
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| This Japanese currency is also a work of art |
Recycling
I am interested in the idea of recycling waste materials to create objects of value. This watering can (probably not very valuable) was one of my favourite objects in the museum - as well as the indigenous shoes embellished with the Nike logo).
Body Mutilation
A truly gruesome example of face value would be body mutilation. For instance, stunting the feet was meant to make Chinese women more attractive - and therefore of more value in the marriage market. I found the binding of the baby's head particularly distressing - especially watching the care with which the mother was doing it.
What Makes an Artefact Priceless?
The first two camels were in the Ashmoleum. The third I bought from Agra 20 years ago. None are particularly amazing, so it would be interesting to know the differences in value!
The Marketing of An Artefact
This was a very interesting one. Custom-made coffins from Nigeria are now valuable pieces of art, seen in galleries around the world. Why? What made them so collectable?
Provenance Adds Value to Art
An artefact being made by the indigenous culture concerned adds value to it. However, often things were not made locally. How does that effect their value?
Decorating the Human Form
I was amazed by the sheer scale and variety of things that people use to augment their appearance:
Modern Day Museum Artefacts
Does an artefact gain value just from being on display in a museum, even if it's a community project and was made by parents and their children on site?
Miscellaneous Things I Liked
You don't often see images of Native American Indians wearing coats
The comment accompanying this display was how countries
often represent themselves in stereotypes
And a Photographic Response to the Museum that I Just Didn't Get!
This took Saville 18 months to paint
