"It always teatime"

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog, Please Touch Museum

Oktavia LaBarge, October 24, 2013

Title: Teapot with Lid

Year: c. 1990-2000

Material: Porcelain

Creator: Unknown

Collection: Please Touch Museum, Wonderland, Royal Collection, Gift of Robyn Green

The object that I have chosen is a Teapot with a Lid from the Please Touch Museum as part of their Wonderland collection. The Please Touch Museum was create in 1976 as a children’s museum dedicated for children seven and under.  Unlike other children’s museum, the Please Touch Museum is a collecting museum and has over 25,000 objects.  The objects that are in the collection are mainly toys that were made after 1945 and are meant to represent the history of children’s toys and encourage the ideas of play, which is an integral part of the museum. This is a porcelain Teapot from the Royal Collection with pictures of Alice in Wonderland at the tea party with the Rabbit and the Mad Hatter.  On the lid it says, “Its always teatime.”

The Teapot is important to the Wonderland exhibit because it adds to the overall theme of Alice in Wonderland.  Alice in Wonderland was first written in 1865 by Carroll Lewis, which originally was a story that Lewis would tell his

Alice Lindell
Lewis Carroll's niece

niece, Alice.  This story is an amazing children’s book, which many children have grown up with their parents reading it to them or watching the movie. It is on display to emphasize the ideas of the exhibition.  This object in particular is on display as part of the tea party.  The Teapot was part of the Royal Collection and was donated by Robyn Green.

To enter the Wonderland exhibition, the visitor first falls, down the rabbit hole, or walks down a ramp to the basement floor.  The walls which lead down the ramp are painted to resemble dirt.  Once the visitor reaches the bottom of the rabbit hole, they are confronted with two different mazes, one made out of grass and the other made with walls.  To find the Teapot, one must enter the grass maze and follow it to the tree where they will find the Mad Hatter and the Rabbit at a tea party.  In the center of the table is an illuminated box which holds a variety of different Alice in Wonderland objects that all relate to tea parties.  On the top of the table are a variety of different colored plastic tea sets where children are invited to dress up as one of the characters and join the Rabbit and Mad Hatter at the table. 

Inside of the illuminated box, in the center of the tea party, with the teapot with lid

are two plates, a Humpty Dumpty Bank, and a Mad Hatter mug.  Next to each object is a label which describes what it is, where it is from, and what it is made of.  This helps visitors who are actually interested in the different objects to help understand what they are looking at.

If a visitor would like to learn more about the Teapot they could consider reading one of the Alice in Wonderland books or watching one of the movies.  The original Alice in Wonderland movie was made in 1951 but has been recently been recreated in 2010.  Someone who was interested in the creation of the book could consider researching Alice Liddell who the story was written about or researching Charles Dodgson, who is better-known as Lewis Carroll, the author of the book.  In addition, someone who is interested in Teapots may consider

researching the history of Teapots and tea or visiting the J’s Tea-rific Teapot Musuem

Overall, the objects that are in the Wonderland exhibit, seem to be more of a backdrop to the actual play aspects of the museum.  Many children who visit the museum may not even notice that there are objects in the collection because they are distracted by all of the other objects that they can play with. Other people who might not be interested in the Teapot would be people who are not interested in the Alice in Wonderland. These visitors who are not interested in the object, may not know the story of Alice in Wonderland and may not know understand why the tea party is an essential part of the book. These visitors may be confused about the Teapot and believe that it is only an object that has the story depicted on it, while not realizing that it is part of the narrative.

To engage visitors with the Teapot, the Please Touch Museum could considering holding an Alice in Wonderland tea party event.  During this event, the museum could use replicas of the teapot and cups to allow visitors to use and have the actual objects in the collections out to allow visitors to see teapots, tea plates, and tea cups that relate to Alice in Wonderland.  During the tea party, people could be invited to dress up as different Alice in Wonderland characters to enhance the experience.  The museum could also hold a movie night, where they show parts of the movie from 1951 and parts from the 2010 movie.  This would create a comparison between the two movies and the advancements in technology.

Baby Bear

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog, The Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia

Oktavia LaBarge, October 17, 2013

Title: Black Bear, Euarctos americanus

Year: 1880  

Material: Taxidermy

Creator: Unknown

Collection: The Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia

Taxidermy baby bear
Not actual bear at Wagner
Found from google

The Wagner Institute of Science was opened in 1865 by William Wagner who throughout his life collected a wide range of objects.  Joseph Leidy, a well-known Philadelphia scientist, became the President of the Wagner after William

Dr. Joseph Leidy
Wagner Free Institute

Wagner passed away.  Under the supervision of Leidy, the Wagner Free Institute expanded the collections and rearranged the objects to support the Charles Darwin’s, theory of evolution.  Since the opening of the museum little has changed.  

This object is a taxidermy baby bear from the Wagner museum.  At the time, the museum was building its collection, it was legal to kill animals and stuff them. However, now there are many laws and regulations that manage these actions.  The Wagner is a very important historic site, because it allows visitors to step back in time and consider how people in the 1880’s thought about science.  In addition, by having a wide variety of taxidermy animals from all over the world allows visitors of the museum to see many different wildlife specimens that they may not be able to see on a normal bases. 

To enter the Wagner, visitors must first ring a door bell, where a staff member comes to open the door.  Next visitors are told to walk up a staircase and at the top is the museum space.  The museum is composed of what seems like hundreds of glass cases that hold different animals, birds, fossils, rocks and minerals.  In the middle of the space are large cases which hold the majority of mammals.  The baby bear is on display in one of these large cases and is in the middle of the museum.  The bear is placed with other four legged mammals from North America and supports the ideology

Exhibition Hall
Wagner Free Institute

of Leidy and Wagner and how they believed animals should be classified.  The labels that are placed throughout the museum space are very minimal and do not give in depth information about where this animal is from and how it came to be a part of the collection. 

However, if a visitor would like to learn more about the baby bear, they could research information about bears.  In addition, one might consider visiting a zoo that has bears.  To learn more about how the bear was perceived during the 1880’s they could consider visiting the Wagner Free Institute’s library and search their collections, which dates back to the late 17th century (http://www.wagnerfreeinstitute.org/library.shtml)!  If someone was interested in learning more about the history of the museum, they may also want to visit the Wagner’s library and museum and consider researching William Wagner and Joseph Leidy.

Someone who might not be interested in the bear at the Wagner Institute of Science would be an animal activist, such as PETA.  They may consider the taxidermy at the museum unethical as well as the wrongful treatment of animals. Also, people who are uninterested in science or history would probably not be interested in visiting the museum, and may find it boring. 

To further engage visitors with the bear at the Wagner Free Institute of Science, I would create a text label which tells general background information about bears and this particular type of bear, while still maintaining the Wagners 19th century aesthetic.  In addition, the museum could create an audio tour which visitors could type in the case number and it could tell the visitor information about the different animals in the cases.  

Talsarnau, North Wales

Museum Practicum: Objection Blog, American Philosophical Society (APS)

Oktavia LaBarge, October 10, 2013

Title: Talsarnau, North Wales

Year: ca.1805

Material: Pen and brown ink and brown wash over pencil

Creator: Cornelius Varley

Collection: American Philosophical Society: Through the Looking Lens: Cornelius Varley’s Wondrous Images of Art and Science, 1800-1860

This is a work of art from Talsarnau, North Wales from 1805 by Cornelius Varley, depicting workers unloading supplies from a boat.  What is interesting about this piece, is what people would consider the most important parts, the boat, the people, and the house, are all unfinished.  In contrast the sky in the background seems to be where Varley focused most of his attention.  The background creates an almost luminous feeling in the painting and seems to be almost threatening. This object is in the American Philosophical Society museum or the APS, in an exhibition dedicated to Cornelius Varley.  Varley was an artist in the late 18th century and early 19th century.  Through the exploration of art, Varley expanded his practice to science and invention and created the Patent Graphic Telescope or PGT.  The PGT, looks like a telescope and reflects the object that one is looking at onto a piece of paper, where the user can trace the image.  

The APS borrowed many different artworks of Varley from different locations. This particular object is from the Yale Center for British Art, a gift of Lowell Libson. The museum had in its collection manuscripts that belonged to Varley.  The APS was originally a society of scientist that was created by Benjamin Franklin in 1743.  Eventually the APS broadened its membership to people from all different educational disciplines.  Many of the members donated different objects to the APS, which may have been where they received some of the objects from the Cornelius Varley exhibition.

  This artwork was located at the end of the exhibition which is a timeline of Varley’s life.  The last section of the exhibition is Varley’s work from 1845 to 1860.  However, the work Talsarnau, North Wales was created in 1805.   It is placed in this section to reveal a comparison between the painting next to it which is also called Talsarnau, North Wales.  The work next to it reveals the development of Varley’s work overtime.  In comparison to the work from 1805 this work is finished, but also has a completely different overall feeling.  The sky does not create a sense of a storm coming, but rather reflects a calm landscape. It is interesting to see how the later works of Varley developed after the invention of the PGT.  This work of art is important for the visitors of the museum because it shows how Varley’s art work has developed over time and how the PGT affected the development of his work.

        The label reveals the comparison between the two works by Varley, stating the time difference between the two.  The label at the beginning of this section discusses what Varley was doing at this stage of his life.  This points out the two works and how he made watercolor replicas of his earlier works. He may have done this to see for himself how he had changed as an artists.

        Someone who might not be interested in learning about Varley or his artworks may be someone who is not interested in art.  This person may not think that Varley should have his own exhibition because he is not a well known artists and a lot of his work is not finished.  In addition, someone who is interested in modern and contemporary art would not like the work of Varley because they are primarily landscapes.  I do not think a lot of children would be interested in Varley because many of his works are very science based and this exhibition may not make very much sense to them. 

Some experiences that I would develop to engage the viewers with this object would involve having the APS offer a drawing class where different people learned to draw using the PGT.  This would give visitors a deeper understanding of Varley’s process in creating art.  Another way that I would engage viewers with this object would be to create a larger space between the Talsarnau from 1805 and the one from a later date.  I would next give visitors sticky notes and ask them to compare and contrast the two works.  This would give visitors an opportunity to become interactive in the exhibition and allow for other visitors to see how people interpret the two works. 

Where the Wild Things Are

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog, Rosenbach Museum & Library

Oktavia LaBarge, October 3, 2013

Title: Preliminary drawing for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Year: 1963

Material: Pen and ink, watercolor

Creator: Maurice Sendak

Collection: Rosenbach Museum and Library: Where the Wild Things Are

This is an image of the “rumpus” scene from the popular children’s book and movie, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.  This is a part of a collection at the Rosenbach Museum and Library .  Sendak and Abraham Rosenbach were both collectors of many of the same authors and artists.  In addition, Sendak was often a visitor of the Rosenbach Museum and Library and was inspired by the collection of the Rosenbachs. He donated many of his sketches and writings to the museum.  

One of Sendaks most popular and well known book is Where the Wild Things Are.  This book is about a child named Max, who after getting in to trouble with his mother, Max is sent to his room where he invents his own world.  The world which Max created is filled with monsters or wild things who take Max as their King.  Max learns a lot about himself and his family while in his own world and eventually decides to return home to his family. 

This image of the “rumpus” scene is important to people who are reading the book and visiting the museum.  It reveals the artistic process of Sendak, while creating different sketches for the book.  Without these preliminary drawings artists would not be able to create the final drawing.  This drawing reveals Sendak’s process of creating different pages for the book.  In the image, Max and the wild things dangle from trees.  Sendak emphasized individual characteristics of each of the different characters.  Next to the preliminary drawing is an image of the final drawing of this scene.  Having these two images next to each other emphasize the process of Sendak’s work.  The gallery reveals a timeline of the creation of the book, Where the Wild Things Are. The first image of the gallery represents Max being sent to his room

after misbehaving and before going where the wild things are.  Once Max goes to where the wild things are and they have accepted him, they decide to cause a rumpus or play in the trees.  The labels that are beneath the images reveal the purpose of each individual drawing and what Sendak was trying to depict.  Beneath the preliminary drawing there are descriptions of how the characters hang on tree branches similarly as children would hang on a jungle gym.  The label describes how the artist used the trees to create a division for each character to depict their individual characteristics.  In the images Max, the young boy with the crown and bunny costume, keeps his eyes closed to reveal he in not only the ringleader but also is internalizing the action in his own way.

To further enrich you understanding of this drawing one might research the author and artist Maurice Sendak to further understand the reasoning behind the story. Sendak as a child spent much of his life indoors where he spent a lot of time reading.  One may interpret that Max has similar characteristics to Sendak, who both had a very wild imagination.  Through his illustrations, Sendak gives readers an opportunity to explore and expand their own imagination.  In addition, people interested in this topic could read the book Where the Wild Things Are or watch the

movie.

Someone who might not be interested in this image, may be someone who does not like children’s book.  This could be an adult, who is more interested in reading non-fiction books rather than fiction.  People who are not interested may interpret the Where the Wild Things collection as fantasy and uninteresting.  They may interpret the gallery as childish and unrealistic.  Someone, who has never read the book or watched the movie may find the drawings as pointless and think that they are over the top.  In addition, an adult who is not a parent would not find a reason to read this book.

In order to further the experience for viewers at the gallery, I would have an after hours story-time at the Rosenbach Museum and Library.  I would invite young children to dress up in costume and listen as someone reads the story.  In addition, young children could come to the museum and watch a screening of the movie.  To further engage the audience, I would ask children to try their own preliminary drawings and then work on a final copy.  Another way to further the experience would be to invite the audience to create their own imaginary world and write a book about it.  To promote interest, I would create a contest asking people to submit their own book about an imaginary world.  The winner could have their book published and be sold at the Rosenbach gift store. 

If you are interested in learning about making book covers or art for children’s books check out my cousins page!