By EnglishOutlaw
Welcome all and thank you for joining us on our grand re-opening tour of the Marconius Museum of Musical Art. Here at MMOMA, we have spent much our enforced closure refining our exhibits and curating what we believe to be a truly unique experience in modern culture.
We begin our tour through what was once referred to as The Colonial Wing. You may remember the controversy which erupted when the board voted to repatriate a large section of our artefacts a few years ago. Hosting such an array of treasures looted, smuggled and otherwise illegitimately procured was in stark contrast to our belief in upholding the highest standards in education and artistry.
Fortunately having received a generous grant from an anonymous donor, we were able to commission replicas from contemporary indigenous crafts-people of many of our pieces. These are what you see on display. You will notice reddish stains on some of the pieces. Some of the artists chose to make a statement of our relationship with the originals by smearing a little of their own blood upon them.
Moving on, we find Hanging in the Gallery a cross section of our painting collection. We are currently trialling a new feature called Art Mania. Each evening our curator has been re-arranging the pieces, rotating between those in storage and those on display to create new interactions between colours, textures and mediums and ensuring no two visits through these halls will be the same. Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing an utterly unique experience. As you can see, yesterdays nautical theme has given way to a more eclectic selection – the curator has removed All the Rowboats from today's display.
My favourite piece we have on display presently is located to your left. Bright Sunshine is an astounding study in light and shade. The juxtaposition of the piece’s lightest and darkest tones highlight the absurdity of the mundane and the unremarkable aspects of the horrific.
Moving on...
Sorry Madame, did you say something? … Why yes, this section does have an air of the unfinished about it. It is part of an installation called Hall of Fame. You will notice the unoccupied pedestals and empty frames which make up this exhibit. Mr Williams was inspired by noting the implicit inequity of any attempts at defining quality or worth. He chose the medium of nothingness to generate inclusivity for those unrecognised.... No Madame, I don't think it would be better if there was something to look at... No, Madame the lack of selection was itself a choice and it was designed to allow us to derive our own judgement on a works merits...Oh, I see. That's what you meant.
We now come to the end of our guided tour, as this area of the museum features a number of video installations for you to interact with in your own time. Currently we are running a programme with a number of esteemed institutions offering insight into the collections they currently house. To choose from you have the spiritual solemnity offered by the Rothko Chapel and it's cold blackness. Or perhaps for the more sentimentally minded the documentary about the love affair which drew together the curators from competing cultural attractions together: Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens.
A rare look into an institution never usually accessible to the public is available in our feature on The Edison Museum. It is a fascinating look into one of the most influential and controversial inventors and industrialists of previous ages.
Any Other Room takes a revisionist approach to our relationship with art. Highlighting the discrepancies between those who engage with culture as a performance … sorry Madame, you looked like you had a question... never mind, apologies. Those who wish to be seen appreciating cultural touchstones. It also offers a spotlight upon lesser known pieces which never achieve the status of the exhibits which surround them.
By contrast the magnetic allure of museums themselves is contemplated upon in the guest feature Run, Run, Run to the Centre Pompidou. While our final installation is the story of the disaster which befell a beloved tourist attraction: Meltdown at Madame Toussauds.
I thank you all for your attention today.
The Artful Expo A-List Playlist:
10,000 Maniacs – The Colonial Wing (tincanman2010)
The Strawbs – Hanging in the Gallery (Fred Erickson)
P-Model – Art Mania (Traktor Albatrost
Regina Spektor – All the Rowboats (ajostu)
Mick Thomas' Roving Commission – Bright Sunshine (deanofromoz)
Phillip Jeays – Madame (Tatanka Yotanka)
Andre Williams – Hall of Fame (tincanman2010)
David Dondero – Rothko Chapel (Uncleben)
Tiny Ruins – Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens (Shoegazer)
They Might be Giants – The Edison Museum (phillipphillip99)
Gecko – Any Other Room (barbryn)
Grant Hart – Run, Run, Run to the Centre Pompidou (happyclapper)
Steve Taylor – Meltdown (At Madame Toussauds) (Loud Atlas)
The Big Browsing B-List Playlist:
Kraftwerk – Expo 2000 (Isabelle Forshaw)
4Hero – Planetaria (Theme from a Dream) (Nicko)
Gretchen Peters – Museum (Fred Erickson)
Rufus Wainwright – The Art Teacher (Nicko)
Josh Ritter – The Curse (tincanman2010)
Sparks – The Louvre (Olive Butler)
Croydon Tourist Office – Croydon Tourist Office (Isabelle Forshaw)
Perfume – Mirai no Museum [Museum of the Future] (ajostu)
Lorde – The Louvre (ajostu)
King Missile – Sensitive Artist (Traktor Albatrost)
X-Ray Spex – I am a Poseur (Nicko)
Bongwater - Obscene and Pornographic Art (suzi)
Weird Al Jankovic – The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota (Loud Atlas)
Guru's Wildcard Pick:
Linda Ronstadt - AJJ
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Public exposure: songs about museums, galleries and exhibitions. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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