Archive for the 'Registrar's corner' Category

Saddling up with Gucci

Published by Lynne McNairn 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

86-558-1Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved

Horse racing and fashion have always been closely associated and with Melbourne Cup upon us I had a look for “Horse Racing Fashion” in our databaase. One item is this bright floral dress made by Gucci around 1970. Gucci had a strong association with horses, starting out as he did with a small family owned saddlery shop.

Guccio Gucci (1881-1953), began his career in 1920 when he opened a saddlery business in Florence, Italy. Using equestrian motifs as an inspiration, Guccio established the House of Gucci and opened his first fashion boutique in 1921. During his lifetime, Gucci introduced many of the designs for which the company has become known, such as the bamboo handle handbag and the suede moccasin with a metal bit. After his death in 1953, Gucci’s sons continued to expand the company overseas, using their father’s initials to establish the famous GG logo. Although now under the direction of new designers, The House of Gucci remains the best selling Italian brand, and certainly one of the most easily recognisable brands in the world.

You can really see the equestrian influence in the buttons which show not only the horse shoe but an accurate representation of a horse’s foot as well.

Horse hoof button

Horse hoof button

Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved

Lynne McNairn
Registrar

Movement in the collection

Published by Erika Dicker 2 Comments Tags: , .

00z10981Photography by Jean-Francois Lanzarone © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

Registration staff are (among many other things) responsible for moving Museum objects from A to B, this could be from one shelf to the one below or from the collection store to the main gallery space or between one of the numerous departments who require them for whatever reason. We just had some recent stats come in and thought we would share with you just how many movements of collection material happen in one year, last financial year to be precise.

For this year alone Registration and Stores staff have facilitated 60,353 object movements!

That is a whole lot of moving around, now for some interesting details associated with this figure of 60,353 –

Of these

652 were loans returned, that is objects carefully returned to lenders, with many kind thanks

On the flip side 513 movements sent out to other institutions big and small as part of our outgoing loans policy

1,490 were objects being moved to our photography studio

6,572 were objects heading to the conservation labs for some TLC

5,062 were movements of the historic wool collection, as part of the TAM Collection Maintenance project

306 were objects moved to the Display store at Castle Hill

And 4607 movements in and around the other stores at Castle Hill

00z06418

And the rest were movements to and from exhibition (including travelling exhibitions) and in and around the ultimo collection stores. This breaks down to

28,950 movements in the basement alone

6463 to REXAS – this is the Registration Exhibition Assembly Space

969 to the Switch house for exhibitions including Modern Times and the Odditoreum

138 to the Boiler Hall for ecologic, space, transport and Design Tech

320 to the Turbine hall for universal machine and the Australian Communities gallery

482 to the Wran building for Inspired, musical instruments, Gene Sherman, Yinalung Yenu, Student Fashion, Target Theatre, the Café and the boardroom

Now if you don’t mind we might have a little lay down.

contributed by Alison Brennan
Registrar, Exhibitions and Collections

Dust as Art

Published by Lynne McNairn 4 Comments Tags: , , .

illusion dustPhotography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

Dust has been headline news recently with the dramatic dust storm over Sydney. This reminded me of an object in our collection literally made of dust! It is a necklace called ‘Illusion dust’ made by Japanese jewellery maker Teruo Akatsu in 1993.

Akatsu says of his work -

I aim to transform ‘negative’ jewellery into positive existence by accumulating dust over it. The use of dust is suggestive of the passing and accumulation of time. I collect dust from everyday places and thread it on to stainless-steel wires or incorporate it into sheets of material. The colours and nature of the dust play an important part in my jewellery making.

The general conception of jewellery is focussed on the fact that it adorns the body. However, this kind of understanding limits appreciation of my kind of jewellery. If we look at jewellery in terms of the relationship between the body and its surroundings, then we begin to see how we relate ourselves to objects, other people and our whole environment. With this in mind, the characteristics – including the advantages and disadvantages of the materials themselves, add meanings to my work. With the paradoxical nature of my work, I hope to question the true meaning of jewellery.

I like the fact that the Museum has collected an object made of dust when, for the most part, we go to a lot of effort at minimising this very thing!

Lynne McNairn
Registrar

Elephants in the Colony

Published by Erika Dicker 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

00531528Photography by Chris Brothers © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

The new baby elephant at Taronga Zoo has had me ‘oooing’ and ‘ahhhing’ all week, it also reminded me of a letter we have in our collection written in 1805 by William Charles Wentworth (of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth fame). The letter was sent from London to Charles’ father D’Arcy who was then Superintendent of Convicts on Norfolk Island. Charles had been sent to London to complete his education and this letter describes his delight at the elephant in Pidcocks Exhibition of Wild Beasts.

“….. I was very much amused, particularly at Pidcocks Exhibition of Wild Beasts several of which are natives of New South Wales but of all the beasts the Elephant is the most wonderful. He will unbolt doors, tell how many people are in the room, take of a persons hat and put it on again, pick up a Lock and put it into a man’s hand, blow a shilling to him at a considerable distance with his trunk, pick it up and put into the man’s pocket, kneel at the word of command, and many other wonderful things too troublesome to relate”

The letter is written in lovely copperplate handwriting, although Charles does have to squish his letters together to fit his last words on a line.

This object is also important as a rare example of personal correspondence in the colony.

“From 1788-1809 there were no organised postal arrangements for New South Wales. In the early years of the settlement, mails were made up for England and usually contained official correspondence which was sent free. Some convicts who were literate and the growing number of free settlers also sent mails which were usually entrusted to the captains of ships and charged one penny. This is probably how Wentworth’s letter was conveyed to his father as it bears no postal markings. Abuses are recorded such as gross overcharging (particularly of parcels) and withholding the mails. It was not until 1809 that Isaac Nichols was appointed Postmaster and some attempt made to regulate postal matters.”

For me it is warmth and personal nature of this letter that gives it it’s charm. Our attitudes to circus animals have changed but we are still as delighted by the exotic (and now endangered) elephant as William Charles Wentworth in 1805.

Full transcript

Dear Father,
I take this opportunity of writing a few lines by Mr Grimes to inform you that I am in good health and it will give the greatest pleasure to hear that you and my Brother are the same. I am now in Town at Mr Cookney’s where I am very happy. I went last Monday to Colonel Feauveux’s where he told me that you and my Brother were in good health and at Norfolk Island when he saw you last. I have already seen the Theatre Royal Hay Market, St Pauls, Pidcocks exhibition, the Bay of Gibrathar, the Battle of Agincourt and these two pictures being Panoramas where I was very much amused particularly at Pidcocks Exhibition of Wild Beasts several of which are natives of New South Wales but of all the beasts the Elephant is the most wonderful he will unbolt doors, tell how many people are in the room, take of a Persons Hat and put it on again, pick up a Lock and put it into a Man’s Hand blow a Shilling to him at a considerable distance with his trunk, pick it up and put into the Man’s pocket, kneel at the Word of Command and many other wonderful things too troublesome to relate. With best duty and love dear father I remain your dutiful son,
WC Wentworth
July 14th 1805

Lynne McNairn
Registrar