The Booth Museum Stars in a New Fossil Project!

The fossil collections at the Booth Museum are currently getting some attention they deserve! Two scientists from the British Geological Survey (BGS) are spending a week with us photographing some of our most important specimens.

Dr Michaela Contessi and Simon Harris

International science codes require that every species or subspecies of organism, whether living or fossil, should have a type or reference specimen to define its characteristic features. These specimens are held in museums and collections around the world and must be available for study. The Booth’s collection of fossil type specimens are available to scientists all over the world through a catalogue.

Many of the UK fossil species were defined over a century ago, and with time, the type specimens may have deteriorated or been lost, causing major problems.

The GB/3D type fossils online project, funded through the BGS by JISC (the Joint Information Science Committee), aims to develop a single database of the type specimens held in British collections, of fossil species and subspecies found in the UK, including links to photographs and a selection of 3D digital models.

The BGS is partnered by:

• National Museum Cardiff
• Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
• Oxford University Museum of Natural History
• Geological Curators’ Group

Together they will develop a collaborative database of British type specimens.

The results will be made available through a single searchable web database. It will include links to view or download high quality images, stereo pairs (anaglyphs) and digital models.

This week Dr Michaela Contessi and Simon Harris are working on the fossils held at the Booth Museum, and they are writing a blog of their work which can be seen here

John Cooper, Keeper of Natural Sciences

Caught in the Snap: when photographers get framed

If you’ve played around with Murder in the Manor, you will know that it features eight rooms from Preston Manor. Other than the stories that bring them to life, the rooms are empty. But look around the Morning Room, and you may catch a glimpse of a mysterious figure reflected in a mirror.

Still from the Murder in the Manor website

Although Preston Manor has a reputation as a haunted house, and there has been at least one ‘ghost’ accidentally caught on camera, there is nothing supernatural about this image. The figure is Richard Sams of Say Digital, who conducted the panoramic photography that is used on the website. As the mirror was an unavoidable feature of the room, he has captured his own reflection while shooting. Moreover, if you explore the room further you can find a second image of Richard — look behind you when you enter the room.

Of course, Richard is not the first photographer to be caught by a mirror. In early 1915, Brighton photographer AH Fry suffered a similar problem while recording the Royal Pavilion’s use as an Indian Military Hospital during World War One.

Red Drawing Room of the Royal Pavilion Indian Military Hospital, 1915. (BH411228)

Fry wasn’t directly captured on this occasion, but if you look closely at the mirror on the far wall you can see two military figures  who were presumably accompanying the photographer.

Detail of BH411228

What’s striking about these small accidents is how they reveal the context in which a photograph was taken. Photographs often present themselves as objective windows on the world, but for any photograph to be made a whole series of personal decisions and actions needs to be taken. Understanding how a photograph came to be taken can often shift our appreciation of what it tells us.

Fry’s photograph of the Red Drawing Room is a good example of this. Taken as a whole it shows the benevolent care given by the British Empire to its wounded Indian troops: the luxurious decoration of the room, the neat sheets, and the white doctor on hand for his patients. But the reflection in the mirror reminds us that the photographer is accompanied by two military minders, and that this image is produced for strategic ends: principally to maintain Indian loyalty to the British cause.

But the best example we hold of a photographer caught by his own camera is this spirit photograph from 1886. Purporting to show a shrouded ghostly hand that has mysteriously appeared on a portrait of an elderly woman, close examination reveals the arm and neckline of the living person faking the scene. A copy of this photograph is presently on display in a small exhibition on spirit photography at Preston Manor, and I wrote a short piece about it back in 2010.

Spirit photograph, 1886 (HA900406)

As far as I’m aware, the Morning Room is the only area of Murder in the Manor in which Richard can be glimpsed. But if you spot the photographer or any anomalies elsewhere on the site, do let us know in the comments below.

Kevin Bacon, Digital Development Officer

Filming with the Jeff Koons Collective

Some of you may have recently read about the Jeff Koons Collective, a group of young people who are working with Brighton Museum & Art Gallery on the upcoming Jeff Koons’ exhibition, creating merchandise in response to his work and overall promoting the exhibit too. You can find out more about the Jeff Koons Collective by reading this blog post written by Charlie, one of the Collective’s members.

As the Museum’s Digital Media Apprentice, I was given the opportunity to produce an evaluation video for the project, detailing the story of the Collective from its early beginnings to to the end. It was an exciting opportunity for me – gaining some filming and editorial experience may come in handy for me in the future – so I jumped at the chance.

At first a lot of the people they were meeting, and the things they were doing didn’t make a lot sense to me but I decided to research Jeff Koons a little and chatted with the Collective. The dots began connecting and I understood exactly what the Collective stood for. It’s designed to engage people in art, specifically young people.

Recently, the Collective met up with the museum’s Programme Manager, Helen Grundy. There’s been a lot of stress, trial and error and persuading been involved to get the works displayed at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. Koons’ work is quite something, it’s not as simple as moving flat fine art paintings around. Koons’ work is complicated and much of it is huge. The Collective were really interested in how the exhibition was coming along, and many of them were shocked at how much the exhibition has been planned, then only to have the plan scrapped and replanned again and again. They were, however, extremely excited that the Jeff Koons exhibition is nearly upon us. It was also great taking the group into the exhibition hall (where the Biba exhibition recently stood) so they could get a sense of where the pieces would go. It was also a key point I wanted to film, I think filming the process of the actual room is very important and most definitely adds to the storytelling element.

The Collective themselves are great people, all of them are incredibly focused and committed to the project and you get a real sense of compassion when you speak to them. They are very much involved and very open, so open in fact that I’ve actually sort of integrated myself into the Collective. It wasn’t on purpose; but the more time you spend with the group the more you feel like you’re part of the team.

For now, they’re in the midst of the project. There’s a lot of planning and discussion going on due to the upcoming events. I can’t say much as I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. It’s all very exciting!

Personally, I’m slowly beginning to build up my footage so I can start editing and creating the video very soon. I’ve already got the plans sorted for the video, and I hope that it reflects not only the project but also the experience for the young people.

It’s been incredibly fun bringing along a camera and a microphone, and whilst the group where a little hesitant at first, it hasn’t taken them very long to just ignore the camera completely. I’m hoping to film some crucial pieces in our next meeting so I can finally begin editing all the pieces together.

The Jeff Koons Exhibition opens on May 11.

Emily Vernon, Digital Media Apprentice