Amber, Museum Collective Co-ordinator, looks at World Art

Looking at objects

On 15 March the Museum Collective had a look at a number of the objects which are to be placed in the World Stories Gallery. These included Masks from New Ireland, contemporary art, an engraved bone and ornamental spoons from Iran. The masks from New Ireland were ceremonial, used by the Malagan in their celebrations; interestingly they are still in use today, and not just for entertaining tourists. The masks we saw were from 1885 and 1985 respectively which gave us the opportunity to contrast the two and note the differences across the 100 year time scale.

The contemporary art came from the Arctic. The Collective saw two images; the first portrayed a family travelling and was entitled Family of eight, the second, which was the favourite of the Collective, was called Angel in town which was quite an emotive image reflecting on the isolation of some Arctic communities. A member of the Collective responded to it by saying, ‘Wow, it’s beautiful’.

The engraved bone was another item that the Collective found really interesting. The bone came from Alaska, with engraved figures such as reindeer hunters, eagle and dogs which were quite stylized in their representation though still indicating a number of details about the culture such as details of dress. The bone was another object from the 19th century and it and others similar would have been collected by the Victorians.

The final objects we looked at were the spoons from Iran, which received a strong positive response due to the intricate designs and use of passages from the Koran. We were told they came from the 19th century and were most likely ornamental pieces – what especially excited the Collective though, was the opportunity to handle the objects, with our fashionable rubber gloves on,  and really examine the carving.

Amber, 16, Museum Collective Co-ordinator

Looking Into Brighton’s Past

As a student at Brighton University, I was very pleased to be able to get a short time of work experience with the Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove. I am in my second year studying Visual Culture, which is essentially History of Art, although the course is quite flexible so I have the opportunity to study photography and film if I want to study more contemporary art practices rather than the more traditional art movements.

Since starting my work experience here I have been working alongside Kevin Bacon, the Digital Development Officer who deals with digitalising fine art and photographs, working on the Museum website, the smartphone app and social networking sites (along with a lot more that I have yet to discover). Kevin has taught me how to use their image store  which I wasn’t even aware of before I started my placement. If you haven’t had a browse yet, I recommend it, even if you don’t have an interest in art, many of the paintings/photographs/postcards/ceramics I came across were fascinating to look at, seeing Brighton during both World Wars and previously is intriguing.

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Monochrome postcard bearing image of 12 Indian Soldiers posing outside the Royal Pavilion, during its use as a Military Hospital

Some of the photographs within the slideshow were taken during the First World War. I’m most fascinated with the ones taken of the Indian Soldiers at the Royal Pavilion. In 1914, it was decided that Britain was in need of more troops in order to be able to cover all areas of fighting, so recruited soldiers from India who arrived in France in September ready for battle. Initially, it was planned that the Soldier’s would be treated in France if they needed to be hospitalised but due to the number of casualties, the next best place to use to treat the Soldiers was the South coast of England.

Along with Bournemouth and Southampton, Brightonwas used to accommodate the injured Indian Soldiers, which would accumulate to 4,000 men treated between 1914 and 1916. The general hospital at the top of Elm Grove and York Place School were transformed into Military hospitals alongside the Royal Pavilion.

Within the Pavilion, temporary places of worship were made for the different religions for the troops. A marquee was erected for Sikh’s in the Pavilion grounds, Muslims were assigned to use the lawn in front of the dome and there were nine kitchens in total to cater for the different religions. Hindus and Muslims had different water supplies and the patients were taken care of by people of the same faith as them. The Pavilion was a picturesque environment for a military hospital, one soldier wrote home, ‘Do not be anxious about me, we are very well looked after. Our hospital is in the place where the King used to have his throne.’

Monochrome photographic print of Gas Warning Vehicle in Brighton during the Second World War

Along with the First World War there are many taken between 1939-1945 during the Second World War. Within the collection there are numerous photographs of air raid shelters and much documented evidence of how Brighton was damaged from air raids. Children had been evacuated to Brighton at the beginning of the war, however after a badly shot-up sea plane had to make an emergency landing on Brighton beach in May 1940 it was no longer classed as a Safe Area.

The 30,000 evacuees in Brighton had to be re-evacuated to other areas along with the local children. During the course of the war, Brighton suffered from 56 raids, 381 bombs were dropped, 198 people were killed, 357 seriously injured, over 200 houses were destroyed and 894 seriously damaged. The last image in this group of photographs is a still from a film of people celebrating the end of the war in Brighton.

Monochrome photographic print of a Boy's Brigade Camp in Glynde, East Sussex.

This rest of the photographs in the slideshow are taken around Brighton Seafront and around Brighton town. I think these photos have captured a range of personalities that Brighton attracted and still does today. I particularly liked some of these as they made me laugh and others I just found intriguing. I think these photographs capture the atmosphere of Brighton well, that was present over 50 years ago and still is today.

B&W photographic print of several bathers emerging from the sea at Brighton.

I have only selected some photographs but there are so many more available to look at. In the History Centre located on the first floor of Brighton Museum, there are books of photographs sorted into different categories, for example, railways, piers and transport from a range of dates in Brighton History. If you want to look from home, the image store is available to search for a variety of images so I recommend taking a look if you’ve enjoyed looking at the images above.

Amanda Perks (Volunteer)

Favourites from the Royal Pavilion Gardens — Cornus mas, Cornelian Cherry

Cornus mas, Cornelian Cherry

In the bed along the south side of the Royal Pavilion Gardens where all seems gloomy and grey, look up and you will see a glorious yellow haze above your head. Get closer and pull a branch down and you will see the exquisite tiny flowers of Cornus mas, the Cornelian Cherry.

Bright yellow, very welcome and cheering in these early days of spring, the flowers, though teensy, are easy to see because they are not hidden by the leaves which are still dormant. The flowers will eventually mature into red fruits – hence the English name. These do tend to hide in the foliage, and are not very conspicuous,

Cornus mas, Cornelian Cherry

but can be quickly eaten by birds and squirrels. I have read that they are much prized in parts of Russia, and have found a preserve made of the cherries on the internet; maybe that’s a job for the gardeners! Cornus mas is native to parts of central and southern Europe as well as western Asia, and has been grown for several centuries in this country.

Cornus mas, Cornelian Cherry

The name Cornus shows that it is a member of the Dogwood family, and the mas means male, referring, apparently, to its robust nature. But at this time of year it is its airy lightness that we relish, those hundreds of tiny yellow inflorescences that together make the tree glorious, and help us realise that spring is truly on its way.

Rose, Volunteer Gardener, Royal Pavilion Gardens