Doing heritage at home

'The Last Supper (via Zoom)', from @MythAddict on Twitter

Obviously, too many words have already been written trying make sense of, and distract ourselves from, the horrific thing that is happening (a pandemic). There is no point ignoring that, because it defines our waking moments. For this reason I have very mixed feelings about the artistic and cultural sector's responses to it all, because on the one hand, the point of the creative industries is to reflect and respond to what's going on in the world. But on the other, we all desperately need an escape, and institutions like theatres and galleries are well-placed to provide that. And on the OTHER hand (yes, I have three, temporarily, what of it), I have a sense that perhaps these fast-moving yet underfunded industries need a little rest, and should be happy to let everyone just watch some telly for a while. We have enough to do, enough problems to tackle in our own house, before trying to put out Yet More Content. Idk. 

Even so, today I tried to do something cultural to keep my brain awake. I finally looked at the Guardian's list of museums with good online things, an article which keeps being shared on various social media, whilst I keep saving it up for a more suitable occasion. (https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/23/10-of-the-worlds-best-virtual-museum-and-art-gallery-tours) There are, of course, many more wonderful museums throwing their virtual doors open and a quick look on Twitter will show you plenty. A particular favourite of mine is of course Museums Sheffield, who this week feature in the Guardian's Great British Art Quiz (https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/02/the-great-british-art-quiz-set-by-museums-sheffield). I'm pleased (and relieved) to say I got most of it right! 

First - a few of the big hitters as featured by the Guardian, REVIEWED. All of these use Google's Arts and Culture platform, in part, to provide their content, which has both advantages and disadvantages...

Each one has an 'effort rating': my entirely personal view expressing how hard the institution has tried to make their collection accessible, proportional to their size/resources/perceived significance. 

1) The J. Paul Getty Museum in LA has some staggeringly beautiful manuscripts. I'd never really known this about its collection, but so rarely do you get the chance to see manuscripts up close, without the glare of a spotlight right on the bit of glass you need to look through, AND with a concise explanation of what's going on. This is a particular benefit of online viewing as against the physical visit. My only slight grumble was that a) there were only two mini-tours, and b) one of them was called Heaven, Hell and Dying Well which, though fascinating, is not really the energy any of us need right now. Or maybe it is? Anyway, it was comforting somehow to see how beautifully medieval artists drew death and suffering. My absolute favourite piece was The Crucifixion by Dreux Budé Master (or possibly Andre d'Ypres). Regardless, it is an extraordinarily skilled painting for the time (pre-1450!) and stunningly lifelike. 

Effort: 6/10. 

Overall experience: 8/10. 

2) The Vatican Museums. Truthfully there isn't much to say about these. They're overcrowded and confusing when you visit with several thousand other sweating tourists, and somehow they have the same crammed feeling virtually. A lovely five-minute wander through some sculpture, but don't expect to learn any real detail. My biggest worry for this kind of museum presentation was that it would lose that sense of wonder: when a ceiling is about fifty times your height and covered in the greatest art humankind has produced...or equally, the frustration and wry smile that comes with walking through a gallery of stuff you know you could make yourself, given a garage full of scraps and three weeks off work. Luckily, the Vatican Museums' virtual tours are pretty much like the real thing, full of gleaming white plaster sculptures without context, and you're really only there for the Sistine Chapel. That's worth the visit alone, because this way you can lie on the sofa, hold your phone above your head and stare as long as you like. 

Effort: 4/10.

Experience: 5/10 for the galleries, 9/10 for the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. So maybe a 7? 

3) The Natural History Museum's 'Five natural history trailblazers you may not have heard of' mini-tour. All women, all brilliant scientists, all spectacularly overlooked by history. God I am such a sucker for these kind of narratives. In what is basically a shiny powerpoint, the NHM gives you a lovely rundown of facts and stories that are useful to a researcher but not inaccessible to those who'll only ever need them for a pub quiz. Brilliant simple stuff. 

Effort: 8/10

Experience: Also 8/10. 

4) The British Museum. FINE, I will be nice. But since they've started slapping vague allusions to the fact that all their stuff is stolen and/or deeply problematic for living communities of Torres Strait Islanders, Aborigines and other First Nations all over their online content, I do have to get a bit angry. Their latest offer is tagging many of the items in their 'Museum of the World' interactive infographic with the phrase: 

"The British Museum acknowledges contemporary cultural perspectives associated with the objects in its collection. Please note: cultural rights may apply to this object."

Okay, great. Cheers. There is absolutely no point elaborating on this one but, in short: do better, BM. I want to love you but you're making it really hard. 

Apart from this fairly major irritation, this zingy interactive is a nice way to display key objects and put them into temporal perspective. There's a good level of detail for each object, although a link to the collections record would be a good addition.  The method of dividing objects into themes and broad continents is also great, as you can isolate one or both of these categories depending on your interest which makes it very easy to navigate. Basically, a really good thing imbued with some classic British Museum rhetoric that's making it a bit harder to enjoy. 

Effort: 5/10 (9 for the tech, losing marks for the lack of cultural awareness).

Experience: 6/10. 

AND FINALLY:

Manchester Museum's The Things They Didn't Teach Us mini-site. This is wonderful! It's not fancy but it's right on the nose with modern museums issues, but no fancy jargon. Just great interpretation. Also explore the Partition Museum which is featured within this section too. https://www.mminquarantine.com/the-things-they-didn-t-teach-us. Once again, Manchester Museum does all the right stuff with little fanfare, just great understanding of its audiences. 

Overall, I had a good time looking at these collections. As a medium, online galleries don't and probably won't blow my mind, and won't stick with me the way a real museum visit can, but that's okay. The whole point is to make us all feel a little bit more normal, to remind us that not everything worth living for has vanished. In my own little world of heritage at home, I'm currently doing some artist research as a volunteering project for Museums Sheffield. Huge credit has to go to them an as organisation, for making the most of the time in a practical and unpretentious way - and it's nice to feel useful!