My fabulously talented brother Alex "Wix" Levine took this incredible photograph, a stunning visual representation of a spectrum of museum visitors.
Someone's ready for the cafeteria.
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| Grumpy Old People, Alex Levine. All rights reserved. |
Friday, February 25, 2011
Steampunk + Industrial History Museums =...Duh?!
Ok, article from Boston.com like a week ago: Citywide steampunk festival pays homage to Waltham's history
Did you know that International Steampunk City is the "secret identity" of Waltham, MA? Me neither! Anyway, May 6-8 the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation -- and the entire city of Waltham, apparently -- will be hosting a huge steampunk event.
Talk about getting experimental with industrial history! Awesome opportunity to delve into the aethetics of Victorian-era industry in new and imaginative ways, or catering to a very specialized subculture? Either way it seems like a pretty natural match. I'm super curious to see how this plays out for the CRMII, and psyched to venture down there in May...
Did you know that International Steampunk City is the "secret identity" of Waltham, MA? Me neither! Anyway, May 6-8 the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation -- and the entire city of Waltham, apparently -- will be hosting a huge steampunk event.
Talk about getting experimental with industrial history! Awesome opportunity to delve into the aethetics of Victorian-era industry in new and imaginative ways, or catering to a very specialized subculture? Either way it seems like a pretty natural match. I'm super curious to see how this plays out for the CRMII, and psyched to venture down there in May...
Friday, February 18, 2011
Salon: What Wisconsin's governor is really threatening
Today, in the ongoing and infuriating saga of Gov. Scott Walker and his assault on public employees/collective bargaining rights...an enlightening article on the history of the labor movement and the National Guard: What Wisconsin's Governor is Really Threatening
"This would be the first time in nearly 80 years that the National Guard would be used to break a strike by Wisconsin workers, and the first time in over 40 years that the National Guard would be used against public workers anywhere in the country. The last time was the Memphis sanitation strike in 1968, just before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination."
"This would be the first time in nearly 80 years that the National Guard would be used to break a strike by Wisconsin workers, and the first time in over 40 years that the National Guard would be used against public workers anywhere in the country. The last time was the Memphis sanitation strike in 1968, just before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination."
Thursday, February 17, 2011
"Down in a deep dark hole"
Presenting the definitive list of..some really good songs about mining! Why? Because I'm into that kind of thing, and that is what self-indulgent blogs are for. Right?
Oh, and because for most people, music has a tremendous power to make an instant connection and to elicit emotional response. There's an incredibly rich history of American song related to American industry, making labor songs a resource more museums might explore as an alternate access point, enrichment, or subject unto itself.
The American Textile History Museum, for example, has worked successfully with high school students to record contemporary renditions of traditional cotton mill songs, now featured in the museum's cell phone audio tour.
These are mostly -- but not exclusively -- about coal. Because I'm hung up on coal these days. But you get a little hard rock mining (click it, and laugh inappropriately...at the domain name, not at the worst hard rock mining disaster in US history) and steel mills thrown in here too, lucky!
Oh, and because for most people, music has a tremendous power to make an instant connection and to elicit emotional response. There's an incredibly rich history of American song related to American industry, making labor songs a resource more museums might explore as an alternate access point, enrichment, or subject unto itself.
The American Textile History Museum, for example, has worked successfully with high school students to record contemporary renditions of traditional cotton mill songs, now featured in the museum's cell phone audio tour.
These are mostly -- but not exclusively -- about coal. Because I'm hung up on coal these days. But you get a little hard rock mining (click it, and laugh inappropriately...at the domain name, not at the worst hard rock mining disaster in US history) and steel mills thrown in here too, lucky!
- Gillian Welch, Miner's Refrain (see post title)
- Bob Dylan, North Country Blues [You just have to go get a legit version of this song. Or watch Joan Baez sing it on YouTube, I suppose.]
- Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner's Daughter
- Steep Canyon Rangers, Call the Captain
- Devo, Working in a Coal Mine
- The Grateful Dead, Beat it on Down the Line
- The Johnson Mountain Boys, Blue Diamond Mines
- The Decemberists, Rox in the Box
- Woodie Guthrie, Hard Travelin'
- Steve Earle, The Mountain
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
NYT: Art and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Today in the New York Times: In Art, Recalling a Century Old-Tragedy
As the March 25 centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist approaches, artist and film maker Anthony Giacchino is using art to visualize and commemorate the 146 victims of the 1911 factory fire in an unconventional, directly engaged way:
"I just kept thinking about the number 146,” he said. “I would put names in front of the buildings, but it still did not give me a sense of it. Why not send letters? They’d probably come back. Then I’d be able to see what 146 looks like.”
Helped by Scott Frawley, a student at Fordham University, he compiled a list of addresses and wrote them on envelopes; for six unknown victims, he simply wrote “Unidentified Fire Victim.” Inside each was a short message — in case the address still existed and the current occupant opened the envelope — asking people to reflect on the tragedy, as well as a poem written by Morris Rosenfeld days after the fire.
Mr. Giacchino warned his letter carrier to expect a deluge of returned letters. So far, 130 have come back.
As the March 25 centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist approaches, artist and film maker Anthony Giacchino is using art to visualize and commemorate the 146 victims of the 1911 factory fire in an unconventional, directly engaged way:
"I just kept thinking about the number 146,” he said. “I would put names in front of the buildings, but it still did not give me a sense of it. Why not send letters? They’d probably come back. Then I’d be able to see what 146 looks like.”
Helped by Scott Frawley, a student at Fordham University, he compiled a list of addresses and wrote them on envelopes; for six unknown victims, he simply wrote “Unidentified Fire Victim.” Inside each was a short message — in case the address still existed and the current occupant opened the envelope — asking people to reflect on the tragedy, as well as a poem written by Morris Rosenfeld days after the fire.
Mr. Giacchino warned his letter carrier to expect a deluge of returned letters. So far, 130 have come back.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Google Art Project
Not exactly industrial heritage, but...this is pretty interesting. http://www.googleartproject.com/
Explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces.
This isn't really a new idea, but now that Google's picking it up maybe it'll take off. Pros: increased access! Cons: You're losing context, and contact with the "real thing."
And what's a museum if not a space for engagement with "the real thing?" Sounds like a 21st century existential crisis! Or, maybe a 21st century process of evolution.
I still don't think that a virtual visit to, say the No. 9 Coal Mine & Museum would be as unforgettable without a little bit of real-world soot.
Explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces.
This isn't really a new idea, but now that Google's picking it up maybe it'll take off. Pros: increased access! Cons: You're losing context, and contact with the "real thing."
And what's a museum if not a space for engagement with "the real thing?" Sounds like a 21st century existential crisis! Or, maybe a 21st century process of evolution.
I still don't think that a virtual visit to, say the No. 9 Coal Mine & Museum would be as unforgettable without a little bit of real-world soot.
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