Author: Justine Chung

Those are the illustrations I did recently. Although I did put most of them into the portfolio, but for post them on blog can be use for saving my progress and also for clearer vierson.

I used Premiere to make the speed slower, however it go over 5 minutes.

Link: https://youtu.be/CF0IwFc45s8

Museums appeal to me more than other ordinary amusements. It is a place that records and saves the collections of history for us. Since I was a child, when my parents and I were on a trip, we would always plan and visit one or more local museums. My father loves history, and therefore every time when we visit museums, he will always use vivid ways to explain the story, which makes me feel even more interested towards this place. Therefore I decided to use the idea of “Museum” as the foundation for my visual essay, and to discuss the topics that are closely related, which is problems of the museum nowdays.

Museum, this word came from a Greek word, Mouseion. The meaning of this word is the “seat of the Muses” which usually refers to a place for philosophical purpose or place of contemplation.

The museum was used to represent only as a place for collection of objects before 1677, until Elias Ashmole from the University of Oxford donated his collection to the University and the college built a building for the collections’ exhibition and made it available for public viewing. At that time, which was during the 17th century, it already attracted many visitors. Ashmole says the existence of places like a museum “‘is very necessary to humane life, health, and the conveniences thereof.'” 

However, nowadays the museums are facing problems that are related to some ethical issues. Although it might seem ridiculous, people also found out that there are even sexist biases that appear in museum like the Natural History Museum. A study made by NHM researcher Dr Natalie Cooper found out that the collections that the museum holds has significantly more male specimens than female specimens, which by some chance this unbalanced situation may lead to irrelevant results to any studies or investigation that utilizes those specimens, including the ones in the past.

A human right campaigner, Caroline Criado Perez, said “We all have this bias of seeing male as the neutral, the default, the baseline – those are the words that get applied to men.” This shows that even now people are still subconsciously male-dominated, probably not because they discriminate against women, but because it is a long-standing fact that cannot be easily changed.

Moreover, according to an article written by Amy Hollander, she mentioned how most of the objects collected in today’s popular and well-known museums convey another meaning, that of the trophies of the victorious side, a record of their glorious moments in the past, which in a way portrait the situation that the British statesman Winston Churchill said that “History is written by the victors”.

A well-known example would be the famous attraction located in London, British Museum. It is a treasure trove of culture and history with valuable collections from all over the world and from all eras. However, It is constantly being doubted that their collections were seized by force by the former British, which some people think they should be returned. Geoffrey Robertson, who is a human right barrister, accused the museum of ​​“The trustees of the British Museum have become the world’s largest receivers of stolen property,”He believes that this cultural heritage belongs to other countries, and that Britain has seized it through wars or other unjustified channels.

A more specific examples are the ivory and bronze artifacts of the Benin Kingdom in the British Museum. 

Starting from the late 1600s to 1900s, Britain kept on expanding its empire, which soon took away a quarter of the world’s land. The Kingdom of Benin was used to be part of it. It was a wealthy kingdom that produced a lot of unique and beautiful art pieces including the few that are exhibited in the British Museum.

During 1897, due to Benin refusing to trade with Britain, it led to a crisis that a Benin guard killed a lot of British emissions and guards, known as The Benin Disaster. In retaliation, Britain launched a mission called The Benin Punitive Expedition, which, in addition to solving the preceding events, also secretly took a large number of artifacts and sold them around the world

 A professor from Nigeria, where Benin kingdom originally were at, Chika Okeke Agulu said, “1995, in London, that was my first time seeing an original ancient Benin artwork”. He said he was proud to see them, but at the same time angry. He believes that the British seizure has denied those without passports or visas the opportunity to see these antiquities from their own country.

But on the other hand, a group of people still think it’s great to be able to visit those precious historical artifacts in one museum at one time. This issue is still being discussed and we still need more time and effort to solve this problem.

Overall, these are just the tip of the iceberg of the museum problems. In addition to museums in the England, large museums around the world are facing the same problem. We still need time to eliminate possible biases and to bring in more voices from different peoples, groups, and eras, so that in the future our museums can really become an impartial repositories of history.

These photos are the final collection that I picked for my Collection Taxonomies project, it shows the theme of History and all the photos are taken by me while I visited the place.

Mummies

This is a picture of mummies exhibited in the British Museum of London. I started to get interested in Ancient Egypt culture because of a Japanese comic and a Taiwanese novel that both have the background in ancient Egypt. Although both of them are no true historical background, but I quickly wanted to know more about this unique culture. I find the idea of how people can tell a history through an object, especially those objects were used in the past. Therefore, this picture plays a really important role in my collection because of it I decided to work towards the direction of finding objects or artwork that contains some personal or historical stories

Rosetta Stone

This photo is the Rosetta Stone displayed at the British Museum. I thought it was just a piece of stone from ancient Egypt until I asked my dad if we are able to understand the ancient Egyptian script . He immediately told me how researchers had been able to read this script that had been lost for a long through this piece of stone. It was very interesting and surprising for me to learn this. Through more detail research, I fount out that this stone was found in 1799, a group of French architects found this stone with parallel inscriptions of Greek and Egyptian, also three scripts, Greek, Egyptian and This stone helped the British and French scholars Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion to complete the human decipherment of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (object.https://www.britannica.com/story/what-does-the-rosetta-stone-say) It is a very interesting feeling that we can learn about the writing used by the people of the past through a stone.

Lord John Stuart and his Brother (Van Dyck, 1638)

This picture is a painting created by Anthony Van Dyck named Lord John Stuart and his Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart, it is exhibited in National Gallery of London. I choose this painting to be part of my collection is because I was impressed by the skills and texture of this painting when I first sees it.

According to the research, Van Dyck was one of the most important artist during 17th century (https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/anthony-van-dyck), he was a He was a royal painter, and he painted for a lot of royal member in 17th century. That’s why he and my collection are connected. Through this work, the viewer can see this era that is totally different compared to our modern life.

The Death of Major Peirson (John Singleton Copley, 1781)

This artwork is display at the Tate Britain museum, is The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781, painted by John Singleton Copley. It records the French invasion of Jersey on 5 January 1781, and on 6 January Major Peirson led a successful counter-attack but was also killed in the battle. This work depicts his sacrifice in the moment of victory, with the black man recorded on the side representing the loyalty of the British colonies to England. This work has a strong connection with my collection because it is a very straightforward painting of a historical scene, through which the audience can feel as if they are in the scene, and through the vivid expressions of the characters and the bright colours of the painting, the audience can experience the feelings and scenes of the war.

Portrait of Sir Francis Ford’s Children Giving a Coin to a Beggar Boy (William Beechey, 1793)

I saw this work in the Tate Britain museum and was immediately attracted by the life like expressions of the characters and the elaborate clothes. This work is the Portrait of Sir Francis Ford’s Children Giving a Coin to a Beggar Boy painted by William Beechey in 1793, which shows the gap between the rich and the poor and compassion through only three characters. This type of work is a hallmark of British art from the late 18th century, and there are many works that relate to poverty and support. I think it is interesting because through this work the viewer can understand the context of the time, when poverty reduction was a big issue, and so it created the idea for the artists to work on this theme.

Jade Cabbage (翠玉白菜）

This sculpture is from my grandmother’s collection. It is a replica of the Jade Cabbage that has been in my grandmother’s house for about forty years, since my mother was a child, and I have seen it many times. The original work is exibited in National Palace Museum in Taiwan. The original fully utilise the natural color of jade to create the lifelike appearance of the Chinese cabbage, and the exquisite workmanship makes me marvel every time I visit. Whenever I look at it, I not only think of my grandmother, but also of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, which shows a strong personal connection with me.

My Father’s books

These books belongs to my dad, and the biggest thing I’ve know about my dad since I was a kid is that he loved to read, and he especially loved history. Wherever our family moved to, there was always a big room for his books, so every time I see these books I think of my dad, and a big part of this collection is inspired by his interest, because he likes to take my sister and I to museum every time when we are on a trip. These books are special not only because they are almost forty years old, but my dad told me that they also experienced the great flood in Taiwan in 1959, it was one of the biggest flood in Taiwan’s history. The water makes the books wet, but my dad still persistently to keep them, this is the reason why these books look so worn out.

Babel 2001 (Cildo Meireles, 2001)

This artwork is call Babel 2001 by Cildo Meireles in Tate Modern museum. This is my favourite piece from the Tate Modern museum. It shows a combination of sounds and art in it which reminds me of the project that we are currently doing which is the soundscape. It looks like a building at night but is  build from a bunch of radio, such a visual impact and sound fusion together to make the overall picture appears more impressive. 

The research shows that this artwork was inspired from a story in the bible, he refers to it as a :tower of incomprehension”. This is an interesting idea to me because he include the element from different culture and religion. The research also highlight the idea that this artwork is suggesting the idea of “for the intricate relations between distinct nations and communities’” which shows a deeper meaning for the artwork.

British Museum

This is a picture of the building of British Museum. I myself am very fond of Western sculptures and architecture, such as those from the Roman or Greek periods, and of course the mythology behind them. I am always amazed at the level of detail and authenticity of these sculptures and the iconic architectural styles that are instantly recognizable as belonging to any culture or era. The exterior of the British Museum was designed by architect Sir Robert Smirke (http://architectuul.com/architecture/british-museum), and the ancient Greek temple style architecture is unforgettable.

Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster

This is the Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster. This is the corner that represents my most basic impression of England. Before I came here, my impression of England was limited to this Big Ben and these exquisite buildings. Palace of Westminster is on the bus route that I take the most, therefore I pass it quite often. No matter how many times I pass it, I always marvel at the appearance of the building, no matter what equipment is used to photograph it, it always looks details and beautiful. Through research, I learned that this building was built in the eleventh century for Edward the Confessor, this building witnessed ten centuries of British history, so it is a very important cultural heritage for Britain itself, but also a contemporary tourist attraction. Therefore, even after this long period of time, it still influences people in different ways.

Chihiro Ogino  

The first character I think of is Chihiro from Spirited Away. This is one of my favourite movies, and a big part I like about it is that it shows the growing up process of Chihiro. Through the movies, the audience are able to see how she slowly becomes brave and independent and becomes a person that is decisive and strong, this is also a key element that helps her save both Haku and her parents. Overall I found this character very attractive andI really see her changing.

Elsa

She is a character from the movie Frozen. I watched a lot of Disney movies, especially the princess ones. Through the years, I saw how Disney keep on develop their female characters, in their recent movies such as Moana or Frozen, the audience can clearly see the independence of female character, and more story about how they live their life instead of their love story. I really like Elsa because she is powerful and really taking her responsibility on the kingdom and take care of the people around her. I really like how she kept on trying to find who she really is and finding herself, because that is the process that we are actually experience in our daily life, trying to find what we like and who we are.

Mikasa Akerman

She is a character from the anime Attack on Titan. Unlike other animate, most of the female characters in Attack on Titan are powerful and do have a complex personalities. I really like this character because she is really independent, she is powerful enough to protect who she loves. But the author didn’t make her a perfect person, she also shows weaknesses such as being too callous to things that are not related to herself and blindly trusting the people she loves. However, It’s just that this is the key to the complexity of a character, and because no one in the world is perfect, they seem more real.

Lucy Heartfilia

She is a character from the anime Fairy Tail, I choose her because I really like her courage and kindness. She was born in a wealthily family, but she was brave enough to leave all those things behind and stand on the opposite to against her family in order to protect her friends. She is also a very affectionate person, and she have the ability to fight for her own security and not counting on others.

Olivier Mira Armstrong

She is a character from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist. I really like her and think she shows a strong female characteristic is because as a military officer, she has the ability to take charge of her subordinates, but at the same time, not by using violence or threats, but by having her subordinates faithfully consider her as a leader. She knows right from wrong and does not favor anyone in particular. When the whole kingdom is almost threatened by the villains, she still ignores the temptations and focuses on her own territory.

Links: 

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/tw/celebrity/celebritynews/g30823079/into-the-unknown-on-2020-oscar/

https://characters.fandom.com/wiki/Mikasa_Ackerman

https://fma.fandom.com/wiki/Olivier_Mira_Armstrong

The third thing I think these things have in common is that they relate to me. Since a large part of my selection is from museums and art galleries, the biggest similarity that they are sharing is for me these are the works that I admired and liked at first sight, or places that I visited and liked. I think that choosing objects with such elements makes me understand my own collection better. I am also planning to add objects that show a actual and strong personal connection with me. My grandfather on my dad side is a solder, and my grandfather’s family on my mother side used to work as part of the government, which we got a lot of items that shows the historical value, which could possibly show my family background through these objects.

My first taxonomy I think could be “history”. Each of the objects and pictures I collected has an element and idea that related to history. The idea of history is also the reason why I started this collection. I think it is amazing to learn about a history through just an object, a picture or an artwork. For example, the ancient Egyptian writing, people can open up the study of ancient Egyptian writing through Rosetta Stone, just a piece of stone, that decipher this long lost language. We were able to see in the museum how the artist’s work represented the social scene, international events, and even the smallest things during their daily life. Through this study, I was able to better understand the meaning of these things and to better appreciate the meaning of the existence of museums and galleries.

The second taxonomy I would like to choose is “art”. Many of the images I chose to collect are real artworks, either oil paintings or sculptures from the art gallery or museums. Although they are all in different artistic presentations, but they share a same similarity which they all convey a story through their work, for example the scene of war or a portrait of a famous people. In addition to these real works of art, I did collected a lot of other objects and images other than an artwork. In my perspective, I think that a lot of things the museum exhibits are as beautiful as works of art, and it is hard to imagine that these things were actually used by people in the past. For example, when I visit the museums, I always marvel at how people used to make so many colors of porcelain in ancient China. Also, another example is the Victorian costumes. I always discuss with my friends how people could handle the to dress and cloth that contains a lot of weight and wear them for their daily life. However, at same time it amazes me that these costumes are still popular in nowadays and people see them as an artwork or include the elements inside their artwork. The function of them is different but they are still exist.

How to combine the idea of history and art?

Later on I started to study art in school, and it was the time when I began to know more about the artists around the world and wanted to visit the art museum. I think the artworks in the art museum shares the similar concept as the historical objects in the museum, because the traditional artworks also usually present the personal story and sometimes the historical background that the artist was lived in. Not only for those artworks from the olden days, I love to understand the stories behind every artworks and how the artists see the world.

Some artworks and objects may also give the audience an opportunity to make a personal connection, which when looking at it, it will remind me of some memories or my own stories.