Latest work as Curator

It has been quite a while since my last post. In that time I've been busy working full-time at different institutions creating and collaborating on work in which I have been able to take pride. I would like to showcase some of it here. Each part of my work is presented here as the most recent at the top of this posting.

The following 4 Pictures are of a showcase exhibit for the Fort McMurray International Airport's new Observation Lounge that I produced as Curator of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.  

This was installed in January 2015.

I was sent a draft of a educational wall panel that would be installed in the Observation Lounge that had images of bush pilots who had operated out of the area. From that I selected which artefacts I would use in the display area provided for me. I chose to tell a story combining an artefact with a corresponding photograph from the available archives. The hope was to bring the person and the artefact 'alive' in conjunction with each other.

The following was part of major project to replace the 30 year old Member exhibit panels which were too large for the exhibit space.  As a Hall of Fame, with new Members each year, it is easy to eventually run out of space, regardless of how big that space is.  In this case approximately 200 exhibits had to be reduced in size so the public could view them all.  The photos below show the solution derived at.  To the left can be seen the older style being replaced.

This was a very involved, multi-part process. After the panels themselves were produced and ready for installation, all the previous elements had to be removed - much easier said than done. The background was painted, then, velcro was used to hold the new Sintra board in place on the wood.

Much trial and error was involved, to get the process standardized.  

2014 panels created in time for the induction ceremony in May.

This is an example of one of the panels created for Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014. All the photos are from the Hall's archives and some had to be treated with Photoshop to remove signs of damage. 

The following 5 pictures are of some of the 5 sets of 6 panels I prepared, designed, and wrote for the City of Leduc, Alberta that are placed in their Walk of Generations Park.  They were installed in 2013.

The photos were pre-selected for me by members of  Leduc's Community in Bloom committee and from there I researched them, gathering as much information on them as I could, figured out how to place them in relation to each other, Photoshopped where needed, and wrote the captions based on the information I uncovered.

The following pictures are of the Entertainment - 1890 - 1940 exhibit I worked on at the Wetaskiwin Heritage Museum in 2012.  As of 2015, this exhibit is still in place.

This case originally had a tablet computer showing a loop of 5 silent movies. The curtains are genuine theatre curtain material and were set up exactly as designed in the 1920s with a painted backdrop. The sides and top of the case are glass to give a 'cross-section' view of the stage and 'wings'.

The exhibit was divided into various sections by different types of entertainment. These included types of theatre, including film...

 ...home entertainment, as seen in the case on the right,...

...festivals and Chautauquas, and not pictured, a case on bands within Wetaskiwin County and one on how picnicing fit into the entertainment scene.  

The following pictures are of other exhibits and elements I worked on to improve the overall feel of the Wetaskiwin Heritage Museum.

Pioneer of the Year and Women of Aspenland exhibits. These were recreated from cardboard and foam core, respectively, panels to Sintra board, redesigned on computer.

Sintra board panel the excerpts of letters from WWII soldiers from Wetaskiwin to a local family who sent care packages or 'comfort parcels'. To accompany the panel a mock up of a comfort parcel was created along with actual artefacts that would have been included, as well as instructions on how to complete a parcel from period magazines and newspapers.

For existing exhibits I designed and had printed Heading panels for each section of the museum.

A panel that I completed, started by a previous employee, as one of my 1st assignments when I arrived to work at this museum.

Walk down the aisle and back in time at Dr. Woods House - Leduc Representative - Alberta, CA

Walk down the aisle and back in time at Dr. Woods House - Leduc Representative - Alberta, CA

Exhibit of British Television Comedy

The Ant, An Introduction

The recent controversy stemming from Ricky Gervais’ hosting job at the Golden Globes Awards has provided the perfect opportunity to examine British humour in general, and British television comedy, in particular, the medium that made Ricky Gervais a household name.  Why did American critics rankle at the apparently unbridled humour by Gervais and what does this highlight about the character of British humour? 

    

People go on quite a bit about the differences between American and British humour.  To sum up generally, the difference can be stated as sentiment versus irony.  Both places have both types, but each concentrates on one style and does not understand the others’ apparently excessive use of the other style. 

What is British Comedy, anyway?  The thing is, British comedy is rarely just one thing and is often a combination of many things.  Those things include, but are not limited to laughing at naughty words, sexual innuendo, satire of the class system, mocking authority figures, slapstick, farce, puns and word-play, accenting the British tendency towards embarrassment, and generally pointing out the absurdities of modern life, often by putting it in a foreign context for contrast.  

British television comedy can plausibly be separated into two eras, before Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969-1974) and after.  Monty Python having been described as The Beatles of comedy had their precedents and influences and then there are the comedies that were influenced by Monty Python.  

There are also those milestones in British comedy that have sometimes changed the face of comedy worldwide.  Monty Python is of course one example of this. Though it must be said that one of the true hallmarks of British humour is its unrestrained nature, and that is why it has garnered so many non-British fans around the world.  The original cast of Saturday Night Live have said many times that their main influence was Monty Python.  They were put on at a previously unwatched timeslot on American television, where they still reside, because of their take on uninhibited British comedy.   

To be continued...

The Wolf of Badenoch - A Notorious Knight: What is Knighthood & Chivalry

The main issue here is similar to that of how to display a controversial subject.  That is, how is one able to display an artefact that is associated with a complex concept with many preconceived notions attached to that concept.  Also, as an artefact, it is unwieldy and immovable.

Stone effigy of Alexander Stewart (The Wolf of Badenoch) at Dunkeld Cathedral, Scotland

Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan 'Wolf of Badenoch'

Who was this knight?

The man…

Alexander Stewart was third eldest son of King Robert II, earl of Buchan, lord of Badenoch, and Justiciar of the North.  Closely associated with the northeast highlands, he also became known as Alisdair Mor mac an Righ (Alexander the Big, son of the king).  As earl and Justiciar it was his role to dispense justice, often in a necessary high-handed fashion.  Though he gained a reputation for cruelty in the south, he was highly respected within his jurisdiction.  

Elgin Cathedral 'The Lantern of the North'

His reputation was set over a dispute with the bishop of Elgin.  Alexander’s wife, the countess of Ross remained childless, while his mistress, who he lived with at Lochindorb castle, provided him with several children.  His eldest child was named after himself, later earl of Mar.  The bishop refused to grant him a divorce so he could make his children legitimate.  In revenge, he burnt Elgin Cathedral, along with half the town and monasteries.  He was excommunicated, ordered by his brother, the king to do penance, and then forgiven. 

The legend…

After Alexander's death in 1406 tales and rumours circulated about a visit to one of his bases, Ruthven Castle, by a tall man dressed in black who said he was there to play chess with the earl.  After many hours playing, the unknown man called ‘checkmate’, rose from the table, when a terrible thunder and hail storm suddenly appeared.  The storm cleared by the morning when the earl’s men were found outside the castle struck by lightening.  The earl was found dead in the great hall with his boot nails removed, but with no mark on his body. 

The storms returned during the funeral procession and only stopped when the earl’s coffin was carried at the rear.  It was feared that the unknown chess player was the devil come to pay him for all the evil he had committed.  Out of fear of further retribution, he was not buried locally but at far away Dunkeld Cathedral.  

Dunkeld today

The setting…

Dunkeld Cathedral

The current cathedral was built during King Robert 1’s reign, about 85 years before the earl’s internment.  It was largely ruined during the Reformation (c. 1560).  Despite the ruins, it now appears to be little more than a small parish church.  Hence, its current appearance obscures the importance this cathedral once had.  Strategically important since the Romans, St. Columba established the first church here.  The first King of Scots, Kenneth macAlpin, made this his capital , and generously endowed the church. 

What is Chivalry? 

What does the life of Alexander Stewart say about chivalry?

‘By whatever means necessary’ is not exactly a quote to describe chivalry, but it could be used to characterize the reality of the activity and behaviour of knights in the fourteenth century.   For knights the reality was that whatever behaviour supported their ambition, or at least did not hinder it, was how they chose to act.  Alexander Stewart was one of these knights.  What he and knights like him through the centuries would do, was to shape the ideals of chivalry to suit their ambitions.  Personal gain and success were what mattered most.  

However, Alexander's story does tell us a few things.  He was Justiciar of the North for the Crown.  He had to enforce royal law on a highland culture that was unused to the customs of the south on a land that had their own traditions.  Therefore, he had to adapt to their ways to enforce what passed for peace in those days.  To authorities in the south, once they heard of alien methods in use by one of their own, judgement and opinion would quickly be made against him—that he had become wicked and even criminal.  He was a knight, but was practicing methods outside the south’s accepted code of behaviour, which they would also regularly violate.  

What most of us learn what chivalry is

Chivalry was a tool used by the nobility to separate themselves from the rest of society through unique types of behaviour.  In theory, breaking this code of behaviour was considered disloyalty to the order of knighthood, but also to the natural order of the world and would be punishable by death. 

It is in this light we can view the story and the legend of Alexander Stewart.  If we look beneath the surface of the legend it says much about chivalry and the norms of the time.  By breaking the civilised or accepted order of accepted knightly behaviour and conforming to the little understood highland culture of the fourteenth century, he had committed a great evil.  Because of his situation geographically and politically, he had been placed outside of normal punishment.  Therefore, the only fitting result was a visit from the devil himself.    

What does the Dunkeld Cathedral effigy say about chivalry?

There are various things to look for in knight’s effigies.  Pose of body, clothing styles, armor and heraldic devices, animals, symbols of authority depicted in armor makes clear that he is a knight.  A lion at his feet may simply mean that he is a member of the royal family.  Was a knight really expected to protect the weak and the poor?  If it meant those he legally had the duty to protect, then yes.  Could it be that this was simply where this rule came from?  Can we answer any of these questions by examining the artifact?

  

Scots were seen by outsiders as poorly equipped rabble, which this and other effigys can be seen to contradict.  An arming act passed by the Scottish Parliament was nearly identical to one passed by the English Parliament.  It stated that anyone owning more than £10 of property must possess fairly substantial minimum standard of armor.   A knight could be struck by a sword in the chest and not be wounded.  Additional information like this reveals values held and aspects of the economy.  

Exhibit Questions and Strategies

Challenging accepted wisdom

What does chivalry mean to you? What can knighthood mean to us when the knights we see are Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Sean Connery? 

Nearly everyone has some idea of what chivalry is.  It is still around us in popular culture and speech.  If anything, the audience will be reminded of this and how relevant this concept is still in the 21st century?

How does modern literature accurately reflect chivalry in the 14th century? What is the difference between courtesy and chivalry?   Describe how symbolism was important to medieval people and the respect the were shown after death displayed feelings towards the departed.      

The challenge of displaying the artefact  

Could this be best achieved by moving the artefact to the exhibit location or placing the exhibit where the artefact is?  Both are problematic.  Could a duplicate model be constructed or could a 3D computer model be displayed?  The latter seems most likely.