Christamas closure

MoDiP will be closed from Wednesday 23rd December 2015 until the campus opens again on the 4th January 2016.

We would all like to wish you a fun Christmas break and a Happy New Year.

AIBDC : 003489

Susan, Pam, Louise, Katherine
The MoDiP Team

Guess the object

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or to find the answer click here and you will be taken to the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

A different view #26

There are many ways to look at the objects in the MoDiP collection.  With this series of posts I want to highlight the interesting views of objects that we may ordinarily miss.  These include the underside of an object, the surface pattern, or traces of manufacturing processes.

Title: Goblin 531 vacuum cleaner
Designer: Unknown
Manufacturer: British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Company
Object number: AIBDC : 0_2525

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Did you know? #33

Did you know that different plastics have different properties?

Some plastics are valued for their insulating properties, for example, phenol formaldehyde, also known as bakelike, was used in plugs and light sockets to protect people from electrical shocks.

Light socket adaptor - PHSL : 322

Two-pin plug - AIBDC : 0_6575

Anglepoise lamp - AIBDC : 0_3127

It can also protect against heat and has been used in handles:

Kettle - AIBDC : 0_2509

Espresso maker - AIBDC : 0_2452

Iron - AIBDC : 0_1962

You can investigate the properties of materials in MoDiP's Curators Guide to Plastics.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

BXL photographic archive #0095

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows feed block sacks.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--01372

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

What is this?

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or to find the answer click here and you will be taken to the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Reflecting upon a year as Student Writer in Residence

MoDiP has given me a year of extraordinary opportunities, in more ways than I can mention here.

Write poetry, they said and write poetry I did. What better gift can you give a poet?

I am a creative writer, a poet, I am a researcher, I am a doctoral candidate and I am tasked with finding my way through the muddy waters that flow between the banks of academic and creative writing.

It is a delicate balance and one which places considerable demands on the individual, requiring a blending of personality and character, a mixed methodological and method approach, a lived experience, a critical consciousness and simultaneously, the maintenance of a creative energy.

Thinking about Things

I love the contemplation of things, the consideration of the everyday, the mundane, the objects that share our lives. Like many others, I examine our relationship with them and the emotional responses that they produce. I look for meaning in the concrete and corporeal and poetic ways of mediating materiality.

My thesis specifically aims to examine the poetic relationship between words and objects and in particular, create a literary narrative for chairs made of plastics that provides a rich, accessible expression of their significance and place in contemporary culture. My year as Student Writer in Residence has enabled me to consider the MoDiP collection in different ways, to look for poetic possibilities and expression in the uniqueness of this collection.

Poetry and a Social Awakening

But it was never just about simply looking at inanimate objects.  I attempted to adopt a panoramic perspective, looking outwards beyond the safe environment of the Museum onto the wider stage where the aesthetics of art and design are influenced by the sociological, the political and cultural events that shape our lives. Likewise, I was set the challenge of enabling others to look at the collection in different ways. It was not about converting people to poetry but rather, exploring alternative yet complementary methods of interpreting objects and things.

Why poetry? The selection of a particular genre has significance for the writer generally and the writer-researcher in particular.  The choice goes beyond the writer’s predilection for reading a literary form as it reflects a range of preferences and predispositions in the context of the writer’s knowledge, skills and experience that draw the writer toward a genre and within it a particular style.  The notion that the choice of genre is somehow mysterious or magical, that it is innate or intuitive, holds sway amongst modern writers. PD James, for example remarked;

“I don’t think we choose our genre, I think it chooses us”

British Library Archive (2011)

The greatness of poetry is that it can move in so many directions. It is plastic! It can capture and distill the world, which we inhabit. At its heart is language and wordplay, providing the poet with a veritable toy-chest from which to construct and exchange meaning and knowledge. And in to this box, MoDiP also added one of the most significant materials of the last century, plastics.

The child was in paradise! Here was a material that is both loved and hated, in equal measure. Here too a material that was changing lives, for good or otherwise, transforming our world and us with it.

Writing poetry may be a very personal choice. It may even be considered to have ‘died’, in the words of the popular press (Fry, 2005; Petri, 2013; Thompson, 2014) but the evidence of activity across disciplines, suggest otherwise.  Costello (2008) remarks of the history of poetry as a history of apologies and defenses, a catalogue of disconnected litany.  Poetry is often regarded as too far removed from the real world and preoccupied with itself, with aesthetics.  This state of affairs was highlighted in Poetry Matters and International Research on Poetry Pedagogy (Dymoke et al 2013), suggesting that poetry is disappearing from the school curriculum leading to a missed opportunity to enrich young people’s awareness and knowledge of language, through the reading and writing of poetry, of engaging with how poets think and act in the creation of poetry. It is more likely to be experienced and enjoyed externally by young people through the multitude of interpretations available in the modern media, a place where much of new experimental writing is taking place.

Poetry touches people on many levels, not least an emotional one. Its purpose, according to Seamus Heaney is “to be of service, to ply the effort of the individual work into the larger work of the community”, revealing it as having a social and aesthetic responsibility.

A significant challenge for me has been to measure or gauge readers reactions.  Individual feedback to my work, albeit minimal, has been very positive. Some remarks suggest that I have enabled individuals to think anew about the ordinary, the quotidian, about plastics and things made of plastics.  But I sense that poetry remains viewed as an ethereal form of creative expression, somehow elitist, read only by those who know how to read poetry.

However, the contemporary community of poets and poetry is buoyant and vital demonstrating that poetry and its place in the literary landscape is far from dead and has begun to cross disciplinary boundaries, no longer entrenched in literary or English Studies.  It is to be found wherever people write of those things that are important or of interest to them.

A Final Poetic Word…..

It seems fitting that I should end this tenure on a poetic note. Here I offer a poem inspired by the chair of plastics, a particular chair and one designed by a superstar. Made in a transparent polycarbonate, it is a chair that holds cult status and is still, just a chair, or is it?

The Ghost of a Chair

Is there a ghost in the chair observing my rest?

No, the ghost is the chair and the chair is not there.

If the chair is not there, can I trust what I see?

Is it me who is here?

Is the chair really me?

Said the chair, from the seat,

I am yours to command.

But say I, should I stare?

Do I sit? Do I stand?

Thank you MoDiP. Thank you Susan, Louise, Pam and Katherine.

Kate Hall (Student Writer in Residence)

 

Kate Hall is a Doctoral Student at the Arts University Bournemouth. She writes across a range of contexts and publishes her work online. She uses creative writing as her art practice and an anthology of creative writing will be part of her Doctoral output. With support links to the Museum of Design in Plastics, she will draw on objects from the collection to inform her work. The chair made of plastics will feature as the central object around which a literary narrative will be created alongside the critical component of the thesis.  

A different view #25

There are many ways to look at the objects in the MoDiP collection.  With this series of posts I want to highlight the interesting views of objects that we may ordinarily miss.  These include the underside of an object, the surface pattern, or traces of manufacturing processes.

Title:  Roland Cartier lenticular mules
Designer: Unknown
Manufacturer: Roland Cartier
Object number: AIBDC : 001720

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Did you Know? #32

Did you know that all of our past exhibitions are available for loan to other museums?

All of our past exhibitions can be viewed on our website.

To find out more about the process have a look at  the loan exhibitions page.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

BXL photographic archive #0094

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows Bakelite Polyethylene granules.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--0449

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

What is this?

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or to find the answer click here and you will be taken to the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

A different view #24

There are many ways to look at the objects in the MoDiP collection.  With this series of posts I want to highlight the interesting views of objects that we may ordinarily miss.  These include the underside of an object, the surface pattern, or traces of manufacturing processes.

Title:Zyliss juicer
Designer: Unknown
Manufacturer: Zyliss
Object number: AIBDC : 000624

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Did you know? #31

Did you know that different plastics have different properties?

Some can be opaque whilst others can be translucent or crystal clear. Here are some examples from the MoDiP collection:

Opaque

Urea formaldehyde yarn holder AIBDC : 0_6460

Phenol formaldehyde tobacco jar AIBDC : 0_6459

Polypropylene salad spinner AIBDC : 005577

Translucent

Polyvinyl chloride shoes AIBDC : 001692

Styrene acrylonitrile bowl AIBDC : 0_6447

Polymethyl methacrylate  AIBDC : 004404

Colourless

Polymethyl methacrylate salt grider AIBDC : 000619.1

Polycarbonate stool AIBDC : 006157

Polystyrene salad servers AIBDC : 006266

To find out more about the properties of different plastics have a look at our curator's guide to plastics.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Guess the object

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or to find the answer click here and you will be taken to the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

A different view #23

There are many ways to look at the objects in the MoDiP collection.  With this series of posts I want to highlight the interesting views of objects that we may ordinarily miss.  These include the underside of an object, the surface pattern, or traces of manufacturing processes.

Title: Triangular combined salt and pepper pot
Designer: Unknown
Manufacturer: Unknown
Object number: AIBDC : 0_6442

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

We're looking for a Student Creative

Would you like to be the next MoDiP’s AUB Student Creative?

Fancy the opportunity to get up close and personal with a museum collection?

Want to see your work on display and inspire others?

Here’s your chance. 

We welcome applications from all disciplines.  Have a look at Carrie Mason's work from last year.

Print by Carrie Mason

For more information see below or contact modip@aub.ac.uk
Closing date: 20th November 2015

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)


 
MoDiP Student Creative Brief

Introduction
The aim of the MoDiP Student Creative is to offer all students at the AUB an opportunity to create a work inspired by the MoDiP collection. This could be in any discipline with any creative outcome from physical art work to film or acting production.

Background
MoDiP is the only accredited museum in the UK with a focus on plastics. It is the UK's leading resource for the study and interpretation of design in plastics. Our mission is to increase understanding and appreciation of the use and significance of plastics in design during the 20th and 21st century.

MoDiP’s purpose is to collect, research, interpret and present artefacts made of, or including components of, plastics, and thus add unique value to the Arts University Bournemouth as a learning resource, a resource for collaborative, experimental and interdisciplinary research, and as a gateway to the AUB’s wider environment.

Outcomes
The outcome of this project can be within any discipline working with any material but the work must be inspired by the MoDiP collection or its processes and working practice and in line with its mission and purpose (www.modip.ac.uk/about-us). Depending on the medium, the work will be displayed in cases in the library and / or featured on all of our social media.

Terms and Conditions

Creative’s work

• MoDiP and / or its plastics collection should be at the heart of the project
• The applicant should expect to spend time looking at the collection and / or talking to the MoDiP team
• The applicant could work in any discipline (they would not have to work in plastics)
• The applicant should be prepared to have work displayed at the end of the project and to describe how they have been inspired by MoDiP
• The applicant will need to give regular updates to the MoDiP team on progress (to ensure deadlines will be met and that the work can be physically displayed)

Support and administration
Support for the project will be provided by MoDiP’s Collection Manager, Pam Langdown.
Digital support will be provided by MoDiP’s Assistant Curator, Louise Dennis.
Project administration will be provided by the MoDiP Administrator, Katherine Pell.

Timescale
The successful applicant will be appointed on 27th November 2015, it is expected that the work will be completed and ready for display on 11th April 2016.

Bursary
A £250 bursary (including material costs) will be paid to the successful candidate to facilitate the project. Up to 50% (£125) of the bursary can be claimed during the project as material costs are incurred. The remainder will be paid on completion.

Monitoring and evaluation
The resident will be expected to keep the MoDiP team updated with progress reports on a regular basis (to be agreed). This could be either through email including images, or face-to-face.

It is expected that the candidate will write 3 blog posts during the process – complete with images. The first will be a plan for the work, the second being a progress report, and the third showing the work and an overview of the project.

The experience
We expect you to work in a professional manner, engaging with both the collection and the staff of MoDiP. This is an opportunity to have your work published or displayed within a museum setting.

The project can be included in your portfolio of work to show future employers or clients. It will demonstrate working creatively to a deadline and experience of working with real clients.

Reference
Appointment will be subject to approval and written support from your tutor.

How to Apply
To apply please submit a proposal of 300-500 words with expected outcomes including how you intend to use the collection. Please include images of some of your previous work.


Closing date: 20th November 2015
Email contact: modip@aub.ac.uk with ‘Creative in Residence’ in the subject box
Interview and an opportunity to show Portfolio: 26th November 2015
When we will let you know: 27th November 2015

If you would like more information or an informal discussion about the project please contact the MoDiP team by email modip@aub.ac.uk

BXL photographic archive #0093

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows a Norman Attacker motor boat hitched to a car.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--0507

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)