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)

BXL photographic archive #0097

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 the interior of a Ford Anglia.

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--1077

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)

Did you know? #35

Did you know that you could become a guest blogger?

MoDiP would like to encourage people to add to the plastics story.

Do you have something to say about plastics, have you worked with the materials in your practice, are you from the plastics industry?

Do you hate plastics? 

If you would like to put your perspective across get in touch by email modip@aub.ac.uk

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Introducing - Sarah Wilson, Student Creative

Due to the high level of applicants for our Student Creative initiative this year we have chosen to take on two students.  Last week we heard from Sian de Jong our fine art student,  this week we have asked Sarah Wilson to introduce herself and her planned project:

I am in my third year of studying a degree in Textiles at Arts University Bournemouth, and excited to be working as a Student Creative for the Museum of Design in Plastics. For the next four months, I will be using items from the collection specifically from the years 1950-1959 as inspiration and a starting point for drawings, resulting in a collection of digitally printed 1950s style patterns on fabric, which will reflect on the artefacts I choose to study.

I am planning to use items from this era, as it will be interesting to explore the domestic use of plastic from the 1950s and the history of a particular decade. By using the date filter on the MoDiP website, I will easily be able to find pictures and object numbers of the plastics I need, as well as request them from the archives to use as a primary resource. I aim to draw and photograph these, as my initial drawings will be used as part of my digital designs later on in the process.

Here are some examples of my previous work, focusing primarily on digital print and embroidery.

Small colour collages

Digital print with hand stitching

CAD embroidery piece

Digital print with Irish embroidery

Sarah Wilson (Student Creative)

A different view #27

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: Child's synthetic fur coat
Designer: Unknown
Manufacturer: Unknown
Object number: AIBDC : 000844

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)

Introducing - Sian de Jong, Student Creative

Due to the high level of applicants for our Student Creative initiative this year we have chosen to take on two students.  Next week we will hear from Sarah Wilson a textiles student but first we have asked Sian de Jong to introduce herself and her planned project:


By definition an object is ‘a material thing that can be seen or touched’.
In my practice I am drawn towards objects, in particular their history and the hands they have passed through. The Museum of Design in Plastics at Arts University Bournemouth contains around 13,000 objects in the collection. There is a digital database to browse through all the objects and log out objects from the collection for your own use.

http://www.modip.ac.uk/category/the/collection

I am a 3rd year Fine Artist and have been given the opportunity to become one of the new student creatives at MoDiP for 2016. The position was gained by submitting a proposal of my potential outcome and information on my current practice. My work focuses on the trace of objects, how and when an object was used and the relationship with the possessor of the object. The intended outcome is to create vacuum formed creation made from clear acrylic based on certain aspects and features from a selection of objects in the museum.  

The starting point of my research was to meet with each member of the MoDiP team for an informal discussion about them and their role within the museum, objects that they are drawn to personally and their opinion on the operations behind the scenes such as maintenance and object storage. From these discussions I have come to understand and appreciate the use and value of plastics in the 21st century. Plastic is no longer seen as the low value substitute it is now respected as the ideal material for production and use of objects. These are some of the objects mentioned with the talk with the MoDiP team, these objects will be the basis of my work.

Rhoda bag - Sarah Bayley, AIBDC : 005902

 

Garden Chair - Unknown, AIBDC : 007140

Red Ming - Rachel and Benoit Convers, AIBDC : 007036

Hazel napkin ring - Johanna Zeitler, AIBDC : 006667

Illusion - John Brauer, AIBDC : 006156

Sian de Jong, (Student Creative)