Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Stepping outside my comfort zone

Last Saturday a group of strangers gathered together in the basement of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge for a creative writing workshop. We were looking at the text on labels of museum artworks and considering how this may or may not influence us as viewers of the work. Historically museums are seen as trustworthy sources, custodians of history who present us with facts about objects and art in their collections. But do labels actually present us with fact, putting the work into context or are they merely the opinion of the curator? And what happens if we take a more imaginative approach to writing about art so that labels become more than just informative and instead they become imaginative, emotional or even fictional?

The workshop was led by Debbie Meniru who is a writer and assistant curator for Tate Britain and Tate Modern. She began the workshop by introducing herself and then invited us all to do the same. Immediately the fist of fear grabbed at my stomach, and I wished I could be anywhere else other than sat around that table, pretending I was a writer. But as I listened to everyone else explain in a few words who they were and why they were there I became brave. My turn and I started with “I am Gina, and I am an artist”. I no longer feel imposter syndrome when I say that now but there was a time, not so long ago when I would have found it impossible. I wasn’t quite ready to say “I am a writer” however, so instead I continued “and about a year ago I started to write on Substack. Tentatively… and mostly about art” The tentatively was added just in case someone thought I was a ‘real’ writer, which of course I know is ridiculous because if I write then that makes me a writer. It’s not a value judgement on whether my writing is good or bad, it’s not a statement about what I write or for whom I write. It merely means that I write. But that is all much easier to say than it is to believe and I definitely need to work on this confidence thing.

As I listened to the others in the group I realised no one else probably cared what I did and why I was there because they each had their agenda about what they were hoping to achieve, their own insecurities and their own struggles with confidence and imposter syndrome, although one or two sounded very confident in their own opinions. We were a fascinating and diverse group. Fourteen women and one man from various walks of life who had travelled from London, Norfolk, Ely and Cambridge. There were three artists, a dancer, a psychotherapist, two published novelists, a translator and a creative writing student among our number, each of us brought together around the table through a love of art, words and curiosity. One of the women introduced herself as an artist and dyslexic and said she found words slippery. I loved that description that me feel words could slip away just beyond our grasp, like a bar of soap in the bath.

Neon Sculpture by Glenn Ligon on the facade of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

The workshop was inspired by the current exhibition at the Fitzwilliam ‘Glenn Ligon: All Over The Place’ and after our introductions we had time to view some of the work. As you might guess from its title the exhibition features work that is placed throughout the museum in several of the permanent galleries, literally all over the place, and creates connections between existing works in the museum and Ligon’s own art, giving new narratives to the work. Ligon’s work consists of prints, paintings, ceramics and neon sculpture and explores questions of race, history and identity.

Static #5, 2023, Glenn Ligon

Much of the work on display explored text which at first is very clear and can been seen and read, gradually becoming obscured. Sometimes the text was completely obscured but there was a rhythm as words appeared to dance across the canvas coming in and out of focus. For me it was all about what is revealed and what we also choose to conceal which I think is the essence of good writing. I hate nothing more than a novelist or writer who feels they need to tell us everything. Looking at the labels they mostly contained Ligon’s own words and descriptions rather than the interpretation of a curator which also raised the question of whether this gives them more validity.

“Glenn Ligon is an artist who has pursued an incisive exploration of American History, literature and society across bodies of work that build critically on the legacies of modern painting and conceptual art”

Returning to our windowless room we discussed the labels and considered that rather than making them just descriptive could we write them so they become more playful and exploratory; could we alter the meaning; change the placement or shape of the text; maybe obscure some of the text whilst highlighting other aspects, a bit like blackout prose or poetry.

Various ideas bounced around the room before we were given a series of exercises. Before lunch we had examples of artwork and their labels from the museum collection and were invited to alter them or rewrite them in anyway we wished. The results were fascinating. Some people cut them up and rearranged the words to form poetry, others obscured certain words with marker pens, whilst others completely rewrote the text. I took one of my examples, a portrait by John Everett Millais of ‘Mrs Coventry Patmore’, a painting in the Fitzwilliam collection and I added questions in the form of graffiti speech bubbles all around the painting because I felt the label left me with many more questions than answers.

John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896) was an English and painter and illustrator who was one of the founding members of the pre-Raphaelite movement maybe best known for his painting of Ophelia.

Ophelia, John Everett Millais, 1851-52, Tate Britain

Coventry Patmore was a Victorian poet from the same era best known for his book of poetry ‘The Angel in the House’, a narrative poem about what was considered the Victorian ideal of what made a happy marriage. I have never read the poem, nor do I have any desire to do so but the painting and the accompanying label told me enough. For many years the poem was studied less for any literary merit but because it demonstrated an in depth commentary on the middle class lifestyle and gendered roles in Victorian England, where women were limited to the domestic sphere of caring for the home and children whilst men conducted a public life outside the home. In more recent times it has been studied as an example of the male writers prejudices. I was angry on the behalf of ‘Mrs Coventry Patmore’ for starters because she wasn’t even given her own name as the title of the painting and then for being described as perfect and placid. Maybe she was but I was seething on her behalf.

Over lunch we bonded over the food, which was excellent from the Fitzwilliam café, (red pepper hummus, with couscous salad and sweet potato falafel since you ask), we exchanged stories and more about our backgrounds all in the knowledge we would most likely never meet again. People with a common interest who possibly in a different situation might form friendships but for now were merely passing ships.

Returning to the room we finished off the workshop by writing our own labels about an object or objects from our own lives, not necessarily something meaningful but anything we could think of. I chose a pair of candlesticks retrieved from a box in my Mum’s flat that had belonged to my grandparents, and this is the whimsical result.

This was one of those situation where I almost missed out. I very nearly didn’t book a place on the workshop because I wasn’t sure it would be for me. I didn’t know if I would be able to write in a room full of strangers, but I’m so pleased I went. I didn’t write anything amazing or ground breaking but it was great to be made to think outside the box and stretch our creative muscles in different ways and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. I’m even wondering if I dare go on a longer writing retreat now and maybe next time I will say “I’m Gina and I am a writer… and I sometimes paint”

If you would like to read another post about the art of writing museum labels this is one I wrote earlier: The Story of a Label and if you would like me to keep on writing then please do click on the heart below, restack or leave a comment. Apparently it helps others find us on this busy platform. Thank you!