The Imperial War Museum at Duxford is celebrating its 100th birthday with a unique art show.
It is set to unveil a special installation that will take visitors on “a tactile quest” telling the story of the airfield.
This year marks the centenary of the Duxford base, and the art installation has been designed to help people tap in to its history.
A spokeswoman said: “Since 1917, people have entrusted us with their personal accounts of war, in the knowledge that IWM will continue to share them with future generations. IWM Duxford plays a special role in this, sharing the personal stories of the men and women who lived and worked at the airfield, the history of war from the air and tales of ingenuity in aviation.
“Our centenary - a landmark occasion - is being commemorated with the creation of DX17, Duxford’s first ever contemporary art installation, inspired by our remarkable history.
"A spectacular and imaginative storytelling device, it engages visitors in a tactile quest to uncover up to 100 memories – narrative fragments, voices, sound, signals, moments, stories or anecdotes – from Duxford’s remarkable past and present.
"Inspired by themes of flight and innovation, DX17 is a dramatic large-scale sculpture, similar in size to a Spitfire, futuristic and aerodynamic in form. This innovative sound sculpture has been created by BAFTA award-winning composer and multi-disciplinary artist Nick Ryan. Nick’s previous projects have included Tate Sensorium, an immersive multi-sensory exhibition at Tate Britain, and A Living River, the world’s largest sound installation, displayed at Gatwick Airport.”
The art show will be unveiled to the public for the first time on June 16, and will then be on display until September.
In my opinion, it's a beautiful piece, made to a very difficult brief that includes education and interactivity. If you don't appreciate it, walk on by. But don't demean it just for your own cynical amusement.
I had a preview of this "installation" yesterday. Now I was quite prepared to be cynical, but I experienced it and actually I was very impressed! you kind of interact with the "shape" which then plays you a selection of recordings by people closely associated with Duxford over its 100 years, the smokey darkness and the surreal "shape" I thought really worked in making me more aware of the dialogue, than if it was just a collection of video loops. You might well think different, and there is the argument that the money might be better spent in say, conservation, but that aside, I recommend giving it a try!
And no comments? I admit that it did nothing for me at all.
The best way to convey information is by pictures, not soundbites which are scattered randomly around the object and which you have to listen to from beginning to end to find out what it is all about.
And it must be expensive to present, with two people on duty there all the time.
Museum claims not to have any money for the maintenance of buildings or aircraft, hangar 5 on Tuesday during the downpour apparently had a Niagara falls from the roof and it's been like that for years, but miraculously managed to find over £200,000 for a vanity project that will look good on someone's CV.
If they wanted to celebrate 100 Years @ Duxford then all the had to do was get the Be2, Spit 1 and Meteor, start/middle/finish of RAF flying, along with the Mustang and P-47 for the American years, set up in one of the hangars and there you have 100 Years @ Duxford and wouldn't have cost any where near £200,000.
I must admit I went in last weekend, set to ridicule it I somewhat enjoyed it, however I'm not sure why they modelled it as a Star Destroyer?
The voice clips are nice but often you just get half of it and really struggle to get any context. 15 minutes is not nearly long enough to listen to it all, either.
Pen Pusher, although I have a slightly different point of view, I can't disagree with you. I also witnessed the " Niagra " leaks the other day, maintenance issues will always occur, but long standing ones of that type indicate a lack of proper maintenance, that I fear at Duxford in recent years is yet another pointer to a growing Corporate mentality overriding the commitment the " Guiding Lights " should have. Your point about the installation being a Vanity project does underline this. I salute your principles, its just I'm too nosey...
Pen Pusher wrote:If they wanted to celebrate 100 Years @ Duxford then all the had to do was get the Be2, Spit 1 and Meteor, start/middle/finish of RAF flying, along with the Mustang and P-47 for the American years, set up in one of the hangars and there you have 100 Years @ Duxford and wouldn't have cost any where near £200,000.
Come on Brian, we all know no-one visits an aviation museum to see aircraft. What a silly suggestion...
I went into DX17 the other day and can see both points. As a way of getting young people to listen to oral history it's very effective. As for the costs - the money could probably been spent better.
(Mark Twain: There are lies, there are damn lies and then there are statistics)
I visited this today. I was a little cynical for the first couple of minutes in there, but once you buy into the experience (and forget about what they've spent), I found it quite immersive, interesting and worthwhile.