House Guests
Specimens, objects and artworks take up residence at Kettle’s Yard 30 March - 28 July 2013
House Guests Kettle’s Yard is a beautiful house that contains a remarkable collection of modern art. From 30 March to 28 July visitors will have the opportunity to see ‘guests’ from eight other University of Cambridge museums and collections carefully placed amongst the artworks and objects. We hope the guests, from butterflies to Inuit carving, will inspire visitors to see Kettle’s Yard in a new light and to discover more about the other Cambridge University museums. The House Guests have been selected by the museums’ directors in collaboration with Kettle’s Yard Associate Artist Jeremy Millar. “It is not simply the beauty of the artworks collected at Kettle’s Yard that makes it such an extraordinary place, but rather how these are placed amongst domestic items, and gathered natural objects. By inviting objects from the collections of the University of Cambridge Museums to visit, too, such juxtapositions will be made all the more diverse, and richer as a result.” Jeremy Millar, 2013 Part of the project is a collaboration with the Critical Writing in Art and Design programme at the Royal College of Art. The students will be contributing to a publication that accompanies the exhibition, featuring interviews with museum curators with an essay by Jeremy Millar, available from late May.
Why not visit one of the other University of Cambridge Museums? We hope House Guests inspires you to discover (or rediscover) all of the University of Cambridge Museums and collections www.cam.ac.uk/museums
Cambridge University Botanic Garden Plants from all over the world in 40 acres of beautiful gardens and glasshouses. 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE www.botanic.cam.ac.uk Opening times: April-September, 10am-6pm. £4.50 (Conc. £3.95), children (0-16) free.
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology World-class collections of Oceanic, Asian, African and American art and major archaeological discoveries. Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ www.maa.cam.ac.uk Opening times: Tuesday-Saturday, 10.30am-4.30pm. Admission free.
The Polar Museum A unique collection of artefacts, journals, equipment, maps and other materials illustrating polar exploration, history and science. Scott Polar Research Institute, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EP www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum Opening times: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. Admission free.
The Museum of Classical Archaeology One of the few surviving collections of plaster casts of Greek & Roman sculpture in the world. Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DA www.classics.cam.ac.uk/museum Opening times: Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm, Saturdays, university term time only, 10am-1pm. Admission free.
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences Discover fossils, rocks and minerals from around the world and explore more than 550 million years of Earth’s history. Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ www.sedgwickmuseum.org Opening times: Monday-Friday, 10am-1pm & 2-5pm, Saturday, 10am-4pm. Admission free.
University Museum of Zoology Home to a huge variety of recent and fossil animals, the collections rival those of the major university museums worldwide. Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk Opening times: Monday-Friday, 10am-4.45pm, Saturday, 11am-4pm. Admission free. NB The Museum is closed in June 2013 for a major development project. Please contact the Museum for further information.
The Fitzwilliam Museum World-class collections of works of art and antiquities spanning centuries and civilisations.
Whipple Museum of the History of Science An internationally important collection of scientific instruments and models, dating from the Middle Ages to the present.
Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk Opening times: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm, Sunday & Bank Holiday Mondays 12pm-5pm. Admission free.
Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RH www.hps.cam.ac.uk/whipple Opening times: Monday-Friday, 12.30-4.30pm, Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holidays – closed. Admission free.
Downstairs
Upstairs
Ammonite – Australiceras gigas, Cretaceous (a geological period c.130 million years ago) Found in Atherfield, Isle of Wight by Rev. Thomas Wiltshire, mid-19th century
Old Father Lives Forever, Pelargonium cotyledonis L Herit Geraniaceae (the Geranium family) Origin St. Helena
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
The specimen is a fossilised ammonite, an extinct marine animal related to squid, octopuses and cuttlefish (also known as cephalopods). This object is unique due to its large size and its partial uncurling from the spiral shell shape. Ammonites are thought to be free swimmers, but this type may have just crawled around on the ocean floor. Location: Dining Room
‘Old Father Lives Forever’ is a branched shrublet with succulent stems. Found only on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, about 2000km west of the African coast. It is believed that the local name was given because of its ability to stay alive for months without soil or water. Location: Conservatory, Bridge
Luke Anowtalik (1932-2006) Faces, 1989 Soapstone carving
The Polar Museum Luke Anowtalik is considered to be one of the great founders of contemporary art in NorthWest Canada’s Keewatin region. Born in 1932 around Ennadai Lake, he was raised according to the traditional beliefs and customs of the Ihalmiut, a group of Inuit people. His work features family groups, often as clusters of heads emerging from the stone. Location: Downstairs
Marguerite Milward (1873-1953) Bronze portrait of Luivao, 1938 Bronze and marble
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology One of a series of over 100 sculptures of Indian physical and social types by Milward. Initially acclaimed for their vitality as artworks and accuracy as anthropological data, the sculptures have since been associated with the theories and practices of colonial anthropology that have raised complex questions about difficult and contentious periods in history. Location: Dancer Room Cairns Birdwing, Ornithoptera euphorion, Butterfly collected 1910 Found north of Cairns and 12 miles inland from Port Douglas, North Queensland
University Museum of Zoology
please speak to a member of staff if you need help finding any of the ‘House Guests’
The Cairns Birdwing is Australia’s largest butterfly. It is also known as the Cooktown Birdwing and the Northern Birdwing. The name Cairns Birdwing is a reference to the city Cairns, in Queensland, Australia, where this butterfly is found. Location: Helen’s Bedroom
Marie Louise von Motesïczky (1906-1996) Mother in Bed, 1977/78 Charcoal and oil on canvas
The Fitzwilliam Museum Marie Louise von Motesïczky is a 20th Century Austrian artist. This is one of three paintings by the artist owned by The Fitzwilliam Museum. It is the final painting she made of her mother, Henriette von Motesïczky, while they shared a home in Hampstead, North London. Motesïczky painted many portraits of her mother throughout her life. Location: Helen’s Bedroom Stereoscopic Viewer Early 20th century Produced by Paris Photographic Co.
Whipple Museum of the History of Science A stereoscope is a device for viewing a pair of images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same slide, thereby making a 3D image. This stereoscope also has a large circular magnifying lens for looking at pictures and postcards. Location: Attic Archaic Stele, 6th century Floor based relief/carving Plaster cast, original is bluish marble Found south of the ruins of old Sparta near Magula, Greece. Original now in Sparta Museum
The Museum of Classical Archaeology This relief sculpture is from Sparta, a city state in Ancient Greece. It is similar to other reliefs showing Castor and Pollux, twin brothers from ancient Greek mythology, but this relief shows a man and a woman. On one side they look friendly and on the other hostile. The puzzle is, who are they? Location: Attic
front cover Cairns Birdwing, Ornithoptera euphorion, 1910 University Museum of Zoology photo: Paul Allitt above Faces, Luke Anowtalik, 1989 The Polar Museum, Scott Polar Research Institute photo: Martin Hartley © SPRI inside cover Bechstein Room, Kettle’s Yard photo: Paul Allitt
Events
Information
Lunchtime Talks Thursdays 1.10-1.40pm, free Space for lunchtime talks is limited. Places are first come first served.
Kettle’s Yard Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 0AQ telephone 01223 748100 mail@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk www.kettlesyard.co.uk
30 May ~ Dr Mark Elliot, Curator of Anthropology, Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology and students from the Critical Writing Programme at the Royal College of Art. 20 June ~ Heather Lane, Librarian & Keeper of Collections, The Polar Museum and students from the Critical Writing Programme at the Royal College of Art. 11 July ~ Tour of House Guests with Director of Kettle’s Yard, Andrew Nairne
Museums at Night Friday 17 May, 6-8.30pm, free Special late opening, chance to see the exhibitions after hours including House Guests. THE Practice SessionS Friday 21 June, 6-8pm Drop in pre-pub and try out something new to start your weekend. A monthly evening of art making and short talks. Join us for discussions about the idea of collecting and collectors with Professor Robin Osborne, Museum of Classical Archaeology and artist Janine Woods. £8 per session, pay on the door. House Guests is part of the University of Cambridge Museums Connecting Collections programme. Thanks go to all those who have contributed to this project. House Guests has been conceived and curated by Kettle’s Yard.
HOUSE OPEN Tuesday-Sunday 1.30-4.30pm GALLERY & SHOP OPEN Tuesday-Sunday 11.30am-5pm Open Bank Holiday Mondays
Please Note Parts of Kettle’s Yard House will be closed from 24 March to carry out essential maintenance work. ADMISSION FREE twitter @kettlesyard facebook /kettlesyard blog www.kettlesyardonline.co.uk
ACCESS Unfortunately the house is not wheelchair accessible. If you have limited mobility please ask a member of staff for more information. To request the leaflet text in an alternative format please phone 01223 748100