“Research is part of a Roman aleatory culture,” claimed Mary Beard, professor of classics at Newnham College, Cambridge, in a recent talk called Risk and the Humanities. Through an investigation of the popular Roman pastimes of gambling and fortune-telling, she examined the concept of risk from the perspective of the classical world.
Beard argued that the Romans accepted life as being dependent on chance, which was in direct contrast to the current preoccupation with measuring and managing uncertainty.
She criticised funding bodies such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for approving bids by calculating the probability of outcomes instead of supporting “risky” research.
The talk, which formed part of the Darwin College Lecture Series 2010, has relevance to this review because Beard was a key member of the team responsible for the makeover of the Greek and Roman Gallery at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The refurbished gallery, Rediscovering Greece and Rome, was the first output of a three-year AHRC-funded project.
The grant was intended to facilitate collaboration between staff from the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge faculty of classics to explore and publish work on the museum’s Greek and Roman collection. It was part of a wider impetus by the government to bring academic university-based research into contact with object-based practices in the museum.
The aim was to encourage both institutions to share knowledge and expertise and so disseminate their findings to a wider public.
So what evidence is there of stronger links between academia and the museum in the reopened Greek and Roman Gallery? In terms of the way the objects are organised and the narratives constructed by the displays there is a clear engagement with new scholarship.
The gallery features exhibits from Greece on one side and Rome on the other, but the central displays avoid any obvious physical separation, highlighting the close relationship between the two worlds.
Transparency
Artefacts are presented in a loosely chronological order, but there is no attempt to display a history of styles, where context is marginalised at the expense of aesthetics.
Nor are overarching themes imposed that present the exhibits as evidence of daily life and omit the significance of collectors. Instead, the redisplay attempts to construct a biography of each object or group by highlighting the role of people in the creation of meaning.
The redisplay also focuses on making the processes of the museum transparent, including revealing the mistakes of previous attempts at conservation. The Marlay Genius, a small bronze statuette of a priest, lost all its surface detail after being plunged into caustic soda to cure it of a condition known as “bronze disease”.
The question of the extent to which an object should be restored and what constitutes its authentic appearance is opened up for public scrutiny.
This reflection on institutional operations extends to the creation of an online project progress diary written by Kate Cooper and Christina Rozeik, two AHRC-funded research associates. The diary documents the development of the project through the written word, photographs and sketches.
It acknowledges the role of a wide range of contributors to the refurbishment including designers, technicians, plinth manufacturers, stonemasons, education officers and volunteers.
In terms of the way the gallery looks, the overall effect is tasteful, uncluttered and tranquil. A major challenge for designer Karl Abeyasekera of Studio A Associates was to make the exhibits stand out against the original 19th-century architecture, with its exuberant neo-classical design.
The huge columns and lavish ceiling that dominate the room are painted white and contrast with the simple wooden flooring and neutral grey tones of walls and plinth cladding. The gallery is beautifully lit by a combination of natural light and unobtrusive spotlights that enhance the detail of the antique marble statuary.
The 1960s wooden showcases from the last refurbishment have been banished and substituted with simple glass display cases. Within the cases, representative objects are highlighted to introduce sections and to set the objects in context, while labels, panels, timelines and maps are located at various points throughout the gallery to provide information and assist with visitor orientation.
A major improvement to the gallery is the re-planning of visitor routes. The room used to be dissected by a central walkway with the sides partitioned off by false walls into separate bays.
The result was that visitors frequently walked past the exhibits rather than exploring all areas of the gallery. By putting freestanding displays in the middle of the room with key pieces defining sightlines and focal points, the layout is aesthetically pleasing and functionally coherent.
Safe bet
The main vista through the Greek and Roman Gallery, looking from the Cyprus room, features the statue of Hadrian’s lover Antinous as the god Dionysos. The bust draws the visitor into the space and a pair of elaborate Roman sarcophagi stacked one on top of the other form a dramatic centrepiece behind.
The Greek and Roman Gallery appears to be successful in terms of the use of space, organisation of objects and as a site of knowledge production. But do Beard’s criticisms about research grant applications being approved on the basis of risk assessment, apply here?
The project certainly fulfilled the government’s aim of building a research culture in museums through the creation of cross-institutional networks and by mediating academic research to a wider public. It also met the requirements of the AHRC in terms of projected outputs.
The main output was the permanent redisplay of the Fitzwilliam’s classical antiquities but also included temporary exhibitions such as the Greek and Roman Roadshow, talks, conferences, workshops, activities and publications.
Whether Rediscovering Greece and Rome can be categorised as a safe bet or a calculated risk on the part of the AHRC, the first outputs of this ongoing research project augur well.
Nicky Ryan is the principal lecturer, cultural and critical studies, at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
Cost £950,000
Main funders Arts and Humanities Research Council, JF Costopoulos Foundation, DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, Greek Ministry of Culture, AG Leventis Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Renaissance East of England, Schilizzi Foundation, Denis and Minouche Severis, Trinity College
Exhibition design Studio A Associates
Lighting Precision Lighting
Sculpture plinths and mounts MER
Display cases Vitrinen und Glasbau Reier
Beard argued that the Romans accepted life as being dependent on chance, which was in direct contrast to the current preoccupation with measuring and managing uncertainty.
She criticised funding bodies such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for approving bids by calculating the probability of outcomes instead of supporting “risky” research.
The talk, which formed part of the Darwin College Lecture Series 2010, has relevance to this review because Beard was a key member of the team responsible for the makeover of the Greek and Roman Gallery at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The refurbished gallery, Rediscovering Greece and Rome, was the first output of a three-year AHRC-funded project.
The grant was intended to facilitate collaboration between staff from the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge faculty of classics to explore and publish work on the museum’s Greek and Roman collection. It was part of a wider impetus by the government to bring academic university-based research into contact with object-based practices in the museum.
The aim was to encourage both institutions to share knowledge and expertise and so disseminate their findings to a wider public.
So what evidence is there of stronger links between academia and the museum in the reopened Greek and Roman Gallery? In terms of the way the objects are organised and the narratives constructed by the displays there is a clear engagement with new scholarship.
The gallery features exhibits from Greece on one side and Rome on the other, but the central displays avoid any obvious physical separation, highlighting the close relationship between the two worlds.
Transparency
Artefacts are presented in a loosely chronological order, but there is no attempt to display a history of styles, where context is marginalised at the expense of aesthetics.
Nor are overarching themes imposed that present the exhibits as evidence of daily life and omit the significance of collectors. Instead, the redisplay attempts to construct a biography of each object or group by highlighting the role of people in the creation of meaning.
The redisplay also focuses on making the processes of the museum transparent, including revealing the mistakes of previous attempts at conservation. The Marlay Genius, a small bronze statuette of a priest, lost all its surface detail after being plunged into caustic soda to cure it of a condition known as “bronze disease”.
The question of the extent to which an object should be restored and what constitutes its authentic appearance is opened up for public scrutiny.
This reflection on institutional operations extends to the creation of an online project progress diary written by Kate Cooper and Christina Rozeik, two AHRC-funded research associates. The diary documents the development of the project through the written word, photographs and sketches.
It acknowledges the role of a wide range of contributors to the refurbishment including designers, technicians, plinth manufacturers, stonemasons, education officers and volunteers.
In terms of the way the gallery looks, the overall effect is tasteful, uncluttered and tranquil. A major challenge for designer Karl Abeyasekera of Studio A Associates was to make the exhibits stand out against the original 19th-century architecture, with its exuberant neo-classical design.
The huge columns and lavish ceiling that dominate the room are painted white and contrast with the simple wooden flooring and neutral grey tones of walls and plinth cladding. The gallery is beautifully lit by a combination of natural light and unobtrusive spotlights that enhance the detail of the antique marble statuary.
The 1960s wooden showcases from the last refurbishment have been banished and substituted with simple glass display cases. Within the cases, representative objects are highlighted to introduce sections and to set the objects in context, while labels, panels, timelines and maps are located at various points throughout the gallery to provide information and assist with visitor orientation.
A major improvement to the gallery is the re-planning of visitor routes. The room used to be dissected by a central walkway with the sides partitioned off by false walls into separate bays.
The result was that visitors frequently walked past the exhibits rather than exploring all areas of the gallery. By putting freestanding displays in the middle of the room with key pieces defining sightlines and focal points, the layout is aesthetically pleasing and functionally coherent.
Safe bet
The main vista through the Greek and Roman Gallery, looking from the Cyprus room, features the statue of Hadrian’s lover Antinous as the god Dionysos. The bust draws the visitor into the space and a pair of elaborate Roman sarcophagi stacked one on top of the other form a dramatic centrepiece behind.
The Greek and Roman Gallery appears to be successful in terms of the use of space, organisation of objects and as a site of knowledge production. But do Beard’s criticisms about research grant applications being approved on the basis of risk assessment, apply here?
The project certainly fulfilled the government’s aim of building a research culture in museums through the creation of cross-institutional networks and by mediating academic research to a wider public. It also met the requirements of the AHRC in terms of projected outputs.
The main output was the permanent redisplay of the Fitzwilliam’s classical antiquities but also included temporary exhibitions such as the Greek and Roman Roadshow, talks, conferences, workshops, activities and publications.
Whether Rediscovering Greece and Rome can be categorised as a safe bet or a calculated risk on the part of the AHRC, the first outputs of this ongoing research project augur well.
Nicky Ryan is the principal lecturer, cultural and critical studies, at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
Project data
Cost £950,000
Main funders Arts and Humanities Research Council, JF Costopoulos Foundation, DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, Greek Ministry of Culture, AG Leventis Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Renaissance East of England, Schilizzi Foundation, Denis and Minouche Severis, Trinity College
Exhibition design Studio A Associates
Lighting Precision Lighting
Sculpture plinths and mounts MER
Display cases Vitrinen und Glasbau Reier
