Angels mean many things to many people and this exhibition represents that beautifully, writes Mary Stones
What is an angel? What do they look like? These are the initial questions posed by Heavenly Creatures: Angels in Faith, History and Popular Culture, the latest exhibition at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow.
As an art history graduate and a girl who never got to wear one of the prized tinsel halos in the school nativity play, my mind immediately conjures up images of beautiful figures in white, with wings and tinsel halos.
The opening section of the exhibition challenges such preconceptions by juxtaposing traditional western representations, principally Edward Burne-Jones’s jewel-like painting, The Angel, with a selection of striking items that illustrate the interpretations and beliefs of different world cultures, including a Shona sculpture entitled Chapungo Man and an Ecuadorian Aya Huma festival helmet mask.
This comparison sums up the ethos of the exhibition – angels are many things to many people, and no one has definitive authority on the subject.
A nine-minute introductory film uses interviews and visuals to emphasise the overarching message that angels are all around us. The interviewees represent a variety of ages and beliefs, and the film allows visitors to reflect on their own theories about angels.
The presentation is followed by two performances (one in translation and one in the original Shona) of a poem titled Maybe It Is, written by Tawona Sithole about Chapungo Man.
Personal touches
I found the poem moving but was distracted by the high-pitched rendition of There Must Be an Angel by the pop group Eurythmics.
A soundtrack of songs inspired by angels plays on loop in the show, and while this is an interesting and effective method of communicating the extensive influence of angels in music, I did find it a bit intrusive while trying to engage with the quiet simplicity of Sithole’s words.
The exhibition space is light and airy; the walls are painted white and the modular system employed to display collections and the accompanying information combines crisp white backgrounds set within natural, light-coloured wooden frames.
This quasi-celestial palette is not only appropriate given the subject, but also lends a clean and accessible feel to the exhibition. This is complemented by the interpretation, which is concisely written throughout. Mainly presented on panels, object labels and touchscreens, the information is well layered and it is possible to read everything without feeling overwhelmed.
The main themes of the show are introduced by concisely written text and quotations from a variety of sources, including members of the museum’s junior panel. The words add a personal perspective to the themes and encourage emotional engagement.
Interactive experience
Four small touchscreens are used to provide a secondary level of information. The content is delivered in digestible chunks and the two touchscreens that operate as electronic labels provide valuable additional information on the copy of the silver Milton Shield that was made for the 1867 Paris Exhibition, and The Red Fisherman painted by James Elder Christie in 1893.
I was glad of the assistance with the latter as I found it difficult to see the detail in the painting, particularly due to the unfortunate glare thrown on the glass by the exhibition lights.
The junior panel are also represented by their drawings of angels, which adorn the walls of the exhibition alongside photographs and reproductions of great masters.
Ample space is devoted to two family-friendly activities – angel costumes to try on, complete with mirror, and an interactive magnetic board inviting visitors to create their idea of what an angel might look like, using a variety of faces, clothes, wings, halos and other “angelic” accessories.
A third interactive invites visitors of all ages to share their thoughts on the exhibition and the angels in their lives. Despite being a relatively small show, different levels of interest and preferred methods of engagement are well catered for.
The items on view, largely from Glasgow Museums’ collection, work well with the themes of the displays. Although dominated by works of art in paint, ceramic and glass, less traditional interpretations are also represented.
These comprise unusual items, such as an angel carved from a horse’s vertebrae following the 19th-century Battle of Corunna, and a selection of contemporary contextual items, including a figure of Clarence, the trainee angel from the film It’s a Wonderful Life, a CD of Robbie Williams’ hit single Angels and a model of one of the menacing weeping angels from Doctor Who. An image of Charlie’s Angels from the 1970s television series is displayed near these items.
Infinite interpretations
I would have liked to have seen more contemporary images on the walls. Although these can be difficult to source and costly to reproduce, a montage of different interpretations of angels in TV, film and music would have been effective in communicating the fundamental message that angels are all around us in the contemporary world as well as that of the ancient prophets.
Before leaving, I returned to the introductory film and listened again to the translation of Sithole’s evocative poem. This time, the background music was a glorious choral polyphony. With all due respect to Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics, I found it easier to access the presentation with the quieter serenity of a choir and, on this occasion, the omnipresence of the soundtrack felt appropriate.
This subjective opinion captures the quintessence of the exhibition – one person’s winged, tinsel-wearing archangel is another person’s Clarence; one person’s Palestrina is another person’s Eurythmics.
The museum’s website says “the venue aims to promote understanding and respect between people of different faiths and of none, and offers something for everyone”.
This thought-provoking exhibition is beautiful in its simplicity and, with its focus on the infinite variety of interpretations of angels, perfectly represents the museum’s philosophy in microcosm.
Mary Stones is an interpretation project manager with the National Trust for Scotland
Project data
Cost £18,500
Main funder Friends of Glasgow Museums
Curator Harry Dunlop
Learning curator Caroline Currie
What is an angel? What do they look like? These are the initial questions posed by Heavenly Creatures: Angels in Faith, History and Popular Culture, the latest exhibition at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow.
As an art history graduate and a girl who never got to wear one of the prized tinsel halos in the school nativity play, my mind immediately conjures up images of beautiful figures in white, with wings and tinsel halos.
The opening section of the exhibition challenges such preconceptions by juxtaposing traditional western representations, principally Edward Burne-Jones’s jewel-like painting, The Angel, with a selection of striking items that illustrate the interpretations and beliefs of different world cultures, including a Shona sculpture entitled Chapungo Man and an Ecuadorian Aya Huma festival helmet mask.
This comparison sums up the ethos of the exhibition – angels are many things to many people, and no one has definitive authority on the subject.
A nine-minute introductory film uses interviews and visuals to emphasise the overarching message that angels are all around us. The interviewees represent a variety of ages and beliefs, and the film allows visitors to reflect on their own theories about angels.
The presentation is followed by two performances (one in translation and one in the original Shona) of a poem titled Maybe It Is, written by Tawona Sithole about Chapungo Man.
Personal touches
I found the poem moving but was distracted by the high-pitched rendition of There Must Be an Angel by the pop group Eurythmics.
A soundtrack of songs inspired by angels plays on loop in the show, and while this is an interesting and effective method of communicating the extensive influence of angels in music, I did find it a bit intrusive while trying to engage with the quiet simplicity of Sithole’s words.
The exhibition space is light and airy; the walls are painted white and the modular system employed to display collections and the accompanying information combines crisp white backgrounds set within natural, light-coloured wooden frames.
This quasi-celestial palette is not only appropriate given the subject, but also lends a clean and accessible feel to the exhibition. This is complemented by the interpretation, which is concisely written throughout. Mainly presented on panels, object labels and touchscreens, the information is well layered and it is possible to read everything without feeling overwhelmed.
The main themes of the show are introduced by concisely written text and quotations from a variety of sources, including members of the museum’s junior panel. The words add a personal perspective to the themes and encourage emotional engagement.
Interactive experience
Four small touchscreens are used to provide a secondary level of information. The content is delivered in digestible chunks and the two touchscreens that operate as electronic labels provide valuable additional information on the copy of the silver Milton Shield that was made for the 1867 Paris Exhibition, and The Red Fisherman painted by James Elder Christie in 1893.
I was glad of the assistance with the latter as I found it difficult to see the detail in the painting, particularly due to the unfortunate glare thrown on the glass by the exhibition lights.
The junior panel are also represented by their drawings of angels, which adorn the walls of the exhibition alongside photographs and reproductions of great masters.
Ample space is devoted to two family-friendly activities – angel costumes to try on, complete with mirror, and an interactive magnetic board inviting visitors to create their idea of what an angel might look like, using a variety of faces, clothes, wings, halos and other “angelic” accessories.
A third interactive invites visitors of all ages to share their thoughts on the exhibition and the angels in their lives. Despite being a relatively small show, different levels of interest and preferred methods of engagement are well catered for.
The items on view, largely from Glasgow Museums’ collection, work well with the themes of the displays. Although dominated by works of art in paint, ceramic and glass, less traditional interpretations are also represented.
These comprise unusual items, such as an angel carved from a horse’s vertebrae following the 19th-century Battle of Corunna, and a selection of contemporary contextual items, including a figure of Clarence, the trainee angel from the film It’s a Wonderful Life, a CD of Robbie Williams’ hit single Angels and a model of one of the menacing weeping angels from Doctor Who. An image of Charlie’s Angels from the 1970s television series is displayed near these items.
Infinite interpretations
I would have liked to have seen more contemporary images on the walls. Although these can be difficult to source and costly to reproduce, a montage of different interpretations of angels in TV, film and music would have been effective in communicating the fundamental message that angels are all around us in the contemporary world as well as that of the ancient prophets.
Before leaving, I returned to the introductory film and listened again to the translation of Sithole’s evocative poem. This time, the background music was a glorious choral polyphony. With all due respect to Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics, I found it easier to access the presentation with the quieter serenity of a choir and, on this occasion, the omnipresence of the soundtrack felt appropriate.
This subjective opinion captures the quintessence of the exhibition – one person’s winged, tinsel-wearing archangel is another person’s Clarence; one person’s Palestrina is another person’s Eurythmics.
The museum’s website says “the venue aims to promote understanding and respect between people of different faiths and of none, and offers something for everyone”.
This thought-provoking exhibition is beautiful in its simplicity and, with its focus on the infinite variety of interpretations of angels, perfectly represents the museum’s philosophy in microcosm.
Mary Stones is an interpretation project manager with the National Trust for Scotland
Project data
Cost £18,500
Main funder Friends of Glasgow Museums
Curator Harry Dunlop
Learning curator Caroline Currie