The Fitzwilliam Museum Podcasts: Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
Established in 1816, The Fitzwilliam Museum is the principal art museum of the University of Cambridge. These podcasts offer the chance to learn more about the Museum's treasures, which range from Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities to the arts of the 21st century, with exclusive introductions to exhibitions, interviews with expert curators and previews of Museum events. (This the standard video version of our podcast, suitable for iPods. Elsewhere, an audio-only podcast in mp3 format is available. Please check our website or the iTunes store for alternative versions.)
Writer, Translator and Model, Anthony Rudolf discusses the process of working with mannequins when posing for Artist Paula Rego.
Caroline Evans, Professor of Fashion History and Theory at Central St Martins, discusses the historically ambiguous relationship between the fashion model and the mannequin.
Josh Nall, Assistant Curator at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science discusses the work of Dr. Louis Auzoux and his innovative papier-mâché, anatomical models.
In the second part of Episode 4, Simon Schaffer focuses on the work of Jean-Martin Charcot in relation to the idea of mannequins and the development of the shop window mannequin. This is the second of two parts.
In the first part of Episode 4 in the Silent Partners podcast series, Simon Schaffer, Professor of the History of Science in Cambridge University discusses automata and the uncanny nature of artificial figures. This podcast is the first of two parts.
As part of our ongoing series of podcasts around the themes of Silent Partners, Steven Connor, Grace 2 Professor of English in the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Peterhouse discusses the relationship we have with dolls, ranging from the ventriloquist's dummy to the sex doll. This podcast is the second of two parts. Steven Connor's essay on the subject "Guys and Dolls" can be found here: http://www.stevenconnor.com/guysanddolls/guysanddolls.pdf
As part of our ongoing series of podcasts around the themes of Silent Partners, Steven Connor, Grace 2 Professor of English in the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Peterhouse discusses the relationship we have with dolls, ranging from the ventriloquist's dummy to the sex doll. This podcast is the first of two parts.
Sculptor Andrew Lacey and Artist Siân Lewis discuss the process of recreating Nicolas Poussin's "Great Machine". Poussin used his machine to "stage" or accurately rehearse the perspectival setting of an imagined space. Andrew and Siân recreated his machine to replicate Poussin's masterpiece Extreme Unction, this reconstruction is part of the installation pathway in Silent Partners.
Alistair O'Neill, Pathway Leader of Fashion History and Theory at Central St Martins discusses the work of fashion photographer Guy Bourdin and his use of mannequin legs in photography in the 1970's.
Time lapse video of a recreation of Millais' Black Brunswicker (on show in the Fitzwilliam Museum's Silent Partners' exhibition) in John Lewis, Cambridge.
A short video featuring Museum Director Tim Knox about the Fitzwilliam Museum's Portico reconstruction project.
In March 2013 the Fitzwilliam Museum hosted a panel discussion asking the question "Is beauty irrelevant in public art?". The discussion featured talks given by Helaine Blumenfeld, sculptor, Jonathan Jones, arts critic for The Guardian and Richard Cork, arts critic. The discussion was followed by a Q&A session recorded for this podcast.
In March 2013 the Fitzwilliam Museum hosted a panel discussion asking the question "Is beauty irrelevant in public art?". The discussion featured talks given by Helaine Blumenfeld, sculptor, Jonathan Jones, arts critic for The Guardian and Richard Cork, arts critic. The discussion was followed by a Q&A.
John Craxton was one of the great British artists of the 20th century. For the majority of his life he painted in Crete, capturing the life and colour of the Mediterranean - as such remained relatively unknown to the British public. His biographer Ian Collins gives a personal reflection on the passions and pastimes of John Craxton and how these were reflected in his work. Exploring two of his works he explains what made Craxton a great modern artist and why we should re-assess his work today.
The video overlay of this podcast includes paintings and photographs from the 2014 Fitzwilliam Museum exhibition A world of private mystery: John Craxton, RA (1922-2009).
Sir David Attenborough gives a personal introduction to the exhibition A world of private mystery: John Craxton, RA (1922-2009) at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Talking about his friendship with the artist, he explains why he thinks Craxton was one of the greatest British painters of the 20th century, and why his art painted in Greece brings to life the incredible iridescent 'champagne' light of the Mediterranean.
Interview with Sir Nicholas Goodison about the gifts of twentieth century art that he and his wife have made to the Fitzwilliam Museum via the Art Fund.
Edmund de Waal explores the ceramics collections at the Fitzwilliam and gives his thoughts on what they inspire.
A slideshow trailer of Edmund de Waal's intervention On White: Porcelain Stories from the Fitzwilliam
Artist and curator Michael McMillan talks about his contemporary art installations on the modern era of black hair culture, history, politics and style.
Quentin Blake introduces his 'Drawn by Hand' exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum (12 February - 12 May 2013). Discover how the exhibition came about, learn about his style and technique and hear about four works in focus.
An interview with potter, Takeshi Yasuda, whose works feature in the Fitzwilliam Museum's exhibition: 'China’s White Gold: Contemporary porcelain from Jingdezhen' (18 December 2012 – 1 April 2013). Yasuda describes his practice, technique and philosophy on art.
An interview with Dr Stella Panayotova, Keeper of Manuscripts and Printed Books at The Fitzwilliam Museum, about the first ever exhibition of the Museum's remarkable collection of contemporary calligraphy acquired in 2008.
An interview with sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld on the importance of public works of art and the difference art in public spaces can make to people's lives.
An introduction to the exhibition The Search for Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han China with Dr Timothy Potts, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Featuring over 350 treasures in jade, gold, silver, bronze and ceramics, The Search for Immortality takes you through the remarkable discoveries of the Royal tombs of Han Dynasty China.
Curator Betsy Wieseman gives an introduction and highlights for the exhibition Vermeer’s Women: Secrets and Silence at The Fitzwilliam Museum. This podcast features images from the exhibition and footage of The Lacemaker. Visit http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/ for more details about the show.
Hear curator Jane Munro talk about the Museum's mission to refurbish and redisplay one of its most popular galleries, and learn more about three painters featured on its walls: Augustus John, William Nicholson and William Orpen.
Exploring exquisite Persian manuscript art inspired by the world’s longest poem: the Shahnameh, or 'Book of Kings'
Charles Darwin's mother Susannah Wedgwood died when he was just eight, and he could never remember her face - until he discovered a long-hidden portrait of her as a young woman. Hear Darwin's great-great-grandson Randal Keynes explain why finally seeing this miniature of his mother (now in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum) was so significant for the great naturalist, and why portraits of loved ones were so important to both the Wedgwood and Darwin families.
What motivates Maggi Hambling to create her huge sea paintings? The artist discusses her exhibition of wave portraits at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and reveals her enduring fascination with the North Sea by her Suffolk home.
Discover how the grounds of the Fitz were transformed for the second year running by this new display of contemporary sculpture. See behind-the-scenes photos and time-lapse footage showing how the Promenade was installed, and hear interviews with Museum Director Timothy Potts and the sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld, as well as featured sculptors Rob Ward, Angela Conner, Nick Turvey, Ann Christopher and Nick Hornby.
Get an insider's view of the Fitzwilliam Museum's new-look Greek & Roman gallery with curator Lucilla Burn and classics professor Mary Beard, as they discuss what went on behind the scenes of the recent redisplay, and reveal some of the untold histories behind these incredible ancient objects.
Italian-born contemporary printmaker Lino Mannocci discusses the exhibition 'Clouds and Myths: Monotypes by Lino Mannocci' (9 February - 9 May 2010) - a haunting collection of works exploring the world of myth and its resonance. In this podcast, Mannocci talks about his enduring fascinating with the theme of the Annunication, and takes us behind the scenes of the printmaking process.
'Clouds and Myths' is accompanied by a smaller concurrent exhibition, The Angel and the Virgin: A Brief History of the Annunciation - a selection of 15th-17th century old master prints selected from the Fitzwilliam's collection by Mannocci himself.
When a sculptor employs a studio to produce their work, how does this affect our perception of them as an artist? This Open Forum panel discussion at The Fitzwilliam Museum debates the changing role of the contemporary sculptor, as well as ideas of quality, originality, authorship and authenticity.
Curator Jane Munro discusses 'Sargent, Sickert and Spencer', a new exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum focusing on three of the most original painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert and Stanley Spencer.
Dame Gillian Beer discusses ideas of poverty, struggle and competition as explored in the painting 'On Strike' (1891), and examines how Darwinian notions of 'the survival of the fittest' also inspired female poets of the time.
Science writer Dr. Marek Kohn discusses the various artistic reactions to the bleaker side of evolutionary thinking, as presented in the exhibition 'Endless Forms'. Is nature a nuturing Earth Mother or a pitiless force? Is mankind on the side of the apes or the angels?
Professor Elizabeth Edwards explores how the emerging mass medium of photography engaged with popular Darwinian ideas in the nineteenth century, and how notions of race, 'type' and 'hard science' collided with troubling results.
Dr. Gowan Dawson discusses the intriguing representation - and sexualisation - of apes in the nineteenth century, from pickled specimens on display to an eager public to images of marauding predators – and even lascivious lovers. (Please note: this podcast contains some sexually explicit images.)
Why was the idea of 'the missing link' so wildly popular in the later nineteenth century? And why did Darwin's public image differ so greatly across Europe? Dr. Peter Kjaergaard examines how Darwin's ideas have been communicated and miscommunicated over the past 150 years, from print translations to the internet - and with very different intentions.
John Brooke, former Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University, gives his take on the exhibition 'Endless Forms', and discusses the implications of Darwinism for religious accounts of creation and design in the natural world.
Evolutionary physician Professor Randolph Nesse explores the idea of 'Darwin's eye', and discusses what evolution means for our bodies, our emotions and our behaviour - as well as the disturbing implications of this view of the world.
Lord Robert May, Former President of the Royal Society and UK Government Chief Advisor for Science explores the significance of Darwin and his 'unsolved problems' for the issues facing populations today, and how the nineteenth-century preoccupation with 'where we come from' has given way to a focus on our imminent - and worrying - future as a planet.
Sir Peter Crane, Former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, talks about the fascinating friendship between Darwin and the botanist Joseph Hooker. (An audio-only podcast from the 2009 Cambridge Darwin Festival.)
Can Darwinian ideas of evolution and adaptation really explain why we are how we are? Philosopher of science Professor Philip Kitcher explores the insights - and pitfalls - that Darwinism can bring to philosophical discussions about human nature and behaviour. (An audio-only podcast from the 2009 Cambridge Darwin Festival.)
Nobel Prize-winning biologist and Rockefeller University President Sir Paul Nurse takes a tour of the exhibition 'Endless Forms', introducing his personal highlights from a scientist's perspective. (An audio-only podcast from the 2009 Cambridge Darwin Festival.)
What evolutionary purpose does beauty serve? And why does the idea of 'female mate choice' not hold true when it comes to primates and humans? From peacocks' tails to the kinds of sexual signals we can't even see, evolutionary biologist Professor Tim Clutton-Brock explores Darwin's theory of sexual selection.
The Descent of Man would forever change the way we thought about ourselves and where we come from – but how accurate was Darwin in his ideas about human evolution? Professor Robert Foley, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies explores how 19th-century society viewed ideas of 'early man', and reveals how far our knowledge has progressed since Darwin sketched his 'evolutionary tree'.
Plant specimens may seem an unlikely starting point for Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection - but, as Professor John Parker investigates in this podcast, the Cambridge botanist John Stevens Henslow proved a crucial mentor for the young naturalist. Find out how Darwin shipped his collections from the Beagle voyage back to Cambridge, and how these almost 200 year-old specimens can today give us a snapshot of long-extinct botanical life.
Dr. John van Wyhe, Director of Darwin Online (darwin-online.org.uk), discusses Darwin's student days at Christ's College, Cambridge in the 1820s, and investigates the young naturalist's developing eye for visual observation - as well as debunking a few persistent Darwin myths. Also featured: how Darwin's rooms were restored and re-opened to the public.
Jane Munro, Co-Curator of the 'Endless Forms: Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts' at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (16 June - 4 October 2009) introduces the new podcast series complementing this exhibition, which explores Darwin's influence on 19th-century art. (www.darwinendlessforms.org)
Why was the young Darwin's fascination with geology so important for his later work? And why was prehistory so popular in early nineteenth-century Britain? A podcast with Professor Jim Secord, Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project and Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, to complement the exhibition 'Endless Forms' at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (16 June - 4 October 2009).
Go behind the scenes of the 2009 Fitzwilliam Museum Sculpture Promenade, a new installation of contemporary sculpture in the Museum's grounds.
Discover the range of events, family activities and exhibitions on offer this Christmas at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge with this short podcast. Featured in this episode: your last chance to see the spectacular exhibition 'From the Land of the Golden Fleece', which closes 4 January 2009; the great range of Christmas cards, gifts and decorations available in the Fitzwilliam's Courtyard Shop; details of the Museum's trails and activity kits for younger visitors - and more!
Let curator Dr. Stella Panayotova be your guide to the exhibition 'I turned it into a palace': Sir Sydney Cockerell and The Fitzwilliam Museum in this behind-the-scenes introduction to the treasures on display, including the 14th-century Macclesfield Psalter, works by the Pre-Raphaelites, William Blake and Thomas Hardy. This podcast explores the stories behind many of these fascinating artworks, brought together for the first time in celebration of one of the most dynamic periods in the Fitzwilliam's history: the Directorship of Sir Sydney Cockerell from 1908 to 1937. (First Published: 25 Nov 2008)
An introduction to The Fitzwilliam Museum's exceptional collection of post-war art, presented by art historian graduate and arts broadcaster Miriam Lloyd-Evans. (First Published: 05 Aug 2008)
An introduction to the exhibition 'Anglo-Saxon Art in the Round' at The Fitzwilliam Museum (23 May - 7 September 2008), which explores the rich inventiveness of early medieval art through the medium of coins and ornamental metalwork. Mark Blackburn, Keeper of Coins and Medals at The Fitzwilliam Museum explores the artistic vibrancy of the Anglo-Saxon era, and provides a illustrated tour of the exhibition's highlights. (First Published: 16 May 2008)
This May museums across the East of England are celebrating Museums and Galleries Month (1-31 May 2008) with a special programme of events and activities for all ages throughout the month, many on a Chinese theme. This podcast from The Fitzwilliam Museum explores the various exciting events going on around the region as 'East meets East'. For a complete list of MGM 08 events in the East of England, visit http://www.renaissance-east.org.uk/Events.aspx (First Published: 29 Apr 2008)
In this podcast Duncan Robinson, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge provides a personal introduction to the Museum's exhibition 'From Reason to Revolution: Art and Society in Eighteenth Century Britain'. The Director gives a fascinating insight into his own enthusiasm for the Eighteenth Century, before inviting the listener to 'enter the gallery' itself for a guided audio tour around the exhibits, accompanied by a slideshow of images from the exhibition. (First Published: 01 Dec 2007)
A look at The Fitzwilliam Museum's 'Art Works' programme for young people aged 14-21. Education Officer Rachel Sinfield and local students discuss 'Source' and 'Head Space', the Museum's art sessions for young people, and discuss the challenge of encouraging younger visitors to museums. For more information on the Museum's sessions for Young People, visit http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/whatson/ (First Published: 22 Apr 2008)
A behind-the-scenes introduction to The Fitzwilliam Museum's first-ever photographic exhibition, with photographer Howard Guest and curator Duncan Robinson. Several of the sitters for these portraits also discuss their personal experiences of being involved with the exhibition. (First Published: 06 Jun 2008)
A guide to the only UK showing of this remarkable exhibition, at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 2 October 2008 to 4 January 2009. Museum Director Dr Timothy Potts provides a personal introduction to this spectacular collection of 2000 year-old tomb and temple treasures from Ancient Georgia - the land to which the Greek hero Jason is fabled to have led the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. This podcast looks at highlights from the exhibition, from ancient gold and silver jewellery to bronze sculpture and other magnificent funerary items. (First Published: 10 Oct 2008)