Save the William Morris Gallery campaign update
Since Amy drew our attention to the plight of the William Morris Gallery, the campaign has gathered apace. The following link is to the Guardian newspaper who have written an interesting article about the Gallery and the work of William Morris.
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2058882,00.html
More depressingly it has an angle on the attitude of Waltham Council who, despite using a phrase from one of Morris' literary works as their motto, feels he is no longer relevant to contemporary society. Before I launched into a scathing attack on the limited horizons of some council members it struck me that perhaps such an attitude grows out of a general embarrassment about the 19th century? It is not fashionable to be a 19th century intellectual either, poor Marx has already fallen out of favour.
Anyway, I am sure there are lots of reasons why Morris is no longer popular or tolerable in present society, and I am certain that he would not be entirely happy with the shiny baubles and bright packaging of the 'new' global capitalism either. If anything, surely his messages of beauty and usefulness are even more important today in a world which could, if you were feeling especially pessimistic, be seen as one of junk and artifice?
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2058882,00.html
More depressingly it has an angle on the attitude of Waltham Council who, despite using a phrase from one of Morris' literary works as their motto, feels he is no longer relevant to contemporary society. Before I launched into a scathing attack on the limited horizons of some council members it struck me that perhaps such an attitude grows out of a general embarrassment about the 19th century? It is not fashionable to be a 19th century intellectual either, poor Marx has already fallen out of favour.
Anyway, I am sure there are lots of reasons why Morris is no longer popular or tolerable in present society, and I am certain that he would not be entirely happy with the shiny baubles and bright packaging of the 'new' global capitalism either. If anything, surely his messages of beauty and usefulness are even more important today in a world which could, if you were feeling especially pessimistic, be seen as one of junk and artifice?
Comments
Clearly, despite the good work being done by RCMG, for example, and Government initiatives to promote museums and heritage, there is still a strong contingent of people out there who believe art and history are elitist and irrelevant. One only has to consider the recent actions of Bury Council to see that: http://attic-museumstudies.blogspot.com/2006/11/round-up.html