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The curators are at it again. Following last week's first Curator Battle – an online challenge from the Yorkshire Museum that asked museum professionals to share objects from their collection based on a theme – the second round kicked off on Friday with the task of finding the #SassiestObject.
Yorkshire Museum’s submission set the tone: a bust of Constantine the Great, the acclaimed Roman Emperor who reunited the empire and named the capital after himself (now modern-day Istanbul).
“He knows he’s worth it. Can you beat it?”, wrote the museum in a Tweet.
IT'S TIME FOR #CURATORBATTLE💥This week’s theme is #SassiestObject!✨
— Yorkshire Museum (@YorkshireMuseum) April 24, 2020
We're starting with this bust of Emperor Constantine The Great. He won the throne, reunited the #Roman empire, AND named a city after himself.
It's even in his name. He knows he's worth it.
CAN YOU BEAT IT? pic.twitter.com/JnGUfryhVO
The Natural Sciences Museum in Edinburgh delivered their own sass in the form of an bulbous ocean sunfish with a particular expression that, according to the museum, says, “Talk the fin, pal”.
Our sassy Ocean Sunfish says
— Natural Sciences NMS (@NatSciNMS) April 24, 2020
“Talk to the fin pal” 🤚🐟#CURATORBATTLE #SassiestObject pic.twitter.com/eSFwbLoHOp
A curator from the London’s Science Museum under the username @Punk_Science shared a chaotic display of an albino peacock with a cat leaping over it.
[ https://twitter.com/Punk_Science/status/1253663502511869952 ]
Another highlight came from the Fashion and Textile Museum in London with a photo of French actress Michele Morgan dramatically walking dog statues in a tailored outfit. “Does she have real dogs to walk? No. Does she care? Also no,” said the museum.
The Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo shared ukiyo-e, a type of art produced on woodblock prints displaying scenes from Japanese culture, including landscapes and figures such as theatre actors and courtesans. The museum’s pick depicts a female courtesan in an elaborate kimono with bird print.
How about this Japanese ukiyo-e(woodblock prints) from @ukiyoeota Collections?
— 太田記念美術館 Ota Memorial Museum of Art (@ukiyoeota) April 24, 2020
She is a courtesan in a gorgeous kimono with bird pattern.
Too much hair accessories are too flashy!#SassiestObject #CURATORBATTLE pic.twitter.com/EqliZjvHzI
The rest of the submissions for the Curator Battle ranged from a stuffed kangaroo, marble busts, regal portraits, swords, fashion accessories and a Salvador Dali sculpture-cum-sofa of Mae West's lips.
Yorkshire Museum’s first online challenge last week focused on creepiest objects, and was created as a way to keep museums connected to audiences despite closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Museums in the UK and around the world remain shuttered as countries are dealing with rising coronavirus cases, which has now reached 2.8 million globally at the time of writing.
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Read more:
Digital dominance: are sites like Artsy the only future for the art market?
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Why Maitha Demithan hasn't yet seen her striking #StayHome artworks on Sheikh Zayed Road
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