Venue:
Victoria & Albert Museum
Date: 12/02/2017
This exhibition looks at the counter culture from its origins in the 60s through to the late 70s. It links pop music, fashion, protest, the human rights movement, political protest and reaction through the Black Panthers, anti-Vietnam and alternative living through to the rise of Arpanet and the internet (with a facsimile of the first mouse – a little wooden box known then as the “X-Y Co-ordinates plotter”) into one narrative. There’s lots of music, and a “festival space” with fake grass, bean bags and the “Woodstock” film playing on a huge stage behind a faux band setup. As you wander there’s an old school record rack with a load of period albums you can flick through. Lots of video stuff, natch. The soundtrack on headphones is clever – it connects to each individual exhibit, so in the bit on early folk protest you get early Dylan and Woodie Guthrie…later you’re getting James Brown in the black awareness area. There are lots of period things which might not be considered art but are part of the narrative – early 70s “Playboy” sits next to a display about the Oz trial and a few feet from the contact sheets for Pink Floyd’s “UmmaGumma” cover.
The audience:
Very mixed. Lots of tourists of course, but lots of younger people, plus grizzled old Baby Boomers getting a bit emotional. Really busy – midweek visits probably advised.
It made me think..
It was an amazing time. Seeing the way the whole thing is stitched together is very moving in many ways – the reiminder that many of the societal rights and norms which we take for granted now didn’t exist within my life time and had to, literally, be fought for in the streets made me stop and think. I haven’t really processed it all to be honest. There’s a really excellent mind map poster in the shop howing all the connections in which I bought, and a fine book which I didn’t (but I think I will order it). Important stuff. Don’t miss it.
Saw it back in November. Brilliant, wished we had had more time, they really know how to put an exhibition together, I could have spent all day. But like you say, so much to process. I was maybe a bit young at the time, only 12 in 1966, but seeing the music was amazing, especially when Rainbow in Curved Air and Eight Miles High came on the headphones!
I was 8 in 66 but I have many vivid memories of that time.
Ahem. Johnny come fucking lately….
You win.
Got tickets for this Saturday. Looking forward to it.
I was 13 back in ’66
I thought the exhibition book – and gift shop selections – were much better than the actual exhibition. Way too many people, couldn’t actually see many of the explanatory placards – tiny writing and huge crowds when I went. Headphone soundtrack would have been far better used to explain each room I thought – as it was, the song excerpts were intermittent and sometimes we couldn’t get close enough to the exhibits to trigger the music. An over-reliance on album covers and the songs chosen to fill the space. Very small, claustrophobic spaces and a degree of selective memory. No proper context – would have been good to arrive through a black and white portal illustrating what came before perhaps. Very disappointing I thought. Nyaaah!
Glass half full today is it Barty?
Ha! No, it’s a great day Twang! But compared to the BBC4 documentary on 1966, the museum’s own doorstopper covering the era and Dominic Sandbrook’s White Heat, I thought this was thin gruel, conventionally presented in a cramped setting (festival ‘room’ notwithstanding).
Peace and love, peace and love!
We went in November last year and loved it. I was 18 in 1966 so this was right up my alley. I agree with Bartleby, however, that the headphone experience was a bit erratic and sometimes didn’t work at all. The Woodstock stage at the end was just like being there (I imagine) without the mud and brown acid.
The main thing I took away was how much happened in 4 years (the exhibition is supposed to cover 1966-1970), compared to our more lethargic times (until 2016/2017 at least). As a result, it seemed that there was much too much to cram into a relatively small space. The whole period came across as an explosion of energy (and anger) after years of stasis and complacency.
We went last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It wasn’t perfect, but how could it be as my idea of perfection differs from yours.
While it was busy, I don’t recall headphone 🎧 problems. I guess we were lucky despite going on a Sunday.
I went during the last week of the exhibition and was, quite frankly, a wee bit disappointed. The “headphone experience” seemed intermittent at best. There didn’t seem to be anything there of which I had been unaware before I went. The very worst thing though was the shuffling and queuing which really detracted from the experience for me. I think that the V&A tried to cram too many people in and should have only had half the amount of bodies in at any one time with the exhibition on for twice the time – thereby ensuring that the same amount of people could get there but in a bit more comfort.
But, there again, perhaps it was my fault for leaving it to the last week !