Sunday 13 August 2006

Miffed

We were wandering around Manchester city centre yesterday afternoon. It wasn't quite hometime and so we decided to nip into Manchester Art Gallery to have a scout round. As usual, I had my camera with me and I thought it'd be nice to take a picture when I saw this:

Jim Medway Manchester cat thing

As soon as I'd taken a couple of snaps, I was pounced upon by a youthful information assistant - decked out with wireless radio earpeace thing and over-officious nature: "Have you got a photgraphy pass? You need a photography pass to be able to take photos in the gallery". Okay, okay, I'll get one. After waiting half an hour at the information desk while the young bloke there gave directions to Urbis to some woman, then phoned their gift shop to see if they did posters of Manchester, I was finally attended to and given my sticker and an agreement which I had to sign and return after my viewing of the exhibitions. Looking more closely at the badly-photocopied agreement, it turned out that I wasn't allowed to take any photos of anything I wanted to photograph and that I had to list all the exhibits that I had photographed.

Well, the whole purpose of the visit was to go and see the "Happy Birthday Miffy" 50th birthday exhibition, and since this was a special collection, I wasn't even allowed to photograph any of it. However, it turned out that I could take photos of people in the galleries, but not the exhibition pieces themselves, so this was ok:

Miffy at the gallery

By the same ruling, you'd have thought that this was OK too:

The Sea

And also this:

Jo at the Sea

However, while I was taking the photo of lovely Trump, I was approached by a black-clad jobsworth who said, in a none-too-friendly manner: "You can't take photographs of these exhibits, photography pass or not", to which I replied, "I wasn't, I was photographing her".

"There's no photography in this gallery"

Trump told him, "You want to tell him behind us then", pointing out the bloke who we'd overheard being told that it was OK to take pictures of the galleries, but not the exhibitions.

Needless to say, I didn't bother filling in the form about which exhibits I'd photographed since I hadn't really photographed any. The other stuff in the gallery wasn't worth photographing so they could go ninnies with their stupid forms.

Wankers. What difference does it make if you take a photo of some exhibitions so long as it's for personal use.

What I'd wanted to do was to post a picture of that "The Sea" exhibition and sing its praises. Tell folk to go and be part of these interesting, vibrant, colourful, and very intricate pieces of work. They're not really the sorts of things that can be appreciated by photographs alone, that's why I took pictures with people alongside them so there could be an appreciation of scale and light. Unfortunately, since anybody visiting the gallery gets scowled at by the surly members of staff, who essentialy stroll around, acting as if they're it, I'm inclined to tell folk not to bother visiting there at all.

One place to visit is Podz coffee shop on Portland Street in Manchester. I took the boys and they had a whale of a time.

Silly Illy

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloody jobsworths.

You should get one of those mini cameras hidden in the end of a pen.

The tossers would be none the wiser.

Anonymous said...

I was tempted to set off a CO2 fire extinguisher in his face, but I'd probably have been told off.

Miserable bastards.

Anonymous said...

We're not allowed to photograph in any of our museums. They have postcards and prints in the museum store that you can buy if you want to remember anything.

I like that installation that's hanging from the ceiling.

Anonymous said...

Are you sure that you two weren't in Ikea?

Anonymous said...

You rebel.

Anonymous said...

Ikea, exactly!

And I didn't want a postcard or a print of that stuff, I've enough rubbish knocking around without more crap. I wanted something to store on my PC.

I am a rebel, aren't I?

Anonymous said...

Understanding how pissed off you were. It wasn't you that set light to that tanker on the industrial estate was it?

Anonymous said...

It wasn't me, I have an alibi! I'd have set light to it if it had been parked outside the gallery though.

Anonymous said...

Miffy is 50???? Oh my goodness!!! Well, if my neice and nephew's interest in Miffy and her adventures are any indication, she'll be around for another 50 years.

And are you trying to torment me with pics of Chadwick and Francesco?

Anonymous said...

You betcha! Those bears will be everywhere by the end of the year - except with you. Get on ebay like I said.

Anonymous said...

I checked out ebay the other day and there were a few bears but no Canadians alas. However, the quest continues and I SHALL find one!

Has Chadwick and his mate ever actually been to Canada? I bet they'd love it here.

Anonymous said...

They most certainly have! If you check out here and here you'll find tales of their Canadian adventure in July. In fact, the backdrop of the header photo is the Vancouver skyline. They had such a lot of fun, it was hard making them come home with me.

Anonymous said...

You had those dirty homosexual bears inflicting their filthy homo ways upon our purest country? Sweet Mary!

Anonymous said...

Yes, purer than pure Vancouver didn't know what hit it once those bears strutted their stuff. I hear it's all gone quite queer over there now.

Anonymous said...

hmmm...I think you should bring them to Ottawa then.

Anonymous said...

those bears get more attention than I do.

Anonymous said...

Is Ottowa French? I'm not going to any French bits.

Anonymous said...

A few Frenchies have snuck in, yes. If Trump's a little French, send her with the bears. The bears could 'get it on' on Parliament Hill in front of the Prime Minister!

Anonymous said...

That's as bad as full on homo-bear-sex in front of Her Majesty herself! I couldn't allow that sort of thing to happen under any circumstances. Then again, Trump probably wouldn't give a shit.

Anonymous said...

Nothing wrong with a little Bear on Bear action. Might give Her Majesty or the PM a few pointers.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the bears would prefer the wilds of Alberta - I believe much of the filming for Brokeback mountain was shot here. The bear boys would be right at home!