The Museum of Everything

Selfridges department store is an American brainchild. Yes, the Best Deparment Store in the World title (2010) was given to the Oxford Street, London retail giant that began with an idea in the mind of Gordon Selfridge, the Wisconsin-born son of a small-time storekeeper, who transformed shopping into entertainment.

For your Halloween Party, REAL scorpions in mini vodka bottles

Part of their Halloween Clothing Exhibit; dead celebrity mannequins!

The store on Oxford St

Little did I know but Selfridges is, for a limited time, home to one of the world's most controversial art exhibits. The Museum of Everything inside Selfridges department store Britain’s only museum dedicated to art by the untrained, unintentional and unknown artists of our planet. Since 2009 it has exhibited in London and across Europe and welcomed over 200,000 visitors. But these exhibits come and go. A total of 4 Exhibitions have passed through London and I was lucky enough to stumble upon this, the fourth, during a typical day of shopping and exploration in the city.

Zoomed in...

However, I had no idea what I was looking at until days later.

The corner display window, from the outside.

That same window display, but looking at it from inside the gift shop. Turns out this was actually an installation piece from one of the featured artists.

The day I found The Museum of Everything was the first day I'd ever been inside Selfridges. During my initial self-guided tour I visited several of the 5 or 6 floors displaying retail merchandise, including the gourmet food court. But I managed to miss or overlook the Museum. It wasn't until I passed by the storefront windows again later that same day, headed for the # 74 bus back to Putney station, that I noticed all the quirky art surrounded by “Everything” displays. I decided after passing dozens of these unusually decorated windows with these peculiar displays that I had to go back inside, first. I wanted to see what these spinning, inflating, moving nonsense...things....were all about. 

Here they all are....and they did all move about in some way......

 In Order:

E

V

E

R

Y

T

H

I

N

G

Thanks to James Barnett: http://makemeaoffer.blogspot.com/2011/08/museum-of-everything-exhibition-4.html

On the main floor of Selfridges was The Museum of Everything gift shop. I thought, or assumed, “This is it.” The Museum of Everything is literally just a weird gag to get people into the store to buy weird merchandise with the word “Everything” printed on, well, everything in black and red scripted writing. Mildly interesting but kind of a let down. A huge build-up of giant moving art pieces led to a really, really random little room within this gigantic store? Really?

Well, what they hadn't made clear is that there really IS a museum INSIDE the store. Which I only realized because I needed to find a bathroom before my long bus ride home, so I wandered downstairs. - - - - > Random tangent here: it's nearly impossible to find public restrooms in London. The only places that even have restrooms, usually, are restaurants, and of course those are only available for paying customers. Well, restaurants AND giant museums and department stores. Ok, just take my word for it; they're not easy to find.

The crayons of everything

Anyway, on my mini bathroom expedition I spotted a red and white striped tent-like hallway entrance jutting out into the store. At its opening were two dainty women in navy blazers looking very much like flight attendants, welcoming customers into the tent-covered tunnel. I recognized the same “Everything” label and the red and black script-writing theme, so obviously this linked to the store room upstairs, somehow. Not understanding what this was all about AT ALL, I stood close by while Flight Attendant #1 described that THIS was The Museum of Everything. And it was a FREE exhibit. And that was about it. That's all she said. But “FREE” was all I needed to hear. That's good enough for me. So I went in behind the customers who'd spoken to Flight Attendant #1 while Flight Attendant #2 handed me an ultra-long flier, which I didn't read but pocketed as a souvenir.

One of the Art pieces, duplicated and for sale

Now, normally I do read all available printed literature within an art exhibit to fully appreciate what's on display, particularly in unusual, contemporary, confusing art exhibits. But for some reason I didn't this time. Maybe I was eager to get home, subconsciously. Perhaps I was feeling lazy after 5 hours of walking around one of the busiest cities in the world. It hardly matters. I realize in hindsight it was a mistake to ignore the exhibit's explanations, and I'll explain why shortly. Just be patient.

My first reaction was surprise. Which gave way to mild anger and frustration. And then apathy. And then I left.

The first room inside the museum.

I was surprised because there were dozens of little, connected rooms seemingly hidden in this giant store. And each of these rooms was plastered with art, clearly original creations, mostly paintings and marker drawings, most very colorfully done. Prominent “No Photography” signs were plastered everywhere and cameras and curators were strategically placed to ensure there was, indeed, NO photos being taken. A whopping £1,000 fine was attached to the crime so I wasn't at all photographically tempted for that reason. But also because it looked like one giant display of a child's work. I kept thinking I might see something more indicative of adult-made art but none stood out as such. I was confused.

I continued to wander. None of the labels next to these pictures revealed any helpful information other than the name of the artist and their chosen medium, followed by the country in which it was made. In the center of one room two park benches were placed back to back. Resting on one was a laminated, ring-bound booklet (also printed in the black and red script I was so familiar with at this point) which I glanced at from a hovering, standing position. It appeared to be an interview. I read a few lines. The person being interviewed was the “headmaster” at an art institute in Japan, it seemed, but it was no ordinary art institute. No, this was an art institute, apparently that didn't teach art; more of a long-term artists retreat where attendees could create art....or not. Ok, big deal, I thought. So some bored adults pretend to be artists for a while? And then they exhibit it in London? In the most popular shopping center in the city? 

Isao Hayashiguchi, Japan

My anger rose; I shouldn't have given up my art degree so quickly, I thought, ironically. All I needed to do was go to Japan, apparently, and pay enough to get into this art institute/retreat and then I would've been hooked up with my own art gallery in London! Holy.....man, did I miss out! And these aren't even GOOD, I thought. Frustration.

Two examples of art from the exhibit.

As it happens after I visit modern art exhibits, my irritation with what some people popularize and label “good art” or “creativity” gives way to apathy. It's too much effort to care about people's perceptions and poorly made decisions. So I left The Museum of Everything.....disillusioned, it turns out.

Marco Schmitt, Germany

It wasn't until days later that I realized I had witnessed one of the more controversial displays of art in London. Yes, this is a collection from artists across the globe, all untrained, self-taught, and self-guided. These artists are, however, all have developmental and learning disabilities and created their art in progressive art workshops. The founder of the exhibit, James Brett, has always taken a democratic approach to art. “There was one [studio-workshop] in Japan that was just one room run by a woman whose son has Down’ Syndrome. He was very creative and one day one of his mates came round to draw and paint. Then a few more came and now there’s a whole studio. It’s art, not therapy, even if it’s also therapeutic.” 

 

Miles Howard-Wilks, Australia

One of Brett's goals with this exhibit is to challenge people's perceptions of what is art, especially those people within the upper echelons of the art establishment. “I would not say they are bigoted, but they do reflect the segregation in society. I want this show to challenge the larger art institutions, not in an aggressive way, but ask them as the arbiters of taste, why they won’t show these works which really reflect why anyone does anything creative.” But it’s the fact these artists may not think of themselves as such which he is drawn to. “These days so much is about market and career. What these artists do often reflects a much purer creative gesture.”

Katsuhiro Terao, Japan

Sheltered within this tent-like space, the rawness of these creations contrasts starkly to the materialism of the shopoholic atmosphere just outside. Whether or not that was the intended effect, I can't say. All I know is that there is a definite distinction between 'inside' and 'outside' the tent. Part of the nature of the exhibit is to leave most of it up to interpretation by limiting what's explained by the staff and by the printed material. 

 

by Adam Hines, USA

None of the specifics are on the website, either. This was done intentionally so that people wouldn't bring preconceptions to the show, Brett reported. As for me, I've now dug around the web quite a bit and sifted through lots of info and reviews on The Museum of Everything in order to talk about it here with actual understanding. Personally, I love the cheeky little website:

My favorite part, actually, was the whistler's audio on the very first page. This will sound weird in this context, in association with this exhibit and all, but the whistler made me think of my dad who, if any of you know him, can whistle like a pro. He sounds just like the guy on the Everything site. Click the hyperlink above to listen.

Click HERE to read a teeny-weeny bio of the artists. Worth a quick glance!!

I recommend reading through the site a bit because its creator has quite a lively sense of humor and each subsequent page has its own sound effects that are all very bubbly and funnily quirky in their own way.

Plus you can visit the museum yourself, if you want. Just click the hyperlink and browse the 10 rooms of the gallery right there on your computer.

 And if you end up sticking around longer than you expect to, there are facilities attached to Room10.