Tag Archives: tartan

V&A Dundee Living Room

Recently, much has been written in praise of the new V&A Dundee museum of design on the city’s waterfront. Of course, the pictures of the building always look spectacular.

External view of the V&A Dundee Design Museum
the V&A with Captain Scott’s ship, Discovery on the right

Our visit was mainly driven. however, by the fact that we had driven past the building before it was opened in September and were curious to see what wonders could be contained within such an striking building. Of course, there was always the possibility that amongst these wonders a scone or two might linger. External view of the V&A Dundee Design MuseumSo it was with much anticipation that we drove north on an overcast but very mild day. It has to be said that it’s a major achievement for all involved that this £80m venture has been financed and brought to fruition. A large part of the funding came from the National Lottery. What did the government do before they facilitated gambling on an industrial scale? Without the Lottery Fund and the EU we don’t think anything would have been built in the UK in the past twenty years.

Pots of marmalade

The approach to the building, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma inspired apparently by cliffs in Orkney, is impressive as is the space into which you enter. It’s vast. Internal view of the V&A Dundee Design MuseumWe wandered round all the exhibits with a growing sense of bemusement. There did not seem to be a defined storyline or any sense of continuity. Just a series of individual and not necessarily connected exhibits e.g. pots of marmalade and engine designs for the Queen Mary ocean liner.

Internal view of the V&A Dundee Design Museum
One of the style rooms

 

There was, however, a Scottish theme – the Beano comic, Alexander McQueen fashionista and the story of tartan but all a bit disjointed. This is one of Scotland’s newest cultural centres but, at the end of the day, we just didn’t ‘get it’. We felt confused by the use of space and uninspired by many of the exhibits. The reconstruction of Charles Rennie Macintosh’s Ingram Street tearoom was one of many exceptions however. Rescued after it was demolished in 1907 and kept in storage ever since, it’s fantastic that it has found a new life here at the V&A … no scones though.

Scone exhibits

Overall though it seemed, to us, like a triumph of academia over common sense. However you always new  that we were cultural philistines anyway so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. One thing they did get right … all the scone exhibits were in the café area known as The Living Room. Internal view of the V&A Dundee Design Museum

Even this café had been ‘designed’ to within an inch of it’s life and was also a bit weird e.g. our name was painstakingly written on our paper cups for collection at the cash desk but we still managed to be given “Mrs Robertson’s”? We weren’t impressed and neither was Mrs Robertson.  A scone at the V&A Dundee Design MuseumA banana and chocolate scone was the object of our desires. Another triumph of academia over common sense.

What sort of jam do you have with such a scone, or do you have jam at all. Such are our day to day dilemmas. Blackcurrant was the answer though not necessarily the right answer. Although people have been eating off round plates since the beginning of time (presumably that is the most practical shape) because this place is a temple to design, our plates were long and thin and pretty awkward to use. Yet another triumph of academia over .. we won’t go on! We were creamless and the scone itself was relatively tasteless in spite of it’s exotic contents. The whole plastic cutlery, paper cup experience was totally out of keeping with such a ‘quality’ environment. Inexplicable and headbangingly frustrating … a bit like the museum itself. External view of the V&A Dundee Design Museum

Clipping wings

As we write, America’s Plonker In Chief, is having his wings clipped. He has lost control of the House of Representatives. Not particularly great news for Trump but at least the US and the rest of the world can breathe a little more easily. Unfortunately, in Dundee, the closure of the Michelin tyre factory with the loss of 850 jobs, has just been announced. A hammer blow for the city. This sparkly new V&A will be no substitute for that loss.

DD1 4EZ         tel: 01382 411611          V&A Dundee

Useful link: things to do in Dundee

by Bill and Pat Paterson and is about finding good scones throughout the world, with a little bit of politics