Hermitage Revealed
Hermitage Revealed is a documentary film directed by Margy Kinmonth and produced by Foxtrot Films Ltd which tells the story of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg - formerly a royal palace and now one of the largest and most visited museums in the world. Holding over 3 million objects and with more curators than any other museum, the exhibits go back to Catherine the Great. Celebrating the museum's 250th anniversary in 2014, the film shows how the collection came about, how it survived revolutionary times and what makes the Hermitage Museum unique today.
Museo del Objeto del Objeto
The museum’s permanent collection is based on the private collection of Bruno Newman, amassed over forty years. Newman began collecting when he was 13 years old, fascinated by his uncle´s stamp collection. He says it was his first knowledge of other countries. He began collecting by purchasing five toiletry containers that he liked from the La Lagunilla Market. They turned out to be of a brand called Pompei from France made in 1910 and no longer produced. When he placed them on a table in his room, visitors were attracted by them. He moved on to old shaving supplies, then to advertisements. He bought things no one else wanted as most collectors wanted old books, colonial pieces and documents. Over the years the collection filled his house, his office and then three warehouses. In the mid-2000s, Newman began the process to found the museum in order that the collection be preserved and studied, especially as it relates to the development of package design, publicity and the graphic arts. The permanent collection is divided into 37 sections based on theme, such as soda bottles, cigarettes, music, stationery, printing material, pharmaceuticals, clothing and textiles and more.
The total collection consists of over 30,000 items which date from 1810 to the present. This collection is too large to be shown in its entirety at the physical museum, so items on display rotate, presented in shows with themes or contexts. The first museum exhibit of the collection was a selection of 3,200 pieces entitles “Nostalgia for the ordinary.” Most items are related to packaging, especially bottles, advertising and the graphic arts and are from everyday life. Other items include presses, some of which are over 100 years old, soda bottles from brands no longer in existence, utensils, cosmetics, food containers, clothing items and domestic appliances. Some notable items include old paper grocery bags from the Sumesa supermarket chain, a beer advertisement from 1890 and commercial packaging from occupied Japan. However, the museum space does not meet international standards of preservation. The collection is a starting point for the museum which aims to be a center of culture, exchange of ideas and research for communication and design.