Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
Programs at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
Connecticut Open House Day: Saturday, June 8, 2013
What Is It? Technologies and Discoveries of the Victorian Era
April 17-October 6, 2013 ~ Wednesday through Sunday, on the hour at Noon, 1, 2 & 3 p.m.
$10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. Children under 8 are free
Victorian era gadgets, technologies and breakthroughs will be on display at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum beginning April 17th. What Is It? Technologies and Discoveries of the Victorian Era will engage student and adult audiences in the exploration of mid-to-late 19th century inventions and discoveries in many diverse areas including communication, transportation, manufacturing, medicine, food and recreation. Audiences might be surprised at how some of those historic breakthroughs are still very relevant today. The exhibit runs through October 6, 2013.
Visitors will view cutting-edge Victorian Era precursors of some of today’s technologies, including telegraphs, dictaphones, gas lighting and early examples of telephones, burglar alarms, stock tickers and much more. They will discover items we still see today, from board games to food such as condensed milk and breakfast cocoa. Artifacts on display include loans from Connecticut's Mattatuck Museum and the Museum of American Finance, New York City, among others.
“Technology is such a major part of our lives, our culture, the way we work and the way we socialize,” says Museum Executive Director Susan Gilgore. “We thought it would be of great interest to children and adults to explore where some of today’s technology originated, and see first-hand the fascinating and futuristic inventions of the Victorian era.”
The What Is It? exhibit is curated by Raechel Guest. Ms. Guest is a Smith College graduate with a Master’s Degree in Collection Management from the prestigious Winterthur Museum.
Professor Steven Lubar, a history of technology expert, serves as a special advisor. Professor Lubar is Professor of the Departments of American Studies, History, and History of Art and Architecture at Brown University.
"The Mansion was ahead of its time and one of America's most technologically advanced building during the Civil War and the Victorian era,“ says Patsy Brescia, Board Chairman of the Museum. "It is certainly very fitting to have the exhibit What Is It? right here, to continue this great story of scientific breakthroughs which eventually took off and revolutionized the everyday life of people all across our nation."
The exhibit is made possible by generous funding from the Connecticut Humanities (CTH), a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities that funds, creates and collaborates on hundreds of cultural programs across Connecticut each year. CTH brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to express, share and explore ideas in thoughtful and productive ways. From local discussion groups to major exhibitions on important historical events, CTH programs engage, enlighten and educate. Learn more by visiting www.cthumanities.org.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s 2013 cultural and educational programs are made possible by generous funding from the LMMM Distinguished Benefactors: The Xerox Foundation, Klaff’s, Mrs. Cynthia C. Brown and The Maurice Goodman Foundation. The Museum’s Education Program is made possible in part by a generous donation from AT&T.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark located at 295 West Avenue in Norwalk. Tours for the museum and exhibit are offered Wednesdays through Sundays, at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Admittance is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. Children under 8 are admitted free. For more information, visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call
203-838-9799.
Hot Design Trend Inspires New Exhibit at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum!
Steampunk: Nature & Machine
April 25-June 16, 2013 ~ Wednesday through Sunday, on the hour at Noon, 1, 2 & 3 p.m.
$10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. Children under 8 are free
Art called Steampunk that has influenced everything from product design to fashion to fine art will be on display at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s this spring. This design movement features a neo-vintage twist on 19th century industrialized looks and Victorian decorative motifs. Steampunk: Nature & Machine, will open on April 25th and run until June 15th. This is the first exhibit dedicated to Steampunk art in Fairfield County.
According to IBM’s "Social Sentiment Index", which measures what’s trending on social networks and blogs, 2013 is set to be the year Steampunk surges as a mass-market aesthetic. The Museum’s exhibit will feature art by renowned Steampunk artists, Bruce Rosenbaum, Leslie Mueller and Katie Shima and co-curated by Rosenbaum and Museum trustee Gail Ingis-Claus.
Rosenbaum describes the art this way, “Creating Steampunk art and design is about the combination and synthesis of opposites: past and present; form and function; art and science; male and female; nature and machine. I’m excited to help curate and exhibit with two incredible Steampunk artists – Katie Shima and Leslie Mueller. Our Steampunk exhibition brings together two opposites: nature and machine, then fuses them in ways to help you re-imagine our complex world.”
Leslie Mueller speaks about her vision of Steampunk. "In our technological society Steampunk art is both retro and futuristic in nature. My art combines my interest in mechanical workings with my love of natural objects. I take a pinch of Jules Verne and add a sprinkle of Mother Nature to create simple, sophisticated pieces of art."
About the Artists
Bruce Rosenbaum has been dubbed the Steampunk evangelist and guru by Wired Magazine. His artwork has been on exhibition consistently throughout the Northeastern United States, including the Charles River Museum of Industry, Wooster Street Social Club, The Mark Twain House and Shelburne Museum. Rosenbaum has collaborated with many well-known and emerging Steampunk artists and created the unofficial Steampunk artists guild Steampuffin. His design business and home, a retro-future refurbished house, have been featured in Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, CNN, Huffington Post, NPR and on MTV, A&E, Discovery and HGTV. Rosenbaum lives in Sharon, Massachusetts.
Leslie Mueller is an award-winning art director and artist. She is represented in private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Asia, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Africa, Japan and Germany. Mueller’s artwork has been published in House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Southern Living, Manhattan Arts Int’l and Art Business News magazines and is part of the United States “Art in the Embassies” program. Mueller began her studies at the age of thirteen at the Art Institute of Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of Fine Arts in Dallas, Texas. She is a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut.
Katie Shima is an artist and architectural designer based in New York City. She has had exhibitions, installations, and performances at the Charles Bank Gallery, Bridge Gallery, Devotion Gallery, Clocktower Gallery, Barnard College, The Tank, SoHo 20, among others. Shima is a founding member of the electronic noise art group Loud Objects. Residencies with the Loud Objects include Art On Air in New York and Det Jyske Kunstakademi in Aarhus, Denmark. She is currently working as an architectural designer at Situ Studio. Shima received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College and a Master’s in Architecture from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s 2013 cultural and educational programs are made possible by generous funding from the LMMM Distinguished Benefactors: The Xerox Foundation, Klaff’s, Mrs. Cynthia C. Brown and The Maurice Goodman Foundation. The Museum’s Education Program is made possible in part by a generous donation from AT&T.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark located at 295 West Avenue in Norwalk. Tours for the museum and exhibit are offered Wednesdays through Sundays, at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Admittance is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. Children under 8 are admitted free. For more information, visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.
Connecticut Open House Day
Saturday, June 8, 2013
50% Off General Admission - Tours on the hour, Noon, 1, 2 & 3pm
As part of the Connecticut’s 9th Annual Open House Day on Saturday, June 8th, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will be offering a 50% discounted admission to its tours and exhibits. The Museum is open from noon to 4:00 pm on June 8.
Connecticut’s Open House Day is an annual event that encourages residents to explore the state’s exciting destinations and attractions by offering special incentives on that day. More than 200 arts, history and tourism attractions throughout the state are participating. Visitors are encouraged to explore the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s two current exhibits. What Is It? Technologies and Discoveries of the Victorian Era features 19th century technological and scientific marvels of the Mansion’s heyday. Steampunk: Nature & Machine features art with a neo-retro aesthetic that borrows imagery from the Industrial Revolution and Victorian eras. For Connecticut Open House Day, the Mansion’s entry fee is a reduced $5 for adults (regularly priced at $10), $3 for children 8-18, and children under 8 are admitted free.
The What Is It? exhibit is made possible thanks to a grant from the Connecticut Humanities (CTH), a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities that funds, creates and collaborates on hundreds of cultural programs across Connecticut each year. CTH brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to express, share and explore ideas in thoughtful and productive ways. From local discussion groups to major exhibitions on important historical events, CTH programs engage, enlighten and educate. Learn more by visiting www.cthumanities.org.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s 2013 cultural and educational programs are made possible by generous funding from the LMMM Distinguished Benefactors: The Xerox Foundation, Klaff’s, Mrs. Cynthia C. Brown and The Maurice Goodman Foundation. The Museum’s Education Program is made possible in part by a generous donation from AT&T.
"Silicon Valley of the 19th Century: Rediscovering Connecticut's Industrial Heritage"
Lecture by William Hosley
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 ~ 11:00 am
$25 members; $30 non-members ~ Series of 7 Lectures: $150 members; $180 non-members
Connecticut’s zenith as a technological and industrial center will be the focus of a lecture entitled, “Silicon Valley of the 19th Century: Rediscovering Connecticut’s Industrial Heritage” on Wednesday, June 12, at 11:00am at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum. Guest speaker, William Hosley a cultural scholar and expert on Connecticut history and heritage tourism, will discuss how the Connecticut Valley was transformed into America's first high-tech industrial corridor and the vanguard of an internationally significant technology-based revolution that changed the world of work.
This is the second in a series of lectures at the Mansion on “Technologies and Discoveries of the Victorian Era.” The lectures are $25 for members, $30 for non-members per session. Packages for all seven lectures can be purchased in advance for $150 for members/ $180 for non-members and will include one free event. The price includes lecture, lunch and choice of a mansion or exhibit tour. Lunch is courtesy of Michael Gilmartin's Outdoor Cookers. The chair of the Lecture Committee is Mimi Findlay of New Canaan.
William Hosley, the principal of Terra Firma Northeast, is an independent scholar, cultural resource consultant, planner, writer, and photographer. He was formerly Director of the New Haven Museum and Connecticut Landmarks where he cared for a chain of historic attractions throughout Connecticut. Prior to that, he was a curator and exhibition developer at Wadsworth Atheneum. Hosley has lectured throughout the country and served as a content specialist for PBS, BBC and CPTV film documentaries. He has also written articles for Connecticut Magazine, Boston Magazine, Antiques, American Heritage and others.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s 2013 cultural and educational programs are made possible by generous funding from the LMMM Distinguished Benefactors: The Xerox Foundation, Klaff’s, Mrs. Cynthia C. Brown and The Maurice Goodman Foundation. The Museum’s Education Program is made possible in part by a generous donation from AT&T.
Also on exhibit at the Museum, “What Is It? Technologies and Discoveries of the Victorian Era “ which is open until October 6th and “Steampunk: Nature & Machine” running until June 5.
The “What Is It?” exhibit is made possible in part thanks to a grant from the Connecticut Humanities (CTH), a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities that funds, creates and collaborates on hundreds of cultural programs across Connecticut each year. CTH brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to express, share and explore ideas in thoughtful and productive ways. From local discussion groups to major exhibitions on important historical events, CTH programs engage, enlighten and educate. Learn more by visiting www.cthumanities.org.
Save the Date!
Thursday, April 25-June 15, 2013 ~ 12-4 p.m.
"Steampunk: Nature & Machine"
Opening Reception on April 25, 6-8 p.m.
Sunday, September 15, 2013 ~ 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
6th Annual Old Fashioned Flea Market
Vendors: $65 for a 10'x16' site
For information, email Brian J. Fischer, II, Facilities Coordinator at bfischer@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com
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