Pop and hip hop belong in a museum, says the V&A
Curator to be appointed in attempt to reflect ‘crucial part of culture’ that has shaped modern Britain
THE impact of pop and hip hop on world culture is now so profound that the V&A needs a new musical expert.
Museum executives believe modern musical styles have shaped post-war
Britain to such a degree that they deserve recognition.
Hip hop is now such a “truly global phenomenon” that the museum, established in the reign of Queen Victoria, is seeking a pop music curator to develop displays “appropriate to the 2020s”.
Specialists at the London museum already boast broad expertise in fields from furniture to the art of Asia.
A newly advertised role at the V&A will focus on “popular, culturally diverse music” since 1945.
This is seen as significant due to its transformative impact on the modern world.
The museum credits fashion trends, innovations in dance, and even shifts in language to the pervading influence of pop. Along with the likes of Elvis Presley and The Beatles, the venerable institution has also acknowledged the rising power of hip hop in contemporary culture.
A £40,000 a year “senior curator of modern popular music” role has been advertised online, and the winning candidate will be tasked with bringing all aspects of pop to V&A’S galleries. The advert states: “Modern popular music (post-1945) is a crucial part of the UK’S culture in terms of its artistic, creative, economic, employment and global profile.
Furthermore, the impact of music such as hip hop on the wider world of design (from fashion to graphics) is massive and it is a truly global phenomenon.”
Modern music is therefore “of growing significance given its impact on contemporary fashion, dance, language and media”, according to the V&A.
Post-war music has catalysed cultural and counter-cultural movements from the Teddy boys to mods, hippies, and punks.
Fashionable stars have at various times driven a dated desire for flares and leather jackets, and hairstyles from the rockabilly quiff to the all-pervading perm of the Seventies.
Hip hop, emerging in the US, has also made its mark on the world. Its elements of rap, Djing, graffiti and street dance are all now ubiquitous in modern music and culture. The desired candidate for the V&A’S new curator role will display the power of these pop trends on an equal footing with the museum’s more traditional exhibitions.
Geoffrey Marsh is director of the V&A’S Theatre and Performing Arts department, which is seeking the new curator. He said: “With a fascinating, broad remit – this position offers the chance to celebrate the great music of the past, and work with artists leading the latest trends in music, design, costume and performance today.”