{"id":170187,"date":"2025-09-26T08:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/170187\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T08:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:07:08","slug":"a-tour-of-the-new-david-bowie-archive-featuring-90000-artifacts-from-his-life-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/170187\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tour of the New David Bowie Archive Featuring 90,000 Artifacts from His Life & Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

With the tenth anniver\u00adsary of David Bowie\u2019s death com\u00ading up ear\u00adly next year, more than a few fans will have their minds on a pil\u00adgrim\u00adage to mark the occa\u00adsion. Per\u00adhaps with that very time frame in mind, the V&A East Store\u00adhouse in Lon\u00addon has just opened the David Bowie Cen\u00adter<\/a>. Run by the Vic\u00adto\u00adria and Albert Muse\u00adum, to which Bowie left an archive of about 90,000 of his pos\u00adses\u00adsions, this new insti\u00adtu\u00adtion will show a few hun\u00addred of those arti\u00adfacts at a time, and even make a range of them avail\u00adable on request to vis\u00adi\u00adtors. As for what exact\u00adly is in there, Jes\u00adsi\u00adca the Muse\u00adum Guide makes a brief sur\u00advey of the Bowieana cur\u00adrent\u00adly on dis\u00adplay in the video above<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of the fea\u00adtured objects, like the suits Bowie wore in his videos for \u201cLife on Mars?\u201d and \u201cLet\u2019s Dance\u201d or the crys\u00adtal ball he held aloft as Jareth the Gob\u00adlin King in\u00a0Labyrinth,\u00a0may well be rec\u00adog\u00adniz\u00adable even to casu\u00adal Bowie appre\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtors. Longer-term fans will sure\u00adly rec\u00adog\u00adnize the out\u00adlandish but ele\u00adgant Kan\u00adsai Yamamo\u00adto-designed cos\u00adtumes that visu\u00adal\u00adly defined per\u00adson\u00adae like Zig\u00adgy Star\u00addust<\/a> and Aladdin Sane<\/a>, the Alexan\u00adder McQueen-designed\u00a0Union Jack frock from the cov\u00ader of Earth\u00adling, and per\u00adhaps even the met\u00adal angel wings Bowie donned onstage dur\u00ading the high\u00adly ambi\u00adtious but much-derid\u00aded Glass Spi\u00adder Tour of the late nine\u00adteen-eight\u00adies.<\/p>\n

Going deep\u00ader, there\u2019s also the Sty\u00adlo\u00adphone<\/a>, a kind of toy elec\u00adtron\u00adic instru\u00adment from the late six\u00adties, that Bowie used on \u201cSpace Odd\u00adi\u00adty\u201d (and had to repur\u00adchase on eBay); the much more pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal-grade EMS suit\u00adcase syn\u00adthe\u00adsiz\u00ader giv\u00aden to him by Bri\u00adan Eno, which he used on the \u201cBerlin tril\u00ado\u00adgy\u201d<\/a>\u00a0albums they made togeth\u00ader; the per\u00adson\u00adal deck of Oblique Strate\u00adgies<\/a>, co-cre\u00adat\u00aded by Eno, that shows signs of inten\u00adsive use in Bowie\u2019s own cre\u00adative process; his cor\u00adre\u00adspon\u00addence with\u00a0Let\u2019s Dance pro\u00adduc\u00ader Nile Rodgers (a cura\u00adtor of the Bowie Cen\u00adter\u2019s cur\u00adrent exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion), about their sec\u00adond album Black Tie White Noise; and mate\u00adri\u00adals from\u00a0Omikron: The Nomad Soul, the com\u00adput\u00ader game to which he con\u00adtributed music as well as a dig\u00adi\u00adtized per\u00adfor\u00admance in the late nineties.<\/p>\n

The col\u00adlec\u00adtion that Bowie donat\u00aded to the V&A already came care\u00adful\u00adly orga\u00adnized and cat\u00ada\u00adloged, which shows a metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adness uncom\u00admon to rock stars, and a delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adness about not just cul\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading his pub\u00adlic image at any giv\u00aden cul\u00adtur\u00adal moment, but also active\u00adly curat\u00ading the mate\u00adri\u00adals of his own his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal nar\u00adra\u00adtive. It seems Bowie always had one eye on the past: his own, of course, but also more dis\u00adtant eras, rich with dis\u00adused aes\u00adthet\u00adics to revive and make his own. The oth\u00ader eye he kept on the future, espe\u00adcial\u00adly as the inter\u00adnet<\/a> was grow\u00ading into a cul\u00adtur\u00adal force. The David Bowie Cen\u00adter has his per\u00adson\u00adal notes on the sub\u00adject, which include a ref\u00ader\u00adence to BowieNet<\/a>, the inter\u00adnet ser\u00advice provider he found\u00aded around the turn of the mil\u00adlen\u00adni\u00adum. BowieNet is now long gone, of course, but Bowie\u2019s lega\u00adcy \u2014 espe\u00adcial\u00adly now that it\u2019s been insti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly enshrined and made so acces\u00adsi\u00adble to the pub\u00adlic \u2014 will out\u00adlast us all.<\/p>\n

Relat\u00aded Con\u00adtent:<\/p>\n

Stream David Bowie\u2019s Com\u00adplete Discog\u00adra\u00adphy in a 19-Hour Playlist: From His Very First Record\u00adings to His Last<\/a><\/p>\n

The Art Col\u00adlec\u00adtion of David Bowie: An Intro\u00adduc\u00adtion<\/a><\/p>\n

Behold The Paint\u00adings of David Bowie: Neo-Expres\u00adsion\u00adist Self Por\u00adtraits, Illus\u00adtra\u00adtions of Iggy Pop, and Much More<\/a><\/p>\n

Meet the Mem\u00adphis Group, the Bob Dylan-Inspired Design\u00aders of David Bowie\u2019s Favorite Fur\u00adni\u00adture<\/a><\/p>\n

David Bowie Is: The First Major Exhib\u00adit Ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded to Bowie Spans 50 Years & Fea\u00adtures 300 Great Objects<\/a><\/p>\n

The Musi\u00adcal Career of David Bowie in One Minute \u2026 and One Con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adous Take<\/a><\/p>\n

Based in Seoul, Col\u00adin<\/a>\u00a0M<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>\u00a0writes and broad\u00adcasts on cities, lan\u00adguage, and cul\u00adture. His projects include the Sub\u00adstack newslet\u00adter\u00a0Books on Cities<\/a>\u00a0and the book\u00a0The State\u00adless City: a Walk through 21st-Cen\u00adtu\u00adry Los Ange\u00adles.\u00a0Fol\u00adlow him on the social net\u00adwork for\u00admer\u00adly known as Twit\u00adter at\u00a0@colinm<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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