Museum ConfidentialThe new exhibition Museum Confidential at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK is a one of a kind exhibition. It opened on October 14, 2017 and will close on May 7, 2018. The exhibition brings to light what museums go through to put up an exhibition. When visitors first walk into the museum they will be overwhelmed (in a good way) by the amount of artworks that are displayed. The exhibition explains through text and a video that museums normally only show 95% of their collection to the public. In this exhibition a majority of the paintings are hung "salon style". This style of hanging artwork started in 1667 when the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture showcased its students artworks. They only way to exhibit all the students paintings was to hang them from floor to ceiling covering the entire wall. This is exactly what the Philbrook has done so that they can showcase more of their collection for this exhibition. This is also, the only logical way for any museum to show more of their collection. The exhibition goes on to explain the different components for creating an exhibition by telling stories, interactive displays, a small library, and many other eye catching displays. If you have the chance to see this exhibition you definitely should! Many visitors don't realize the hard work and determination it takes to put on a successful exhibition. I personally enjoyed the exhibition, because I am going to graduate school to do this specific thing. Kay WalkingStick: An American ArtistThe Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist, opened at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK on October 6, 2017 and runs through January 7, 2018.
The exhibition portrays the major points in the artists’ life and how her artistic style was influenced by them. Her earliest pieces are composed mainly of figures using a color-blocking technique with graphic and bold colors. She then moves away from figures and creates abstract paintings. This was my favorite part of the exhibition, because the artist used acrylic paint and melted wax to create marks and geometric shapes on the canvas. Her pieces portrayed depth and movement while continuing to stay minimal. The artist then created diptychs, which are paintings created in pairs. The diptychs are a great way to explain what abstract art is. One painting is a realistic rendition of a landscape, while the second is the abstract interpretation. It is noticeable while going through the exhibition that the artists’ mood shifts dramatically. Her use of color starts to lean toward darker hues and her marks become more angular and dramatic. The layout of the exhibition was well thought out and it’s obvious that a lot of time went into each room and how they would flow together. Each room shows a different aspect of the artist life and how her work was influence by it. At the end of the exhibition the viewer can see that the artists last pieces are a combination of all her styles. There are figures, landscapes, geometric shapes, and diptychs portrayed in the final rooms. It brings a sense of unity to the exhibition. If you are in the Tulsa area and have time, you should definitely go and experience this exhibition before it closes. (Images are from the Gilcrease Museum website) Woolaroc MuseumI've survived ONE MONTH of Graduate School and I couldn't be happier! One of my professors gave an important piece of advice during class one day, he said that we are training to become museum professionals and need to visit as many museum as we can. He told us to contact the museum before we go visit and let them know that we're in school for museum science and would like to talk to the director or someone working in the museum to gain some insight. Finally, he said that by doing this, you will most likely get into the museum for free. Myself and one of my classmates decided to put this to the test (we did not doubt him at all, but wanted to try out his advice). We decided to go to the Woolaroc Museum in Bartlesville, OK. It is about a hour drive from Tulsa, OK. My friend emailed the museum and was able to get us in for free and get a special tour with the director! We had an absolute blast. The director was unbelievably nice and showed us throughout the entire museum and even into the back storage area where they keep the artwork and artifacts that aren't on display. My friend and I were in heaven and it was intriguing to hear the director talk about certain pieces and his experience being the Director. He told us so many things, like how the museum is different from others. It confirmed even more why I want to go into the museum field. Grad School UpdateOn a side note, I've finally decided which track I am going to pursue within the Museum Science and Management Program (MSM). There are three tracks, Administration, Education, and Collections. Coming into the program I was focused on the Education track, but I knew that I might change my mind once I get into the program and saw what the other two tracks entail. On our first day taking a tour of the Gilcrease Museum, I learned about the Online Collection and Digitization department and instantly wanted to know more. I've talked to some of the second years that are following the Collections track and have realized that I want work in the collections and digitization. I can use my background in photography and digital editing in this field. I knew coming into the program that I wanted to find a way to bring my photography background into my work and I think I've found the way to do so.
A couple days ago the director of MSM sent out a job opportunity for a Temporary Archives Assistant position at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK. The Museum received a grant to digitize part of their collection and the position would be to help the archives team do this. I applied for the position earlier today and I hope I'll hear back from them soon. If I don't get the position, then I will take what I've learned from the process and use it to help me in my next job application/interview. I can't wait to gain more experience in this field and to see where it takes me. I'm in Graduate School!It's been a while since I've posted on my blog, but I've been pretty busy since I graduated in December. I've started graduate school at the University of Tulsa. I am getting my Masters of Art in Museum Science and Management. I've survived two and a half weeks of grad school so far and I couldn't be happier with the program that I am in. There are about ten new first years in the program and we are all getting along great. Soon I will become a Senator for the Graduate Student Association, where I will be representing my program, so we can get funding for conferences and travel. I am taking nine hours this semester and the classes that I'm taking are Museum Education 1, Museum Administration and Management, and Legal Issues for Museum Professionals. They are all very interesting and will teach me a lot about working in museums. For my legal class we are currently writing a 6+ page contract for loaning artwork between museums. It sounded daunting at first, but it's actually really interesting and fun to write. There are so many small details that go into contracts and it is difficult to write one that doesn't have a loop hole in it somewhere. Next week we will give a presentation over our contract and discuss what we did right and wrong while writing it. Our professor isn't expecting us to get it 100% right, but to give it our best. The class isn't teaching us how to be a lawyer, but to think as a museum professional in legal situations. Today was the Pittsburg State University Student Art Fair! I sold some ink prints and some coasters with my photographs on them.
|
AuthorPhotographer. Artist. Equestrian. M.A. in Museum Science and Management. B.F.A. in 2D Studio Art and Photography. Archives
October 2020
Categories |