Emily Graslie hostsThe Brain Scoop at the Field Museum, which is a YouTube channel dedicated to science and taking visitors behind the scenes at Chicago's Natural History Museum. Recently she posted a video concerning sexual harassment towards female vloggers. I just wanted to share and encourage more people to follow her and like her vlog. Watch her most recent video here. See her full YouTube page here
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
15 Down, 22 To Go
I am returned, back from the land of peach trees with 40% of my bucket list Item 1 goal accomplished. What an impeccably enjoyable experience. The Girl With a Pearl Earring is just as beautiful as everyone says, so much so that I think I may have finally found the woman I would turn lesbian for. Well, nah... I don't think it would work out, seeing as I am flesh and blood and she is a compilation of ground up minerals mixed with linseed oil. Not to mention, that portrait of a young Rembrandt was pretty hot...
Anyway, I digress. I began my journey to Atlanta by dropping into my hotel and dropping off my bags. Now, I have had some experiences with some pretty sleazy hotels before, so I wanted to make sure that for this visit to an unfamiliar city I did not end up in another inhospitable accommodation. So I booked a room at the Four Seasons. Sure it's put a pretty nifty pinch on my wallet and I'm going to spend the rest of August eating Ramen noodles and air, but I rarely pamper myself to such a degree. And, hey, after over a year of unemployment and living with my parents and not going anywhere or doing anything, I felt such a treat was perfectly justifiable.
So I dropped off my bags in my FOUR STAR hotel room and rushed downstairs to the front to figure out the best route to the High Museum of Art. I put this very question to the doorman who directed me to a driver who happily volunteered to give me a ride... in the hotel's complimentary Jag. Why, yes sir. I do believe I shall. So I spent a very giddy five minutes in the back seat of a luxury car and chortled with glee when I noticed the gentleman in the next car staring at me; I assume because a young lady with dark features in her own Jag with a driver automatically means Winona Ryder, or something like that.
When I got to the museum I found my fellow registrar and friend Amanda waiting for me. We both wore our pearl earrings for the occasion, because it seemed most appropriate. We each ordered the audio guide and stepped into the elevator that transported us up into Dutch Renaissance heaven.
The exhibit was composed of some of the loveliest Dutch landscapes, still lifes, and portraits I have ever seen. The audio guide put the High's curators and directors right into our ears, filling us in on all the little details one might have missed otherwise. Such as, an awesomely Italian-inspired landscape with a stereotypically hilarious Dutchman peeing on the side of the road. I found a pair of memento mori still lifes especially interesting, both composed with heavy life-is-fleeting symbolism using a shared pocket watch and wine glass. It was the one time where I felt the interpretation failed a little bit, because while there appeared to be a clear connection between the two paintings and the two different artists that created them, no one told us how. Amanda and I could only assume the two artists were of the same school and trained by painting scenes using the same props. We may never find out. We also saw tulip mania, satirically reprimanding tavern scenes, and portraits of rich people in those gravity defying ruffly collars.
Amanda and I also did that thing that registrars do, which was examine how the paintings were mounted, do some quick condition reports of the paintings and frames, and fawn over the acrylic glazing. I swear, I had to contort my head and neck to Linda-Blair-type-proportions to even see the reflection on this plexi. I am convinced it is TRU VUE, my registrar dream acrylic, and I have already contacted the High Art Museum to try and get this confirmed. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon. I am telling you I am gaga (and not as in Lady, cause that chick's just WAY far out there) for this plexi. I have this perfect dreamland box-fort composed of Gaylord's acid free blue archival boxes with sheets of TRU VUE for the windows. Okay, so I'm out there, but I'm not WAY far out there.
But seriously, TRU VUE is a fantastic product. It is abrasion resistant, UV filtering, static-free, and glare-free. I have even read somewhere that the acrylic is insulating and creates a micro-environment, which is great for paintings that are traveling. I highly recommend this acrylic, but be prepared to pay out the nose for it. It's incredible greatness equates to incredibly high prices. Even so, it's a solid investment for the longevity of artworks because the TRU VUE you may buy will last several lifetimes. I believe that it will last so long into the future that people in flying cars with Mr. Fusions on the back will be coming to see paintings glazed behind the same sheet of acrylic someone puts on their painting tomorrow.
I spent twice the amount of time I spent admiring the acrylic admiring the Girl With a Pearl Earring. Nick-named the Dutch Mona Lisa, and displayed behind almost the same amount of security barriers as Ms. Mona, was Vermeer's famous tronie. I stared at her for so long the optical effect of the image popping out from its dark background occurred on a nearly hypnotic level. I marveled at the sensation that she was staring right at me. I was also sadly surprised at just how much alligatoring she appeared to have, though it may not have been so bad; perhaps just extensive crackle. It was difficult to do a proper condition report with so many barriers and plexi between us, but I'd say she's very stable and still incredibly beautiful.
My only other critique for this otherwise fantastic exhibit was how empty the gallery directly before the gallery with the Girl With a Pearl Earring was. There were some rather great, large-scale wall decals which explained Vermeer's technique, the camera obscura, the identity of Girl With a Pearl, and some of his other artworks. But the floor was wide open and empty and there were no other paintings on the walls. In fact, one rather large temporary wall was completely blank. Someone must have felt Girl With a Pearl also needed just as much elbow room around her as Ms. Mona has. I personally just feel bad that Girl With a Pearl has to spend the next five weeks staring at a blank wall.
I made Amanda linger for a good ten to fifteen minutes while I admired this 15 of my 37. Then I bought a magnet, we explored the rest of the High, and departed for lunch.
I suppose I should mention that I have spent more time describing TRU VUE for you because I can; the Girl With a Pearl Earring you must see for yourself.
Amanda and I had a lovely lunch bemoaning our registrar woes, because lets face it folks, the only people who truly understand are other registrars. Then we took a memorial photograph and parted ways. I walked back to my hotel, deciding not to call my driver seeing as I was half a block away and it would be kind of silly to have him make one right turn to come pick me up. I spent the rest of my trip enjoying my hotel (because I paid for it and I was gonna get my monies worth!), texting friends and family the picture of me with my face sticking through a Girl With a Pearl Earring cut-out, and trying to decide which Vermeer to visit next. I don't expect anymore of them to be in my neck of the woods anytime soon, so I might have to plan a trip to New York soon... or Europe... perhaps Dublin. ^_^
Anyway, I digress. I began my journey to Atlanta by dropping into my hotel and dropping off my bags. Now, I have had some experiences with some pretty sleazy hotels before, so I wanted to make sure that for this visit to an unfamiliar city I did not end up in another inhospitable accommodation. So I booked a room at the Four Seasons. Sure it's put a pretty nifty pinch on my wallet and I'm going to spend the rest of August eating Ramen noodles and air, but I rarely pamper myself to such a degree. And, hey, after over a year of unemployment and living with my parents and not going anywhere or doing anything, I felt such a treat was perfectly justifiable.
So I dropped off my bags in my FOUR STAR hotel room and rushed downstairs to the front to figure out the best route to the High Museum of Art. I put this very question to the doorman who directed me to a driver who happily volunteered to give me a ride... in the hotel's complimentary Jag. Why, yes sir. I do believe I shall. So I spent a very giddy five minutes in the back seat of a luxury car and chortled with glee when I noticed the gentleman in the next car staring at me; I assume because a young lady with dark features in her own Jag with a driver automatically means Winona Ryder, or something like that.
When I got to the museum I found my fellow registrar and friend Amanda waiting for me. We both wore our pearl earrings for the occasion, because it seemed most appropriate. We each ordered the audio guide and stepped into the elevator that transported us up into Dutch Renaissance heaven.
The exhibit was composed of some of the loveliest Dutch landscapes, still lifes, and portraits I have ever seen. The audio guide put the High's curators and directors right into our ears, filling us in on all the little details one might have missed otherwise. Such as, an awesomely Italian-inspired landscape with a stereotypically hilarious Dutchman peeing on the side of the road. I found a pair of memento mori still lifes especially interesting, both composed with heavy life-is-fleeting symbolism using a shared pocket watch and wine glass. It was the one time where I felt the interpretation failed a little bit, because while there appeared to be a clear connection between the two paintings and the two different artists that created them, no one told us how. Amanda and I could only assume the two artists were of the same school and trained by painting scenes using the same props. We may never find out. We also saw tulip mania, satirically reprimanding tavern scenes, and portraits of rich people in those gravity defying ruffly collars.
Amanda and I also did that thing that registrars do, which was examine how the paintings were mounted, do some quick condition reports of the paintings and frames, and fawn over the acrylic glazing. I swear, I had to contort my head and neck to Linda-Blair-type-proportions to even see the reflection on this plexi. I am convinced it is TRU VUE, my registrar dream acrylic, and I have already contacted the High Art Museum to try and get this confirmed. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon. I am telling you I am gaga (and not as in Lady, cause that chick's just WAY far out there) for this plexi. I have this perfect dreamland box-fort composed of Gaylord's acid free blue archival boxes with sheets of TRU VUE for the windows. Okay, so I'm out there, but I'm not WAY far out there.
But seriously, TRU VUE is a fantastic product. It is abrasion resistant, UV filtering, static-free, and glare-free. I have even read somewhere that the acrylic is insulating and creates a micro-environment, which is great for paintings that are traveling. I highly recommend this acrylic, but be prepared to pay out the nose for it. It's incredible greatness equates to incredibly high prices. Even so, it's a solid investment for the longevity of artworks because the TRU VUE you may buy will last several lifetimes. I believe that it will last so long into the future that people in flying cars with Mr. Fusions on the back will be coming to see paintings glazed behind the same sheet of acrylic someone puts on their painting tomorrow.
I spent twice the amount of time I spent admiring the acrylic admiring the Girl With a Pearl Earring. Nick-named the Dutch Mona Lisa, and displayed behind almost the same amount of security barriers as Ms. Mona, was Vermeer's famous tronie. I stared at her for so long the optical effect of the image popping out from its dark background occurred on a nearly hypnotic level. I marveled at the sensation that she was staring right at me. I was also sadly surprised at just how much alligatoring she appeared to have, though it may not have been so bad; perhaps just extensive crackle. It was difficult to do a proper condition report with so many barriers and plexi between us, but I'd say she's very stable and still incredibly beautiful.
My only other critique for this otherwise fantastic exhibit was how empty the gallery directly before the gallery with the Girl With a Pearl Earring was. There were some rather great, large-scale wall decals which explained Vermeer's technique, the camera obscura, the identity of Girl With a Pearl, and some of his other artworks. But the floor was wide open and empty and there were no other paintings on the walls. In fact, one rather large temporary wall was completely blank. Someone must have felt Girl With a Pearl also needed just as much elbow room around her as Ms. Mona has. I personally just feel bad that Girl With a Pearl has to spend the next five weeks staring at a blank wall.
I made Amanda linger for a good ten to fifteen minutes while I admired this 15 of my 37. Then I bought a magnet, we explored the rest of the High, and departed for lunch.
I suppose I should mention that I have spent more time describing TRU VUE for you because I can; the Girl With a Pearl Earring you must see for yourself.
Amanda and I had a lovely lunch bemoaning our registrar woes, because lets face it folks, the only people who truly understand are other registrars. Then we took a memorial photograph and parted ways. I walked back to my hotel, deciding not to call my driver seeing as I was half a block away and it would be kind of silly to have him make one right turn to come pick me up. I spent the rest of my trip enjoying my hotel (because I paid for it and I was gonna get my monies worth!), texting friends and family the picture of me with my face sticking through a Girl With a Pearl Earring cut-out, and trying to decide which Vermeer to visit next. I don't expect anymore of them to be in my neck of the woods anytime soon, so I might have to plan a trip to New York soon... or Europe... perhaps Dublin. ^_^
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Pearl Earring is in Atlanta
My father tells me that I am too young to have a bucket list, but I argue that I am just getting a head start. One of my bucket list items is to see every known Vermeer in the world. Thus far I have seen 14 of 37 (including disputed paintings):
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
A Girl Asleep
Woman with a Lute
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
A Woman Holding a Balance
A Lady Writing a Letter
Portrait of a Young Woman
Girl With a Red Hat (disputed)
The Astronomer
The Lacemaker
The Allegory of Faith
Lady Standing at a Virginal
Lady Seated at a Virginal
Girl with a Flute (disputed)
And now I'm going to get that number up to 15. The most iconic Vermeer of all:
Girl With a Pearl Earring
I have my trip booked for Atlanta and I cannot wait to see her! She's only there until September 23rd and then she moves on to New York before returning to Europe. Anyone who gets chance should definitely go, seeing as she doesn't get out of the Hague that often. I'll be sure to share more about the painting and exhibition when I get back.
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
A Girl Asleep
Woman with a Lute
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
A Woman Holding a Balance
A Lady Writing a Letter
Portrait of a Young Woman
Girl With a Red Hat (disputed)
The Astronomer
The Lacemaker
The Allegory of Faith
Lady Standing at a Virginal
Lady Seated at a Virginal
Girl with a Flute (disputed)
And now I'm going to get that number up to 15. The most iconic Vermeer of all:
Girl With a Pearl Earring
I have my trip booked for Atlanta and I cannot wait to see her! She's only there until September 23rd and then she moves on to New York before returning to Europe. Anyone who gets chance should definitely go, seeing as she doesn't get out of the Hague that often. I'll be sure to share more about the painting and exhibition when I get back.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
It's Been A While
Restarting my blog is kind of like stepping out of a six-month whirlwind of loan forms, catalog records, and acid free tissue paper. I am not entirely sure where to begin. It's even more difficult because I cannot actually blog about what I do at my job. Working for a metropolitan government museum there are very strict rules about social networking sites. Everything must be approved and double-approved, so rather than go through that mess of paperwork I think I'll continue my adventures by sharing tales of my brave exploits to other museums and my opinions on major developments in the museum world. Maybe even some fun tales about exploring Nashville, TN.
I apologize for such a long delay. Moving to Nashville and settling into a new job and making new friends has taken up the vast majority of my time, and it's all been so wonderfully exhausting. In six months I have gained so much more work experience and engaged in several new amazing projects and activities. I've coordinated loans and gone on my first courier trip and installed exhibits and deinstalled exhibits and went to AAM and joined a book club and gone swing dancing and run a 5K (well, I ran most of it). Whew!
So here we are at the continuation of an adventure. Sit back and enjoy the read.
I apologize for such a long delay. Moving to Nashville and settling into a new job and making new friends has taken up the vast majority of my time, and it's all been so wonderfully exhausting. In six months I have gained so much more work experience and engaged in several new amazing projects and activities. I've coordinated loans and gone on my first courier trip and installed exhibits and deinstalled exhibits and went to AAM and joined a book club and gone swing dancing and run a 5K (well, I ran most of it). Whew!
So here we are at the continuation of an adventure. Sit back and enjoy the read.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Numbering Objects
Numbering objects is an important part of collections care and documentation. It can also be a bit nerve-racking, cause you don't (and I most certainly don't) want to do it incorrectly. In addition to the standard need to handle objects safely, there is also the need to number things properly and legibly. The object numbers are no good if future collections managers cannot find them, read them, or even alter them. They need to be permanent but removable; an oxymoron I know, like caffeine free Mountain Dew, but that's the way object numbers should work. Here are some useful links, that I found most helpful, about applying numbers to objects:
http://www.collectioncare.org/cci/ccin.html
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/pdf/preservation/A_Simple_Guide_to_Lablling_Museum_Objects.pdf
http://www.collectioncare.org/cci/ccin.html
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/pdf/preservation/A_Simple_Guide_to_Lablling_Museum_Objects.pdf
Monday, December 31, 2012
Intermission
Greetings one and all from the buckle of the bible belt. Apologies for the continued lack of postings. I have been extremely busy with moving and preparing for the new job. Once I have settled and start working, I'll be back to blogging. I promise!
Cheers all and Happy New Year!
Here is some intermission music. Enjoy!
Cheers all and Happy New Year!
Here is some intermission music. Enjoy!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
A New Job!!!
Hi all! I apologize for the lack of recent postings. I have been extremely busy lately with interviews and trips, and I have some very happy news. I finally landed the dream job. I am the new Registrar at the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. I am so happy and excited that all of my hard work has finally paid off and I look forward to starting this exciting new chapter in my life. Thank you to all of my readers and friends for sticking in there with me and sharing your comments.
Now here we are at the start of a new adventure. Nashville here I come!
Now here we are at the start of a new adventure. Nashville here I come!
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