The Visuals of Silence

by Barbara Cardinale

When a show comes to an end, usually the curtain falls.  Yet, this was not the case during week 9 at CAM.  I am not exactly sure why the black velvet cape had to go up, but despite my ignorance, it's so odd to see our work space so open. We continued to document gelatin silver prints in the collection.  Hugo Leopold's works, although a bit redundant in theme, were beautiful.  I was curious as to where the 'beach-esque' photographs were shot, and Shannon, after researching a bit, deduced that the shots were taken somewhere in California.  We also shared a lunch together on Thursday, as Enaam and Sarah worked diligently in the kitchen to make us all at CAM a beautiful meal that consisted of mostly Vietnamese cuisine.  All were silent, which meant that the food was delicious.  It was so nice coming together to eat, as this is a sure sign of an ending to what has been a wonderful working experience.  On Friday, there was more silence, as I did not have to partake in writing an entry for the journal because we will be writing a wrap-up entry next week.  It's so shocking that next week will be the end of the exhibition project, but I am looking forward to the coming week's activities because I have been able to make some time to come in a a few extra hours.  We also have gained a few more interns, since the summer B semester has begun.  We have a new blogger on board, Marysia, so I spent some time Thursday explaining to her the ins-and-outs of the blog.  I was pleased to see Friday afternoon that she had already submitted two entries.  Surely, I am going to miss interning at CAM, but that absolutely does not mean that I won't be back to enjoy one of my favorite places to be on campus.  I feel so fortunate that I have been able to get to know the staff more intimately and work with them on such an important documentation and exhibition project. 

A Diamond in the Rough

by Barbara Cardinale

Week eight was short and sweet for me because of the Fourth of July holiday.  Rather than discussing the minimal amount of work I did, (pick up print. set it down. repeat.), I want to share my thoughts on how wonderful it is to live in a country in which art is appreciated (although, I guess not always.)  I read in the Museum Education Monitor, a publication sponsored by the American Association of Museums (http://www.aam-us.org/), that only two congressman openly support funding for museums.  A pretty shallow number compared to the 435 total representatives.  Without the support of those apart from the government (i.e. museum directors, visitors, donors, artists, YOU, etc.), I couldn't imagine what state our country would be in without museums and art.  

The Contemporary Art Museum is like a diamond in the rough.  When I mention to fellow students that aren't associated with the artsy side of USF whether or not they have been to CAM, they look at me like I'm an alien.  It's a shame that this museum isn't as popular as the USF football team, but at least we have it.  Since I work with the University Archives in Special and Digital Collections, one of the ways that I preserve CAM's legacy is by collecting and archiving the museum exhibition postcards.  I also hung the "Work Promotes Confidence" postcard on my door at work to promote the Museum at Work exhibition project.  A blog like this also helps get the word out, so please, make comments, tell us what you think, and most of all, come see us!  There are only two weeks left and your patronage is always appreciated!  

Talking Heads of the Museum

by Barbara Cardinale

As I walked into CAM during week seven, I was taken back by the changes in the gallery. The black cloak that had once masked half of the set was now pulled back from side to side to reveal a contraption that holds a camera and unframed works of art. Peter was engaged in testing the camera to print ratio. While he was doing this, he appeared more so as an actor than a photographer, as he had to leap back and forth from the camera to a spot on the "stage" that wouldn't distort the lighting. We interns and volunteers all agreed that the exhibition project is not only an exercise in viewing and touching art works, but physically a performance art in how we are constantly moving and displaying ourselves. As a lover of performance arts (I've been in a few on-stage productions), I find myself feeling like David Byrne of the Talking Heads-- a man that combined visual art with performance art. How awesome is it that I get to work in this environment?

Also this week, I was interviewed by a member of the Oracle newspaper staff. Check out what I had to say, as well as others here:

http://www.usforacle.com/documenting-art-1.1771290

'Out-of' Space and the Gallery as Galaxy

by Barbara Cardinale

If I had to choose a single word to describe week six, it would be 'space.' As a current student assistant for the USF Tampa Library's Special Collections department, I understand how space complications may arise due to limited room for collections and work. Each week, I dedicate five to seven hours assisting Pat Tuttle, the Special Collections department's book processor and shelf organizer. I have been working with Pat for only a month now, and thus far we have moved three collections in order to create more space for all of the new book acquisitions. Often, Pat says, "we are getting more books in, but I have no idea where we are going to put them!"

This week at CAM I really felt as though I was working in a Special Collections department. After all, a museum's collection could be considered a "special collection" in library terms. Not to mention the grant funding agency in Washington, D.C. that focuses on museums and libraries called the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information about, IMLS, go to: http://www.imls.gov/

I mention IMLS because they afforded me a scholarship and grant called the ALSTARS which stands for Academic Librarians for Tomorrow's Academic Researchers. For more information as to what the ALSTARS is about, please go to: http://reports.research.usf.edu/publications/FY0607/FY0607_section3.pdf

So space is on my mind, as fellow interns, volunteers, Peter, Shannon and I prepared for the auditors' visit on Friday, June 19th. We had to to pull and showcase eight different works from the 2007-2008 fiscal year because the University is interested in whether or not these works are present within CAM's collection. The pieces varied in size and format; the largest of the works, and the most difficult to pull from the collection was Robert Gelinas' Untitled acrylic on canvas (that, interestingly, is date unknown.) It took five people and two ladders to move the piece from its location. Once it was on our level, it took us ten minutes to decide where it should be placed for the time being. We had to move and adjust other art works and a photo-stand on the ground level in order for the required works to be displayed. A table that was already in the room needed to be free of all items so a piece of foam core could be set on it to display five additional works. These included Robert Mangold's Untitled, from Four x Four x Four (1990), two other Untitled pieces, one by Gustavo Rivera (ca. 1990) and the other by Mikhail Ivanov (1990), and two polacolor photographs by Andy Warhol titled Carolina Herrera (1978) and Cabage Patch Doll (1984-1985). Another large print was displayed, Larry Bell's Vapor Drawing (1981), but it was on the ground level so it was easy to get to and didn't need to be moved.

I can't begin to describe how excited I was to browse through The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts gift of 106 photographs and 50 gelatin silver prints from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program. As a lover of contemporary theory, Andy Warhol's art is the pinnacle of contemporary thought and movements, as Warhol is to me one of the most famous prognosticators of the ever evolving question, "what is art?" For more on CAM's collection of Andy Warhol photographs, go to: http://www.ira.usf.edu/CAM/cam_collection.html

Although CAM's vault is designed to house art works and not display them such as Graphicstudio's vault, it is because CAM's gallery is the space for art-- a roomy space for the artist stars. I feel like I am standing on a blue moon, as I have been fortunate to see CAM's collection rotate like the planets in the sky.

The Photography Realm

by Barbara Cardinale

We are over half way into the semester, with less than 600 pieces left to photograph.  During week five I was able to learn more about the photography realm of the project.  I was really intrigued by the Oscar Bailley works, not only because they were shot on USF property and produced at Graphicstudio, but also because of the interesting way in which the photographic prints were created.  My favorite piece by Bailley was titled Ed Ruscha because of the way in which the photograph was taken.  I learned that there are two different types of cameras that capture a panoramic view.  A cirkut camera takes a 360 degree shot, whereas a banquet camera only takes an 180 degree photograph.  Ed Rushca was taken with a a cirkut camera.  What is so unique about this technique is that the lens of the camera and the film in the camera run in the opposite direction of one other to create the wide panoramic picture.  The lens and film run slow, so artist Ed Ruscha is seen multiple times in the picture, sometimes in full form, and in between him are ghost-like images of himself moving down the line of the image.  As he moved, he displayed a different book that he wrote, one by one as he walked.  Words can't really capture the magnificence of this piece, but I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to see it and learn about this amazing, photographic technique.  

The Museum Meets the Mind of a Library Student

by Barbara Cardinale

Documenting the Contemporary Art Museum's collection has been an anticipated project for CAM, so Peter Foe, Curator of the Collection, and Shannon Annis, Registrar, put their heads together to create what is now known as the Museum at Work exhibition project.  It’s really wonderful to be a part of such an inventive project and I hope to learn more about the world of art handling and how it relates to library work. 

The first week of the project was decidedly technical.  Peter, Shannon, six other bloggers and I discussed the basics of the blog and what was to be expected of its contents.  Foremost, the individual perspective was stressed as different educational interests in the project will determine invigorating entries.  During the rest of the week, I worked on the blog presence and managed our personal email account.  Peter also asked me to help him set the backdrop for a translucent work by Claus Oldenberg, so a white background was necessary to accurately document the art piece.  

The second week was more hands on, but I was still engaged in working on the blog.  Taking Enaam’s advice, I set up a google documents workspace for us bloggers to more succinctly share our thoughts before publishing them here.  Stepping away from the digital realm a bit, I engaged in helping Peter, Shannon and students/ volunteers transport and store what consisted mostly of large-scale paintings.   Theoretically, moving larger works will help us amateur art-handlers learn the technicalities and precision of the art of moving art.  The Museum at Work project is like a life-exercise in postmodernism.  

Also during the second week, Shannon inculcated to us the semantics of the database program, Embark.  This is an art-storing program that manages, records, locates, dates, compiles, etc. all of the artworks in the collection.  Since there around 5,000 different pieces of art stored in the vault, a digital program like this takes the burden off the human brain.   I am interested in how the museum registrar tracks its inventory because in a library's archives, the provenance of a research collection or personal papers is a vital aspect of acquiring and processing the materials so their place and research value is accommodated for.  I can’t wait until next week when I can meddle with Embark more and further investigate the similarities and differences between the museum registrar and the library archivist.