What is Contemporary Art?

by Sarah Crocker 

I learned much more during my time at CAM than I had ever thought I would.  In the past, when I've volunteered someplace, my duties haven't been much more than menial labor: move this box, file these papers, vacuum the floor.  I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that I would be doing more than just that at the museum.  We were taught how to handle and move artwork, various printing and other production techniques, and how to hang certain pieces on the wall (not to mention a little math on the side).  Peter and Shannon were willing to answer all of my questions, some of which were incredibly basic and not always the most observant (“So, how are you going to photograph that piece of art?”  “ ...that's actually a cart, Sarah”). 

Also, working with other volunteers and interns who were there almost entirely because of their interests in art and museum work was loads of fun.  I'm not trying to present an overly happy, false picture just to save face for some reason; I honestly enjoyed working with all of the various people who were involved in this project.  It's exciting to see how we all tried to make sense of this exhibition using our backgrounds in art, museum work, English, anthropology, the humanities, and more.  I know I can always use a few new perspectives that aren't grounded in the social sciences.

This definitely isn't going to be goodbye for me.  This project has only served to further my interests in museum work and, schedule allowing, I plan to continue working at CAM as a volunteer.  I only expected this to be a way to take up time during the summer and marginally fulfill my interests; it has turned out to mean much, much more.

CAM is a Stage

by Sarah Crocker

The more I think about it, the more thought-provoking this past Thursday has been. Earlier in the day, I had talked to one of the other volunteers about how the Museum at Work exhibition project may be interpreted as a form of performance art. We (volunteers, interns, and museum employees) are a vital part of the project, whether or not we recognize this fact. If you consider this exhibition project to be performance art, in whatever significant or insignificant way, we are part of the art itself. Maybe this isn't a revelation for anyone else. I don't feel like a painting or a print or a photograph, but if people are visiting the museum to see both the artwork and the workers (or at least the process of moving and photographing the artworks), it's undeniable that we're a vital part of this exhibit.

When we're not in the museum actually working on something, there's little to see. This reminds me of the reporter that came in recently, after many of us had left or were packing up to leave. He stood next to the barrier, in plain sight of the camera and lighting set-up and all of the computer equipment and asked “Where's the exhibit?” I certainly don't think that this was a stupid question; instead I believe it speaks to the importance of our place in this project.

Another interesting thing occurred Thursday. When I first walked into the gallery, I saw Shannon standing in front of what, at the time, looked like an elaborate art installation. There was a large white board, a smaller blue box on top of that, and a strange metal and wood structure bolted to the side of it. Trying to play it cool, even though I had no idea what the piece was about, I mentioned it to Shannon... who told me it was a cart for transporting prints.

Initial embarrassment aside, it really made me think about others possibly faking an appreciation for art. Even more interesting, Shannon mentioned how a lot of people walk into an art museum (especially if it's a contemporary art museum) expecting that everything in the gallery is a work of art. This mild paranoia, combined with my reluctance to seem like a complete blockhead, produced a fairly entertaining result. I wonder if anyone else feels this way.

Museum Explorers

by Sarah Crocker

It's been difficult to pursue my interest in studying a guest's experience at the exhibition.  Visitor traffic has been low here, which is certainly expected for summer, but definitely not what I was hoping for.  There have been a few guests, but whenever they've been here, I've been working on something and couldn't talk to them, or I've been back in the collections vault with the other volunteers and interns.  I did get to talk to Shannon about my ideas for a bit, and she confirmed a lot of my expectations – some of the people who visit are eager to ask questions and talk with staff, but most are content to quietly explore the museum on their own. 

My guess is that a lot of the people who visit the museum come here with a sort of pre-loaded mindset: they expect to come into a hushed environment, walk around, look at a few static pieces of artwork, and then leave.  An exhibition like Museum at Work certainly deviates from this expectation, with its capacity for interaction and questioning.  Of course, talking to workers in the museum is difficult when they are, well, working.  This is a rather significant roadblock.  Lots more to think about....

Otherwise, Enaam and I have been working on redesigning the blog and making it a little more user-friendly.  To be fair, the great majority of the credit belongs to Enaam, who has the actual design know-how to make this work, while my contributions have been more along the lines of “look at all the pretty colors!”  Despite my lack of knowledge, it's been a ton of fun coming up with a design and I'm really excited about the new look.  Hopefully we'll be able to work all of the kinks out and get it launched sometime soon!

Anthropology Meets Museology

by Sarah Crocker

As fascinated as I am in the technical and artistic aspects of this exhibit, such as the photography, databases, and blogging, I'm more interested in the museum guests that will be visiting this exhibition. Museum at Work is certainly different from many art exhibits, or at least from many individuals' conceptions of what an art exhibit should be. Instead of a static collection of pieces that will remain on display for weeks at a time, this exhibit will feature an ever-changing array of works and a near-constant presence of volunteers and interns.

This situation presents an opportunity for visitors to interact with the volunteers and directed study students involved in the project. They will be able to ask questions about the art and the process of documenting it, draw their own conclusions, and hopefully gain new viewpoints and interests in CAM and contemporary art in general. This would be a golden opportunity for us to consider the relationships among workers, museum guests, and the museum environment itself by asking questions such as, "What causes someone to reflect upon art?" "How does an art museum operate behind the scenes?" "What can we do to encourage a visitor's reflection and critical thought regarding these pieces?" Hopefully, we will be able to answer these and many other questions throughout the course of this exhibition.