More fundraising. It never ends. Two weeks ago I was embroiled in preparing packages to send to 30 foundations requesting support for grad school. Now, I'm in the throes of gathering all that's needed for the OGS grant. I still haven't written my Statement of Intent, but I've been thinking it over quite a bit.
If you haven't looked at my other blog, where the fundraising is just starting, visit me at :
http://azuregarage.blogspot.com/
But besides that, I've been swamped by reading. The first week was a bit foundational, but things are picking up intellectually. I've especially enjoyed being introduced to Bennett, whose writing I find as interesting as Bourdieu, actually, but alot easier to read. But I'm also feeling like part of my practice is certainly going to involve inflecting work with a more positive attitude about human beings and their motivations.
Interestingly, alot of what I've been reading for the Cultural Theories course reminds me of the things I 'discovered' working here at U of T in 1995. I remembered being thrilled to stumble across Saussure, probably through Bourdieu. I had a book then, purchased at the U of T bookstore Language and Symbolic Power. That writing was an inspiration to me, and I guess I maintain an interest in the uses of language and signs.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Women's hats
Blue velvet circlet, 1965
Felt with Pheasant feather, 1975
Black straw, 1975
Motorcycle helmet, 2008
Men's hats
WWII air force lieutenant hat, 1945
Calgary Stampede souvenir, 2006
Brainiac, halloween with battery-operated lights and sound, 2007
Thursday, September 10, 2009
09/09/09 and Dr. Chris Castle
09/09/09 was an auspicious date to start my Museum Studies program. First, an email arrived confirming a small fellowship from the University! The stars twinkled a certain way, and the Faculty of Information realized that some of us are mustering through this degree entirely on our own coin. I was so grateful, and relieved, that some of the financial pressure has been eased.
First class today with Dr. Christine Castle, an extraordinary person I first encountered about 30 years ago, on her first job as director of the Oakville museum. I was a summer student then, who just loved old things. I remember the job very fondly - had secured it at the last moment really. Arriving back in Toronto from Vancouver, I found that the-job-I-thought-I-had had been given to someone else. Disappointed, I headed over to the Manpower office in downtown Oakville to read over the jobs posted. They were literally posted on little recipe cards in those days, and thumbtacked to a wall. The job at the museum was listed, and I was reading it on the last day to apply. Determined and desperate to get ajob, I walked over to the museum and applied on the spot. Chris and her associate hired me, and I was able to spend the summer surrounded by the collection, typing catalogue cards, and generally having a great time with a couple of other summer students. The musuem must have received a grant to hire us, in the halcyon days when OFY grants were prevalent - Opportunities for Youth. I know I worked on a few of those.
The lesson is: disappointment can be a great motivator, and an opportunity in disguise.
Thirty years later, I had a great pleasure of meeting Christine again. Today's class was great - Chris is, of course, an expert in her field, but she seems to share and exemplify many, many of the social themes that I've been working on in museum culture. I didn't take too many notes - I just wanted to listen, and acclimatize myself to the rest of the class - mostly people 30 years younger than myself, although there are a few 'returning professionals'. At one point in her introduction, Chris described herself as person who returns to school "every ten years". More power to that!! It's so wonderful and (really) critical, I think, to keep your mind and your practice up to date, up to speed, and intrigued and interested. Things change so quickly, and there is always more reading to do. It is a great privilege to be in this environment - at U of T - with a Teacher who understands the desire to always be working on new ideas.
First class today with Dr. Christine Castle, an extraordinary person I first encountered about 30 years ago, on her first job as director of the Oakville museum. I was a summer student then, who just loved old things. I remember the job very fondly - had secured it at the last moment really. Arriving back in Toronto from Vancouver, I found that the-job-I-thought-I-had had been given to someone else. Disappointed, I headed over to the Manpower office in downtown Oakville to read over the jobs posted. They were literally posted on little recipe cards in those days, and thumbtacked to a wall. The job at the museum was listed, and I was reading it on the last day to apply. Determined and desperate to get ajob, I walked over to the museum and applied on the spot. Chris and her associate hired me, and I was able to spend the summer surrounded by the collection, typing catalogue cards, and generally having a great time with a couple of other summer students. The musuem must have received a grant to hire us, in the halcyon days when OFY grants were prevalent - Opportunities for Youth. I know I worked on a few of those.
The lesson is: disappointment can be a great motivator, and an opportunity in disguise.
Thirty years later, I had a great pleasure of meeting Christine again. Today's class was great - Chris is, of course, an expert in her field, but she seems to share and exemplify many, many of the social themes that I've been working on in museum culture. I didn't take too many notes - I just wanted to listen, and acclimatize myself to the rest of the class - mostly people 30 years younger than myself, although there are a few 'returning professionals'. At one point in her introduction, Chris described herself as person who returns to school "every ten years". More power to that!! It's so wonderful and (really) critical, I think, to keep your mind and your practice up to date, up to speed, and intrigued and interested. Things change so quickly, and there is always more reading to do. It is a great privilege to be in this environment - at U of T - with a Teacher who understands the desire to always be working on new ideas.
Monday, July 20, 2009
no reading
I really haven't been able to get back to my reading, yet. I took off for a few days out of town,and took my laptop. I got up at 3 one morning and applied myself to writing a cover letter I intend to use to ask philanthropic foundations for money to help with school. I'd say the chances of them sending me anything are remote, but I think I'm a good cause, so I'll be sending out some packages this week.
Already it's Monday, but at least I got the letter composed. I can work on the rest over the next day or two.
Already it's Monday, but at least I got the letter composed. I can work on the rest over the next day or two.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Coach House Museum
Okay, so I've started two blogs on two topics, but naturally (since they have the same author, at the same time) they're starting to bounce off one another. This blog is about museology, or the 'science' as it were of museums, and that's got to mean collecting stuff. The other blog Garage on Azure Street http://azuregarage.blogspot.com/ has as its point of origin a cluttered garage that is mostly filled with a collection of things that either no one uses, or uses only seasonally.
So, the garage museum is filled with lawnmowers, bicycles and lawn chairs, plus snow shovels, bags of road salt and ice chippers and, as I like to tell my husband, "five perfectly good pieces of drywall". I would call its style of collections management, 'eclectic'.
The other kind of museum, like the one in which I work, houses only objects of treasure. For some reason, these objects have been given a value outside of their inherent or literal composition, and they have been set aside, reserved, carefully moved, restored, displayed etc. That kind of museum has many associations, I think, with a temple or church.
But I think my garage could be considered a perfectly good museum, and I'm wondering about the differences in these collections of objects.
So, the garage museum is filled with lawnmowers, bicycles and lawn chairs, plus snow shovels, bags of road salt and ice chippers and, as I like to tell my husband, "five perfectly good pieces of drywall". I would call its style of collections management, 'eclectic'.
The other kind of museum, like the one in which I work, houses only objects of treasure. For some reason, these objects have been given a value outside of their inherent or literal composition, and they have been set aside, reserved, carefully moved, restored, displayed etc. That kind of museum has many associations, I think, with a temple or church.
But I think my garage could be considered a perfectly good museum, and I'm wondering about the differences in these collections of objects.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Evocative Objects
Just started reading this book, a collection edited by Sherry Turkle. It was recommended to me by my excellent friend, Margaret Haupt, the head of conservation at Art Gallery of Ontario. I have only read the first few pages, but already I've had to reassess ideas about the power of objects - I discovered I had an unrecognized bias against them.....hmmmmm. More later.
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