In MUST204, we talked about how to photograph objects for cataloging purposes, and started talking about the history of collections management. I also had them help me lock down Poe’s head (or at least, a foam and clay bust of it!)
I spent a lot of time working on our upcoming Spring Break Arts Camp. Yikes! There’s a lot to do.
On Thursday, we screened “Toby Dammit” at the Museum, with remarks and commentary by the wonderful Dr. David Cody. The film is strange and surreal and humorous, with all kinds of post-modern touches. And David’s commentary showed how many of the striking images in the movie reference Poe himself and the images that other illustrators made of his work in the Golden age of illustration.
Good Things:
I listened to a ton of David Bazan this week, after purchasing “Curse Your Branches” at last week’s Bandcamp Friday. “Branches” is great, with its themes of trying to escape all fetters (whether they are religion or addiction) in favor of an embracing and unconditional humanity. But I also went back and listened to earlier Pedro the Lion records, especially “It’s Hard to Find a Friend." The songwriting is simpler, but Bazan’s astonishing voice carries all the loads of the weary and hopeful characters he sketches.
As a treat for finishing the exhibit, I ordered myself a copy of the legendary “Real Book”, a dubiously legal collection of musical charts for jazz standards. It’s been fun to wrestle with weird chord shapes and chordal melodies on the guitar.
On Friday, the kiddos had a day off, so we went to Binghamton and threw tons of tokens into Robot City Arcade, at lunch at New York Pizzeria, and took a spin through the Discovery Center in Ross Park.
Alanna and I watched Ronin. I had heard John and Jamelle sing its praises on “Unclear and Present Danger”, and it did not disappoint; a smart, stylish crime thriller about loyalty, with amazing and exciting car chases. Recommended!
I spent much of the week working on issues related to our upcoming Spring Break Arts Camp. We’re really excited, but there is a lot of work to do!
I did some work advertising our next Poe-related event, a screening of odd and wonderful Fellini Poe-adaptation “Toby Dammit”. It’ll be next Thursday!
In MUST204, we talked about collections databases (and evaluated some potential new databases) as well as how to label museum objects.
Good Things:
Over the weekend, we had a busy social calendar. We went to a friend’s house for wonderful dinner saturday night and then Sunday night had over a few people to help us dig our way through one of my favorite recipes, Puerco Pibil
On Bandcamp Friday, I picked up a copy of Dave Bazan’s “curse your branches." I love Bazan’s rich, weary voice and his aspirational and hopeful faith in the goodness of the world, and this record does not, so far, disappoint.
We had the reception for our newest exhibit “The Presence of Poe: The Life & Legacy of a Literary Icon.” It was a mad dash to get it finished and printed and up on the walls, but it ended up being a wonderful opening for a really fascinating and exciting exhibit. I was proud to work with Dr. David Cody as a co-curator, and am thankful for all the students who donated time to help get the installation finished. Come check it out!
Dominic and I finished reading “The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How it Shook our World” by David K. Randall. It’s a fascinating popular history about the origins of American Museum, the development of paleontology, and the discovery of the first T-Rex. It follows the life and career of Barnum Brown but takes extensive detours into the origins of paleontology, the “Bone Wars”, the competitions of 19th century Museums, and a lot more. Dominic and I had never read a non-fiction book together before, but I really enjoyed reading this with him, and the conversations we would have along the way.
I have been working frantically to finish the design work for the Poe exhibit, and I did! Now I just have to get everything else installed before the opening on Thursday.
This week was Oneonta schools' Winter Break, so I had the kiddos with me MWF. They were, as usual, delightful work companions, and I tried to make sure that we took time to do fun things together.
This week was also the week of our (now annual) “World of Water” program for kids. We partnered with Hanford Mills Museum, and had a wonderful selection of games, crafts, activities, and snacks. We had a great turnout all three days, and it was a fun time for all concerned (at least it was for me!)
In MUST204, we talked about collections policies, and monitoring and adjusting environmental conditions in Museums.
In MUST204, we talked about condition reporting, and also museum nomenclature.
Poe, Poe, and more Poe. It’s starting to come together, but there’s still so much to do.
I finished reading “Dilla Time” by Dan Charnas. It’s a biography and musical study of the work of the legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla. The book was wonderful and really scrutinized what made Dilla so astonishing and unconventional as a beat-maker. The only problem I had was that I kept needing to go to youtube to listen to Dilla’s songs as they were being analyzed in the book.
Tuesday, we gave a tour to a SUNY Oneonta Museum studies class.
I did some work on our kids program “World of Water”, which we’ll be holding next week during the schools winter break.
I finished reading Stanislaw Lem’s “Solaris”. It was wonderful, haunting, and tragic.
The semester started at Hartwick, and this Spring, I’m teaching MUST204: Collections Management. We started with introductions, and the basics of object handling.
Much of my week was spent working on the Poe exhibit, particularly the design work. I’m drawing inspiration from the great Poe illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration and trying to give the exhibit a design that suitably supports the amazing collection we’re showcasing.
I’ve started working with a student from Hartwick’s collaboration with EmpowerU. We’re still getting to know each other but he’s been a productive addition to the Museum so far.
I did some work planning future programs, including a collaboration with Hanford Mills Museum.
I finished reading RF Kuang’s Babel, a romantic anti-colonial novel about language, power, friendship and revolution. It was profoundly moving in places, and especially so as the world was turning itself over as I read it.
We had a crazy week, weather-wise. Last Friday and Saturday wre shockingly cold, and that was followed by basically two days of heavy snow fall. That led to cancelled everything on Monday, and it’s also been followed by very cold temperatures all week.
In the Museum, I’ve been busting my ass to finish the design work for our upcoming Poe exhibit. I am very happy that the gallery will be painted by early next week so I can start with the installation. Whew!
Good things:
We had a wonderful birthday party for Hazel on Saturday. She had a fun group of friends over, and we decorated cupcakes, played games, and had a great old time.
Alanna and I finished watching “Here We Go”, or at least as much of it as we can on Britbox. It’s a cringe-y show, but peppered with genuinely funny lines and a deep humanity. All of it is anchored by the astonishly brilliant comedic acting of the great Katherine Parkinson.
True Things:
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong by Adam Serwer/the Atlantic – I remain profoundly moved by and in complete awe of the people of Minneapolis, who have led one of the most successful protest movements in American history. This story, by Adam Serwer, captures the beauty and bravery of what they did:
Every social theory undergirding Trumpism has been broken on the steel of Minnesotan resolve. The multiracial community in Minneapolis was supposed to shatter. It did not. It held until Bovino was forced out of the Twin Cities with his long coat between his legs.
It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the President’s petty closure of parks and museums spurred to make our museum open to the public. We also had a talk from Harry Matthews about activism and community building in Oneonta. This is the last week of our exhibit of Mr. Matthews astonishing collection, and his talk was a great way to cap that off.
I had to cover for Dr. Kendall in his “Museums and Film” class, and I screened “The Woman in Gold”, the Art of the Steal, and “the Duke”. I also led a discussion about inclusion and exclusion in museums, in which I got to speak a bit about how I try and balance questions of inclusion with other logistical issues.
We had a visit from Greene High School as part of Hartwick’s Art Discovery Day.
I did some work on the design of the Poe exhibit, as well as on our Spring Arts Camp.
I spent a lot of time doing the design work for the Poe exhibit.
I gave a tour to Professor Sheehan’s Baseball history class, in preparation for their visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
I finished reading “Knave of Graves” by SJ Shank. It’s a dark and funny fantasy novel, about a gravedigger in a small town on the edge of an empire whose previous life as a glamourous student of magic haunts and weighs on him. I’ve been describing it to people as “The Seventh Seal” if it were written by the Coen Brothers. It’s the best fantasy novel I’ve read in a long time.
The hardest part of the week was grieving for Neva. My cat died after 16 long years on January 2nd. We were able to cut our trip short and come home to say goodbye. She was a good cat, friendly and affectionate with basically every human she met (though she hated most animals she met!) Alanna and I found her in 2010 at the Toronto Humane Society Shelter, and she immediately meowed at us and told us to take her home. She travelled with us to England and back, helped us raise this new human called Dominic, and came with us to Oneonta where she also became very chummy with Hazel, our other new human. Her time with us included sitting with me while I wrote my dissertation and book, sitting with Alanna while she taught on-line during COVID, and a billion other milestones, highs, and lows.
I spent a lot of time this week looking at pictures of Neva (I’m blessed with many!) This is the one I keep coming back to: My office in England, with Neva reminding me that there is nothing any book more important than sunshine.
At the Museum, I’m getting back in the saddle. I did a little cleaning up and organizing, but my main project this week was working on the upcoming Poe exhibit. I also spent some time on planning some smaller programs for January and February, and planning our Spring arts camp.
Alanna and I finished watching season 1 of “The Lowdown” which is simultaneously a shaggy Jim-Thompson-esque mystery, a thoughtful inquiry into how colonialism remains alive and well in the present, and a love letter to the city of Tulsa. It’d be hard for Sterlin Harjo to recreate the magic of Reservation Dogs in any case, and it has nowhere near the richness of that brilliant piece of artwork, but it was fun and well-done.
Good Things:
I keep coming back to the Geese Album “Getting Killed”, which is as funky, loud, and emotionally rich as everyonehasbeen saying.
Dominic and I finished reading “The People of Sparks” by Jeanne DuPrau, the second book in the City of Ember series. I really liked this book, which is a thoughtful book about refugees and sanctuary, wrapped in a post-apocalyptic YA adventure.
I heard Professor Dinan speak on the always informative “Know Your Enemy” podcast. He talked about how he’s tried to use the increased shoving of AI/LLMs/ChatGPT/etc… into every aspect of our lives as an opportunity to push for an emancipatory, enlivening classroom experience for his students. The conversation drew a lot from this essay, which I read and thought a lot about, and will probably share with colleagues and friends.
