Some tigers are saber-toothed and stuffed; others are rendered in chrome. Two museums brought me closer to wildness this summer: the Indiana State Museum’s Footprints exhibition and the new Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, WI.

At the ISM, Footprints features taxidermy to die for. In an exploration of the natural history of what is today Indiana, stuffed ice age sabertooths cavort with stuffed otters, owls, fish and badgers, arranged in an unintentionally surreal tableau. This is installation art if I’ve ever seen it: a barrage of lives that were, juxtaposed for maximum emotional impact. Later in the show, there are piercing black-and-white photos of Indiana’s hunting history. The eyes of the hunters and their giddy hounds smolder with pride in front a wall of raccoon skins, circa 1935. Footprints has a high haunt factor.

The Harley-Davidson Museum, on the other hand, is pure exaltation. This cathedral to industrial design and American capitalism opened just this month after a multi-year planning process. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Exhibitions

As a riveting segment this summer, the IMA Blog will be featuring a Tuesday Photo of the Week, highlighting juicy tidbits of info including works of art, artists, news, events, or locations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Musings, New Media

No knack. I don’t get it. I work in a wonderful world of creativity surrounded by artists and generally brilliant people, and I have the ultimate creative block. I can’t put a brush to canvas to save my life. Now mind you, I have canvases at home. I even had an easel till I sold it to my more creative neighbor Trevor in my garage sale a few weeks ago. And don’t get me started on my blogging ability. I just don’t think I’m a good blogger. I believe Despi and the cool kids asked me to blog thinking I could spread some of my everyday humor into this thing, but I’m just not funny in a blog. My wit and quirkiness is lost on paper. Go ahead, quit reading now – you’re just wasting your time. I’ve had suggestions of just being around scribes who can record my funniness in type, or maybe I’d be the first blogger to turn in a blog on video or podcast. After all – the Nugget Factory gave me a Flip Camera for On Procession, and those videos turned out pretty stinkin’ hilarious, If-I-do-say-so-myself.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Musings

One place I know I don’t want to go is Antarctica.    This is not to say that I think Antarctica is dull or something like that (I like the idea of auroras, bright stars, and a frozen, treeless tundra), it’s just that it’s cold in a kind of deathly way.  But recently I’ve been hooked on reading about a team of dedicated art conservators working at Scott Base. Their Antarctic Conservation Blog is hosted by the British Natural History Museum.

I’m not really sure how productive I would be in -40 degree weather (really, who wants to sleep in a snow filled bedroom or use a frozen porta-potty, Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Conservation

Full contact rock paper scissors. Passing an ice bucket from person to person with only your feet. Hurling rubber chickens and stuffed monkeys. Primal screams. It’s all in a days work at the IMA.

I will never deny that working in a museum is fun, but nothing has compared to Monday and Tuesday of this week. From playful games to thoughtful discussions, a group of IMA staff led by the artist collective (and former guest bloggers) Type A spent 2 full days participating in team-building exercises focused on the IMA’s forthcoming Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park. These games, challenges and discussions were meant to not only help strengthen the bonds between a diverse group of IMA staff, but ultimately to inform the final commissioned work that Type A will create for the Art and Nature Park. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Musings