A recent vacation to Maine included an encounter with a mythic lumberjack in the city of Bangor.

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Filed under: Art, Musings

The other day I was asked what I like most about my job. This is an easy question for me to answer, and likely just as easy for any serious art conservator or other museum professional.

Simply put, what I like most about my job is that I get to look at works of art. I probably spend more time looking in one week than most people do in a whole year. When I’m looking, I always start with trying to figure out from what and how a work is made. For me, these are the most interesting questions to investigate. If you can’t put together at least some rough answers, then you really can’t make any further assumptions (art historical or otherwise), and you’re certainly not going to be in a good position to make good conservation decisions.

I rarely ever get to the question of whether or not I like an artwork; in conservation, answering that question doesn’t really get me anywhere.

This week I’ve had the exceptional opportunity to look at a rare corner cabinet with carvings by Emile Bernard. This cabinet is one of only four known examples produced by the Pont-Aven School (one is at the Norton Simon, one is at the AIC, and the other in Paris). It made quite a big splash when we acquired it this year.

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Filed under: Art, Conservation, Technology

In the autumn of 2009, Andrea Zittel sent a request for proposals to students at the Herron School of Art and Design who wished to live on her latest piece, Indianapolis Island. The island is an 18′ x 20′ fiberglass living structure that will float in the lake of the new 100 Acres Art and Nature Park. We (Jessica Dunn and Michael Runge) collaborated to write a proposal and were chosen by Zittel and the IMA after several interviews and meetings.

We are really excited to be a part of this project and have many ideas dealing with the Give and Take nature of the project.

Here is a quick overview of our project:

Fabrication of the interior: We will be fabricating the entire interior of the island with modular, dual-purpose furniture including a bed which functions as a couch as well as storage space. We will also be building a bicycle generator so we can have electricity on the island.

Floating garden: Similar to a self watering container, we will be building floating garden pots that will grow vegetables we can eat while living on the island.

Floating messages: Visitors may send messages to the island inhabitants by floating paper messages via capsules visually reminiscent of the island’s shape.

Island trade: Every visitor who sets foot on the island will have the opportunity to give and take something from the island. This trade will will show a tangible example of the mark left on the individual and the space.

Follow our construction progress and our evolving (or deteriorating) mental state on our blog. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, Guest Bloggers, Local

At the IMA, social media has become rather important. We use it to build relationships with you, our online audience, yes- but we also hope to encourage you to build relationships with each other and your community. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to tell the difference between my “personal” and “professional” social media interactions because the lines have blurred in so many ways just in the past couple of years. Yes, part of it has to do with passion for what I do, but even so- everything has become so intertwined, so to speak, when it comes to the ‘interwebs’.

This photo was snapped just this morning down in 100 Acres by Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Lisa Freiman and promptly tweeted by CEO Max Anderson:

Steel workers gather for a photo opp. on top of Free Basket by Los Carpinteros

Take for instance how social media has reshaped the world of journalism. “Citizen journalism” is the concept of members of the public “playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.” Examples of this can be seen through blogs, twitter, and camera phone images.

As a museum, we can employ this same idea. Staff, artists and visitors can capture events as they happen with their iPhone or a Flip Video. The following images were captured on artist duo Type A’s cell phones and then uploaded to Facebook:

The top ring of "Team Building (Align)" casts a shadow

Astronomer Brian Murphy of Butler U. and Andrew of Type A work out some calculations to place the second ring for "Team Building (Align)"

So, budding art journalists, here are some tips from caffienatedtraveller.com to get you started:

• Acknowledge the artwork and museum in the photo credits. It is time for bloggers to step up and put on a professional face.
• Post great images and not the family snap shots on your blog. Why discredit a good art exhibit.
• Flash photography? Don’t go there unless you have explicit permission from the museum. Not even when you think you’re alone.
• Leave the fanatical blogger psyche at the entry door. Spend some zen time in the moment, with the art and the space and then shoot.

In the meantime, I’ll be looking for your tweets, status updates and image uploads. And let’s continue to blur the lines together, shall we?

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, New Media, Technology

Practical shoes? (via boston.com)

This may have been our most treacherous episode of IMA TV yet. But we Nuggets strive to bring you the latest news from behind the scenes at the IMA, and gosh darn-it, we’ll get out hands (and high heels) dirty to do it.

Yesterday morning, we got the call with our assignment. So after donning hard hats, we trekked down to 100 Acres lead by intrepid project manager Dave Hunt. Adrenaline coursing through our veins, we entered the construction site for Los Carpinteros’ Free Basket. Surrounded by potentially threatening loud noises and up to our metatarsals in mud, we braved the elements to bring you this nice little IMA TV episode:

Los Carpinteros has developed a large-scale site-specific installation titled Free Basket for 100 Acres: The Virgina B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park that continues their interest in the juxtaposition of the practical and the imaginary. Free Basket draws on the form of the basketball court, turning it into an aesthetically surprising entity that also offers a site for the community to engage in recreational play.

A rendering of Free Basket

In developing their project, Los Carpinteros chose to draw on the rich history of sports in the city of Indianapolis. Their project seeks to bring together art, culture and sports, providing an interactive platform for the larger community that engages them in art. Free Basket will be Los Carpinteros’s first long-term public commission in the U.S. Click here for more info.

Los Carpinteros

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, IMA TV, Local, New Media