Funny quotes:
Moses' Opinion On Corsets: So unhealthy
Mopheaded poppit - Anne (Adult Programs)
_Jazzercise_ - Robin (Student Programs)
We like to refer to this man as Mr. New Jersey. He's darling, educated, and just will never leave any work of art alone!! - Anne (Adult Programs)
Lots of work, not much good to say because its been tons of modeling
It all feels fake at the end of the day
The museum is welcoming and then it tells you to never hold a pencil in your hand, you have a New York accent which is too different from Midwesterners' accents, and gets mad at you because you were late 10 minutes because the temporary ID machine wasnt working and no one was downstairs to buzz us in and you'd think one of the four employers would realize 8 of their 9 interns are missing and would check up on the situation. Nope. It's just another place to work at which honestly hates people.
Listen, I aint no Al Pacino, and I refuse to say "pop" just to satisfy people who might consider Sarah Palin's voice normal.
Manet's Still Life of Fish is forever burned into my brain. 1942.311 that's the accession number. that's how much time i've spent in front of it.
I definitely have my own style of being a tour guide and its called David Bowles and Joan Henry, the two most inspiring art educators out of the classroom.
Registered for Learnapalooza, salsa classes and photo classes :D Hopefully I can find my way to these places in time on Saturday!
I have to make three mock tours, an object each, and I found that there's Burmese art ON VIEW at AIC. And I gotta admit, I'm tearing. I know it's all in a display case like an anthropological nightmare, I know these pieces are only there because of the destructive rape of colonialism, and I know most likely these statues don't say anything about Burmese people today, but damnit Burmese art is on view at a large museum.
Even the Rubin had one tiny piece from Myanmar because the majority of its collection is Tibetan, and Donald Rubin himself spoke like Maureen Zeller (sp) about the EMOTION elicited from looking at Buddhist or African art, exoticizing the nonwestern Other. But for me, the emotion is of happiness of public recognition and the realization of the Jambupati Buddha
My roommate is apretty awesome, he was keen enough to tell me the story of Jambupati and how the style of the statue is definitely something that is only Burmese, and probably was owned by a monk or put outside of a pagoda. There is nothing more satisfying than talking to someone who knows this on a personal level, it's always 1000x better than reading a scholars work in a published volume with words like "spiritualistic aura" without any real attachment.
After reading so much about indigenous people going to museums to see works done by their ancestors and tribe members from centuries ago and feeling a connection to them, the object, and its narrative which can not be fully understood by anyone else outside of the culture, I am now one of those people.
While others may (and most likely not) look at the Jambupati Buddha and walk away, I know I will spend so much time in front of it and silently pray. The story of Jambupati brings much to the surface for me, the story of the power of faith over any corrupt ruler and Buddha's supreme and pure spirituality which will humble and convert the wickedest of souls. This story must have been what the monks had when they took the streets. This story has always been instilled in me from my parents Catholic-sounding rants about Buddhism. This is Burmese, this is Buddhism, this is me.
It's a 17th century statue, but it's my people and it's a part of me and my narrative of my current life on this earth. And it is on view at the Art Institute as yet another example of Buddhism but really as the spoils of British colonialism.
This one work of art has floated much to the surface for me just by virtue of me finding it on an online database and I know a tear will come to my eye when I see it in person next to other examples of Burmese art. I have always felt so fragmented in terms of my cultural narrative and with this, I feel like I'm finding more pieces to make me feel and understand more about myself. Connections to other groups of people like Native Americans fills my understanding as well, but this is something much more personal and internal which cuts right to my core.
Am I gonna use it for a tour? No. This is far too precious to me to have some bitchy employers respond with "so you're not really supposed to say it's great, you have to speak louder, you're not using a good in-road in talking about this object." This is not an object. This is something much more and I think any religious pilgrim will understand what I'm talking about.
I'm just gonna stick to using a statue of a Hindu god. Those are free game.
