So today was my first official day as an intern at the Detroit Institute of Arts-- and it was fantastic!
My day began with a tour of the DIA. I didn't see much art, but what I did see was just as interesting... to me, anyway.
As we were walking past the loading dock, I found myself standing on my tippy toes to look through every window out onto the dock. I had a repress a delighted giggle as I thought about how much Dixie would love this loading dock. It had multiple doors, complete with a huge overhang (to protect artworks from the elements), a great looking staging area, and a great big open space-- large enough for semi trucks to maneuver. It was so cool.
My "office" is upstairs on the third floor. All offices are on the third floor-- pretty much everything else is museum space of some kind. I'm right up there with the director, Graham Beal. His office is right around the corner from me. It was a little depressing to look around the third floor and see how many empty desks and workspaces there are. About a year ago, the DIA had a major staff cutback, and it seems that almost all receptionists and administrative assistants were eliminated. As a result-- I have ample workspace to call my own.
The bulk of my mapping project can't begin until I have several meetings with other departments, which will happen later this week. So Sondra, my supervisor, gave me a few things to read and review while I was waiting around this afternoon. After some thought, she pulled an article off of her bookshelf and turned to me saying, "Have you ever read any Stephen Weil?" I felt a rush of blood to my skull as I said, "You know, I have." (I had major issues with a Weil article I read this past semester, in which he invented fictional museums (toothpick museum, anyone?) and then tore them apart for lacking in their relevance to visitors). But the article Sondra gave me was actually much less infuriating.
Next, Sondra gave me an article that she said was a description of the educational methods used at the DIA. It was a basic outline for teachers and docents about VTS or Visual Thinking Strategies. My final paper for Art Education last semester argued that VTS was the future of museum education, and far superior to other methods of art criticism used with students in informal learning environments. I was thrilled.
The third article... I haven't read yet. But I'll be sure to give a full report when I do read it. And I will... eventually.
Finally, I was handed a copy of the DIA's strategic plan. I was really turned off to strategic planning after my fall semester. I had the impression that they were done to placate administrators and board members, but this document was really well organized, and a lot of the goals and objectives seemed reasonable.
By the end of the afternoon, I had a phone number, a DIA email address (jbelcoure@dia.org) and access to the DIA network. With these things established, I sat down at my very large workstation and ventured on to the DIA website, where I found something that stopped me dead.
My final paper for Dr. Willumson's museology seminar argued for the inclusion of historical and cultural context when displaying works of art in a museum. I turned in this paper less than three weeks ago, so it is fresh in my mind. Anyway... this is what I found:
Is art just art? What was influencing the artists?
I love this ad. Not only does it support the argument in my final project, but I think it sets up this exhibition to be really accessible for general audiences. It gives a very general context, which I'm sure is expanded within the exhibition itself. I haven't seen it yet, and I can't wait.
The title of this post says a lot. It's something I overheard in the office, during a discussion about the dress code, but I think it could be applied to pretty much any aspect of the culture within this museum. I've taken classes and read articles about working in the public sector and what it's like to work for a nonprofit organization... and none of that seems to fit the DIA. This museum, while struggling in its own right, still has a massive budget, and a slick operation. There are more people working on the third floor of the DIA than worked in the entire Department of History Arts and Libraries (which has since been disbanded). Everything looks new and clean, and well maintained. I had the feel of being inside a large, profitable company-- not a nonprofit cultural institution.
After all, it's not just any nonprofit-- it's the DIA.
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