There I was, awkwardly posed by Anne-Marie's (my advisor, also director and curator of MOCA) door. Behind heaps of unevenly stacked papers, she had her phone pressed against the side of her face. I was unsure about announcing my arrival, but I stepped in anyways.
"Anne-Marie?"
"Angelynn!" She gestured at the seats before her, lively.
I promptly settled myself, waiting to reach with a firm handshake.
This was just moments before I was hit with a swift pang of the incoming information from her. My hand scribbled with my chicken-scratch handwriting; notes unjustly spewed all over my new notebook. I quickly learned the nine different departments in MOCA.
It starts with the most conceptual and proceeds to the tangible and gritty stuff. First is the Curatorial department, "where all the scholarly stuff happens" (research and research and research). Following is the "Education and Outreach," which essentially is in charge of translating and packaging all the raw scholarly goodness to an understandable wavelength for the public. Third is is Communications department; this heads the usual branding, graphic designs, mass e-mails, social media, etc. After Communications is the "Cultivation," which is more commonly known as the Development department. The Finance department is fifth, and almost everything from the other departments is connected to the Finance department. The Operations department heads the actual running of programs and events, and precedes the Governance department (board of trustee and fiduciary responsibilities). Now, we have the physical department: the Facilities, which takes care of equipments and the like in the building. The last department is the Retail department, which is straightforwardly all about the goods in the museum gift shop.
I was given the "Art Bible" named Artforum, the NOW program guide, and a thick, little square booklet on David Lewis' State Furniture to read for the day. And, well, I did exactly so (half way done with Lewis' book, but finished with the bible and the guide). After my slow but careful reading, Rochelle (whom I will be shadowing aside from Anne-Marie) gave me a tour of the building.
Frankly, I was surprised with the size of the museum, and that the museum used to be a fire station. Also, I hadn't a clue that MOCA had a Artists in Residency program! There are three or four spacious rooms on the top floor, where artists can stay for the duration of their time with MOCA's program. Beds, couches, and a large kitchen provided. (Yeah, I thought this was pretty great.)
Once the tour was over, I was put to a computer and helped sorted some auction items on Excel. Oh, and I had to work with a Mac computer. Nevertheless, I managed to swallow my usual grunt of "AughIt'sAMac" and completed my task. I ended my day with a read of Artforum and an orange Starburst.
Ultimately, I had a pleasant first day. The atmosphere was pleasantly calm and easy to work in. The people were friendly (though there weren't many at MOCA today, as a handful of them were in L.A. to transfer some art pieces for a new show). The chairs were comfortable. I have much ahead of me as I begin my submersion into the realm of the modern-day Museion. And fortunately, I am curious, eager, and ready.
Side note: There really is a laughing machine. The laugh is rather eerie too.
Axk.
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