Muscarelle's New Exhibtion: Architect's Unfinished Experiments with Building "Skins"

The Muscarelle has a new exhibition this month that displays some truly innovative and beautiful creations built around what seems like a simple enough thing: the outsides of buildings. While introducing some aesthetically impressive new models, like the Climate Design dsiplay featuring glowing plastic boulder-like ground nodes, the exhibtion is focused on describing functionality and possible applications of the "skins" (creating climate-controlled outdoor areas in the case of the glowing nodes). I would especially recommend this show to students (or anyone) interested in engineering, environmental studies, and architecture; it is a truly fascinating look into the future of possibilities in sustainable architecture. Remember all Muscarelle exhibtions are free to students, and "Skins" will be open until October 24th. Museum hours are Tuesday-Friday 10-5, Saturday and Sunday 12-4.

-Cierra

Welcome Back!

Whether you're new to the Tribe or returning for your final year at the College, September is the perfect time to visit the Muscarelle. My name is Justine, and, though I'm new to the DEN blog, I'm actually a returning student volunteer here at the Museum. In addition to volunteering in the DEN last Spring, I also interned this summer as one of three student curators on the current exhibition Impact: Expression in Abstraction - as a business major, it was an amazing opportunity to be a part of the behind-the-scenes aspect of museum exhibition design. The exhibition was actually featured in the latest edition of The Flat Hat (you can read the full article at http://flathatnews.com/files/pdf/flat-hat_08_27_10_0.pdf.) Feel free to comment with any questions on what it's like to be a student curator, or with your feedback on the article (the author Grace did a great job!) - and of course, please stop by see the exhibition in person. Entry is always free for students, and everyone here in the DEN would love to hear your feedback!

- Justine

Preperations for Michelangelo

We have worked through the winter, but the preparations for Michelangelo have been fantastic along the way, the exhibition is coming together, in a more amazing way than we imagined. It was well worth it to work through the holidays, on an exhibition of works by Michelangelo. After all, how often do people get to organize an exhibition by the Master. The works borrowed from Casa Buonarroti (ancestral home of Michelangelo) are some gems that are rarely seen, and almost never loaned. Starting February 6th you will be able to see the true treasures and unique drawings and preparatory sketches for some of his most amazing works. We look forward to seeing you all over the next few months.

Whats that smell?

Ahhh. There is nothing quite like the smell of fresh paint in the air. And this smell has made its way across the entire museum.

Today was one of those days where there was plenty of little tasks for volunteers to do, with the Andy Warhol exhibit coming our way. I helped to paint, or cut in, the edges of the walls and around the exit signs, using a really tall ladder to reach what I could. I did this knowing I have a fear of falling and landing, I just decided it would be one of those things I could do to help gradually face this fear. But the pink walls are going to be quite fitting!

After that I worked on my on-going advertising and promotion project for a little bit. I'm making templates for the print advertising, so that people may switch around the images and text for future publications.

Now I am in the process of peeling labels and sticking them on postcards for the VIP and the Members' Opening receptions and lectures. Joy! (Its okay, although its one of those menial tasks, I kind of enjoy repetitious activities)

-Catherine

Hello!

Hello,

My name is Catherine and I’m new to the Den Blog! I am currently a junior and I am a studio art major and marketing minor. I started volunteering at the Muscarelle during the Spring ’09 semester because I’ve had a strong fascination with art history, and I figured that it would be an educational experience to volunteer here and see what it would be like to work at a museum, a potential career path for me. I found that it gives me a break from the regular school work I do, and that I do get general sense of what goes on towards running and organizing a small museum, but I still haven’t decided if museum work is for me. I love prints and printmaking (I taking History of Prints, Silkscreen printmaking, and Advanced Relief Printmaking this semester), so I wanted to be around in the background this semester when the Andy Warhol exhibit comes around.

Because of my interest in marketing, this semester I (and a couple other volunteers) has been given the task of helping find the Muscarelle think of a new marketing strategy towards students. I was told that the goal of the museum is to find a way to bring every single student through the doors of the Muscarelle at least once a semester. This may or may not be possible, but I’ll give it a shot! As far as I can tell, most of the emphasis will be on getting people in for the Warhol exhibit.

One of the great things about volunteering at the Muscarelle is that I’m typically in the know about the events, lectures, or special guests who come to visit the museum or college. Just before my volunteer shift today, I went to a special discussion and Q&A session open to 20 students (only 15 came) with David Allan Brown, the curator of Italian and Spanish paintings at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. , who is receiving one of the two Leslie Cheek medals today or tomorrow. I felt a little bit out of place as an art major who hasn’t narrowed down what to do for a career, but it was nice to hear about his background and how fell into his career. Several of the other students there had questions regarding what type of college degree to get in order to get into curation or exhibit design (Masters vs. PHD, Art History vs. Museum Studies).
I have several other fun stories regarding museum events, but I will wait to share them some other time.

Also, as a side note, phones have always scared me a little bit. Not necessarily my own phone, but answering phones that aren’t my own. This semester I’ve had to answer the DEN phone and attempt to take messages while people on the other side typically talk really fast about important sounding things. It has been awkward occasionally, I must admit, but I am getting over this fear pretty quickly.

Hello, friendly Internet dwellers and fellow DEN enthusiasts! This is Elayne, and I thought I’d introduce myself, since you’ll likely be hearing a lot more from me in the next two years (unless, somehow, I get myself fired).

I’m the new Graduate Assistant here in the DEN, and I’m currently working on my Master’s Degree in School Counseling. I also went to good old WM for my undergraduate degree and graduated in 2007. Unfortunately, as an undergrad, I wasn’t aware of all the great resources that the Muscarelle has to offer, and my educational experience was weaker because of it. Lucky for you, however, it is now MY job now to make sure that you don’t make that same tragic mistake!

I'll be working on different student outreach programs while I'm here (when I'm not hauling heavy boxes of musty books, of course), so if you have any ideas about how to make the Muscarelle YOUR Muscarelle, let me know!

With sore arms and high hopes,
Elayne

WM Faculty Exhibition Opening

The Muscarelle Museum of Art is pleased to announce the latest exhibition, The College of William and Mary Faculty Show Eleven, opens tonight at 5:30 PM. All are welcome for wine and snacks. This unique offering of the very talented Studio Arts Faculty will be on display until October 24th.