|
TrimmTrabb84
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: melanie
Country: United States
State: California
Birthday: 4/25/1984
Gender: Female
Interests: art, music, museums, shows, traveling, eyeliner, art history, being nerdily enthusiastic about school, shoes, dancing in any non-organized fashion to good music, public transportation, cheap clothing and shoes, art historians, cats
Expertise: general issues of aesthetics, the simpsons, blur, knowing at least six months in advance what the new trendy colors are going to be. You know, useful things.
Occupation: bum
Industry: Art
Message: message me
AIM:  trimmtrabb84
MSN: meldahl@ucla.edu
Member Since:
1/24/2003
|
|
| I went to Reno on Friday to see the curator at the Nevada Museum of Art. We went for coffee and talked for about an hour. We talked about the museum, and what I've done in my degree programs and in my museum internships. She said that she wanted to meet me because she liked my resume, and although the museum has no open positions at the moment, she's anticipating that there will be some in the future. That makes it sound like she's anticipating more than one opening, but the one she mentioned specifically to me is the assistant curator position. Her assistant curator has just finished applying to graduate school, and she'll probably be leaving in June. (The curator only has an MA in museum studies, and the assistant curator only has a BA). She also said that she was so happy that someone was interested in working there, because apparently it's difficult to get people to move to Reno....which I suppose I understand a little bit. If you can convince yourself that holding out a few more months will get you a museum job in california....but on the other hand, the museum there is so much better than one would expect a museum in Reno to be, and the quality of the museum should play some sort of role in accepting a job.
Anyway, although it was clear that she was meeting me in anticipation of these future job openings, I'm really trying not to get my hopes up too high. It would be absolutely amazing to get that assistant curator position. It would be a lot of responsibility because there are only two curators at that museum, which is not a large enough curatorial department for the size of the space and how much they have to have on display at one time. The assistant curator is in charge of all exhibitions that get loaned from other museums. She kind of adopts them, researches them, and decides their installation at the NMA. But I think given the chance I could be really good at it. The prospect of getting a curatorial position when my only museum experience has been unpaid, and in this economic climate, never struck me as a realistic possibility. I think this is actually a real possibility, but then again, someone more awesome than me might come along in the next few months. Although I think it's a plus that I have lived in reno, and that I showed interest first and sought them out, even when there were no open positions.
Anyway, there it is. I'm going to be keeping in touch with her. She's also going to get me in touch with someone at the Crocker in Sacramento, who I can talk to about volunteering.
So, trying not to get too excited, but I'm still liking the idea that my stay at the record store might not last too much longer. | | |
| All's well and consistent at work,. nothing really to report there.
About three or four weeks ago I sent off an email to the HR person at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, asking if they had any open positions. She wrote me back, and CC'd the curator, saying that they had no open positions at the time, but I could forward my resume to her to have on file if I wanted. About a week after I got her reply I got an email from the curator, requesting a copy of my resume. So I sent off a copy to both of them, not really expecting anything to come of it. Then a few days ago I got another email from the curator asking me to let her know if I'm ever in Reno, because she would like to get a cup of coffee or something, and talk with me.
So the part of my brain that always fantasizes about the best possible scenario thinks--how awesome would it be if they were in the process of creating an additional position in the curatorial department at the museum, and I could fill it!! Their curatorial department is only two people right now.
And before you all turn up your noses at an art museum in Reno, let me say that I think it is a wonderful little museum. It's nothing compared to the museums in LA of course, but they've got a fantastic new building within the last five years or so, and I imagine that the staff is really dedicated to making it a nationally competetive museum. Although the permanent collection isn't fantastic, they have much more interesting special exhibitions and events than say, the crocker art museum in sacramento. Like, right now the NMA has Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell and dan flavin, while the Crocker has Warner Brothers cartoons. It's basically no comparison. And special exhibitions and events are what make a museum dynamic and worth visiting repeatedly anyway, how often can you look at a permanent collection?
So, we're going to try to get to reno sometime in the next month. Also because we want to see those exhibitions, and my dad has to do someone's taxes. So we'll see what happens. At the very least it's extremely encouraging that someone finds my resume impressive.
| | |
| This economy is really really depressing me. The art world is extremely competitive at the best of times, but now it seems almost impossible. Every day in the newspaper there's a story about the problems arts institutions are having: museum x has instituted a hiring freeze, and museum y is laying off people because of an enormous drop in private funding, etc etc etc. I'm plugging away at the applications though. In the meantime I'm working at this independent record store. I would have killed to work there four or five years ago, but now (and don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have a job at all, especially one with health insurance) it's just a little sad and depressing. Most of the time it's alright. It's probably the best retail job I've ever had, and I like the people. But the other day I was behind the counter helping people and for about two seconds I was suddenly overwhelmingly horrified at working there. Then it passed, it was very weird.
The best thing I can do is not get lazy, and just work my ass off. I'm going to be putting in an application for the crocker art museum in sacramento, and if that doesn't pan out I'm going to see about volunteering there two days a week. I work four days a week at the record store, so that would give me one day off per week. They've also got an internship open in the education department, but the lady won't get back to me about whether or not I'm still eligible, since I'm not a student anymore.
I was talking to this guy online the other night, who I'd met a couple times at UCLA, but recently decided to ignore cause he's annoying. Anyway, he was being condescending, because poor me, with my art history degrees is working at a record store, and he, being a current law student, is assuredly going to find good work. And I was like, eff that. (he'd just finished telling me that he didn't really like law). I said that I feel sorry for those people who go to law school, or study economics or business, or anything simply because they think it's a sure thing and it will make them lots of money. (I don't want to offend anyone, I realize there are people who are actually passionate about law and economics, I would just have to cynically say that many students in those fields are doing it for the money, or because it's a 'sure thing' and they're not passionate about anything else enough to divert them from practical considerations). And I told him that obviously people in economics and banking are having hard times as well, and so are lawyers, I've also read articles about how law firms aren't hiring very much right now, and lower case loads are making law firms lay off people. Basically nothing is safe all the time, and at least I have enough love for what I do to push through the difficult times without giving up and without regretting all the years and tens of thousands of dollars that were spent (and will be spent in repayments) educating myself. Because I will get there sometime in the future, and then I will have a career that I love for the rest of my life. It's just going to take a little bit longer than I would like.
Then he was like "if I were you, I'd get a low level job in a museum, and work my way up." And I was like.....no shit. What do you think I've been doing? It's not like I'm applying for head curator positions or anything. "oh wow, you've opened my eyes! I'll certainly get a job now!!" gag me.
On the plus side, I'm reading quite a bit. And will hopefully be doing something in a museum soon, even if it's just volunteering. I will also be in Los Angeles Feb 25-28 for the College Art Association conference. I decided it was a good professional association to belong to. The conference will be awesome because they have career building events, and lots of really interesting seminars, and it will just be a good place to meet people. Also, one of my friends from goldsmiths who actually has a museum job, will be there on assignment. I'll also be in LA in late march/early april, cause amy will be in town.
So there are things to look forward to.
Aaanyway. Jessica was here for a few weeks, which was awesome and fun, even though we didn't get to hang out too much.
And I can't think of anything else to say. Life is pretty uneventful these days.
| | |
| My computer is still broken. I'm waiting until I get a job to fix it, because I don't want my parents paying for it. I did all my dissertation work in the last two weeks on the computers in the library. I think it went alright. I won't say that I'm proud of it, just because I know it could have been a lot better. That being said, although the quality of my dissertation was a bit inconsistent, there are some really good bits in there, and I still think my topic was/is awesome. It was supposed to be 12,000-15,000 words. Mine ended up 17,000, and I even cut out two large sections from my outline because it would have been impossible to fit them in. And there is still so much to glean from it I think that would take a lot more research and thought. I think it would be a good jumping off point for a Ph.D. But we'll think more about that later.
It was really really sad leaving London. I had a good going away party though. First was dinner at nandos, and then off to shunt for drinks and dancing. I didn't have to pay for one drink all night, and most of my favorite people made it out for one part of the evening, or both. I gained some weight while in London, which should hopefully be going away soon now that I'm not drinking 3 times a week and eating a lot of take-away. The only good thing about it is having noticeably larger boobs. But that's something I'm willing to sacrifice.
I still really miss it, and all the people. It's been pretty boring here. My only friend still in the area is patty, and we've only hung out once since I got back on sept. 13th. It was really fun though, we went to the downtown art walk in sacramento. I was supposed to go to san francisco one saturday to meet up with jon and alexis, but I woke up really sick and had to cancel at the last minute. I was super dissappointed, but at the time the thought of getting on a train for 2 1/2 hours and then walking around town all day made me feel like crying. Oh, and last weekend my parents and I went to loomis to see the parade portion of the Del Oro band review, which was super fun. I love band reviews. hehehe.
I'm really quite conflicted about job stuff at the moment. I applied for this job at an audiobooks company in auburn. The position was dealing with the library side of the company. It's really a pretty good job, and I got to the second interview round, but I was having doubts about it and I think sabotaged myself in that interview. That's the kind of job that I would have to commit to for a certain period of time, at least a few years, and although it was a nice office job, I just do not want to live here for that long. So my desire to have a job and make money is conflicting with my desire to hold out and wait for something in LA. I don't need an ideal job in LA, just something that would make me enough money to live on down there. So now I'm only looking at things that are either temporary, or are jobs that I wouldn't feel bad about quitting in just a few months. I just really don't want to be here longer than I have to. This economy does really suck, and I should probably just take any job, but I can't shake that (ill-advised or not) feeling that I am awesome and smart and should be doing something relevant. It doesn't even necessarily have to be art related. I am applying for some adminstrative jobs in different departments at UCLA. I just want to work in an atmosphere that I enjoy, and in a position that is supporting something that I believe in. And I don't know how to convince people that, although I don't techinically have any administrative experience, that I can learn in very quickly, and I'm organized, and efficient, and good at working with people etc. etc.
Of course I'm keeping up on election stuff, and have watched all the debates, and lots of news. Go Obama!
I'm not sure what else to say at the moment. Hopefully I will get a temporary job here soon, and will get a job in LA not too long after that. Crossing fingers. | | |
| 14,200 words so far, I am totally going over my word limit on this thing. Which is dumb because after every section I write I think "that doesn't nearly cover everything." There are so many implications and issues that I just am not well-read or articulate enough to write about right now. Not to mention there's not enough space. This is why I have to do a PhD. I am one of the only people I've talked to who isn't tired of their topic yet.
4pm tomorrow and it will be done!!! Actually, I'm excited for myself because I've done a lot of work recently, but aside from the last week it really hasn't been that grueling of a process.
Then I will be home late saturday. *cries*
| | |
|
