Amanda's Travel Log and the Effects of Small Details in Museums (SENIOR TRIP EDITION)

   It was great to spend the weekend exploring the arts in places other than Rochester. The trip was a great bonding experience for the seniors, and I feel we got a lot out of the trip. (It seems several seniors got inspiration for future art pieces at the least.)
    While on our art museum blitz, I began to notice how small details such as the setting and security greatly altered the experience of visiting. The inclusion of natural light in the Clark, for example, really made the entire experience lovely and helped remind that the art shown inside the gallery related to the world outside the museum as well.
    But a detail that surprised me with how much it changed the experience at each respective location was the effect of security guards. Moving from museum to museum, I noticed a great difference in the security guards' demeanor and uniform, and this difference surprisingly helped set the "mood" of each museum. The uniforms of the Clark, for example, were incredibly formal, a great difference from the standard police-esque uniforms the guards at the MAG Rochester wear. All the guards in the Clark were dressed in formal suits, blurring the distinction between docent and guard. This attire seems to fit, however, the Clark's collection, which is more "historical" in nature. There is an air of intellectualism in the Clark, which the Clark reflects in its attire for workers.
         In contrast, MassMOCA seemed to lack guards entirely. Through my rounds inside the museum, I found several volunteers and docents but only a one or two guards. Again, this choice in security helps the mood of the institution. I found MassMOCA to easily be the most "fun" of the three institutions we went to. The architecture was weird and funky, bringing us back to the age of mills and industrial factories, and it definitely had a more relaxed feeling than either the Clark or Dia:Beacon. Pedro even referred to it as "the Disneyland of museums." How appropriate then that the security was less overt.
    Also a contrast from the latter two institutions in terms of staff faculty, Dia:Beacon's uniforms were surprisingly modern. Guards dressed considerably more casual than the other two institutions, although I am not sure how how I felt about that.

As for art inspiration, the Boiler House and in particular, the post-apocalyptic installation of Michael Oatman's all utopias fell wet my palette for industrial forms and imagined narratives again.

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