Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with museums

Articles on law serving specific factions of society? Example of art.

tnygard — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:56:07 -0800

Hi all, I am looking for articles or books on how the law serves specific factions of society at the expense of others. I am specifically interested in the issue of art fraud and forgery, but I would be happy to learn about more general overviews on this issue as well. Is there a "classic" book on how law is socially constructed to serve specific factions of society at the expense of others? Or maybe an overview on the sociology or anthropology of law that you highly recommend? Or some key terms I should be aware of? My intuitive understanding of the art forgery example is that laws to prevent fraud serve the interests of people involved in the art market (dealers, galleries, museums, auction houses) but hinder artists that work in historical traditions because the border between a "copy" and a "pastiche" and a "forgery" and a "fraud" is blurry. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Where to stay and what to see in Berlin?

gramcracker — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:11:41 -0800

Where should I stay and what should I do in Berlin for a 4 day trip? (Single, clean, safe, cheap, easy to get to the major sights.) Heading to Germany to see a friend who recently moved there, but going to spend some time in Berlin first, never been there. Single, late 20s gay traveler, see the museums, shop a bit, maybe grab a drink. Neighborhoods/sights/attractions to avoid or not to miss? Thanks!

Where's the best place to go on vacation in the US if you're five and love everything to do with science?

pootler — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:58:09 -0800

Help us pick a US vacation destination for a science-obsessed five year old. So Mr Pootler and Pootler jr REALLY don't like going on holiday. One is geeky/autistic and the other is genius/autistic. But I want a holiday dammit!

Mr and Jr would actually like to go to America. Mr and Jr don't cope with amusement parks, busy beaches and the like, but we do all love museums.

We thought we might be able to do a museum sort of holiday. Specifically one that will appeal to Jr.s obsessions: geology, computers, astronomy, astrophysics, anatomy, chemistry, computers, physics, mathematics, codes, ancient scripts and number systems...... He also loves anything to do with water and books, Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes. ;-)

So clearly we're not looking for the typical travel agents package. ;-) We'd like to have a base in one place, but wouldn't mind driving a couple of hours for day trips. If you want to do theme parks, you go to Florida or California. But where should we go? And what should we visit?

Even if we leave after we catch a fly ball at Wrigley in the first inning...

QUHZK — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:09:52 -0800

Travel-Filter: If my wife and I stay downtown in Chicago, how long would it take to see all the tourist-y sights we want to see? My wife and I want to go visit Chicago, but we can't do an extended stay any time soon. We were thinking that we'd take advantage of the Labor Day holiday to go and see our favorite museums.

We want to go to:

Shedd Aquarium
Adler Planetarium
Museum of Science and Industry
Field Museum (Don't need to see Real Pirates, already saw that)
Sears Tower

Could we do this all in a day or two? I have a feeling that the answer is "Ha ha, no.", but how long does each one take to go through if you're pretty aware of the time but still enjoying yourself? Have we Ferris Bueler'd ourselves just by virtue of distance between them?

Museums!

gerryblog — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:23:00 -0800

Best current exhibitions in New York City museums? I'm spending the day in New York tomorrow and we think we want to hit a museum or two. Are there any can't-miss exhibitions currently in the city?

Do you know of any museums which watermark their online images?

COBRA! — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:58:19 -0800

I need a list of museums which watermark (or otherwise alter for the purpose of control) the images they make available online. Actually, I'm arguing that it's rarely done, and I don't find a lot of examples. But I worry about being wrong and missing a bunch.

Help me spend somebody else's money on a new camera!

synecdoche — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:49:32 -0800

Shopping for somebody else and looking for a digital SLR camera that can handle a handful of specific requirements. I know nothing about these things. I work for somebody who is in the market for a new digital SLR camera. I've been tasked with the job, being the go-to person who knows more about tech than the other employee, but I confess to knowing little about digital cameras. I am hoping the hivemind might point me in the right direction.

What I am after is a very user-friendly camera, a digital SLR if at all possible, that does really well with indoor light. The camera's most important function will be to take picture of things in museums, including presentations of text. The text will need to be legible on the image (This can involve the descriptions of displays, as well as text that is itself the display--treaties and whatnot that are, presumably, legible enough to read when one is not using the camera.) There is a possibility that some of these images will be reproduced in a (non-glossy) book in the future but for the most part it is for capturing material for a research project, for future reference.

The price range for this is between $300-$600 CDN.

Thanks!

clean, nice paris museum hotel

Mossy — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:59:24 -0800

Last minute paris hotel recommendation So, we've been staying at the quite delightful jays paris and have decided to spend a couple more days in the city, but unfortunately no more availabilty here!

We're going to be visiting the main museums (louvre, orsay, beaux arts etc) and versailles over the next few days and would like something in walking distance of this area (ex versailles of course!).

Other requirements are clean crisp white sheets, quiet, comfy beds and the nicer the bathroom the better.

Any ideas?

Art filter: Klimt & Schiele in NYC?

D.Billy — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:26:51 -0800

Where in NYC can I see works by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt on display right now? A friend is coming into town in the next few days, and these are his two favorite artists. He has never seen their stuff in person, so I have been charged with finding a place, or places, where this can happen. I was just in the MoMA and didn't spot either artist on the walls there, so I assume my next stop should be the Met ... but does anyone know for sure where I can find some good Klimt / Schiele action, so I can avoid a fruitless blind search?

The new exhibit in your town!

aburd — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:12:03 -0800

My girlfriend would like to work in the business of art exhibit production. She's got a Master's in Art History and has taught art history at a number of schools and has worked in museums. But she's not sure how exactly she could get into the field of art exhibit production. Does anyone have any experiences in this field that may help her figure out a place to start? I'm specifically talking about the big art exhibits that move from Museum to Museum across the country and the globe.

Surprising ideas in the Capitol of the World?

moxiedoll — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:19:42 -0800

Any especially interesting exhibits in NYC next week? I'm going to be in NYC next week and I'll have lots of by-myself weekday daytime to burn. It's easy to come up with ideas and I'm happy to go back to the Big and Much Loved Museums, but I'm wondering if anyone has any timely and particular suggestions.... a fascinating exhibit of X at gallery Z, say?

How to get a print of this painting?

paultopia — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:30:04 -0800

Laying hands on a print of a major, but not famous, painting... Recently, at a museum, I saw a painting with which I fell totally in love. Specifically, Jean Metzinger's Still Life With Box, an amazing cubist piece. It's part of a touring exhibit of stuff whisked out from New Orleans in Katrina ("Spared from the Storm").

The rest of the internet has failed me... does anyone know how one would get a print of something like this? Is it even possible? I thought of asking someone at the museum, but don't know who to ask, and don't want to bother some curator with my silly souvenir-hunting requests. (Plus the exhibit has passed through now.)

Wisdom from the art crowd?

What should I do in Vienna?

howgenerica — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:41:53 -0800

I'm going to be in Vienna from September 26 (early morning) - 29 (afternoon). I'm 18 years old and will be traveling with friends. What should we do/ see? I've been put in charge of figuring all this out, but apart from the obvious tourist things I don't know what's good. I guess I'm looking for more off-the-beaten-path stuff. Thank you! This can be anything: cool museums, restaurants, bars, discos, shops, historic sites, areas to walk around; anything. I'd just really appreciate recommendations from those who've been/ lived there.

Modern art framing

jayder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:15:23 -0800

Art museum painting framing question. A common style of framing in art museums --- especially with abstract paintings such as Cy Twombly and Mark Rothko's works --- involves a thin strip of wood around the edge of a painting, perhaps with a few-millimeter gap between the edge of the canvas and the inner edge of the wood. The strip of wood is usually flush with the face of the painting. That's all there is to it. I would like to replicate this effect with some paintings I have. Any idea how best to accomplish this effect? I am hoping to do it myself, using some basic hand tools, but I am not sure how best to fasten the frame to the painting, nor am I sure what is holding the frame together. The wood strips are very thin, perhaps a quarter of an inch wide, no more than half an inch.

Using My Right Brain

netbros — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:49:35 -0800

How can I improve my art awareness (i.e paintings, sculpture, crafts, etc.)? I missed out on art and art history during my uninspired college years many moons ago. I'd like to do something now to improve that situation. What should I look for online; what books can I read to get a feel for the masters, as well as contemporary artists? Then, once I understand a bit about what I'm looking for, where should I go (museums, galleries) to enjoy the work? I live in the U.S., so I'd probably want to start there, but I plan to travel internationally when I retire. I would like to make art a part of my discoveries. As always, thanks very much in advance for your suggestions and ideas.

Green Concierge Seeks Los Angeles Infodump

carsonb — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:00:25 -0800

I'm starting a new job as a telephone concierge at a Brand-new upscale retail/housing establishment in Glendale, CA next week—can you help me get my ear to the ground? Clients will be both tenants of the property and casual shoppers, and I am expected to provide expert-level concierge service. However, I'm relatively new in town, and the time I've spent here has been confined to a rather narrow corridor between Echo Park and central Hollywood. My boss is even newer to town than I, and I'd like to make a good impression by hitting the ground running for this gig. Please, I'm eager for all types of suggestions:

- Specifics on LA destinations (restaurants, attractions, events, nightlife, etc. with a focus on upscale, hip, guaranteed solid types of establishments)
- Hints/tips on transportation and navigation
- Blogs, websites, mailing lists, and RSS feeds that will keep me up to date on all of this stuff (I've subscribed to some related AskMe tags already; what am I missing? =o)
- Dead tree rags I should be reading regularly
- Any other information you can provide

Glendale is my first priority, but superior knowledge of all of Los Angeles is my ultimate goal. As mentioned above, I'm working my way through pertinent tags here on AskMe, but if you know of any relevant/obscure questions I might like to see please do mention them. Also, as a sub-question, do you have any tips on this type of job? I've worked as a TTY Relay Operator before and am happy to customer-serve, so I'm not completely unaware of what it entails. But if there's any specific advice you're holding I'd appreciate a share. Thanks!
Yes, I run with my ear to the ground; talented like that.

Museums and the social web

Miko — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:42:38 -0800

Can you help me find great examples of museums making use of free social web apps? I'm preparing a presentation on how museums, particularly small museums, can make use of the power of free social web applications to build relationships and raise institutional profiles. I'd like to find really good examples of museums making use of the post-blog generation of web apps. Here are some examples of the type of thing I'd like to find more of:

The Brooklyn Museum invites users to upload their own pictures of the Brookyn Bridge to a Flickr pool which is then linked to an exhibit partially hosted on their website.
Mystic Seaport creates a few episodes of a web show for YouTube.
The Library of Congress uploads a photo collection to Flickr to seek identifying information and experiment with tagging.
The Chicago History Museum presents a documentary on low-riders commissioned for their car exhibit on YouTube.
The Chumash Indian Museum on VoiceThread
The Second Louvre - the Louvre itself recreated on Second Life (not free to develop, of course, but interesting anyhow as an example of one direction things can go for brick-and-mortar museums).

The only things I'm not interested in taking a look at are things that museums are doing completely on their own websites, and blogs, unless the blogs are somehow uniquely fantastic and paradigm-changing.

Also, If you have any thoughts about how museums could make innovative use of these applications, I'm all ears!

I smoke the LA, you smoke the LA...

phaedon — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:06:56 -0800

How can I stay up to date on the art/cultural scene in downtown Los Angeles? I'll be damned - the past couple of weekends, I've gone to hang out in downtown Los Angeles on a whim, and I end up having a great time. I was wondering if there were any online resources - beyond LAWeekly, perhaps? - that have information and suggestions on gallery openings, museum fare, outdoor festivals, art shows, car shows, etc. I'm in the position where I don't live downtown, but would love to plan out a day, or night, with things to go and do.

When will I be able to confidently ask for mayo?

doift — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:56:35 -0800

[Rambly-what-should-I-do-with-my-life-filter] Useless Master's degrees! Impending weddings! Mild-to-moderate homelessness! Help me figure out my next step before I resort to prostitution or, worse, telemarketing. This spring I finished a master's degree in museum studies and fashion history. This program in particular. I knew going in that there weren't a ton of jobs in that field specifically, and so have availed myself of a pretty diverse bunch of internships and part-time jobs (archives, museum registrar's office, etc.) to try to make myself more broadly employable. I live in New York, the museum capital of the country. I am willing to move pretty much anywhere for a job. However, after spending several months looking for work, it's become painfully clear that there really aren't that many jobs, period, in any branch of what I'm trained to do: museums/archives/conservation labs/etc. If I loved the work, I'd be more willing to put in the time to make it, but I don't know if I'm as crazy as about it as is necessary. I like the work, but the low pay, job shortages, museum bureaucracy, etc, all give me pause. Like many people, I went to grad school because I couldn't think of anything better to do. That was mistake #1.

Mistake #2 is the result of a familial culture in which it was always understood that as a student, school was my job. So I didn't do any of the customer service/retail/office/food service jobs that most people do during high school and college. I had scholarships, so I didn't ever need to. So now I have no experience in any of those things, and my few recent attempts to get any of those kinds of jobs have been met with mockery.

Mistake #3 was getting engaged. I'm very happy to be getting married, but due to annoying circumstances, my fiance is 2000 miles away and will not be able to move to the same time zone until I have a job, and therefore a reason to live in a particular place. This adds an extra level of time-based pressure, because we're really sick of having the Midwest between us.

Also, my lease ended in August, and I'm currently sleeping on my brother's couch. This is getting old. In New York, it's very difficult to get approved for an apartment or even a sublet without a job, and I'm hesitant to up and move elsewhere, when the few jobs I'm remotely qualified for are mostly here.

It doesn't help that all of this is making me something of an emotional wreck. No one wants to hire someone who starts sobbing when asked if she wants mayo on her sandwich, because she's come to wonder if she even deserves mayo.

So I turn to you, Internet. How do relatively smart, easygoing, pleasant-to-work-with kids get decent jobs these days? At this point I'm willing to do anything that pays the rent. Short of prostitution. I'd be a terrible prostitute.

Anyone know their way around Paris and Amsterdam?

mundy — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 06:41:22 -0800

EuroTourFilter How much travel time is involved in getting from: 1) La Flèche d'Or at 102 bis rue de Bagnolet - 75020 to the Louvre? 2) Paradiso at Weteringschans 6-8, Leidseplein to the Rijksmuseum? Is public transport to/from workable for a first time, ignant American visitor? Thanks for any insight you can offer. I'm leaving in about 4 hours...

Museum Display Designer

foxinthesnow — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:52:14 -0800

I want to design museum exhibits. What is the recommended course of action to make this into a career? What schools offer such a program? Are there many jobs available in this field? Anyone have any experience with this? I know that this is my calling, please help me get started.

Dragging this museum into the 20th century, what's my job title?

cobaltnine — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 09:43:20 -0800

Name-my-job-filter: I volunteer at my town's historical society and now I do everything except the financial parts. They recently realized that I'm not going away and asked me to come up with a job title. I'm also trying to get hired by someone who will pay me to do this... At the last monthly meeting, the 'executive board' told me to come up with a job title, since I'd been coming to those for the last four months and I'd been showing up to work at least once weekly for a year. At the same meeting I managed to wrangle conference money from them and so I'm going to need a title that works among museum professionals as well.

So far, my responsibilities have included, besides cleaning, being the person who can climb ladders, and being stuck on the damn parade float:
Setting up the computer.
Setting up the PastPerfect database.
Renumbering the entire collection (in progress.)
Entering the collection into the new database (this is way more complicated than it sounds)
Assessing the collection for damage/whether we should keep it.
Creating a new set of protocols for what should be accepted into the collection.
Creating new paperwork for donators, based off other museums' forms.
Strongly suggesting appropriate ways to conserve particular objects in the collection.
(Re)designing exhibits, using only the inkjet printer and any scrap I find in the storage shed.
Giving a public talk/presentation (this was last minute and yesterday they told me they want me to repeat it...on my own dime...at area nursing homes.)

The only thing I'm not actually working with is the financial side; we have a slew of accountants who are long-time volunteers who do that stuff.

I'm finishing my MA in historical archaeology, but I don't have the kind of professional certification or training that museum professionals do, yet.

I don't have any friends in this field yet (that's what the conference is for), so I don't know what to call myself without making it sound like I'm in charge. Thanks in advance.

What is this piece of art?

Cochise — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:17:40 -0800

Looking for information about a piece of art at the this year's Whitney Biennial If anyone here went to the Whitney Biennial in New York this year, you may have seen an exhibit about gun-related crime in Texas. In front of the piece there was a giant stack of posters that had photos of all the people killed in Texas in gun-related incidents in I think a one month period, I'm not sure. Anyway, as I look at the poster I took from the exhibit, I totally forget who the artist was and what exactly the piece was about. Anyone know?

What art should I see in NYC?

joe_from_accounting — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 10:59:44 -0800

What museums or current art shows should I visit while in NYC over Easter weekend?

DC Tourist AsksMefi; Area Man Responds

ikkyu2 — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 13:33:57 -0800

TravelFilter: Specific Washington D.C. questions from a tourist. I'm in D.C., and I have a set of rather specific questions.

a) Is there anywhere in town I can go eat fresh crabs after 10 pm on a Saturday night?

b) Is there anything of cultural interest (a monument or a museum or something) that is open and worth seeing after dark on Friday or Saturday? I've seen the Lincoln Memorial, Nat'l Monument, White House, Capitol, and Vietnam War memorial.

c) I'm definitely visiting a museum on Sunday; I don't want the Air and Space or any post-19th-century art. I like a museum that's not terribly crowded, might have a special exhibit worth seeing; I can look at galleries of paintings, sculpture, coins, urns and jewels for long periods of time, and I like old dusty things of historical interest. Given that, which museum should I visit?

Thanks for the prior answers to DC-related questions, btw; I've found them quite useful, and they allowed me to narrow my questions down to the above three. Money/price considerations aren't constraining, but time is short; I'm staying at the Ritz in the middle of NW, and I'd like to avoid long travel times (more than 30 min one-way).