Extra Blog: 5

AMOCAFEST - OCT 27th

{aka octoberfest}

This is one of the staff, her name is Nicole. I do odd jobs for her a lot. 

He doesn't work here. We just hired them to do traditional German dances like the chicken dance. 

Yes, the food was delicious.

Extra Blog: 4

This is the art studio in the back of AMOCA. I have free access to this any time, because I volunteer so much. Its pretty cool!!

Some of the artists' work is just laying around everywhere waiting to be glazed. I found this one really pretty.

Sometimes they host events in the back room like family sculpting day for example. I usually have to do yearbook style photographing for the events.

Extra Blog: 3

This is what we look like when we take photos in the museum. This is the back gallery for the local artists to display their work.

Here is one of the regular artists in the back ceramics studio. He was sculpting a "Stein" for our AMOCAfest we had in October.

Extra Blog 2

An example of some of the professional photography I do for the museum.

It honestly is mostly dishes which isn't too fun, but its experience!

Extra Blog

The top picture was used in AMOCA's ad which they printed in huge posters.. I was pretty proud. (: 

Blog 10: Senior Project Update

(1) What are you currently doing in your independent component? 

I am currently continuing to do my volunteer work at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts. I have learned a lot of new information about how to start a show. I am starting to realize how much work I have gotten myself into...

(2) What is a recent piece of research (article, interview, or audio-visual) that have you reviewed you would say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project?  The piece of research should be something you reviewed in November.  Please explain what you learned and where are you going next because of this piece of research.

One of the pieces that I really found a deep interest with was the article called "Psychological Effects of Art on Humans". I thought that the way it explained the human mind was extremely useful in an advertisers' point of view. Not only are you targeting your audience on a very physical level through demographics research etc, but you are also more able to change their emotions from the pieces that are shown in the exhibit. It stresses a more important role on choosing the pieces wisely in order to have emotional themes throughout the entire exhibit. This will help me with choosing the pieces that I choose to exhibit, because I now have a better understanding as to what will effect which part of the brain. 


(3)

{This is the photography studio that I usually work in with the girl on the right, Jill. She's the photography intern, and  I help her. The man on the left is Roady, he is the arts director of AMOCA. He's placing one of the headlining pieces for the last exhibit down for us to photograph for advertisements and the catalogue books. }

Blog 5b: Science Fair Proposal

1. What is your topic?My topic is "The Art of Curating"

2. What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support that problem? (Expert citation must be MLA format.)

“It is sad that the ADBID needs to pay for a survey to understand the attitudes and the needs of our neighborhood five years after it was established,”- Yulav BarZemer http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/arts-district-demographics-study-shows-affluent-residents/article_72f3ad04-b739-11e1-afab-001a4bcf887a.html

3. What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.)If the demographic of an art show were only the upper middle class, then how can we draw an even larger demographic to visit?

4. Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment.  Include the tools you plan on using.I will perform this experiment through a series of many many surveys. With the information like this at hand, I will attend many art shows and exhibitions just to understand the demographics that are outlined in LA to see if there is any variation to the type of person that it draws. Once I have my demographic information and have asked a few more questions, I will do intense research and on the field exploration to find what each demographic looks for in an art show and try to incorporate it into my art show. Also, I will create graphs and then make projections as to how you can achieve greater demographic diversity.

5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:
Behavioral/Social Science

Blog 9: Working EQ and Possible Answers

1:   The working EQ I used during my presentation was: What are the steps you must follow in order 
      to curate a successful art show?

2:   I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.

3:   Possible answers could include: having a prominent theme, finding a location, advertising the show, preparation, and then opening night. (these would obviously be very vague so that I could go into the in depth process during the presentation to fill up content.)

Blog 8: Rough Draft of Presentation 1

10 Minute Plan!

Blog 7: Independent Component

CONTENT:

(1) Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.

I plan to basically continue my mentorship in AMOCA. There are many opportunities that lie before me right there in the very same setting where I have been working for the past several months. 

(2) Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work requirement.

I will meet my requirements by coming in to AMOCA at a regular weekly basis. My shifts are every Saturday from 12-6, so I will undoubtedly get my hours done very easily.

(3) How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?  

I am learning the skills in order to run my own art show by observing and talking to the actual curator. With these skills for observation I can learn by mimicking their actions. I also can talk to the staff for further connections.

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

Questions:

1: What is one of the things that made you interested in the field you are working in?

2: What was the process in which you went through to get where you are today?

3: Do you believe that there is something your company does that sets you apart? How?

4: Each day you come into work, what is your mindset like?

5: What interests has your job sparked within you ? 

Blog 5: Problem Statement

1: The Art of Museum Curating

2:

• The Chemical Properties of specific paints react differently with certain environments. The goal is to find the best mixture of temperatures with paints that differ in consistency and type.

• It is normally very hard for museums to have awareness of certain exhibitions and different types of art. The goal would be to find the best way to effectively market an art show for different age groups, and finding which methods work best for specific age groups.

Blog 4: Working EQ

The Pentagon:
1: What positive thing happened as a result of what you have completed so far?

One of the most positive things I have achieved would probably have to be having a lot of my work taken and used in the actual upcoming exhibition. I am credited as a photographer for one of their promotional ads as well! I would say that this in itself is pretty exciting. I also have grown close to an actual curator and made valuable friendships with this ongoing experience.

2: Pick a piece of research or your interview. How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

My interview with Victor Crosetti was most definitely a great thing to have done. Not only did he help me understand more about the fine tuning of things within an art curator's job, but he also detailed the main concern between the artist and the curator finding a happy common ground for putting together a show. He referred me to a few other people whom would be a great addition to my project later on as well, so that was deeply appreciated.

3: What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

I think my hours and volunteering have been very easy to come by. Getting interviews and a mentor also wasn't as hard as I had imagined it to be. Either way, I have gotten to the point that I am at now by simply working hard at my internship and keeping a steady record. Everything is working out according to plan, which is phenomenal.

4: What hasn't worked so far?

I am pretty blessed to say that I haven't had any speedbumps or hiccups along the way. (Hopefully I'm not jinxing it) However, if there ever were to be a problem, I would most likely imagine it to be my interview not working out, or possibly not finding the resources that I need. There are only so many books and articles on my subject, but I do believe I will get by just fine.

5: Based on your experience so far, what possible questions come to mind regarding what you would like to study this year? What is your end goal with your senior project? Who would you like to talk to next? Why?

I would possibly have a question about what the standards are that we have to meet in our senior projects. My end of the year projection is to have my very own art show produced, advertised, and marketed to possible employers. I would like to talk to the AMOCA Curator, Christy. I want to talk to her because she has the exact job in which I am studying, and is also very knowledgeable with other curators and will have several leads I imagine.

Blog 3: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

I plan to interview a current AMOCA employee, Victor Crosenti. He is currently the front desk operator whom controls all of the transactions and entrance fees of the customers. I chose him because I think that he would be a good contact due to his plans for the future. He wants to be a contemporary or modern art museum curator and is currently working toward this goal. I would be able to ask him about his plans and how he sees himself getting there. Also, his knowledge of the fine arts industry provides some valuable information I would need for later references in my senior project. 

2. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

* What is your plan in order to become an art curator?

*What do you think would be the most challenging part of the job?

*Why do you want to pursue this job?

*From seeing a part of how an exhibition works, what would you say is the hardest part of putting a show together?

*Do you have any advice you could possibly give to me?

Blog 2: Curating an Art Show

a. 

My topic is how to curate an art show. I chose this because I work in an art museum, and hope to one day curate my own show, so I figured why not start now?

 b. 

• iPoly Citizen:  I plan to make my art show based on a certain issue as an underlying theme. (bullying, emotional distress, etc..) This relates to the me improving as an iPoly citizen because I would be able to draw more attention to an issue that is widely known and educate people through artistic value.

• Effective Communicator:  I plan to network and make connections with more art directors and people in my field of interest. This will make me more effective as a learner because I will know the people in the industry and be able to possibly get hired with more ease.
• Effective Learner:  I plan to do more research on certain exhibitions of artists and art history. This will make me more effective as a learner because I will not only expand my knowledge of a necessary field, but it will 
• Effective User of Technology: I plan to learn how to use the necessary computer programs that I need in order to create great pamphlets and advertising memorabilia for my art show. This will make me more effective as a user of technology because I will be able to know more programs which will help me in the long term for my required skill sets.

Blog 1: Mentorship - AMOCA

Literal (Know)

Mentorship Log

Susan Reed

 sreed@amoca.org 

(909) 865 3146 x 103 (office)

Literal (Need to know)

What does it take in order to put an exhibition together?

How do you find collectors willing to donate or lend their pieces to you?

What is the best way to choose which pieces go into an exhibition?

How do you correctly catalogue it so that it isn't lost?

What does curating an art show entail?

Interpretive

  Honestly, I could say that the most important thing that I have gained from this experience is the knowledge of different artifacts of ceramics. Before this internship, I barely knew anything about ceramics except that it was simply pots and things made out of clay. Now if you were to ask me, I could give you a detailed response on different areas in which certain art forms have originated and could even name a few priceless pieces that I have seen and helped photograph on special occasions.

  I really enjoy working here because of the friendly atmosphere of the workers and interns and also because of the immense amount of freedom I have to photograph and do my work. They give me the right amount of time and means in order to get what I need to done and I really am appreciative of it all.

Applied

 This experience has helped me with choosing my subject because I had a simple idea of what I would like to DO for my senior project, but I had no idea which subject would capture my vision. After spending time at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts, I realized that one thing I became interested in was the way they put a show together. 

  Getting to be a part of the process is simply amazing, especially for only being a Senior in high school. So, I decided that I want to spend the year on being a curator for my own show. This will help me not only learn more about what it takes to create, produce, and market a new exhibition, but it will help me in the process of marketing my own art show at the end of the year.