It's called Preserve

Art Museum rule # 1:

Do not sell anything from your collection to make a buck.

Art Museum rule #2:

Look at Art Museum rule #1.

Since Monday night, I've been closely reading about Brandis University's decision to close the Rose Museum and sell off (some of) their collection due to their budget deficit. Their collection includes works from modern & contemporary artist such as Williem de Kooning, Nam June Paik, Helen Frankenthaler and Andy Warhol. 

I've been baffled for awhile about this new trend. Just last month I've been keeping my eyes on the National Academy Museum to deaccession works of art from it's collection to pay off their expenses. The museum is currently blacklisted in the art world now.

A statement recently released from the American Association of Museum about this ordeal:

The American Association of Museums is alarmed and dismayed at the decision by Brandeis University to close the Rose Museum and sell the objects from its collection. Such a drastic action would be an irreparable loss to the university and its community. Present and future generations of students and the public would be deprived of a priceless educational experience.

Museums hold collections in the public trust. These collections are a part of our common heritage and belong, in a moral sense, to all of us. It is the museum’s job to preserve them for future generations.

By selling its art collection for cash to the highest bidder to erase a temporary deficit, Brandeis University is in fundamental violation of the public trust responsibilities it accepted the day it founded the Rose Museum. Such a sale is also a betrayal of the donors, who generously gave art for the benefit of the students and the public, not for paying bills. This is a direct violation of the AAM Code of Ethics for museums.

If it cannot afford to maintain and exhibit its collection, we urge Brandeis University to seek another steward of it. There are many fine museums in the region capable of caring for these works, even on a temporary basis, while the university explores other options. In choosing an alternate solution to the sale and irrevocable loss of the collection that was entrusted to its care, the university would serve as a role model for its students, faculty and community.

Ford W. Bell
President
American Association of Museums

Jehuda Reinharz, the president of Brandis wrote an email that can be read at Modern Art Notes, which is basically blah blah blah, wah wah wah.

This is all making me think of my application to an art museum's summer internship. One of the essays I had to write was what is a museum? What is it's purpose and it's future? I'd written rambled about preserving and public responsibilities. Responsibilities.

Self pick me up

Sunday's Favorite Selection #24:


Mates of State-Goods (It's All in Your Head)

Side note: All I want is a guy to dance with. Silly dance is a plus.

We care about Obama & iPods

I was not shocked that Kanye said this. He's probably going to get a lot of crap for comparing Obama's elected presidency to iPods, but like all Kanye's ridiculous sayings-he has some truth to it. Aaron wrote a comment a few posts ago on how Pepsi's new design looks like Obama's logo. I thought for a while about Obama's "logo". I've only been alive for 23 years so I can only recall a few president elections and I don't think any presidential candidate had an impacting logo. Slogans yes, but logos? Perhaps it's something that pops out, because I'm interested in this stuff now. The blue O with red stripes.

What a genius idea-maketing! Heck you can even go to www.logobama.com and create your own Obama logo. And what about that oh so famous Obama Change image? Completely literally changing how an amazing marketing tool can help out a presidency.

This is a historic presidential election yes, but I don't think I've ever seen so many Obama shirts being sold on my way to Philadelphia Museum of Art one afternoon. I remember when iPod first came out and even its ads on magazines, but it wasn't until that famous shadow dancing in front of a bright color backdrop that made iPods as iconic as it is now. Kanye, as silly as you are, you are always onto something.

Previously on Lost

I can barely watch TV anymore, with the except of news programs at night and a few other channel surfing programming. I mean I used to watch hours upon hours of crap on TV all the time. Now sitting down for an hour to watch anything gives me an attack of anxiety. I get up, walk around, get a drink, pee, check my emails, eat cookies then fall asleep-all within 20 minutes of any show. But maybe finally I can sit still because LOST is back on air. I have to not even blink for 2 hours tonight. I have to go to my second job tonight and might miss the first few minutes of the show, but I think I'll survive.

LOST is possibly the only pop culture phenomenon that I'm obsessed with, though I've been obsessing over Bernard Madoff but I'm not sure if I'll categorize him as anything related to pop culture or a phenomenon. I've become some sort of Star Wars spazz but replace Star Wars with LOST.

I just wished more of my friends watched it so we can discuss theories.

I don't put out

Late Sunday's Favorite Selection #23:


Ladies and Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains-Do You Wanna Be A Professional?

Side note: Jeff and I's new favorite movie.

Rebrand everything

Literally right after I posted about the new design for Tropicana, I opened my refridgerator to see a new design for Sierra Mist which also means Pepsi has a new design. Makes senses seeing that Tropicana is also under PepsiCo.

Once again a very clean, simple design. The tree for Sierra Mist made me giggle, but I think it works well. The font for Mist looks like it's misting away the product-clever PepsiCo. 

I've become quite obsessed with design and layout. I have to accredit my awesome friend Monica for making me like this and also working at the University Galleries. Which brings me to the  conversation we had last night. Grad school, and moving away from Florida. I told her about SVA's new program Design Criticism and how I keep thinking about applying to that Master program. Frankly I don't have the money for it-so it's a thought for the future. It's also a bit scary because it's a new program, and no other school that I know of actually has a program similar to this. 

The nice thing about the conversation-none of my friends actually knows what they want out of their life. Everything is open ended, which makes me feel a bit relax that I am not going crazy.

Now if only America can start working on their own design...(infrastructure anyone?)

Hippie Yuppie Hipster

My bible. Or at least that's what I used to say. Being a quasi sociologist (that is I thought about getting a minor in sociology) made me realize that most of what is written in this book is true. Or at least holds some truth. First off I'm actually in the book as the Loner. Or at least me in the past? Well the drawing looks a whole lot like past me-big curly hair, cat framed glasses, looking very pale and a "duh" face at a lot. Okay so maybe that may still be me, but I'm not that nerdy-though I do tend to over pluck my eyebrows (how did the writers know!?)

As obscure people try to be I think well you're not all that different from everyone else. You look silly, you sound silly and 'cool' is dead. It died when hippies started taking over. Punk was never cool but dirty. New Wave was a "clean" punk but never cool. Artists (visual, written, film) in the 1960s were the last of the 'cool'. And lets face it everyone should know the origin of cool comes from black culture. Everyone should know this. This is explained in John Leland's book Hip: The History. I couldn't read more than a chapter before getting really bored by it. It was too American-centric so it didn't capture my full attention.

Point is I read this really good article a while ago called Hipster: The Dead End of West Civilization at Adbusters. It gave me a better reason why I really dislike going to Miami, and why I feel so empty and disillusioned when I go Miami, art shows, music shows-anything involving young people my age. The last paragraph pretty much sums up my generation:

We are a lost generation, desperately clinging to anything that feels real, but too afraid to become it ourselves. We are a defeated generation, resigned to the hypocrisy of those before us, who once sang songs of rebellion and now sell them back to us. We are the last generation, a culmination of all previous things, destroyed by the vapidity that surrounds us. The hipster represents the end of Western civilization – a culture so detached and disconnected that it has stopped giving birth to anything new.

BTW-I'm not a hipster...according to the Hipster quiz in the back of the Hipster Handbook. I failed it.

Design taking over

Google has a new favicon. I'm very lukewarm about it. The colors remind me of a multi-cultural design which I like, but I think it's too much.

Tropicana Orange Juice has a new design as well, which I like a lot more. Simple, clean very "now" which I dig. It's to the point too. Orange juice. That's all, but the 100% orange pure & natural is a bit silly, because well duh but yum! Though I do have to say it does remind me of a store brand-example Target's brand. It has a cheap and healthy design to it.

Now I wonder who's next in redesigning...

Blog the planet!

Sunday's Favorite Selection #22:

Doogie Howser, M.D.

Side note: First blog? Neil Patrick Harris hosted SNL last night, which wasn't funny at all. That bummed me out because I love Neil Patrick Harris and I think he's an awesome actor. Talking about awesome...

Though SNL heard my request for Rachel Maddow impersonation! But I only caught the ending to it, which also wasn't very funny.

2012: Total eclipse of the heart

Armageddon Week on History channel! I was excited but after 20 minutes of watching Nostradamus: 2012 I started playing some vinyls and singing very loud. Pretty much this 2 hour special, which is still playing is repeating everything that was said in the first 20 minutes. Images of chaos is taking over, Nostradamus "look a like" blah blah blah. Maybe I'm a bit old school, but I want to hear/see interviews not this over the top graphics of the end of time. 

I found myself being obsessed with 2012 a few months ago. About a year a friend became wildly obsessed with 2012, kept talking about the end of time, but I didn't care. It wasn't until another friend found out how about this obsession of 2012 at my job. She actually went into depth what 2012 means (in the Mayan calendar sense) and I of course became fascinated. A few months after that we talked about it again and this time a new light came to me. It was more of a personal conversation and wondering of a global change.

I'm not sure why Nostradamus is all up on this 2012 special when it really should be about the Mayans, but I guess for viewership throwing in Nostradamus is a good marketing tool.  The next 4 years should be very interesting. 

Pack my things and say goodbye

Sunday's Favorite Selection #21:


The Bodines-Skanking Queens

Side note: On New Year's Eve I was waiting for the train which was extremely late, but I didn't mind. I was blasting the CD86 cds on loud volume, singing and dancing around the station. It was the first time in a very long time that I felt completely free. This song isn't featured on the compilation, but Therese is (and in the actual C86 tape) and jeeze how I long to learn how to play the guitar now. The only sad thing about this song is that I can't help but think how much I want to leave South Florida, and how I won't be missed. On top of that someone I barely even know who is a friend of a friend keeps telling me I should move to Philly. It's odd to feel wanted somewhere you've only been to for a few days, and not somewhere you've lived for 11 years. I really do think it's time for me to leave. I want to feel like I did the other day.

Cycles of blame

Ted Leo is my Bob Dylan, my Bruce Springsteen, my Joe Strummer and pretty much any other "great" singer songwriters who were frustrated, disillusioned by what they saw and who led their generation. The sad thing though is that I don't know many people who are Ted Leo fans. I know for a fact that Ted Leo rules all corners of this world, has more passion than most musicians now and well cares for this world-as much as he is worried and upset at it.

Whatever happened to that one singer songwriter that everyone looked up to? I have to be honest I'm not a fan of Dylan or Springsteen, but I will not deny their importance. Are these people dead in a metaphorical sense? Or we just don't care for it anymore? I think someone like M.I.A. is more of the front runner now, but is no where near close to being a "great" singer songwriter. Yeah she has amazing songs, but I feel her depth is only skin deep. Which is a just another reflection of our society, our generation. Sad huh? Is it so bad to want change?


I'll keep listening to Mr. Leo, because no one can make me feel as empowered, safe and happy when I listen to the man.