Another Opening Weekend is over. There was plenty going on this past weekend for guests to partake in at the Contemporary. During last week’s exhibition walk-through staff members, docents and gallery attendants listened as Chief Curator Anthony Huberman shared some thoughts behind this debut exhibition for our new curatorial team. He also talked a little bit about the new curatorial vision: our Main Galleries will often welcome two artists, sometimes paired by a curator, sometimes two artists will be asked to collaborate, and at other times, the artists will be unrelated.  These different circumstances all play into the idea of 1 + 1 = 3. Bring together two artists, sometimes related, sometimes not, and you get something totally new, something you may have never thought of or noticed before.

Tonight is the opening of John Armleder and Olivier Mosset. The public reception starts at 7:00 pm, but there is a Member Preview at 6:00 pm and a Patrons Preview at 5:00 pm. In just a little bit the entire staff and all of the docents and gallery attendants will take a walk through the exhibition with the curator. It is definitely a great experience for guests who come to Opening Nights, because they too will get to experience what the staff does on the walk through - access to the curator, director, staff members and artists…a chance to ask questions and to really get an idea of what the exhibition is all about. I highly recommend Openings!

Opening Night is in two days, and we are still working hard. Yesterday, Olivier Mosset was in the museum all day working on installation and meeting with Chief Curator Anthony Huberman. I stepped out of the office for a few moments to check out the progress of the wall (which I have a perfect view of from the balcony right outside the offices), and I head Mosset say “it’s done” as he threw up his hands, then shared a clap with some assistants, then sat on our concrete step for reflection…so “it’s done!”

Over the past couple months I’ve been doing some work on the museum’s MySpace page and I have also created a Facebook profile and group. I am finding that there are so many things an organization can do with these two online communication tools. We currently use both to network with other organizations and individuals in the art world or who have interest in art or museums, to spread word to people about upcoming events at the museum (on Facebook we can even create event pages allowing people to write on the discussion board to ask questions or leave comments), and to share photographs and videos from events, programs, and exhibitions. These are also great places for us to compile all of the museums online communication tools in one place. And since the individuals who are signing up to be a part of our network are artists, art organizations, or have interest in art, these pages are also good for artists or event planners to get word out about their art or art happenings. If you’d like to take a look at the pages click here for MySpace or here for Facebook.

The toblerones have arrived.

In the upcoming exhibition, John Armleder and Oliver Mosset, Mosset will present an ambitious installation of Toblerones… sculptures based on anti-tank obstacles used by the Swiss army in World War II. The toblerones in this exhibition are cardboard replicas, something made possible by our friends at Boxes Inc. Once they are all put together (there are 30 of them), they will stand around six feet tall and completely take over one of our gallery spaces. So, not only will a viewer be trying to digest what they are staring at initially, they will also have to try to figure out how they are supposed to deal with this and may have questions in their mind such as “do I walk through these large sculptures,” “am I supposed to just stand here and look at them,” “why are these massive sculptures blocking the paintings on the other side?” It will allow people to undergo a complete art experience, probably entailing confusion and wonderment. 

Check out this article in the St. Louis Business Journal. If you are interested in further information on toblerones, click here.

We are also in the process of installing Armleder’s wallpaper and if you are interested on a giant wall update…it is now bright orange.

 To most of you Google Earth is probably old news. It is to me. But when I first found out about it I spent lots of time “driving” along local streets, stopping at places I normally go and searching for my bright yellow car (I found it, it was great!). After receiving an email with a photo of the Contemporary from the sky from our Exhibitions Manager, Shane (the one with the 2 year old who rocks out in his car seat…check out the music section on our MySpace page for more on that), I realized that it’s been too long since I have searched for the bird’s eye view of landmarks throughout the world.

If you haven’t yet “played with” Google Earth, check it out! And if you have, but forgot all about, I suggest another visit. Thanks, Shane, for reminding me of this addicting “fly anywhere” fun.

Last week we said goodbye to one of interns, Umberto. He was with us for about two years working with development before he had to move on. He has helped us tremendously and as we feel like we owe him a big thanks, he felt the same way. On the day of his farewell, before we dug into a giant feast of brunch type foods, he said this, “I never enjoyed working at a place more than this one.” He hopes to work for a high-powered publishing house or magazine and then retire to a villa in Tuscany to write a great American novel. Alright Umberto! We also recently said goodbye to Tara, also here for about two years (and only 19!). She interned first in our curatorial department and then our marketing/public relations department. Tara was also a wonderful volunteer at our many events.

We really appreciate all the support and dedication our interns give to us and hope we provide a great, life experience in return.

Check out some of their experiences here…

Tara on Muse

Umberto on last years Gallery Walk

 
Umberto’s Farewell Feast!

In only a few days, the Contemporary’s space has changed dramatically. The space that was previously a large, open space, allowing event space and gallery space to merge as one, is now divided approximately in half. There is so much “wall talk” that goes on here: “How will constructing a wall affect our space when it comes time for events,” “do the upcoming exhibitions also need a large wall and/or smaller rooms for displaying work,” and “how will this wall change climate control?” After all this wall deliberation, it is up!And in the way of the exhibition…the work has arrived. The last couple of weeks we have been patiently waiting for the work to travel from Zürich then to New York before making here. I have word that one crate has been opened and everything is right on track.

I got to take a look at some of Mosset’s work…it’s still in plastic, but exciting to see!

Since we are closed for installation, we do not have a Walk-In Wednesday to recap today. But I can tell you about our upcoming Walk-In Wednesdays in May. On May 14, Chief Curator Anthony Huberman will discuss the current exhibition and explain the importance that John Armleder and Olivier Mosset play in the world of contemporary art. On May 21 Assistant Curator, Laura Fried will provide historical insight about student uprisings in Paris, France in May 1968; and on May 28 Bradley Bailey, Assistant Professor of Art History at Saint Louis University, will take a look at how and why Fluxus came about and the impact it had on contemporary art. If you are interested in any of these topics, don’t forget to mark them on your calendar and either take a trip to the Contemporary at noon or check back here for the recap and a continued discussion. We also welcome any discussion points you can think of now to bring up during the program!

 The deinstallation of the Great Rivers Biennial 2008 begins (and so does the sound of power tools). The troops are hard at work; just about half of the exhibition is down already (the show just ended yesterday!) and the wall that we are building is already in construction. I am amazed with the incredibly quick turn around we make here. One day you walk in to a completely wide open space and a couple days later there is framework for a wall (or like the last exhibition change, a whole new room…if only housing and highway construction moved that quickly). It has got to be interesting for visitors to come into the museum after each exhibition and not only see all new work, but an entire new space as well.