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Arizona State Art Museum (ASUAM) - Cailinn Allen - Week 4

 Arizona State Art Museum - Cailinn Allen - Week 4

My final week here at the ASU Art Museum also marked the final week of two of our exhibits: Sarah Zapata's Beneath the Breath of the Sun and Twin Flames: The George Floyd Uprising from Minneapolis to Phoenix. I was quickly enthralled with how fast the breakdown of both exhibits took place. Below is a photo of the before and after of Zapata's exhibition. Seeing this aspect of curatorial design and exhibition timelines is fascinating! 

       

On Tuesday I spent the day at the CRC, the Ceramics Research Center. Here I helped Amanda Hiatt organize the library and cross check newly found magazines and books with the center's database. Here I became familiar with "LibraryThing", a way for small museums/libraries to categorize their materials. I re-categorized books that were labeled incorrectly based on their physical tag, and found some that had to be re-labeled in LibraryThing. I created a simplistic guide (pictured below) to the library's labels as many had been updated, but no guide reflected the changes. The next two photos showcase the before and after of the library as I reorganized, alphabetized, and cleaned up the shelves. The piles in the middle image were books whose digitization had to be verified - many of those books were not in the system and will be put in at a later date.

      

Through Wednesday and Thursday I finished up making my extended label for a piece in our 2025 exhibition. When writing I had to be concise and leave room for the reader to develop their own understanding of the piece in the exhibition's wider context. I also thoroughly researched the artist's background to understand the political intentions behind the piece.


Pictured is my last day at the museum! In the background you'll see one of ASU's most notable buildings, the Music building of the Herberger School of Design and the Arts. Built by Wesley Peters, Frank Lloyd Wright's son-in-law and acclaimed protege, it mimics Frank Lloyd Wright's infamous Gammage, one of his last designs. It's the home of traveling broadway shows in Phoenix, graduations, and numerous ASU art events - it is only a couple hundred feet away from the Music building. ASUAM (pictured below) was built by Antonie Predock, a revolutionary architect who has landmarks all over the Southwest. As you walk through the visitor entrance, you descend underground allowing for an immersive space, cooler temperatures, and a (sometimes) spotty Wi-Fi signal.

I include this because often the desert, and Arizona as a whole, is often overlooked when it comes to our physical landscapes - apart from the Grand Canyon. Whether it be assumptions regarding the supposed lack of life in the Sonoran Desert or disillusionment regarding what we have to offer in our cities, there is so much to explore and appreciate in this environment.

My time at the museum has been one of exploration, curiosity, and professional development. I am endlessly grateful to all of the museums staff, especially Sade Moore and Amanda Hiatt for their continued help and support throughout my four weeks! And, thank you to my supervisor, Alana Hernandez, for her knowledge, leadership, and help at curatorial meetings! I am endlessly grateful and so, so fortunate to be a Young Ambassador and am forever indebted to the team at NMAL for their dedication to cultural representation and the opportunities they supply. Thank you for giving me an experience, and friends, I will cherish forever.

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