Recap: Barney event, Michael Powell, and NGA

The Matthew Barney event was CRAZY. Sure, we all expected it to be a huge event, as many Meet The Artist talks are, but I really couldn't fathom the sheer immensity of public interest for the program. While I was running around doing things at 2.30 PM, people had already started to show up for the event, lining up in the lobby of the museum. By 5.00 we had about the same number of people in line as the amount of tickets that were available for the general public. However, ticket distribution wasn't planning to open until 5.45, so basically everyone who showed up past 5.00 was destined to walk away unhappy.

My job was to control the crowd outside of the museum from 5.00 until 6.30. I distributed information in regards to our simultaneous live Webcast of the event as a consolation to everyone who would not be granted entrance into the event. I also had to act as a medium between the museum administration and the general public, delineating the rules of the event and turning people away. To say I received opposition would be an understatement-- there were some incredibly pointed and harsh words that were said in that hour and a half. Unfortunately, and for obvious reasons, I had to be responsible for the Museum's role and regulations. While I completely sympathized for the girls who drove from Philadelphia and skipped class to see the event but got there too late, or the couple who have followed Barney's work throughout its evolution from the Cremaster Cycle to Drawing Restraint 9, or the group of young artists hoping for the chance to simply be in the same space as one of their idols, I had to mentally remove myself from the situation and present the facts. The problem with it is that you have to look at the person who flew in from CA as the same as the person who lives at Independence & 6th St SW, and I had a really hard time doing as such. But, one positive thing about the event was that my supervisor and other members of the Museum staff all were incredibly appreciative of my initiative and crowd control skills. I also really bonded with a few of the other employees over the event, so it was a good experience overall.

The event was based around a discussion had between Nancy Spector, curator of Contemporary Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Matthew Barney whose focus was specifically on the evolution of his work and the influence of experimental artist Joseph Beuys. Both artists have a strong sense of theatricality in their work. Beuys is known for a much more live public performance technique, while Barney is recognized for his highly intense and thought-provoking film and sculpture pieces. However, Barney is also known for his 2004 creation of a float for Carnivale in Salvador, Brazil with fellow artist Arto Lindsay. The title of the project was De Lama Lamina (Of Mud a Blade), which mirrored Beuys' dedication to public artistic performance. Also, Spector addressed a recent exhibition that paired works from Beuys and Barney next to each other, thereby imposing a connection to the observer. It really was a fairly fascinating talk; however, Barney's way of speech is very much like his film work-- long, drawn out, yet thoughtful. He is a soft-spoken artist, despite his commanding physicality and presence. Overall, it was an incredibly worthwhile experience, and I feel very blessed to have had the chance to be a part of it.

On a less intellectual note, I am now responsible for keeping up the Hirshhorn's MySpace page, so if any of you are interested / have MySpace, feel free to poke around the site and give any suggestions you may have. I am refreshing my mind in HTML coding, but it's slowly coming back to me. Its very methodical and takes a considerable amount of time, but I think the page looks fairly presentable now, so I am pleased.

The reception on Tuesday evening was one of those events in which one must put on a smile and face the crowd of people with whom you have no connection, except the fact that you're W&M alums. I mostly stuck with fellow W&M students, but we did have the chance to talk to some very interesting people. The most intriguing of these people was Michael Powell, the newly appointed Rector of the Board of Visitors for the College of William and Mary and son of Colin Powell. I also feel it is important to note that Powell is now the first African-American to serve in the role of Rector in the 313 year history of the position. Very exciting! President Gene Nichol spoke to my Freshman Seminar last year about his dedication to diversifying not only the student constituency but the Board of Visitors and faculty as well. It is nice to see this coming to fruition.

To say Michael Powell was a dynamic speaker and had a grasp on what he was saying would be a horribly understatement. He was incredibly approachable, kind, funny and interested in engaging us as students. We started off joking about the lack of nightlife in Williamsburg, but the discussion between he and five students and I soon went to the rights of digital distribution, his time at the FCC and his own feelings on entities such as YouTube, Google, mass media (the New York Times, LA Times, etc) and broadcast television. To paraphrase his position, he believes that we really are no different than our predecessors as a generation; rather, we communicate in different ways and have a new set of priorities and opportunities. It's no different talking on MySpace than talking on the phone for hours back in the 1970s, or in bars and saloons in the 1940s. The difference with media now, according to Powell, is that everything is being customized-- so you log onto Yahoo! and you want to have it be MyYahoo! or My_____. Basically, the average consumer in America now wants things tailored to specifically his or her interests. He made the point that many argue that we have diversified the media now and created a chance for opposing journalism and a forum for disagreements that effectually better educates us and allows us to create an informed opinion of our own. But his point was what we have actually done is given the ability to create one's own news-- so, if you're an uber-liberal animal activist, you can make your own newspaper tailored around those interests, or if you're a right-wing Christian theocrat, you can get by with reading only your part of the news. It's the chance to pick and choose out of a huge collection of information, and it's basically polarizing us from communal discussion and debate. Instead of everyone gathering around Walter Cronkite at a specific time, or coming together for 1 news show, we're bombarded by continual news casts on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, FOXNews, etc.

He made some really interesting points, and he eloquently discussed the problem with decreasing newspaper subscriptions and readership, the influx of digital file swapping, and the problems with the record companies and music industry in America right now. We are entering a new age that is decidedly digital, and we have to figure out how to regulate it in a way that is neither reactionary nor callous.

Today, we are visiting the National Gallery of Art for class, so that should be interesting and informative. I'm really looking forward to it. I don't remember the last time I visited, so I excited to see the collection and hear more about their policy and history. More on that later!