Glenn Gordon writes an essay on the people who hang the art we see: During the nineties, I was one of that floating pool of feckless souls in the Twin Cities who get hired when a museum has two weeks to go before the opening of a show and too few hands to get the work done (the custom is to hire you for a stretch but then lay you off before you qualify for benefits or pensions). Most of my employment was at the University of Minnesota Art Museum, which before it transmogrified into the Frederick Weisman Art Museum consisted of a series of grubby galleries and offices strung along the fourth floor corridors of the moldering Northrup Auditorium.
Art rats
May 28 2008 — 2:00am
15 Reader Comments
10:22 pm
A few years ago when I was unemployed I took a job as a theater rat for load in/load out. Five bucks to join the union, $20 an hour, stay up all night unloading a truck, then load the trucks overnight a few days later. I was really happy I only had to do that once.
9:01 am
I have a very good friend who does this full time for a private company. He’s been employed there for years and really likes it. He gets to travel to other states occassionally and gets to see the insides of the beautiful houses.
10:26 am
It’s interesting that the first four comments/reactions to Glenn’s piece on museum rats were by people who took offense–at the author’s dispirited tone, at his dislike of the Weisman, at the brief reference to the 35W reaction. Only one mentioned the deeper point about what it’s like to be an art shlub in the lower reaches of the Kingdom of Oz. I should’ve known Max would hone in on the point right away.
I have a question for all the artistic people out there (and I know you’re out there). What’s the worst job you’ve had to take in order to sustain your art career? I’ve had some doozies myself: data input at a GE jet engine plant, camp counselor at the Y, art critic (ha ha)… What are your sordid tales?
3:38 pm
Hmmmm, good question. I’ve done a lot of things, questionable things. I worked for a journalist as a translator in Braunau am Inn asking probing questions about their relationship to their favorite son on the 100th anniversary of his birth. I delivered copy machines, I also made copies. I did German voice-over work. I worked as a sound engineer. I designed a sprinkler system for a mall by sheer force of will through a veil of lies. I delivered soap and tended bar.
And of course I’ve been on various adjunct faculties for years.
I’ve been lucky. I work in a creative field and make enough money that I can self-fund most of my work. While I do manage to get grants, they never cover the costs of the installations and videos I do.
What I’ve found troubling is a few of the exhibitions I’ve had where there is either no honorarium, or a sad little $100 token, or even worse, and I boycott these, the pay-to-play shows that want $25 or whatever to even submit work. It’s hard to make a living purely from art and yet the colleges continue to pump out MFA’s like it’s a bear market.
I know Michael made some money writing the essay for one of my shows. I hope that wasn’t too sordid for you.
4:03 pm
Yeah, I must’ve made a fortune! (Actually, the money we freelance journalists/critics (don’t) make could be a whole sordid tale on its own.)
Which show?
4:36 pm
The video installation on marketing and identity at Franklin back in 2000 or whenever that was.
4:51 pm
Aw yeah. I know who you are now…
That paid about $200, if I recall correctly, which is relatively big money for arts writing. Kept me in cornpuffs and rice krispies for several months for sure…
Funny, I actually never saw the final published essay. Did you? Does it even exist?
Does arts writing exist if no one actually reads it? (Don’t answer that question…)
5:04 pm
I have yet to see that essay or the catalog that is supposed to come out one of these days. One of these days….
5:47 pm
I’m sure the catalog is coming out any day now… Any day… No doubt those hard-workin folk at Franklin are working hard on it right now.
Wait, you never even got to read the essay?
Also, what’s the mnspeak name about?
5:51 pm
MSFallon – so glad you asked. I keep meaning to and forget.
Saloth, I’m curious as well.
9:02 pm
Nope, I have yet to see the essay. Feel free to email my way sometime. Ah the name. My artistic output over the past ten years has mostly been examinations of genocide. I’m also slightly obsessed with the biography’s of dictators and ideas of evil. So seemed pretty obvious.
So that’s that.
10:05 pm
I get it; Saloth Star was later known as Pol Pot.
Saloth, have you seen Swimming to Cambodia? Mr. Death (the Errol Morris film)?
Funny you are known as the soup guy around here.
10:09 pm
Damn good soup at that. The sibs and I are grateful. If it stays this cold, I may have to make some Tortilla soup this weekend. Yummy!
Jane: since you’re here, well, nevermind. I’ll wait until the open thread.
11:23 pm
I haven’t seen Mr Death. I’ll have to give it a look.
Sorry I haven’t posted any new soup recipes lately – I’ve been either traveling or busy working. More soup to come hopefully next week.
7:30 am
Hm. I’ll have to see if I have a clean e-version of the essay. A lot of my files got corrupted when I transferred them to a new hard drive.
Obsessed with evil, eh? Interesting reason for taking a pseudonym. I sometimes use “arthappy” rather than MSFallon, but that’s because sometimes I want to link my comments to the Art Happy Hour blog rather than the Artistic Failure blog. (I wish I could also link to the Thousandth Word blog as well…) Not a perfect system here.
Speaking of Art Happy Hour, you all must consider coming to the 3rd iteration of this event on June 5 (at Club Jaeger)! It’s just an excuse of people who like art to get together and drink.