Some day at Sotheby's...

For the duration of this month, I have been accepted into a curatorial scholars program run by my Oberlin professors. The first week consisted of meeting with a  wide range of professionals who work in the field, from exhibition designers to researchers to everything in between. Now, I am in the second phase, if you will, where I am supposed to visit museums, galleries, etc. and write up reports on everything.

But there has been a pair of bronzes I saw at Sotheby's when we were visiting that has stolen my attention.

The pairing is Pan and Syrnix, and as far as Sotheby's knows, this is the only casting Giuseppe Piamontini ever made of these two. We were able to have a private showing of the entire Sackler collection they're auctioning next weekend (and which is a mixed bag, quality-wise), but this lot stood out to me. Apparently it stood out to Sotheby's as well, because the two of them are estimated to haul in $350,000-$450,000 (but I was told this is a pretty conservative estimate). It is an absolute, rotten shame I have such expensive taste and know what I like. I was told I could touch them, so I did, but it took every ounce of my will to do so, and went against everything I've been trained not to do as a docent.

If you like bronzes, be sure to check out some of the delightful ones The Frick Collection has, and of course, everyone always goes to the Met. More importantly, I also found a fabulous list of museums open late this season from NewYorkology, so be sure to check 'em out! More often than not, a lot of the late nights museums are open are the same nights they have discount deals or free admission. Definitely worth a shot for us students scraping for pennies.

From Oberlin's AMAM to NYC's Metropolitan:


As you all will not know because I've just started this blogging bunk, I serve as a docent to the Oberlin College's Allen Memorial Art Museum. Until spring semester 2011, the entire museum will be shut for renovations beginning December 23rd. If you're interested in that sort of thing, there are very detailed plans (well, as detailed as you'll find publicly) here. You can probably imagine this is both emotionally trying for the entire college, but also very, very necessary. Besides completely gutting the heating and cooling so we will have better temperature control, they're going into the plumbing, and -- if we get enough money to do so -- cleaning and restoring the ceiling to its former glory.


In the meantime, we have had to find homes for many of our nearly 14,000 pieces, not all of which can simply be put in storage. Pieces from our collection will be taken care of during the renovation by the fabulous Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Linked above in the super large text is the press release including a list of works, and exhibition dates. Can’t wait to see some of our pieces again! I already miss Adolph Gottlieb’s Rape of Persephone, shown above.

Christmas is coming!

Afternoon, all!


Thought I'd start off today by thinking about Christmas traditions. Normally, I'm one to put off the holiday season for as long as possible (let's face it, the holiday music stalking me during Thanksgiving at airports was too much) but I got an adorable surprise from my friend Alexandra today that I just couldn't say no to!

She attached a pipecleaner and little red fuzz ball to a peppermint stick candy cane to make a very creative little reindeer! Cute, no? I'll be saving it as an idea for future holiday seasons. Note my frozen fingers and the snow on the ground -- both unwelcome -- but the candy cane picked me right up! Do you all have any clever, crafty traditions that run in your family?  I'm afraid I can't think of anything thus far that my family does for the holidays besides cook, particularly my grammy's turkey meatballs. Shameful.

The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.

Hullo, blogosphere! I have avoided you for so long, and yet I find myself here again. Once upon a time, I was an adolescent raised on LJ, and hopefully now that I'm into my second decade, I am prepared to take on a real blog. As in I will actually update. Which is exciting, right?


To start off, I will be entirely honest with you: I am procrastinating horribly right now. However easy it might be to chuck out 140-characters on my Twitter, it is somehow infinitely more difficult for me to write this essay on Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Which is silly, really, because I have most of my ideas sorted out. My introduction and conclusion are even coherent, for once, rather than intellectual mumbo jumbo.


But let's start at the very beginning: who the hell am I? My name is Sam, and I will be your guide through my interpretation of this bizarre but charming world. You can expect a lot of rants on literature (comics and graphic novels included!), film (particularly animation), music, language, theatre, programming, tea, and anything that could be described as geekery or nerdery. And let me tell you, we will have one wild ride. Promise. So sit back, and enjoy the show. That's all, folks! Your darling,


samantics








P.S.: Woman who never uses her blog but took my first choice for this account: I am very displeased in your general direction.