Museum Staff Go “Down the Lane” to Steffen Thomas Museum

Peter Loose, Marilyn Estes and Bucky

Just over 45 minutes away from the Georgia Museum of Art and tucked into a landscape of green fields is the Steffen Thomas Museum in Buckhead, Georgia. Dedicated to Thomas’s immense collection, the museum houses sculpture, mosaics, furniture, paintings, metal works, prints, ceramics and more. The German-born artist emigrated to the United States in 1930 and built his career to much success until his death in 1990. 

On December 11, members of the Georgia Museum of Art staff were able to not only experience Thomas’s work for the first time, but also to view “The Great Folk Art Parade: Down the Lane to Steffen Thomas Museum of Art,” the largest exhibition of self-taught artists of the South in recent history. Joined by Lauren Fancher, Marilyn Estes (and Bucky the King Charles Spaniel), the small group was given a personal tour by the exhibition’s curator, Peter Loose, whose perspicacious knowledge on the artists and works shown was incredibly immense.  

Pointing to any of the 200+ works, the visitors were instantly met with specific, sometimes first-hand, stories of the artist’s background, technique or personality. From a large yellow painted lard can by Carter Lee Wellborn to “Dolly the Goat,” who was made from hundreds of recycled Barbie heads by Jim Shores, the exhibition was filled with vibrant, unique works from all over the South and beyond. 

Starting on the lawn of the museum and moving into a large gallery space, the show was filled with works from private collections, with many of the works for sale. Artists represented include Howard Finster, Jim Shores, Sam Granger, Clyde Jones and many more. 

The Steffen Thomas Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an admission price of $5. “The Great Folk Art Parade” is on view through January 12, 2019. 

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Taylor Lear

Department of Communications

Convergence Promotes Divergence and Defeat from Museum Staff

The 1,000-piece Jackson Pollack puzzle

Curators, registrars, preparators, communicators ­– all facets of museum operations must face failure, or the anxious threat of failure, at some point or another. Rarely, however, is a cataclysm so total as to affect and endanger the well being of every department. Tuesday, however, the first ripples foretelling a tidal wave rang through the museum offices, when Shawnya Harris declared what can only be the beginnings of disastrous surrender.

 “I’m putting this puzzle away,” she declared from the edge of the conference table in the middle of the workroom. An intern, startled from their work at the station nearby, ripped out their ear buds. Shawnya addressed them more resolutely, “I’m tired of this. This thing is driving me crazy.”

“This thing” is a partially complete 1,000-piece puzzle of Jackson Pollock’s 1952 painting Convergence. Though the collective museum staff usually makes short work of similarly sized puzzles during breaks and lunches, this particular tiger trap has lain in mocking defiance of progress for weeks.

The intern, sympathetic to Shawnya’s sentiments and having experienced firsthand the relief the small manual game brought amongst hours of conceptual, literary, logistical rigmarole, nodded and turned towards the puzzle in their swivel chair. “I don’t blame you. I mean, raccoons chew off their arms to get out of traps, I guess you have the right to do this.”

Shawnya, spirits lifted, accepted this was true, but made the amendment that she would not, in fact, put the entire puzzle away, just what had yet to be assembled in any form. Even so, she was afraid of those members of the staff who might misunderstand her actions.

“I can just hear everyone going crazy,” she said, shoveling loose pieces back into the box nevertheless. “‘Where did all the pieces go?!’”

Such an impression is not an exaggeration. One particular chief preparator, Todd Rivers, has a specific – and usually quite successful – method wherein he arranges loose pieces by shape, rather than color or shade, in order to expedite assembly. This method had been adopted as a matter of course by the time Convergence ruptured all conventions. Unfortunately, even this ingenuity would seem to have fallen before the monstrosity that is a 1,000-piece puzzle made from the hyper-repetitious drip technique of an abstract expressionist.

As of yet, the sting of Shawnya’s decision is still fresh. Assistant Editor Taylor Lear, shaking the box ominously upon discovery, let only a single glum word, “troublemaker,” escape her. 

Other staff members remain blissfully unaware of the consequences that their uncompromising position has forced. Others are disappointed; yet they admit the wisdom of the psychological defense deployed, even if the call was made without consultation. Overall, it is better for the health of the team in the long run, which some believe will be both seen and felt once there is some distance from the matter. Museums, of course, must think about both the past and the future, and never dwell too long on what they wish could have been.

One intern in particular had few feelings on the matter beyond the hope that the puzzle would be entirely given up on and replaced soon, as staff members have been visiting the workroom less frequently lately and the intern misses the comfort of having real people close by, as well as the little joy of having conversations to listen in on while they pretend to listen to music.

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Penske McCormack

Intern, Department of Communications

Georgia Museum of Art Staff Works Together on a Very Good Puzzle

In any office environment, it is easy to get lost in your screens and pages for eight hours each day, chatting only with those in your immediate vicinity. This pattern has recently been broken at the Georgia Museum of Art thanks to 2,000 pieces of cardboard.

The Very Good Puzzle Company is an Athens business that specializes in creating puzzles from artists and journalists whose work they find interesting or compelling. Michael Lachowski, who received their first two puzzles as a gift from co-owner Brian Dixon, brought them to the museum for the staff to enjoy. The two puzzles both feature works by Lou Kregel (“Chrysanthemums” and “Five Star Day”), and while the finished products are beautiful, the construction is anything but effortless.

Staff members and volunteers work on the second puzzle from The Very Good Puzzle Company

Putting together these puzzles has become a refreshing break from the routine for staff members and volunteers at the museum. Shawnya Harris, Paula Arscott and Ashlyn Davis all shared their thoughts on this communal activity, stating that it helps them de-stress from hectic workdays and feel a sense of accomplishment as the picture from the box starts to become clearer.

“[The staff has] bonded over the puzzles,” Arscott stated. She explained that she has had the opportunity to talk to people with whom she doesn’t normally interact on a day-to-day basis. Harris and Davis quickly expressed similar sentiments. Davis, who is a relatively new intern at the museum, stated that she has met a lot more of the staff because of the puzzles.

By watching the puzzle construction in action, it is clear that this is a great shared experience. As each piece is put into its proper place, exclamations and congratulations are not far behind, and strategies are discussed with thoughtful consideration.

Is it better to complete the edges of the puzzle first? Do you look for each piece primarily by color or shape? Is it acceptable to work on the puzzle instead of going out to lunch? These questions have all been debated within the course of the last few weeks, but the answers are less important than the unanticipated amount of fun the staff has had putting these images together piece by piece. Conversations that would seem absurd two weeks ago – “I’m looking for two prongs in blue with just a smudge of black.” – are now uttered without a second thought.

If you would like to purchase these puzzles to try them for yourself, you may purchase them at Avid Bookshop or the Very Good Puzzle website.