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

Museum Welcomes New Students to University

Freshman orientation at the Tate Student Center

Each year, thousands of new faces — ranging from excited to terrified — appear on campus, gearing up for the fall semester when they will officially be Georgia Bulldawgs. They are incoming freshman, transfer students and graduate students, and they all have the chance to hit the ground running with an orientation just for them. 

Orientation acts as a guide for new students to do everything they may need to accomplish before moving to Athens this fall. This includes registering for classes, taking placement exams, touring the dorms and getting an overview of all of the programs and offerings on campus at the Resource Fair.

The Georgia Museum of Art has participated at the Resource Fair for the past four years, and it has been a great opportunity to show attendees that no matter what their interests may be, the university has a place for them.

Michael Lachowski, one of the museum’s representatives at each orientation, said, “Participating in the Resource Fair is a big commitment for us — it’s a lot of days and a lot of hours for staff to be standing around, hoping for an opportunity to interest new students or their parents in what we have to offer at the museum.”

This is certainly true; there are 17 freshman and five transfer orientation sessions throughout this summer. Although the effort is not minimal for this commitment, Lachowski is optimistic about the results.

He continued, “[We] think it’s worth the effort. We want the museum to have a place at the fair the same as it should be in the students’ experience at Georgia. And maybe some of them will just remember they saw our banner that said ‘Georgia Museum of Art.’”

With a campus as large as the University of Georgia, it is easy to fear you will be lost in the mix. But orientation and the Resource Fair allow students to see that there are faces behind all of these units and organizations, and they are all ready to make your college experience the best it can be.

Happy Workers

How do we raise funds when we have a fundraiser? One way we do so is by recruiting staff and volunteers to assemble invitations and stuff envelopes. These happy folks helped us get the invitations for A Highfalutin' Hootenanny out the door unbelievably fast last week, and they should have arrived in your mailboxes by now.

For more information about the event, click here to read the full press release.

The Great Move Back

After about 18 months over on Jackson Street in the Visual Arts Building in temporary offices, the museum staff is, as of this week, back in our own lovely building and getting ready to open to the public. While we can't show you too many behind-the-scenes pictures, here are some of us frantically packing, moving and celebrating with our friends at the Georgia Review, who were across the hall from us there and were wonderful neighbors. Enjoy the slideshow below!

New Photos Up

Not only have we added more photos to the "Soulful Celebration" set on Flickr, but we've just gotten up pictures from the farewell party for Deirdre Conneely, who just left us to move back up north and will be sorely missed, and the Collectors' last outing.

Goodbye, Patricia

Patricia Wright, who has been at the museum longer than any of us, and has worked with many a director, is retiring, and her last day in the office was today. Patricia's not much for fanfare, but we had a nice potluck lunch, with a little speechifying, and some group photos. If you want to see the staff goofing off, check out the photo set below. We're only putting a brave face on what we're really feeling. We're going to miss her something awful.