The past couple of weeks or so, I’ve been catching up on some creative projects, like sewing and refinishing a dresser. When I’m in project mode, I enjoy either “brain surfing” (in which I think about very random strings of thoughts, dutifully make great plans to write about them here or elsewhere, then completely forget about them in favor of tiki drinks) or watching mindless videos on my computer. I haven’t owned a television for many years, relying instead upon the content found on various video-hosting websites or renting or buying DVDs.
Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of Angel (yeah, I only just finished watching Buffy… I really haven’t owned a TV for that long!). In one episode, the main character, a vampire named Angel, works with a bunch of demons to break into the “Museum of Natural History” in Los Angeles in order to steal a new mystical artifact. Shows which feature museums and museum practices always interest me. For the most part, the flaws are just so glaringly wrong to an insider, but they really echo public perception of how museums work. In this Angel episode, the culprits were staring at the plans of the museum vaults, and noted that only the curators had keys to the vaults. Riiiight.
When asked what I do for a living, I try to make it simplistic and respond, “I work for a museum,” 95% of the time, the followup question is, “oh! you’re a curator?” So then I try and explain further, which seems to have the effect of driving home the fact that my job is not nearly so glamorous as that of a curator, to judge from the blank expressions and quick change of subject. On the flip side, there are those who wish to simplify my description into “filing clerk” and “data entry girl”, which earn whithering looks from me.
From my own personal experience, it appears that, to the public, that there are only two people who work in a museum – the curator and the director (the director’s job being to raise enough money to support the curator). Even so, the word “museum” has a mystique around it, which makes some people really curious about the inner workings. To those, we “museum people” have the coolest job in the world. I can’t say that I disagree with that.
September 14th, 2007 09:09
And the docents. Don’t forget the docents. There were a couple people convinced I was getting a two year graduate degree in being a tour guide. (Not to knock docents, we love you and what you do.)
I had to gently explain that, no, that wasn’t what I was doing. I was going to take care of the stuff museums didn’t have on display. That, more frequently than I expected, led to the “museums have more than is on display?” conversation.
I guess it is a mysterious field!
September 14th, 2007 09:20
oh yes, of course! how could I forget about the docents!!