Picasso You Give Us Things Which Bulge

"I always thought that one of the reasons why a painter likes especially to have other painters look at his or her work is the shared experience of having pushed paint around." -Chuck Close

"Who would use spray glue on a glass case?"

"This floor is disgusting."

"I don't actually know how to put in an L-bracket."

"This one is called 'Blisters'."

"I have this terrible fear of stepping on these sea sponges."

Day seven. Four of us interns are installing an art exhibit in the Lockhart Gallery. I'm so relieved not to have to write any more condition reports, I don't even mind installing the same series twice. (Note: It is generally a poor idea to put artwork behind a door.) Actually, I love it anyway.

I have a dreadful fear of accidentally destroying artwork. One of the pitfalls of my (hopefully) future career is that I will spend a solid portion of my day with butterflies in my stomach and limbs slightly trembling. I feel like it's a small price to pay. Well, that and grad school tuition. It doesn't help that Patrice's show has a ton of jewelry, much of which is awfully fragile. Thankfully, the only injuries sustained were a small metal pot that dented (Note: It is generally a poor idea to put round, roll-able artwork on rickety pedestals.) and the patience of everyone trying to install Plexiglas covers over the very 3-dimensional pieces.

No, the pot was not my fault.

Yes, I learned how to install L-brackets.

Now the How Disappeared Cleverly World

"At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since." -Salvador Dali

Object No.
Examiner. Date.
Title. Artist. Medium. Signature. Marks/Labels. Condition.
Dimensions. Height. Width. Depth (if applicable).
Description of work.
Framed. Unframed.
Notes.

Sound familiar?

Day six. I'm back in the tweed chairs that are roughly the color of peeled kiwi and back writing condition reports for a bunch of dead cardinals' tombs. I will freely admit I did my fair share of geeking out the first day, but if I have to write "Monumento Sepolcrale di Someone Italian with a Bunch of Os and Is," heads will be broken. Or I'll sigh very very deeply and grimace a bit. It will probably be the latter.

But Jean and I (mostly Jean. Poor thing, she's been doing these for weeks.) finally finished writing up all 242 condition reports on these Monumento Sepolcrales. They were so tedious I almost got sick of the conservation gloves.

I will not be terribly heartbroken at the loss of the '70s chairs either.