Monday, April 28, 2014

Lab Hours

4.5 Hours Total
2 Hours (12-2) Docenting with Fiona and Seya last Wednesday.
Approximately 2 hours working on the NAGPRA project.
Approximately 1/2 hour trying to figure out assignments and updates (as usual :p) and browsing others blogs.
Slow afternoon docenting with these two lovely ladies.
However, the 3 guests we had were very excited and interested. 

Repatriation

1.
     “Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (February 25, 2008). The museum agreed that 100 shell beads legally excavated in 1958 from a burial at mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson were unassociated funerary objects and should be given to the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation and the Tohono O’odham Nation, all in Arizona.”
(American Indian Art, Vol. 34(3):88, Summer 2009)

2. 
October 1st, 2012:
“Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Stanford
University Archaeology Center, Stanford, CA
"...Sometime prior to 1905, 44 cultural items were removed from an 
unknown location in Tulare County, CA. Stanford University's cofounder,
Mrs. Jane Stanford, donated the cultural items to the Stanford Museum
before her death in 1905. The sacred objects are 44 stone objects.
Representatives from the Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa
Rancheria, California, identified the 44 stone objects as sacred
objects during a consultation visit to Stanford University in August
2011.
    The Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria,
California, has provided additional information regarding these
cultural items to establish cultural affiliation to the Yokut tribes.
Based on the site location and in accordance with the information
received in the consultation process, the sacred objects are culturally
affiliated with the Yokut communities represented by the present-day
tribes of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California;
Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria, California;
Table Mountain Rancheria of California; and the Tule River Indian Tribe
of the Tule River Reservation, California.”



3.  
June 17th, 2013
 “Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: University of
Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, OR
"...In 1938, seven cultural items were removed from Courthouse Rock,
near Antelope, in Wasco County, OR, during legally authorized
excavations by archeologists from the University of Oregon. The
cultural items were found in direct association with a burial pit
exhibiting signs of cremation. Two burial pits were excavated, but
human remains were only removed from Pit 2. The human remains
and associated funerary objects from Pit 2 are the subject of
a separate Notice of Inventory Completion published in the Federal
Register. The seven unassociated funerary objects from Pit 1
are two points, four scrapers, and one yellow pigment sample.
    Based on archeological context, the cultural items described above
are determined to be Native American. Based on provenience, the
cultural items are reasonably believed to be affiliated with the Tenino
people. Historical documents, ethnographic sources, and oral history
indicate that Tenino people have occupied north-central Oregon since
pre-contact times. The Tenino people are one of the tribes that compose
the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.”



It must have been such a mad house in 1990 when NAGPRA was made law and many collections, museums, and other institutions would have had to scramble to reevaluate everything they have and decide if any of it was human remain, sacred objects, funerary objects, or communal property that could need to be repatriated to the tribes. It seems much more reasonable now that researchers can decide if NAGPRA is in order for a certain object right on the spot as opposed to 1990 when everything collected for hundreds of years had to be revaluated! 

Monday, April 21, 2014

Lab Hours

3 hours studying my catalog and working on the Catalog Review Assignment.

Another Perspective - Installation & Opening - A few Photos

Contemplation

Hanging


Colonial Milieu in Progress

Alice..... the first. 

Nancy graciously helping us. 

Opening day!

Colonial Milieu - COMPLETE

Monday, April 14, 2014

Museum Jobs

My job is not at a "museum," per say, but is a Collections Facility (State Park's Archaeological Collections & Research Facility) so it is much more about simply keeping artifacts and records on hand for research purposes rather than enjoyment/exhibit purposes as a is museum.  However, because I handle artifacts, we assign accession numbers, and I have helped construct and install some small exhibits for the tours that come through the facility I would consider that I work at a type of museum. Also, the State Archaeological Collections Research Facility (SACRF) is a division of the Statewide Museum Collection Center (SMCC).
Here is a little glimps into what I do in case anyone is curious (these are my coworkers & boss pictured, I was at school that day.. as seems to be my habit most days ;)
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/04/5972043/california-parks-system-unveils.html

1) Of Burcaw's 1-5, 2 is the most similar to how I landed this job, but instead of knowing a director I knew an employee. She recommended me to the Senior Archaeologist (incharge of hiring) when she was informed of position openings and I in turn contacted him. As a student assistant, all I simply had to do was contact the Senior Archaeologist, met with him (for what I thought was an interview, but turned out to be a situation where I simply walked in the door and was told I'm hired and was given a quick, whirlwind tour of the facility and that's it), was given a ton of paperwork, filled it out and took it to Sac State's UEI building and that was that. At the time, I had a resume with a few odd jobs/experiences (camp counselor, violin instructor, 2 semesters of Archaeology field class, etc.) and an AA degree in Social Sciences.


2) Curatorial Assistant, Contemporary Art and Special Projects (American Alliance of Museums, Career Center)
Position Title: Curatorial Assistant, Contemporary Art and Special Projects
Company Name: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Job Function: Curator
Location(s): Houston, Texas, 77001, United States
Posted: March 18, 2014
Entry Level: No
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Duration: Indefinite
 
Job Description
Responsibilities:
• Assists Curator of Contemporary Art and Special Projects and acts as the department´s chief liaison across the museum campus. The scope of the position reflects all departmental activities related to exhibitions and collections
• Duties related to special exhibitions will include catalogue research, writing, editing, and proofreading; preparation of loan forms and exhibition checklists; installation planning and coordination of interdepartmental work orders; preparation and distribution of didactic materials; label production and installation
• Specific duties regarding the collection will include coordination of in-house exhibitions and engaging in new research based on the collection; research and documentation in support of new acquisitions; creating and maintaining new collection files within the department and in TMS (the museum´s universal database)
• Additional duties will also include occasional public lectures and museum tours, working with the contemporary@mfah patron group, processing purchase orders, as well as assisting both the general and scholarly public requiring information on or access to the museum´s collection
• Establishing and maintaining contacts within the active arts community in Houston, nationally, and abroad, and staying current with new scholarship are also high priorities

Job Requirements
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:
•  A thorough grounding in 20th-Century art history and critical writing, and a general knowledge of contemporary art
•  Sophisticated and lucid research, writing, and communication skills are essential
•  Excellent organizational skills and computer experience (PC word processing, PowerPoint, and database)
•  In addition to English, second language is required (French preferred)
•  An enthusiasm for the museum profession, the ability to work collaboratively, and to approach a broad range of tasks with a positive outlook

Education and Experience:
• M.A. or equivalent in Art History is required
• One-year´s experience in curatorial or related museum work is also highly desired.
____________________________________________________________________
Why this one?
Although I don't know if I would be wanting to go for a museum job, as an archaeologist, this job looks fascinating (and also quite a bit still over my head and in the distant future). I obviously also don't have an MA in Art History, I will, however, as of July 2014, have one year of curatorial work experience (as a student assistant though, so I don't know if that counts). I think it would be really interesting to live in Texas for a time.  I love lists and this job would involve lots of lists.
Skill sets/experience:
1. I have had some experience at SACRF with TMS (The Museum System)
2. I usually do well with writing and research.
3. I have had experience at SACRF not only working with artifacts, researching, cataloging, searching/locating, word processing, filing documents, and others, but I also have learned to work as a team with other like-minded, history/collection oriented individuals/coworkers.

Lab Hours

I spent about 4 hours in the lab (1 1/2 Thursday & 2 1/2 today) helping finish up Colonial Milieu's wall & display cases.
I also did a little advertising by sharing the link to the post card on facebook and was excited to get a bunch of likes and even a few more shares! Getting really excited to see who all makes it to enjoy our lovely little exhibit :D

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Lab Hours

About 2.5 hours total
About 1 & 1/2 hour spent in the lab helping with the beginnings of installation
& about 1 hour spent checking out everyone's blogs to see what's going on & checking for team CM discussions.