Seated Sculpture (1982)

This was my last weekend volunteering before the Michael Snow – Objects of Vision exhibition leaves us. After the Evan Penney – ReFigured show, this has been my second favourite exhibit to interpret with visitors. It’s also a personal favourite because I have experienced tremendous enjoyment interacting with and observing the objects.

Seated Sculpture was my favourite work. You got to touch it! You were supposed to even sit inside of it!!! Sitting in there was serene. It was a welcome respite from the crowds at the AGO and a place of solitude that I enjoyed.

Sitting.

I loved interpreting this work with visitors because most people didn’t realize they were not just allowed to but supposed to sit in it! Then instead of just being a passive participant, I would inquire about how they felt inside of there. Of all the people I surveyed, there were two types of people. Those who felt discomfited being inside, as if the metal was enveloping them, trapping them. One person told me it felt like a coffin. Other people were like me, in that theyexperienced a calm wash over them. That it was peaceful.

Inside.

I would also remind them about the theme of the exhibition, that the purpose of these objects were that they affected your vision, in either how you looked at the object itself or how the object directed your vision elsewhere. Here again, there were two sides. There were those who could only focus on the interior of the sculpture. Many mentioned a tunnel vision effect. While others felt their view “open” up, in that once their horizontal peripheral vision was blocked, they looked below and skywards.

Up.

During all of my sessions inside, I tended to look up. I loved the space and how open it was for the exhibition. The 70s or 80s era concrete architecture was pleasing to me. It wasn’t hideous like UWO’s Weldon Library or U of T’s Robarts Library. Instead, it was a reminder of the children’s tv show “Today’s Special” of which I have fond memories.

One other aspect of the interpretation is that it allowed the visitor to experience a cool side effect of Seated Sculpture, echo. Talking while inside of it produced a metallic echo as the sound waves of their voice reverberated throughout the sidewalls and back. Most people don’t think to talk while sitting inside, so the interpretation provided them the opportunity to do so.

I will also miss Transformer. I have spent much time observing it move. It’s tip pointing in a different direction each shift. Even in real time, it would change orientation due to the air circulation caused by visitors entering and exiting. Maybe also because of the occasions when I would blow air at it or fan it with my notebook, hehe. 

Transformer (1982)

Interpreting this was also fun. Many people felt threatened by it, so I would play into that. I would talk about how it was suspended at chest height and have them stand right in front of the tip. We would then discuss that feeling and about our hearts. Centre mass. With younger folks, I’d have them bend down so that the point was at eye level. Depending on our conversation, I might have dropped a Final Destination movie reference…

Shadows…

Thanks for the experience. Farewell.

Caiman skull

March Break is upon us. There was an unusually high number of families with young children at the ROM. Because of this, we had more quality facilitations than normal. For me, the two memorable ones were with this mixed Asian-Caucasian girl and a family that looked like they belonged in an IKEA commercial.

The girl was about 8 or 9 and had really long bangs. Mixed race people are gorgeous, and she was very cute. My friend, Nancy, facilitated the birds and dinosaur table with her. I could tell from afar that the facilitation was going well. The girl looked at the objects with rapt attention and was responding to Nancy’s questions.

She then came over to my table, Teeth and Feeding. She immediately gravitated to the caiman. Most people have never heard of caimans and immediately assume the skull is that of an alligator, but she identified it correctly. I asked her if she had been here before. She said no. I don’t know why she would lie, but she seemed to know every object on the table, suggesting she had been through the specimens before. Nancy posited that she may have been here but had never received a full on facilitation, which may be true. She was quite attentive throughout our exploration of each skull. She knew “carnivore” but seemed to have not been exposed to the words “herbivore” and “omnivore”. For the first time, I used the analogy of a person doing a belly flop vs diving into water to explain the loon skull’s hydrodynamic (aerodynamic equivalent underwater) design. We went through all of the specimens on the table. When we concluded, she went to the skins table where Nancy rounded out her touch table experience. I would say that we average one awesome facilitation each shift. She was mine for that night. Facilitation with kids like her is a major reason why I love being a part of the museum. Curiosity FTW!!!

There was a mother, father, and son that night who looked like models in an IKEA commercial. The father wore a canvas-like spring jacket, slim pants (that weren’t hipsterish), and sported the beginnings of a pot-belly. The mother had a nice black outfit on with this shawl draped over her shoulder. The son looked like an average happy 7 year old. They were a really good looking family. What really left an impression on me was that the boy put on one of the turtle costume we have, and then the father put on our other turtle costume. They both wandered around the gallery for a few minutes with the costumes on.

The boy didn’t seem to get really into the facilitations. Nancy really had to work to get him interested with the Indian python skin, but he eventually got into it and understood how a snake’s scales help it slither forward. When he came to my table, he wasn’t engaged with much except for the shark jaw. I facilitated the table and talked with the mom and dad for a bit as they described their experience witnessing an alligator in the Florida Everglades launch into the air to snatch a bird in mid-flight. Apparently, the park ranger they told about their experience had never seen or heard about that type of alligator behaviour.

Anyways, they were a really good-looking family with what seemed to be a genuine familial bond. The vibe I got from observing and talking to them fits with my favourite IKEA commercial.

IKEA “Long Live the Home” from TWC Films on Vimeo.

This area contest has been a huge monkey on my back. Organizing volunteers from all 4 clubs and relying on each club’s leadership to obtain them… Not having a target/test speaker until only a few nights before… Thank goodness I got David to be Chief Judge. His help was needed and proved to be most reliable. I was able to leave all of the contest judging responsibilities in his hands.

Overall, it was a decent contest. This contest’s attendance of 35 was around the same attendance as the fall contest (31), though I felt I had things under better control then (though this may be looking at the past through rose tinted glasses).

Glass stairs between the 3rd and 4th floors at the Four Seasons Centre.

On Saturday, Mar. 2, I did my poster desk shift for the Nijinsky 2PM performance. When I came through the stage door, there was a guy with a wicked beard that would have made ZZ Top proud. He turned out to be a violin soloist or something because he took a bow on stage after the performance. I saw Elena Lobsonova looking at some scheduling sheets. I chickened out and didn’t bother to ask her for an autograph. I had just gone through the stage door, my programmes were in my bag… I’m a wuss.

As I proceeded down the hall, I passed Skylar Campbell. I recognized him as a dancer, but didn’t realize that he was playing the lead Nijinsky role, his first solo performance. The choreographer, John Neumeier, picked him out during class and has elevated Skylar for this moment out of the Corps. I didn’t get Skylar’s autograph either cause he seemed as if he was looking for someone.

This was the very first public performance of Nijinsky in Canada. It was also the first time the pre-show Ballet Talks were being held in the theatre as opposed to the third floor. It made me sad because one of the reasons I love volunteering at Poster Desk is that I get to listen to the Ballet Talk. It was eerily quiet throughout the atrium and especially the third floor because everyone was inside. Normally, there is a audible buzz as people mingle on the different floors. The Ballet Talks used to draw a huge crowd to the third floor filling the area with a stimulating energy.

They didn’t even broadcast the talk on the tv screens 🙁

Some subscribers weren’t aware of the time change for the talk. It used to be 45 min before show time but has now been moved a little bit ahead to 60 min prior. A woman showed up to the third floor and complained to an usher that her ticket said 1:15pm.  Guess she didn’t get the email or visit the website. Subscribers apparently get their entire season’s worth of tickets as a group very early on.

Something else to add to the whole deal was that the glass staircase from the third to fourth floors was closed. One of the platforms had shattered! Apparently, a woman dropped a quartz pendant necklace and it caused a massive spiderweb of cracks. Perhaps the quartz had a perfect aligned resonance to the tempered glass? The platform held together like a car windshield but the damage was quite evident. This affected the exit of the crowd after the performance as people from the fifth, fourth, and part of the third floors took the emergency stairwell to ground level, bypassing the Poster Desk. This hurt sales.

You can see the top of the platform is not flat because of the damage. They have laid some sort of mat on top.

It’s dark because of the mat, but you can see that it looks like a million mosaic pieces. Those are the shattered glass pieces.

I didn’t notice much of a difference in the performance between Guillame and Skylar. Other than the fact that he is only 20 or something, which is impressive for such a physical, choreographically challenging, and prominent role, nothing really stood out to me. I didn’t really care for this ballet. The music was nice, but like the Seagull, I was bored during Act II. I fell asleep for a good 10 min (willingly, I didn’t fight the drowsiness). I completely missed the military/soldier scene.

On my way out the stage door, there was a crowd of people by security. I saw John Neumeier coming behind me. Having realized the night before I could have gotten his autograph for The Seagull, I got out my 2011-2012 Programme. I don’t know if he recognized me, but I said, “Mr. Neumeier could you please sign my programme? For The Seagull?” He said, “Sure” in his very soft voice. He had an assistant or someone with him who kindly held my other Programme for me as I fumbled for a pen. Another lady who was inside the stage door asked for his autograph as well, and Neumeier asked to use my pen for that.

After all of this, a man and woman in their 40s approached him saying, “Mr. Neumeier, we are Skylar’s parents. We wanted to thank you for giving Skylar this amazing opportunity.” I made my exit at that time, but I imagine they had a nice conversation.

I met up with Yuen after I finished my workout at the YMCA. We headed down to The Bay because she had to exchange a shirt for her dad. I remarked to her that the NYC Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street was pretty much like The Bay. There are a few more historical architectural elements in Macy’s, such as the wooden escalators and row of elevators, but all in all, they are both slightly renovated but still a bit shabby.

For dinner we went to Ravi Soups. It’s on Adelaide St. which to me is a barren, condo and industrial wasteland. It’s a place where if Toronto had a high crime rate, I would expect to get mugged. The eatery is not very visible on the outside, and it has a very simple interior. The restaurant is highly regarded though.

The Porcini Mushroom Wild Rice soup is a popular offering (and was very good according to Yuen). What’s interesting about the place is that there isn’t that much seating and they have a long communal table made out of a single log. It was a beautiful table from what must have been a magnificent tree. I didn’t take a picture of it, but sit down meals are served on a wooden lazy susan. Not very practical because it was a bit wobbly, but a quirky feature nonetheless.

Ravi Soups’ Communal Table

The table reminded me of this Portlandia sketch about Communal Dining.

We went to the Nijinsky dress rehearsal. I enjoyed the music and the sets. Made me wonder what a Neumeier Nutcracker would be like, because Nijinsky had some crazy sets. Circular light objects rising and lowering, a 1900s theatre or ballroom set that disassembles before the audience, an ocean liner scene…

I saw Sonia Rodrigues and Piotr Stanczyk sitting in the orchestra level, but they disappeared at intermission, so couldn’t nab Sonia’s autograph. I saw a bunch of apprentices also, but I got most of them at the Giselle dress rehearsal. The choreographer, John Neumeier, was there. Sitting near Karen Kain and Rex Harrington… Before the intermission ended and as he was sitting down at his desk, I got the courage to go up to him and ask for his autograph. He was very intense but signed my programme on the Nijinsky page without any qualms. I asked if he had a favourite ballet. “No.”