Ethnographer: Brittany Concannon Location: New Museum (235 Bowery, New York, NY, 10002) Date: Saturday, September 17, 2016 Time: 1:37 P.M. - 3:37 P.M. (2 hours)

1. NEW MUSEUM
FIELD NOTES I
Ethnographer: Brittany Concannon
Date: Saturday, September 17th 2016
Time: 1:37 P.M. - 3:37 P.M. (2 hours)

2. 1:37P.M.
Ienterviatheonlyopeningofthe
glasswallthatseparatesthecaféandthe
“startingpoint”oftheexhibitiontitledThe
Keeper(atthesuggestionofamuseum
employee). Iimmediatelyspotthis
beautifully-embroideredjacketandtakea
photographofamuseumguestwhose
clothing,bycoincidence,isreminiscentof
theobjectthatinterestsme. Ilocatethe
nameof itsartist—ArthurBispode
Rosário—onawhite,squareplaqueinthe
cornerclosesttotheentrance. Ilearnthat
allofthepiecesinthispartofthe
exhibitionwereconstructedduringthe
artist’stayinanasylum,wherehelived
theremainderofhislifecollectingscraps
tocreateartandproclaimingthat the
apocalypsewascoming. Onthewall
farthestfromtheentrance,therearea
fewphotographsof“tree-centered
dwellings...fromdiscardedconsumer
objects.” Everyartpiecedisplayedhereis
areimagined,recyclinguseoftrash.

3. 1:49P.M.
Itaketheelevatortothesecondfloor
andamfacedwithawallofmultiple
imagesthatareidenticallyarrangedin
thin,black,square-shapedframes,as
soonastheelevatordoorsopen. Iread
that everyframeholdsa black-and-white
photographof Ye-Jingwhotooka
portraitofhimselfeveryyearfor63years.
Theplaqueexplainsthathechoseto
includeapaintingofhimselfforoneyear.
Istarttomovequicklypasttheportraits
toreachthepainting,butittakesafew
minutestofinditasmyattentionis
repetitivelyfocusedonthesmallshiftsin
thebackgrounds,positions,and propsof
eachportrait. Itakeaphotographofthe
paintingamidtheportraits,andnotice
howtheshadowsarepartoftheartitself.
IwonderifYe-Jingconsideredhimselfan
artist,andifhewouldhavechosena
differentarrangement,ifhehadbeen
aliveforthisexhibition.

4. 2:00P.M.
AttheendofYe-Jing’sportraits,Iseea
tableoftinyhouses,eachindividually
designedfromdifferenttypesofpaper. I
readonthenearbyplaquethatthese387
miniatureedificesweremadebyPeter
Fritz—aninsuranceclerkwhocreated
“visionaryarchitecture”inhisleisuretime.
Iam fascinatedbythedifferentcolors—
thepink,theyellow,andorange—and
textures—thetiles,thegrooves,andthe
dents—oftheroofs,aswellasthe
contrastbetweenthemundanityofthe
differenttypesofbuildingsandtheir
dreamlikequalities. Atonepoint,the
tableissurroundedonallsidesbypeople,
andtheguardhastoremindatleastthree
ofthemtonotleanoverand/ortouchthe
display. Iwonderwhypeopleareoften
drawntosmallerversionsofeveryday
objects.

5. 2:08P.M.
Iturnintotheroomthatislabeledthe
TeddyBearProjectwhich,accordingtoa
plaque,containsover3,000family
photographsthatfeatureateddybearin
someform. Fromceilingtofloor,thereis
avarietyofframesthatarecloselyhung
togetherasifdisplayedinalibraryor
archive. Ibeginobservinginthecenter
wherefourglasscasesholdactualteddy
bearswithanyletters,postcards,and/or
portraitsthatrefertothesespecifictoys. I
noticethattwooftheseteddybearshave
beensharedamongmultiplegenerations.
Iwalkuptheswirlingstairstotakea
photographoftheexhibitasawhole. At
thisheight,Ifeelbothoverwhelmedand
amazedatthesizeofthiscollectionwhich
spanstwolevels. Ateenagersitsonthe
topstairanddrawsinhersketchbook
untiltheguardaskshertomove.

6. 2:32P.M.
Iamsurprisedtodiscoverthatthe
TeddyBearProjectextendsintoanother
similarly-arrangedroom. Awomanasks
anotherwomanifshehasseenthe
“nudes”sectiontowhichsheresponds
thatshehasonlyseenthe“Nazisones.” I
thenrealizethattherearesomepatterns
withinthesephotographs—sectionsof
photographsofNaziofficialsholding
teddybears,ofHolocaustvictims,ofpin-
upgirls,ofcelebrities,andmore. Iam
disturbedbytheonesinwhichtheteddy
bearsarenotcarefullycuddledorset
asideasdecorationbutrathertornand/or
tossedaside. Itakeaphotographofthe
portraitoftheteenageboyswhoare
standingonthethroatofateddybear,
whileholdingasharptoolofsomekind.
Whatdoestheartistintendto
communicatewiththesethemed
groupings? Whyareimagesofviolence
blendedintoimagesofinnocence?

7. 2:41P.M.
Theshadowofthe“darkhistoryof
WorldWarII”thatisreferencedinthe
plaquefortheTeddyBearProject
permeatesthenextsectionwhich
features“timecapsules”thataremade
from woodandribbonscrapsbytheartist
HanneloreBaronwhosetextileshopwas
destroyedduringKristallnacht. Onthe
surroundingwallsarepiecesofa
sketchbookthatweredrawnandhidden
intheAuschwitzcamp,includingthelast,
unfinisheddrawingbeforetheartistwas
killed. Theguardremindsavisitorto
“pleasenottakephotos”ofthe
sketchbook. Iwonderifthisruleis to
preservethequalityoftheartworkas
muchasitistorespecttheartitself. No
onetriestotouchtheboxesorsketches. I
donothearanydialogueamongthe
movingguests(besidesthatoftheguard)
intheseventeenminutesthatIam
witnessingthiswork.

8. 2:58P.M.
IwalkintothelastsectionofTheKeeper
onthesecondfloorofthemuseum. The
lightsinthispartoftheroomaremuch
brighterthananywhereelse. Thereare
steelshelvesofflashy,vibrant
scrapbooks,thickwithpaint,collaged
photographs,andvariousobjectslike
stringandelectrictape. Ifeelasifthese
scrapbooksarelooselyconnectedwith
thetimecapsulesfromtheprevious
section. Botharenostalgicintheir
attemptstopreservethepast—one
markedbysolemnmourningandthe
otherfilledwithshortnotesofchaoticjoy.
Whydobothchoosetolargelyrelyon
images,ratherthanwords,to
communicatetheseemotions? AsIthink,
Ipressmyhandagainsttheglass
protectingthesescrapbooksandimagine
turningthepagestoseeallofwhichwas
chosentonotbeshown.

9. 3:06P.M.
Iridetheelevatortothefifthfloor. Iam
welcomedinto“TheWaitingRoom”with
soundsofpianokeysanddrums. Ismell
tealeavesandwalkintotheapothecary.
Anothermuseumguestasksasmiling
ladywhoissittingatthedeskwith
sunflowerswhateachlargejarcontains.
“Hibiscus,rose,andsage,”sheexplains
beforesharingthatoneofthemixturesof
herbswascreatedtoprotectagainst
policebrutalityfortheartistSimoneLeigh
assheparticipatedintheBlackLives
Matterprotests. Ithankherforsharing
andmovepastthecurly,airycurtainsinto
theviewingsection. I sitonawooden
benchandputonheadphonestoheara
videoclipabouttheFreePeople’sMedical
Center. Afterwards,Iwalkbacktothe
meditationarea,takeoffmyshoes,and
sitonthecircularcushions. Iam
remindedinthequietmurmuringof
AudreLorde’squotethat“caringfor
myself...isself-preservation,andthatis
anactofpoliticalwarfare.”

10. 3:28P.M.
Itaketheelevatortotheseventhfloor
whichisknownastheSkyRoomandis
openonlyontheweekends. Itisan
emptyroomwiththreeglasswallsand
crisscrossingwhitepillars. Iwalkouttoits
balconyandlookatthebeautifulviewof
skyscraperrooftops,apartmentwindows,
andsidewalks. Acoupleistakingaselfie
ofthemselveswhileanothergrouponthe
othersideofthebalconyaretaking
photographsoftheview. Ifindit
interestingthatthesurrounding
environmentispresentedasapieceof
art. Howdoesthisartchangethroughout
theyear? Istayuntil3:37P.M.,silently
appreciatingthereflectionsoflightonthe
buildings.