My department (History of Art) has hosted an ENTIRE week of activities, behind-the-scenes tours on campus, at museums, galleries, churches, etc. Couple that with all of the overwhelming academic information and all 30 of us are walking around like a bunch of zombies.
Let me clarify that I am INSANELY grateful for my department's intense introduction to Postgraduate study. No other program on campus does even half of the introduction that the History of Art department provides. I am VERY grateful for the sense of community the introduction has created; our group is already cohesive and we are all looking forward to shouldering the intense work load alongside one another. Also, we are being introduced in the vibrant community of museum professionals.
Yesterday, we travelled to the Burrell Collection, where we met with Vivien Hamilton, head of the Art Research Division for Culture and Sport Glasgow. Culture and Sport Glasgow is responsible for all of the public museums in Glasgow. Vivien spoke to us about utilizing the collections of Glasgow for our dissertation research. Based on our connection to the University of Glasgow History of Art Department, we are granted FANTASTIC access to basically whatever we want---items, curators, etc.!
As we met with Vivien, we went around the table, discussing our backgrounds, our future job intentions and what we think we'd like to write for our dissertations. Vivien was quite interested in my job intentions and the Industrial/Organizational approach I could bring to the table in museum management. Although I didn't really have a dissertation topic selected yet, she did recommend that I go straight to the top and speak with Mike O'Neil, the head of Culture and Sport Glasgow. She doesn't typically recommend that people start at the top, but in my case, it is a good recommendation. Thankfully, he will be speaking to my class in late November, so that will be a GREAT time to meet him. Vivien and Liz (the Head of the History of Art Department) will suggest a 'reading list' for me, as Mark is VERY well-read. I think my head was actually spinning at this point. :)
After everyone went through his/her spiel, I was feeling a bit behind...about half of my classmates have VERY focused research/dissertation ideas. I seriously had NOT a clue, as I am trying to be a bit sponge-like; soaking in everything. Found out later in the afternoon that we need to pick a topic by October 21, so there is a bit more time for research. I finally matriculated on Wednesday and received my ID card which FINALLY allows me to enter the library. Headed to the library (AMAZING) after class today and picked up some required reading and a few books on the National Gallery of Scotland and some on the museums and galleries in Glasgow.
I started to brainstorm earlier in the day that I would really like to focus on Impressionist art...after all, I do LOVE Impressionist art and how often will I actually be granted the access, permission and assistance to better understand some aspect of Impressionist art?
So, I stumbled upon this book: Millet to Matisse: Nineteenth-and Twentieth-Century French Painting from the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is located on our campus, so I thought that was a good sign. Checked-out the book and headed to my favorite haunt---The Tomato---a great little sandwich/juice/coffee shop ran by two really nice guys whom I've befriended. After hulking ALL of my books down to the Tomato, I open up the battered copy of the book thumbed through it and found exactly what I was looking for...a very good start for a potential dissertation topic. Continued reading and then wondered if any more books might exist about French painting in the Kelvingrove; made a note to research the author.....guess who wrote the book?
Yep, you've guessed it. Vivien Hamilton
Talk about being EXACTLY where I need to be. ;)
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