Brent blogs about the Columbia Museum of Art - One Hot Piece of Glass

The Inaugural Meeting of Columbia’s New Audience Roadshow Class of 2009

At 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, September 02, 2008, the latest class of Columbia’s New Audience Roadshow entered into the Columbia Museum of Art at the corner of Hampton and Main Streets in downtown Columbia. One of C-NAR’s alumni members named Mark, who gave us a pre-printed nametag to wear during the evening, promptly greeted us. (Good job on the nametags, Mark--they were large enough to read from a distance and had sufficient glue to remain in place for the entirety of the program.)

Shortly after arrival, one of the Museum’s staff members named Leslie escorted us into a back room that featured tables and chairs. In fact, it was one of the “classrooms” that you can witness young children creating art in if you walk down Main Street during the right-after-school-hours between 3-5 P.M. As we watched ballerinas from the Columbia Ballet School walking to cars and construction workers getting into trucks after finishing their jobs on Main Street, another C-NAR alumnus, Lauren, arrived with the food for the evening. She brought a nice spread of fantastic all-white-meat chicken nuggets, Cole slaw, potato salad and macaroni salad, all provided by Wild Wing. The food was as delicious as the company was. There were three or four tables filled with members of the new class, all getting to know each other and realizing that we have a common goal—to increase our awareness of arts happenings in Columbia and how to greater appreciate the arts events that we already attend.

After eating, the program started with “Coordinator Katie” laying the ground rules for the evening and telling us what we could expect tonight and on Thursday. Then, Leslie introduced herself and told us about what she does at the museum (coordinator of programs). Next was Mark, who works in the curator department and is in charge of installing all of the exhibits. After Mark, Grant introduced himself to us. Grant works alongside Leslie and is involved in teaching the classes at the museum. He documents the happenings at the museum and is in charge of “about face,” a group that meets every week and paints models and landscapes. Grant also organizes the podcasts and cell phone tours that you can take during your museum visits. He will be talking with us more next week. Lastly, alumnus Lauren spoke to us about what she got out of last year’s visit to the museum, what changes have been made to the program, and the advantages that she has seen because of her Columbia Museum of Art membership.

We found out the crux of the evening was going to be a tour led by Mark through all parts of the museum, including the brand new exhibit of glass art done by Dale Chihuly. We left the room with the food and went straight to the padlocked main exhibition space. I am not sure if it was locked just to be locked because it was after hours, but I prefer to think that it was locked up because it is so secret and well hidden from Columbia’s arts community. Before entering, Mark reminded us not to touch the artwork, and after rounding the corner it was obvious as to why.

We were gazing at some of the most beautiful blown glass that I have ever seen in my life. I mean, I’m not one to brag about all of my glass-blowing experiences, but we have all been down to the “Market” area of Charleston where they make funky candles and blow glass ornaments while you stand and gawk. Well, this stuff makes those glass blowers look like daggum child’s play. I was not aware that you could physically get the size, shape, and color manifestations that Dale Chihuly has achieved in his exhibition at the CMA. Mark explained the process of how to set up the exhibitions, how to set the lighting, and how even the colors on the walls are important to the overall experience. He answered all questions that we lobbed toward him, and he did so in a calm, knowledgeable manner that made us comfortable and contented. He described his concerns about when the show is open to “John Q. Public” on Thursday, how they go about making signs and tags about the artwork, and what still needs to be finished before opening night rolls around.

Mark and Leslie were able to answer all of our questions about the glass art exhibition, and then they led us through all of the other exhibit halls. They told us interesting stories about some of the most popular permanent pieces in the museum (ask Leslie about how a chandelier became a drag queen one evening), and showed us a “work in progress” that is just about to be re-set up in a few days.

Next, Mark took us to “the vault,” where the museum stores the permanent pieces in its collection. We entered a climate-controlled room in the catacombs of the museum where artwork, sculpture, and even pianos were being stored for future exhibitions. At this point, all of the new class felt at ease asking Mark and Leslie anything that we wanted to know about the museum, its contents, and how to go about enjoying a piece of art and what to look for when meandering through the museum. We were able to ask everything from what differentiates “real” art from “non-museum-quality” art to what is appropriate to wear to Thursday night’s opening gala. By the time Mark led us back up to the street level of the CMA, we all were grateful that he took his time and was so thorough with us in his tour. Leslie took us back to the lobby, where she briefly explained the benefits of becoming a member at the CMA (we will get more information on that next week) and more of what to expect and look forward to on Thursday night.

We concluded our evening back in the room where we began, by Katie rehashing what we did, what we will do, and figuring out where the “after party” was going to be held later that evening (the new Sheraton Hotel’s martini bar, located in the basement of the new hotel on Main Street). We left the museum feeling much more comfortable about how to go about attending an art show and feeling generally knowledgeable about what goes into putting on such an exhibit. I personally also left excited about telling my friends about the insanely impressive glass art that they will have to see and will be able to view on Thursday night and for the next two months in the main exhibition space at the Columbia Museum of Art. I even left my nametag on in case anyone wanted to know what I was doing at the museum after hours while I was walking to my car.