At The Museum

November 28, 2017 9:09 AM

AT THE MUSEUM is a short webseries produced by the [New York] Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) that shows off some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into running an art museum. The videos primarily consist of ambient recordings of museum employees at work, feature little narration, and are incredibly satisfying/relaxing to watch. Episode 1. (via kottke.org)
posted by schmod (8 comments total)

I don't know what to call the production style of these videos -- it's not quite "Slow TV," and it's not entirely ambient. Whatever it is, I like it.

Real talk: If those home improvement and food TV channels replaced their shows with 60-minute segments of skilled professionals just doin' their thing, filmed in this style, I'd probably never turn it off.
posted by schmod at 9:12 AM on November 28, 2017 [3 favorites]

More addictively ambient craftsmanship: Traditional Japanese Crafts.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:22 AM on November 28, 2017 [3 favorites]

Prompted me to have the following thought for the first, and likely last, time in my life - "Don't drop the Rothko"
posted by davebush at 1:15 PM on November 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

One of my favorite parts of working in a museum is being in the empty gallery before the museum opens. It's really special to work on something you hope visitors will enjoy when it opens. This series really captures that feeling- thanks for sharing.
posted by Mouse Army at 6:50 PM on November 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh, these are cool. Thanks for posting.

(Note: if I'm reading the YouTube correctly, there are more to come? I think they've only posted half the season. So worth bookmarking.)

I would've liked maybe just a touch more info, just an occasional bit of text or comment to clarify what was going on. (Like, the young lady with short hair poring over a painting with a flashlight from all angles and then marking things on a clipboard - I'm guessing she's noting pre-existing damage before shipping the painting off? Or the older lady we see heavily involved in the giant spider stuff - guessing she's the actual artist (Louise Bourgeois), but some confirmation would be nice.) But that's a minor quibble.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:25 AM on November 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

This is super great; anything that opens access to museum activities for more people is great and this is so nicely done, vérité style. And the videography is top notch.
posted by Miko at 8:45 AM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Like, the young lady with short hair poring over a painting with a flashlight from all angles and then marking things on a clipboard - I'm guessing she's noting pre-existing damage before shipping the painting off?

Yep, this is usually called a "condition check" and she might be a) comparing the CC that came in with the work to its actual state, to see if it has been damaged in shipping, or b) making a new CC in order to send the work on its way and prove to the insurers/owners that it came to no harm while in the museum's care.

Or the older lady we see heavily involved in the giant spider stuff - guessing she's the actual artist (Louise Bourgeois)

Unlikely, since she died in 2010!
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 4:05 AM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed this for a multitude of reasons but perhaps most because it satisfies my compulsive fascination with finding out just what sort of little things people spend their time doing at work all day.
posted by eponym at 8:23 PM on December 1, 2017 [1 favorite]