Distance: 3 miles
Two of my docent friends invited me to join their final (for this semester; there are 2 more plus) qualifying tours in AoA (Art of the Americas: Eskimo, Southwestern, Mexican among other cultures). They both did really well but privately I had to also be asking myself if I wish I were giving these tours. And the answer is still an imperfect 'no.' Really it is as simple as that route doesn't call to me (or doesn't call enough right now). I spent many years in the art world in many capacities -studying art history in college, viewing art for decades, managing galleries, writing about art, advising/consulting, even selling AoA - so spending virtually full time with the pieces and politics of docent culture at the San Francisco city museums is something I know too much about to sign on. Since this is my blog, I can go so far here as to say I feel above/beyond being a docent. There's always, always a lot of fun and interesting knowledge to be gained about art, which is one of its great draws. As you know if you read my blog, I go often to museums and other art venues and consider myself a constant student of this vast and rich aspect of life. But as a docent trainee/docent at SFFAM it would be gained in environment where my knowledge is significantly broader than the FAM collection and where I worked to/earned some power in the past as an art professional and now would have about as much power as the doll below - or less. (not from the SF museums). It is more steps back than forward - kind of Raggedy Ann tumbling down the hill. Maybe I'll find other ways to use my art business and aesthetic knowledge in the future, but that's it on this re-curring topic today.
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