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Mar. 11 to Mar. 14 '

The Michigan Daily ( michigandaily.com j Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Docent's

Dut

By Chanel Von Habsburg-Lothringen Daily Photo Editor

ur society is one of signs and
symbols. These discrete units
of meaning encompass much
more than just images, words,
gestures and sounds. At best,
they can only reveal to us the periphery of
truth, as the signs and symbols shift because
of varying cultural perspectives and an
emphasis on subjectivity.
Money is an example of our relationship
with symbols. A dime is noted to be worth 10
cents. This value is based on societal agree-
ment, not on the value of the coin's material.
The adapting meaning of these signs, alter-
ing our perception of a fixed reality, is ever
more present in a globalizing world. Truth
is an individual matter - people take on the
role of deriving meaning for themselves.
Our interpretations of literary works,
paintings and architecture become a more
intimate interaction. As symbols are per-
ceived differently, we draw new meanings
and values from them.
This trend is particularly prevalent in
the realm of museums. The interactive and
kinetic experiences - hands-on tools, art-
ist discussions, late-night exhibition parties,
etc. - amplify each artwork or artifact to a
new reality. Now we go to the museum not
just to see the artwork, but to have an expe-
rience. These events and spectacles take the
focus off the art and place it on the museum
as entertainment.
In the museum, the art and artifacts are
often made secondary, since anyone can
gain access to them online. We lose sight of
the material nature of art objects as they are
transcribed into digital space. Intricate pas-
sages of Malevich's Suprematist paintings
can be evaluated through MOMA's web-
site. t's digital zoom after digital zoom, in,
which passages of paint appear on luminous
screens.
In this world of full access, why even go to
the museum? Why are museums needed, and
how are they sustainable? In order to gener-
ate museum attendance, a spectacle must be
made. The museum starts to function like
a Disney World of sorts, creating a fantasy
environment for its patrons.
An initiator is needed for such an experi-
ence, and within the University of Michi-
gan Museum of Art, docents start to fill this
necessity.
* The docent identity
At UMMA, the docents are more than
just teachers and tour guides. Each docent
prompts communication, deriving conver-
sation material from his or her own per-
sonal yearning for information. The UMMA
docent team is-comprised of a diverse group
of individuals from the Ann Arbor communi-
ty. Some became docents after retiring from
elementary education or chemistry profes-
sorships, while others were artists working

in watercolor or textile productions.
Bert Ramsay, who just completed his
docent training this fall, worked as a chemis-
try professor at Eastern Michigan University.
His desire to get involved came from view-
ing the docent program as a new opportunity
with more freedom to explore.
"I've been retired for a number of years so
I was looking for a new career, so to speak,"
Ramsay said. "I've been lecturing in chemis-
try for many years, and there is not a lot of
learning in a lecture situation. Most learning
comes when you get involved - what I liked
(about being a docent) is that I didn't have to
know the lecture all the time. What I try to
do is get the kids involved."
While docents are traditionally viewed as
teachers within the gallery, Ramsay and his
peers have become active learners along-
side the patrons. The docents' and patrons'
shared inquiries into artwork's meaning and
form solidifies the museum experience.
The discourse between the patron and
the docent allows them to collectively sculpt
a meaning from a piece of artwork. The
docent's dialogue with the patrons provides a
more meaningful moment for both. This use
of the Socratic method enables the museum
guests to establish meaning for themselves,
though they are guided in the process.
Pat Glidewell, a UMMA docent since
2004, expressed a desire for docents to
enable museum guests to tease out their own
conclusions about the artwork.
"Many of the people in the (tour) group
can make their own connection to the work
of art," Glidewell said, "and that comes from
drawing themin, askingthem to look, getting
them tobe the discoverers of things and what
they see."
With the aid of a docent, each museum
guest can feel empowered here and now
without swimming through a sermon of for-
mal analysis and historical doctrine.
Guiding the new guides
Active learning is central, not only for the
patron and established docent, but also in the
docent training curriculum. Although the
docents are volunteers, the recruitment pro-
cess is a regimented one, demanding a team
of experienced docents along with members
of UMMA's education department. Together
this team works to advertise and draw poten-
tial docents in.
The UMMA education department and
the seasoned docents strive to find well suit-
ed individuals to take on the task. They inter-
view and screen candidates before inviting a
select few into the program. Once potential
docents are selected, they go through a two-
semester training program.
The training session is played out through
a series of lectures and gallery experiences,
mostly interactively based, occurring twice
See DOCENTS, Page 4B

CONCERT
This Saturday, Cel-
cius Electronics takes
the stage at the Blind
Pig. The Ann Arbor-
based group pumps
out space-age hip-hop
with an affinity for the
high-tech. The con-
cert is a benefit for
World Hunger Year,
an advocacy group
combating hunger
and poverty globally.
Doors are at 9:30 p.m.
$5 / under 21 $8.

AT UMMA
The Ark continues its
"mission to present
folk, roots and eth-
nic music to the Ann
Arbor community"
with this Friday's pre-
sentation of up-and-
coming artists at the
annual "The Ark at
UMMA," a live per-
formance showcase
of student singer-
songwriters. Talented
student musicians
have been selected
by The Ark's staff to
compete for a place to
perform as an opening
act at The Ark. Doors
are at 7:30 p.m. Free.

FILM
The second annual
Ann Arbor Palestine
Film Festival continues
tonight at the Michigan
Theater with 2009's
"Amreeka." Friday, it
moves to the Union
Ballroom for a show-
case of short films
and the comedy event
"ArabXpressions."
The festival concludes
Saturday evening
with a screening of
2010 Oscar Nominee
"Ajami" at UMMA.
Tickets prices vary
for each event, rang-
ing from free to $6.
I
LECTURE
Dr. Aida Yuen Wong,
associate professor of
fine arts at Brandeis
University, will give
a lecture on Sunday
at 3 p.m. in UMMA's
Helmut Stern Audito-
rium on the effects of
Western modernity
on traditional Chinese
art and the challenges
that arise in trying
to rectify these two
opposing styles. Pre-
sented in conjunction
with "Tradition Trans-
formed," UMMA's
temporary exhibition of
master painter Chang
Ku-nien's work.