A Day In the Life....

Currently, my internship consists of putting up the latest exhibition at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, opening this Saturday. Entitled "Narrow Road to the Interior," the mixed media show represents a small array of Japanese artists dedicated to the continued task of zen observance and a meditative state.

On most recent days, I have resigned myself to more simple work: cleaning the floors, scraping and painting, sweeping. But in the midst of a handful of the artists themselves, working diligently at their own installation, and among the several already-in-place prints and minimalist sculptures, I too am at peace.

Performing more physical work is very different for me as a college student generally more inclined toward research and writing. However, it is a change with which I am most pleased. For eight straight hours, I am able to forget everything else, and simply focus on the tasks at hand, making small talk with my fellow art preparators. Though sometimes the work feels trivial, I take a step back and look at the incredible bits of creativity that I am working amidst, and I again am grateful.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Last night, I did what most people would consider a bad decision: I went to Tucson for a concert on a Monday.

I had worked all day at my internship. I had bought tickets five months earlier. I was going in a three-car caravan through the night. We stayed and got coffee afterward, and didn't start driving home till nearly 1am. When I got back home, I had to drive to a 24-hour Kinko's and Walgreens to get stuff for work mailings. I only got two hours of sleep. Sounds like a bad time, not worth it maybe? Good one.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (GY!BE)  is one of my "holy grails." A band long broken-up by the time I discovered them, thought to never reunite. But, lo, they did.

What began with a roughly 15-minute, ever-growing bass drone threatening to rattle my friends and I's clenched (skinny) fists into a million pieces ended in a slowly-fading drone only drowned out by the exiting crowd but never fully leaving the audience's ears. In between were two hours of pure disbelief and blinding sound 

As many as three manipulated guitars, at times grated upon by screwdrivers. As many as two bass guitars, struck violently. Two drum sets pushing forth at a punishing pace. A squealing violin at times providing white noise, but other times singing sweetly to the baited crowd. A background lit by a rotation of four 16mm film projectors being manipulated live as we watched, alternating between mysterious loops and grayscale television static.

I cannot, and likely will not, be able to comprehend the most punishing, visceral two hours of music of my lifetime. And I am completely content.

Getting to Where You Want To Be

Ever since I began my involvement in the downtown Phoenix community, I've been continually amazed. It seems like every week, I am meeting another person I look up to. Whether it be an artist, shop owner, developer, musician, or writer, I am constantly presented with new connections whose names I always used to look at longingly. And yes, I know, this is just Phoenix. It's a relatively small pond. But please, let me explain. My heroes have always been a bit left-of-center.

When I was 13, I started to read about this mystical place called downtown Phoenix. There were art galleries, there were music venues, there were restaurants, there were coffee shops. And not one of them was in a new building? What? I had to know more.

So, I began reading, as I so often do. Combing through old New Times articles, picking up zines and fliers around town, reading blogs, generally getting a portrait of what was going on. I familiarized myself with enough names, places, and events be a bit if a roving encyclopedia for friends I brought to this newly-discovered oasis. When I finally arrived downtown for college, I knew all I could, and was ready to hit the ground running.

Since then, I've worked at art galleries, moderated panel discussions, written grants, setup and torn down festivals, planted and harvested a field of sunflowers, worked concerts, and everything in-between. And every time, I'm in awe. It's a great life, and I am grateful every day for it.

Everything really hit me about this city when the below photo was taken. Two people whose work I had read for years offered me their blog, Vanishing Phoenix, of which I had been a reader for quite some time. A small gesture, yes, but it still felt nice to know that I was trusted.

Getting Started

For my internship, I will be working with the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, splitting time between the curatorial and installation departments.

 SMoCA, as it is also known, is part of the Scottsdale Cultural Council, a nonprofit contracted by the City of Scottsdale to administer arts and cultural programs in the City. The Cultural Council manages two other departments along with SMoCA: Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The Museum has three seasons of exhibitions, and puts together two to three shows for each season. As the name implies, it exhibits exclusively contemporary art, from the 20th and 21st centuries. All media are represented, and exhibitions can massively range, even during the same season; our current season includes a mix of installation, printmaking, painting, and sound, and past seasons have included a commissioned modern classical piece of music.

 For my own personal work, on the curatorial side I am working on a variety of projects. Most importantly, I am compiling a database of museums and art institutes around the country to which we may send our most recent publication: a vinyl record also acting as an exhibition guide for “This Is a Present from A Small Distant World.” On the A-side is a performance of the piece commissioned specifically for the exhibition ("In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves") by composer Judd Greenstein and performed by violist Nadia Sirota. The B-side then features an exclusive remix of the track by producer and songwriter Son Lux (aka Ryan Lott). According to those in the curatorial department, it is the first publication of its kind in the museum world.

On the side of installation, we are currently putting together three all-new exhibitions for the Fall season. Thus far, I have taken down the old show and shipped it, and painted the new rooms for the exhibitions. In the coming weeks, we are going to be continuing to place all the art. Most excitingly for me, we will be assembling a series of sound installations alongside the artist Julianne Swartz, entitled “How Deep Is Your.” 

Thus far, my work has been extremely fulfilling, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Welcome To America neé Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Hello, Blogger world! I am Connor Descheemaker, and I am a junior in the College of Public Programs, majoring in Urban and Metropolitan Studies with a minor in Urban Planning. Currently, I am involved in a plethora of projects: I am an Honors College RCSL, Gallery Assistant (and sometimes curator) at Modified Arts, Project Manager and Curator of "Exit to Left," a documentation project relating to historic buildings along the light rail line in partnership with Sustainable Communities Collaborative, and Director of Community Initiatives for the Downtown Devil online student publication. For the purposes of this blog, though, my primary work is at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), where I serve as a curatorial intern. I began the internship over the summer, and was asked to continue working. Now, I will be refocusing my work installation in the galleries in order to broaden my skillset. For this semester's work, I hope to accomplish/learn a few things: 1. Better understand how to build a cohesive show of art work 2. Gain practical skills to complement my creative ones in working at the intersection of art and urbanism (my true twin passions). 3. Build relationships into which I might one day build a career. Aside from this all-consuming "work" thing, I fancy myself a man of many tastes. I enjoy staying out late, exploring my surroundings, going to shows of all sorts, and reading about topics from race to gender to music to art to politics to alternatives to capitalism (no joke). On top of that, I occasionally find time to sleep...but only sometimes. And now, without further ado, I leave you with a photo of me at age 16, enjoying SMoCA's 10th Anniversary weekend with my cousin, in an image that appeared on AZCentral.