Given the title of the show, it wasn't a given that it was going to have a defined theme or through-line. After all, the field for selection was 1,500 lithographs, etchings, and woodcuts (plus artists' books and multiples) that Jim has either already given us or has promised us as a bequest, ranging from the 16th to 21st centuries, so it could easily have been a hodge-podge of "greatest hits" with nothing more than captions on the labels. Instead, I developed a list of less than 100 objects that would not only be visually interesting, but could tell some form of a story about the developing of printmaking--the rise (and fall, and rise again) of lithography in the 19th century, the mid-century return of intaglio printmaking, the "primitive" turn to woodcuts at the end of the 19th century, and the flourishing of printmaking in the post-WWII US. I did all the research (and it was a lot, given that I knew nothing about lithography before last summer), I wrote all the labels and all the wall text, I figured out what the best "flow" of objects would be given the space we have. And you know what? It came out fucking awesome. The best compliment I received was from the mother of Brooke, our intern last summer who worked with me and Jim to catalogue and photograph the collection--she said that reading the labels, she really felt like someone was helping her understand as she went along while all these developments were significant. As someone who firmly believes that people still go to museums to learn something, rather than just be entertained--even if the knowledge doesn't necessarily stay with them!--that was really gratifying to hear.
Yesterday, Sean had his own moment of triumph, after a truly nail-biting race to the finish line. The deadline to file his dissertation to qualify for May graduation was 4pm; he ran from his department, print-out in hand, at 3:50. It's not *quite* done (there was technically supposed to be a concluding chapter 5, for example), but there's a built-in buffer of a couple of weeks in which he can submit a revised and finalized version. The important thing was getting a physical copy of a recognizable dissertation in their hands by the deadline--and he did! (Tooting my own horn again: all credit for the front matter, table of contents, and entire bibliography goes to yours truly...the acknowledgement page is currently still blank, but in the final version it had better read "Wife wife wife, wife wife, advisor, Linda, wife wife wife wife wife.") It's been a long and grueling road for him, but the end is finally, truly, in sight, and he can look forward to enjoying things--like this summer's 500-mile Camino de Santiago trek--with a heart lighter than it's been in the last decade or so!
The other incredible thing to happen this week was actually the first thing! Monday morning around 8am, my sister gave birth to a son, Leon Francisco Tranquillo. He was a little early, and only about 6 pounds, but he's healthy and handsome, and looks a lot like his brother! In a sad twist of fate, I was battling a chest cold I'd inherited from Sean last weekend, so it wasn't safe for me to go up to the hospital to see them, but my aunt Donna, bless her, took the day off on Wednesday and drove to Hartford to surprise her. I'm really glad that someone from the DiMarzo side was there. There are certain life events where you keenly feel the absence of a parent, even when you're surrounded by other people who love you. I felt it at my graduation and at my wedding, and I'm sure Jen has felt it now at the birth of both of her sons. I really wish my mom could have been there for her. My sister believes in an afterlife, so I hope it comforts her to imagine my mom watching over her and her grandchildren. On a lighter note, I made the discovery of the word "nibling" as a substitute for "nieces and nephews" and it's my new favorite! I will be visiting the niblings today with Linda, now that I'm returned to full health--poor Uncle Sean gets to wait behind for a plumber.
The last thing I wanted to write about didn't happen this week, but last week, after the final snowstorm in what's been a remarkably mild winter. While Sean and I were out shoveling, the clouds cleared away to reveal a gorgeous blue sky. The tree branches still had their little clumps of white snow clinging all over the branches, and when I looked up, the first thing I thought of was van Gogh's Almond Blossoms:
I said as much to Sean, and he had been thinking the exact same thing! Great minds. Now here's to spring!
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