2006-11-27

 

Tuesday Meeting with Greg

Tuesday, November 27, 2006


Greg and I met at 11am. We wanted to walk through the museum and cover where the cart will be stored as well as where the cart might be deployed during museum functions. We also wanted to go over a preliminary list of services the cart will provide. I will be responsible for researching each service to determine how many people the cart will need to accommodate as well as what temporary or permanent supplies the cart will need to store.

The cart will be stored in a downstairs area just adjacent the museum's main service elevator when not in use. There is a low concrete beam that should be measured because it appears to be the lowest point where the cart will need to travel. When deployed, the cart will need to roll into the service elevator and exit into the Center Gallery space.

Greg said that he would like to eventually turn the Center Gallery into a transition point or hub where both food and drinks can be served during exhibit openings. He hopes this area might one day house a site specific art installation piece by an artist such as Sol Lewitt. The Central Gallery might be the "main" station point for the cart.

Greg would also like the cart to be able to move into Wainger Gallery. The passage from the South Gallery into the Wainger Gallery is very narrow and needs to be measured. This would probably be the better passage as the other route is through the new studios building catwalk. The door leading to the catwalk is very narrow and has a lever door handle that would require the cart to be no more than 28" wide. Once in Wainger Gallery the cart can be wheeled through the double doors and into the new studio building's elevator. This elevator can take the cart to the ground floor. There it can be utilized during Forum Gallery exhibitions.

During weekday morning, Greg said that he would like to welcome the parents of Cranbrook School students to the museum for coffee and a museum tour/talk. He would like the cart to be deployed to the right side of the Main Gallery entrance and set up to provide coffee for the visitors. There might be around 25 people attending.

The cart should also be able to roll out of the museum's front doors onto the peristyle and set up for service. The front doors and steps should be measured. There is currently a removable handicap access ramp installed on the steps. The ramp should be examined to allow for easy access up and down the ramp.

From the storage area, the cart should be able to roll into the Network Gallery, DeSalle Gallery and finally into DeSalle Auditorium. All of these areas should be measured to make sure the cart can easily pass. There it will be deployed on the right hand mezzanine level overlooking the auditorium seats. In a discussion with Mike Paradise later today, he mentioned that during the summer break companies like to use the auditorium for informational seminars. During these seminars, the companies might want to hand out literature before or after their presentation. The cart could be utilized as a place for this service. Verify with Greg if this might be an additional service the cart can provide.

Greg will look into getting drawings of the museum.

From the drawings, I hope to obtain overall dimensions of the interior spaces of the museum. I will verify dimensions that may affect the path of the cart from the storage area to the sites in which the cart will be deployed. This will allow me to determine the maximum dimensions of the cart. At this point, I will build a quick full size mock-up of the cart. This mock-up will be on casters and able to roll to the museum and around to the various station points verifying it can fit through all of the passages and openings.

2006-11-15

 

A-Z

Greg gave me me an awesome gift today. Andrea Zittel's new monograph.

2006-11-10

 

The cast is OFF!

With my cast off and my occupational therapy underway, I am now to the point where I can type at a semi-swift speed.

To give you a brief explanation of how much of a dumbass I am, I cut my hand pretty bad at the beginning of October climbing over a fence. It wasn't the smartest decisions I've made, but I can say it was for good reason.

Some of the first and second years took a little field trip around Detroit on a Sunday morning. We hit a lot of the usual stuff, The Heidelberg Project, downtown, abandon auto plants, Matt and Thomas' site for their house, the People Mover(yes, it's really called that), among other things. One stop was the old Detroit train station. Seen here, pre-fence climbing. I'd heard that it was relatively easy to get inside, either holes are cut in the fence large enough for my trespassing ass to fit through, or sometimes the padlock on the front gate isn't even there. Well there wasn't a way to get in that I could see, so I decided to climb. There was a place on the fence where someone had placed a sheet to cover up the razor wire with a higher post on my left to allow for leverage once I got up there. Getting up was easy, but when I decided to jump down on the other side I let my left arm flail just enough to catch the razor wire on the higher part to my left. I landed and evaluated. I glanced at the visible cut at the end of my finger. Wow, that was close! It doesn't even look that bad, one of those hefty "finger" band aids should fix that right up. Just then I got a cold sensation that ran down my whole arm. I turned my hand over to see just the end of what I knew to be a pretty nasty cut. Sure enough when I pulled back my shirt a little bit more, I saw the extent of what my clumsy ass self is capable of. I could see clear down inside my hand. I glanced back at my classmates on the other side of the fence, their eyes as big as saucers. "Are you OK?" "No", I replied. "I'm going to have to go to the hospital." About that time another classmate, on my side of the fence came over. (I'll be honest, my first thought was, "how the hell did you get over here so fast?") He took one look at me and said "OH SHIT, JOHN!" We proceeded over to a nicely cut hole in the fence held together by a few zip-ties. There apparently was someone in the group who came prepare and brought a knife to cut enough of the zip-ties to provide enough room for someone to slide through. 5 or 6 other classmates were now wandering around the inside the building. Man am I an idiot I thought. Luckily we had someone in our group who is from the Detroit area so he was able to hop in the car and direct us to the closest hospital.

By the time we got to the there, not 5 or 10 minutes later, the whole front portion of my body was covered in blood. I was rushed to the front of the emergency room line and asked about a dozen or so questions which I barely recall answering. Before I knew, I was seated in a wheel chair and was zooming past people through the busy corridors of the hospital.

To make a long story short because I'll spare you all of the blood and gore details (but available upon request, cause I love telling a good war story - and I had enough sense to snap a few picture with my camera phone before they sewed me up). I ended up with about a four inch laceration on my left hand that went from about the first knuckle of my thumb to my wrist. I cut a small artery (I say small because I was not deemed a "pumper" when admitted to the ER, a question I got several times in the first 10 minutes of being there, "were you 'spurting' blood", they asked). I also cut my tendon. The tendon was the nasty part because later that week, I had to go to a hand specialist. Other than what the ER doctor wrote in his report, the new doc basically said that he couldn't tell if there was any more damage to my hand without opening it up again.. ala surgery. Well I didn't really have a choice now did I? It was my damn hand; I kinda need these guys, so I schedule a surgery date (two days later). Lucky for me the doctor was so persuasive (I say that very jokingly because he really wasn't very helpful... heh) because he had to repair a two inch cut to my tendon, a pretty substantial cut I'm finding out now.

I had to wear a full cast for about two weeks and then a half cast for another two. The first was a pain in the ass because I had to put a plastic bag over my whole lower arm when I wanted to take a shower. The second, I could take off.

I've gone through a couple of OT (Occupational Therapy) sessions so far and tendons are exceptionally nasty things to cut because the scar tissue bonds with the skin and the tendon making it next to impossible to move without major massaging of the scar and daily exercises. Boy do I feel like a big ole idiot.

2006-11-09

 

Thursday November 9 List

To do:

call Dee
call Dad
call Martin (harass)
call Betsy
mail insurance claim
write letters
finish gifts
set up meeting with Gerhardt
talk to Kathy about loan
call Rick at UBS
wash twyla and shalek
email Greg and set up meeting to do museum walk through
buy 1/4" plywood - how many sheets?
photo project of adjacent area of Matt and Thomas' site
Rent car for LA
Toys for Tots
email Joel
tell physical therapist about shoulder
cancel appointment at Detroit Receiving
get schedule for photo crits
make more sanding blocks
go to Home Depot
go to Glenn Wing and buy handle for table saw guide
sharpen table saw blade
measure museum doors, entrance, freight elevator
call Kirk at McCausey lumber
talk to someone in photo about getting a roll of good photo paper
missing respirator mask - send email
email Debbie and Marsha
make more boxes
make list of materials for cart

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