Attendant's View Blog and Cartoons

Installation Frustration

4/6/2018

Never Alone

10/5/2018

See also "Don't practice dance moves with the cleaning brush unless you want security watching the CCTV to pass comment on your form." and "Playing the flute after you have finished cleaning and before the gallery opens to visitors, to make the most of the acoustics, is acceptable only by prior agreement."

Prior Knowledge

25/4/2018

That awkward moment when one of the tour group might know more about the subject than the tour guide.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

12/4/2018

William Reskimer, drawing c. 1532–33 and portrait c. 1532- 4, by Hans Holbein the Younger.

My final of my cartoons from "things I overheard while visiting Charles I: King and Collector. "

Swiss Army Fork

20/3/2018

Another one of "things I overheard while visiting Charles I: King and Collector.

Titian,
The Allocution of Alfonso d’Avalos to His Troops, 1540-41.

Oil on canvas. 223 x 165 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, inv. P00417. Photo © Museo Nacional del Prado.

Who's a good boy?

6/3/2018

The first of a few cartoons with "things I overheard while visiting Charles I: King and Collector.

And he is a lovely dog, to be fair to the lady.

Titian, Charles V with a Dog, 1533.
Oil on canvas. 194 x 112.7 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, inv. P00409. Photo © Museo Nacional del Prado.

Preempted dad joke

14/2/2018

In a safe place

10/1/2018

Remember - if you find a set of keys, it's a good idea to check if someone is around and using them before you secure them.

or

Staff who get locked in cupboards soon remember to keep their keys secure.

Stolen Pushchair

8/1/2018

To provide a bit of context, the area at the bottom of a set of stairs was often used to leave pushchairs, rather than walking to the lift and using the lift, or taking the pushchairs upstairs.

This not only blocked a fire escape (to the degree that some people would "tuck out of the way", actually inside the alcove of the fire escape door) but also presented a safety risk (leaving unattended, unidentified bags in a busy public venue) a "we're not responsible for your stuff being nicked" risk, and sometimes prevented people accessing art and exhibition panels when they were mounted on the walls in this space.

Signs were either willfully or obliviously ignored, often with minor panic when people were then informed that their pushchair was now relocated, to a safe place, outside the building.

YOU HEARD NOTHING!

31/8/2017

The second the manager walked out, the shelf dropped.

It wasn't the heavy object which caused the glass shelf to drop, rather the final, delicate, finishing touch being placed atop it.

Good news is that although the display content and shelf both dropped, both remained wholly intact, providing a sudden but valuable lesson in always double checking how secure your adjustable shelves are before you start work!