Open Forum

Hello, all! I finally had a chance to finally post to Museum Junction. I've been a member of AAM for 5 months now.

I'm Daniel-Josef Williams and I'm currently a student in Western Illinois University majoring in History and minoring in both Art History and Graphic Communication. About me and my past, I graduated from high school in 2007, and took graphic design courses at a local community college where I worked on Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Dreamweaver. This was when I thought about doing "graphic designing for video games". After moving more closer to Chicago, I transferred to another and took general education courses. Back then, still hadn’t decided what my future plans were and so I took a hiatus from school to figure out what I wanted to do. During my hiatus, I taught myself how to play bass guitar and later joined a metal band called Nucleus. Then I started volunteering at a music venue for a few months.

I thought about applying to Art Institute school to pursue in Game Design since back then I was also doing game art for a hobby. Although I decided not to go to the school. (They seemed REALLY shady plus I heard of alot of lawsuits)  

During the summer of 2013, I took s Western Civilization course, where I developed an interest in history (Huge fan of WW2).  Since I was always into History, I believed that my education would be greatly enhanced by further exploration of art history. 

Last year, I started to do traditional painting and really got into museums. Since last fall, I started to volunteer at the local museum that's around my school. After 9 months of working there, I really felt that having a career in museums is perfect for me since a huge chuck of my life I've been doing some type of artwork. I've been working of archives in the museums and I've really got into it. Touching, researching, and learning the history of things really got to me.

I have 2 years left to get my undergrad in history. I plan to pursue in a Master's in Museum Studies right after. My back-up plan with grad school is going to this other school to get a Master's in History and a Master's in Painting (Both programs is just for a year. Although the Museum Studies program has the better option. If I don't get accepted to either grad schools, I can work my way up of going a job in being a activist. Even if I get a Master's, I can still become an activist so I technically have my career plan (finally!) set up 

I'm looking forward to get to more some people, and make connection here. One of the main keys to be successful is networking. 

Mr. Williams:

Welcome to AAM. Your post has actually moved me --- an old-school relic still capable of holding an idea unexpressed --- to respond with enthusiasm. In my view, your indirect path, affording you the opportunity to soak up the "big picture" of human culture, will ultimately prove ideal for an impactful career in museums.

Already, you've discovered that:

(1) In graphic design, there's more to it than dressing up a page, screen, or game.

(2) In music and public presentation, there's more to it than justy dry execution.

(3) In history, there's more to it than just wars and generals.

(4) In art, there's more to it than just the paintings of the masters.

(5) Finally, in museums, you've learned that there's more to them than just the "stuff" packed within, and that the "stuff" can illustrate captivating stories --- stories that illuminate public understanding on all manner of big-picture topics.

Regarding your career plan: Perhaps a few words about my own will be comforting ... or cautionary! I was the kid who knew exactly what I was going to do in life. As the "boy wonder journalist" since age 15, I later charged off with my journalism degree, a driven 1960s idealist following the profession that "writes the first draft of history."

Then along came an unplanned diversion: An intense 35-year showbusiness career as a touring professional acrobatic juggler, jazz/ragtime musician, and comedy tap dancer. Of course there's more to the story of this career (... which at first I thought would be just a brief time-out): Along the way I became a researcher and scholar of early 20th-century music, vaudeville, and circus ... performed at many museums in conjunction with related exhibitions ... caught the museum bug ... and the rest is history. But the point is to keep an open mind to new discoveries along your path.

By the way, by following museum work, in my view you're already an activist --- an advocate for better understanding of our world. To you and your fellow budding advocates: Go forth and multiply.

Best of luck with everything you do.

Reginald W. Bacon
Independent Museum Professional ... and Circus/Vaudevfillian Emeritus
Newburyport, Mass.
www.VarietyArtsEnterprises.com
www.VarietyArtsPress.com
www.CrankyTypographer.com

Mr. Williams:

Welcome to AAM. Your post has actually moved me --- an old-school relic still capable of holding an idea unexpressed --- to respond with enthusiasm. In my view, your indirect path, affording you the opportunity to soak up the "big picture" of human culture, will ultimately prove ideal for an impactful career in museums.

Already, you've discovered that:

(1) In graphic design, there's more to it than dressing up a page, screen, or game.

(2) In music and public presentation, there's more to it than justy dry execution.

(3) In history, there's more to it than just wars and generals.

(4) In art, there's more to it than just the paintings of the masters.

(5) Finally, in museums, you've learned that there's more to them than just the "stuff" packed within, and that the "stuff" can illustrate captivating stories --- stories that illuminate public understanding on all manner of big-picture topics.

Regarding your career plan: Perhaps a few words about my own will be comforting ... or cautionary! I was the kid who knew exactly what I was going to do in life. As the "boy wonder journalist" since age 15, I later charged off with my journalism degree, a driven 1960s idealist following the profession that "writes the first draft of history."

Then along came an unplanned diversion: An intense 35-year showbusiness career as a touring professional acrobatic juggler, jazz/ragtime musician, and comedy tap dancer. Of course there's more to the story of this career (... which at first I thought would be just a brief time-out): Along the way I became a researcher and scholar of early 20th-century music, vaudeville, and circus ... performed at many museums in conjunction with related exhibitions ... caught the museum bug ... and the rest is history. But the point is to keep an open mind to new discoveries along your path.

By the way, by following museum work, in my view you're already an activist --- an advocate for better understanding of our world. To you and your fellow budding advocates: Go forth and multiply.

Best of luck with everything you do.

Reginald W. Bacon
Independent Museum Professional ... and Circus/Vaudevfillian Emeritus
Newburyport, Mass.
www.VarietyArtsEnterprises.com
www.VarietyArtsPress.com
www.CrankyTypographer.com

Hello, all! I finally had a chance to finally post to Museum Junction. I've been a member of AAM for 5 months now.

I'm Daniel-Josef Williams and I'm currently a student in Western Illinois University majoring in History and minoring in both Art History and Graphic Communication. About me and my past, I graduated from high school in 2007, and took graphic design courses at a local community college where I worked on Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Dreamweaver. This was when I thought about doing "graphic designing for video games". After moving more closer to Chicago, I transferred to another and took general education courses. Back then, still hadn’t decided what my future plans were and so I took a hiatus from school to figure out what I wanted to do. During my hiatus, I taught myself how to play bass guitar and later joined a metal band called Nucleus. Then I started volunteering at a music venue for a few months.

I thought about applying to Art Institute school to pursue in Game Design since back then I was also doing game art for a hobby. Although I decided not to go to the school. (They seemed REALLY shady plus I heard of alot of lawsuits)  

During the summer of 2013, I took s Western Civilization course, where I developed an interest in history (Huge fan of WW2).  Since I was always into History, I believed that my education would be greatly enhanced by further exploration of art history. 

Last year, I started to do traditional painting and really got into museums. Since last fall, I started to volunteer at the local museum that's around my school. After 9 months of working there, I really felt that having a career in museums is perfect for me since a huge chuck of my life I've been doing some type of artwork. I've been working of archives in the museums and I've really got into it. Touching, researching, and learning the history of things really got to me.

I have 2 years left to get my undergrad in history. I plan to pursue in a Master's in Museum Studies right after. My back-up plan with grad school is going to this other school to get a Master's in History and a Master's in Painting (Both programs is just for a year. Although the Museum Studies program has the better option. If I don't get accepted to either grad schools, I can work my way up of going a job in being a activist. Even if I get a Master's, I can still become an activist so I technically have my career plan (finally!) set up 

I'm looking forward to get to more some people, and make connection here. One of the main keys to be successful is networking.