Prior to our trip, please link to Light Work's website + for information listed on the web.
Link:
* a great deal of information is on the website.
Please pruise through it to assist you in your informative response.
Your response paper should direct information to the reader about:
- How old is the museum / how did it begin / indidivudals involved?
- Is it a public or private institution? Does the institution receive federal/state funding and what kind? Other?
- Different titles of current individuals who work directly with the gallery paid employees / unpaid
- The institution's Mission Statement
- Direct your writing focus to the database collection; the number of images digitally stored; the accessibility to the base; for what purpose can you see it being used?
- Do you foresee any issues that may become problematic in the future at the museum? Example: Size, security, stewards of the collections, physical structure / glass, collections, archive, etc.?
- What are some of the goals and improvements the museum hopes to make in the next ten years?
- Speak about a favorite area of yours in the museum and why. Draw an informal sketch of it.
- Other information you wish to include * a great deal of information is on the website, please pruise through it to assist you in your response.
Amanda Clifford
Director, The Stickley Museum @ 300 Orchard Avenue, Fayetteville NY
P.O. Box 480
1 Stickley Drive
Manlius, NY 13104
315.682.5500 x2257 (Office)
315.637.2278 (Museum)
The Stickley Museum is not old at all, in fact in 2003 is when the Fayetteville Library acquired the building, and in 2005, a SUNY Cooperstown Graduate Museums Study program really helped launch all the great history about Stickley and how it could be shared with the public. The museum is nestled above the library which is the original factory building. It was in 1985 the factory moved to its now Manlius, NY location, which in time has expanded tremendously. Our guide, Amanda, and her co-worker, Mike Danial (historian), are the 2 employees of the museum. Although the library is right downstairs, Amanda and Mike are the only ones who have access to the museum itself.
Amanda stated right from the beginning that she herself has only been employee at the museum for a few years herself, but you wouldn’t think that while listening to all the knowledge and history she discussed with us. Not only is Amanda a great speaker, she is so knowledgeable and committed to the job as curator, historian, data keeper, and all the other hats an employee to a smaller museum must wear. She showed us her favorite piece, which was an oversized dresser, not armoire, that was from Colonial times, but it was a replica of an original, still priceless in all the real art history it holds. Amanda told us that there are factory tours as well right down the road in Manlius on Tuesday mornings. When all the Stickley brothers has passed, it was the Audi family, specifically Alfred, who took over the furniture company and kept the legacy alive. It was Gustav Stickley that said, “art should be brought into homes and become a part of the everyday lives of people.”
The mission of the Sickley Museum is to “educate the public on the contributions made by Stickley to the American way of life.” I believe that Amanda and Mike have been doing an excellent job in keeping the database for the collections. They have the important job of not only upkeeping the current furniture, but also being in contact with people who may have pieces the museum would like to acquire. At the same time, some people have sent emails and images that need further investigating to see if they are real. One of the pieces that is currently at the museum that is on loan from owner is a desk that was a Stickley original. A man had called and sent an image and Amanda had to see if the numbers matched with this certain piece and sure enough, this man had no idea he had a real piece of art in his home. With such advancement in technology, Amanda did state that a lot of the data base is now on the computer but they do still have certain things only on print such as old sketches and important documents that can not be moved out of their storage.
Security at this time does not seem to be such a big issue, however, what I believe to be an important thing to work on is the fire safety. Amanda explained that the factory did catch fire and she showed us where the ceiling in the library is still charred from the fire. There aren’t any windows to really lead anyone to safety in case of a fire and as for the furniture, it would be a super big loss if a fire were to happen because there are many original irreplaceable pieces in the collection. Another issue is lighting, Amanda changes the bulbs when she has to and she showed us a few of the prints that are faded in color due to the lighting, but certain lights will also ruin the furniture worse than the paper so there needs to be a compromise. Another thing that also worries me is how accessible the furniture is to the public that come in. A person can open drawers and touch the furniture if Amanda is turned for just a second. She has explained to us that she had to speak to people before about not touching the furniture.
One of my favorite pieces we had the chance to see was the chair made specially for the Dalai Lama. This oversized comfortable chair was made for a man so humble and so wise; it was very overwhelming to sit in it myself. To commission a piece like that and allow for the public to then sit in it is very powerful. The Dalai Lama brings such a positive aura wherever he goes, so now the museum permanently has a piece of him there. Another area I really admired was the section of Barbra Streisand’s collection. A fabulous pink cushioned couch and a unique wood privacy divider. To have these pieces in a collection just gives me chills because you can just imagine yourself in that time period with the furniture.
Final remarks I have about the Stickley Museum is it is definitely a great opportunity for someone who would like to curate and enjoys the smaller museum rather than a big city one such as the MET in NYC. Amanda mentioned there are internships that students may apply for and it would be a rather interesting and informative one. This museum requires a lot of hands on, with gloves, and hard work and dedication to the furniture. I believe it is Amanda and Mike’s passion now that keeps this place going and enjoyable to the public.
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