Whale Watching

This idea was taken from last night's dream. I awoke having "experienced" the situation comedy in my dream. This is the first time that I have been able to re-create a dream of this type in detail with a little added imagination after waking. 

Whale Watching

A Family Situation Comedy

The entire family lives in one, modest but large, four bedroom home in a small city just outside Chicago. The house is an older brick three stories. One bedroom is on the first level, the others on the second level and in the attic. Michael, the “Uncle” is visiting from New York City and camping out in the den. The parents live in a small “in-law’ apartment attached to the garage. The kitchen is large and there is a formal dining room.

The neighborhoods represent all racial and socio-economic level families with many mixed-race marriages. Strong LGBTQ presence. 

The small city consists of residential, business, and light factory and has a substantial downtown. There are brand name stores, privately owned shops, and restaurants which run from “chain” to very expensive. In the downtown area, there are hotels, a 16 screen theater, a legitimate theater, a library, a post office.

The public transportation is excellent and there is a commuter train. The police and fire protection are excellent. Crime is low but does exist. The school system is good and there are also a few private schools. It is home to a prestigious university and several smaller ones. Politics of most people in town is outspoken, Democratic.

• • •

Adolph Whales - Father - Has Early Stage Dementia/Alzheimer’s - 70

Adele Whales - Mother - 70 - Was an English Professor

Michael Whales - Brother - Gay -A retired teacher - 50

(Gregory Marie - Brother’s Husband - An architect. Now deceased, Alzheimer’s)

Pepper - Pet Collie

Bethany Whales/Branford - Sister - At Home Mother & successful writer - 45

Pete Branford - Sister’s Husband - Lawyer - 45

Go - Pet Poodle

Go Go II - Pet Poodle Puppy

Cindy Branford - Daughter - Divorced - 28

Barbara Delany - Daughter’s Wife - 28

Clarice Branford - Daughter - 12

Lindsey Branford - Daughter - 9

Pete Jr. Branford - Son - 20

Ginger - Older Pet Cat

Unusual, well-developed family dynamics. A very current and hip but at the same time old-fashioned, close-knit family that functions well. Each family member brings a unique perspective to the whole. All family members are outspoken with the exception of the two spouses who are somewhat overwhelmed by the family dynamics.

Michael's Museum Too (Two)

As you may know, I have been doing a lot of thinking about creating a second "Michael's Museum." The idea was sparked by an article I read about a museum in Brooklyn tucked away in an abandoned freight elevator.

In New York City there are no alleys. So all garbage collection, deliveries, construction etc takes place on the street side of things. Freight elevators open onto the street for this reason.

In Brooklyn an old factory building was converted to condos. The old freight elevator was abandoned in favor of installing new equipment. The elevator itself was parked on the first floor with the space above given to the condos above.

Somehow two men took over the elevator to create a museum of found objects. It is an anthropological look at life in New York City based on things they found abandoned or thrown away or lost on the streets.

This gave me the idea for a second museum of small things, a kind of extension of Michael's Museum: A Curious Collection of Tiny Treasures.

While most of my collections were gifted to Chicago Children's Museum (CCM) on Navy Pier and are now part of a permanent exhibit there since 2011,  I still have many little thing collections around the condo!

I kept some (many) of my most prized pieces home, have continued to collect, and am ready to give up other items I previously wanted to save for myself. In other words, I now have enough "stuff" that while it would never be as grand as the "Curious Collection of Tiny Treasures" at CCM, I could create another museum of small things.

So was born the idea of creating an art installation that could take over a closet or storage room in any museum, cultural building, library, children's museum, etc.

Plexiglass cabinets, that would line the back and side walls of the space floor to ceiling, would be designed in such a way as to keep the collection safe while on display (security,) could be attached to the walls of the space so as to keep the visitors safe from accident (tip proof,) would have LED lighting in place so the cabinets would only have to be plugged in, could be easily altered to accommodate any small sized space.

It would be a traveling museum that could be unassembled, crated, shipped, and reinstalled in another place, in another city, in another state, in another country (if you want to think big.)

The first installation would be paid for by corporate or public funding. The money raised would provide fees for the designer, preparator, display cabinet construction, shipping, and installation.

The first receiving institution would pay for insurance, security, marketing, and public relations. I would coordinate curation of the collections and my presence at openings, fund raising events, speaking engagements, etc.

Future installations would have the receiving institution pay for all of the above plus shipping and my expenses for being present at their location.

The name I have tentatively given this museum is: The Small. It could be Michael's Small Museum or The Small Museum or just "The Small."

Shortly I will begin trying to get a foot into meeting the appropriate people in the cultural locations (museums, libraries, cultural centers etc) on my Chicago short list to see who might be interested in taking this risk with me.

I believe that Chicago Children's Museum and Michael's Museum, including the blog and web site and all the publicity we received (and which I saved and laminated) will be proof enough to lend credibility to my new idea.

Wish me luck (and hard work.)

Here is a photo of the elevator museum in Brooklyn: