That's "Art"

I am a substitute gallery attendant at the List Visual Arts Center. This is a part time job that I have had for almost 10 years. It was , in many ways , an answer to a prayer at a difficult time in my life. I work only every once in a while. When there are pregnancies, I get a lot of work ! I like working there, when I can. I like sitting in a chair in the middle of an art installation. I have seen some amazing shows over the years, including the Yoko Ono exhibit, I was in the gallery when she called (twice). The working phone was a part of the art, and she would call every once in a while.
Tonight, I worked the opening reception for a showing by a French artist-Mathieu Briand. It was packed !!!! It's very modern, including a wall that is drenched in perspiration. The room is dark and lined with spongey -sound proofey material. By the end of the party, I could really smell it. I was mostly monitoring the video helmet traffic flow. It is a helmet set up to a camera and it distorts the image. They need to be used 4 at a time and they take about 10 minutes to re-charge. We had to make people sign up to take a turn. The turn around was quite slow. Attached to the helmet and visor is a device that has a button you can press and you can see what the other 3 people are looking at -also distorted. Since I wasn't there for the orientation , I was freaked when people would touch the equipment unsupervised. I think the opportunity is ripe for some sort of terrible art accident . A slaughter of meterials that I hope doesn't happen during my shift. I had to keep yelling at people to not touch the thing. The piece itself invites tactile interaction, but it's going to be a real bitch to make sure people don't abuse the art.
Though it's been a long week, and I still have to make it through to next weekend, I was glad I could be there tonight. It's great to be around so many creative people. The energy at those types of events is really good.