George Brown Goode – Curatorial Guardian Spirit

I subscribe to more than my share of email newsletters. I read many of them every week, but one I genuinely look forward to getting is Austin Kleon‘s. Austin is a writer/artist/creative who cheers for us all in our creative efforts (you’ve probably seen his Steal Like An Artist), and he puts out a great weekly newsletter. 

So, who is George Brown Goode?

In this week’s newsletter, Austin talks about starting his new notebooks by selecting a “guardian spirit” for it. I love this idea. I always have two notebooks. I keep a notebook for personal stuff, fiction, whatever — *my* stuff. I also keep one for work, officially my Curator’s Log. Now, in personal notebooks I’ll add a “guardian spirit”, but it requires a bit of thought. 

For my Curator’s Log, there’s only one choice: George Brown Goode. Wikipedia has a good, though brief, article on him. I found him during my studies in Museum Science back when I was a curator larva. Goode was way ahead of his time on museum theory and understanding, believing that museums were really a place for everyone and not only that museums have a duty to the public. It will likely shock some, but these can be revolutionary ideas even today in many institutions. GBG also basically worked himself to death by the age of 45 —  basically by ignoring what we now call ‘self-care,’ something that people who are deeply passionate about their work also need to remember.

So, I made this and pasted it into my Curator’s Log this morning, featuring GBG with one of my favorite quotes from him:

 

…

With you while you curate…

So, thank you Austin Kleon for the great idea and George Brown Goode for the inspiration. Do you keep a notebook? Do you have a Spirit Guardians for your passions? I’d love to learn about them! Leave a comment!

About the Author: Benjamin L. Clark writes historical mysteries and works as a history museum curator.

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More About Working In Museums:
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How to Research History Like a Novelist
Translating Historical Research Into Video

 

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