"Shmoozing" Exercise- Katherine Paschal

While I haven't really gotten the opportunity to rub paint-stained elbows with any of the art world's major players, I have had a few interactions at the exhibitions I've attended. Most of these interactions have been with other students and with everyday people who merely enjoy viewing artworks. However, one interaction sticks out in my mind. A few weeks ago, I visited the International Pop exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. While perusing the items in the show, a voice near me exclaimed "Oh my god I love your shirt!" (On this occasion I was wearing a t-shirt with an image of Andy Warhol on it, because I fully embrace the cheesy factor.) I turn to see Andy Warhol himself standing in front of of me. Well, not exactly. I see a young man dressed as the artist, his ensemble complete with a striped turtleneck and silver wig. I smile and thank him for the compliment, observing that he must be quite a fan of Pop. He introduced himself as Steven, and we start discussing our shared interest in the Pop movement, trading fun-facts about how Japanese Pop often uses images of Astro Boy because he's essentially Japan's Mickey Mouse, or how Andy Warhol would wear his silver wig to a barber for a trim, only to return a couple of weeks later wearing a slightly-longer silver wig. Steven told me that he was a high school senior, which surprised me because I rarely see high school students so interested in art history. We talked for a few minutes then about his interest in studying art history and where he would like to go to college. At this point, my inner Orientation Leader came out and I gave him the hard-sell on UNT and the College of Visual Arts and Design. I told him to definitely consider the UNT Art History program, especially since CVAD offers a Pop Art course (one of my reasons for attending the exhibition). We exchanged contact information, and I told him to contact me if he had any more questions about UNT or the College of Visual Arts and Design.