Museum curator continues his lifelong passion for art at Bowdoin

Behind the Name tag: Divination, dining are fast-track Staples

Students on the run in Smith Union will recognize Brandy Staples as the woman who provides their lunchtime nourishment to go.
Staples (“like the office supply store,” she said) works at the counter of Fast Track at Jack Magee’s Pub, a weekday lunchtime operation that serves bagged meals to students in a hurry.While Staples enjoys the job overall, it is not always easy. She serves between 200 and 250 patrons on any given day during her 3.5 hour shift.
“You do not stop. Once you get here, you continue to go,” Staples said.
In addition to working at Bowdoin, Staples owns her own business. She hand makes and sells dowsing pendulums, which are crystals or stones at the end of chains that are used for divination and spiritual activities. Staples sells most of her products via online retailers such as Etsy and Ebay.
“I make everything from scratch. If it is not handmade by me, I make sure it is handmade,” said Staples.
Staples has a close connection to Maine. She grew up in nearby Phippsburg and returned there after living in Massachusetts for a time.
“Maine is a nice place to live and raise a family. People up here are more genuine [than in Massachusetts],” she said.
Staples earned an associate’s degree in travel and hospitality. She also has a certificate in medical billing and coding. As for her past work, Staples has consistently worked in the retail and food-service sector.
Almost three years ago, Staples ended up at Bowdoin by what she describes as “the lines of fate.” During her time here, Staples has interacted with many members of the Bowdoin community and especially enjoys getting to know Bowdoin students.
“I can’t believe how polite you guys are,” she said. “[Bowdoin students] are so funny: I’ll accidentally grab the wrong thing and you guys will apologize to me. It’s just funny because you are apologizing to me when I made the mistake.”
Staples is impressed by Bowdoin students’ tendency toward environmental awareness, noting how students have pushed for reusable lunch bags.
“There’s a lot of things here that I’ve really picked up from you guys,” Staples said. “People here are very intellectual, they’re always trying to learn new things and find better ways to do things so I’m glad we get to play off each other.”
In her free time, Staples is involved with activities at her church and describes herself as an “avid reader.”
“My goal in life is to finish all the books on my bookshelf before I die,” she said.

Behind the Name tag: Books a constant companion for Tucker

Although Course Materials and General Book Manager Michael Tucker is a lifelong bibliophile, it took him a while to find his calling.
“I originally thought that I was going to be a physical therapist, so I started my college career at [Ithaca College],” said Tucker. “I remember sitting in chemistry class and my professor was passing back the exams. She said, ‘the grades ranged from a 44 to a 99 percent,’ and I looked at mine and it was a forty-seven. I just realized that I kind of picked the wrong field.”
Born and raised in Syracuse, New York, Ithaca College was only the start of Tucker’s college career. After his change of heart, he transferred to Syracuse University—which was too big for his liking—and eventually found his place at Le Moyne College. “I had a great professors there—Dr. Clarkson—she used to smoke a cigar and we’d go into her office and she’d have a little teacup,” said Tucker. “She was just a character, but she was a great teacher.”
The small, Jesuit, liberal arts school gave him the one-on-one relationship he wanted with his professors, and helped rediscover his true passion: English.
“In high school I wrote for my school newspaper, and when I got to college I began writing for my college newspaper,” said Tucker. “Books have always been there, writing has always been there, and I have done other things with my life, but I have always fallen back into being around books.”
About 15 years ago, Tucker and his wife moved to Maine. Prior to their move, they had both worked at the bookstore chain Barnes & Noble. Whenever a new store would open they would be relocated, moving from Syracuse to Rochester to Buffalo.
“We just got tired of moving and we decided that we were just going to pick a place to settle down. We just decided on Maine,” Tucker said. “When we first got here, neither of us had jobs, which was kind of scary...Then I saw an ad in the paper advertising for this job. I loved books and had the background in it and applied.”
This December is his 10-year anniversary working at the College.
Some of his responsibilities include ordering the textbooks—searching for used books and putting in orders for new books—and coordinating with the Events Office when there are events on campus that involve book signings. Tucker said the people are by far his favorite part of working at Bowdoin.
“There are so many creative and interesting people. We just have a great community,” he said.
Tucker finds many ways to diversify his hobbies. From surfing lessons to cricket, from printmaking to learning to play the electric guitar, he pursues various passions. It all comes back to books, however.
“I do write a lot for myself, creatively,” he said. “I travel to Woodstock, New York. Every year there’s a festival down there, and I meet a lot of creative people there...I promised my mom that I would get published in her lifetime.”

Behind the Name tag

Museum curator continues his lifelong passion for art at Bowdoin

November 13, 2014

Nevan Swanson

**LABOR OF LOVE:** Joachim Homann has his dream job as the curator of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. He organizes the museum’s exhibitions.

Whether he is playing the piano for his kids, visiting museums across the globe or creating an exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Joachim Homann finds joy in artistic expression.

As curator of the museum, he organizes exhibitions from start to finish. His “inevitable love of the material” brought him to Bowdoin.

“I always liked drawing, and when I was twelve I really started to enjoy it. I just get a lot of pleasure out of looking at things, and even more pleasure out of discussing or conversing with people about the things I see. I could spend hours and hours by just talking to friends about it,” said Homann. “I really enjoyed going to museums—they are safe places, inspiring, and fun. I always liked to travel—so to see the world en route to a museum was always my way of discovering things.”

Homann was born in Celle, Germany and obtained all of his historical training in Germany. He finished his Ph. D. at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. He had access to world-renowned artists, who helped him discover his biggest dreams.

“At least three of the professors I was working most closely with had fellowships at the Harvard Art Museums, and they always came back raving about their experience,” said Homann.

“When I then learned that there was a two-year fellowship available at the Harvard Art Museum to learn how academic art museums functioned, I thought, ‘This is my opportunity.’”
During those years, he fostered a love for academic art museums. Leaving three siblings and his parents behind in Germany, he briefly taught at various institutions in the Boston area and in El Paso, Texas. He realized, however, that working with original artwork was what he liked best. Therefore, when the opportunity at Bowdoin presented itself, he took it.

“I love to work at Bowdoin and be steeped in more than two hundred years of democratic history,” said Homann. “People have been curious and cosmopolitan in Brunswick for a very long time.”

“Art is always irritating you; it is always driving you out of your comfort zone and it’s challenging your ability to learn. I think that’s such a fantastic thing to do on a college campus,” said Homann.

Outside of Bowdoin, Homann enjoys swimming at Simpson’s Point and cooking for friends—especially potato salad—and going for bike rides. His most recent endeavor was returning to one of his earlier hobbies—playing piano.

“I started earlier this year after a hiatus of 25 years, and the first thing I played was the Lego movie theme song for my kids on Facebook—they were traveling when I got the piano delivered. So many friends have liked the video that I am now working on a sequel.”

Along with his two sons, who are nine and four, he is learning about Judaism at Hebrew school—encouraged by his wife, Natasha Goldman, teaching associate in art history.

“There might be something special for a German to have an American Jewish wife. We are raising our children Jewish and to me it’s a fantastic experience,” said Homann. “It’s great to learn about and get to know the Jewish and interfaith community at Bowdoin. I always see that as a special privilege about being in the United States.”

Currently, Homann is helping to develop an upcoming exhibition, “Night Vision: Nocturnes in the American Art.”

“Many of these pieces are contemplative; they are very personal, and it seems that night paintings resonate in a very different way compared to other works of art,” said Homann. “You immediately relate them to your own experience of the night, you connect them to the world that you see at night. It gets you emotionally involved right away.”

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