Divination, dining are fast-track Staples

Behind the Name tag: Museum’s curator finds allure in the Arctic

Not everybody gets to pursue the career he or she dreamed of as a teenager, but Genevieve Lemoine, curator and registrar at the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, has followed her dream to the ends of the earth.
Lemoine said she has known that she wanted to be an archaeologist from the age of 17.
“I was very lucky that the Ontario government had a program for hiring high school and university students to do all kinds of different things, and one of them was archaeology,” she said.“So, I got a job doing archaeology in Ontario as a high school student for the summer. That confirmed that yes, that is what I wanted to do.”
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Lemoine attended University of Toronto, Scarborough College for her undergraduate degrees and received her Ph.D at the University of Calgary. It was not until she entered graduate school that she realized that she wanted to specialize in Arctic archaeology.
In 1986, Lemoine took her first trip to the Arctic.
“We had all the key experiences—we saw a polar bear at a safe distance, we had snow storms, we had our tents blown down,” she said. “It’s the kind of place that—when you go there—it’s hard to leave.”
Since then, Lemoine has been to the Arctic several times, doing field work for approximately 10 years. Afterward, Lemoine saw the job at Bowdoin as a perfect fit.
As curator and registrar of the Arctic Museum, Lemoine’s responsibilities include managing and overseeing the care of the collections and developing exhibits. Her diverse roles give her the ability to switch from typing up information to performing hands-on tasks with the collections, which keep her days exciting. She said she is especially enthusiastic about the museum’s continued growth.
“Because we are an actively collecting museum there’s always new things coming in; you never know when somebody’s going to call you up and say, ‘Would you like…’ or ‘My family has...’” said Lemoine.
The museum has received a large amount of art produced by the Inuit people, trace their origins back to the Arctic. Most recently, the museum received a call from a Freeport woman whose great-aunt was sent two postcards from Ross Marvin, the only member of Peary’s 1908 expedition to die during the long journey to the Arctic.
The most memorable call occurred in 2010, when the grandson of a man on MacMillan’s expedition wanted to donate various historical artifacts, pieces of equipment, scientific specimens, journals and photographs.
“He said, ‘Would you be interested in having some things that he had left over?’ He started just listing all of these things and I filled up two pages,” said Lemoine, who quickly accepted the donation.
Outside of her work at the museum, Lemoine enjoys rowing. She started a couple of years ago and is now hooked on the beautiful sites she sees and the animals she observes while on the water.
Lemoine said she has enjoyed all the places she has called home. When asked whether she liked living in Canada or Maine better, she joked, “Well, what I tell my friends is that Maine is almost like Canada.”

Behind the Name tag: Museum curator continues his lifelong passion for art at Bowdoin

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.”

Behind the Name tag

Divination, dining are fast-track Staples

October 31, 2014

Liam Finnerty

SERVING IT UP: Students who frequent Jack Magee’s Pub’s fast-track lunch option are often served their lunch by Brandy 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.

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