Metropolis II Internship

Metropolis II Internship (Temporary Part-Time)

Conservation Center Department

SUMMARY

Reporting to the Kinetic Sculpture Preventive Conservator & Supervisor, this paid internship is designed to immerse the intern in the real, day‑to‑day world of an objects conservator, focused on the care, maintenance, and conservation of Metropolis II. The intern will learn alongside professionals in the museum gallery, gaining first-hand experience of what conserving a kinetic sculpture entails.

Chris Burden's Metropolis II is an intense kinetic sculpture, modeled after a fast paced, frenetic modern city. Steel beams form an eclectic grid interwoven with an elaborate system of 18 roadways, including one six lane freeway, and HO scale train tracks. Miniature cars speed through the city at 240 scale miles per hour; every hour, the equivalent of approximately 100,000 cars circulate through the dense network of buildings. According to Burden, "The noise, the continuous flow of the trains, and the speeding toy cars produce in the viewer the stress of living in a dynamic, active and bustling 21st century city."

This is a 13 week paid internship, approximately 24 hours per week at $17.87/hour

Anticipated Start Date: January 16, 2026

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Learn how to write condition reports detailing wear, learning how to create treatment reports and document the treatment process, learn how to document and categorize art inventory.  
• Participate in gentle cleaning of Metropolis II: buildings, trains, and cars to gain hands-on experience with art handling and conservation work. Shadow technicians during maintenance hours while they complete regularly performed maintenance.
• Undertake assigned documentation project of labeling, organizing, and cataloguing new cars in storage for future use. 
• Shadow the supervisor during maintenance and operation days to gain understanding on the typical workflow of caring for a kinetic sculpture.
• Receive 1:1 mentoring with supervisor to learn how to handle and work with art in a professional museum environment while observing correct protocol. Hands on experience with the treatment, reporting, and documentation of a kinetic sculpture.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Internship applicants must be currently enrolled in an academic program, or recently graduated within 1 year, and reside in the Los Angeles vicinity.
• Enrolled in, or have a degree in Conservation, Art, Art History, or other related fields

Please submit a resume and a cover letter.

To Apply, Please use the following link.