I know, right? You're a curator or conservator who just simultaneously suffered Numbers One *and* Two incontinence simply by reading that headline. Relax! It's The Onion, up to its usual mischief. (Museums are indeed struggling during the ongoing economic downturn, but let's all pray no staff ever becomes this desperate ...)

The gent in the pink jumpsuit and clown mask is known as Shawn Crahan on his driver's license. To metal fans, he is known as "Clown" (or sometimes "#6"), a percussionist in the Grammy winning band Slipknot. Three days ago, Crahan turned 40--a milestone for all of us, but especially so for a heavy metal musician. He celebrated "art, music and growing old" by staging a free, one-night exhibition of his photography and paintings at the Moberg Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa. As you have doubtless guessed, I think everyone should make art, so would like to offer both an "Atta boy" and a "Many happy returns" to Mr. Crahan.

Now, to the "Why You Should Care" part. Many of us try to inspire a love (similar to our own) of art history in our fellow humans. Sadly though, not everyone sees value in visual art, let alone the study of its history. This disinterest is often magnified x10 when a student has to take an art history class. Have you ever witnessed non-verbal cues that make it plain a root canal sans anesthesia would be preferable to whatever is going on? Yes, it's like that. I have one son who is taking an English course, kicking and screaming every step of the way. He already knows English, you see. He speaks it. There is no point in further exploring English; we are all wasting our time. If I could only find the proper words, I might begin to describe the expression on his face each time he begins composing some new, entirely st00pid assignment. He, to my auditory pain, loves blasting Slipknot, while Shakespeare leaves him flat. In my opinion, we need to find some relative-to-him source of wordsmithy inspiration. (Seth MacFarlane, perhaps ...)

Point being: The key, I think--with any subject--is landing on a spot where students (formal or informal) can connect with the subject matter. In art, it's often with the personal life of an artist. Find some commonality on the human level, and the works themselves may become of interest. I've brought up Shawn "Clown" Crahan in the hopes that you may be able to slip his exhibition into casual convo with a younger (than me) crowd and pique interest. In other words, my dear art-historic Partner in Crime: "Infiltrate and double-cross." That's my art history motto, anyway.

What say you? How do YOU engage your acolytes? All teaching tips gratefully accepted.

P.S. If you do mention "Clown," I beg of you, do NOT let it drop that he is a percussionist with "The Slipknot" as I did. Oh, the horror! My potential Hip Factor not only flew out the window upon inserting that demonstrative adjective, it disappeared from sight and landed somewhere in the tall grass, never to be seen again.

Image credit: Heavy Metal Band Slipknot arrives at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images.