Last Thursday - since it was the first Thursday of the month - the Pulitzer was open from 6-9pm so visitors could view the Flavin works at night.  My parents and grandmother came out for dinner (at Hodaks! Another St. Louis must-visit, if you’re unfamiliar) and to see the exhibition.

It was really nice outside, so we went out on the watercourt patio to enjoy it for a little bit.  The colors bouncing off the water were so incredible, I had to run to my office and grab the camera and take a picture.  As with most photographs of Flavin, the picture doesn’t do it justice - but I wanted to post it anyway:

In connection to Maria’s post today about Google Earth, I also have a weakness for looking up places.  You can really get sucked in, exploring areas, finding your childhood home, etc.  Also on Google Maps (speaking of, something I only recently tried out because it’s not up and running in St. Louis - have you used the Street View option yet? It’s crazy! Click here and try it on the Art Institute of Chicago).

I’m glad to see Google Earth is updated with our current buildings at the Contemporary and the Pulitzer - I think the last time I checked us out on Google maps, it showed the Contemporary still under construction! It’s fun to look at Joe from that view….awhile ago, I wrote a post about Twain downtown too, which is pretty interesting to view from that angle as well. Take a look here.

Last week, Tyler Green posted some suggestions for museum blogs, which is always nice to read - it’s important to take a step back every once in awhile and give your blog a good hard look. And his posts came at a perfect time - Maria (on the Contemporary’s side of the blog) and I already had a meeting scheduled to discuss some new ideas. Tyler’s suggestions reinforced exactly what we were thinking.One thing we often hear that people like about our blog is the fact that we’re two very different institutions contributing posts on the same page. It gives readers a chance to see the differences and similarities in our approaches to art and museum-related topics. We thought it would make sense to highlight this even more - so cue a new series of posts we decided to call “Two Takes One Issue” (get it? two buildings one blog? We’re also really clever around here…).

This series will take a certain issue, news article, administrative approach, curatorial practice, what-have-you, and have someone related to that issue at each of our institutions write about it from their perspective. We’re hoping it will not only emphasize our unique qualities, but also raise questions and start conversations. Expect the first posts coming soon….and let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to address!

A view of the back of the Pulitzer building, with trees in bloom:

Both yesterday and today, sculpture students from Washington University have been busy installing the Bruno David Gallery (across the street from the Pulitzer) in anticipation for tonight’s exhibition of their artwork.

And we’ve been busy videotaping the whole process - we’re getting footage of the installation, tonight’s performances (there will be a few) and interviews with each of the students about their works.  They all relate to the Flavin exhibition in really interesting ways and deal with the idea of objecthood.  We’re continuing to post updated information on our website here – check back for the videos and further info soon.  On that page, you can also take a look at our past collaboration with Wash U art students for the Portrait/Homage/Embodiment exhibition.

In addition, the St. Louis Beacon posted a wonderful article this morning about tonight’s opening, which is from 6-9pm.  Click here to read.

David Bonetti wrote a great review of our Flavin exhibition in yesterday’s Post-Dispatch.  Click here.

Also - our exhibition print booklets (which complements our website catalogue) were literally JUST delivered to our doorstep.  So be sure to visit Wednesday to pick up your very own copy, and let us know what you think.

I wrote a post a while back on The Light Project, a series of outdoor installations we’re planning in conjunction with the Flavin exhibition. Two of the artists, Sebastian Hungerer & Rainer Kehres, were here all last week discussing the details of their artwork, which is planned for the burnt church on Spring Avenue (around the corner from the Pulitzer). That location in itself is an interesting blog topic - I’ll report on that - with photos - soon.

The two artists are also going to be involved with our Community Light Project. They met with Lisa and the participating schools and institutions throughout the week. Lisa is working on a blog post with more details on how that’s all coming along.

In the meantime, we’re also in the process of plotting out the web and print catalogue components for both projects - we have a meeting next week to finalize some more of the content details. If you have any ideas of information you’d like to see, feel free to leave a comment here and let us know!

UPDATE:  I’ve just posted The Light Project press release on our website, if you’re curious.

flavin.pulitzerarts.org

Take a look at the following:

- Interview conducted by Matthias Waschek (Director of the Pulitzer) with Tiffany Bell (exhibition curator) and Steve Morse (exhibition coordinator).

- Interview conducted by Tiffany Bell with Emily Rauh Pulitzer (founder of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, and curator of the 1973 Flavin exhibition at SLAM).

- Interview with Dan Flavin himself - from the ‘73 exhibition with photo of him working on the installation.

- Exploration of the galleries and Flavin’s work through an interactive map. View still photographs, videos moving you through the space, and one incredible timelapse.

ENJOY.

That’s right - we have two, count them two, (well actually 3) internship openings for this summer. One is a web communications internship, and the second is community engagement (we’re looking for two interns for this position).  Interested?  Click here for more info.

All afternoon, I’ve been going over the development site for our Flavin web catalogue….we’re hoping for a Friday launch — I’ll keep you posted and let you know as soon as it’s live (along with a brass band, ticker tape parade, and a huge web catalogue-inspired cake…ok, not really, but that’s what it will feel like).

So Tyler Green’s link today to MoMA’s catalogue for their exhibition Color Chart came at a perfect time.  I really like it - it seems to fit the spirit of the exhibition, I like the different types of content, and I’m a fan of how the information is organized.  But mostly, it’s just fun to navigate through.  Take a look at it here.