This past December, local architect John Pankey and I led a writing workshop for literary center StudioSTL, using the setting of Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark as our muse. It was the second time the Pulitzer and this Grand Center neighbor have come together.

Over the summer, StudioSTL’s director, Beth Ketcher, read for A Marathon Metamorphoses and wrote on the event’s corresponding blog what she felt the marathon was about. Her attitude reflected a principle StudioSTL and the Pulitzer share: the arts are for everyone.

The goal of December’s workshop was not for the participants to produce refined art reviews but to get them to think comfortably, descriptively, analytically, and creatively by jotting down verbal sketches of what they saw in the galleries. Given optional cues in a worksheet, the young authors were asked to investigate the space, write down what they thought, and read their writing to everyone as a conclusion to the session.

Below, one of StudioSTL’s mentors reflects on the workshop.

Paula Davis is an Engineering student at Washington University and a mentor for StudioSTL.

On the twelfth day of the twelfth month, a few young writers–high school students–and a number of volunteers from StudioSTL, sat holding gray pamphlets, on the gray concrete floor of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, in its gray concrete building, under St. Louis’ cold gray sky. It was quiet. Read the rest of this entry »

Besides the generous publicity from media outlets, the blogosphere really helped broadcast Urban Alchemy’s opening and often gave insight into the exhibition and Matta-Clark’s work. Here are several blogs linked to relevant posts: Read the rest of this entry »

Since January, the Pulitzer has been open the first Sunday of each month, 12-5pm, for Ideal (Dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer. September 6 will be our last first Sunday, after which we will go back to having regular hours only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. To commemorate this conclusion, the Pulitzer will have docents present throughout the day, discussing Old Masters in the galleries. So far, our docents are comprised of Security Officer Silas Eillis, Director Matthias Waschek, Kress Fellow Hannah Fullgraf, and St. Louis Art Museum Docent Roman Beuc. Each docent has picked a painting to talk about for 15 minutes at the beginning of a particular hour.

In the text below, Roman Beuc talks about the work he chose for September 6 and what it’s like being a docent.

The Pulitzer requested me, as a museum docent, to provide a personal view of a single work in the exhibition, Ideal (Dis)-Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer. While the Pulitzer currently does not utilize docents, it formerly did, and I was among that group. 

I am still a docent at the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM). Half of the works in this show are on loan from there, so all of those works are familiar. Museum docents are typically volunteers that function as knowledgeable “tour guides,” leading museum guests through the works on display. They lead one-on-a-few, face-to-face discussions of the works. These discussions use narratives and docent-guest interchanges that enhance the guest’s knowledge of a work. Information exchanged may include the work’s possible meaning or message, its artistic, political, or social context, background of the artist and in some cases the physical processes used in its creation. A key objective is to engage the viewer and initiate a docent-guest dialogue.

The work from the show I chose to discuss is the painting titled The Crucifixion, by Giambattista Tiepolo. Tiepolo (1696-1770), a Venetian, was one of the last great Baroque painters, and is most remembered for this style, even though he was at his artistic peak during the 18th century Rococo period and actually worked into the early neo-classical period. Some considered him the greatest painter of the 18th C. He received major commissions for religious and secular works and painted in both oils and fresco. His theatrical-like style is noted for its dynamism (a trait of the Baroque in art and architecture) and its brightness or luminosity. By 1750, he was recognized as a master throughout Europe. Besides Italy, he Read the rest of this entry »

Why should the government spend tax dollars on art programs? What are key points we can cover when talking to policy-makers?

I asked Erin Brumleve, an art therapist and artist, to share her thoughts on why the arts deserve funding. Here is what she wrote:

“As an artist and art therapist, my view is that the arts are a keystone of well-being for both individuals and society at large.

“Research has shown that youth-based art initiatives can serve as a means of educational and constructive activity and can even teach skills necessary for gainful employment, as well as serve as a preventative measures in deterring crime–especially among at-risk youth, who may identify with the plight of the ‘bohemian artist struggling to be heard.’

“At the same time, it would be a mistake to conceptualize art-making as only providing benefits for children. One of my favorite blogs on Psychology Today is by Michelle and Robert Root – Bernstein’s ‘Imagine That.’

“The Bersteins examine the interplay of creativity and imagination as applied across the arts and sciences. In a recent post, they enumerate, far more eloquently than I can here, about how leaving arts funding out of any economic stimulus package could actually impede innovation and economic growth in our country. They cite several well-known physicians and scientists who were painters as well!

Click here, to read the article”

Photo taken from The Art2Healing Project.

Lindenwood Senior Beth Doyle, who intends to become a French teacher, says this about the French Program:

“I am in my fourth year at Lindenwood studying to become a French teacher, so the French program at the Pulitzer is a great opportunity for me and I have really enjoyed participating for the past few years.  It is a very unique way for me to improve my own French and learn more about art while also meeting other French teachers in the area who can give me pointers or advice.  It also gives me the chance to teach something new to a group of high school French students and gives me a taste of what I have to look forward to in my future teaching career.”

Since January 16, there have been two more tours given by the Lindenwood students, who are studying French. The tour guides agreed to write a few words, summarizing their experience with the French program so far. Here are the thoughts of Raissa Leite:

“Having the opportunity to participate in the French Project is great! I not only get to know more about art but also am involved with this great foundation. Before taking this course (we take this as a class during our January intersession at Lindenwood), I had never heard of the Pulitzer Foundation and now, I have the chance to be part of it, even though it is just for a short time. It has been a great opportunity to practice my French. I feel very blessed for having this opportunity and I wish I could do this again.”

One of the greatest pleasures of this position is learning more about how other institutions are engaging the community around art, and one of the best ways of engaging is through participatory art installations. As it happens, one of the Pulitzer’s community partners, the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles (which also serves as one of our lamp collection sites), is hosting a prime example participatory art engagement with Project Firefly. Guest blogger, Alex Elmestad, describes Project Firefly in more detail — I plan to be there, collecting fireflies riverside, and I hope to see you there, too! ~ Lisa

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While exploring the minimalist sculptures and colorful installations of Dan Flavin, you might discover a need for more creative light in your life. Well, it just so happens there is another light exhibition happening in the area. The Foundry Art Centre will host Project: Firefly, a free, one night only community project on Wednesday, July 9th. The evening begins at 6pm with Ameren distributing electroluminescent night lights that emit an illuminating glow (Note: the lights never burn out, the light only uses less than a watt of electricity, and costs pennies a year to operate) Ameren will also discuss topics of energy conservation, while making comparisons to the subject of bioluminescence and mankind’s influence from the natural phenomenon. In collaboration with the Butterfly House, stations will be set up for experimentation, interactive learning, and discovery of the link between fireflies and human technology. In partnership with Artlink, a young friends organization, the Foundry will turn into a place of community exploration and participation. As the sun begins to set, anyone who wants to be involved will embark on a short journey along the Katy Trail to Frontier Park alongside the Missouri Riverfront. Armed with plastic magnetic jars and insect nets, the community will be asked to catch as many fireflies as they can within a limited time frame, in hopes of filling each jar provided. In a race to catch the glowing insects before they disappear back into the grass, the community will have the opportunity to experience a nostalgic American tradition, while also engaging directly in a temporary sensory art project. As a group, those involved will haul their findings back to the Foundry and install a “living light” installation in a grid format.

This project stems from youthful summertime practices while also informing us about the processes of community collaboration with a creative goal. Through the public coming together for the purpose of building an aesthetic, yet functional one time installation, they are allowed to imagine and explore the interactive possibilities of art. The fireflies act as symbols of natural light and mankind’s attempt to control and manipulate it in a systematic fashion for aesthetic and functional purposes. Not only does the community catch the “living light” material (firefly insect), but the public utilizes that material for a purpose. As humans, we have always been influenced by nature; this project will enhance that concept by allowing the public direct creative contact with natural organisms. Because of societies’ influence from nature we have adapted and flourished as a species through study, experimentation, and development.

The final action in the project is to gather all of the jars back into the bags and walk outside to release fireflies back into nature. This performative action signifies the cycle of the project. The order of capturing, using, and releasing back to the earth or atmosphere has long been a tradition in spiritual and religious practices. This act of freeing a living illuminating creature back into the environment will be just if not more gratifying than capturing it.