by Carianne Noga, Programs and Gallery Assistant

Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure and fortune of becoming acquainted with many members of the Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis. They have generously and enthusiastically shared their time and energy with the Pulitzer in developing and facilitating many aspects of the diverse programming for Reflections of the Buddha. In particular, I have been working with several local Buddhist groups affiliated with the Council, to coordinate the Pulitzer’s phenomenally successful meditation series.

Not knowing how incredibly popular this series would turn out to be, each week has brought its own set of challenges. The first week was very exciting for all of us planning it, and we did everything we could think of to be prepared for hosting the 50-60 people we expected. It was a particularly funny thing we didn’t think of though–what do you do with the castoff shoes of 50 meditators? Oops! We did not plan for the piles of footwear, but by the second week we had assembled shelving to further eliminate what could have been a potential fire hazard. Now, if only we could count on everyone to actually use the cubbies! Of course, we continue to do our duty to keep the space safe and comfortable, but this requires a certain amount of finesse and thinking on the fly.

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Philip Matthews is a 2011 graduate of the MFA program at Washington University in St. Louis and is this year’s Jr. Writer-in-Residence in the English department. He teaches poetry and creative non-fiction. He is also a gallery assistant at the Pulitzer.

by Philip Matthews, Gallery Assistant

Last Thursday, October 6, I had the pleasure of experiencing the first of a series of Sound Waves events, which will all respond to the current exhibition, Reflections of the Buddha. For this installment, DJ Tim Rakel pumped a variety of Indian and Indian-influenced music throughout the exhibition through a sound system installed in the grates in the floor. The effect was encompassing, and as a gallery assistant stationed in the main gallery over the course of three hours, I found myself considering the Buddhist concepts of impermanence and attachment.

According to Buddhist thought, everything is in a constant state of change. The Pulitzer building exemplifies this principle, as natural light shifts throughout the day throughout the galleries: in one moment, a shimmering reflection of the Watercourt on the ceiling; in one moment, a rod of light through the Buddha on a phyllite plate; in one moment, nightfall reveals the standing Buddha reflected in a window, alongside my own reflection. And Rakel’s musical selections enhanced this principle beautifully: moving from a recording of monks chanting a cappella in unison, to a shimmering of sitars and a woman’s microtonic pipes like I have never heard, to a percussive, upbeat dance fitting of a dakini. Throughout the event, I am struck by how the power of the artworks around me interact with the music and the building, and how those relationships evolve as time progresses. At any given moment, I am satisfied to be here, having the experience I am having. Is this something like samadhi?

But when I begin to become attached: for example, when I begin to miss the blocks of orange light which sunset cast on the wall, I begin to miss out on the current experience of night available to me, with its different beauties and significances. This, I feel, is the Buddha’s most useful teaching to my daily life, which is full of attachments: to loved ones, to routine, to self-image. Because nothing is permanent, my attachments dissatisfy me when the conditions of my life change: I am dissatisfied that the relationship I want to last must inevitably end; I am dissatisfied when my students are not as talkative as they were last week; I am dissatisfied that, at 24, I am still so much skinnier than other men. The Buddha: “…on the cessation of craving ceases attachment; on the cessation of attachment ceases becoming…” (Mitchell, Donald W. “The Teachings of the Buddha.” Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. 42. Print.)

Here is a creative response to the challenges and questions of intimacy, attachment and impermanence which the current exhibition at the Pulitzer has begun to raise for me. The first draft of this poem was written at Sound Waves on Thursday, October 6, in fragments, on the back of a receipt I had in my wallet at the time.

by Courtney Henson, Visitor Services Manager

Coordinating the Frame of Reference talks has become a way to meet new and interesting people.  As a staff, we brainstorm a lengthy list of names of individuals who we think would have a diverse set of perspectives on the works in our current exhibition.  For Reflections of the Buddha, the list includes various sects of Buddhist practitioners, artists, philosophers, yoga instructors, and art historians just to name a few.  The experience of viewing Buddhist works at the Pulitzer will have different meanings for different people.  The Frame of Reference talks share in 15-minute increments one perspective. Typically we have a minimum of four speakers and move from each work with the speakers and any guests interested in hearing.  Sometimes the talks share ideas and sometimes they do not, but these short talks are a great way to get new insights on the work.  I look forward to hearing the talks this weekend and being enlightened through a whole new set of eyes.  Works discussed this Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m., include “The  Universal Gateway of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara,” Chapter Twenty Five of the Lotus Sūtra (Miaofa lianhua jing Guanshiyin pusa pumenpin), with an Appended Heart Sūtra (Xin jing), Standing Buddha Śākyamuni (Shijiamouni), Standing Prince Shōtoku at Age Two (Shōtoku Taishi Nisaizō) and The Monk Ananda (Anantuo). 

See the schedule of speakers here.

Last week, our senior curator Francesca Herndon-Consagra gave a presentation to the gallery assistants about Dreamscapes. Here is Gallery Assistant Kay’s response to what she learned:

Sometimes it’s hard to see exhibitions leave our beautiful building, but it is always refreshing to see Ando’s architectural space transformed and reinvented over and over again.

After having a sneak preview of Dreamscapes, I’m anxiously awaiting the spectacular show. This will be my first experience with a Pulitzer exhibition that has multiple artists with multiple objects and concepts (with the exception of Old Masters, which had several artists but focused on similar content).  Do Ho Suh, a contemporary artist I have appreciated and admired, will have a piece in the exhibition that will have your eyes seeing nothing but red colors and transparent architecture.

You may not recognize Kiki Smith’s work  as a sculpture right away but more so as a person. She may make you feel nervous and empathetic, closer and more distant, human and humiliated—all in one piece at one time. To experience this work is so familiar to how we experience dreams. It’s not only what you are seeing but how you’re feeling–internal turbulence we can try to explain but cannot always articulate in a logical sense.

Dreamscapes has a compelling blend of installation, sculpture, and painting and joins Modern and Contemporary artists who explore many themes into a unique viewing experience that we funnel under the word “dreams”. For a one-of-a-kind place, this will certainly be a one-of-a-kind show.

Kiki Smith, American (born Germany, 1954) Pee Body, 1992, Wax and glass beads, Figure: 27 x 28 x 28 in., Beads: 23 strands of varying lengths, 1 ft. to over 15 ft. long, Harvard Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Promised gift in part of Barbara Lee and Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Purchase in part from the Joseph A. Baird, Jr., Francis H. Burr Memorial, and Director’s Acquisition Funds, 1997.82

I knew being a gallery assistant here would be a great venture, and it hasn’t disappointed me yet. I’ve been through Old Masters, Gordon Matta-Clark and now Ann Hamilton. What fascinates me most about stylus is that all of the people that come get some kind of experience. Now you can say it’s the hands-on aspects that everyone enjoys, or you can say it’s the design of the building and the appearance of the projections on the walls. Or you can say that the jumping beans really get people excited–most visitors haven’t seen these in a long time, if ever. For me, it’s the Cube Gallery that makes me glad that I work here. That’s an important room. The piano starts playing when people sign-in at the front desk on the touch pad. Some people in the Cube while this happens get startled, while others just laugh.

As a gallery assistant in that room, I generally keep the laughter going by either singing or playing the piano–and no, I can’t play a lick–and show them the recorder that’s in the piano. It’s very different than our last exhibition, Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark, which often had sad stories associated to the art. It was much more serious. I found myself engaged in the history behind the art in Urban Alchemy and the Old Masters exhibition, as well as how the works fit with the Pulitzer building. stylus is playful and makes you aware of your surroundings – from the sound that comes out of the ground to the light that rotates around the walls, you are sure to find pleasure in this space. That makes my job enjoyable, and I’m able to get into my work and really have a good time with everyone. What a job!

I have been working as a Gallery Assistant at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts for a little over a month now, and the experience has been remarkable. My first visit to the Pulitzer was at the behest of a Tadao Ando enthusiast and part-time art historian; I spent a great deal of time marveling at the modern and elegant design that Ando so beautifully conceived. Later that month, I returned for Ideal (Dis-) Placements and was hooked.

I feel fortunate to have begun my tenure along with the wonderful stylus by Ann Hamilton. It has been fun showing visitors how to interact with the space. The touch pad at the front entrance always draws a curious smile when I ask visitors to sign their name and wait to hear what happens. Delight is often the next reaction. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re working on the full website catalogue for stylus (more to come on that!), with a big focus on translating the unique in-gallery experience onto the web.  One of the ways we’ll try to achieve this is through time-lapse videos during our open hours, showing how visitors – and the natural light – interact with the work throughout the day.  Our web designer just sent this clip from what we shot in the Cube Gallery – looks like one of our gallery assistants found the exhibition very inspirational!

Pier In/Out, 1973, Gordon Matta-Clark

In my first two months working as a Gallery Assistant at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, I’ve been able to experience the galleries in much more depth than in my prior visits. As a result, I have a greater appreciation for the Pulitzer as a whole.

I first visited the galleries for Dan Flavin: Constructed Light and then Ideal (Dis-) Placements. I spent a maximum of two hours seeing the artworks, mindful of their surroundings, but not focused on the interactions between the artwork and the architecture. Now, I spend about thirteen hours a week with Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark, and am grateful to fully experience Matta-Clark’s art, Tadao Ando’s architecture, and the interactions between the two. Read the rest of this entry »