http://www.vimeo.com/5626446

Emily Hickner, a Pulitzer gallery assistant, talks about two different kinds of saints she sees in Ideal (Dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer.

Emily Hickner, Gallery Assistant, is interviewed by Amy Broadway, Web Communications Assistant:

A: How long have you worked at the Pulitzer, and what exhibitions have you worked?

E: I’ve worked at the Pulitzer for approximately three years now. I started out as a volunteer at the Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibition and have since worked Portrait/Homage/Embodiment, Water, Dan Flavin: Constructed Light, and currently, Ideal (Dis-) Placements.

A: How did being a GA change during the different exhibitions?

E: Every week I spend about an hour in each gallery, revisiting the artwork. With exhibits like Portrait/Homage/Embodiment and Water, I found that I discovered more about the artwork over the course of each exhibition. These exhibitions showed works of art that go beyond realism and aesthetics, therefore I spent a lot of time trying to analyze the artist’s intention.

For example, Roni Horn’s Asphere which was on display during the Portrait/Homage/Embodiment exhibition. At first, I saw a dull metallic, misshapen ball on the floor, but after spending more time with it, I contemplated its meaning. Roni Horn called Asphere a self-portrait of sorts. After spending hours in close proximity, I started to understand why. It’s a reflective object, but it lacks sheen. In that sense, Asphere is a muddled reflection of its environment. The object’s shape is slightly warped, hence the name Asphere, displaying imperfection. I feel that Asphere is not just a self-portrait, but a portrayal of what it means to be human. In my opinion, we are distorted versions of our surroundings. Each of us a little misshapen.

To get back to my point, I believe that I fulfilled the intention of the artist by having this conversation with myself. Had I not spent the time in that gallery that I did, I would not have seen beyond what my immediate observation was.

On the other hand, the Dan Flavin did not produce the same results for me. Not only did the lights take a toll on my eyes, but the pieces did not seem to develop for me in the way that Roni Horn’s Asphere did. Flavin’s work has an immediate “wow” factor. I think people are naturally drawn to the colorful, soft electric glow of his works. Beyond my immediate response, I felt that there wasn’t much else to contemplate about his light installations. I enjoyed the way Flavin’s work showcased the building, and as a visitor, it is exciting to see. But as someone who was working around the light installations 5-7 hours a day, it was a little like working at a carnival instead of going to one.

A: What is your favorite station to be at for Ideal (Dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer? Read the rest of this entry »

As of today, I have more news on the Greenaway films front…. Diane Carson, an active member of the St. Louis film community, will present the films and lead a discussion with the audience afterwards.  Wondering which of his many water-related films we’ll be showing?  You’re in luck, because we have that information now too!  We’ll be showing, in chronological order:

Intervals (1969)
Water Wrackets (1978)
Making a Splash (1984)
26 Bathrooms (1985)

These films are rarely screened and definitely worth coming out to see, especially if you’ve been a fan of his work.  And even though Greenaway himself can’t attend, he’s writing something specifically for this event.  But you’ll have to come Saturday night for that.

Last week we had our first of two symposia during the Water exhibition.  It included graduate students of art, art history, and curatorial studies from Ohio State, University of Delaware, and Bard College.  The students are going to provide written responses reacting to the discussions that took place.  These will be posted on our website.  Our second symposium during Water happens next week.  This will be recorded, and clips from the participants will be posted online.

We’ve just begun to document our symposia on the website, and I’m always looking for new ways to make our programs interesting and interactive online.  I’m open to suggestions — let me know if there’s any method that would be interesting to you!

What does it mean to really love a work of art?  Perhaps nothing less than to infuse your life with its image for all time with a tattoo.  I used to a know a guy who had Michelangelo’s famous hands of God and Adam tattooed across his shoulder blades.  I thought that was devotion.  But today I have discovered a tattoo that puts those hands in perspective.  Look at this tatoo of Max Beckmann’s “Fisherwomen” on the arm of Sal, one of the guys who helped install the Pulitzer’s current exhibition (which includes “Fisherwomen”). Not only is it huge, it’s personalized: the two figures on the right have been made to look like him and his girlfriend!  That is some serious devotion.  Wow.

I unfortunately missed last night’s concert, but I heard a mini-rundown this morning and apparently it was a good one.  The highly anticipated Crumb piece that included musicians in masks and amplified instruments was apparently the highlight.  Blue lighting was another requirement, which according to one of my co-workers, “created a rock-star vibe”.  If you want to hear a few of the musicians talk about performing last night’s pieces, their comments are now on our audio player here.  And hopefully we’ll be getting the recording from the concert online in the next few weeks.  If only we had a video!

Here’s a little activity for you: go to the website of the Poetry Foundation and do a search for poems that include the word “water”. Or better yet, just click this link. The archive turns up an incredible 839 poems. There’s “Home-Thoughts from the Sea” by Robert Browning, “The River of Bees” by W.S. Merwin, “Humidifier” by Louis Gluck…and on and on. The results make for an interesting electronic anthology. How real are the affinities? That’s the kind of question some writers will be taking on at the Pulitzer on December 6. Along with the Poetry Foundation, we’re presenting an event at which writers Andrew Joron, Arthur Sze, Cole Swenson, and John Yau will discuss just what water might have to do with poetry. Talk could go from Homer to who knows…maybe, from the 839, Robert Creeley’s “The Pool” (take a look).

Courtney, who’s handling the coordination of our new docent program, received a really nice email from someone who took part in the first tour last week.  She said she wouldn’t mind if we shared it, so here it is:

Hi Courtney,

Just wanted to thank you & Tim for a very special Saturday afternoon. Docents ‘Exploring Art’ at the Pulitzer and Art Museum was a stroke of creative genius. I really admire the amount of work and planning that went into this adventure.  You guided the process so that it evolved in a natural way. Over the years I have taken Art Appreciation & History classes, docent led tours [& some I led myself] but I never learned how to directly engage the works of art. Being able to discuss your reaction with others was also refreshing. I did not need a vast art background to appreciate, compare, contrast, and see relationships between the works and with those at the Art Museum.

I actually learned to directly engage and filter the works of art through my experiences. This is a very contemporary approach and process that allows the viewer to arrive at a new way of thinking. The rewards of experiencing such an engagement with art are that it opens doors to seeing art and contemporary life differently.

The Pulitzer is taking a visit to an art museum to new levels and deeper layers.

I would love to participate in a Saturday afternoon that traveled between the Pulitzer & Kemper.

Thanks again; I hope to participate a few more times.

The Pulitzer has begun another experiment in the ways visitors can experience our building and installations. Beginning last Saturday, and continuing every Saturday through the end of the “Water” exhibition, we are offering a new kind of tour. Visitors, accompanied by 2 docents, explore the Pulitzer developing their own impressions of what they see. We then discuss what was found to be easy to relate to and what was not so easy. Connections between works, such as symbolism, are looked for as well as the impact of juxtaposing certain pieces with others. The entire group then travels to the Saint Louis Art Museum where works are selected and viewed to further the interests brought out at the Pulitzer. One of the most exciting aspects of this touring style is that every tour is different; not being scripted, but driven by the discussions that evolve from the group’s exploration.

We hope to continue this program with subsequent installations and to branch into other venues as well.

If this sounds like a way in which you and your friends or just you would like to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon, contact Courtney at chenson@pulitzerarts.org   Tell her you want to explore art.

As promised, I have some more info on two of our upcoming Water programs…

Our next film program with Cinema St. Louis will feature a selection of water-related short films by Peter Greenaway.  Take a look at his entry on Wikipedia here and his official website here.  Many of his films have shown a strong interest in the subject of water, and he will be choosing which of these he would like to present.  He’ll be flying in to St. Louis to screen and discuss these works on November 17th.  The next evening he’ll also be participating in Cinema St. Louis’s incredible festival they organize each year– the St. Louis International Film Festival–  with another film screening held at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

We’re also planning our second-ever poetry event at the Pulitzer.  This is a part of a continuing collaboration with the Poetry Foundation in Chicago (who has an incredible website, you should take a look).  Last time, writers sat on a panel and discussed the relationship between poetry, art and portraiture.  This time, a new set of writers has been invited to discuss how poetry relates to water.  I’ve just posted the writers, their bios, and the subjects they’re planning on discussing on our website here.  I’ll keep you up-to-date on any new information as it comes…

Right now, the sounds of a piano are drifting up from the galleries, through the hallway, and into our offices.  The musicians from the Symphony are having their dress rehearsal for tonight’s performance. This is everyone at the Pulitzer’s first taste of the program and it’s nice — it’s like a little primer to get us in the mood.  And so far, it’s sounding really good… I might sneak into the galleries in a few to eavesdrop a little more…