Contemporary - Pulitzer

The Pulitzer: En Francais

The Pulitzer is currently engaged in a number of student programs, with groups ranging from elementary school to university level.  One program that I've been working on recently involves groups from both high school and college, and has an added twist--instead of art or art history these students are all studying French.

The idea of the program is for a group of college-level French students to give a tour of the Pulitzer to high school French students.  For this semester, we are working with students from Lindenwood University in St. Charles (about 20 minutes from the Pulitzer).  Most are either French majors or are very serious about the language, and will prepare for the high school tour with a number of sessions at the Pulitzer throughout the semester.  Just the other day we had our first meeting, which introduced the Pulitzer and our installation to the Lindenwood group.  They took a tour of Minimalism and Beyond with a few students from Washington University, who are involved in a separate program with the Pulitzer (I'll be writing more about that too).  The tour gave the Lindenwood students a casual overview of our exhibition in English and with their peers, and gave them background for our next meeting.  During that session, they'll meet with Matthias (who's fluent) and discuss the exhibition completely in French.  After that, they'll practice giving tours in French and will prepare material about the art works for the high school students to look over before their visit.  All this preparation will culminate with the high school/university tour at the end of the semester.  The college students will have an opportunity to speak French in front of a group, and try to convey a subject they might not be familiar with.  For the high school students, this will also be a chance to discuss in French, ask questions about what it's like to major in French, study abroad, etc.  I'll post more as this program progresses, and hopefully a few students will write about their experiences too.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Submissions

As an artist how can I get my work seen?

A common question, particularly at this time, as degree programs finish and when our current exhibitions include all local artists.  There are a number of ways to get your work seen by contemporary curators and critics via the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

1. Apply for the Great Rivers Biennial (next submission 2007).  The current artists on show all did this last July and their work together with 171 other entrants from the St. Louis metropolitan area was viewed by the eminent jury consisting of Gary Garrels (UCLA-Hammer), Helen Molesworth (Wexner), and Elizabeth Dunbar (Kemper, Kansas City).  Put a note in your planner now to look at our website next March for details.  It could be you in the Contemporary next time....

2. Send in slides and a packet for the Emerson Visiting Critics and Curators Series. Last week we had Ingrid Schaffner (ICA, Philadelphia) fly in to see local artists in their studios.  She selected work which appealed to her from an open call we put out in October last year.  Dominic Molon (MCA, Chicago) was also here in November doing the very same thing, yes he did choose different artists.  Another planner note for later this year, maybe August: Look at www.contemporarystl.org for information on Emerson Visiting Critics and Curators Series

3. If you live outside the immediate St. Louis area and want us to review your work then please send us your submission as detailed here. Our Director, Chief Curator and Curatorial Assistant all review artist packets.  I also get to review them but that is another blog.

NEWSFLASH..........................NEWSFLASH....................NEWSFLASH.....

4. We are about to launch a flat-files program.  Ssshh it is still under development but we are going to do it.  Our desire is to increase the area of submissions from just St. Louis to include Missouri and maybe surrounding counties.  We want to know what is happening further from home, and need your help in discovering it.  Watch this space and our website as the story develops I will be on the spot to tell you.

Well, what are you waiting for, get going.    (Mark)   

The Pulitzer: Explore our Website

In addition to our online exhibition catalogues, which I often link to from the blog, our website contains a number of other interesting and interactive features.  I thought today would be a perfect opportunity to highlight these.

During the planning phase of the Pulitzer, there were three artists who were heavily involved: Tadao Ando, Richard Serra and Ellsworth Kelly.  Each has his own section on our website, which includes a biography, a "Dialogue" section (where you can click on a question and hear the artist's response) and a "Reflections" section which features a video about their specific involvement with the Pulitzer.  Click on the following links, and explore a part of our website you might not have experienced before.

Tadao Ando -- Biography -- Reflections -- Dialogue

Ellsworth Kelly -- Biography -- Reflections -- Dialogue

Richard Serra -- Biography -- Reflections -- Dialogue

We also have a video of our construction that you should be sure to visit.  All of this gives excellent information, not only about how the Pulitzer began, but also insight into what we are about.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Touring

One of the advantages of working in a smaller staffed museum is the opportunity it affords to be involved in many different activities.  Whether it be proofing advertisements for the Great Rivers Biennial, or maybe mailing colleagues our latest catalog. 

One of the best positions (in my experience) is to be involved in a tour of the galleries.  I am careful not to say 'give a tour' because I try never to 'tell' people what they are seeing, merely provide them background information on the artist.  This naturally leads to questions, usually insightful and sometimes covering areas I had not considered before. In addition I often learn of new artists, new perspectives and certainly new opinions.

I helped Andrea with a tour group yesterday, a class of undergraduates from the University of Missouri - St. Louis studying, "Advanced Problems for Painting and Drawing".  A wide age range proved very telling as they noticed the 8-track players incorporated within Moses' Soundboard.  There was also a great deal of talk surrounding Matthew Strauss' piece involving Whistler and Ruskin.  One of the students was just beginning to read about John Ruskin, so she had a definite curiosity about the work.  When we reached Jason Wallace Triefenbach's installation in Gallery C, their professor encouraged them to view themselves as being "within the work as if it was a painting".  Their reaction indicated this was something they had considered from a previous class, and again stimulated more mumblings and chatter amongst the students.

After the brief tour the students were encouraged to visit Bruno David Gallery across the road from us and of course our friendly neighbors at The Pulitzer, they all seem to have been happy with their morning's class, I like to think it was the cultural and artistic influences and not the fact they finished class early!    (Mark)

The Pulitzer: Sugimoto Image Rights

Before images from your exhibition can be used in the press or for educational purposes, you have to get permission.  This usually involves a number of steps. 

First, you have to ask the lender for an image of the work.  If an image doesn't exist, you have to ask permission to take one.  After you get the actual image, you have to obtain permission from the lender to use it.  This includes specifying exactly what you'll be using it for.  For example, will it be used in press materials? On the website? In brochures, and if so, how many will be printed?  With modern and contemporary artists, in addition to getting image rights from the lender, permission also has to be obtained by the artist or artist's estate.  To help this process, there are companies representing multiple artists that can grant you those rights (for example, the Artist Rights Society).  All of this must be accomplished before the image can be used in the exhibition booklet you pick up at the front desk, or before viewing images on our website/blog.

However, for our next exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto: Photographs of Joe, the process wasn't as complicated.  This time, there is only one artist, and the artist and lender are one and the same.  Also, because this exhibition features a new series of photographs taken at the Pulitzer, the artist has been highly involved throughout, making this process even easier.  We received permission and images this week...here is one of the nineteen photographs that will be on view...

Be sure to check out Tyler Green's recent posts on Sugimoto at the Hirshhorn, by clicking here for part 1 and here for part 2.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Living Artists

Dealing with contemporary art has many pros; it is 'of our time' - we have access to the topics being documented or expressed, it surrounds us - in design, architecture and other material objects, and the artists are alive.  Naturally there are cons; there is so much it is hard to tell what is good and what is not, people start most sentences on the topic with "I don't know much about contemporary art...." or "My six year old could do that!", and the artists are alive.

Interacting with people is common place in most jobs (unless you are one of the few solo lighthouse keepers left) and relationships develop according to many, many factors.  My first exhibition involving a living artist (not here!!) was soured by the artist's insistence that the exhibition be installed under strict conditions using instructions faxed from a country more than 5,000 miles away.  After complying with every detail the artist then decided not to travel to the opening (or at all) as a gesture of opposition to the government's stance on middle eastern relations, adding it was the final element to the installed work.  I was younger then, merely a gofer in the galleries and may not have fully understood his intentions but it highlights the main difference in working with contemporary artists and those no longer with us.

Why am I telling you this? My job for the past few days has been to track down and update details we hold on all nine artists who were included in the inaugural exhibition in this building; A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad. The show is still traveling and opens in its final venue this coming September: Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, Texas (click on upcoming exhibitions and scroll down).  We will now be able to provide them with the artists' details in the event of them wishing to schedule visits, programming needs etc.

It has been exciting sending faxes and emails all over the world tracking them down, I never know where the next email will come from.     (Mark)

The Pulitzer: Minimal Weekend

As Rachel discussed in the blog last week, the Pulitzer hosted a Minimalism Symposium this past weekend.  The program was a great success, with approximately 15 scholars, artists, and writers flying in from across the country to participate.  I had the opportunity to listen to the walk-through of both the Pulitzer and SLAM's exhibitions, and to hear the ensuing discussions that took place among the participants.

One of the issues that arose was the physical presentation of Minimalist works in the gallery spaces, and the unique challenges that come with the territory.  Minimalist art is by definition simplified to essential elements of content and form -- artists try to present their work without any distractions, including those of composition, theme, etc.  Thus, curators must carefully take into account small details in the galleries (architectural and otherwise) that may interfere with how a viewer perceives a work of Minimal art.

For example, in this picture of the Symposium walk-through, you can see extraneous (but NECESSARY) elements of the architecture that could impact a visitor's experience of the Gober sinks: floor grates, a fire alarm announcer, an exit sign, and a square plaque on the wall that is used to monitor gallery temperature.

In this image, you can see how the lines in the concrete floor pavers could affect the view of Roni Horn's Gold Mats Paired (for Ross and Felix).

Similar challenges were noted with installing SLAM's galleries, including working around baseboards, air vents, and ceiling beams.

This is just one example of all that curators must take into account when planning and installing a show -- and it was not something I had thought about until our own Minimalism exhibition came about.  (Elise, Assistant Registrar)

Contemporary: Artist Drift

Last night we tried something different, an Artist Drift.  We handed the museum over for the evening to the three Great Rivers artists; Jason Wallace Triefenbach, Moses, and Matthew Strauss, to do as they wished.  Our stipulations were that their 'presentation' be limited to twenty minutes and it should preferably take place in their gallery so the audience could drift around during the evening.  It was a great success, despite St. Louis being under a Tornado Watch and the temperature dropping some 30 degrees we had a great turnout. 

Moses explained The Mechanics of the Audiophile Series, by giving a slide show and time delayed video on the construction and installation of his work Soundboard.

Matthew Strauss' discourse was entitled The Subjects of the Subjects of the Artist, where he discussed some very challenging and personal ideas.

The drift was rounded off by Jason and Friends executing the performance Fragments of a Discovery.  An elaborate setup did not deter the audience who appeared captivated by the mix of singing, video work, and artistic activity by all involved.

Photographs of the evening are in the photo album for your perusal.   (Mark)

P.S. NPR this morning had a great piece about the DADA movement this morning, a word we are hearing a lot around the office as our major fundraiser of the year approaches: Dada Ball.

The Pulitzer: Symposium Weekend

As I wrote on Tuesday, this weekend we are hosting a private symposium at the Pulitzer. Participants from across the country will meet and discuss topics related to Minimalism.  Elise and I worked on the logistics for this event, and will document the weekend through recordings, pictures and notes.  We are hoping to make some of this material available on our website, so those who are interested can read what was discussed.  This means we'll also have a lot of information for the blog.  However, in the meantime, read up on the subject of our next exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto, featured in Sunday's Washington Post.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Podcasts

Sometime ago we introduced podcasting to our list of 'innovative methods of interpretation' available to you:  the audience of our museum.  We are updating the content to reflect our new exhibitions by the three Great Rivers artists.  Today was my chance to be memorialized through iTunes by recording a short (18 minutes) interview with Moses about The Audiophile Series, which is currently in Gallery A.  Our Education Department developed the questions and I simply asked them, as eloquently as possible.  We will be carrying out some small edits, then this interview together with two more recorded earlier this week (with Matthew and Jason) will be posted on iTunes for the world to hear.  I will be letting you know....     (Mark)

The Pulitzer: Photos from a Symposium

This weekend, the Pulitzer will be hosting a symposium on Minimalism.  This, as well as the Contemporary's launch of our photo album section yesterday, reminded me of last September's Conservators Symposium.  I wrote about this in my top five of 2005 post, and thought this would be a good opportunity to show you more of the photographs taken during the weekend.  Check these out in our photo album section.

In the pictures, you'll see the two different groups (photography and sculpture) examining works featured in our Brancusi and Serra in Dialogue exhibition.  Many of the participants were from the institutions that loaned the pieces to us, and therefore could maintain a watchful eye while conservators and curators got up close and personal with their artwork.  My suggestion is to not try this the next time you visit a museum; experience it vicariously through these images instead.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Post-it Update

Our new resource room in the Dana Brown Charitable Trust Educational Resource Center has post-its all over the place and I hope they keep coming. Some comments are pretty interesting, I enjoy the drawing even more, and even the occasional attempt at self-advertising catches my eye.

When I started this project I began with researching educational programs here at the Contemporary and then I moved onto other institutions and what they were doing to get their audiences involved. I love our programs and Select Nights is a hit every month, but I thought having a place to write your own comments so they’d be visible to everyone was cool. And also to have a place to relax and reflect I thought was a good idea. All that’s missing is an espresso machine.

Anyway, doing this research is where my idea came from, there were a couple of institutions in the past (1980s and 1990s) that had designated spaces for comments, etc. I also thought setting up a place for video podcasting would be cool, kind of like a private comment diary to be shown at a later date. I really like the placement of comments in relation to each other and their location on the wall; I think it’s really interesting.

When I was working as a waitress last year, we had actually run out of kids coloring books so we cut up small pieces of blank white paper and handed them out with crayons for the kids. There were a lot of interesting ones, I kept most of the papers they created (by kids and parents) and hung them up on my studio wall and much to my surprise, it looks a lot like the post-it wall in the resource center!  So I’m wondering if you give someone a pencil and a piece of paper -- whether or not the question is there -- is it something natural and intuitive to create art?  Is this why we can’t stop?  That’s an interesting question.            (Liz)

P.S. Check out this mornings pictures through our new photo album feature on the sidebar.

The Pulitzer: Concert Guide

How You Can Prepare for the Next Chamber Music Concert at the Pulitzer; A Step-by-Step Guide:

1)  Take out your calendar and note the date "March 11, 2006".  Write "7:30pm at the Pulitzer" and circle everything in red.

2) Look over the following program and commit it to memory:

Donatoni  Etwas ruhiger im Ausdruck (1967)
Susanna Self Huppert, flute
Scott Andrews, clarinet
Peter Henderson, piano
Alison Harney, violin
Ken Kulosa, cello

Grisey  Vortex temporum (1994-96)
Daria Binkowski, flute
Scott Andrews, clarinet
Jim Meyer, bass clarinet
Peter Henderson, piano
Alison Harney, violin
Kathleen Matthis, viola
Ken Kulosa, cello

3) Visit the Symphony over the next month to get a preview of these amazing musicians at work.

4) Become familiar with the featured composers, Franco Donatoni and Gerard Grisey.  Read articles about them, purchase their records, and eat, sleep and breathe their music.

5) One essential component of these concerts is the relationship between the music and the art. You should therefore visit the Pulitzer and take in as much Minimalism as possible before attending the performance.  If you have time, swing by the Saint Louis Art Museum for even more. 

6) Set your alarm for 9am tomorrow morning.  Leap out of bed and dial 314-534-1700, swing by the Powell Hall box office, or go to www.slso.org and purchase tickets as fast as you can!  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Magazines

Ever have a day where you feel like nothing was achieved?   Well today was one of those for me.  I would like to think I made some contribution to my local community, the world of contemporary art, or at least made a colleague smile, but it does not feel like it.  What has been keeping me away from research and administrative duties? Magazines. 

Being a relatively young institution we are growing our library and a reference section with every exhibition, one of the easiest way to do this is through magazine subscriptions.  If anyone has been through Borders/Barnes & Noble or any of their competitors recently you will see all sorts of magazines with "art", "contemporary", and/or "museum" in their titles.  So how do we choose which ones to subscribe to?  Shannon, our chief curator, has her own favorites but generally we look for a broad selection.  Our current list includes Art in America, ArtForum International, Cabinet and Frieze. 

I have the librarian responsibilities (another post methinks), so I get first look at the shiny new mags when they arrive.  I scour them for interesting articles of interest to me, and also the museum.  For example in this month's copy of Art in America their article called "Time After Time" includes images of work by two artists who recently showed at the Contemporary, Michael Lin (2004) and Kendell Geers (2003).  This way we can follow 'alumni' in their ongoing careers and gain assurance that we are doing the right thing.

Today, I was dispatched to our local book store Left Bank Books to pick up a copy of Artnews (ours is lost in the post) because it includes important information we require for research purposes.  Mmmm  maybe I did contribute something to our institution Afterall.          (Mark)

The Pulitzer: Stories from the Galleries

Jenni, a Gallery Assistant at the Pulitzer, has written the following post about her experiences on the job.  If you have any visitor experiences you would like to share, please let us know!  (Rachel)

When I talk to my friends about my position here at the Pulitzer, some of them will ask me if my job gets boring.  I'm always having to contend with questions like, "Don't you get sick of looking at the same thing all the time?" and "Isn't your job, like, really monotonous?"  I always welcome a change of scenery when our exhibitions switch, but for the most part, I would say that the patrons of our institution keep my views on the displayed artwork fresh.

In particular, it's always great to see children in our space.  I'm impressed with the creativity they bring to seeing the artwork and the galleries themselves.  I love to watch a parent foster the artistic education of a child in this space.  To hear a six-year old articulate what Pacific Judson Murphy could represent (with more finesse than some adults) gets me every time.  Children seem more open to the abstraction we have on display.  They rarely scoff or offer the "I could have done that" reaction to a piece.  Having children in the space reminds me to re-examine the artwork.  Felix Gonzalez-Torres becomes a great example of the power of sharing, Roni Horn's optical glass is a swimming pool, lake, or block of ice, and Blue Black is a constant stretch for the imagination.

Not all the kids are such a joy to have here.  I'll never forget the child who threw a temper tantrum on a Tadao Ando-designed bench, loudly telling all in earshot that he hated art and our exhibition.  Perhaps it wasn't the reaction we were aiming for, but even his outburst prompted me to rethink why I enjoyed and appreciated what was on display.

So parents: keep bringing your kids here.  They keep my job interesting and keep me thinking.  Just make sure they don't touch anything, please.  Thank you.  (Jenni, Gallery Assistant)

Contemporary: Biographies

These past couple of weeks myself, Andrea and our two interns Liz and Rebecca have been slogging through the exhibition histories of tens of artists.  We are preparing the biographies for the next exhibition Contemporary Masterworks: Saint Louis Collects which is a (loose) survey of local private contemporary art collections.

The compilation of an artist's biography serves a number of important purposes:
1. At a glance visitors can acquaint themselves with the artist, their background, influences and exhibition coverage.
2. Biographies act as helpful 'snapshots' of the artist for consideration when wall text and labels are being composed.
3. Reference to the artwork chosen for the show can be reviewed in terms of early career, mid career etc.
4. The collector often appreciates additional research on the artist's career and their object.  Even if they have exhibited the work before or completed other research we hope to update this through our efforts.

After an established format is agreed we all disappear to search the Internet, the local university libraries or ask for help from our neighbor's library.  Some of the artists are extremely well documented and while that means they are easy to recognize and research, decisions on what to include and more importantly what to leave out become challenging.  Our standard length is about 200 words (half a page), while some of these artist's exhibition histories reach 60 pages!!  It is interesting work once a rhythm is established as you pick through famous exhibitions like Venice Biennale's, Carnegie Internationals and the Whitney and begin to recognize important but less frequent alternatives like Sensations and Primary Objects.   (Mark)

P.S. The podcast from Friday's Cityscape on KWMU (our local NPR station) is now available.  Moses, Matthew and Jason were all interviewed about their work which we are currently exhibiting.

The Pulitzer: Minimalism on TV

A few weeks ago, the television program "Living St. Louis" was here filming for a feature on our current installation and the Minimalism exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum.  It is an interesting process to watch.  Patrick Murphy (from "Living St. Louis") and Matthias (our director) took a tour of Minimalism and Beyond.  The discussion was casual, with Patrick asking Matthias questions about the art movement, as well as the works on view.  A conversation that took a few hours is then edited into a piece that lasts under ten minutes. 

"Why is this art?" was a question raised during the tour, and is a question that enters a lot of people's minds when they look at Minimalism.  I know this question was posed to Robin Clark (Curator of Contemporary Art at SLAM) and David Bonetti (Visual Arts Critic at the Post-Dispatch) as well, so it will be interesting to hear the different viewpoints.  If you haven't made it to one (or both) of the Minimalism exhibitions yet, here is a chance to compare, contrast and get a glimpse of the works on view.

If you're in St. Louis, the feature will air tonight on KETC Channel 9 at 7:00pm.  If you aren't, then check the KETC website later this week to catch a video of the segment.  (Rachel)

Contemporary - Resource Center

 

Has it really been two weeks since the opening? Crazy.  We introduced a number of new ideas, especially upstairs.  Here is Liz, one of our awesome interns to explain one of the ideas she put a huge amount of work into. (Mark)

 

This past Friday night was the grand opening of the Great Rivers Biennial and our new Education Center with two Teaching Galleries on the upper floor. Thanks to the Dana Brown Charitable Trust we are now able to provide our visitors (and staff) with a comfortable and alternative way to relax, explore, and talk about what they see at the Contemporary, as well as other contemporary issues they see happening outside the museum.  We have supplied the resource area with couches (courtesy of The Ambiente Collection, St. Louis) magazines, books, and articles relevant to the exhibition that are available for everyone to enjoy.

Facing the couches is my favorite part, the "post-it" wall, where people are invited to write their responses to searching_questions and stick them up. After opening night the wall has filled up nicely and I plan on keeping every note in a large book (also in the resource area) open for everyone to read.  I particularly like the wall because of the various answers and issues that are addressed.  I believe if these issues are in the open, then people begin to address them and this is where a dialog begins to take place.   (Liz)

 

Post-it answers and thoughts

One of the questions with responses

 

 

 

The Pulitzer: Categories

For the next few months our intern, Amy, will write occasional posts about the variety of projects she'll be working on.  Here is the first, which deals with the re-organization of the library and the multitude of categories that need to be defined:  (Rachel)

Everywhere one looks the world is categorized and stuffed away to seem neat and organized.  At the grocery store, the aisles are clearly labeled and the green bean cans stacked beside each other in perfect rows.  My roommate has a system for her closet that separates: going out jeans, everyday jeans, and never wear again because they're hideous jeans.  The abundance of categories in the world does not escape its need in the Pulitzer Foundation's library.

Sitting here, I am surrounded by rows and rows of books of all colors and sizes.  One of my jobs as intern is to categorize these books.  The categories are endless, anywhere from architects to painters, Art to Warhol, or Renaissance to Fluxus.  There are neat rectangular shelves to place the books when I pick out the perfect category for each one.  I even get a step ladder to use to reach the high shelves. 

By skimming the books, I find out which category they fall into and to which shelf they should be placed.  My scanning and browsing has shown me many genres and artists in these first few days of my experience.  Through searching for the correct category, I have been able to find and explore artists and movements throughout art history. 

These categories that I have found and formed has tested my skimming skills as well as shown me bits of art history through shelving all these books.  The clutter around my desk reminds me that I have not yet finished the job of categorizing the books, but hopefully the next time someone goes searching for the architect Erich Mendelsohn, they will know on which shelf to look.  (Amy)

Contemporary: Traveling Shows

When an exhibition travels, the originator naturally wishes to see how well it was received and gain feedback on the overall concept.  Today I have been compiling the report which is to be sent to Orange County in respect to Girls' Night Out.  It was a formidable task trying to collate all they asked: reviews from local and national press, advertisements we initiated, and URL addresses of where images by the artist were reproduced.  I even had to include copy from this blog!!!

One of the most interesting aspects to me was the "photographic evidence" that was requested: photos from the opening, our next day walk through, events, and the installation itself.  Having missed a couple of the events, it was fun to see who was there by recognizing people in the audience.  There are a couple of images here for your own game of "Where's ........... (please insert name of choice)".            (Mark)

Opening night crowds on September 16th

Irene Hoffman at the next day walk through on September 17th

P.S.  Listen to our current artists (all local) on KWMU's show Cityscape this Friday 11:00 am until 12:00 pm as they talk about their exhibitions.