Now that I’ve completed my research and written the first drafts of my wall labels, all that’s left for this particular project is tying up the loose ends and helping out wherever I can. I’ve collected some books and articles about Gertrude Greene for the Baltimore Museum of Art’s head curator, helped clean up the spare office in preparation for the new assistant curator, and organized some of the many binders of surveys in the spare office.
I’m in the process of revising my labels as well. This includes a lot of waiting for feedback and staring blankly at a screen trying to think of ways to phrase something. For the Hutzler piece, I had to go back into research for a bit to see if I could glean any more information about Hutzler’s work. I found a few New York Times exhibition reviews and some information about her education, but not much beyond that. I’m glad that this exhibition has included her sculpture. Hopefully her name will be put back in the public consciousness, and people will either appreciate her work or come forward with more information.
As part of revising my Stettheimer piece, I went with my supervisor into the painting vaults to look at the portrait. It was incredible to have to up close and personal experience with the painting. There were lots of small details that couldn’t be replicated by reproductions, like the intensity of the colors and the texture of the paint. My supervisor pointed out some pencil marks on particularly fine details, such as the lace and the embroidery hanging on the wall, which raised the question of whether the painting had ever been finished, or if that was just Stettheimer’s process. We also discussed the frame, which sat kind of awkwardly on the painting and looked as if it had been painted over a few times. Stettheimer seemed to have a lot of original frames for her paintings, including a looped wire frame and a frame that was made of the initials of the sitter. It was an interesting conversation, and I picked up a lot from my supervisor about reading, analyzing, and asking questions about paintings. It was a one-of-a-kind experience for sure.
Starting off work at Art With a Heart on Monday was something that truly took me out of my comfort zone. On my way there I knew that I would be experiencing and engaging with multiple new personalities that may or may not clash with mine, and this honestly scared me. I hoped and prayed that I liked where I was placed. Upon arriving to the building, Marvin, the other intern I work with, and myself were met with smiles and enthusiastic voices of the staff at Art With a Heart. Right away I knew that the environment was a positive one and that I would grow to love working there. I was able to meet college interns along with getting a tour of the building and be formally introduced to the Heartworks participants right away.
On that Monday, Ms. Christiana started us off with doing basic things such as filling out an application that all volunteers and interns fill out and then she allowed us to color in little pictures that will eventually be used to decorate a trash can that will be sold. Both Marvin and I chose to decorate elephants and we were allowed free reign when it came to the designs, except, the only rule that we had when coloring was to try and avoid dark colors.
Following that, Ms. Christiana graced us with a small project where we had to decorate a vase or jar of our choice with multiple little jewels and pieces. She told us that they would eventually be used as samples for the different classes they hold with community members. Personally, I was ecstatic about starting The fact that I was awarded free reign on a project my first day made me extremely excited. I started right away, grabbing multiple pieces of blue and gold jewels and jewelry pieces and then arranging them into any style that I liked.
The next day, I finished up pasting my jewels and began painting the cracks a metallic blue. I felt that it brought the whole piece together. Since I had only finished pasting some of the jewels the day before and I had just finished the rest this day, I had to leave time for drying. So as my piece dried, I asked if there was anything that needed to be done, and they told me I could help with decorating pin cushions. I had so much fun on such a small task! I even created a handmade flower that was placed on a pin cushion that would eventually be sold.
Finishing up our time at Art With a Heart for the week, on Wednesday, I wrapped up my painting and then got started on my new project. Currently we are working on mosaics for a bigger project that will be displayed for the public. So, the job program participants, Marvin, and I set out to create mosaic owls. Looking around the room at people’s mosaics really made the project come to life. The multiple colors and patterns really shined a light on the creativity and ability of the program workers. By the time I left on Wednesday, I had my design mapped out and my pieces of glass chosen, I can’t wait to finish up on Monday!
Returning to the Single Carrot Theatre on Thursday was definitely different. While the environment was and always has been so friendly at the Single Carrot Theatre, the vibes were definitely different and I actually found myself missing the job program participants that I have been able to work with, the college interns such as a sweet girl named Caitlin, and Ms. Christiana’s encouraging words! I was, however, excited to share with the other Bloomberg interns about my week and how it has already begun to shape me as a person. I was also super excited to hear about others’ work sites as well. After we were able to catch up, we went on our walking trips to different museums and spaces.
My chosen trip was the Baltimore Museum of Art because I hadn’t been in a fairly long time. Upon our arrival, not only were we met with the cool air of the building, but we also were able to meet two adults ready to show us around. We were able to view a few different modern exhibits, such as one from a group called Disc, and learn about why the pieces were made and what they were trying to convey. We were also able to visit an exhibit that has yet to open to the public and talk about a few of the pieces in specific that stood out in the space.
Finally, on Friday we focused mainly on starting our art essays about any piece of art that we found interesting. For me, I chose a piece of art that can be found in the BMA within the exhibit that has yet to open. We talked about how we felt about the piece we chose and what it meant to us. Along with this, we also worked with our college mentors to research a school of our choice that we were looking into. Over all the day was wonderful! I’m so happy that I have been able to broaden my love for art so far and to have been able to build connections, not only at my worksite but with the other interns that I hadn’t known previously.
This week I went to the Baltimore Museum of Art. I was a bit skeptical about going at first. But I kept an open mind the entire time. We had to walk to the Baltimore Museum of Art. I liked the short walk because I was able to clear my mind and think about the types of art I would see at the museum. Throughout the entire field trip I saw so many pieces of amazing art. However, my favorite art piece was Moon Dust by Spencer Finch. The story of how this piece was created intrigued me! This piece was created from astronauts’ travel to the moon, hence, the name! My friend, Reese, felt that this exhibit would be better if this was placed in a dark room to enhance the lighting and placement of the bulbs. I felt that this piece was magical and spacious. The way the lights twinkled and were connected to other bulbs made me feel calm and peaceful! Have you ever felt like you were floating? This is how I felt when I looked up and saw these special moon lights. The room lit up with this exhibit! I also think that this served as a double use. This exhibit was art and counted as the lights for the room. I was glad that I chose to attend the Baltimore Museum of Art or else I wouldn’t have encountered this piece.
This week I strengthened my belief in being proud of being black because all I was surrounded by was positive representations of my people.
by Isaiah Hite
This week was a very great cultural experience for me. Monday I spent the day at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. It was a very positive educational experience because I got to visit the museum for a second time and take in details of what’s on display that I may have missed the first time. The lower levels were all about pre-slavery, slavery, and the Jim Crow era which was not as depressing as I expected it to be.
I got to see how there were so many strong black individuals that advocated for freedom and educated themselves regardless of the social climate of those times. It made me see how black people that lived during those times weren’t completely helpless and that they were so much stronger than out history books give them credit for.
I also got to visit the BMA’s exhibition on Jack Whitten who was an African American painter that did a lot of sculpture work during his lifetime. Whitten actually never put his sculptures on display and he passed before the exhibition opened but it was the very first time any of his sculpture work had been on display in a museum. The fact that Whitten was a black male artist was inspiring to me because I too am a black male artist.
This week I strengthened my belief in being proud of being black because all I was surrounded by was positive representations of my people.
Bloomberg Arts Internship: Baltimore 