Last weekend was my first day working as a gallery docent for LMCC's Art Center on Governor's Island. The exhibit that's up is called Michael Richards - Winged...you should read about him on LMCC's website! He was an insightful emerging artist who was only 38 when he died and it's only now, 15 years later, that a large collection of his work is being shown.
Anyway, here are the photos from day one!
On the ferry ride over to the island (the shortest ferry ride ever - it's about 7 minutes) it started raining, and as soon as we landed it started pouring. So...there weren't many guests that day, on an island billed as an outdoor activity destination.
It was an interesting first day...I definitely became more aware of the concept of audience engagement with the artwork. It's probably something that museums and galleries think about a lot - but it was all new to me, so I was just standing there thinking about how quickly some people came in and out and how little attention they seemed to pay to any of it. I guess finding ways to connect the audience more with what they're seeing is a primary goal of any place showing art. It's not something I've ever really thought about before from that point of view...although I will say that I much prefer going to museums alone and being able to sit on a bench in one room for as long as I want to just experience what's in front of me instead of feeling like I need to take it all in for about 30 seconds before moving on to the next piece. I had some nice conversations with a few people who were really moved by the show, some interested in the artist, some who had worked in the twin towers (which is where he died - 09/11/01), some from New York and some from elsewhere. In my down time (which was kind of plentiful because of the rain!), I read interviews with the artist and learned more about the philosophy behind his artwork. I feel like I learned a lot about all kinds of stuff on day one and I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer!
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