Grant Recipient: Greta Hartenstein, Class of 2011
Major: Art History and Dance
Organization: Whitney Museum of American Art
Location: New York City, NY
This summer I am an intern at the Whitney Museum of American Art in the curatorial department, specifically working on the Christian Marclay: Festival. (See description below) During the run of the exhibition (July 1st – August 26th) there are multiple performances everyday.
My main responsibility is to facilitate the performances and act as a liaison between the museum and the artists who are coming to perform. I also am involved with the overall organization and scheduling of the performances, as well as the communication with the musicians that will perform throughout the run of the show This experience has provided me with the opportunity to see how a mid-size museum functions and what goes into the installation/organization/and daily operations of an exhibition. The internship program provides weekly seminars for all of the interns with the department heads and curators which introduce us to the other facets of the institution other than our assigned departments. Additionally, we have the privilege to visit other museums/galleries/art institutions around New York City, such as P.S.1, White Columns, Sotheby’s, The Sudio Museum in Harlem, and others, and have staff speak to us about the various types of careers within the art world. This has been an incredible opportunity so far, and it has definitely fueled my interest in a museum career.
“Artist/composer Christian Marclay (b. 1955) is known for his distinctive fusion of image and sound. Celebrated as a pioneer of turntablism, Marclay transforms sound and music into visual and physical forms through performance, collage, sculpture, large-scale installations, photography, and video. This groundbreaking Whitney exhibition—activated by daily concerts and continually evolving—explores Marclay’s approach to the world around him with a particular focus on his “graphic scores” for performance by musicians and vocalists. Visitors to the Whitney will be encouraged to mark up a wall-sized chalkboard, with musical staff lines, thereby creating a collective musical score which will be performed throughout the run of the show. Other Marclay scores, including the premiere of a new scrolled vocal work forty feet in length and three scores conceived as projections, will be continually on view and performed on a regular basis. World renowned musicians and vocalists, some of whom have been regular collaborators with the artist for three decades, will interpret a dozen scores, enabling museum audiences to experience a less well known aspect of Marclay’s varied art practice.
Christian Marclay: Festival was organized by curator David Kiehl with Limor Tomer, adjunct curator of performing arts.” – description from the Whitney website
