Today is early into my third month interning at the Boca Museum of Art under Registrar Martin Hanahan. As an English major and Linguistic minor, people look at me oddly when I tell them the internship I pursued. But through my studies in English, I learned every facet of art is intertwined seamlessly, and we must pursue each type to experience what art is. Artists paint with many colors, writers paint with two.

Our words, in perfect black and white, show how colorful life is. And artists, with their cubism and their expressive modernism, offer an abstract sense of life that playfully incites our senses. The beauty of art is that it does not tell you what to think, or even how to think. It simply is. Just like music. So, after studying the great writers, I decided to pursue a different approach to the world of expressive awareness. I am drawn to art because it is quiet, but even the quietest painting, possibly in hues of blue, still sends our senses diving into an ocean of consciousness. Art, like literature, can affect society by presenting something we are afraid of, or by creating a calming space in which we find solace.

Either way, art, music, and literature are the catalysts that strip away fake and replace it with raw. Whether artist, writer, photographer, we tell the story of life boundlessly with no restrictions. We welcome consequences. We are renegades of the present. This is how I found myself in a museum instead of a library. I am surrounded by artifacts that tell of our history without words; silent pronouncements of truth. Quiet frames hang on quiet walls and tell stories of lovers, children, animals, trees. Loudly they spill their secrets, forever surrounded by a gold frame, in remembrance of a tender, experienced hand.

Last week I documented 13 old photographs: daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. I also stored 11 cameras dating from the Second World War to the 1960s. The photographs were produced in the 1800s; each “type” produced differently. Daguerreotypes (1840-1855) are extremely reflective photographs on polished silver. Ambrotypes (1855-1865) are not shiny like daguerreotypes, but matte, because the photograph emulsion is coated on glass with black paint that often cracks and darkens the picture.

Tintypes (1855-1900) are black painted tin- exposed. There is rarely any tarnish and it does not have a reflection. It doesn’t come in an ornate case like the other two because it is not fragile. So the type of picture that goes on these artifacts usually contains an unsmiling, somber subject who looks like she or he has no idea what is going on. Pulled from the farm, or the church, or the kitchen, the subjects exude nothing artificial about them. In fact, you feel as though you are standing there, facing them (which we very well could be). Their attitude (or lack of) in the photographs sent my mind reeling. It is so different from the way we take pictures today- with our poses and our scrunched faces and our obscene gestures.

The myth about the camera stealing the soul feels very real with these pictures. For some reason, our technology often fails to gather the real soul of a person, possibly because the entire experience of photography has changed into point and click. Easy to capture moments, but there is something distinctly un-timless about them. Perhaps this is why there are so many programs that offer ways to alter photographs in an effort to lend them some authenticity.

Now, each moment is real, but sometimes moments are so on-the-surface that we fail to appreciate the way of life- the harshness of it, the cold and the hot, the good and the bad. When people took photos in the 1800s, their faces show of struggle, of reserved resignation, sometimes exultation or humble adoration. But in each person’s face, there exists a question of the future. And this question creates a formidable distance between the person and the photographer.

Juxtaposed with the present, we pretend not to ask questions of the future because the answer is always the same- we don’t know. Why did we stop searching in an effort to look in control? It is not more becoming for a person to take a beautiful picture that has lost all sense of wonder. The people in these old photographs are asking questions of everything, even themselves.

Pioneers, renegades of the present, their souls are wondering, wandering, losing, and finding. They are not afraid to show vulnerability or strength. Their experiences are genuine because each moment has its own breath and the wildness of the photographs emulate the wildness of their world. In a world where we attempt to control the uncontrollable, a sense of magic has flown away.

To find it, we must live in and breathe every moment without contention for the past, anxiety for the future, or resistance of the present. We must accept the query. Just as these forever-young pioneers in their gold frames asked questions of the future without abandoning the present or escaping to the past. We could learn to do the same, and avoid the midlife crisis of waking up in chains. Visit the Boca Museum of Art (561) 392-2500

Unknown artist, Portrait of a Young Girl, ca. 1850, tintype, 3 x 2 ½ inches. Permanent Collection 1991.128F. Museum Purchase

Unknown artist, Portrait of a Woman in a Bonnet, ca. 1850, ambrotype, 4 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches. Permanent Collection 1991.128T. Museum Purchase

Unknown artist, Two Children, ca. 1850, tintype, 3 x 2 ½ inches. Permanent Collection 1991.128. Museum Purchase

Today is Tuesday, March 12, 2013. And today Martin, the Registrar at the Boca Museum, had me document each piece of the exhibition Jody Culkin: Refashioned. This exhibition subverts traditional functions of women’s apparel. Now, Jody Culkin: Refashioned is slightly left of wacky, right of weird, and smack dab in the middle of wait, what, why?! Let me paint you a picture: mesh, broken glass, chains, bright fabric, water, light, cameras, and eyes.

Jody Culkin: Refashioned reveals the chains of women fashion, and reinvents them in a capricious light to expose the issue of fashion: our clothes can make us prisoners. Much of her inspiration came from the Victorian household she grew up in (inside information thanks to curator Kathy Goncharov, a close friend of Culkin’s). So the contemporary artist refashioned pieces of art take modern daywear and transform them with a Victorian element.

As an active feminist, Culkin’s art also contains elements of female anatomy. This image sparks confusion in our minds as we try to compartmentalize the vision of the art. But contemporary art is not meant to be compartmentalized, it has an agenda of its own, and a large amount of history to play with. There is a refashioned burka out of white mesh with little purple propellers on each sleeve. This may be so the wearer can fly away from her repression.

However, the onlooker will notice the gold rectangle as the eye piece and it creates a sense of suppressed, imprisoned, clothing that is not simply a woman’s dress but her fabricated chains. And as we view this piece, we feel trapped, ensnared. A little to the right is a hanging chain of black mesh filled with broken glass. It begs the question, what kind of jewelry are your chains made from? Subversive, yes. Repressive, no!

As I fulfilled the task of documenting and measuring each piece of art, a few museum visitors took a look around. The immediate reaction of many was to turn and walk away- I actually heard “no, I don’t like this” from a woman within the first 20 seconds looking around her. Other women would exclaim at how cute the purse with the roving eyes is, but they would silently pass by the more abrasive elements of the collection. I wanted to give them a tour so they could understand that this exhibit is meant to cause unease! 

If only the women would have read the introduction to Jody Culkin: Refashioned they would have understood this art is not to look pretty. It is not to please the eye. It is to open the mind through the eyes. It is meant to make you feel. The exaggeration of the refashioned pieces is a call to arms: as a woman, how does our dress confine us? Does it present a feminine image that is meant to please the looker? Does our dress please us at all besides in the validation of the onlookers?

And which ogglers are we dressing to impress, exactly? How are we empowered when we display our bodies in this way? The exhibition itself exposes that if something is not “appealing” or “pleasant” to look at, our immediate reaction is to recoil. Does this look nice? No? Then I want nothing to do with it. How would you feel if people talked about you that way? And if we realize that we have the same reaction, wouldn’t it be better to take a moment and let the art enter our brain, twist around our neurons and shoot something?

We cannot only appreciate the beautiful, the perfectly packaged. Most of it is just a mirage. Once we stop aiming for perfection and niceties we could accomplish something with our minds, our voice. Hence contemporary art, such as Jody Culkin: Refashioned, is an expression of where our world came from, the history of the upright Victorian society. And Jody Culkin: Refashioned is also a silent commentary on our reactions to something a contemporary artist refashioned to be less than perfect. Chains or shackles, our perception must break those gold and silver loops that keep us lost and mesmerized.

The Boca Raton Museum of Art may be renowned for its extensive collection of fine art and for its impressive array of exhibitions but few may know the significant impact the museum has with current artists working in our community. The Artists’ Guild, an auxiliary of the Museum, is a very organized and self-sufficient community of artists who maintain a gallery in downtown Delray Beach. With over 20 juried exhibitions a year and over 350 members, the Boca art guild fosters the success of local artists while supporting the Museum with a portion of its proceeds.

     

Upon entering The Artists’ Guild Gallery I was met by Lorrie Turner (above) who has been involved in the arts since she was a child and has been a Boca art guild member ever since she first moved to Florida nearly nine years ago. She overflowed with information and enthusiasm as she told me everything there is to know about how the guild works. However, the main source of her excitement seemed to be the sense of community created among the members of the guild. Lorrie explained that when she moved to Florida and didn’t know a soul, she joined the Boca Museum artist guild and was provided with an immediate circle of friends which has only grown throughout the years. The guild gives artists an opportunity not only to exhibit and sell their work but to network with other artists and grow through each other’s feedback and collaboration.




© Durga Garcia  "The Tutu and the Airplane" DurgaGarcia.com

I spoke with local photographer and curator for the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in West Palm Beach, Durga Garcia (above), who is in the process of becoming a signature member of the guild. This status would allow her to exhibit in the gallery space so long as her works pass the double jury process, of which I have no doubt they will. Durga is very active in the South Florida art scene and her work has been awarded in many local, national and international juried competitions in addition to her work at the Boca art guild.

So, for all you art enthusiasts out there don’t forget to visit The Artists’ Guild Gallery and see what today’s local artists are coming up with. Keep in mind there is the “Artists’ Choice Gallery” section in that rear of the Boca art guild where they display smaller canvas pieces, prints, photographs and sculptures for those art lovers on a budget. So stop on by and show your support for local artists as well as the Boca Museum of Art!

For more information please visit 512 East Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33483 (561.278.7877) to learn more about becoming a member of the Boca Museum artist guild.

When the summer of 2012 began, I never thought I would be sitting where I am right now writing this. As the school year wound to a close and summer began, I was hoping (if I was lucky) I would find myself with volunteer opportunities at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. I finished my first year of school at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and headed home with my love of art history fortified by the classes I had taken the past two semesters.

When I started fishing for volunteer positions, Lori Geiger, the Visitor Services and Volunteer Manager went above and beyond to help me get involved with the Museum. It is thanks to her help that I found myself in a Curatorial Intern position - a daunting title for an art history major with only one year of college under her belt.

When I met with Lori at the beginning of the summer she told me about some opportunities that would be turning up in July. They seemed pretty standard: being a gallery attendant and helping the museum staff. I was excited at the prospect of hanging out in an art museum all summer, but never imagined I would be doing anything too official.

In early July I worked with Martin Hanahan, the Museum’s Registrar, in the deconstruction of two outgoing exhibitions, the 61st Annual All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition and the Artists’ Guild Biennial Exhibition. During the two-day period I got to know Martin, and I met Kelli Bodle, the Assistant Curator of the Museum. I got advice on being an art history major and my future in curating.  The experience of just being behind the scenes of a museum exhibit and meeting the people that make it possible made me want to help more and see more of what it takes to operate a museum.  I began wondering if there was anything else I could do, any odd jobs or research projects. I was completely willing to freelance.

A few weeks into my new Big Art: Miniature Golf gallery attendant position that I shared with about 10 other college students, I received an email from Kelli asking if I would like to be a Curatorial intern for the rest of the summer. On top of my ‘Golf Marshal’ status, which I loved having, I would do more behind the scenes work with Kelli and Martin, which is what I was interested in all along! I quickly got started on learning the collections database, and becoming familiar with the various offices in the Museum.

So now, here I am - writing in my own cubicle in the Curatorial Office; almost in disbelief, but mostly just loving every minute of working at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

Hello to all again, my chronicle of The Art School’s summer community is at an end with this final post of the trilogy. I have learned so much through this assignment which has opened my mind and expanded my creative sensibilities. Growing up I experienced art through dance and music. Once I had the freedom to discover different courses and areas of study at college, I fell in love with all forms of the visual arts.

Observing the creativity of all the students and the development of each project has given me a fuller understanding that art takes patience and time. That being true, the instant gratification that is seen on the artist’s face once the project is finished is worth a thousand words.

	Gabby, 15, attends Dreyfoos School of the Arts and studies photography. She finished her teddy bear for the Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, and See No Evil project and the progression of it just became more and more beautiful.
	Kiersten , also 15, worked out of her comfort zone in what she likes to define as “dirty art” also known as graffiti. She worked on a painting of two people displaying retro objects such as a record and a camera. She applied the grey undertones, added bright colors to make the piece pop and injected a little of herself into the painting.
	The adults finished up their egg tempera pieces, artistic interpretations in oils, and fixed up the minor mistakes. This journey has reinforced for me the importance of exploration and finding one’s true passion. This unique experience has strengthened, expanded and brought new ideas and a different mindset as to how I will approach my new endeavors in the art world. Thank you to all the artists I had the pleasure of meeting and their stories of how they were inspired by art. I hope you all continue creating your beautiful pieces and remember that life is short, enjoy every moment! It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon. Have a wonderful rest of your summer!
Oh and the Group Youth Summer Camp Exhibition opens today at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. starting today and going through September 16th. Come by and see all the projects created this summer, including Gabby's finished teddy bear.