Filed under Student News
Summer 2010 – Madeline Turner
Spider by Louise Bourgeoise
Before this past June, I really had no knowledge of contemporary art. I thought I couldn’t understand it and, therefore, I often chose not to deal with it. However, over the summer I had the amazing opportunity to immerse myself and develop my appreciation for the contemporary art world. This immersion I speak of took place at the DIA:Beacon in upstate New York. At DIA, I interned for the education department and helped develop a proposal for a revamped tour plan for K-12 students. Our primary goal in creating this new tour was to make sure that we would never lecture the students. The artists exhibited at DIA, which include powerhouses Louise Bourgeoise, Andy Warhol, Michael Heizer, and Donald Judd, have created works that can take on so many different meanings to different viewers, that we decided the best way to let the students view the work was by emphasizing the individual experience. One of my favorite moments at DIA occurred when I was observing a tour for a group of eight year-olds. They just seemed to get it. The kids interacted with, played around, and experimented with works like Fred Sandback’s yarn installations and Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses. This singular experience and my experience at DIA as a whole exposed me to the idea that art is really for anybody as long as he or she has an open mind. This coming fall I will be continuing my work with the museum by guiding tours every Saturday. I am so grateful for not only having had this summer experience, but also for finding a place that will help me continue to grow as a member of the art world.
