Community: bloggers@brooklynmuseum

We’re going to try something different for the March edition of the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed. Instead of featuring an artist, we’re going to feature Jennifer Bantz, who is the Interpretive Materials Manager here at the Museum. We have two primary reasons for doing this. The first is that Jenny has possibly the coolest job in the building, which she describes below. I think what makes it interesting is that she works with almost every department on behalf of the visitor, and, as a result, she’s exposed to as many types of tasks as there are visitor perspectives. Sharing Jenny’s work with 1stfans makes sense not only because they are museum visitors but also because, presumably, have an interest in seeing how their support is put to use, especially for those that can’t make it to Brooklyn—think of this as an ongoing virtual meetup.

The second reason we’re featuring a staff member this month is because, quite frankly, we’re having a difficult time finding artists for the Feed, and we think that there are more people than just strictly artists who can offer something unique and worthwhile on Twitter. Even though we have an open call, Twitter Art Feed is a tough concept to explain, and a tough thing to ask artists to really think about, create a proposal for, and then devote a month to doing (for free, I might add). In addition, we have a selection process that involves me, Shelley, and Eugenie Tsai, our John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art, reviewing proposals and deciding what makes the most sense for 1stfans and for the Museum. Shelley and I agree that we’d rather feature someone who can tweet out cool stuff than simply someone that we can convince to do this for a month. So 1stfans, let us know what you think and here’s a little more from Jenny, in her own words:

“hey. guys. where do we go?” via erinblatzer [HMNS] on Flickr.

My task here is to plan and implement the Museum’s program of interpretation with the visitor experience in mind, working in collaboration with staff from Curatorial, Education, Design, Technology, Editorial and others — a big job, and one whose goals and responsibilities shift, depending on the team involved and the project at hand. The great thing about having a job with some flexibility is that you never know what you might be up to on a given day; the tough part is trying to describe to people what, exactly, it is that you do. But here’s a snapshot of a Monday:

Coffee

Read through visitor comments submitted at kiosks over the weekend

Chat with a partner institution about an audio guide for the upcoming Warhol exhibition

Revise a proof for a To Live Forever family activity and return to Editorial and Design

Check in on supplies of The Dinner Pary gallery guide and talk with guards about how they’re being used

Meet with fellow exhibitions staff to discuss image use and current projects

Pull together statistics on recent cell phone audio guide use for a Development staff member

Meet with educators about accessibility efforts like touch tours and transcripts

Review curator’s responses to suggested changes to wall text for the upcoming American High Style exhibition

Go home!

Since both my job and the Museum’s mission are focused on our visitors’ experiences, that seems like the best way to focus this month’s tweets. I may comment a bit about what I’m working on, but mostly I’d like to pull together lots of tiny notes about what visitors are actually doing in the Museum, based on a kind of informal observation and guerrilla evaluation: what did we prepare and why, how do people seem to be using it, and what would we do going forward? Are there other questions, or things you’d want to hear about? Let me know in the comments for this post. Looking forward to it.

Going into our second year of 1stfans, Shelley and I wanted to do a survey to see how members felt about the first year of the program. We knew that we’d hear a variety of responses based on how people used their membership, but we were determined to see if we could identify any trends that we could use to make changes to the program. Below are a few things we learned from the 35 folks that responded to the open-ended survey we sent a couple weeks ago, as well as two changes that we’re definitely going to make for year two of 1stfans.

Concept

The most positive thing we heard from the survey was that people enjoy 1stfans as an idea. Whether that sentiment followed several sentences about taking part in the meetups and interacting online, or whether it came as a consolation. Erin from Texas wrote, “I don’t know how useful my feedback will be - since I became a member primarily because I think what you’re doing rocks - and not because I expected to take advantage of the benefits (as I live more than 1000 miles from the Museum).”

It seems like many 1stfans joined to demonstrate their gratitude that a Museum had created a membership program that was catered to how they interact with museums today. On the other end of the geographic spectrum, one local wrote, “Already a museum member, I joined 1stfans because I love that my local art institution is so forward thinking about the concept of a virtual membership and I have definitely gotten my $20 worth.” One person who wasn’t entirely pleased with their experience wrote, “I don’t think I’ve gotten what I thought I would out of my $20 membership fee so far, although I’m not so sure exactly what I was expecting.  I am glad to support the museum nonetheless.”

Meetups

We heard a variety of feedback about our meetups at Target First Saturday. Most enjoyed them, although some thought they were too early in the evening, while others thought they were just the right time and length to allow them to participate in the other events. For those that came regularly, the in-person aspect of the membership is what they appreciated, not the online benefits. Mike wrote, “While I never made use of the electronic networking opportunities (blogs, twitter, facebook, etc.), I enjoyed interacting with others at the events and thought that the event composition was great. It was fun to hear about both the creative and technical aspects of art and the museum.”

The “action item” that came out of the feedback from the meetups concerned bringing guests. Most didn’t come alone, and felt bad making their friends sign up for 1stfans if they knew they probably wouldn’t be back to First Saturday anytime soon. Chris brought up a good point, writing, “…if each member can bring a guest to a 1st Fans Meetup, then you would have an excellent chance of dramatically increasing your membership, since it’s hard to get a good idea of what 1st Fans Meetups are all about without actually attending one.” So from now on, we’ll allow one guest to attend 1stfans meetups at select First Saturday events. We’ll announce in the invite whether guests will be allowed.

Communication

We found that communication was something a lot of people talked about. That makes sense intuitively, given that communication in 1stfans is a la carte and based on how many of the social networks you are on. If you’re on facebook, twitter, and flickr frequently, you’ll probably get most of what we put out there. Three folks mentioned the Twitter Art Feed as being confusing or out of context. One person wrote, “I’ve had a hard time getting regular twitter updates. It seems like I’m always missing them and forget to check back, so I don’t always catch them.” Another wrote, “Because I am an on again off again twitter user, I would love an email every time there is a new artist with a short bio and a description of the project to remind me to check my twitter.” Most people recognize that they won’t love every Twitter Art Feed project, but it’s still our responsibility to ensure that the word gets out.

Since we also heard from a couple folks about receiving emails (in addition to facebook, flickr, and twitter invites), the other big thing we’re going to work on in year two of 1stfans is putting together some sort of short newsletter so everyone can have a consolidated version of what is happening coming directly to them in one place. That should help out those who think we aren’t communicating as well as we could be, and it also won’t add a lot more work on our end. By increasing our level of communication with 1stfan members and allowing them to give their friends some access to 1stfans programming, we’re hoping to increase 1stfans participation and awareness of what’s going on, as well as and expose 1stfans as a concept to a wider audience.

We’ve always said that 1stfans is about growing a relationship with the Museum, and we’re determined to have 1stfans play just as large a role in shaping the future of the program. We’re grateful to everyone who responded to the survey, and we’re happy to take any more feedback either in the comments or below or by e-mailing me directly.

Valerie Hegarty’s evocation of Asher B. Durand’s 1855 painting The First Harvest in the Wilderness in her benefit print for the 1stfans program adds another chapter to the painting’s already illustrious history.  Its story begins in 1855, when the Brooklyn Institute—the predecessor to the Brooklyn Museum—commissioned a work from Durand to add to its newly conceived Gallery of Fine Arts.  The money for this painting, as well as the idea for a permanent gallery, came from the late Augustus Graham (1775-1851).  A prominent local businessman and philanthropist, Graham had been actively involved in charitable institutions devoted to the edification of Brooklyn’s citizenry, including the Institute (established 1843) and its forerunner, the Apprentices’ Library Association (founded 1824).  Upon his death in 1851, he bequeathed a large sum to the Brooklyn Institute with the stipulation that a portion of the money be used for the purchase of art by living American artists for the Institute’s picture gallery.  This stipulation was progressive and prescient at a time when few civic institutions had art collections and many patrons viewed American art as inferior to European art.

Asher B. Durand (American, 1796-1886). The First Harvest in the Wilderness, 1855. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 x 48 1/16 in. (80.3 x 122 cm) Frame: 43 1/2 x 59 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (110.5 x 151.1 x 12.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Transferred from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to the Brooklyn Museum, 97.12

For its inaugural purchase with the Graham bequest, the Brooklyn Institute sought out one of the nation’s leading artists Asher B. Durand (1796-1886).  At this time, Durand was the dean of American landscape painters known as the Hudson River School and president of the National Academy of Design in New York.  As a sign of support for the Institute, he agreed to accept the Brooklyn commission for $175, a sum far smaller than his usual asking price. 

At first glance, The First Harvest in the Wilderness, which was hanging on the Institute’s walls by September of 1856, is an allegory of the nineteenth-century concept of Manifest Destiny.  This belief held that the United States was destined to expand across the entire continent.  (Many Americans viewed westward expansion as the inevitable progress of a divinely favored and culturally superior nation, although it resulted in the exploitation of natural resources and the often violent subjugation of native peoples.)  Durand’s picture depicts the softer side of Manifest Destiny in the form of a pioneer family domesticating the frontier through settlement and agriculture.  We see their homestead in the center of the painting in the midst of a rugged landscape of forests and mountains-the bright light that shines upon this clearing not only draws the viewer’s attention to the homestead, but also symbolizes divine approbation.  While a man harvests a field of wheat (dotted with the stumps of trees he has felled), his wife stands before their snug log cabin (built from felled trees) and cows and horses graze in their pens.  Durand suggests that the pioneers enjoy the fruits of their labor-an idyllic and bountiful existence on the frontier full of promise of future rewards.

Asher B. Durand (American, 1796-1886). The First Harvest in the Wilderness (detail), 1855. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 x 48 1/16 in. (80.3 x 122 cm) Frame: 43 1/2 x 59 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (110.5 x 151.1 x 12.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Transferred from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to the Brooklyn Museum, 97.12

A closer examination of The First Harvest in the Wilderness reveals that this vision of national progress also had particular, local significance for Brooklyn.  The large rock in the right foreground of the painting is inscribed with the name “GRAHAM,” a clear reference to Augustus Graham, the Brooklyn Institute’s benefactor whose bequest funded this commission. This rock serves as a rustic gravestone memorializing the man.  In addition, its prominence in the composition symbolizes Graham’s important role in advancing civilized pursuits in another kind of wilderness-the American art scene.  One reporter for the art journal The Crayon was quick to pick up on the painting’s analogy between progress on the frontier and progress in the arts.  He wrote:

The sentiment of the picture is also in keeping with the circumstances belonging to its production.  The field of Art is, in the country, but just emerging into the reality of a clearing, upon which the sun of encouragement does shine, if it gleams from clouds and is surrounded by shadows.  As an illustration, Mr. Graham may be considered the pioneer in the wilderness, and all honor be to his memory for being the first to make a clearing.[1]

In other words, just as the settler transforms the inhospitable frontier into farmland, so too did Augustus Graham cultivate the arts in the cultural fields of America.  Although Graham’s vision for the Brooklyn Institute took decades to accomplish-shifting administrative priorities and declining financial fortunes hampered the plans for a permanent gallery in the nineteenth century-his support helped to make American art one of the finest and foundational collections of the Brooklyn Museum.

Valerie Hegarty. First Harvest in the Wilderness with Pileated Woodpecker, 2010. 10 x 8 in., ed. of 200. © Valerie Hegarty. Image courtesy of the artist and 20×200 | Jen Bekman Projects

Given Graham’s commitment to living American artists, it seems only fitting that Valerie Hegarty, an American artist of today, pays tribute to Durand’s The First Harvest in the Wilderness—the first painting funded by the Graham bequest.

February’s 1stfans Twitter Art Feed artist is Brooklyn’s own Man Bartlett. Man’s work includes drawings (mostly of circles), paintings, sculpture, and, as those on twitter may know, performance. Shelley mentioned Man’s “#BestNonBuy” project a couple weeks ago, and this week Man is attempting an even greater feat of focus and stamina. #Theseus will take place beginning tomorrow morning at 9am, and will involve Man walking the “labyrinth” that is midtown Manhattan for twenty hours or so.  As Man puts in succinctly in his Artist Statement, with regards to performance he is specifically interested in “Duration in relation to space (social, environmental, physical.)” For the Twitter Art Feed, Man has proposed something called #Inpermatweet. I’ll let him explain:

#Inpermatweet
A pun on the term “permalink,” this month would feature a self portrait of tweets as cumulative “full data” aggregation (e.g. links to web browsing, iPhone screenshots, twitpics of what I’m looking at, drawings in progress, “status” updates, etc). This process would further blur the lines between art/artist/life with wit and absurdity. Over the course of the month the @1stfans avatar would slowly lose its opacity, eventually reaching 0%. At the end of the month, all of my tweets would be ritualistically deleted, leaving only a single link to a memorial page that would contain the month’s data as a visual representation of memory, complete with missing or incorrectly re-represented tweets and images.

As always, 1stfans should feel free to share their feedback with Man throughout the month. As anyone who follows him on twitter knows, he’s incredibly funny and always quick with a quip. Man will be sending some of the tweets for 1stfans from Queens, where he is currently in residency at the Flux Factory, and where he will have a solo show of recent work titled Systema Mundi opening April 2.

I grow more convinced every day that unique partnerships and creative incentives are the key to acquiring and retaining members. With 1stfans, Shelley and I spent the last year watching as this program, which started as an idea, became a series of events and relationships-both online and in the galleries–between the Museum’s staff, the artists in its collections, and its members. Because the benefits of 1stfans are different than (and not as plentiful as, I might add) regular Museum membership, we wanted to come up with a way to make renewing membership fun and rewarding those who supported 1stfans in its first year. We looked back at the success of the Swoon printing event last January, and decided that it would be great if the second year of 1stfans could start with some art as well. To that end, we have partnered with artist Valerie Hegarty and the awesome folks at 20×200.com to make a benefit print for 1stfans. Valerie, whose work is in our permanent collection and currently on display, was suggested to us by Eugenie Tsai, our John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art.

Asher B. Durand (American, 1796-1886). The First Harvest in the Wilderness, 1855. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 x 48 1/16 in. (80.3 x 122 cm) Frame: 43 1/2 x 59 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (110.5 x 151.1 x 12.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Transferred from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to the Brooklyn Museum, 97.12

When we got in touch with Valerie, who lives in Brooklyn, she agreed to make the artwork and decided she wanted to create a piece based on a painting in our collection, Asher B. Durand’s First Harvest in the Wilderness. Coincidentally, this painting was commissioned in 1855 by one of the Brooklyn Museum’s founders to serve as a cornerstone of its collection. Now, in 2010, it’s serving as inspiration for a new artwork that will be used to help grow the Museum’s membership program.

Valerie Hegarty. First Harvest in the Wilderness with Pileated Woodpecker, 2010. 10 x 8 in., ed. of 200. © Valerie Hegarty. Image courtesy of the artist and 20×200 | Jen Bekman Projects

The only place Shelley and I ever hoped to produce the prints with was 20×200, which is a remarkable and successful site that offers curated, limited-edition prints and, occasionally, does benefit editions for non-profit institutions. 20×200’s motto of “Art for Everyone” is perfectly aligned with our goal of creating 1stfans as a way of making museum membership more accessible. Jen Bekman, who founded 20×200 and heads up their operations as part of Jen Bekman Projects, generously agreed to produce and donate all of the prints and any profits to the Museum.

The prints will come in three sizes: small (8″x10,” edition of 200), medium (11″x14,” edition of 500), and large (16″x20,” edition of 20). The small prints, which would normally sell for $20, will only be available from 6-8 p.m. at the Museum during February 6^th Target First Saturday to anyone who signs up for or renews their 1stfans membership. The medium and large prints, which will sell for $50 and $200 respectively, will be sold beginning the week of February 8^th. People who are signed up for the 20×200 newsletter will have the first (and possibly, the only!) opportunity to pick up a print before they are released on their website, 20×200.com. The medium and large prints will each come with a coupon code to get a free year of 1stfans membership. The real benefit to the museum, then, will lie not in the money earned for the museum but in the members acquired and renewed via this print. I think that is fitting start to the second year of 1stfans, since our goal with this program is to grow relationships with people, not with their wallets.