Week 8/7/24-8/1, 2023
Kendall Greene
This is our last week of the internship, and I feel melancholy about it ending. We explored so many new ideas and aspects of the city that I don’t think I would have thought to visit on my own. On Tuesday, we took a trip to the Bronx to visit the public garden, Wave Hill. I had never been that far north in New York before, and the scenery reminded me of the suburbs in Georgia. The curator gave us a tour of the residency space, which is now a gallery of the artists’ final projects. The present exhibition, This Place We Once Remembered, is comprised of the works of four different artists, and each had overlapping themes of ancestry and nature. I was drawn to Yelaine Rodriguez’s photographs that highlighted Afro-Carribean possibilities between God, nature, and ceremony. In addition to This Place We Once Remembered, I enjoyed entering the sunroom filled with Jacq Groves’s pieces and used the lighting in the space as an aspect of the artwork. I was immediately illuminated and smiling traversing through the intricated details of ceramic, stained glass, soil, bark, lichen, and tinctures.
On Saturday, we ventured into the American Indian Museum near Wall Street. The museum space unfortunately exists within an old US Customs building that is adorned with paintings of Christopher Columbus and other colonizers in the atrium. However, the rest of the museum is carefully curated with explorations of Indigenous artifacts and artists delving into Indigenous futurisms. The beginning of the exhibition held eel cages and traps, and I was reminded of our first week in the lab encountering the eel at Pratt. This time tools for capture were showcased rather than the eel that was captured, and I contemplated the difference between the intentions of these distinct enclosures. Although the museum is divided according to present, past, and future; time blurs as themes in each of the exhibitions overlap and intersect with each other. Through the final exhibition, I was introduced to the artist, Shelley Niro. Her rich creative career includes explorations in beadwork, photography, sculpture, painting, and film. The work is subversive as it challenges gender roles, physical space, and our conceptions of the future. I am deeply inspired by her expansive creative practice and grateful to witness older women artists have their work honored and displayed.
Ariana White
This past Saturday we went on a Dark Lab whale-watching trip on a boat that departed from Pier 11. New York and New Jersey grew smaller as we sailed farther and farther out into the Atlantic Ocean. When the land was no longer visible, the jet-propelled boat came to a stop and we waited for any possible whale activity. Scientists (I assumed) were located on the third floor of the boat overlooking the ocean. I kept my eyes peeled on their movements as they would often point to the areas where whales resided. After a couple of minutes of waiting, an announcement was made on the loudspeaker that we were near one baby whale. We were let out onto the boat deck and waited to see any movements. In an instant, a large whale fin poked out of the water before diving back in. If you blinked you would’ve definitely missed it. I spent the next couple of hours gawking at Humpback whale activity especially when we drew close to a pair of particularly active whales. They played with each other and the boat and even did, what seemed to be synchronized swimming. Not only did we see humpback whales but we learned about their history, food sources, habitats, and contributions to the oceanic environment. As whales defecate at the surface of the ocean they provide nutrients for the microscopic animal and plant plankton species that are food sources for small fish and aquatic species. This makes humpback whales a keystone species vital in maintaining the balance of the ocean's ecosystems.
After getting off the boat, I got a nutritious chicken kale Caesar salad with fried halloumi cheese for lunch. Dr. Goffe, Kendell, Maria, and I then made our way through the financial district to the old Customs building now the “National Museum of the American Indian”. We made our way through various exhibits with contemporary, classic, and revolutionary artwork. The museum was not only dedicated to showcasing artwork but retelling the narrative of indigenous peoples and communities within America and, particularly New York. We examined the space once used, for trading goods, by white colonizers and discussed the message sent by erecting a museum there. We learned and questioned, and were impacted by the power of art as tools for storytellers. We met a fan of Dark Laboratory who had coincidentally spent time working at the New York Society Library.
Maria Aguirre
This week started off as we headed to a part of the city I had never explored before: the Bronx. Late on Monday night, I typed “Wave Hill” in my Maps app, eager to chart the route for the next morning. I quickly realized this commute would become a trip of its own.
Navigating through unfamiliar roads and buses, Kendall Greene and I got lost. As we approached Wave Hill, the landscape transformed until eventually revealing meticulously cared-for gardens. Here we made our way to a house of art, where treasures highlighting people of color were being showcased. As we made our way out, we were greeted by the breathtaking view of the Hudson River.
Within the embrace of Wave Hill’s serenity, I felt like I had uncovered a secret. Away from the city’s noise, it was a sanctuary offering nature’s embrace. However, it prompted more than admiration; it sparked contemplation.
While exploring the gardens, I sent a picture to my friend Daniel from the Bronx, and he had no idea where I was. Remembering the adventure it was to get to the place, it all started to make sense. This place was a secret. The lack of transportation as well as the windy roads hinted at the exclusivity that such treasures often carry. But a treasure like this should be accessible to its holders, especially in the Bronx.
The rest of my week was busy as I came to my second to last week of work in the city. On Thursday, I led a Social Media takeover on Instagram. I don’t have social media so it was interesting to see how I interacted with the platform both as a consumer and a producer. In the evening, we had a lovely studio visit with artist, Cecile Chong. Here we learned about her background as an artist and as a person. We engaged in a beautiful conversation discussing the influence of trade in art from all over the world, from Asia to Latin America. As we ended our conversation I left feeling happy, and once again, grateful. The things I have seen during my internship have allowed me to understand the broad and large complexities of the world and more importantly: people. I feel like I am becoming more curious about every little thing around me.
