The drawing and blogging skills honed in my Public History course last semester proved useful for my internship at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. My internship last summer with the NCSML was an artist residency to work on a replica Berlin Wall public art project, and while my recent docent internship in the exhibit Artists as Activists involved creating artwork and articles for the NCSML blog, it also allowed for more interaction with the public on topics of history and modern art. Teaching and spreading the messages of activist-artists opened my eyes to a new dimension of museum work capable of using history and art to promote social justice. On my blog, I focused on sharing myresearch on art and artists, but I learned much more from my interactions with the visitors.
The Artists as Activists storyline began at home with the work of American artist jc lenochan. lenochan’s artwork commented on racial injustice, making it the most thought provoking and sometimes uncomfortable work in the gallery for the NCSML’s largely American audience. With Street Players in the Killing Zone of White Mischief, a stack of discarded books mounted in cement, lenochan showed how forgotten stories by black authors can be reintroduced to a society desperately in need of diverse voices. lenochan’s artwork encouraged visitors and I to place ourselves into the role of artist and consider books that have told our stories and impacted our lives.
An ear-splitting scream inevitably interrupted the discussion of books. I became used to the sound, but guests startled at Tania Bruguera’s video piece, Tatlin’s Whisper #6 – Havana Version. As each participant voiced their concerns in Spanish, or the universal language of screaming and crying, visitors scanned the subtitles and drafted what they might say if they participated in such a performance. Many admitted they would not have the courage to take the stage and speak at all. Americans take their freedom of speech for granted and are often ignorant to the censorship imposed on much of the world.
Unbothered by the cacophony of free speech, kids gravitated towards Hong Hao’s giant “I-Spy” piece, My Things No. 3. It was entertaining to see which items, from a banana to a Minnie Mouse keychain, caught their eyes. An older visitor commented that they could take a picture of their junk drawerand have an identical piece. This was Hao’s intention as hewanted to show the ugly and wasteful nature of consumerculture, the inescapable accumulation of useless stuff.
Eyes peeled from the bright colors of Hao’s collages at the sound of the alarm poised over Ai Weiwei’s Table With Two Legs on the Wall. Luckily, I never had to fight anyone who actually tried to touch the piece, but the presence of an alarm signified it was special enough to require extra security. Slowing down to analyze the table is precisely what Weiwei intended; removing the functionality of the table made it clear that the craftsmanship was a work of art. One visitor connected Table with two benches hewn from the trunks of trees uprooted in the 2008 flood that sit outside the gallery. Most guests sit on these benches oblivious to the history carved into the wood, proving Weiwei’s concern that functional objects are overlooked as art.
Not overlooked was Artists as Activists’ most popular artist, David Černý. As the exhibit’s only Czech artist, Černý was the most familiar artist to many; guests told me of visits to Prague where they found Černý’s works scattered throughout the city. A miniature Pink Tank on display told the story of thevandalistic action that jumpstarted his career. Naturally, discussions shifted to modern-day defacing and destructing ofmonuments. Černý’s ability to give the Soviet tank monument a new meaning while leaving it in place to preserve its history is an example of how the world can reevaluate and reinterpret its public art.
Emily Jacir’s Where We Come From and Malik Sajad’s ‘op-art’ cartoons both promote the reevaluation of treatment of human lives by depicting military lockdowns in the Middle East. Visitors and I contrasted Coronavirus restrictions in the US with decades long lockdowns in Palestine and Kashmir. Jacir’s work is a beautiful example of using privilege to help bring awareness and aid to others. Her small actions of kindness to oppressed groups are inspirational in communities where so many struggleas a result of minority status.
The exhibit ended with my favorite piece, Dazzle Effect by Juanma García. I was proud of the research I did to discover the hidden meanings in García’s pretty acrylic painting, but when I allowed visitors to speak first and tell me what they saw, rather than point out the Palace of the Revolution in Cuba, Cuban flag, and dazzle camouflage, many simply identified a prison. Even without specifics, García’s message was clear: the government made Cuba into an isolated island of imprisonment. I was so sure that my identification of patterns and buildings was asufficient interpretation, but hearing others helped me become more open to various perspectives and see things in different ways.
Not every guest was open minded about Artists as Activists, and it could be a struggle to convince guests to stay in the gallery for more than a few minutes. A modern art exhibit is not the typical display for a heritage museum and the nontraditional art made some guests uncomfortable. On one frustrating, though comedic, occasion, a couple entered the gallery, and upon learning it was art created by activists, they said, “We see enough of that on the news!” and left. Instead of becoming discouraged by disgruntled visitors, I relished positive interactions with a wide variety of other guests.
This internship allowed me to see a different side of museum work, particularly visitor reactions and how an exhibit can have real-life impacts. I enjoyed learning odd facts about the artwork, and most visitors jumped at the opportunity to engage with an “expert.” I learned to see the art through the unique perspective of each new visitor. My understanding of international affairs in places like Cuba and Kashmir grew immensely, as did my compassion for those involved. Most importantly, I realized through both the art presented in Artists as Activists and protest art in the news, that, in the words of Tania Bruguera, “Art is useful.” Art can incite action and bring about awareness and change. Art provides a look into the world of those living through various situations and is an invaluable resource for preserving historical events. Presenting history to an audience as an interpretive dialogue is something I hope to explore in the future, perhaps through a research project.
Nights at the Museum 