A Space for Dialogue: Claire Hunter '12

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Web Services Editor

Curatorial, Mellon Special Project

About Claire

Despite the fact that she is a Classics major, Claire has always had an interest in museums and art. When she heard of the Hood Museum of Art internship program, she was excited about having the opportunity to collaborate and work closely with a curator on exhibitions and acquisitions. Her time at the Hood has reaffirmed her feelings that she would like to pursue a career in art museum education. Before pursing her ambition, Claire plans to take a gap year and then apply to graduate school for art history or museum studies.

At the Hood

Claire has been working diligently on the upcoming exhibition Crossing Cultures: The Owen and Wagner Collection of Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Art at the Hood Museum of Art (September 15, 2012, through March 10, 2013) with the curator of the show, Stephen Gilchrist, Curator of Indigenous Australian Art. She has been writing labels for the show and helping the curator with the catalogue glossary. She also assisted with securing copyright permissions from the artists to reproduce their works of art in the catalogue. She notes, "The labor that goes into preparing an exhibition is quite phenomenal." Through her experience, she discovered a new appreciation for the artwork itself, and for the task of writing object labels, which must convey information clearly, concisely, and interestingly in only a paragraph or two.

A Space for Dialogue

Agents of Change: Metamorphosis and the Feminine

Claire's interest in Picasso's Vollard Suite made her decision on a topic for her Space for Dialogue installation easy. While taking an art history class during her sophomore year, she saw a few of his etchings and desperately wanted to revisit them. The other objects Claire chose came about through her discussions with Stephen Gilchrist and other Hood curators, who all gave her tremendous advice.

During the selection process, Claire chose a work by the artist Amy Cutler. Claire was thrilled when she learned she was able to speak with Amy Cutler's representative in New York. She never imagined that she would be able to be in contact with the artists! During these discussions Claire obtained an artist statement from Cutler to use in her Space for Dialogue.

In her installation, Claire demonstrates why feminine metamorphosis in art has an important role to play in exposing the changing attitude towards women in Western society. Come see Claire's gallery talk on July 19 at 4:00 PM in the Hood entrance gallery to learn how women are agents of change.

Read a PDF of Claire's brochure.