http://blog.presrvationnation.org/2014/02/07/art-old-place-artist-patricia-cronin-confronts-past-present/#.Uv15HUJdVYx
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Patricia Cronin
en.wikipedia.org |
Hello Everyone:
The art work in historic places is often an overlooked element of the whole design ensemble but no less important. It can provide substance to the narrative of a place in ways bricks and mortar cannot. Today we're going to talk about a rather interesting subject, the intersection of art and historic preservation. Specifically, we're going to discuss the context in which works of art are placed. Tom Mayes, the deputy senior counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and 2013 Rome Prize winner in historic preservation analyzes the work of contemporary sculptor Patricia Cronin (1963- ) and the why she uses her work to confront the past with the present. In this case, the deliberate placement of Ms. Cronin's contemporary sculptures in old places is about giving meaning to the present.
"Context is everything," says Ms. Cronin in reference to the site of her marble statue, "Memorial to a Marriage" (2002), in the historic Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx and the ephemeral
Ghosts (2013) in Museo Centrale Montemartini in Rome, Italy. Art can be used as a confrontational tool and just how Ms. Cronin makes use of that tool is definitely worth a look.
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"Memorial to a Marriage"
Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY
brooklynrail.org |
Patricia Cronin was appointed a trustee of the American Academy in Rome in January of this year and is the President of the Society of Fellow. She argues that the power of contemporary art in old places gives meaning to the present. Ms. Cronin illustrates her point by placing a white marble Roman marble statue of a human torso and the ephemeral image of one her
Ghosts in front of a black iron and steel electric generator in the 1912 museum. When asked why she situated the pieces in that particular space, the sculptor answered matter-of-factly, "I like time travel."
Ghosts was specifically created for the machine room of the former power plant and now serves as a museum classical sculpture. Mr. Mayes describes Ms. Cronin's work as "...imaginary
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Harriet Hosmer
en.wikipedia.org |
abstractions of the missing sculpture of 19th-century artist Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908), a woman so famous in her day that is supposedly the model in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Marble Faun." Unfortunately, the woman so famous in her time has faded from the history books and her work has gone either missing or unknown.
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| GhostsMuseo Centrale Montemartini, Rome, Italyblog.preservationnation.org |
Ghosts is made with up-to-date contemporary techniques and placed on exhibition among the classical marble sculpture and early twentieth century machinery of the former thermoelectric plant to create what curator Ludovico Pratesi calls, " a powerful dialogue between past and present, between archeology, industry, and of course contemporary art." Frequently, when the subject of contemporary art in old places is broached, critics opine that the art challenges the past. When Mr. Mayes listened to Ms. Cronin discuss her work, he was seized with a different idea-these images challenge the present, or at the very least, our understanding the present. Harriet Hosmer was not lost in the mists of history, she was well-known. Mr. Mayes declares that this exhibit forces the audience to see the a past that had been lost, or at the very least anonymous, and question why this woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne was left to fade from memory. By extension, why were other artists, particularly women and minorities, left behind in the canon of Western art. This is a fascinating question that is being addressed today in universities, galleries, and museums in an effort to correct the past injustices. In this case, the idea of art in old places is becomes a platform for bringing to light the work of artists who have been neglected by those who write the history.
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Ghosts #16 (2007)
pelicanbomb.com |
When Tom Mayes spoke to Patricia Cronin, the sculptor said that for her, "the
Ghosts not only bring Hosmer back to the present, they also bring to life the unnamed workers who built and worked in the power plant and the anonymous carvers of the classical marble statues. It creates not only a dialogue between the classical world and the 20th century, but also between the 19th century and the 21st century, right to the present." Thus, the power of old places, to make the lost, found, known, or alive.
The idea of showcasing the work of artists lost or unknown to history in old places is an interesting idea that perhaps is best explored at much greater length. Tom Mayes seems to grasping a bit in making his argument. Perhaps if he profiled other work in addition to Patricia Cronin's
Ghosts or perhaps gave the readers a broader scope of Ms. Cronin's work, then perhaps, maybe his blog post wouldn't feel so forced. As Ms. Cronin was quoted at the top of this post, "Context is everything," perhaps Mr. Mayes will take that maxim to heart.
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