The night I introduced my favorite artist to Skidmore
The acclaimed artist Trenton Doyle Hancock delivered the sixth-annual Winter/Miller 讲座 at the 唐氏教学博物馆, and true to his experimental approach to art-making he turned his talk into an unexpected performance. Instead of speaking about his biography, influences, and exhibition history, he showed images of his 工作 and announced their 标题一个接一个:在我的头顶上我听到音乐.” “是谁??” “随机的无赖.” “The Don’t Forget Me Again Face.” His career survey of 165 images became a form of poetry. 我被震撼了.
No one knew he was going to do that. Hancock himself said it was an experiment. It 是一种风险. That’s exactly why I wanted to bring him to campus. 随着 2022-23 Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 Intern at the Tang, I have the privilege of selecting an artist and introducing them to the community. It has been one of the highlights of my Skidmore career.
奈玛23夜 introduces Trenton Doyle Hancock at the sixth-annual Winter/Miller 讲座. (图片来源:肖恩LaChapelle)
Hancock is best known for art工作 that tells the ongoing story of the peaceful, forest-dwelling Mounds, the evil antagonists Vegans, and Torpedo Boy, a superhero protector of the Mounds and the artist’s alter ego. In the past, Hancock has focused his lectures on 这个故事. Through his innovative performance he reinvented the artist-talk narrative, shifting the way his audience engaged with him and bringing a new curiosity to his 工作.
The audience asked great questions, due, in part, to the open-endedness and experimental 演讲的性质. People asked about identity, belief, influences, representation, audience, and the artistic process. In response to a question about his titles, Hancock said: “I have to find something that is where the language is reaching in a way and is beckoning you to complete this equation of picture, language, and something else that’s emotional or spiritual, that’s that space for the viewer to come in and complete 这篇文章.”
Hancock’s generosity in making space for viewers is one of the many reasons why I’ve been fascinated with his 工作 ever since I saw his epic career-spanning survey “Mind of the Mound: Critical Mass” at Mass MoCA in 2019. Sharing my fascination with a roomful of people was a wonderful experience.
Trenton Doyle Hancock delivers the 2023 Winter/Miller 讲座 at the Tang. (照片: 肖恩LaChapelle)
I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity. It allowed me to test my skills as a 业务 主要和 艺术历史 小. When I interviewed for the internship more than a year ago, I said I wanted 邀请汉考克. Once he accepted, I 工作ed on drafting a news release and my introduction, both of which tapped into things I’ve learned about research, marketing, writing, 以及公开演讲.
I am so grateful to the Winter and Miller families for making this event possible, to the staff at the Tang for showing me how to put my ideas into practice, and, of course, to Trenton Doyle Hancock for making the trip all the way from Houston.
As this year’s Winter Intern, I am one of many students who get to have extraordinary 在唐的工作经历. The museum has three other named internships, plus paid internships in all areas of the museum, as well as a 学生谘询委员会 made up of volunteers who act as ambassadors for the museum and help program events.
The Winter/Miller 讲座 is made possible through a generous gift from the family 埃莉诺·林德·温特43年的照片. Past Winter/Miller 讲座s have featured 妮可·埃森曼 (2018), 克里斯器皿 (2019), Wangechi穆图 (2020), 尼克洞 (2021)和 朱莉安娜赫 (2022).
了解更多有关 唐氏教学博物馆 and Art Gallery.