Statement of Interest a la Grad Schools

1-8-2012

Veronica Black

Statement of Interest

The summer of 2010 I visited my grandmother in Houston, Texas. Toward the end of that two week trip I had an opportunity to to rush over and visit the Museum of Fine Art Houston. I have always enjoyed exploring new museums or revisiting old ones whenever I travel. For me this new museum was filled with exhibits from 5th century burial masks to American contemporary art. With such artists as my hero Willem Van Aelst, his epic still lifes, and introducing me to contemporary artists like Jasper John, I roamed each wing of the museum and began to realize I was studying not just art work but the museum itself--how the exhibits where laid out, the flow of visitors, the design and color for each gallery--until I came across the Art of Asia exhibit. Weaving through the pillars that Hindu gods stood on, I wondered what their stories were when I came across a monitor. The touch screen, with built in Adobe Flash, was a simple interactive explaining the stories behind each of the Hindu gods. The interactive was bright, easy to navigate, and entertaining. It was perfect for all ages except that the touch screen was installed on the wall in a far off corner four feet from the floor--to high and out of the way for the younger museum visitors that this interactive was clearly designed for. That was the moment I realized I wanted to go to graduate school, so I can advance my education to be able to work in a cultural institution creating and installing technology that would help enrich the visitors experience. "I could design and install this interactive much better" was my mantra for the rest of my museum visit .  

When that summer ended I started my last year as a undergraduate at New Mexico Highlands University’s (NMHU) Media Arts Program, I have experienced an education both in and outside the classroom. My BFA in digital filmmaking, and my studio arts minor, have given me the foundation for creating professional and creative art. I have built upon my educational foundation with professional internships with SITE Santa Fe—a contemporary art space—the Department of Cultural Affairs of New Mexico, and the Marion Koshland Science Museums, Washington, DC, producing pieces ranging from oral history documentaries, to e-publishing children’s books, and virtual tours for the web.

In my five years at NMHU I have worked with local museums on such projects like SITE Santa Fe’s seventh biennial exhibit, “Lucky #7”—one of my first videography projects—made me part of a documentary film team comprised of students from three universities around Santa Fe. The biennial was curated by Lance Fung and focused on collaboration. Together we created a web based-only archive of the eighteen international and local artist works. Capturing the beginning process, the construction of the art, and the final installation of work in the contemporary art space through my camera lens was a wonderful way to experience how exhibitions are created. 

In 2008, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Program for Interactive Culture Technology (PICT). Within the program I worked with the New Mexico History Museum to create a short video as well as interactive pieces for the “Fashioning New Mexico” exhibit. I took ownership of shooting and editing a video that documented the process the textile conservator took to prepare the clothing for the exhibition. This video has also been displayed at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM, and the Mesa Public Library in Las Alamos, NM. I saw this project through to the end, developing the style of the video, the photography, and music of the piece. I finished with installing the sound system and monitor in the exhibition space.

This past summer I entered the professional field immediately after graduation through the alliance of AmeriCorps, the Center for Cultural Technology (CCT), the Media Arts Program at NMHU, and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Through AmeriCorps I started work for SITE Santa Fe as their summer External Affairs assistant. Through out the summer I worked on organizing and formating press images, cataloging press images and press clips, and assisting in documenting public events, getting a taste for the logistics side of museum life.

When I started researching MFA programs that had a museum connection, one of the first schools I came across was Parsons. The variety of fields in the Design and Technology program was an immediate draw. I knew I wanted to end up working for museums but how to go about it was still unclear. Having worked on many different kind of projects outside school, I feel I have much to offer in whichever path I take. I have a passion for filmmaking but skills in designing logos and layout, creating and building websites, and most recently working on mobile applications.  The design and technology program will offer me an opportunity to develop all my skills, without having to narrow down to just a few. And in the end I will be a much better employee at no matter what museum I end up.

All of my experiences have centered around museums in a positive way. I have seen how my work has helped to tell others' stories, captured a moment that was almost forgotten, or given someone an idea of what awaits them before they visit the museum. These experiences and the pleasure that come from them have secured the path I hope to tread. 

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This letter was for Parsons college in New York, NY.

Enjoy!