Above: 2010 Williamson Gallery summer interns

(l to r): Milan Reed, Amanda Kang, McKenzie Floyd, Aleedra Price and Kathryn Hunt. (Milan, Amanda and Aleedra were Getty interns; McKenzie and Kathryn were Wilson interns.)

Please note that we have filled our internship positions for this summer, but please return to this website next March for more summer internships.

GETTY MULTICULTURAL SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

For the twenty-first consecutive year, in 2013, the Williamson Gallery has hired three paid, full-time, ten-week summer multicultural interns sponsored by the Getty Grant Program. According to the Getty guidelines, these internships are “intended for members of groups underrepresented in the professions related to museums and the visual arts, particularly individuals of African American, Asian, Latino-Hispanic, and Pacific Islander descent.”  The requirements for the 2013 summer internships are as follows:

Requirements: Candidates must be currently enrolled undergraduate students and have completed at least one semester of college by June 2013, or will complete their undergraduate degree by September 1, 2013; be a resident of or attend college in Los Angeles County; and be a United States citizen or a permanent resident.

Students who have already served as Getty interns at Scripps are not eligible.

Stipend: Each intern will receive a stipend of $3,500 for 10 weeks, (approximately from June 10 – August 16, 2013). The stipend reflects gross salary; taxes will be taken out. Interns are subject to Scripps College’s hiring and payroll procedures.

1. The COLLECTIONS/CONSERVATION INTERN will inventory prints and photographs in the Scripps permanent collection; photograph Japanese prints recently gifted to Scripps; format scanned photographs of Kogyo prints for the database and write condition reports for selected works, among other tasks. The intern, who will be trained in some of the functions of the Embark system, will update locations of works in the collection for the online database. In addition, the intern will clean and conserve bronze statuary on campus (the intern will be receive training in bronze cleaning). The project includes writing detailed condition reports of works, digitally photographing them and working with a professional objects conservator to clean and wax the works.

2. The CURATORIAL INTERN will assist in organizing an exhibition of selected works by painter and former Scripps faculty member Phil Dike, who was one of the leaders of the Southern California watercolor movement, which will be presented in September – October 2013. Among other tasks, the intern will research and write about works in the exhibition, draft a press release, and help install the works.

3. The VISUAL RESOURCES INTERN will help with the digitization of slides into the online database of visual arts resources used for teaching at Scripps and in the Joint Art History Program at the Claremont Colleges. The intern, who will be trained in some of the functions of the Embark system by Visual Resources Curator John Trendler, will photograph, scan, and optimize slides as well as work on social media for the gallery.

How to Apply: Send the following to Mary MacNaughton, Director, Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Box 2012, 1030 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, California 91711 or email to mmacnaug@scrippscollege.edu:

1. a cover letter describing the academic and work experience that qualify you for the internship;

2. a completed application;

3. a resume; an up-to-date transcript (official transcript not necessary);

4. names and phone numbers of 3 references;

5. a writing sample of about 1,000 words.

For more information, call Jennifer Anderson at (909) 607-4690 or e-mail janderso@scrippscollege.edu or csalomon@scrippscollege.edu.

WILSON INTERNSHIPS IN ARTS ADMINISTRATION AND ART CONSERVATION

Duties: Work on grants and other writing-oriented assignments, projects related to art conservation, and administrative tasks. Strong organizational and writing skills a must.

Stipend: Each intern will receive a stipend of $3,500. The stipend reflects gross salary; taxes will be taken out. Interns are subject to Scripps College’s hiring and payroll procedures.

Qualifications: Open to sophomore, junior and senior Scripps students.

Requirements:

• Must submit a written report before completion of the internship.

• Must be able to devote 40 hours a week over a ten-week period.

• Must have a GPA of 3.0 or above.

• Must have taken courses in studio art and art history. For conservation, chemistry courses are required.

There is no application form.  If you are interested in applying for the summer of 2013, please send Mary MacNaughton, director, Williamson Gallery, Baxter Hall, Scripps College, the following items:

1. a transcript (unofficial is acceptable);

2. a resume;

3. names and phone numbers of 3 references;

4. a cover letter describing the academic and work experience that qualifies you for the internship;

5. a writing sample of approximately 1,000 words (taken from classwork, if possible for a class in art history).

For more information, call Jenn Anderson at (909) 607-4690 or send an e-mail to janderso@scrippscollege.edu. For further information regarding the academic year internships, you may also contact Career Counselor Valinda Lee.

TURK INTERNSHIPS

Through the generosity of Elizabeth Robbins Turk ’83, one Scripps student has been hired and will receive $10 an hour to work at a museum or art-centered organization other than the Williamson Gallery. The internship is designed to give a Scripps student exposure to and experience in the field of art conservation. The funds are considered taxable income.

What the Internship Encompasses:

Qualifications: Open to sophomore, junior and senior Scripps students.

Requirements:

• Must submit a written report before completion of the internship.

• Must be able to devote 40 hours a week over a ten-week period.

• Must have a GPA of 3.0 or above.

• Must have taken courses in studio art, art history, and chemistry.

There is no application form.  Please send Mary MacNaughton, director, Williamson Gallery, Baxter Hall, Scripps College, the following items:

1. a transcript (unofficial is acceptable);

2. a resume;

3. names and phone numbers of 3 references;

4. a cover letter describing the academic and work experience that qualifies you for the internship;

5. a writing sample of approximately 1,000 words (taken from classwork, if possible for a class in art history).

For more information, call Jenn Anderson at (909) 607-4690 or send an e-mail to janderso@scrippscollege.edu. For more information, call Mary MacNaughton at (909) 607-3517. For further information regarding the academic year internships, you may also contact Career Counselor Valinda Lee.

Anger, passion, love, power: all words associated with the color red. Across time and culture, red has played an influential role in art. The Ruth Chandler Williamson Wilson and Turk interns present ­­ Searching for the Perfect Red: Selections from the Scripps College Collections, an exhibition showcasing work from around the globe that radiate the color red.  The exhibition, on view from April 1^st through April 11^th, 2013, illuminates the use of the color red in textiles, ceramics, and prints.

The opening reception, which will feature live music and light refreshments, will be held on April 2, 2013, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gallery 112, in the Lang Art Building at Scripps College, located at 250 E. 12^th St., between Columbia and Dartmouth avenues.

The exhibition will feature an array of 19^th century Japanese colored ink woodblock prints by Yoshu Chikanobu and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 19^th and 20^th century Chinese and Panamanian textiles as well as contemporary ceramic sculptures by Victor Spinski, Anne Scott Plummer, and Katherine Besley. The 2012–2013 academic-year Wilson and Turk interns curated the exhibition by drawing from the extensive international art holdings in the Scripps College permanent collection.

The exhibition explores the importance and power of the color red and its changing meanings in art. The brilliant pigment has been in high demand for thousands of years. Carmine, safflower, cinnabar, and synthetic reds have all made their mark in different cultures throughout time. From the blood of the kermes and cochineal insects used to dye cloth in the 16^th century to the cinnabar powder used in Chinese art and Indian ceremonies, to present-day food coloring, red is a constant in our lives and continues to be laden with potent symbolism.

For more information on the exhibition, please contact the Williamson Gallery at (909) 607-3397.

Image: Victor Spinski, Glazing a Teapot Red, 2003, ceramic earthenware, 13 ¾ x 17 ¼  x 15 ½ in., Scripps College, Claremont, CA

SCC members voted to add many artworks, among them, Martha Graham, Letter to the World, The Kick, to the Scripps collection.

Ceramics, photography, Japanese paintings, artists’ books: A treasury of works awaited the members of the Scripps Collectors’ Circle at their recent annual gathering. Members had arrived to choose from these works for inclusion in the Scripps collection, which is used for teaching purposes both inside and outside of the classroom. The College has never had an art acquisition fund, and no tuition monies have ever been spent on art. While understandable, this practice has unfortunately left incomplete areas in the collections, hindering their function as a complement to the curriculum. Thus, the SCC was formed, with the mission of enhancing the collection.

However, this was no austere conclave, complete with copies of Robert’s Rules of Order and the clattering of gavels. In keeping with the intention of bringing the Scripps sense of  style to every element of the evening, SCC event organizers Mary Weis, Eric Haskell and Mary MacNaughton arranged to have some of the most beautiful settings at Scripps opened to the group, starting with the Garrison Performing Arts Center, where works up for consideration were on display. Members enjoyed tea and a leisurely viewing of the works before gathering in Boone Recital Hall for talks on the artwork by students. Mary MacNaughton introduced each of the presenters, many of whom were Scripps students majoring in Art History, Art Conservation or Studio Art. Every speaker went far beyond simply explaining the value of “her” work to the Scripps collection, energetically inviting members to join her in recognizing its merits, and building well conceived arguments in favor of the purchase of the piece.

Afterwards, members took a short, moonlit walk to Revelle House, the home of the President. There, members socialized at a drinks party that included a trio performing selections from the American Songbook. The party featured a signature libation, the “Shakespeare’s Relief” – a whimsical comment on a conservation project close to the hearts of many alumni: the restoration of the Shakespeare reliefs on the Scripps campus.

Shakespearean themes emerged again at the candlelit dinner that followed, shortly after President Lori Bettison-Varga opened the event with a warm welcome to all. Two actors appeared, giving a humorous interpretation of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. With that, voting commenced. Moderated by Eric Haskell, members marked ballots for their favorite works, often conferring with others during the breaks between rounds to lobby for the works they most wanted included in the collection.

This year, the event was underwritten through the generosity of Francine and Bill Baker, Brent and Susan Maire, and Carol Vernon and Robert Turbin, thereby ensuring that all membership fees were used exclusively toward the purchase of works. As the evening progressed and funds began to run low, Jane (SCR ’64) and Michael Wilson surprised the group by offering to match funds after the initial membership fees had been spent. The members responded with enthusiasm. Linda Davis Taylor, Chair of the Board of Trustees, gave the closing comments, observing that the Wilsons’ gesture and the members’ response ended the evening on a high note. Not only were the conservation projects for Seal Pond and the Shakespeare reliefs given support, but every piece submitted for inclusion was purchased, enriching the Scripps collection with an abundance of works that will greatly enhance the collection, and the education of our students.

The following works were purchased through the generosity of the Scripps Collectors’ Circle:

ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS

JAPANESE  18^TH CENTURY ALBUM, Tale of Genji , Unsigned, Tosa School Style,  Japanese, 18^th c.

KUSAKABE KINBEI, Photo album of Japan Life, c. 1900, 50 images

BOOK ART

The Little River by Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Michael Kuch.

The Lost Journals of Sacajewea, Debra Magpie Earling; illustrated by Peter Rutledge Koch

CERAMICS  

SUSAN BEINER, Urban Heap, 2011, porcelain, wood, kanthol wire, foam, thread, acrylic rod, rubber, 18 x 23 x 16

DAVID FURMAN, Atrapado Sin Salida, 1986, low-fire clay, underglaze, 16.5 x 11.5 x 14.5

STEVE HEINEMANN, Slipper, 2012, earthenware, multiple firings, 17 x 5 x 4

CONSERVATION  

JOHN GREGORY, Shakespeare Relief, The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet, c. 1932, plaster of paris

SEAL COURT MOSAIC PROJECT 

PAINTINGS AND WORKS ON PAPER  

ROMARE BEARDEN, Falling Star, 1980, lithograph 79/125

PHILIP LATIMER DIKE , Untitled, park in France, 1931, watercolor on paper

PHOTOGRAPHY  

BARBARA MORGAN, Martha Graham, Letter to the World, The Kick, 1940, printed circa 1986, gelatin silver print, 9 3/8 x 12 7/8 inches on 11 x 14 sheet

DOROTHEA LANGE, Squatters along highway near Bakersfield, CA. Penniless refugees from the Dust bowl. 1935, vintage silver print, 7 5/8 x 7 5/8 in.

LUCIENNE BLOCH, Frida in front of the Unfinished Unity Panel, New Worker’s School, New York, 1933, silver gelatin print on paper, 11 3/8 x 7 7/8

Image:  Barbara Morgan, Martha Graham, Letter to the World, The Kick, 1940, printed circa 1986, Gelatin silver print, 9 3/8 x 12 7/8 inches on 11 x 14 sheet

Her love of Italian painting and her long sojourn in the Mediterranean world, as well as an alertness to the possibility of luring magic from the most commonplace of things, are reflected in her work. Fragments of Duccio and Simone Martini share a place with an ancient egg once held by an Etruscan sarcophagus figure seen in the cool frescoed tombs of Tarquinia. They appear again in one of her paintings poised on a floating glacial cube. The heliodon, which is a farmer’s instrument used for charting the sun’s path on his land, is placed in juxtaposition with a child’s marbles. They become planets in a celestial space. The images, the heliodon, the lily, something of the Madonna, the hard cut shadow’s edge and other signs, some of darkness—these are evidence of an extraordinary spiritual sensibility, yielding to visual phenomenon with vivid freshness and originality.

The images she has claimed from the masterworks reside among the artifacts of her most private experiences. They are measured with care, painted in lean clarity and offered with a trust that only the most honest among us can afford.

Special Lectures with the Williamson

Art conservation, mongol palaces, haute couture – as part of the Tuesday Noon Academy for 2012-2013, the Williamson Gallery of Scripps College brings an exciting array of lectures to an end for the year. Come join us for the final lecture:

  From Vivienne Westwood to Jean Paul Gaultier:  

Fashion and the Museum

Lillian Bassman
Golden Fox, Blue Fox, Marilyn Ambrose, Harper’s Bazaar, [Boa by Frederica], 1954
Gelatin Silver Print
11 in. x 14 in.
Scripps College, Claremont, CA

Speaker: Jill d’Alessandro, curator of costumes and textile arts, de Young Museum, San Francisco

Image: Frieda Dean, Moss #6, (detail), 2012, porcelain, powder-coated steel and slate, high-fired bisque, multiple firings, 54 x 14 x 14 (Photo by Andreas Salomon)

The Scripps College Ceramic Annual–the longest-running exhibition of contemporary ceramics in the United States–opened for its 69th consecutive year on Saturday, January 26, 2013.  Titled Denatured Nature, this Ceramic Annual highlights work from emerging artists as well as celebrated masters in the field of ceramics. The opening reception, with live music and light refreshments, was held on from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Williamson Gallery. Live music from The Skylarks, Tommy’s Hamburgers and lots of visitors combined to make a fun and memorable evening. On that same day, from 4 to 5 p.m., curator Virginia Scotchie gave an opening lecture on the exhibition to a full house in the Scripps College Humanities Auditorium.

The Ceramic Annual has historically been an “artist’s choice” exhibition, in which a leading ceramic artist personally selects the works presented. This year’s guest curator, Virginia Scotchie, is a professor of art and the head of ceramics at the University of South Carolina. Scotchie is an artist as well as an educator, whose work can be found in numerous public collections, including Alfred University, Alfred, New York; Asheville Museum of Art, North Carolina; Kruithuis Museum, s’Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands; and the Yingee Ceramic Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.

The concept behind her current exhibition comes from the field of science. Scotchie took the scientific term, denature, meaning to remove or diminish the original properties of a protein, and sought artists who alter objects via a variety of techniques—including misdirection and irony— to participate in the exhibition. Scotchie explained: “Denatured Nature is an exhibition that presents ceramic artists who enlist the use of change to explore the natural qualities of familiar objects.” Those artists include: Frieda Dean, Alexandra Hibbitt, Richard Hirsch, Priscilla Hollingsworth, Bri Kinard, Rebecca Manson, Jon McMillan, Jeffrey Mongrain, Kate Roberts, and Adam Shiverdecker.

The exhibition and catalog are generously supported by our sponsors: Bill and Francine Baker; Kirk Delman; David Furman; Sonny and Gloria Kamm; Susan and Brent Maire; Ginger and Marlin Miller; John Regan; Skutt Ceramic Products, Inc.; The Paul Soldner Endowment; The Joan and David Lincoln Endowment; and the Pasadena Arts Alliance.

The exhibition continues through Sunday, April 7.The Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery is located at Eleventh Street and Columbia Avenue. During exhibitions, the gallery is open to the public, free of charge, Wednesday through Sunday, from 1–5 p.m. For more information, please contact the gallery at (909) 607-3397.

Visitors view Priscilla Hollingsworth’s “Game Pieces.”

The Skylarks sang for the crowd all evening long.

 John Mason and friends at the opening.

Visitors came to look at works, chat, and enjoy the evening.

Visitor with Rick Hirsch’s work, Crucible #11.

Photos by Andreas Salomon

Williamson 2012 summer interns, l to r: Wilson Intern Sophia Forman, Getty Intern Lauren Thomas, Wilson Intern Gretchen Allen, and Getty interns Tara Contractor and Calyx Gaston

In 2012, for the twentieth consecutive year, the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery of Scripps College welcomed three interns funded by the Getty Foundation through its Multicultural Undergraduate Internship Program. The Williamson has participated in the program since the founding of the gallery in 1993, the same year the program was launched. This summer the Getty is sponsoring 115 positions at 73 organizations throughout Los Angeles County.

Initiated in the wake of Los Angeles’ civil unrest in 1992, the Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Internship Program seeks to increase diversity within the staffs of museums and visual arts organizations by offering paid internships to students of diverse backgrounds who either live or attend college in Los Angeles County. At Scripps, that mission is carried out in a variety of ways. Interns work on projects connected directly to the college’s large collections, involving intensive hands-on interaction with the artworks themselves. They research pieces and write about them for publication. Interns also assist in every aspect of creating an exhibition, from the choice of works to the actual installation of the pieces.

In addition, interns meet professionals in the field. They take frequent field trips to the art meccas of Los Angeles, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Getty Villa, the Autry, the UCLA Hammer Museum of Art, as well as diverse galleries. On these forays, and at the Williamson, the interns interview curators, art historians, arts administrators, art conservationists, and gallerists. They also get to know other interns in the program, allowing them to network, assist and support one another. Interns find the experience broadens their view of what the field has to offer.

“Only three weeks into my Getty internship with the Williamson Gallery, and my notions of the art world have vastly expanded already. I find myself energized on a daily basis by what we’re learning and the projects we’re contributing to,” said Lauren Thomas, visual resource intern for the gallery.

These internships have been decisive in assisting students in finding their own professional paths within the world of art conservation and administration. Over the years, interns at the Williamson have successfully pursued careers as arts administrators, art conservators, art historians, curators, and gallerists.

“Many Scripps alumnae are leaders in the visual arts. We are pleased to participate in the Getty Multicultural Internship program as well as in the Wilson and Turk internship programs, which are all helping to train the next generation of arts leaders,” commented director Mary MacNaughton.

More information about the Williamson Gallery’s internship programs can be found at: rcwg.scrippscollege.edu/internships

 Wilson interns Kaela Nurmi and Shaina Raskin clean a La Semeuse medallion on the Scripps campus.

Academic Year Internships

Wilson and Turk Internships

Through the generosity of Jane Hurley Wilson ’64 and Michael Wilson and Elizabeth Robbins Turk ’83,  Scripps students  receive training in arts administration and art conservation as interns at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery.  The internships  correspond with the academic year. The Turk internship is  designed to give a Scripps student exposure to and experience in the field of art conservation, while the Wilson internship is geared  toward giving the intern experience in curatorial duties and museum administration. The funds students receive from the internships are considered taxable income.

What the Internship Encompasses:
• Each week during the school year,  (excluding holidays), each of the students devotes eight hours a week to the internship, schedule to be determined.

• The Wilson intern’s duties include doing research on photographs, prints and paintings in the permanent collection, assisting with the conservation of sculptural and ceramic works, and writing grants and press releases. Strong organizational and writing skills a must.

• The Turk intern’s duties include doing research on works in the permanent collection and assisting with the conservation of sculptural and ceramic works in the Scripps permanent collection. At times the intern will work with a conservator at Scripps and in Los Angeles. Chemistry courses and writing skills a must.

Requirements
• Open to sophomore, junior and senior Scripps students.
• Must submit a written report before completion of the internship.
• Must be able to devote 8 hours a week.
• Must have a GPA of 3.0 or above.
• Must have taken courses in studio art, art history, and chemistry.

For more information, call Mary MacNaughton at (909) 607-3517. For further information regardingthe academic year internships, you may also contact Career Counselor Valinda Lee.

Ken Gonzales-Day
Run Up, 2002
40 x 50 inches, chromogenic print

Depicting rolling green hills under a bright California sky, About a hundred yards from the roadseems to portray California at its finest. A contorted leafless tree in the foreground,

however, hints that this image is more than an innocent pastoral. In Run Up, a moodier image in darker tones, a similar strategy is at work. A picturesque, gnarled tree fills the composition, with the lacy patterns of its branches silhouetted against a pale, overcast sky. Covered in a variety of textures—soft dark green moss, craggy sea-foam lichens, and wispy Spanish mosses—the tree’s aged surface seems to captivatingly recall an idea of time beyond the human scale. This tree, however, has a hateful tie to human history.

Indeed Run Up and About a hundred yards from the road are both photographs from Ken Gonzales-Day’s Searching for California’s Hang Trees series, part of the artist’s extensive work on the history of lynching in California, which also includes his photographic series, Erased Lynchings, and his book, Lynching in the West: 1850–1935. These projects share a common goal: complicating the viewer’s understanding of the history of racial violence in America. While the history of lynching in the Deep South is a widely acknowledged atrocity, Gonzales-Day’s work seeks to bring attention to mob violence against Latinos, Native Americans, and Chinese immigrants in the West; a side of history which, when recognized at all, has often been swept up into a romanticized vision of frontier law in the Wild West. For this series, Gonzales-Day traveled throughout California, attempting to find and photograph former lynching sites—research that also resulted in the self-guided lynching tour of Los Angeles Gonzales-Day offers on his website. The images in the Hang Trees series, depicting beautiful landscapes made horrific by their history, subvert the conventions of Californian landscape photography that depicted the state as a natural paradise. In the words of the artist, “”.”[1] Ultimately, the Searching for California’s Hang Trees series juxtaposes the viewer’s initial positive perceptions of a scene against deeper horror, highlighting the way that mainstream history has erased the full story of racial tension in America.

Tara Contractor ’13

Ken Gonzales-Day
About a hundred yards from the road, 2002
40 x 50 inches, chromogenic print