Class Abstract...
Title: The Harry Brorby Project
Students: Amanda Bennick, Brant Biba, Rachael Corey, Monica Dwyer, Austin Garcia, Stephanie Harron, Mason Hunt, Nancy Laning, Erin Schregardus, Amy Van Dommelen, Sai Wang
Mentor: Dr. Heidi Kraus
Department of Art and Art History
In 2014, sixteen boxes of artist Harry Brorby’s personal documents, drawings, photographs, and ephemera were donated to The De Pree Gallery. A respected West Michigan-based painter, printmaker, and sculptor in the 1960s and 70s (whose work is part of the permanent collections of the Musem of Modern Art in New York City and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to name a few), this project seeks to understand Brorby’s prolific career within the context of Contemporary Art and, moreover, the notion of artistic legacy and collective cultural memory. To this end, students have been divided into five project teams, each focusing on a specific aspect of the archives and its preservation: website creation and content management (Amy Van Dommelen, project manager), organization of archival material (Stephanie Harron, project manager), digitization of archival material (Brant Biba, project manager), contact management and historical reconstruction (Nancy Laning, project manager), and provenance reconstruction (Erin Schregardus, project manager). In addition to this group component, each student is concentrating on a specific aspect of Brorby’s archives that peaks their curiosity—something they would like to personally explore further. Individual research papers and on-line digital portfolios will serve as measurable outcomes for the course.
Students: Amanda Bennick, Brant Biba, Rachael Corey, Monica Dwyer, Austin Garcia, Stephanie Harron, Mason Hunt, Nancy Laning, Erin Schregardus, Amy Van Dommelen, Sai Wang
Mentor: Dr. Heidi Kraus
Department of Art and Art History
In 2014, sixteen boxes of artist Harry Brorby’s personal documents, drawings, photographs, and ephemera were donated to The De Pree Gallery. A respected West Michigan-based painter, printmaker, and sculptor in the 1960s and 70s (whose work is part of the permanent collections of the Musem of Modern Art in New York City and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to name a few), this project seeks to understand Brorby’s prolific career within the context of Contemporary Art and, moreover, the notion of artistic legacy and collective cultural memory. To this end, students have been divided into five project teams, each focusing on a specific aspect of the archives and its preservation: website creation and content management (Amy Van Dommelen, project manager), organization of archival material (Stephanie Harron, project manager), digitization of archival material (Brant Biba, project manager), contact management and historical reconstruction (Nancy Laning, project manager), and provenance reconstruction (Erin Schregardus, project manager). In addition to this group component, each student is concentrating on a specific aspect of Brorby’s archives that peaks their curiosity—something they would like to personally explore further. Individual research papers and on-line digital portfolios will serve as measurable outcomes for the course.