A Walk Through Time in the Archives: Natalie McGrath's intern experience

My mom has reminded me over and over since my early childhood that “life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”  This phenomenon is exactly what brought me from my studies as a biology student at SUNY Geneseo to accidentally discovering my passion for art, moving home to study English literature and studio art at UB, and to finally finding my ideal internship here at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. 

I first visited the museum last winter on my 21^st birthday and was instantly captivated by the Alexander O. Levy exhibition on display.  While taking in the artwork and the museum space I thought to myself, “This would be an amazing place to work.”  By this time I was halfway through my junior year of college, and struggling to decide on a program of choice for graduate school (tied between Fine Art and Art History).  I decided that the best way to figure this out would be to intern at an art museum and to ask my supervisor what the best course of study would be to enter the career field.  The Burchfield-Penney Art Center was an obvious first choice for me, and the application process proved to be smooth and stress-free.  After meeting with my supervisor, the delightful and endlessly cheery Heather Gring, and discussing the many projects I would have the opportunity to work on at the museum, I knew my decision to apply for this internship was one of the best decisions that I’ve made in my college career. 

Since beginning my internship I’ve gotten to know Charles Burchfield on a personal level through his volumes of journal entries, which I have been given the responsibility of transcribing for the museum’s website.  As an English and art student I’m impressed by Burchfield’s writing because he uses such compelling and lyrical language to communicate the highs and lows of his daily life, and to describe the nature which inspired his watercolor paintings. 

Secondly, I’ve had a look at the technical side of the art museum and the extensive amount of work that goes into assembling an exhibition, and the planning required to create a memorable experience for the public.  My fellow interns and I were given a lesson in art handling so that we could hang the artwork for a new exhibition, the Artist’s Legacy, in the hallway leading to the archives.  I’ve also been instructed on how to photograph artwork with professional equipment (thank you Tullis!), an invaluable skill to have as a studio artist, and will be photographing my own portfolio of work for my graduate school applications.

Lastly, as the main project of my internship, I’ve been responsible for populating the museum’s website with images of artwork and artist profiles by linking them to past exhibition records in the Burchfield Penney’s custom CMS system.  I’ve been able to explore exhibition records dating all the way back to the 1960’s, and have acquired an even greater appreciation for the immense artistic talent that has existed and continues to thrive in the Western New York region.  These are a few of my favorite exhibitions from the project:

• THE SITES OF A CITY: CHARLES BURCHFIELD’S BUFFALO, September 3-October 31, 1976

• CONSIDERING THE METAPHYSICAL: AN EXHIBITION OF WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION, July 17–October 17, 1999

• VESSELS, March 25–July 16, 2000

• DECOMPOSITIONS, September 9–November 5, 2000

• SELECTED RECENT ACQUISITIONS, 2000, February 17–April 15, 2001

• THE POETICS OF PLACE: CHARLES BURCHFIELD AND THE CLEVELAND CONNECTION, February 17–April 22, 2001

•  NOVEMBER STORM, December 9, 2001–March 24, 2002

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center’s commitment to supporting Buffalo’s art community and celebrating regional artists drew me to this internship, and I am incredibly grateful for having the opportunity to share in this mission.  I am so thankful for Heather who has answered my many questions about how to proceed with my education and career, for providing numerous learning experiences within the museum, and for being an unending source of enthusiasm and encouragement.  Her extensive knowledge of the museum’s exhibition history and of the artists who have worked in the area never ceases to amaze me! It has truly been a joy to contribute to the museum and to spend my summer working at my favorite site in the city.