Summer 2016 Internship Posting
The Artist Archive Project – David Wojnarowicz
The Artist Archive Project at NYU seeks a graduate student intern for the summer of 2016. The intern will perform research on David Wojnarowicz at Fales Library & Special Collections in Bobst Library and elsewhere to develop information regarding curating and conserving his work.
We are looking for a motivated graduate student who is interested in questions surrounding the disposition of contemporary art in museum collections. Experience with archival research and skills in searching bibliographic databases are preferred. The intern will work independently and hold weekly meetings with the supervisors. They will also work closely with a Polonsky Foundation–NYU Digital Humanities intern who will help build a database and web portal, along with Clinical Professor Deena Engel in the Computer Science Department. We anticipate interest from students in Museum Studies (GSAS), the Institute of Fine Arts (IFA), Performance Studies (Tisch), Moving Image Archiving Preservation (Tisch), Archives & Public History (GSAS), Visual Arts Administration (Steinhardt), and the Draper Program, among other NYU graduate programs.
Terms: May – August, 160 Hours @ $18/ Hr (schedule to be arranged with successful applicant). Applicants must be enrolled in a humanities graduate program through the summer of 2016. May 2016 graduates cannot apply. Please send brief statement of research interests, curriculum vitae and a writing sample along with any questions to Glenn Wharton <glenn.wharton@nyu.edu> by April 8, 2016.
Artist Archive Project Description
The Artist Archives Project aims to advance research on information repositories for the display and conservation of contemporary art. The initiative responds to a growing need for museum and archive professionals to work with artists in documenting their production methods, and building knowledge for future treatment and re-activation of their work. The first undertaking of the Artist Archives Project is to create an information resource devoted to the multidisciplinary artist/activist David Wojnarowicz. Project researchers are working in conjunction with curators at the Whitney Museum of American Art who are preparing for a Fall 2016 Wojnarowicz exhibition, along with others familiar with his work. Since the artist is deceased, most of the information comes from archives, publications, and interviews with people who knew and worked with him. The resource will have a soft launch in the fall of 2016, and a full launch in the spring of 2017. The database contains technical and historical information about the artist’s films, video, photography, paintings, drawings, and performance work. The research team creates transcripts from interviews, annotated guides to other resources, and information regarding the challenges of exhibiting and conserving his work. In addition to artist-specific resources, the project aims to stimulate discussion on topics that underlie curating and conserving contemporary art, including authorship, authenticity, and the ethical responsibilities of curators and conservators.
Project Directors
Glenn Wharton, Clinical Associate Professor, Museum Studies
Marvin Taylor, Director of the Fales Library and Special Collections
Technology Research Director
Deena Engel, Clinical Professor, Department of Computer Science
The Center for Humanities at New York University provided the funds for this internship, through a Humanities Initiative Research Collaboration grant.