Saturday, February 27, 2010

Remember: Exploring the Jinks Room's past

The intervention entitled “remember” explores the relationship between artwork and viewer, as well as the ways in which the changing interpretation of an artwork throughout time manifests the evolution of an individual and of a generation. For this intervention, I explored the history of the Jinks Room murals as told through the eyes of the viewers that have been a part of that history. Six interviews with alumni and faculty of the Anoakia School tell the story through a short video documentary (filmed by Grace Talice Lee). 

Before arriving at the USC Fisher Museum of Art, Maynard Dixon’s Jinks Room was housed at the Anoakia Mansion in Arcadia, California (pictured below).  The mansion once served as a lush pad for Anita Baldwin and her entourage, but was later converted into an all-girls boarding school and then a co-ed day school in the latter half of the 20th century.  Our interviewees are all associated with Anoakia, whether they themselves are alumni whom attended music lessons in the Jinks room, school librarians and staff members searching for an escape from their daily routine, or a young boy encountering the murals for his first time.

The meaning and reception of artworks evolve over the course of time and with changing contexts of display. To fully understand a work of art, it is important to realize that its original location, maker, and viewers cannot tell the entire story. Rather, we must research other places, other people, and other rooms to truly understand a work’s history, significance, and long-term impact upon our society.  More to come on days one and two of filming in the near future – stay posted!