The interns perform every aspect of curating an exhibition, including selecting works of art and theme, researching pieces, writing and editing labels and a brochure, working with the exhibition designer on the display and wall colors and presenting a gallery talk.
This year, the Hood Museum has five student interns, who are all curating installations.
While the installations are traditionally housed in the museum's entry corridor, the current exhibition, "Modern Melancholy," will be shown in the larger Albright Gallery, a main wing of the Hood. The installation, curated by intern Jane Cavalier '14, is on display in an alternative space in order to accommodate a large George Segal sculpture, "Girl on Red Wicker Couch" (1973).
"Every single work in this show is very closely tied to every other one," Cavalier said. "The George Segal sculpture is a point of convergence for all of them."
Having a full gallery space provides a "secluded world of thought" that is beneficial to experiencing the artwork, Cavalier said.
"Rather than having an entrance corridor, which would have been more spread out, the works being centered in the gallery can really speak across to each other," she said.
Cavalier's exhibition is the 76th student installation to be displayed as part of the "Space for Dialogue" program since its founding in 2001. She is the first intern to use an alternative space for the installation, Hood education curator Lesley Wellman said.
The Hood staff hopes to set aside a larger and more distinct, separate gallery space for "A Space for Dialogue" installations when the Hood's expansion is completed, Wellman said. Currently an elevator and passageway cross through the allotted installation space.
Cavalier's installation features six objects, ranging from an assembled media sculpture to photography and paintings.
Cavalier said she was interested in the reception of traditional representations of melancholy, specifically Albrecht Durer's engraving, "Melencolia I" (1514).
"The condition as determined by these interactions is defined by extreme pathological vacillation between different polarities of emotion," she said.
The Hood's recently-acquired photograph by Eileen Neff titled "Here and There" (2012) is the only work in the show that does not conform to the trope of the solitary figure, the traditional way of representing melancholy.
"This entire experience from A to Z has confirmed my interest in curatorial work professionally and art history academically," Cavalier said.
Curatorial intern Katelyn Burgess '13 installed her exhibition, "Beyond Aphrodite: Interpreting Portrayals of Real' Women in Ancient Greece" in early January.
Programming intern Caroline Liegey '13 will display her installation from June 1 to August 9. Her exhibition focuses on historical depictions of the American flag in a wide range of artworks.
Liegey decided on her theme after finding a woman's theatrical costume American flag hat in the Hood's costume collection.
When researching other objects featuring the American flag, she was compelled by how the symbol has been used in a variety of ways, ranging from patriotism to protest. She said that many of the objects also challenged her expectations about how the American flag was used to convey a certain meaning.
"I hope that my installation can remind people when looking at art that sometimes those first impulses about what something means are right, but other times it's necessary to take that step back and take a second look," she said.
Liegey has already selected her objects, written brochures and labels, completed the majority of her research and decided where she plans to hang the art.
The entire process of preparing the exhibition takes around three months.
Gwendolyn Tetirick '13 will display her exhibition from August to September and Jason Curley '13 will show his starting in October.
Hood curator of academic programming Katherine Hart said that each "Space for Dialogue" installation is unique.
"What's remarkable to see is how many different types of A Space for Dialogues' there have been over the years and how they vary according to each student and each student interest," she said.
Wellman said many interns say curating "A Space for Dialogue" exhibition is their favorite and most meaningful aspect of the internship.
"I think they find that because they are given so much freedom and responsibility to really develop their own vision and express it in their own voice," she said.
Cavalier is a former member of The Dartmouth Staff.
