MJJ Amber Nykerk
How do the projects that she's done engage experience and imagination?
As a curator, I thought that Mary Jane Jacob was really involved in some really interesting installation projects. All of her projects that she is involved with bring together art and life and its all about being natural. Along with that, the projects engage the audience to bring their own view to the artwork. They are made in such a way that it allows the audience to have their past experiences possibly relate to the artwork or it allows their imagination to come up with its own answer to the artwork. One of her main goals is to have the artwork create a safe place for the public to view the work and come up with their own answers about it, or even go through a lifechanging experience because of it.
What does she do in her role as curator to construct and amplify the experience and cultural impact of the works?
Most of the works that she curated relate to things in the past or even things in the future. For example, one of the projects that she's been a part of was just an old door that they set up in a vacant lot. The point of it was to get people to think about the past and what was there before. Her works try to get audiences to have more of a mutual relationship with the public art and try to get them to have an idea about the piece. The audience is free to not have answers and possibly come up with conflicting discussions. Its just her way to have art have a more fulfilling place in the community. Not only does the artwork make an audience think about their past experiences of things in the future, but her works also relate to culture alot of the time. Most of the works that she showed us had to do with African American culture and in that way it kind of brings together a community. It allows people to look at the art and remember their ancestors or even learn more about how a culture was at one point in history. Its Mary Jane Jacob's way of amplifying the experiences and culture of the work.
How is this relevant outside of art?
Most of these works go back to the community. The artwork brings together different ideas from people in the community and allows the public to come into a discussion. On another note, like I've mentioned before, it allows people to think of past experiences and things that have happened to them which is something completely unrelated to art itself.
by
Amber Nykerk
Link to this Page
