Citizen curators help Arthur Ross Gallery celebrate 35 years

For its 35th anniversary, the University of Pennsylvania’s Arthur Ross Gallery let the public curate the celebratory exhibit. Staff posted 125 items chosen from Penn’s art collection and invited all comers to choose one and tell why. The 50 top vote-getters comprise Citizen Salon, now on view at Ross and online.

600 curators

Gallery visitors can read voters’ comments and hear some respondents on an audio guide. “Usually interpretation is in the authoritative institutional voice,” says Heather Gibson Moqtaderi, Ross assistant director and associate curator. “These gallery labels include the voice of those we’re calling our ‘citizen curators.’”

“We wanted to bring the digital project to people who might not get here otherwise,” Moqtaderi says, adding that Ross staff cast a wide net for input, publicizing the project through Penn listservs, local arts and culture organizations, the West Philadelphia community, Free Library of Philadelphia branches, coffeeshops, and anywhere they happened to be. “Toward the end I got some people in a restaurant,” she recalls with a laugh.

Between May and September, 600 individuals voted. “Participants weren’t necessarily part of the art community,” Moqtaderi explains, “but had an open mind to being inspired by art.” She expected well-known artists to garner support, and they did — lithographs by Henri Matisse (Etudes pour la Vierge, Tête voilée, 1950-51) and Man Ray (Julie, 1970) both made the cut — but participants also delivered a “wonderful surprise,” including nuanced works by more obscure artists.

Citizen surprises

Those include Mabel Dwight’s lithograph Night Workers (1931), depicting a cityscape as the moon rises. In a garret, there’s a worker at a drafting table in a pool of light. Of the work, Amanda Bloomfield wrote, “I love the feeling of this print — the mood, the windowed top floor that I imagine could be a studio, and the lone water tower. The image is mysterious and makes me a bit melancholy.”

Also chosen was self-taught Ecuadorian artist Humberto Chugchilan’s mythic scene of a woman on the back of a winged man (Untitled, 20th century). They soar over mountains, patchwork fields, and a flock of sheep. Acknowledging many possible interpretations, voter Johnny Irizarri concluded that the “meaning of the work is not necessarily important.”

Personal connections

Clayton Pond’s vibrant serigraph The Bathroom in my Studio on Broome (1968) resonated with Sarah Mezzino, who remembered coping with a tiny lavatory: “The sink and toilet were strategically placed at opposite corners of the tub. To access either, you had to shimmy along the exposed brick wall or step into the tub. The sink prevented the door from fully closing.”

Of Alison Van Pelt’s oil One Bird No. 2 (1999), Clara McCartney wrote, “This piece reminds me of how fast and delicate life can be… The bird is there, yet blurry and fleeting.” This is one of several works in Citizen Salon that underscore the value of seeing art in person — the large scale of the work communicates a breathtaking sensation of flight that does not translate to the digitized version.

Citizen Salon voters frequently expressed dismay at having to choose just one work, so Ross has reopened voting. Though new balloting won’t affect the exhibit’s composition, Moqtaderi says responses will guide planning for future exhibitions.

Citizen Salon runs through March 24, 2019 at Arthur Ross Gallery (220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia). Gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10am to 5pm; Wednesday from 10am to 7pm; and Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm. For more info and a full list of related programming, visit online or call 215-898-2093.