This is Philippa Chan, an intern at Franklin Furnace. I have been interning at the Furnace since the end of July of this year. After the recent completion of my Bachelors of Art History and Theory, I decided it would be beneficial for me explore the art industry before going on to complete my honours and (finally) graduate. My life in New York is immensely different to my life back in Sydney. It has taken some time for this city to feel “like home” but I can now say with confidence that it definitely does.
I came to New York from Sydney, Australia because I felt that this city could offer me the best in contemporary art and culture. I feel privileged to have stumbled across the Franklin Furnace internship programme because I believe it has been able to offer me an uncensored view of the art industry. Franklin Furnace has been extremely inclusive of me and all the other interns that I have worked with. I feel that we get real responsibilities and projects, rather than just the menial tasks you normally associate with a regular internship position.
To give you a rough idea of what it is like to be an intern at Franklin Furnace, here are a few of the tasks that I have been assigned.
I started out my internship photographing various pieces of artworks that Franklin Furnace has collected in its deep storage area. I became closely acquainted with works by Lawrence Weiner, Carl Andre, Christo and Stephen Shore, just to name a few.
In between I had a few small tasks to fill the gap (i.e. creating a disaster plan...lets hope it never has to be used because I feel it may be highly inadequate!) and my current project is working on the Ree Morton sketch books and note books. I am assisting Michael by making three copies of each digital image for the archive before we ship her work off to MoMA. Concurrently, every Tuesday afternoon I have the adorable, yet challenging task of assisting the artist, Ron Littke with a 4th grade class at Clinton Hill, P.S. 20. The making of the video has only just started but the children are already eager and ready to jump onto that camera and start making the film. It was immediately apparent who the aspiring actresses/actors are and which children feel more comfortable being behind the camera and away from the limelight. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this project pans out.
I greatly admire Franklin Furnace and its dedication to preserving vulnerable forms of art. There have been many times during the course of my studies that I have come across a description of a work of art that has been near impossible to find photographic or cinematic evidence of, so I think it’s really excellent that Franklin Furnace has dedicated itself to this very worthy cause.
Living in New York and being a part of the Franklin Furnace Archives has cemented my love of visual arts and has reiterated to me the importance and significance of art that is challenging and art that deliberately pushes the envelope. I am really enjoying my time here in New York and at Franklin Furnace and I am very much looking forward to the rest of my time here. I’m sure you will hear more from me as the year progresses.
I came to New York from Sydney, Australia because I felt that this city could offer me the best in contemporary art and culture. I feel privileged to have stumbled across the Franklin Furnace internship programme because I believe it has been able to offer me an uncensored view of the art industry. Franklin Furnace has been extremely inclusive of me and all the other interns that I have worked with. I feel that we get real responsibilities and projects, rather than just the menial tasks you normally associate with a regular internship position.
To give you a rough idea of what it is like to be an intern at Franklin Furnace, here are a few of the tasks that I have been assigned.
I started out my internship photographing various pieces of artworks that Franklin Furnace has collected in its deep storage area. I became closely acquainted with works by Lawrence Weiner, Carl Andre, Christo and Stephen Shore, just to name a few.
In between I had a few small tasks to fill the gap (i.e. creating a disaster plan...lets hope it never has to be used because I feel it may be highly inadequate!) and my current project is working on the Ree Morton sketch books and note books. I am assisting Michael by making three copies of each digital image for the archive before we ship her work off to MoMA. Concurrently, every Tuesday afternoon I have the adorable, yet challenging task of assisting the artist, Ron Littke with a 4th grade class at Clinton Hill, P.S. 20. The making of the video has only just started but the children are already eager and ready to jump onto that camera and start making the film. It was immediately apparent who the aspiring actresses/actors are and which children feel more comfortable being behind the camera and away from the limelight. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this project pans out.
I greatly admire Franklin Furnace and its dedication to preserving vulnerable forms of art. There have been many times during the course of my studies that I have come across a description of a work of art that has been near impossible to find photographic or cinematic evidence of, so I think it’s really excellent that Franklin Furnace has dedicated itself to this very worthy cause.
Living in New York and being a part of the Franklin Furnace Archives has cemented my love of visual arts and has reiterated to me the importance and significance of art that is challenging and art that deliberately pushes the envelope. I am really enjoying my time here in New York and at Franklin Furnace and I am very much looking forward to the rest of my time here. I’m sure you will hear more from me as the year progresses.
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