Getty Marrow Internship 2023
Getty Marrow Internship > 2023
Cerritos College
2023 Curatorial Internship Opportunity
The Getty Marrow Curatorial Internship at the Cerritos College Art Gallery will provide curatorial assistance for an upcoming Fall 2023 SUR:biennial exhibition at the Cerritos College Art Gallery featuring the work of the renowned Los Angeles artist, Gronk. The internship will provide valuable training and experience in the proper handling of archival materials; the production of press releases, condition reports, and related curatorial documents; and the photographic documentation of objects for inclusion in an exhibition catalogue. The training provided for this position will appeal to students interested in curatorial practice and public relations, as well as those with a curiosity about contemporary art history in Los Angeles and Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x art more broadly.
This position is a ten-week paid summer internship based on a forty hour work week, with work hours on Monday - Friday from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.
Getty Marrow Intern Brian Lombera Visiting Mike 'Surito' Echeverria's Art Collection,
August 2023.
My Internship Diary
The Adventure Continues
Dear Readers,
Thank you for continuing to follow me on this exciting journey of discovery.
Late-July through early-August was an extremely busy time for me with a number of informative field trips. For example, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with the local Long Beach cohort of Getty Marrow Interns for a series of Community Learning Events organized by Alyssa Torres from Cal State Long Beach’s Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum. Our initial learning event took us first to Rancho Los Alamitos for a quick visit and a casual lunch conversation where myself and my cohort peers discussed the various projects we were working on at our respective institutions. As an aside, this was my first time inside the Rancho Los Alamitos estate and I was really struck by both its beauty and its connection to the rich tapestry of historic California. Following our lunch, we carpooled to the 14th Street Park, where we met with Cynthia Luján, Director of Public Art at the Arts Council of Long Beach (as well as one of the many artists, like Gronk, participating in this year’s sixteen venue SUR:biennial). Cynthia led us on a short tour of various sites around the city of Long Beach, sharing with us the process by which public art projects are produced and maintained. We had some fairly far-reaching and informative discussions about how the Arts Council fights to restore important public works of art that have been damaged, how they select artists for new public art commissions, how they work with the city to bring art to the public, and how these kinds of projects can be used to restore and heal communities. During the tour, we encountered older works from the eighties, as well as a few more recent public works. One in particular that stood out to me was a painted bench dedicated to, and celebrating the life of, Donte L. Jordan. It was here that we had our deepest and most moving conversations about the importance of preservation as a means of restorative justice, focusing specifically on the police violence that took Jordan’s life and the painted bench as both an educational tool and a memorial to his lost life. Afterwards, we drove to the Long Beach City Hall and Civic Center, where we attended the Long Beach Women’s Fair and Equal Rights Action Centennial, listening to powerful presentations covering the historic and ongoing struggle for equal rights by a number of inspiring writers and poets, including the famous local drag queen, Jewels.
A week or so later, we attended the second Community Learning Event, where my cohort
and I met with Alyssa Torres, the Registrar at the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary
Art Museum. One of the highlights of this trip was learning about museum conservation
and restoration with Kamila Korbela, a professional conservator and founder of the
LA Art Labs. I feel like I learned so much, despite still having so many questions.
Kamila showed us actual paintings that she had conserved and restored, ranging from
Renaissance works to quite a few works by contemporary artists (with their particular
tendency to work in unusual and unexpected materials requiring specialized care).
We discussed the importance of how to properly handle works of art, as well as how
important it is for contemporary artists to start thinking about keeping records to
assist future preservation, including of the materials they use and even color swatches
so conservators can match their original intent. I also learned, to my surprise, that
it is much easier to conserve and restore oil paintings compared to acrylic paintings
(which especially captured my attention because, if you remember my previous diary
entry, Gronk often works with acrylic paints). Kamila even brought in a painting that
was already cleaned on one side and still dirty on the other, so we could see the
difference. I got to look through a microscope to see the layers of paint and she
explained how to detect changes in an oil painting over time. The day ended with a
fascinating conversation about contemporary works of art and why it may not be possible
to conserve or restore every work of art, in particular those created with markers,
glitter, and similarly unconventional materials, including, somewhat surprisingly,
acrylic paintings that were not properly glazed to protect them from dust.
A few days later, I joined Cerritos College Art Gallery Director and Curator James
MacDevitt on a trip to visit both the Hammer Museum in Westwood and the Fowler Museum
on the campus of UCLA. We spent time walking through a number of important exhibitions
at each venue, including Together In Time: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary
Collection, Becoming Van Leo, Rita McBride’s Particulates, and Gala Porras-Kim’s The
Weight of A Patina of Time. During the visit, we closely analyzed the relevant curatorial
practices surfaced by each of these shows, discussing the importance of artwork selection
and placement, explanatory didactics, and overall exhibition design. Each of these
shows was amazing in their own way and I was truly inspired to see work by so many
of my very favorite artists. At the Fowler Museum, I also had the opportunity to see
artworks created by members of my own ancestral community, the Wixárika (also known
by their Spanish name, the Huichol); the experience of which I am still processing,
as it was moving to see these objects up close, but also concerning, since their spiritual
function is distinctly stripped from them in a museum context (which was, somewhat
ironically, a major theme of the powerful Gala Porras-Kim show in the very next room).
Later that day same day, we visited Gronk’s studio once again in preparation for his upcoming solo exhibition Stock Footage and Outtakes: A Selection of Works by Gronk. There, I got to see the curatorial selection process first hand, and even got to participate in the discussion and assist with the selection myself. Both Gronk and his friend, Mike ‘Surito’ Echeverria, were extremely generous with their time and I even left with a couple gifts that they had prepared for me, including an awesome t-shirt (that I intend to wear on the night of the opening reception) and a Tormenta pin that is already attached to my messenger bag. Gronk also handed me two large bags filled with DVDs of his favorite movies, which we will feature in the Projects Room during the exhibition. One of my tasks is to catalogue these movies, which I chose to assume includes watching all of them and Gronk seemed to agree. So I have been slowly working my way through the list. Some of my favorites so far have been Orpheus, The Giant Claw, Rodan, The Man from Planet X, and Mothra, to name just a few. I would highly recommend for people who love old movies to stop by the Cerritos College Art Gallery during the run of the exhibition and watch some of these films with Gronk himself as he paints the large mural in the Projects Room (which will be set up as a temporary studio for him to work, complete with screenings of his favorite films).
A few days after our visit to Gronk’s studio, we made our final pilgrimage before picking up and delivering the work for the exhibition. Gronk’s friend (and sometimes assistant), Surito, also happens to be one of his major collectors. He was kind enough to invite us to his home so that we could delve deep into his archive, not just of Gronk’s work, but also a number of other important Chicano and Chicana artists. Seeing how he lives daily surrounded by art was so inspirational and aspirational. To know that a public school teacher like Surito has been able to assemble this exceptional art collection gives me real hope that anyone can do so, if they remain dedicated to such a project. To add to his already overwhelming generosity, while he was showing us his collection, Surito also confided that he was planning a surprise giveaway of buttons, pins, and t-shirts for the night of the artist talk and opening reception. At every turn on this journey, I have been introduced to such kind and giving people. Some have given me their time, some have given me their knowledge and wisdom, and some, like Surito, have given me literal gifts. With each kind act, I have seen what a life living in, and with, the arts can be, and more and more, I know this is whom I was meant to become.
As I write this, there are just three more weeks to go before the opening night of Gronk’s show and the end of my summer internship. I can't wait to learn so much more between now and then.
Yours Sincerely,
- Brian Lombera, Getty Marrow Intern, August 11, 2023
PS: Thanks to Gronk and Surito for everything. Thank you, also, to Alyssa Torres for being my Getty Marrow Community Leader and hosting such amazing events with Cynthia Luján and Kamila Korbela, from whom I have learned so much. And, finally, a very special thank you to Karen Rapp, Director of the Laband Art Gallery at Loyola Marymount University. As the former Director of the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College, Karen was responsible for putting together the Round Trip exhibition that I referenced in my last diary entry. After reading how much this show meant to me growing up and how it was my first encounter with Gronk, Karen, out of the blue, sent me an actual copy of the Round Trip exhibition catalog. I cannot express how moved I was by this incredibly thoughtful gift. I will treasure it always.
Getty Marrow Intern Brian Lombera Visiting the Studio of Gronk, 2023.
MY INTERNSHIP DAIRY
The Adventure Begins
Dear Readers,
Hello and welcome. My name is Brian Lombera and I am the 2023 Getty Marrow Intern for the Cerritos College Art Gallery. I am currently an undergraduate student at UC Irvine double-majoring in Art History and Studio Art, but I am also an alumni of Cerritos College’s innovative Visual and Cultural Studies program, so this internship is a kind of homecoming as well. Over the next few months, I hope to record and share my experiences as a Getty Intern, in particular assisting in the development of the upcoming Fall 2023 exhibition: Stock Footage and Outtakes: A Selection of Works by Gronk, opening August 28th at the Cerritos College Art Gallery.
The first week of my internship was fairly typical. I settled into my new desk in the gallery’s permanent collections room and received basic training on various institutional systems, like the content management system for the college’s website, and necessary applications I’ll be using, such as Photoshop. My first real project-related task was to read up on the artist Gronk, including going through Max Benavidez’s book, Gronk (a Vers), and then sketch out the artist biography that we will use in the press release, exhibition didactics, and catalogue. But, as informative a process the first week was, it couldn’t prepare me for the excitement of the second week of my internship. If the first week was fairly straightforward, the second week was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Not only did I get to sit down for an extended meeting with Gronk in his downtown Los Angeles studio apartment, I also attended the Getty Marrow Summit at the Getty Center with well over a hundred fellow Getty Marrow Interns.
Even as a young teenager, I always knew that I wanted to be involved in the art world, and Gronk was, even then, a part of that dream. In fact, I first met Gronk when I was just seventeen as a student at East Los Angeles College. I visited an alumni exhibition titled Round Trip hosted at the Vincent Price Art Museum and briefly spoke to him at the opening about his work. I was immediately inspired and wanted nothing more than to continue my journey in the arts. During my recent internship visit with Gronk, I was absolutely astonished by the iconic painted hallway that leads to his longtime studio. I found myself overwhelmed by this historic site, losing myself in all the details of the painted hallway. Just when I thought I had spotted my definitively favorite aspect of the installation, my eyes would wonder just a few feet to find another equally-amazing combination of textures and forms, assembled from multiple layers of paint and pencil markings. Upon entering the studio, I was expecting the smell of oil paints and turpentine, but was surprised to discover that Gronk typically works with acrylic paints, which do not give off the same odor as oils. However, I still experienced a sense of sensory overload, as his paintings, drawings, and sculptures both lined every available inch of the studio walls and even spilled out onto the studio floor. It was just amazing to see all the paintings that Gronk was working on, seemingly simultaneously, many of them including his legendary figure, Tormenta. In addition to viewing and discussing the various works that will be included in the upcoming exhibition, I also had the opportunity to examine the cultural artifacts that inspire Gronk and his work. The large-scale bookshelves that line his studio are covered with DVDs, books, and more. But, really, more than anything, just being in the presence of such an important artist as Gronk, listening to him talk about his life and work, was astounding and I’m still processing in the experience.
However, I didn’t have too much time to revel, as just two days later, I attended the Getty Marrow Summit at the famed Getty Center, high up on a hill overlooking LA and the Pacific Ocean. There, I got to meet many of the other amazing interns who are working all across Los Angeles this summer: in museums, galleries, non-profit organizations, and more. After taking the tram up to the Center, I was greeted at the check-in table with generous gifts from the Getty and provided a delicious breakfast. The entire day’s conference was full of exciting and informative talks from various Getty Marrow alumni, sharing their own experiences of the program with us, as well as insights from their current practices. I had an opportunity to meet with a special cohort of interns working nearby at other institutions in South Los Angeles and Long Beach, and also attended a number of workshops with professional advisors. Frankly, it was liberating to be in a room full of fellow people of color, many of them also members of the LGBTQIA+ community, like myself, and to listen to all the possibilities that can come from the Getty Marrow internship. Once the conference was over, we all sat for lunch and I got to know many of my peers better. I learned so much simply by listening to them sharing their own experiences, as well as discussing our common interests in the arts. Naturally, we focused on issues of representation in museum spaces, sharing how frequently many of us feel excluded from those environments. We also talked about current possibilities for collaboration and even some future projects we might work on as a team to enhance the representation of people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities in museum spaces. All of this felt extremely vital, perhaps more than ever, as this also happened to be the day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action and many of us were, understandably, upset. However, despite that dark cloud hanging over our heads, I am so thankful to the Getty for bringing us together and giving us this chance to connect through our struggles, as well as our love for education and the arts. Though I felt disheartened by the news that day, I was so happy and proud to be around like-minded individuals, looking to change museum spaces so that they further represent the wonderfully diverse country in which we live. For the first time in a long time, I really felt heard, and being around so many amazing people in my cohort simply filled my heart with joy.
So that’s just the first two weeks of my summer internship at the Cerritos College Art Gallery, with many more to come. I can’t wait to share them with you!
Yours Sincerely,
- Brian Lombera, Getty Marrow Intern
July 12, 2023
PS: Thanks from the bottom of my heart to Dr. Bridget R. Cooks at UC Irvine and Dr. Lisa Vitela at Cerritos College for recommending me to this wonderful program.
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