Natalie’s summer in New York

Natalie McGrorty spent two and a half months in New York in the summer of 2010, “a wonderfully enriching experience”. She saw hundreds of artists’ books along with many other forms of art and learnt a great deal. Her research centred on the idea of self-documentation, the topic of her dissertation. She made some good contacts, investigated future internship opportunities, and has begun the final year of her Drawing and Applied Arts degree full of inspiration and experiences which will filter through into her future work.

Natalie began in Rochester, New York with a Visual Studies Workshop, a bookworks Symposium and assisting Susan Kae Grant, an inspiring teacher and Head of Photography and Bookarts at Texas Woman’s University.  In New York she found herself running a B & B for six weeks, but also visiting Brooklyn Museum to look at artists’ books, pre-selected from their online database and the same at a branch of MoMA in Queens.  A two-day workshop at the Centre for Book Arts meant working with Béatrice Coron on a number of different paper-cutting activities: making stencils, silhouettes and pop-up.  Finally she saw a selection of rare palimpsests at the Morgan Library, which were exquisite.  She took in an astonishing number of art exhibitions including Matisse and Bruce Nauman.

“It has been a phenomenal trip, during which I have seen and learnt a great deal…. It will be interesting to see how my experiences will influence my work in the future. I would like to offer a huge ‘thank you’ to the Gane Trust for making my trip possible”.

Side picture:  PS1 at MOMA