Chesterwood | MASK Site Visit Report & Recommendations 

1. Site Visit Summary

2. Digital Heritage Preservation Demonstration Scans 

3. Recommendations 

Project Scope Setting Prompts

APPENDIX 

• A. Potential Project Themes & Concepts

  Below are sketches of ideas based on our conversations during the initial site visit. They are provided as both a reminder of some of what was said as well as to further imagine what is possible through our continued collaboration.  Each concept is at varying stages of development, so we do not expect that we will emerge from our upcoming meeting in December with a set project proposal or idea, but these, along with the digital assets provided should allow us the opportunity to make informed choices on or before the first quarter of 2025. 
  1. "Moment Immemorial": While the Lincoln Memorial is easily the most universally recognized American sculpture, far fewer people can tell the name of the artist who conceived it.  Further, the mythology evoked by the statue has been seen at times to be in conflict with our country's history. The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence seems a fit moment to reconsider the legacy of Abraham Lincoln as well as this monument's place in our collective  memory.
  2. "Chesterwood Collaboration Station": Although grand scale public artworks have historically been represented as the product of an individual, the making of monuments is an intensely collaborative process from commission to installation.  Using archival research to uncover the places, people and processes behind some of Daniel Chester French’s works, as well as highlighting his design of the rail system beneath the Studio, we can invite emerging artists, writers, and other creatives to Chesterwood for the development of new artwork that could be viewed en plein air with Andromeda.
  3. "Discovering the Self": Daniel Chester French was born in 1850 and died in 1931, sculpting over 200 prominent public artworks in his lifetime.  He was, however as Lucas Griswold notes, born before the advent of much of the positive and affirming language for the LGBTQ+ community, meaning French could not self-define in the ways that we can today.  By exploring the impact of late nineteenth century repressions of gender and sexual identity on the work of French alongside the works of past and contemporary artists who have identified as queer, we may find space for the development of curricula as well as professional development in the form of teaching institutes for faculty.  In this way we would create more access to and interest in Chesterwood as an artist's sanctuary and a place for discovery of self. 
  4. "Spirit in the Dark": Some of French’s sculptures suggest racial differences and hierarchy, and a large number of individuals he collaborated with were involved in and benefited from slavery, or were active in supporting U.S. dispossession of Native American lands and suppressions of Native American culture. By offering a public program that asks audiences to look carefully and critically at the subtle operations of beauty, myth, stereotype, and cultural identities in French's work and that of his contemporaries, Chesterwood can be a site for diverse cultural events and deeper artistic exploration. 

   

  B. Community Engagement Opportunities

  1. Visual Artist Interventions: MASK Consortium has relationships with several contemporary visual artists who could be engaged by Chesterwood for an exhibition/intervention or other public programming. Some artists for consideration are: 
     
     • Renée Cox - "A Proof of Being"
     • Sanford Biggers - Chimera Series, "A Joyful Noise"
     • Vinnie Bagwell - "The First Lady of Jazz" & "Sojourner Truth" at Walkway over the Hudson
     • StreetTheory Gallery
       
  2. Dance: There are a number of local and regional dancers, University dance groups, studios, and performance spaces with which to explore the possibility of future collaboration with Chesterwood as part of overall community engagement to enhance visibility and visits to the Campus.  
     Jacob's Pillow https://www.jacobspillow.org/programs/community/
     
     
  3. Music: Music performances were a welcome part of life at Chesterwood.  For a public concert series that highlights Daniel Chester French and his love of music, MASK can invite musicians within our network for programming any such performances both on site at Chesterwood or even at the site of his most famous work in Washington, DC.
     
     • Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial: On Easter Sunday in 1939, Anderson performs for an audience outside the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution barred her from Constitution Hall.
     • Tanglewood Institute at Boston University
   

  C. Grants

  1. Save America's Treasures (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/save-americas-treasures-grants.htm)
  2. Public Humanities Projects (https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities-projects)
  3. Landmarks of American History and Culture for K-12 Educators (https://www.neh.gov/grants/education/landmarks/k-12-educators)
  4. Institutes for K-12 Educators (https://www.neh.gov/grants/education/institutes-k-12-educators)
  5. Preservation and Access Education and Training (https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation-and-access-education-and-training)