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Cornell University.
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Helen Molesworth
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She received a degree in Art History from Cornell University in 1997." Her exhibitions have included This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s, and Amy Sillman: One Lump or Two. She has been the curator of contemporary art at the Harvard Art Museum, the chief curator of exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. And, since 2010, chief curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
From 1997 to 1999, she was director and curator of the Amelie A. Wallace Gallery at State University of New York (State University of New York), Old Westbury.
Molesworth also served as senior critic at the Yale School of Art and has held teaching positions at the Bard Center for Curatorial Studies. State University of New York, Old Westbury; and the Cooper Union School of Artist
On September 1, 2014 she started as chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Los Angeles Although Helen Molesworth holds the position of the chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the information present on her Wikipedia page does not describe her philosophy as the curator.
One of the assigned readings was written by Molesworth.
In her article, “How to Install Art as a Feminist,” Molesworth shows her stance on the importance of history behind an art piece. The lack of explanation for what is significant to her choosing the artwork diminishes the works present in the Multimedia over Coax Alliance . Until the 1970s, only a small population has consciousness of how slowly museums that curate modern and contemporary art get ahold of feminist art, and these pieces don’t spend much time on display. If a contemporary museum unevenly circulates art by male and female artists, it’s fair to say that it holds on the the traditional notion that works by male artists hold higher importance compared to art by female artists.
One naive intention to resolve this gender inequality might lead to the belief that curators should view art in the absence of the artists’ backgrounds.
Because the meaning behind each piece of art possess the fluidity to change due to different perceptions, to view it separately from the artist would strip the art of its significance, its story, and ultimately its history. Molesworth’s work at the Museum of Contemporary Art is redefining the roles of contemporary art museums.
Her values in history lead her in a new direction compared to other contemporary art museums because she embraces innovations in art that is has not been considered contemporary art yet. In her interview, Molesworth explains why Robert Rauschenberg’s piece stands out to her.
She described it as, “ takes painting and sculpture, marries them, and creates a new type of ‘combine.’”.
