Carolyn Bernstein
Artist Statement
My work combines and structures diverse, everyday materials as a way of exploring ideas of
transience and transformation. Through large constructions that integrate manufactured and
organic materials in unexpected ways, I encourage viewers to take note, slow down, and think
about objects, relationships, and images that they might encounter repeatedly in everyday life but
in which they may no longer see mystery or poignancy. I seek to heighten and enrich viewers’
perceptions of the world around them by imbuing the familiar and the inanimate with new
energy and meaning. My work provokes discovery of the new in the familiar – or the familiar in
the new – and encourages viewers’ openness to curiosity and empathy.
Our social and political moment, locally and globally, affect me and reverberate through my
work. I have constructed meditative installations addressing transformative aspects of aging and
disease but also work that asks viewers to contemplate contemporary wars and genocide. My
most recent installation integrates science and metaphor with a particular focus on the
contemporary visual culture of medical imaging technologies. In this project I combine intricate
handmade drawings, medical film, photographs, text, fabric, earth, and glass to explore the
complexity of networks and interdependencies among institutions and individuals involved in the
development of a new cancer drug. I delineate linkages among government agencies, botanists,
drug companies, financial institutions, environmental organizations, healthcare systems, doctors,
and patients, and challenge notions of control and order that we associate with science and
medicine.
My work encourages contemplation, a slowing down to think and feel, and to embrace life
through a greater awareness of transience in the everyday – not only in our own lives but in the
lives of others. By heightening awareness, I hope to awaken empathy, and I believe that true
empathy can be one path toward collective healing.
Carolyn Bernstein
Application for Open Space 2007: Statement of Interest
I am eager to participate in the 2007 Open Space program in Kassel as an artist and student of
contemporary art, as an arts administrator, and as a first generation American whose mother was born
and raised in Germany. It is exciting to think about being an active participant in an international
exchange among student artists that is structured around an intensive curriculum of shared readings,
lectures and critical discussions, and that includes access to an international art exhibition with the
potential impact of Documenta.
As an artist and student, I look forward to the opportunity for an open exchange of ideas with
students from other art academies from around the world; and I am keenly interested in being part of
a team of artists from diverse cultures who come together to work, share ideas, and create as a
collective – from construction of the “temporary settlement” to sharing critical discussions about
daily art experiences at Documenta and final presentations of projects. I am especially curious to
learn how other art students define the “chances and challenges of contemporary art,” but particularly
the “chances.” I want to hear about their reasons for making art; about whom they most want to reach
or communicate with through their work and how they propose to succeed. I would also like to learn
about what they perceive as the most innovative or interesting art emerging from their countries
today and why; and about what they perceive as innovative and interesting from other countries
around the world. Finally, I am curious to learn what kinds of socially engaged art exists in their
countries and how, or if, it is institutionalized in any ways.
The student-academic side of me is excited by the prospect of intensive discussions stimulated by
the shared curriculum and experiences of art. I imagine the exchange of diverse and challenging
points of view put forth for intellectual exploration and debate. Through ongoing discussions I would
hope to learn more about other students’ cultures, about systems and programs of art education in
their countries; and about what meaning or importance students give to their role in society as artistcitizens,
and what meaning or importance society gives to art in their culture.
The thought of experiencing Documenta in person is also exciting to me because of my
professional background and interest in performing and visual arts management. I would like to see
firsthand how program conception, design, and presentation correspond with organizers’ objectives
and goals. Of particular interest to me are planning and implementation of ancillary educational or
community-based programs that an event like Documenta might offer to local and visiting
populations. I will be interested to see how the “three leitmotifs” (or series of questions posed by
Documenta organizers) will be addressed both practically and conceptually in terms of curatorial
choices but also through programming, discussions, presentations, etc.
On a more personal level, this program interests me because it will take place in Germany and I
am currently trying to reclaim my legal rights to German citizenship. As a German Jew, my mother
was stripped of her citizenship during WWII. For me, seeking citizenship from Germany is a
complex undertaking. If I am successful in my claim, I feel it will be important to assume the ethical,
political, and social responsibilities that comprise citizenship. How would I fulfill those
responsibilities? Could I sustain a voice against injustice? Would my artmaking play a role? What
would I inherit of Germany’s atrocious history in the 20th century, and what will it mean as we move
further away from it into the 21st?
In addition to the life enriching experiences I expect I would have as an artist-citizen of “Camp
Kassel,” I believe participation in the 2007 Open Space program would be a positive way – through
art – for me to revisit a part of my heritage. I think the experience could become an important
element in a personal journey that will inevitably have a profound impact on my art practice as well
as my identity.
Carolyn Bernstein
600 S. Dearborn St. #1202
Chicago, IL 60602
(202) 744-7137 /
Juried Exhibitions Ellipse Gallery; Arlington, VA (2006)
Spectrum Gallery, Arlington, VA (2006)
Maryland Art Place, Baltimore (2005)
Stancill Quarry Exhibition, MD (2005)
Art Museum of the Americas; Organization of
American States, DC (2004)
Washington Square, DC (2004, 2003)
Corcoran College of Art and Design, DC (2004, 2002, 2001)
Published Projects WhiteWalls, Chicago; “Yew Tree” (forthcoming, 2007)
Honors Trawick Prize Semi-finalist (2006)
Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellowship Award (2004)
Award for Excellence in Continuing Education (2004)
Corcoran College of Art and Design
Department of Sculpture Award for Achievement (2004)
Corcoran College of Art and Design
Faculty Award, Department of Sculpture and Ceramics (2002)
Corcoran College of Art and Design
Artist Residency Women’s Studio Workshop, NY
Four-week artist residency, 2004
Education School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
MFA, Sculpture (2006 – present; candidate for degree in 2008)
Corcoran College of Art and Design, DC
Fine Arts Certificate, Sculpture and Ceramics
Northwestern University, IL
B.A., English Literature
Employment Arlington Arts Center, VA; Program Director (2005-06)
Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, DCJCC; Program Director, (2001-02)
The Smithsonian Institution, DC; Performing Arts Manager, (1998-99)
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, VA;
Director, Special Programs (1995-98)
The University of Chicago Presents Series, IL; Director (1988-95)
Family Focus, Inc., IL (a Chicago-area community service agency)
Acting Development Director, 1988; Development Assoc., 1986-87)
Chamber Music Chicago/Performing Arts Chicago, IL
Director, Public Relations (1985-86)
Community
Service Washington Sculptors Group
Board of Directors, 2004-06
National Endowment for the Arts
Panel member, Music and Opera grants, 1996
Chicago Music Alliance
President, Board of Directors, 1993-1994; Board member, 1991-1994
Languages French, Italian, some Spanish