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Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla’s collection of iconic photography drew a crowd to Aperture Gallery Tuesday night for the opening reception of Shared Vision presented by MOCA, on view through Saturday, April 21, 2012.

The exhibition, featuring work by Robert Adams, Eugène Atget, Minor White, Walker Evans, Loretta Lux, Sally Mann, Richard Misrach and more, was culled from one of the world’s best private collections of photography by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville, a cultural resource of the University of North Florida, curated by Ben Thompson, MOCA’s curator, and Paul Karabinis, assistant professor of photography at UNF. It’s also accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog published by MOCA and produced by Aperture Foundation, featuring a selection of images from the collection, historical context and curatorial remarks.

Of course, the show wouldn’t be complete without the help of our many  indispensable Work Scholars.  Regan Hillman shares what her experience behind the scenes was like.

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As the Exhibitions Work Scholar, I had the great opportunity to handle and hang this amazing selection of photographs from Sondra and Celso’s collection.

The process of getting the exhibition on the wall included many steps.  First, paper cut-outs of the works, scaled to one-seventh of the original size (including the frame) were organized into their respective sections and arranged on paper walls also scaled to one-seventh of those at our gallery in Chelsea.  Because we could move our paper replicas into different orders and arrangement, this mock-up version helped us to get a visual of how the photographs would look when installed.  After a paper layout was completed, I made a virtual rendering of the space in a computer program that allows you to build a space using the measurements of the gallery and import the pictures onto the walls.  While the paper mock-up could be moved around easily, the virtual rendering from the computer program gave us a sense of how the space would look in three dimensions.

To prepare the text for the exhibition we worked closely with the Design and Copy Editing departments to produce captions and an extensive gallery guide.  Then the many, many crates and boxes containing the exhibition arrived.  The hanging process, though tedious, went smoothly with the help of our installation team.  I loved walking into the gallery each morning and seeing another section hanging on the wall.

It was extraordinarily rewarding to see the process through from beginning to end.  What had started out as multitude of one-inch square images on a checklist, eventually—with much work and deliberation—became an exhibition: visually engaging, full of information, and with a wealth of original examples from the history of photography.

Regan Hillman is a pursuing a Master’s degree in Art History at CUNY Hunter College.  She received her B.A. in Painting and Art History at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.  She plans to write her M.A. thesis this summer on modern and contemporary painters who have made stained glass windows for Gothic cathedrals. When not busy at Aperture or school, Regan enjoys exploring her Brooklyn neighborhood and the green expanses of Prospect Park.

Saturday, October 15th is the deadline to apply for Aperture’s Stevan A. Baron Work-Scholar Program.

Aperture’s Work-Scholar Program was created in 1983 to give individuals of promise the unique opportunity to work closely with our staff on a wide range of Aperture activities. The program welcomes an average of twenty interns every year, allowing young graduates from the United States and around the world to learn the skills required to pursue related careers while contributing to the Foundation and its programs.

Successful work scholars find themselves engaged in the editing, design, production, circulation, sales, and marketing of photography’s most significant publications; the development of major traveling exhibitions; the creation of web content; and all other business operations, including development and finance, essential to a non-profit organization.

Aperture Foundation’s Chelsea location offers the unique opportunity to work for six to twelve months in New York City and have access to art galleries, museums, and other art-related facilities. Work scholars meet people from around the world who share common experiences and goals. They make contacts within the photo community at Aperture events and through meetings with various professionals in the photography field.

We have positions within the Communications, Design, Development, Editorial (books or magazine), Exhibition, Finance, Magazine Circulation (magazine marketing, advertising), Production, Sales, and Website departments. It’s a fantastic opportunity for anyone who wants to explore career paths and build experience, while learning from Aperture’s talented staff.

Click here for more information about the program, and how to apply for positions.

Click here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Last month, the Aperture Work Scholars took a trip to Aperture Millerton and to the Paul Strand Archive in Lakeville. (more…)

By Camille Clech

Camille Clech and Andres Serrano

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Last month, Aperture’s Work Scholars had the profound pleasure of visiting Andres Serrano‘s studio. The space boasts an eclectic atmosphere; a sixteenth-century Madonna sculpture, for example, faces one of Serrano’s cinematic portraits of a Ku Klux Klan member.

We conversed with the artist on a variety of subjects, covering everything from his childhood in Williamsburg to the controversy surrounding his famous Piss Christ. Serrano collects Renaissance art and explained the importance these pieces have in his working environment, and how they affect his work. Preferring to be called an artist rather than a photographer, he also shared his opinions on current culture, the importance of the image, and the immediate nature of modern news. We were captivated by the story of his artistic rise, and his description of how the art world has changed since the beginning of his career. In closing, he answered questions about his influences, his artistic process, and the current state of photography.

After our group visit, I had the opportunity to take part in a photo shoot with Andres Serrano. Currently working on painterly reinterpretations of iconic religious scenes – such as Virgin with Child, or the Last Supper – he invited me to pose for his take on the Madonna. Supported by his wife and his assistant, he set up the background and lighting, and then took some polaroid tests to find the perfect angle and luminosity. Cloaked in the Madonna’s iconic blue veil, I posed for several shots.

I am looking forward to see which image Mr. Serrano will select during his developing and editing processes. It was an incredible experience, and I am so grateful to the Work Scholar Program for giving us all this one-of-a-kind opportunity!

Camille Clech is Aperture’s Website and Video Production Work Scholar. She is a student at the New York Institute of Technology-Old Westbury, and can’t believe she posed for an Andres Serrano portrait!

To learn more about Aperture’s Work Scholar program, click here.

By Stephanie S. Yee

above: Kit Baker, Aperture's Associate Director of Development, and Work Scholar Stephanie Yee

As a non-profit organization, the Aperture Foundation is funded by the generous support of individual donors and grants from foundations and government institutions. Aperture’s development department is responsible for researching, securing, and managing the contributed income that makes so many of the Foundation’s exciting book, exhibition, and event projects possible.

As a Work Scholar in the development department, I’ve become familiar with the preparation of grant applications. I’ve found this to be an especially interesting process because the development of a grant application is a highly collaborative process. Before a grant takes shape, it requires discussion and meetings with various departments at Aperture—like editorial, exhibitions, marketing, and events—in order to collect applicable information and statistics for the grant’s narrative.

Under the guidance of Associate Director of Development Kit Baker, I had the opportunity to assist with the preparation of Aperture’s 2012 grant application to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). The DCA provides city funds to support and strengthen New York City’s vibrant cultural life. In the preparatory stages, we held a senior staff meeting during which we spoke with DCA officer Evans Richardson. Mr. Richardson answered our questions about the grant process and walked us through the specific details required by the application. After a grant is submitted, the grantee is required to provide a detailed report of the funded activities with updated budgets or project changes. To this end, Kit and I recently attended a reporting process seminar at the DCA’s offices at City Hall, which walked us through the ins and outs of the final report that must be submitted before Aperture receives its grant money.

For the DCA grant, it was particularly inspiring to report on the numerous activities and programming Aperture will celebrate in observance of its sixtieth anniversary in 2012. One exciting example is the upcoming publication of The New York Times Magazine Photographs, which contains images I remember seeing as a child flipping through the Sunday Times. Personally, I found the research and information-gathering aspects of grant preparation to be a satisfying process. Watching the different elements of the grant come together and take shape afforded me a better understanding of Aperture’s scope and mission.

Prior to working in development, I never realized the considerable amount of effort it takes to see these projects come to life. I will never look at an exhibition or art book in the same way, or fail to acknowledge all of the hard work and funding that goes on behind-the-scenes to make a beautiful concept a reality.

Development Work Scholar Stephanie S. Yee is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she received a B.A. in History and a minor in Architecture. Her favorite Aperture publications are Rinko Kawauchi’s Illuminance and Penelope Umbrico’s (photographs). Stephanie can be found supporting projects on Kickstarter, reading up on architectural theory, wandering a museum, or dancing front row at a concert. Follow what she’s up to @stephasy.

Click here for more information on Aperture’s Work Scholar Program.

*Above photo shot with a SONY a33 DLSR Camera and Lens, generously donated by Sony USA.

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The deadline for applications to the Fall 2011 Work Scholar program has been extended to Friday, April 15th. The Work Scholar program at Aperture is a unique opportunity to be introduced to the many facets of the photography, non-profit and publishing fields. Following placement in each of Aperture’s departments, Work Scholars are involved in a range of tasks in the areas of design, editing, circulation, development, sales and marketing. The program also includes a number of special events, curator-led tours of exhibits, special studio visits with Aperture artists and a chance to get involved in the arts and photo world in New York. In the 2011 Spring session Work Scholar visited galleries in the art district of Chelsea and will be given a tour of The Museum of the City of New York show Moveable Feast by the exhibition’s curators.

Click here for more information on Aperture’s Work Scholar program including how to apply

Click for more information on our current events

photo by Trevor Paglen

As the Work Scholar in the Development Department, I work behind the scenes on special exclusive events at Aperture, focusing on programming for our Patrons and SNAP! Members. Being a member at Aperture gives you access to exclusive events such as private salons and studio tours with Aperture artists. Most importantly, members of Aperture get to meet and mingle with other photography enthusiasts and continue cultivating their knowledge and appreciation of photography through Aperture.

One such recent event was an artist talk with Trevor Paglen last Tuesday night in the cozy Aperture bookstore with couches, warm apple cider and savory treats. During the event, Trevor met with several fans in this intimate setting, gave a slide show presentation of his work and signed books. Trevor Paglen’s book Invisible: Covert Operations and Classified Landscapes, released by Aperture this Fall, presents a portrait of the covert activities of U.S. military and intelligence agencies. Paglen’s presentation brought new insights to his mysterious and highly technical imagery.

Leading up to this Salon event I helped with the invitations our guests, keeping track of the RSVP list and researching catering options. It was gratifying to see the event through to fruition, from its organization to becoming a special occasion, in which the guests had good time.

This Work Scholar post is by Development Work Scholar Sunny Ching Hui Wang.

Sunny is a graduate student at New York University in the Visual Arts Administration program. She received her B.A. in Art History and Visual Culture from Michigan State University in 2009. Her favorite Aperture publications include William Christenberry’s Kodachromes and Paolo Ventura’s Winter Stories. When not busy writing her Master’s thesis on crowd-funding for the arts, Sunny enjoys spending time in her East Village neighborhood.

Click here for more information about Aperture’s Work Scholar Program

One of the most rewarding parts of being a work-scholar under Lesley Martin, Publisher and Book Editor at Aperture, is the opportunity to sit in on discussions between the editor, designer, and artist. Throughout the course of producing a book, these contributors have regular meetings to form the concept of the publication starting the original intent of the artist. It is always fascinating to see how much the design process can enhance the interpretation of an artist’s work. These factors really differentiate the experience of photographs as personal, handheld objects as opposed to large prints displayed in a gallery or online representations.

Layout spread by Andrew Sloat

One of Editorial’s current projects is the forthcoming Aperture monograph by artist Penelope Umbrico. Because of the appropriative nature of Penelope’s work, unlike a typical monograph with one essay and perhaps an introduction, her book will include a variety of essays taken from previously published sources that have added to and relate in some way with her process.  Even though the design and production of a book takes place mostly on a computer screen, in order to determine the sequence we printed thumbnails of each spread of text and artwork. While this cut-and-paste process might seem elementary, it was an effective way to work freely and bounce ideas off each other without having to make any final decisions. Being able to move pieces around with our hands was a great way to visualize the different possibilities.

The making of an Aperture book is a truly collaborative process-in this case, a collaboration made all the more unique in that Penelope approached the book object as an installation space for her work. She took the lead in the process by pairing texts and artwork based on their relation to each other, questioning decisions and proposing fresh ideas. Our designer, Andrew Sloat, worked with her to shape the conceptual framework for the book and then proposed typographic, spatial, and aesthetic choices to uphold that concept. The editor, Lesley Martin, helped refine their decisions on sequence and selection of images and guided the overall direction of the project as a whole. While much of being an Editorial Work-Scholar can rely on organization and wrangling the different parts needed to complete the whole, the times spent watching the creative process occur make each book project come alive. It is constantly exciting to be part of the team mediating between the artist’s original vision and the compiled product released to the public.

Stay tuned for the release of Penelope’s first monograph, Penelope Umbrico (Photographs) in June 2011.

Cover design by Andrew Sloat

See more of Penelope’s work here

See more of Andrew’s work here

Chelsea Deklotz is an Editorial Work-Scholar. She is a Graphic Design and Photography graduate from UW-Milwaukee. Her favorite Aperture books are Sally Mann: Immediate Family and Paolo Ventura: Winter Stories. She enjoys exploring her Brooklyn neighborhood and can often be found buried in the stacks at the Strand.

Click here for more information about Aperture’s Work Scholar Program

Work Scholar Anne Lewis installing Alexander Gronsky's photographs

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Being an exhibitions Work Scholar at Aperture, one has the opportunity to learn the entire process of getting an exhibition onto the walls of a gallery from start to finish. I work closely with Exhibitions Manager Annette Booth and in addition, collaborate with the Design and Editorial departments to help format wall text and captions, work with art handlers to get the job done, as well as coordinate with the exhibition’s curator.

The past few weeks, Annette and I have been busying installing the exhibitions now on view, The Spanish National Photography Prize: Connections and Confrontations as well as Aperture Portfolio Prize Winner Alexander Gronsky’s The Edge. In the weeks leading up to last Friday’s opening reception Spanish curators Carmen de la Guerra and Javier Diez traveled to New York to work on sequencing. Carmen and Annette pared the selection down from around 70 works to a final 49. While they were busy with that, myself and a few other Work Scholars assisted in sequencing Alexander Gronsky’s smaller show of 8 works in the bookstore. Art handlers, Phil and Roger worked with us to hang the different pieces. The day before the opening is always dedicated to getting captions and wall text up, and finally setting the lighting.

At the opening reception, the Spanish National Photography Prize exhibit’s curators led a gallery tour. It was really rewarding to see people enjoying the exhibition we worked so hard on. Annette is a master of installing exhibitions, especially since she began her career at Aperture 7 years ago as a Work Scholar! It is a great opportunity to learn from someone who was once in my shoes.

This Work Scholar post is by Exhibitions Work Scholar Anne Lewis.

Anne is a recent graduate of Tufts University where she studied Art History and International Relations. Her favorite Aperture books are Travelers and Paris-New York-Shanghai. Aside from photography she has a secret interest in cultural property law, loves to swim, and is an Olympics enthusiast.

Click here to learn more about Aperture’s Work Scholar program