Insistent Presence: Gabriella Hartlaub

UW–Madison journalism major Gabriella Hartlaub was always that kid in the back asking why, why, why. In conversation with host Gianofer Fields, she brings that inquisitive nature to the Insistent Presence exhibition, reflecting on the ways it might shape the way she approaches her profession.

Meet Me at the Chazen is a podcast about the the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art, the largest collecting museum in the Big Ten. As we report what’s happening here, we'll also explore what it means to be an art museum at a public university and how art museums can help enrich and strengthen the communities they serve. Meet Me at the Chazen theme and incidental music is “Swinging at the Pluto Lounge,” composed and performed by Marvin Tate and friends, and is used with permission of the artists.

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Transcript

 Gianofer Fields  00:10
 Meet Me at the Chazen. I'm your host, Gianofer Fields. As we come to the close of our exhibit Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection, it's clear that it not only connects artists and communities across the continent; it also reaches students across to UW–Madison campus. Gabriella Hartlaub is a journalism major. And she says, beauty first drew her to Immy Mali's Virtually Mine. However, the closer she looks, the more she realizes just how much she has in common with the sculpture.

Gabriella Hartlaub  00:44
 We're standing in front of an art piece that is called Virtually Mine, a bunch of small, printed glass versions of text messages. And then if you take a step back, it's in the shape of a person. And that's kind of what really struck me about it. The first time I saw it, I came up close. And I thought it was so cool that you're seeing all these kind of  personal messages between two people. But then I took a couple steps back and I was like, Oh my gosh, that's in the shape of a person. And I just thought that was so interesting. And both it's artistic quality of, how did you come in and install that so it was in the shape of a person, but also in the metaphoric quality of all of our text messages and everything we have in online communication is like the sum of our parts,  is the sum of our relationships with other people.

Gianofer Fields  01:37
 What I'm interested in is understanding that connection that you have with this. Was it something that when you saw it hit you in that special place? Or did it take time for you to understand how this work was affecting you? On an emotional level on a, you know, what would you call that? I can't think of the word intellectual level, where did it strike you first?
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  02:01
 It struck me on a purely like aesthetic level to start with. So when I start, I'm a journalism major, not an art history major. So when I started looking at a piece of art, I'm looking at it firstly, for the aesthetic. So it kind of just drew me in, because I was like, that looks really pretty. And I love the way that each little glass picture is like, suspended from the ceiling. And so it just took me a while to first understand what it was. But then once I understood what it was it connected with me in terms of just like relatability. So I think and don't quote me on this, I think this ...
 
 Gianofer Fields  02:41
 Oh, I'm quoting you on this!
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  02:42
 Oh my gosh! I think that this is a I think the text messages on the piece are between the artist and her partner maybe. And that was something that I really related to, in terms of like being far away from somebody and having like, your relationship be described, like through text messages. That's something that I've been through personally. And so to see it, like, projected in an art way was something that really struck me on an emotional level, because I was like, this kind of puts into a physical sense, everything that I was feeling when I was going through a similar experience.
 
 Gianofer Fields  03:17
 Okay Gabriela, since she's experienced this, how did you feel about reading the actual text messages? Were you able to read them? Or did it for you become because you've experienced that become this, like, Oh, this is a private message, maybe I shouldn't be reading them.
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  03:34
 It was more of like, this is a private message. I shouldn't be reading them. I mean, of course, I did. Because I'm really nosy. But it was at first I was like, I don't know, like, I may find something in there that I don't like, but um, I read them. And I was just, I don't know, it wasn't. I wasn't really focusing as much on the content of the messages, I was kind of trying to think about what the art meant to me and what it could mean to other people as a whole. So I see the individual messages as kind of a part of a larger, a larger whole. And so that wasn't really what I was focused on. When I was looking at it, I was more like, how does the aesthetic work? And also, what does this mean in the context of the entire exhibit?
 
 Gianofer Fields  04:14
 So then in the context of the entire exhibit, where did this then take you, now that you've had this experience with Virtually Mine? Where did it take your heart from there?

Gabriella Hartlaub  04:24
 I kind of went through the exhibit and like more of a linear way. So I kept moving forward. And another thing that really struck me was this large piece that turns I think it was oil canisters. Let's see. Yeah, Petro Beads. That really struck me next because it was something that I had actually seen in the Chazen previously when I had come through and just seemed like the normal exhibits. And so I was like, Wait, how does this relate to this exhibit specifically, so that really like piqued my interest from across the room.

Gianofer Fields  04:54
 So then did it change your relationship with this piece once it was put in the new space?
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  05:01
 Yes, because I didn't know the context, I just seen it upstairs. And I was, Oh, that's really cute. Like it's pretty. But when I came down here, and I saw it like in the context of contemporary African art, and I was able to read more about it, I was like, this isn't just a pretty piece, this is almost a protest piece to me. And so that gave me a deeper relationship with it, relating it to a struggle, just gave it a much deeper meaning to me than, Oh, that's pretty, like I'd hang that in my house.
 
 Gianofer Fields  05:32
 So then when you saw this piece upstairs, and it struck you with pretty well, you see it down here, it became a work of protest that had a deeper meaning. What do you think could have been added upstairs, that would have taken you to that place, when you met this piece for the first time?
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  05:48
 I think just putting it, I think putting it in a different area upstairs. So the way that I saw it upstairs, it was kind of like, tucked into like a corner. And so it didn't really like draw you in to go and look at it and like look at the tombstone, and like get the full story, it kind of just like turned your head for a second. And then you like turn back and went through the rest of the exhibit. So I think showcasing it in a context like this makes people want to like walk up and be like, oh, wait a minute, what is this doing in this contemporary African art section, and they learn more about it that way? I think like, the context that you put art in, and what you put different pieces of art around really creates like an experience for the person who's walking through the exhibit, because different things catch your eye. And you want to think about the different relationships between these art pieces. And that really like makes you more curious about what is this piece mean and where did it come from?
 
 Gianofer Fields  06:47
 So then as you're looking at these works, and we're walking around the museum as a journalism major, do you think the way you were seeing objects now, based on your experience in the museum, whether it be this particular exhibit, or whether it be a previous exhibit or wandering around in the museum? Has it changed the way you the way you approach subject matters, and your journalistic work?
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  07:12
 I'd say that it has given me a larger respect for different mediums of communication. So you could write a story about, for example, the turmoil that inspired Petrol Beads, and you would, you wouldn't necessarily put the art perspective into that, you would kind of go and you would interview people, and you would use the facts. But what going through this museum and other museums have has given me is like a deeper appreciation of how people express themselves in different ways. And how equally valuable that is to the way that we express ourselves verbally. So this is something that if I was writing about this turmoil in Egypt, I believe this is something I would include a picture of this artwork, because this is something that not only can people reading the article connect you, but it's something that expresses how people on the ground are feeling about the situation, more so than it would in just a traditional interview like this is the way that people also express themselves. And it deserves to be included in articles and other like journalistic things.
 
 Gianofer Fields  08:20
 So then as you move forward in your career, because I've already got you working, at the most prestigious place possible. I think you deserve it. In your career, as you move forward, do you think you'll spend more time looking before you start writing?
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  08:36
 I'm not going to make any promises. But I hope that I do. I hope that I find myself able to do that. Right now. I work mostly doing art stories. And so I spend a lot of time doing that, because I'm looking at artwork, I'm watching TV shows and that kind of thing. But I hope to take that into more of like an investigative context, taking it all in when I'm doing an interview, like what is the context of the room that I'm in when I'm talking to this person? What is the context of the situation? Recently, I was covering a protest that was downtown. And I found that as the protest itself was interesting, what was more interesting was the reactions of people on the sides, as they as the group like walked up State Street, like the reaction of the people who were inside the stores was equally as interesting as what the actual protest was about. And I think that's something I would have missed had I just had that singular focus on, like, What is the news here? Like, something that I've learned throughout my journalism classes is like, you have to focus on what the news is. But I think that taking a much deeper look at everything going like okay, it's not only what the news is, it's how people are feeling about it in that moment, is something that is really important.
 
 Gianofer Fields  09:51
 I'm just so excited about your work and I'm so excited about the avenues that you're taking, that I want to really draw out of you, share, my delight in doing this, but also draw out of you like what makes you so delighted. Because your eyes have been sparkling. You've been smiling the entire time you were so into what you're doing, and so delighted by it. Tell me about where that comes from.
 
 Gabriella Hartlaub  10:17
 It comes from just deep, I mean, just generally, it comes from just a deep-seated curiosity, like this is so this is so cliche, but I was always the kid who was asking, like, why is this thing this way. And I have always loved museums, I could spend hours just walking around museums reading every single word that's written there. And it just comes from a deep sense of curiosity. I'm a really empathetic and emotional person. And so I'm always searching for that. In other people, I want to understand other people in terms of how they express themselves, what they feel, what experiences they've been through. And I think art is just such a great way to find that because since you're not necessarily talking to a person, you can so easily see an art piece, understand where the artist is coming from. And also entwine those experiences with your own. And I think that connection, of finding the similarities in our experiences is just so amazing. And that's what I've, that's what I want to spend my life doing. Just finding those connections between different people, and building avenues where we can like better understand each other. And sometimes that takes the form of writing an article and getting people's perspectives out there. And sometimes that takes the form of just looking at art and being like, this is how this person is feeling. And sometimes I relate to that. And sometimes I don't, but to be able to witness another person's thoughts and feelings in this way I just think is so valuable and I just love doing it.
 
 Gianofer Fields  11:48
 You've been listening to Meet Me at the Chazen. Our guest, Gabriella Hartlaub, is a journalism major at UW–Madison. Programming note: this is our last episode of the fall semester. We will return in January with the start of the spring semester in the new calendar year. Meet Me at the Chazen is a production of the Chazen Museum of Art on the campus of UW–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. For more information about the museum, its collections and exhibitions, visit chazen.wisc.edu I'm your host, Gianofer Fields. Thank you for listening.