By Cristina Martinez (In Collaboration with Rebecca Negre)
May 4th, 2023
Interviewing Maria McCarthy, Curatorial Associate at BRIC, and curator of Buzz Slutzky: For Example.
Throughout the semester I have visited so many amazing art exhibitions, galleries, and art collectives. One of my favorite exhibitions has been Buzz Slutzky’s For Example. While exhibitions would be nothing without artists and their work, curators play such an important role in the process. Maria McCarthy is a curator at BRIC an arts and media institution located in Downtown Brooklyn that works to be a 'creative catalyst for the community.'
McCarthy grew up in NYC and went to public schools without any art classes, so when she was in high school she applied for a free after-school arts program at the MoMA. She states that this program "changed my world forever." Every class they would explore various aspects of the art world; they looked at art, made art, learned from artists, and spoke with curators. "When I got to college I had to study something “worthwhile,” like neuroscience, but quickly realized I couldn’t deny my love for art. I ended up studying art history and interning during my summers at NYC galleries and arts organizations specializing in contemporary art, including BRIC", she states. Graduating during the pandemic was hard as there weren't any jobs, but McCarthy didn't give up the search and after months of applications she found BRIC and was invited to work part-time as a Curatorial Assistant. Two years later she works at BRIC full-time and is working on her third exhibition.
For Example is organized by Maria McCarthy, and is Buzz Slutzky’s first solo exhibition. It explores ideas of following examples set up for us by those in our past; of authority and instruction and how we should be a bit more critical of these systems. Slutzky themselves asks the question, "How do we get the messages of how we should move our bodies or how we should embody gender or existence in a space?" The two found each other through BRIClab: Video, an artist residency program supporting artists who want to explore video and audio mediums. All residents are required to submit a video project at the end of the residency, and McCarthy chose Slutzky. A highlight for McCarthy was working with Buzz and being able to form a friendship with them. "I cherish our relationship and believe that everything happens at the right time, for the right reason."
I was curious about the process of the two of them working together and if they ever clashed. According to McCarthy, her curatorial practice is "very artist-led" and she likes "to take the time to understand and respect their intentions, and in a way, make their dream come true. Trust and transparency are essential in any relationship, so even when compromises had to be made, we came to those decisions as partners." McCarthy's process seems amazing for artists with a solid vision and concept. Allowing them to work freely in transforming their vision into reality. In an article on BRIC's website announcing the exhibit McCarthy states that, "For Example is, in many ways, a reckoning between the stories we are told, and the stories we choose to tell." I honestly couldn't have said it better myself.
My personal favorite collection of works from the exhibition was the Hand Modeling Series. I found a fluidity and grace in the images that conveyed a very old-fashioned standard of holding yourself. A lot of the works in this exhibition were based on various magazines and informational guides, and this series in particular was based on a textbook about modeling. This is a perfect example of what McCarthy stated because these guides are a story we chose to tell in the past, but through their work, Slutzky is bringing these poses into question. This whole exhibition works to challenge societal expectations on all levels. I asked McCarthy how she felt about these pieces, and she agreed with my interpretation. "... it’s ridiculous to think that some guys got together in the 70s-80s-90s to write a book on how women should model their hands. We are definitely so quick to follow what we are told – especially today, when are inundated with trends on Tik Tok and Instagram, literally in the palm of our hands. As a cis woman, I grew up with similar messages of what is proper and polite, even if it means making myself smaller or putting people before myself. Now that I’m older, I have more freedom to craft my identity, and I think the exhibition does a beautiful job of reflecting on that process of reflection and trusting your intuition over what everyone else tells you to do or believe." There are so many messages that we have access to, and we don't realize how much of it we internalize. Growing up with a female identity there is a completely different set of expectations you have to follow, otherwise, you are deemed weird and socially unacceptable. Challenging these expectations and letting them go allows for a freedom of expression that this exhibition is all about. While speaking on a different series within the exhibition Slutzky says, "Drawing these photographs in the book, I'm kind of trying to remove the images from their status as a document that's instructing you to do something and kind of trying to intervene and have it do something else, or kind of tease out that complexity that I initially saw."
A major part of this exhibition, and the reason it all started, was Slutzky's video, One Shorter than the Other. According to McCarthy, it is a very powerful piece combining comedy and tragedy. "I felt that the material was very accessible to a wide audience – many people can relate to the feeling of carrying around their family trauma, drama, rumors, and gossip. I was mesmerized by the mystery and journey of trying to figure out the 'truth', and I loved that one of the takeaways from the video is that sometimes, there is no singular truth, but a collection of memories and stories and emotions that people carry with them and pass onto their loved ones."
It is one of her favorite pieces from the exhibition. Another is Manual Power #8 (pictured above). "I remember when Buzz texted me the mockup for that drawing and I was in awe – in my eyes, it is a perfect balance of content and form, and is narrative in a way that makes it accessible to many audiences." This series is a combination of drawings from a sculpting textbook and a self-defense instruction manual. Slutzky alternates the images between the textbook and the manual in a way that allows the images to parallel each other. "This exhibition is truly a deep cut or deep dive into the power of subjectivity, which to me is the most beautiful thing about art. I like to believe that anything goes in art – whatever you’re feeling or seeing is the right thing to feel and see. Something is coming up for you for a reason – trust that and run with it. I like to believe that many artists and curators use this idea/approach in their exhibitions."
McCarthy has only been a full-time curatorial associate for 14 months, but she has done amazing work so far. "I haven’t yet curated a group exhibition, but I look forward to one day experiencing the thrilling challenge of bringing together many artists who are working across different scales and media to speak to a shared message. She is currently working on picking the next artist for the fall 2023 Project Room exhibition and I for one can't wait to see what they put out.
For more on the exhibition and Slutzky's thought process.
For more on BRIC and McCarthy's work
For more on Buzz Slutzky
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