On Monday, “06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung reviewed the new MoCA\CT exhibit featuring artists Ellen Harvey and Rich Shaefer, “Looking for History.” The museum says:
MoCA\CT appreciates Robin Chung’s thoughtful engagement with “Looking for History,” and the recognition of the exhibition’s complexity and ambition. It’s unfortunate that she found it “stressful.” However, that might be a result of her missing the larger point of the show.
Ellen Harvey’s “The Disappointed Tourist” is not a critique of nostalgia as something exclusionary or manipulative. Rather, it is grounded in the idea that nostalgia can be a shared, unifying human experience — one that connects people through collective memory, loss and longing. By inviting contributions from individuals across diverse backgrounds, the project expands whose memories are preserved and honored, emphasizing inclusion rather than division.
In the story, after a quote from Ms. Harvey, Ms. Chung notes, “The happy memories of a privileged few is [sic] harmful when propagandized to a larger society.”
Ellen Harvey, with her work …
Ms. Harvey responds: “I’d ask that it be made clear that this is her interpretation. I would never make such a sweeping generalization.” Ms. Harvey emphasizes that “The Disappointed Tourist” isn’t a polemic show, but one that celebrates everyone, and is intended to bring people with different histories and opinions together.
We would also like to note that while Ellen Harvey was born in England, as Ms. Chung pointed out, she is an American citizen whose practice deeply engages with American and international cultural narratives that also happen to be universal human experiences that defy borders and boundaries. Her perspective is both personal and participatory, shaped by years of dialogue with communities across the world.
Beyond questioning Harvey’s citizenship, Ms. Chung further queries, “Should it matter that Shaefer grew up in Europe?” In reality, Mr. Shaefer’s formative years abroad resulted from his father’s dedicated service as a United States Army Officer stationed in Europe.
Rick Shaefer’s charcoal drawings on synthetic vellum are not “canvas monuments to industry and power” as suggested by Ms. Chung, but instead allegorical depictions critical of impenetrable barriers that prioritize self-glorification and ambition over endeavors to achieve unity. Unfortunately, the medium is not the only error the writer makes in her interpretation of Shaefer’s work.
… and Rick Shaefer, with his. (Photos/Hanyue Wang)
“Without polemics, the beauty of Mr. Shaefer’s intricate line work invites viewers to contemplate the distance between our founding ideals and our current reality–and how the choices made today will shape our future,” explains Robin Jaffee Frank, executive director of MoCA\CT.
“Looking for History” is intended to spark nuanced conversations, and we welcome a range of interpretations. That’s the nature of great art.
At the same time, we believe it is important to recognize the exhibition’s underlying commitment to broadening representation, supporting the integrity of the artists, and fostering shared understanding.
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A debate about art! I love it.
“A debate about art.” (sounds kind of dysphoric) Only in Westport. I know!!! Let’s hold it on the RSC bridge (where lost causes go to die (a slow and agonizing death)).
“fostering shared understanding”? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
Let’s just agree to disagree. Maybe I don’t want to share my understanding. I gave up a lot to acquire it. Four years to get through Staples (on a three year program).
It’s frankly amateur for a museum to defensively respond to what was an anodyne and largely positive review from an unpaid (I assume) critic on a free local blog. Art exists to be observed and interpreted by others; its meaning isn’t dictated by its creators. If MOCA wants to be taken seriously, they need to act like an art institution and not a schoolmarm.
the drawings are fantastic ‼️✍️