Hunter Museum of American Art

What do you think? We want to know what you think about the Museum and its art. The Hunter is a space for everyone to engage in a dialogue, and we want your voice to be a part of that discussion.

In the past, visitors came to museums seeking information, inspiration and enlightenment. They put the museum curators in the driver seat, using a gallery label as a way to discover what they should think about a work of art. Today at the Hunter, we still hope to educate, enlighten and inspire our visitors but most, of all, we hope to learn what visitors think. And we give you many opportunities to do this.

Do you like to write out your thoughts? Then pick up one of our leather journals and answer a question about your feelings about a work of art. Do you gravitate more towards technology? Check out our digital guest book and tell us what you think a painting is trying to say. Do you have a poetic bent? Then head to a poetry board and work out your feelings with a poem. Do you just want to speak your mind? Then pick up your cell phone you walk through our galleries, dial one of the Guide By Cell prompts and share your thoughts. Do you see the world through your camera lens? Then snap a photo of your favorite piece and enter it into our Flickr pool.

At least once a week, staff members go through the galleries and read journal entries, gathering them to share with others and to gain new insights and ideas about what we could provide for visitors in the future. In them, we find wonderful dialogues – comments visitors are sharing with us and conversations they are having with one another.

Some visitors delight in sharing stories from their own lives. For instance, in a gallery that has information about the start of collecting in America, visitors told us about their own collections. One bibliophile wrote: I collect old books, new books, rare books, dog-earred books…I love each volume. Each ones hold memories – where I acquired them, where I read them, who I loaned them to, who I talked about them with. Each one is a cherished friend.

Others provide probing thoughts on cultural issues reflected in art. In our Stereotypes nook, visitors view images of African Americans in high art and in popular culture and we ask them to reflect on how media today portrays race. One college student visitor wrote: I think now instead of the white community stereotyping us, we do it to ourselves. While another visitor wrote: Today’s images of African Americans reflect a muffled and less overt form of racism that is more hidden but still apparent…all stereotypes have not been eliminated in America.

In looking at nude imagery, visitors had differing views. One wrote: Nudity reminds me that the human body with all its flaws is beautiful and a wonder to behold. While another responded: I’m not fond of nudes, but the artist worked hard on this piece, and I respect that.

And finally, many of our visitors like to find stories in the paintings. In sharing their thoughts on a computerized journal beside a painting of two young women on an abandoned beach one visitor saw the work as a literal story of: 2 girls who lost their home to a fire. They live on a beatch and they were playing the ribbon game and the girl in the polka-dot dress lost so she is mad. But since they are BFF’s or Sisters, they look depressed because of their home. While another saw it as a metaphoric representation of: Deep reflection in the girl concerning who she is and who she would like to be. She sees her life as various shapes and circles. The ribbons represent the way that her life can just flow in the wind while the poles represent the necessary anchors required to keep her from breaking loose and drifting off to the sea.

Next time you visit the Hunter, page through the journals or scroll through the computer entries and you will hear the voices of hundreds of visitors. Then, add your voice to the chorus and let us know your thoughts about a work of art. So tell us, what do you think?