Hello and welcome to another episode of Inside the Benton. I am Hannah Avalos, your host, and in this episode we will be discussing Sadie Barnette: Legacy & Legend, an exhibition currently on view at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College. This exhibition is centered on a 500-page surveillance dossier created by the FBI on Rodney Barnette, the artist’s father and the founder of the Compton chapter of the Black Panther party in 1968. The dossier chronicles the tactics of harassment and intimidation experienced by Barnette’s father and in the exhibition, Sadie Barnette uses her own visual language to assert resilience in the face of a history characterized by oppression.

In this episode, I interview both Sadie Barnette and the Benton’s senior curator, Rebecca McGrew, and we discuss the origins and content of the exhibition as well as the steps they took to make it happen. Transcript

Hi and welcome to this episode of Inside the Benton. I’m your host, Hannah Avalos, and in this episode, we will explore Art Object Specimen, an exhibition that is closing in just about two weeks at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College. So listen to this episode and then make sure to get to the museum to see the show.

Art Object, Specimen tests and explores the expectations that art museum spaces implicitly place on the objects that they display. The exhibition calls into question the categories we use to talk about objects in the world. Which objects are art? Which are specimens? Does your coffee mug become art if it goes from your kitchen table into a museum? What does it mean to be an object?

Much like how the geological specimens in the show index moments in earth’s history, this episode serves as a record of what this exhibition captured. In this episode you’ll hear me talk first with Noor Tamari ‘22 about the snuff bottles in the collection. And from the geology department, you will hear both from D’maia Curry, ‘19 who was also the Benton’s Post Baccalaureate fellow, and Geology Professor Jade Star Lackey. They will both talk about the intersections of art and geology and what this exhibition meant to them.

Let's get into it.

In this episode of Inside the Benton, Hannah Avalos ’21 and assistant curator of collections Salim Moore chat about all things Peonies by Charles Ethan Porter. Included in this discussion are explanations about painting techniques, the biography of the artist, and how we understand his legacy now. Listeners will also hear Hannah and Salim give take a deep dive into the painting. Transcript. 

Season 3: Welcome Back! Episode 4 | In this episode of Inside the Benton Hannah Avalos ’21 interviews photographer and artist Ian Byers-Gamber ’14 not only about his personal art practice but also art documentation and its importance to artists, art historians, and museums. In this episode, Byers-Gamber also discusses the intersection between his work and activism. Transcript 

You can follow Ian Byers-Gamber on Instagram @bamblerdander

You can find his book If They Can Do It, Why Can’t We? at https://www.smingsming.com/collections/sming-sming-books/products/ian-byers-gamber-if-they-can-do-it-why-can-t-we.

You can find information about his exhibition at CSU Dominguez Hills’s University Art Gallery at https://www.socloserightnow.com/.

Learn about land acknowledgements in this second episode of Season 3 of Inside the Benton! Hannah Avalos and Dr. Meranda Roberts discuss the whys and hows of land acknowledgements, including what makes one good and effective.

The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College’s land acknowledgment:

The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College acknowledges the Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Tongva world, including the Los Angeles Basin, South Channel Islands, San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, and portions of Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties) and are grateful to have the opportunity to work for the Taraaxatom (Indigenous peoples) in this place. As an institution located on unceded Indigenous land, we pay our respects to Honuukvetam (ancestors), ’Ahiihirom (elders), and ’Evoohiinkem (our relatives / relations) past, present, and emerging. Transcript: https://pomona.box.com/s/4qz4rfora2km5zvq620861oh7izkmz3h 

Dr. Meranda Roberts’s blog: https://merandawriteshistory.com/

Season 3: Welcome Back! Episode 1—For this premiere episode of “Inside the Benton,” join producer Hannah Avalos ‘21, as she sits down with Architect Jeffry Burchard and asks him about how the Benton Museum of Art’s physical space came to be. Burchard is a Partner and Principal at Machado Silvetti and an Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. To make a reservation to visit the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, please visit www.pomona.edu/benton. Transcript: https://pomona.box.com/s/ctdoimn00338pzd1yofzj0px1rub8roo

Season 3 officially Premieres Thursday, September 9th, and a new episode will be released weekly! And if you want a little more ‘Inside the Benton’ feel free to check out our backlog of episodes from seasons 1 and 2! Transcript https://pomona.box.com/s/2vcaev9lxwwtiu0spl7asenmh3ecn80r. 

Season 2: Within and Beyond Our Gallery Walls | Episode 7—Join Inside the Benton host Hannah Avalos as she explores the making of the current exhibition Alison Saar: Of Aether and Earthe with both the artist and Benton curator Rebecca McGrew. Transcript https://app.box.com/s/tz57mqqnuqi8vga4631ugxccyck22ba6

Season 2: Within and Beyond Our Gallery Walls | Episode 6—Benton intern Mei Ge interviews the artist Alia Ali on the occasion of Ali’s Project Series exhibition. The two talk about the artist’s goals and intentions as well as the process of putting together the multimedia installation. Transcript https://app.box.com/s/apwr8k6t08v44ig6yc3r12kjf3w8wd37. 

Season 2: Within and Beyond Our Gallery Walls | Episode 5—Join host Hannah Avalos as she discusses the Benton’s holdings of Cahuilla basketry with Pomona College student Kali Tindell-Griffin and Indigenous scholar Dr. Meranda Roberts. Learn about the importance of listening to Indigenous voices as we reckon with the past and imagine a more just and inclusive future. Original music provided by Jake Turner, Class of 2021. Transcript https://bit.ly/37PhGrR.