Student Spotlight: Neil Hancock

Each semester, the Georgia Museum of Art has student interns from departments and units across campus. Penske McCormack is currently an intern for the department of communications and a student at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. In the essay below, they examine and interpret the work of another Lamar Dodd student, Neil Hancock.

"Large, But Not Biggest"

By his own insistence, Neil Hancock’s paintings are guarded by code. Meaning and narrative embroiled within a foreign alphabet, each visual element is a Gordian knot of misinterpretation, to the point that we, the viewers, are forced to release our compulsion to comprehend. It is only with such release that these paintings are able to be effectively experienced. Hancock’s self-portrait as a raccoon serves as an excellent example, using the question “why?” as a weapon against trespass. We are confronted by symbols and objects that, according to our own logic, must hold translatable meaning: a dead raccoon, surrounded by an aura of vibrating white; a rectangle layered over the animal and painted with wood grain; digital prints of oranges and a table full of beer and cigarettes; and road lines of exaggerated perspective, which disappear with blotched strokes that ground the painting as a painting, not an illusion. Why include these elements? What are their logic and their purpose, if we are not given tools to excavate their significance? This art historian would argue that it is to the end of redemption, even democratization, of autobiography that the artist performs such futile semiotics.

Although we are presented with symbolic elements very consciously chosen and executed on the part of the artist, and the painting therefore reeks of personal significance — the title, “Game Knows Game,” exemplifies such — the fact that the symbols are not explained means that we are free to experience the narrative as an object. Rather than being bound to the artist’s experiences and point of view, we are able to adjust our mental grip to our own comfort. Like the consumption of food versus the preparation of it, we are sensing the self-portrait rather than understanding it.

Hancock’s paintings also perform alchemy in the transformation of sensation and experience into an object. As can only be effectively seen in person, the canvases are thick, the sides painted to encase them fully in the artist’s will. “Camo Object” highlights this prioritization of a painting’s reality rather than its realism. “Ill Dome” performs the same transformation, with the added layer of a perfectly comprehensible and relatable phrase, “Shut Up Brain,” manifesting in reality along with the painting. The frustration of overthinking is made feasible, something we could grip in our hands, turn over and over, even throw against the wall. This potentiality creates a sense of wonder regarding a sensation that would otherwise be somewhat sinister, yet fully castrated by its mundaneness.

“Horrible People,” a collaboration with Athens artist Annemarie DiCamillo, takes this transfiguration and magnifies it through vehemence. The graphic flames amplify the phrase and raze the viewer’s perception in a straightforward sense, but scribbled paint strokes, tone-shifting emotive letters, and drips of paint both precise and messy communicate the sensation even more effectively. We do not know of whom the artist is speaking, or what situation brought about the frustration — for certainly it was a condensed moment, implied by the phrase’s hasty scrawl — but the necessity of such knowledge has been done away with. An explosive sensation is reinterpreted through intentionality and allows us to reconsider with it with impunity--the experience of aggravation without the cause or consequence.

“Large, But Not the Biggest” (above), includes all these factors. It is a painting of tenderness, and of an important story we can feel but not iterate. By withholding information, the narrative becomes almost universalized. Hancock’s painting is a practice in labor and ease, immediacy and distance, as is best described by the statement on the artist’s website:

“He uses abstraction as a means of generalization, reexamining and categorizing experience into painting surface and object. Experience becomes truth. Ambiguity is important. The code cannot be broken. Defend the castle.”

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Penske McCormack

Intern, Department of Communications

Student Guide to the Georgia Museum of Art

Students have a range of options to get involved at the Georgia Museum of Art

Next week, thousands of students will be returning to campus with even more joining for their first year. The Georgia Museum of Art is a great place for students to get involved, and they have many different opportunities to do so. Take a look below for all of the resources the museum offers to University of Georgia students.

Internships

The museum offers internships in a number of areas: curatorial, development, design and preparation, education, publications and public relations. Interns are expected to work approximately 12-15 hours per week as well as one special event per semester. These positions are best suited for rising juniors and above. For more information, read about the different types of interns here.

Student Association

The Student Association at the museum shares the mission of the Georgia Museum of Art and the University of Georgia to support and promote teaching, research and service. The GMOA Student Association is committed to promoting the museum to students and encouraging them to be involved in the arts here at UGA and in Athens. They do this by “hosting student nights at the museum and organizing community art events, enabling students and community members to come together all in the name of art.” You can learn more about the student association here.

Student Docents

The museum’s student docent corps is a specially trained group of student volunteers who lead conversation-based tours of the museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. This program requires a commitment for fall and spring semesters, 12 tours and continuing-education attendance on select Thursday evenings. Student docents learn about the museum and help museum visitors feel welcome and comfortable. No experience in education or art is necessary, and all training is provided. You can find the application here.

Events

The museum holds special events weekly, with a wide range of activities. These include movie nights, yoga in the galleries, meditation sessions, study nights and late night parties, among others. For a full list of upcoming events, pick up a copy of Facet at the museum or view our online calendar.

Former Intern Samantha Meyer Reflects on Her Time at the Museum

Samantha Meyer

One of our former public relations interns, Samantha Meyer, recently took the time to write about how her internship with the Georgia Museum of Art helped her find her ideal career path. Meyer is currently the lead career consultant for the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

During my time as a student at the University of Georgia, I worked as a public relations intern for the Georgia Museum of Art. I was thrilled to land this role and learn more about my chosen major and career path in the context of art in the Athens community. I was excited to learn about the basics of PR—how to write a press release, practicing my writing skills and generally learning how to communicate effectively on behalf of an organization. I had no idea that I would learn so much more about my future career path and myself.

One of my favorite things about working at the museum was that I was trusted to do the work I was assigned. I was responsible for touching base with curators about upcoming exhibitions for the advance exhibition schedule, and I managed the process of tracking press clippings. I was also writing press releases frequently—and about some major initiatives, at that. I mean, I wrote a release about Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, y’all!

As intimidating as that all may have sounded to me at the time, I learned that I love autonomy in any role I assume; I will always appreciate the trust that was put into me during my time as a public relations intern.

In addition, I learned how to carry myself in an office setting. As a first generation college student, I didn’t understand the importance of this. The museum was a wonderful learning environment as I processed how to collaborate with peers and superiors, how to take constructive criticism and simply how to work effectively within an organization.

An unexpected outcome of my time at the museum was learning how much I enjoyed working in higher education. Working at the Georgia Museum of Art taught me that there were ways to apply my communications experience in support of causes and organizations that make an impact on their communities and stand for something meaningful. I realized that I couldn’t work for an organization whose mission and impact I didn’t support. As a double major in public relations and women’s studies, coupled with my time at the museum, I realized my values would play a huge role in my career—something that I was unable to foresee early on in my time at UGA.

Nowadays, it’s my job to help current University of Georgia students figure out what they want to do with their careers. One of the first things we encourage at the UGA Career Center is to get experience (such as internships) to help them learn what they might want to do. I encourage starting out in campus roles (and have even recommended GMOA before!) so students can begin learning what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want more of in future roles. Though I’m no longer working in the art world, there was no better setting for me to gain experience for my future career than the Georgia Museum of Art.

For more information on our internship opportunities, you can read about our various positions here or fill out an application.