Volunteer Spotlight: Carlye Christianson

In this series, Manager of Visitor and Family Engagement Emily Bray profiles volunteers within the museum. Phillips volunteers are an integral part of the museum and help in many ways: greeting and guiding guests through the museum, helping with Sunday Concerts, assisting patrons in the library, helping out with Phillips after 5 and special events, and so much more. Our volunteers offer a wealth of expertise and experience to the museum, and we are delighted to highlight several of them.

 Carlye Christianson, Art Information Volunteer

Caryle Christianson

What year did you start volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

CC: 2011.

 What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your volunteering?

CC:I started volunteering at the Phillips because I wanted to learn more about the museum and just learn something about art. I savor my education at the Phillips in both areas. As a lawyer and American history major, I spent little time over the years taking in this part of culture that expands our humanness. I am always grateful for what the Phillips has given me.

But I’m also grateful for my interaction with visitors to the museum. From comments I hear, it seems clear the assistance of the art information volunteers expands the enjoyment and knowledge visitors receive during their outing to the Phillips. I love conveying information and I have loved hearing stories of our visitors’ experience with the art, traveling collections, and stories of those who have prints of The Luncheon of the Boating Party or any of our collection on the walls of their homes.

I especially have taken great comfort in our younger visitors, many of whom at some tender age know more about art and its appreciation than I could probably ever learn. These children are so well spoken and thoughtful that I take great comfort in knowing that perhaps the future of our country may indeed be secure.

What do you do when you are not volunteering at The Phillips Collection?

CC: I am a lawyer, licensed in California and in the District. My first career was as a civil trial lawyer practicing in California. After moving to the National Capital Area, I focused on issues of management, operations and strategic development, principally for nonprofits. Recently, I have been working with SAE International, a standards development organization that focuses on aerospace and automotive standards development. My charge has been to develop two committees, one looking to develop mission-based standards UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) pilot and operator certification, and the other focusing on aerospace cybersecurity.

My other work is teaching at the University of Baltimore. Some of this work has been teaching leadership, management, operations and presentation skills for students in the Certified Public Manager Program. Another part of the work has been in teaching data-based decision making to managers and analysts at  the Social Security Administration.

What is your favorite room or painting here?

CC: This question is near impossible to answer. As to paintings, today, I would say either William Merritt Chase’s Hide and Seek or Helen Frankenthaler’s Runningscape.

If you had one word to describe the Phillips, what would it be?

CC: Based on the above, it is clear I never have just one word!

Share a fun fact about you!

CC: I am very fortunate to be able to do quite a bit of traveling. A year or so ago, we were in France and visited Chantilly, a quintessential French town which is next to a castle, huge and dare I say luxurious horse stables and a racecourse. After some touring and watching a horse race, we needed to rush on. I wanted to visit the Maison Fournaise in Chatou, the area celebrated by Renoir in The Luncheon of Boating Party, but we were late and we had some trouble figuring out where Chatou was. Then, just as we were giving up, on the freeway on the way back into Paris, there was a sign on the road directing us to the Maison Fournaise. Of course, we stopped. The restaurant was not serving at that particular time of day, but we were able to go inside anyway, sit on the deck and envision Renoir’s celebration. I always recall that day of our visit to Chatou whenever I stop and visit the Renoir here at the Phillips.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

CC: I think I have said too much already.

Being An Artist at The Phillips Collection

Matisse_studio quai

Henri Matisse, Studio, Quai Saint-Michel, 1916. Oil on canvas, 58 1/4 x 46 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1940.

What is it like to be an artist working at The Phillips Collection? I tackle this question not because I claim to be an artist—far from it, in fact; I see myself more as a cultural sociologist than an artist—but because over the last month or so of working here, I have been inspired to create more than ever before. More to the point, over the next few weeks, the Phillips is exhibiting works by artists employed at the museum and I wanted to take a moment to think about how we are all affected by working amongst great art.

It is a traditionally held dictate that visitors to a museum shall passively engage with the art. Walk up to it silently, contemplate subject and color for a moment, then move on to the next piece. Here at the Phillips, however, the environment is such that one cannot help but become intimately attached to the works hanging on the walls. They become old friends, and we move from passive engagement to something more ambiguous and often awkwardly articulated. The works of art become inspiration. They pop up in dreams and motifs in our own work. Moreover, most of the museum guards have an artistic bent which allows for conversation about and active engagement with the art, and who among us does not feel a tinge of joy when we come across the many troops of school children discussing pieces and creating their own art in response? Personally, I have become obsessed with Henri Matisse’s Studio, Quai Saint-Michel. It is currently on view on the second floor of the original Phillips house in a small gallery just past Renoir’s Luncheon of the Booting Party. The painting’s size in this room makes it imposing and all consuming. It is as if you are transported into that studio space with its soft light. It has sparked in my work a new interest in color and pattern, as well as an impulse to incorporate other art forms such as music into my otherwise purely visual creations.

It is impossible to remain passive in a museum like the Phillips. You are constantly confronting works in a personal way and they in turn intimately confront you. Being an artist working here is like gaining the ability of osmosis as the creative urge seeps into your veins. All I can say is, after a day’s work within this museum, I cannot wait to get back to my canvas and paints.

Dominique Lopes, Director’s Office Intern

 

Ciao!

The International Art and Language Soiree hosted at the Phillips on Thursday, August 16 in collaboration with the International Club of DC provided an incredible atmosphere of cultural infusion. The Tryst at the Phillips café was the perfect meeting place for all who attended, including experienced foreign language speakers and beginners looking to try something new. The native speakers and conversation facilitators led ongoing discussions about their cultures and the variety of works featured at the Phillips produced by artists of their respective cultural backgrounds. For example, the Russian patrons discussed Chagall and Rothko, the Spanish patrons discussed Picasso and Goya, and the French patrons discussed Renoir and Cézanne.

The mood was light and fun, comfortable and relaxed, making it easy to approach any language table and give it a try. Much to my surprise, that is exactly what many of the attendees did. I watched in awe as individuals floated between the Russian table and the German table, the Spanish table and the Italian table. There was minimal emphasis on proficiency in a single language and more emphasis on a friendly interaction with something new. I felt my confidence building as I observed the excitement of all the attendees in this culturally charged environment. Maybe this week I’ll attempt to recall some Spanish from my high school days, or just sit in on the French discussion to assess how much of it I can understand with my minimal background in the romance languages. Either way, the art and language soiree at The Phillips Collection provides an irresistibly welcoming vibe that encourages everyone to join the fun.

To get a feel for how these language and art soirees unfold, check out this video, courtesy of the International Club of DC, which was recorded the night I attended.

Laura McNeil, Graduate Intern for Programs and Lectures