'We have a lot to say': Baltimore art museum guards curate their own exhibit
'Guarding the Art' opened on Sunday and will run through to July 10
Dereck Mangus is one of several security guards at the Baltimore Museum of Art stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight this week, as guest curators of their own exhibition.
"In a word, [it's] exhilarating," he told As It Happens guest host Gillian Findlay. "It's very, very exciting to see all of our work up after a year-long project and to see the reaction from the public, which has been positive."
The exhibit, which may be the first of its kind, upends traditional art hierarchies.
Guarding the Art opened on Sunday and will run through July 10.
The show's 17 curators — all of them current or former museum security guards — chose drawings, paintings and sculptures from various genres and collections across the museum. They interpreted the pieces through their own knowledge and experience, not just as guards, but as filmmakers, musicians, professors, writers and artists. They even wrote wall labels and designed the installations, according to the New York Times.
"A lot of people, they know the guard is there … but they don't necessarily talk to or consider the guard. But if you do stop and talk with us, I think you'll find that we know a thing or two about the art," said Mangus.
He is an artist and writer in his own right, showcasing his work locally, and says that working in the museum has influenced his creative pursuits.
"The more I look, the more I learn," he said. "I think that's a lesson ... that's true of art, but also true of people."
Mangus settled on one painting in particular which he wanted people to see — the House of Frederick Crey by Thomas Ruckle.
Ruckle was born in Ireland and migrated to the United States in the late 18th century. In Baltimore, he was a house painter, a sign painter and a self-taught artist.
I would say one benefit of guarding is being able to look at artworks over and over again, which is absolutely necessary to appreciate artwork.- Dereck Mangus, security guard and artist
Ruckle also fought in the War of 1812, after which he painted a fellow soldier's post-war home.
"It's a little off in some ways, in the sense of perspective isn't perfect, but it's a quaint little picture of antebellum Baltimore," said Mangus, pointing out the Washington Monument on the far right of the painting.
"I wait for the bus across from the monument every morning on my way to work," Mangus said. "The monument, by the way, is the only thing in the picture that's still there. Everything is completely changed otherwise."
To him, Ruckle is an overlooked painter amidst the Baltimore Museum of Art's internationally-renowned collection of 19th century, modern and contemporary art.
"I would say one benefit of guarding is being able to look at artworks over and over again, which is absolutely necessary to appreciate artwork," Mangus said.
"Through the long hours of standing in the galleries and taking in the artwork, we have a lot to say."
Written by Mehek Mazhar. Interview with Dereck Mangus produced by Kate McGillivray.