Two Girls in White and Blue Dresses, with Their Arms around Each Other, 1906
Paula Modersohn-Becker. Rauert Collection at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. © Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen.
“I must learn how to express the gentle vibration of things…”
— From the journal of Paula Modersohn-Becker, 1898
Join Interpretation staff members Nancy Chen and Molly Bryson for a creative writing program inspired by Paula Modersohn-Becker: I Am Me. Participants will be guided through a series of close-looking and generative writing exercises responding to the exhibition.
A prolific visual artist, Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) was also an avid journaler and letter-writer. Her close observations of the world, in paintings and in prose, reveal a woman dedicated to capturing the depth and nuance of the human experience. In this program, we will explore some of Modersohn-Becker’s most pressing subjects—motherhood, nature, community, and identity—and use them as fodder for our own creative writing and self-reflection.
All materials will be provided, though participants are welcome to bring their own notebooks if they prefer.
what to expect
This 90-minute program will take place inside the Paula Modersohn-Becker: I Am Me exhibition. Staff will facilitate several creative writing exercises inspired by different sections of the exhibition. The exercises will be supplemented with discussion of the artist’s life and work, as well as passages from two relevant texts: Paula Modersohn Becker, The Letters and Journals and Being Here Is Everything: The Life of Paula Modersohn-Becker by Marie Darrieussecq.
Staff will provide pencils and papers to write with, as well as folding stools for participants to use throughout the program. After completing writing exercises, participants will be invited to share some of their writing, but will not be required to.
If you have any additional questions or want to request special accommodations, please email museum_interpretation@artic.edu.
about the facilitators
Molly Bryson joined the Art Institute’s Interpretation team in 2023. Her work focuses on developing inclusive and engaging exhibition narratives, labels, and other educational tools that meet the needs of the contemporary visitor. Outside of the museum, she writes fiction and nonfiction and hosts a salon-style writing group with friends.
Nancy Chen writes arts reviews and essays. She has been organizing public programs in the galleries at the Art Institute since September 2019. Nancy leads tours and conversations weekly at the museum; on shaping these experiences: “I often think of composing a gallery tour as both a creative exercise and a kind of essay writing.”
