The MFJS Reporter — Winter 2020 M-W

Corin Hewitt is a contemporary American artist whose installations, performances, sculptures, photographs, and videos investigate relationships within architecture and domestic life. His work has been shown in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and The Seattle Art Museum. 

Through Hewitt’s introduction, the audience’s interest was varied. As he detailed his home life in Burlington, VT, many sat waiting for the real presentation to begin. However, as soon as the appearance and beginning of discussion on his first piece began, the audience lit up with evident interest, sitting on the edge of their seats in an attempt to get a closer look.

“To see an artist whose work we have heard so much about and used for inspiration in our own projects was kind of just exciting. We all wanted to see and hear how he came up with his stuff,” said University of Denver sophomore Liza Shwartz, who was attending the show in order to gain inspiration for her own work. 

Through all the artists I have been exposed to, Corin Hewitt is one that stands out in terms of his exploration into what art really is. I can attest, through the filled audience, to the fact that this same thought is shared by many. Hewitt’s presentation marked one of the first times that an artist has shared his interactive creative process with an audience in this format at the University of Denver. 

The audience became especially engaged when Hewitt started to introduce one of his most famous works, exhibited in the Whitney Museum, titled Seed Stage. The installation included Hewitt physically moving about his make-shift studio space engaging with various materials and participating in constant artistic transformation of them. This was described by one of the professors present as “an intimate examination of the cycles of transformation and transience.”

“It was actually cooler than I expected, seeing him move around and like kind of imitating the process, the stuff he came out with was actually really interesting,” DU sophomore John Millett commented.

It’s common for artists to merely protect images of their work during their presentations, but what made Hewitt’s so engaging and popular with the audience was the aspect of interactivity. 

Shwartz said “Seeing him work like that made me so excited. It’s crazy, I’ve always admired his work, but actually seeing how he goes through and does it made me like it even more.”

As Hewitt wrapped up his presentation, and was finished displaying the images of his newer pieces, the screen went black. He stood in silence for a few deafening moments, the audience in awe just staring at the blank screen in my case, reflecting on what they had just seen. And then with casual demeanor simply asked, “questions?”

The eager response by the audience clearly represented the profound message of inspiration left by Hewitt in his presentation. 

As we left the space, Millett turned to me, and simply stated, “I need to go see more artists.”