Virginia Commonwealth University art student Madeleine Dugan’s work uncovering facts about the lives of the people in famed photographer Man Ray’s portraits played a key role in creating the exhibition “Man Ray: The Paris Years,” on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through Feb. 21.
When Dugan graduated in December, 2021 she had the unique credential of “exhibition research assistant” on her resume and can tout having a strong imprint on a groundbreaking exhibit that shines a light on those who worked, lived and performed in Paris in the 1920s and 30s.
“I really have loved it a lot,” said Dugan, who majored in craft and material design in the School of the Arts and minored in art history and criminal justice. “I like making discoveries, and researching is so fun. I just love to learn.”
VCU Libraries collection was a big part of that learning. Says Dugan, "I used the libraries for so many things! Sometimes I had to look up specific quotes to cite in the catalogue from books like The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas or the Sylvia Beach memoirs. I also would go to the Man Ray section and went through every book taking notes and sometimes telling my boss what show catalogues we should order for our own library.
"I didn’t really ask for help. I just used the website to search for certain topics and checked them out. I also used the Special Collections and Archives to look through Minotaure and a volume of Vanity Fair to see if there were any Man Ray photographs inside (which there were).
"I used The Workshop to record tracks off of a vinyl record that is in the VMFA show and now that record and the sound bytes I got off of it are in our show and you can hear it playing in the galleries."
Ruby Richards with Diamonds, ca. 1938, Man Ray (American, 1890–1976), gelatin silver print. Collection of Michael and Jacky Ferro, Miami © Man Ray 2015 Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/ADAGP, Paris 2021
Sarah Powers, Ph.D., a VMFA curatorial research specialist who was Dugan’s high school art history teacher at St. Catherine’s School, gave her the tip about the job opportunity two years ago. Powers is married to Michael Taylor, Ph.D., chief curator and deputy director for art and education at the VMFA. Once in the job, Dugan worked directly with Taylor, who included her in meetings organizing the show, always asking her opinion on plans from design to programming. Dugan had a key role in other tasks from writing labels to proofreading copy.
“There were wonderful discussions around cultural appropriation [in Man Ray’s photographs],” Taylor said. “Madeleine brought so much to the fore and I think that’s what's been great about this is that the exhibition is unlike any previous Man Ray exhibition.”