[Internship] Student Interview 3: Han Yang Lee, Brown University ’12
Han Yang Lee (Han Lee) is a student at Brown University, class of 2012. He is majoring in Liberal Arts, Visual Art, and Economics.
1. Can you give us a brief description of the organization that you are working for?:
I am working as a studio assistant for the Italian artist Pietro Ruffo (http://www.pietroruffo.com). He is a very logical, conscientious, and philosophical guy. His thought process is directly reflected in his work.
2. What are your responsibilities?
I fabricate things and help out with his post-production (framing, etc). I also help out with installations at exhibition places.
4. What is your time commitment?
10-12 hours a week. Transportation takes 3 hours a day.
3. What have you learned? Have there been any difficulties?
I have learned a lot – I have gained better understanding about being a professional artist in the contemporary art world. You need to be good at marketing and presenting your work yourself. Difficulties would be the pressure for good quality work. I need to do a good job and not make any mistakes. Adapting to his drawing skills was difficult since he does lots of delicate pencil drawings. But in general, things were not too hard. There are only opportunities to learn.
4. What have you been working on these days?
For the last month and a half I have been working on Pietro’s Biennale project. Also his recent solo show in Paris.
5. What is your favorite aspect of the internship?
My favorite part would be getting a very close contact with an artist’s mind. It was very interesting to understand how things influence an artist and to learn about his personal insight. I also enjoy the personal relationship that I developed with the artist; he is an awesome guy.
6. How has this experience influenced you and your future plans?
The internship has given me more confidence to become a professional artist. Hopefully this experience would open up a door for me to enter the art world in the States… or any career that involves a creative mind.
– Sunny Kim