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Art Museum Senior Profile Laila Buligina '08
Position: Curatorial assistant
Major: International relations
Minor: Art history
Hometown: Riga, Latvia
Favorite piece at the Museum: Masaniello by Alexandre-Marie Colin. I enjoy paintings that combine a well-defined psychological portrait of an individual with a landscape and an historical narrative. Laila Buligina '08 attributes her career at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum to a 2004 trip to New York City organized by the art department. At the time, she was a first-year art history student and, on the bus ride back to South Hadley, she and John Varriano, Idella Plimpton Kendall Professor of Art, started talking. "I told him about my interest in working at the museum. He introduced me to its curator, Wendy Watson [his wife], and soon after I was hired as a student worker," Buligina said. Three years later, Buligina not only still works at the museum, but also has spent her senior year assisting Watson as one of two curatorial assistants. Her responsibilities include organizing object files and doing research on objects for upcoming exhibitions. "My favorite part of the job is being able to actually touch works of art --with those special white gloves on, of course--that most museum visitors only get to look at," she said. Buligina also cites the process of installing of a new exhibition--"seeing how hard everyone at the museum works to put the exhibition together and sharing the joy of finally being able to open the gallery to visitors"--as extremely rewarding. A member of the Glee Club, Buligina has sung in various campus choral groups throughout her four years on campus. She's also worked for the Office of Residential Life and been a Second*Saturday group leader. Bulgina, who is majoring in international relations and minoring in art history, said that she's often turned to paintings to better understand historical events. "Paintings, even though a subjective interpretation, offer information about a specific time period that complements written accounts," she explained. She also appreciates the sense of balance created by her major and minor: "International relations is more analytical and rational while art history is more subjective and interpretive." And while she knows she'll always have an interest in art, Buligina expects her career to focus on contemporary global issues. "I'm taking next year off to apply to graduate programs in international relations," she said. Related Links: At the Museum: An Outstanding Senior Class By the Numbers: Class of 2008 at the Art Museum Meet the 11 Art Museum Seniors Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/story/5570722
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