Andrew Ehalt Gets Hands-On Learning Experience Interning at ExCineLab

from FSU Art BFA ’23 Andrew Ehalt:

My internship experience at the ExCineLab with Art Assistant Professor Tra Bouscaren has been worthwhile and overall interesting in many ways. After having a video art class with Tra, I wanted to be in a more hands-on learning environment while most classes were online. While meeting sometimes remotely but mainly socially distanced in person, I started by learning the primary skills and processes that make Tra’s installation work what it is. This included rigging and spray painting neon lights, laminating pieces of styrofoam, and projection mapping. It was great to learn how to do things that I probably wouldn’t have ever chosen to learn on my own but ended up implementing in my art practice. We also started to have weekly training sessions where volunteers would teach the group something new that was helpful for art planning or production.

A speedbump of sorts came up when the ExCineLab could no longer do research in the TCC Center for Innovation space. The process of finding a new home was disrupting but a generally smooth transition that introduced a chance to learn from unexpected circumstances. I learned how to quickly and effectively take down installation work and pack everything up in a way that would keep the momentum for art development in the new space.

Currently, I am sourcing materials and editing video for an upcoming show at the Orlando Museum of Art. My internship has had me scrounging beaches for fishing nets and contacting barbers for human hair. While these tasks are quite off-beat, I wouldn’t want it any other way, as being an artist is all about the uncomfortable. During my involvement, I chose what I wanted to work on and new ideas were always welcome. Working with someone to produce their art has been new and unfamiliar, but I have slowly gotten better with time. It has been about learning to work in a team setting towards something bigger than an individual practice.

I would recommend this internship to anyone open to new ways of thinking and those interested in video, sculpture, sound, installation, or anything beyond these. The work coming out of the ExCineLab thrives off the intertwining of various mediums and research subjects.