Lauren McQuistion

After the Whitney: Temporality and Identity in the Space of the Museum

Lauren McQuistion is a PhD Candidate and designer working in the Architecture Department. Situated within a multidisciplinary framework, her proposed dissertation focuses on the spatialized history of the Whitney Museum of American Art and its unusual relationship with its architecture since its founding in 1930. Unique among its peer institutions which have embodied their stability through their architectural presence, the Whitney has relocated not once but multiple times, leaving fragments of its history across Manhattan. In focusing on the physical change in the space of Whitney over time, Lauren’s research engages the theoretical, historical, and critical discourses of art museums, raising questions regarding the relationship between the museum, its mission, and its changing architecture. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Lauren worked professionally as an architectural designer, experience which informs her approach to research and teaching. She graduated from the University of Virginia School of Architecture with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Minor in Architectural History and the University of California Berkeley with a Masters of Architecture.