FALL 2017 | VOL V, ISSUE I
A magazine for AUBURN UNIVERSITY’S JULE COLLINS SMITH MUSEUM OF FINE ART
PERSPECTIVE JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
PIECE BY PIECE... In order to prepare the space for the summer renovation, all artwork in the public areas had to be packed and stored. This included Dale Chihuly's Amber Luster Chandelier. Here's a view few have seen of the blown-glass pieces.
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| Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone's Mad Here brought in many visitors from campus to the opening exhibition with Ms. Shin as well as during the exhibition's run at JCSM.
JCSM is a charitable nonprofit organization committed to lifelong learning and community enrichment.
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William Dunlop, co-chair Mark Jones, co-chair David K. Braly Donna C. Burchfield Helen Carlisle Thomas M. Chase Dorothy S. Davidson Patricia Disque Ralph B. Draughon Jr. Melanie Duffey Robert B. Ekelund Jr. joyce gillie gossom Diana G. Hagler Nancy Hartsfield Edward Hayes Jenny Jenkins David E. Johnson Lynn Barstis Williams Katz Roger D. Lethander Janet Nolan
Stuart B. Price Jr. Carolyn B. Reed William Collins Smith Mark W. Spencer Jeane B. Stone Lisa van der Reijden EMERITUS Fran Dillard Batey M. Gresham Jr. Taylor D. Littleton Albert J. Smith Jr. Eugene Edward Stanaland Gene H. Torbert C. Noel Wadsworth EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Allyson Comstock Johnny Green
ADVISORY BOARD
THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
THE CONVERSATION WITH MARILYN LAUFER,
DIRECTOR
Welcome back! Thanks to everyone involved in resolving both the acoustics and the improved museum art storage area. The acoustics project was made possible in part with funds raised through past events like Art in Bloom and private donors like Carolyn and Nick Davis and Julian Haynes. Both projects were essential for meeting our goal of creating the best possible environments for our audiences and our collections. This fall, JCSM features exceptional exhibitions dealing with issues ranging from racial violence and healing with the series, Requiem for Mother Emanuel by Dr. Leo Twiggs to environmental concerns raised in Jean Shin’s MAiZE, an installation of upcycled plastic bottles. Shin is our juror for our third iteration of the outdoor juried sculpture exhibition, Out of the Box. We are also focusing on the work of women artists, both in our collection and those that could be acquired through the 1072 Society Exhibition, celebrating 125 Years of Auburn Women. As we’ve reported, we have worked through the Office of the University Architect to develop a conceptual design for possible expansion of the facility. These concepts include educational studios and a seminar room, exhibition spaces and areas for interns—all much-needed and essential elements for our future success as a 21st-century museum for Auburn. Such a process is a way for us to think out loud and get people excited about the “what-ifs.” Nothing is final, but as a JCSM supporter, you are welcome to arrange to meet with our staff, one-on-one, to discover the exciting possibilities. Just be in touch.
CONNECT WITH US @JCSMauburn The Conversation | FALL 2017
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09 WHAT’S INSIDE 01 PERSPECTIVE 03 THE CONVERSATION 06 EXTRA EXTRA 12 EXHIBITIONS 26 COLLECTIONS 28 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 36 OUTCOMES 38 GALLERY 41 ART CHANGES LIVES
FEATUR 09 JOURNE Y 20 WITNESS 34 LEARNING AUDUBON'S
BEARING
IN THE MUSEUM
Tracing the steps of the artist's final adventures and artistic endeavors.
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The artful story of Dr. Leo Twiggs.
How to help visitors feel confident using the museum to learn and engage with different ideas.
JULE VOLUME V, ISSUE I
ADMINISTRATION Marilyn Laufer, director Andy Tennant, assistant director MANAGING EDITOR Charlotte R. Hendrix DESIGN Janet Guynn Amber Epting CONTRIBUTORS Scott Bishop Auburn Cottle Xoe Fiss Danielle Funderburk Dennis Harper Jessica Hughes Lauren Horton Renée Maurer
34 ©Jerry Siegel
MEMBERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT Cindy Cox Catherine Thompson
ES
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn University (JCSM) is an academic unit reporting to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. JULE is published biannually by JCSM and is distributed to museum members and others in the arts communities. Unless otherwise noted, all works of art illustrated are in the collection of Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn University.
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ON THE COVER
Front detail: Leo Twiggs (American, b. 1934), Requiem for Mother Emanuel #7, batik on cotton, The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina Back detail: Mother Emanuel AME Church, Charleston, South Carolina. Photo courtesy Steven Hyatt, www.thechurchesoftheworld.com.
PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Cortez Janet Guynn
MISSION STATEMENT Art changes lives. Our mandate within the larger mission of Auburn University is to preserve, enhance, research and interpret the collections entrusted to us. Through the presentation of compelling exhibitions and programs to our diverse audiences, we foster the transformative power of art. JULE is printed on New Leaf Paper, Reincarnation.
PROCESSED
CHLORINE FREE © 2017 Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn University. Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.
What's Inside | FALL 2017
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EXTRA EXTRA
PROPOSED PHASE 2:
BY THE NUMBERS Architects from Oudens Ello prepared conceptional drawings for our use in meeting with constituents and talking about the future vision of JCSM. If you have attended a family studio or held a university class in our grand gallery, you have seen firsthand how a possible renovation would help JCSM fulfill its mission. Even more convincing is when you break it down by the numbers, and see that expansion would triple the education and teaching areas of our museum. Those activities are among our top priorities.
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Advisory Board Presentation May 4, 2017
Flexible Activity Room
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Advisory Board Presentation May 4, 2017
Art Study Room Interior
304%
MORE
EDUCATION & TEACHING
SQUARE FOOTAGE
SQUARE FOOTAGE BY FUNCTION Total Net Area 28,380 sf Total Gross Area 37,000 sf Total increase of 14,500 sf
THIS IS PROGRESS. THIS IS YOUR MUSEUM. JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
DID YOU GET YOUR ANNUAL REPORT?
–1 6 6 FY 20 155–S EPT. 30, 201 OCT. 1, 201
L A U N AN T R O P E R R N U N IV ER
As a part of the JULE magazine redesign last fall, the decision was made to also produce an annual report. This report includes outcomes of programs and exhibitions and acknowledges our supporters. The next annual report is slated for delivery this Spring.
SI T Y ’S
r AU B U E AR T tivities fo M O F FI N ar y of ac H M U SE U IT A summ SM S LL IN JU LE C O
ON SALE IN THE MUSEUM SHOP Artist Charlotte Leavitt creates heirloom-quality map jewelry in Portland, Maine. Leavitt began creating jewelry in 2002 and launched CHART Metlworks in 2008. Each map is set into hand-cast pewter bezels and sealed in a dome of crystal clear resin. This map has Auburn University, Auburn Airport, and Chewacla State Park as points of interest. These are perfect gifts for the traveler abroad, Auburn Alum, or anyone with pride of place. They are available in several styles: key ring, bottle stopper, bottle opener, money clip, golf divot tool, bangle, charm, and ornament. This Auburn map is a distinctive selection designed especially for Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Shop and sold exclusively in the JCSM shop. Museum members receive a discount on all products in the museum shop.
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EXTRA EXTRA
IT’S OUR PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE NEW JCSM STAFF! CHRISTOPHER L. CARR I am the assistant preparator at JCSM. I earned my Master of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Texas at Austin specializing in printmaking. I’ve taught 2D and 3D mediums as a college professor and have also worked as a technical director and scenic designer in academic theatre. Before joining JCSM, I worked at Auburn University as the Assistant Technical Director in the Department of Theatre. I am a former United States Marine and live in Auburn with my wife Tessa and our five cats. I have been known to wear a kilt to work!
XOE FISS I am excited to join JCSM and the Auburn community as the K-12 curator of education! I moved to Auburn from Tucson, Arizona, where I received my Master of Arts in art education with a focus in museum and community education from the University of Arizona. Prior to my studies in Arizona, I taught fourth through eighth grade art in Chicago, Illinois, after I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and K-12 teaching certification from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. When I am not teaching, you can find me painting and sketching outside, planning my next road trip, and playing with my Pomeranian, Celia.
O L L E
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CATHERINE THOMPSON
I joined JCSM in April as our development officer from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, where I was a development coordinator for the past three years. Life has come full circle for me, as I returned to my alma mater (Bachelor of Science, Marketing) after a 20-year corporate career in my hometown of Birmingham. Fun fact: I have completed 17 marathons in nine different states. Though I am not currently running long distances, I plan to return to it in the coming year.
N Y M
S I E AM
Audubon’s
Last Wilderness Journey
THIS IS RESEARCH
American Black Bear
O
ne of the outstanding pieces in the collection of Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is an exceptional edition of the Imperial Folio of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America which was part of the original 1992 gift of the Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection. The donation was made possible through the efforts of the Millers' grandchildren, Allen and Susan Phillips. Susan later added to the original gift of the Audubon artworks and became very involved in the founding of Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn University which now houses her grandparents’ significant collection, considered to be one of the museum's cornerstones.
BY MARILYN LAUFER, PhD, DIRECTOR Audubon's Audubon's Last LastWilderness Wilderness Journey Journey
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Auburn University wildlife scientists and authors meet with publisher Dan Giles, general editor Tom Butler and JCSM director Marilyn Laufer about upcoming publication. L to R: Jim Armstrong, Dan Giles, Robert Gitzen, Chris Lepczyck, Sarah Zohdy, Marilyn Laufer and Tom Butler
“Working on our Quadrupeds book and the related exhibition granted me a much stronger appreciation of Audubon and his team’s great accomplishment. The images are remarkable in so many different respects––their documentary and scientific observations, the inventiveness of the compositions, and especially the technical and artistic mastery that is reflected in the original hand-colored prints. More than 170 years since their creation, the works remain fresh and dynamic. One of my greatest pleasures in conducting research for the project was transcribing handwritten entries from the diary of Edward Harris, who accompanied Audubon on the expedition up the Missouri River frontier in search of native mammals. Reading Harris’s firsthand, dramatic accounts of Indian attacks, buffalo hunts, drunken sailors, duels, and illness, along with more mundane activities, brought to life the daunting scope of the task they undertook in 1843.” —DENNIS HARPER JCSM CURATOR OF COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS
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The three-volume set of the Viviparous Quadrupeds consists of 150 handcolored lithographic prints produced by J.T. Bowen in Philadelphia between 1845 and 1849. These images were sold by subscription and are based upon the artwork of J.J. Audubon and his son John Woodhouse Audubon, with backgrounds by Audubon’s second son, Victor. Unfortunately, J.J. Audubon became ill early into the project, leaving business, artistic and production decisions to his sons. He died in 1851, and though the Quadrupeds folio should be considered a fitting coda to Audubon’s genius of integrating art and science, the publication has always been overshadowed by the monumental doubleelephant portfolio of Birds of America that preceded it. Because of the exceptional quality of JCSM’s edition of the quadruped folio and because of our strong curatorial belief in the significance of this oftenoverlooked but extraordinary natural history project, the museum has joined with D Giles Limited, of London, United Kingdom to produce a publication that will re-examine the story behind what would become Audubon’s last wilderness journey and final artistic enterprise. The major essay of this book will include an overview of the 1845–47 expedition which formed the basis behind the series and the art historical context of the project, with excerpts from J.J. Audubon’s journal by Ron Tyler, noted Audubon scholar and retired director of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The book will also include an essay by JCSM’s curator of collections and exhibitions, Dennis Harper, who has written about the lithographic process and its history, describing the making of the quadruped images, from sketch to stone to watercolor application. There is also a timeline of the quadruped project by Audubon scholar Daniel Patterson and essays by Sarah Zohdy, Robert Gitzen and Jim Armstrong, and Chris Lepczyk from Auburn University’s Department of Wildlife Sciences, which look at zoological aspects of the series, including classification issues and new species, the specific botanicals represented, and a consideration and comparison of “then and now” as well as the wider importance of the pre-settlement wilderness. Making use of this scientific expertise on campus reflects the true collaborative spirit of bringing together the fine arts and natural sciences in much the same way that the Audubon family intended with this project. We are grateful to all of our scholars for their expertise and enthusiastic effort toward making this a truly remarkable venture.
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Ron Tyler is the former director of the Amon Carter Museum , Fort Worth, Texas Charle s T. Butler is the former executi ve directo r of the Columbus Museum
Daniel Patters on is profess or of English Langua ge and Literatu re, Central Michiga n University, Mount Pleasant
Chris Lepczy k is an associate profess or at the School of Forestr y and Wildlife Science s, Auburn University, Alabam a
Ron Tyler
Finally, in celebration of the book’s release in March of 2018, the museum is planning the exhibition that will run from January 27–May 6, 2018, featuring the three-volume Imperial folio as well as a selection of unbound prints on loan from the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Loans have been arranged for other materials, such as paintings by John Woodhouse Audubon produced as part of the original folio production process, maps of the journey and assorted ephemera from the Edward Harris Collection at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Mr. Harris, an ornithologist, naturalist, and friend of John James Audubon, accompanied him and tracked expenses for this expedition. We look forward to planning an exciting variety of programming to accompany the exhibition, including lectures, special events, and hands-on activities for families and children.
a
Also available from GILES: ISBN: 978-1-911282-105 THE ROCKIES AND THE ALPS Distributed in the USA Bierstadt, Calame and the Romance and Canada by Consortium Book of the Mountains Sales & Distribution The Keg House Katherine Manthorn e and Tricia 34 Thirteenth Avenue, Laughlin Bloom NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413-10 Suite 101 Contribution by Patricia Mainardi 07 USA In association with the Newark Museum www.cbsd.com PASTURES GREEN AND DARK GILES SATANIC MILLS An imprint of D Giles The British Passion Limited for Landscape 4 Crescent Stables Tim Barringer and Oliver Fairclough London In association with the American SW15 2TN Federation of Arts, New York UK www.gilesltd.com GEORGE CATLIN’ S AMERICAN BUFFALO Adam Duncan Harris In association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC
der nes s Jou rne y
Sarah Zohdy is an assistant profess or at the School of Forestr y and Wildlife Science s, Auburn University, Alabam a
upeds of North Americ
Our highly anticipated hardcover book entitled Audubon’s Last Wilderness Journey: The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America will be approximately 275 pages in length and will feature full-color, high quality reproductions of each of the 150 images in the original folio in addition to essays and other illustrative materials. It will be on sale through the JCSM gift shop. The publication is available for a limited time only at the advance purchase price of $49.95 through Jan. 31, 2018. The retail price is $59.95, and members may purchase for $54.00. If you would like to reserve a copy now, contact gift shop manager Renée Maurer at (334) 844-3096.
Aud ubo n’s Las t Wil
Jim Armstr ong is a profess or at the School of Forestr y and Wildlife Science s, Auburn University, Alabam a
The Viviparous Quadr
Dennis Harper is curator of Collect ions and Exhibit ions at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn University, Alabam a
Robert Gitzen is an assistant profess or at the School of Forestr y and Wildlife Science s, Auburn University, Alabam a
AU DU BO N’S LAS T WI LD JOU RN EY
The Viviparous Qu of North Ame rica
AU D L A S T W IL D EURBNO N ’S ESS JO U R N E Y The Viviparous Qu adrupeds of North America
ISBN: 978-1-911282-10-
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Ron Tyler, Charles T. Butler, D Patters on, Sarah Zohdy, Rober and Chris Lepczy k
John James Audubo n's Viviparou largest and most significant col States in the ninetee nth century, of America’s most famous orn Measur ing an impress ive 27 11/16 first published in 1849 as a three edition, and was the artist’s final This new volume reproduc lithographic prints, which have be and includes a timelin e of Audubo a map of his 1843 expedit ion int with the Reveren d John Bachma n, collaborator on the origina l acco experts in the fields of art history, this remarkable series of illustratio historic al and scientif ic legacy. The ical and ecologic al signific ance of t their scientif ic value to issues such relation ship towards nature has cha The volume addition ally includ kept by Edward Harris, cashier to t the everyday details of their journey tered, as well as a letter, written in 18 to Harris, detailin g the circums tanc This entire work is a remark able importa nce of the North Americ an w and beauty of Audubo n’s detailed illu
Front cover illustratio n: Tbc Back cover illustratio n: Tbc
Cover design: Audubon's Last Wilderness Journey: The Viviparous Quadrapeds of North America with image of American Bison or Buffalo Below: Moose Deer
Audubon's Audubon's Last LastWilderness Wilderness Journey Journey || FALL FALL
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EXHIBITIONS Leo Twiggs, Requiem for Mother Emanuel #2, batik on cotton, collection of Keven and Kelly Lewis
LEO TWIGGS REQUIEM FOR MOTHER EMANUEL
Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Gallery
SEPT. 5, 2017–JAN. 7, 2018 South Carolina-based African American artist Twiggs painted works in memory of the nine victims of the 2015 killings in the Charleston, South Carolina church.
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EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING Left to right: Dr. Richard Bailey Dr. Bernard E. Powers Jr. Dr. David Carter Dr. Johnny Green
SCHEDULE 12:15 P.M. PERFORMANCE Auburn University's Mosaic Theatre Company 1 P.M. LECTURE “Under Their Own Vine and Fig Tree: African Americans and the Church in Southern History,” Dr. Richard Bailey, Alabama historian and retired research specialist 2 P.M. LECTURE “We Are Charleston,” Dr. Bernard E. Powers Jr., Professor of History, College of Charleston BREAK
Friday, Sept. 8, 2017
IMMANUEL: A SYMPOSIUM On June 17, 2015, when Dylann Roof entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, he was entering the oldest African American church in the South, the home of the first independent black congregation in the United States, in a city that was central to the slave trade in America. Roof, a young white man, murdered nine African American members of a Bible study group, sparking a series of events that brought the city, the state, and the country together long enough to finally drive state governments to take down from public buildings the battle flag of Northern Virginia, more commonly known as the Confederate flag. There were more than just political ramifications. Artist Dr. Leo Twiggs said, “What I feel is that the tragedy changed our state in a way that I had not seen before. I think for us that was a shining moment where people came together not because of the color of their skin, but because of the humanness in their hearts. I think for the first time we started communicating heart to heart instead of head to head.” Twiggs responded with a series of nine batik paintings that chronicles a narrative of violence and redemption that not only refers to the Mother Emanuel massacre, but also serves as metaphor for the broader African American religious experience in this country. “Immanuel: A Symposium” will take place at JCSM on the afternoon before the opening of Leo Twiggs: Requiem for Mother Emanuel. It will provide the opportunity to discuss the African American church, and its historical and contemporary role as both sanctuary and location for civic and political activism. Taking the exhibition as point of departure, the objective of the symposium will be to explore the history of the black church in the United States, and to open a discussion about the historical intersections between the Christian conversion of enslaved Africans, and the metaphorical and real church as location and catalyst for spiritual and political redemption. “Immanuel,” the Hebrew word for “God is with us,” gave Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church its name, and the concept of “Immanuel” offers a powerful point of departure for both the artwork of Dr. Twiggs and the broader themes the symposium will explore. The symposium will consist of four talks and a panel discussion leading up to the opening artist talk. JCSM has been deliberate in choosing a scholar who can address the history of the African American church both nationally and in Alabama, a scholar from Charleston, and scholars from the local community.
3 P.M. LECTURE “‘The Most Segregated Hour in America’: Churches and Social Justice Across the Color Line, from the Civil Rights Era to the Present,” Dr. David Carter, Associate Professor of History, Auburn University, and Dr. Johnny Green, Assistant Vice President for Outreach in Student Affairs, Auburn University PANEL DISCUSSION FOLLOWED BY BREAK 6 P.M. OPENING LECTURE AND RECEPTION
Closing vocal performance by Dr. Rosephanye Powell, accompanied by Dr. William Powell on piano
REGISTRATION Register at jcsm.auburn.edu. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. For assistance, call 334-844-3085. Symposium registrants should RSVP for Dr. Twiggs' opening lecture and the reception.
The symposium has been made possible in part by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Auburn University Special Lectures Fund.
Exhibitions | FALL 2017
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EXHIBITIONS
Auburn University Gospel Choir performs
Detail: Photo courtesy The Post and Courier/Brad Nettles
Friday, Sept. 8, 6 p.m.
LEO TWIGGS: REQUIEM FOR MOTHER EMANUEL OPENING LECTURE AND RECEPTION Lecture: “Requiem for Mother Emanuel,” Dr. Leo Twiggs, Professor Emeritus, South Carolina State University Dr. Twiggs' lecture will shed light on the conceptualization and resolution of works in his exhibition of nine batik paintings created in response to the June 17, 2015 massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and to the tragedy's aftermath and far-reaching consequences. Opening reception to follow.
Saturday, Sept. 9, 10 a.m. to noon
“HEART TO HEART" A GOSPEL SATURDAY JCSM invites you to a program foregrounding the importance of church to community, especially in context of Leo Twiggs: Requiem for Mother Emanuel. Following Friday's symposium, a day of education, exploration, and open conversation, Saturday's event is planned to be a deliberate opportunity join heart to heart in a celebration of community, music, and the transformative power of art. “Heart to Heart” will feature Auburn University Gospel choir under the direction of Drs. Rosephanye and William Powell, professors of music at Auburn University; and the choir of the Auburn First Baptist Church, under the direction of Mr. Morris Driggers, associate pastor for music. Various local choirs will also sing.
RSVP BY SEPT 1. RSVP at jcsm.auburn.edu. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. For assistance, call 334-844-3085. We anticipate strong attendance for this lecture. Please plan to be in the auditorium by 5:40 p.m., as the lecture is open seating. Others may be seated in our additional viewing location in the museum café.
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Register via Eventbrite at jcsm.auburn.edu. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. For assistance, call 334-844-1484.
Jean Shin, MAiZE, 2017, in collaboration with the Figge Art Museum and the Quad City Community. Image courtesy of the Figge Art Museum and the artist.
Thursday, Oct. 5, 6 p.m.
ARTIST TALK: JEAN SHIN Shin will also announce winners of the juried sculpture exhibition Out of the Box.
JEAN SHIN, MAiZE Gallery C
OCT. 6, 2017 TO JAN. 7, 2018 The juror for Out of the Box will have an indoor sculpture installation made from upcycled materials that evokes a corn maze. Shin's work often references the impact of a throwaway culture on our environment.
Jean Shin is an internationally recognized artist who works with multiples of objects to transform the everyday into decadent interpretations of identity and community. She uses materials that range from prescription pill bottles to sweaters, and often obtains them as secondhand objects from people in participating communities. These objects transform into her media and become complex, conceptual, and beautifully intricate works of sculpture. Her work is distinguished by her labor-intensive process, and these breathtaking installations seem to capture the essence of communal and societal issues that everyone faces in their day-to-day life. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in the United States, Shin attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1999 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Science from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has been widely exhibited in more than 150 major national and international museums, including in solo exhibitions at the Crow Collection in Dallas, Texas; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona; Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC; the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Shin has received numerous awards and has been featured in a multitude of publications worldwide. In 2016, Shin completed a major commission for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York at the 63rd Street Station on the new Second Avenue subway line, as well as a public art commission for the city of Seattle, Washington. She lives and works in New York City. Register via Eventbrite at jcsm.auburn.edu. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. For assistance, call 334-844-1484.
Exhibitions | FALL 2017
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EXHIBITIONS Details of sculpture by Out of the Box finalists
ARTISTS:
OUT OF THE BOX A JURIED OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION Lethander Art Path and Museum Grounds
OCT. 6, 2017 TO OCT. 6, 2018 Out of the Box is a biennial competition that began in 2013 in celebration of the museum’s 10-year anniversary. Now in our third iteration, our program continues in its goal of presenting engaging and educational works of art to our university audience and broader community, as well as actively pursuing the growth of our permanent collection of outdoor sculpture. This exhibition is co-curated by curatorial assistant Jessica Hughes and assistant director Andy Tennant.
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Fumi Amano Kurt Dyrhaug Ira Hill Gregory Johnson Benjamin Jones Ben Lock Hye Yeon Nam Matthias Neumann Stacey Rathert Steve Rossi Eric Troffkin Adam Walls
Out of the Box is supported in part by the Haynes Family, in memory of Julian Roberts Haynes and Dr. Lucile McGehee Haynes, and Grace and David E. Johnson with additional funding from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts.
Image courtesy of Sloss Furnaces
The Stephen Lee Band
Friday, Oct. 6, 6 p.m.
OUT OF THE BOX OPENING RECEPTION Come celebrate the grand opening of Out of the Box: A Juried Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition. Feel the heat and excitement of live iron pour demonstrations with Sloss Metal Arts of Birmingham, Alabama. Experience live music and savory tastings paired with walking tours of 12 contemporary sculptures installed around the illuminated Lethander Art Path. Our music entertainment for the evening is The Stephen Lee Band of Atlanta, Georgia. During the event, Sloss Metal Artists will conduct an iron pour demonstration, and there will be metal art available for purchase. Since initiating the metal arts program in 1985, Sloss has offered workshops, exhibitions, and conferences on all aspects of metal working—forging, fabricating, and casting—but focuses primarily on the use of cast iron as a sculpture medium.
TASTING MENU by Ursula’s Catering Items include pulled pork with cole slaw and sweet potato biscuits, potato bites, fresh veggie pizza squares, grit fritters, shrimp cocktail shooters, fresh fruit, a dessert bar assortment, and craft beer samples, (21 and over with proper identification. Additional bar service available—cash preferred.)
TICKETS VISIT JCSM.AUBURN.EDU FOR TICKETS Tickets are $20 before Sept. 23, and $30 Sept. 23 through Oct. 6. In addition to museum entry, grounds, and art-making demonstrations, your ticket price includes a tasting menu. Tickets will be sold via Auburn University Marketplace at jcsm.auburn.edu, or you may call 334-844-1484 for assistance. Exhibitions | FALL 2017
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EXHIBITIONS Dawson Dawson-Watson, Haystacks, ca. 1888–93, oil on canvas, museum purchase with funds provided by Judge and Mrs. Bo Torbert and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Lee Spencer, 2008.16
Dr. Emily Burns
ART OF THE UNITED STATES “The experience allows students to take ownership of their project by picking an object, independently conducting research, and developing a presentation that combines visual analysis and research findings.” —Dr. Emily Burns
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A PRACTICUM EXHIBITION Chi Omega-Hargis Gallery
EXHIBITION I: NOV. 7–24, 2017 Exhibition I presentation: Nov. 16, 5 p.m.
EXHIBITION II: DEC. 4, 2017–JAN. 2018 Exhibition II presentation: Dec. 7, 5 p.m.
Advanced Art History students in Dr. Emily Burns’s class, “Art of the United States,” will present two exhibitions curated from selections from JCSM’s permanent collection. Under the guidance of Dr. Burns and JCSM staff, students will determine themes for the exhibitions, write didactic materials—including wall texts, label copy, and exhibition brochures—then assist in the design and layout of the exhibitions. The exhibitions will include presentations by the students.
ABOUT THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF AUBURN WOMEN CELEBRATION Women have come a long way since 1892, and the Auburn Alumni Association is celebrating all of it: the pioneers who broke boundaries and opened doors for others; the brilliant stars who transcended negativity and propriety to shine around the world; the doers and dreamers who knew that this practical world runs on work—hard work. Join the association for a year of celebration and appreciation for all that our alumnae have done and continue to do through Auburn University.
The first three to enroll... Willie Little
1072 SOCIETY EXHIBITION Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Galleries
NOV. 11, 2017 TO FEB. 4, 2018 Curators will select works by women artists to be considered for purchase by the museum’s donor group, the 1072 Society, which will be added to the museum collection. This occurs in conjunction with Auburn’s celebration of the 125th year since Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, enrolled its first women students.
Willie Gertrude Little (1873–1949) was the daughter of Auburn’s mayor and one of the first women to attend Auburn University in 1892. She graduated two years later with a bachelor’s degree and honors. Little has a hall in the Upper Quad named in her honor.
Katherine Broun
Katherine C. Broun (1873–1952) was the daughter of Auburn University President William L. Broun, who held the position from 1882– 1902. In order to be admitted as an inaugural female student, Broun took tests in English, Latin, history, and mathematics. She was most notably Auburn’s first graduate student after receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1894.
Margaret Teague
Margaret Kate Teague (1873–1960) moved from Arkansas to Auburn after her mother’s death. Along with Little and Broun, Teague was admitted to the university and graduated with honors. Teague Hall in the Upper Quad is named in her honor.
Sunday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m.
OPENING RECEPTION: 1072 SOCIETY CLASS OF 2018 The 1072 Society is a group of museum members and friends who donate annually to develop the museum’s permanent collection. Come discuss this year’s offerings, with a focus on collecting artwork by women artists.
2017 marks the 125th anniversary of the arrival of Auburn’s first female students. From only three in 1892 to more than half the student population today, women have left an indelible mark on Auburn University and we want to share it with the world—but your help is needed. Submit your stories to our website at alumni.auburn.edu/ women or tag your memories on social media using #auburnwomen to help celebrate!
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Beari ng Witness
THE ARTFUL STORY OF DR. LEO T WIGGS B Y M A R I LY N L A U F E R , P h D , d i r e c t o r
I
met Dr. Twiggs in 2002–03 when I was asked to curate an exhibition of his work for the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. I remember thinking upon our initial interaction that this was going to be like no other curatorial assignment I had previously experienced because Dr. Twiggs asked as many questions of me as I did of him. Having Dr. Twiggs in my life from that moment to the present is a gift for which that I will always be thankful. It is for this and many other reasons that having JCSM serve as a venue for this important exhibition was vital to me. We are grateful to be able to share this work with our audience.
ŠJerry Siegel
Leo Franklin Twiggs came of age in South Carolina in the 1950s with all the political and social consequences and complexities of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement setting the stage for a future of both opportunity and adversity. But though he has experienced the hostilities and racial intolerances of the times in which we live, he has always used his art to bear witness and to serve as a catalyst for change. Born in 1934 in St. Stephen, South Carolina, Twiggs was still in high school when his father died, leaving behind a family of seven children. This loss might have derailed his future aspirations but for his academic excellence as well as his innate artistic
talents being recognized, which led to an arranged meeting with the president of Claflin University, a private historically black college in Orangeburg, South Carolina. During Twiggs' time at Claflin, he was mentored and befriended by the important black art educator, Arthur Rose, who told him to focus on being an artist who taught art, and introduced him to professional African American artists and teachers of the time. To help support his college expenses, Twiggs became a projectionist for the Carolina Theater in Orangeburg. He had done this in high school, but the owner of this theater taught him about creating a special movie experience with smooth transitions between reels, and dramatically bringing the house lights and sound up and down. Over those years, Twiggs saw hundreds of films and found himself using those cinematic moments as reference points later in life. It also made him realize the bigger world that existed beyond South Carolina. After graduation and two years in the Army, Dr. Twiggs took his first teaching job in Sumter, South Carolina. His students in this segregated high school of the late 1950s soon were winning awards on state and national levels. It became evident that his approach involving color and design theory and his focus on new ideas and techniques resonated
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with his students who also indirectly benefitted from Twiggs’ continuing his art studies during the summers, eventually receiving his master’s degree from New York University in 1964 under the tutelage of Hale Woodruff. Twiggs credits Woodruff for encouraging him to find inspiration within his personal history and cultural heritage, something the young artist would take to heart. The year 1964 was a seminal one for Dr. Twiggs. He was asked to join the faculty at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, the only public black university in the state. Over the next 34 years he would not only establish an art department and art major with a remarkable new art building on campus, but also oversee the establishment of the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium which flourished under his direction. During his tenure, Twiggs arranged for visiting artists which included Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, and Elizabeth Catlett among others.
Leo Twiggs, Requiem for Mother Emanuel #6, batik on cotton, collection of Jennifer and Mack Whittle
Also, it was at this time that Twiggs began to experiment with batik, intrigued by the sinewy lines and textures as well as the rich color he could attain. Compelling his growing fascination with the process was that it was also part of an African art tradition for decorating fabric. This was a challenging choice on his part because batik was considered more of a craft than a fine art medium like painting, and even though he garnered extraordinary control over the process there were those who did not take his art as seriously as they should have. This was also the time that Twiggs was invited to pursue his doctorate in art education as one of only four black students matriculating into the graduate program at the University of Georgia. Lamar Dodd, then the chair of the art department, welcomed him as a professional educator but the tension he felt as he walked across campus was palpable. Despite the social unrest of the late
Leo Twiggs, Requiem for Mother Emanuel #8, batik on cotton, The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
...TWIGGS
HAS ADDRESSED
MANY DIFFERENT ISSUES
OVER THE YEARS THAT HAVE
RANGED FROM THE DEVASTATION OF HURRICANE HUGO IN 1989
BLUES AND POETRY OF LANGSTON HUGHES ... TO THE
All photos of Dr. Twiggs used in the article ©Jerry Siegel
1960s, which at times put him and his family in possible danger, he diligently pursued his studies, successfully completing his dissertation and becoming the first African American granted a doctorate in art education from UGA in 1970. Through his art, Twiggs has addressed many different issues over the years that have ranged from the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 to the blues and poetry of Langston Hughes. His controversial use of the Confederate flag first appeared in the Commemoration series of the 1970s and then reappeared 25 years later as the battle
raged about its appearance over the state capitol. As a native son of the South, Twiggs has suggested that the flag is part of his legacy as a black man as much as it is part of the heritage of white southerners, and to that end he requires that we look at it for what it is, a faded relic of the past that symbolizes all the pain and injustice that has been suffered in the name of a misguided and degrading ideology. As Dr. Twiggs has written, in reference to these flag paintings, “As painful as this encounter was, I had to acknowledge that this was not their story, nor my story, but our story. “
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...AWARDED
THE ORDER OF THE PALMETTO THE HIGHEST HONOR
BESTOWED ON A
CIVILIAN
IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA....
Leo Twiggs, Requiem for Mother Emanuel #9, batik on cotton, The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina
So it is with this latest series, Requiem for Mother Emanuel, which serves as testimony to the nine victims slain in a Bible study class on the evening of June 17, 2015. But the nine paintings are also about redemption as they foster a dialogue about our shared humanity. Twiggs’ work has gained national attention and has been included in a number of important art exhibitions and art publications. His reputation as an exceptional art educator has brought him to the attention of national and state boards and committees upon which he has served. The many accolades that have been bestowed upon him began in 1981, when he was honored as the first visual artist to receive
the Elizabeth O’Neil Verner Individual Award from the Governor of South Carolina. They have continued over the years, the most recent was his being awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor bestowed on a civilian in the state of South Carolina. I have a great admiration and respect for this man as both an artist and an educator, but most of all I have a great fondness for him because of his kindheartedness and compassion. Thank you, Leo. And thank you, Rosa for being there with him.
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COLLECTIONS
1072 SOCIETY CAMPAIGN A HUGE SUCCESS IN 2017
96 $99,469 SEVEN DONORS
TOTAL RAISED
SCULPTURES ACQUIRED
1072 Society recent acquisition pictured above: aerial view of Michael Sherrill (American, b. 1954), Rhododendron, ca. 1998, sandblasted porcelain and steel
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Information on the 1072 Society Class of 2018 can be found on page 19. For more information, contact Cindy Cox, membership officer, at 334-844-3005.
DIANE ARBUS By Marilyn Laufer, director
Diane Arbus (1923–71) Triplets in Their Bedroom, N.J., 1963 Gelatin silver print The William Dunlop Collection, 2003.10
Diane Arbus once said, “I mean reality is reality, but if you scrutinize reality closely enough—or in some way you really, really get to it, it seems to me like it’s fantastic.” This statement gets to the root of Arbus’s genius. We are fascinated by the images and subjects she recorded because they are exceptionally strange and unique but the underlying truth is that she used her camera to document reality, revealing those things that most of us miss or even try to avoid in our day-to-day casual observations. Through her images, Arbus offers us the opportunity to be voyeurs and stare at exactly those things we were told as children were impolite to stare at.
The young girls are identically dressed in buttoned up white long sleeve shirts with dark skirts, and headbands holding back similar dark curls from their foreheads. But their expressions are ever so slightly different. The girl on the left, with folded hands in her lap, intently gazes into the camera, as if trying to understand what is happening. The central figure is the most relaxed, coming closest to an actual smile of the three. The third sister on the right seems the least at ease about this photographic session. Notice her right hand resting on the shoulder of the middle sister—almost a protective gesture. Together the pubescent trio reveals all of the discomfort and awkwardness of young girls coming of age in the 1960s. Their uneasiness is something with which most of us can identify.
But there is something else at play here that truly underpins the power of this image. The diamond-patterned wall paper with its irregular pattern of light shapes against a dark background provides a backdrop that is at once dizzying and claustrophobic. The window behind that starched organdy flounced curtain does little to open the space. The triplets are not only “buttoned up” in their clothing but in this room which they share. They are sequestered, confined, with just these little beds defining their personal space. Arbus suggests the psychological issues of privacy and individual identity by posing the sisters pressed tightly together, overlapping like playing cards spread out from a dealt hand—three queens, in effect conjoined at the hip. Triplets in Their Bedroom in N.J. is an extraordinary example of Arbus’s ability to make a photograph that considers the interconnectedness between identity, appearance, certainty and illusion. Her version of reality is intended to challenge our own. Born Diane Nemerov, the artist was the middle child of a wealthy New York family. She began her career as a photographer under the tutelage of Allan Arbus who would later become her husband. Together they did fashion assignments for her family’s department store but eventually attracted the attention of magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. By 1957 Diane decided to strike out on her own, eventually studying with Lisette Model. Arbus’s work soon was featured in magazines such as Esquire and the Sunday Times Magazine. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963 and became a sought-after teacher at the Parsons School of Design and Cooper Union. Plagued by depression and other serious health issues, she committed suicide in 1971 at age 48. We proudly acknowledge that both Diane Arbus and her teacher Lisette Model are among the 96 women artists represented in JCSM’s permanent collection as we join in the celebration of 125 Years of Auburn Women.
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SPOTLIGHT
Arbus may on occasion have stumbled across these moments with her camera in hand, but more often than not she actively sought out the unusual, attending pageants, visiting sanitariums, following up on unusual stories. In this image made in 1963, Arbus presents to us the Slota triplets who she had met at a community club for families with twins and triplets. It would seem that Arbus attended this program in New Jersey looking for something special and what she found in her examination of these multiples was the opportunity to record the infinitesimal details of similarity and differences that exist between individuals who are always part of a larger whole. The Slota family obviously welcomed Arbus into their home to take this portrait of the three sisters from Jersey City, New Jersey. She posed them seated together on the middle of the three identical single beds squeezed into their shared bedroom. The beds with scalloped white headboards are so close together that the sisters could easily reach out to each other in the night. There are matching quilted spreads on two of the beds, the third one at right is different.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
“Untitled (Puppies on the Rocks) stands outside the artist’s usual oeuvre, so examining the work against the standard Wegman essays was a difficult yet rewarding task.” —SHANNON BEWLEY, STUDENT IN DR. KATHRYN FLOYD’S “20TH-CENTURY ART FROM 1945 TO THE PRESENT” CLASS. Students from Dr. Katheryn Floyd's art history class examining art work in preparation for their Little Art Talks.
Museum After Hours
A Little Lunch Music
Film: The Circle
THURSDAYS, 5–8 P.M. CAFÉ OPEN 5–6:30 P.M.
THURSDAYS, NOON
SEPT. 10, 2 P.M.
Beginning Thursday, Sept. 7, A Little Lunch Music is an informal, come-and-go performance presented by JCSM.You can sit in and listen to the entire performance, dine in the Museum Café from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., browse the museum shop or explore the galleries.
The Common Book: One Book One Auburn Program is an initiative of the Office of Undergraduate Studies in partnership with the Auburn Public Library. The 2017 book is The Circle by Dave Eggers. The program aims to create a shared reading experience for students, faculty, staff and the wider Auburn community.
Little Art Talks
Dr. Andrea Kelley of the School of Communications will introduce the film and moderate discussion.
On Thursday nights from 5 to 6:30 p.m., the rotunda and café (and when the weather is nice, the terrace) become Museum After Hours. Drop by the café for a drink and a bite to eat, visit the shop, or take a stroll through the galleries. The museum will not be open after hours on Nov. 9 and Nov. 23.
SELECT THURSDAYS Join us for a focused look at a single work of art. Presenters will be Auburn University students. OCT. 19, 5 P.M. & NOV. 9, 4 P.M. Students from Dr. Kathryn Floyd’s Honors Introduction to Art History III will be discussing research on art from JCSM’s permanent collection. NOV. 16, 5 P.M. & DEC. 7, 5 P.M. Students from Dr. Emily Burns’s Art History class discuss pieces included in Art of the United States: A Practicum Exhibition I (Nov. 7–24, 2017) JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
DIY@JCSM: Knitting SEPT. 14, 5–6:30 P.M. Drop in for an evening studio in partnership with the Knitting Group of Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center and the LocAL Market. Whether you are just casting on for the first time or can successfully understand and execute purl 3, place marker, p4, place marker, p8, place marker, p4 place marker, p3, we hope to see you for a night of community building and art making.
Left to right: Jesseca Cornelson (Photo by: Rusty Bailey, SIU Photocommunications), Allison Joseph, Naomi Shihab Nye (Photo by: Chehalis Hegner), Christina Olson
Third Thursday Poetry Series
The reading by Naomi Shihab Nye is funded in part by a grant from South Arts, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
SELECT THURSDAYS, 6:30 P.M. A new lineup of visiting poets to our area is slated for the fall 2017 installment of the Third Thursday Poetry Series. This program has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. AUG. 31, JESSECA CORNELSON AT CAROLINE MARSHALL DRAUGHON CENTER FOR THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES (101 S. DEBARDELEBEN STREET)
OCT. 19, SOUTHERN HUMANITIES REVIEW JAKE ADAM YORK WITNESS PRIZEWINNER READING WITH NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
Before JCSM officially reopens for fall semester, Pebble Hill will graciously open its doors to host our first poetry reading of the 2017–18 academic year.
Naomi Shihab Nye, in addition to giving a reading, will also introduce winner of the annual Southern Humanities Review Witness Prize, for which she is the 2017–18 judge.
Jesseca Cornelson is an associate professor of English at Alabama State University where she teaches composition, literature, and creative writing. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in journals such as Botticelli Magazine, Mid-American Review, Parody, Platte Valley Review, and Salamander. She is an alumna of the Sewanee Writer’s Conference, has twice been a writer-in-residence at the Catskill Center’s Platte Clove Preserve, and is a recipient of a Fellowship in Literary Arts from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
Nye is the author and/or editor of more than 30 volumes. Having spent 40 years traveling the world to lead writing workshops and inspiring students of all ages, she describes herself as a “wandering poet.” Nye was born to a Palestinian father and American mother, and she grew up in St. Louis, Jerusalem, and San Antonio. Drawing on her PalestinianAmerican heritage, the cultural diversity of her home in Texas, and her experiences traveling in Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East, Nye uses her writing to attest to our shared humanity.
SEPT. 21, ALLISON JOSEPH
NOV. 16, CHRISTINA OLSON
Allison Joseph lives, writes, and teaches in Carbondale, Illinois, where she is part of the creative writing faculty at Southern Illinois University. She serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard Review, moderator of the Creative Writers Opportunities List, and director of the Young Writers Workshop.
Christina Olson’s latest collection is Terminal Human Velocity. Her work has also appeared in The Atlantic, Arts & Letters,Virginia Quarterly Review, The Southern Review, Brevity, River Styx, Gulf Coast, Passages North, The Normal School, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and The Best Creative Nonfiction,Volume 3. She is the poetry editor of Midwestern Gothic and teaches at Georgia Southern University.
www.
Visit JCSM.AUBURN.EDU for complete program listings. Our E-MUSE is the best way to stay current with JCSM programs and events. Sign up today at jcsm.auburn.edu.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers JCSM joins 20 other screening partners in the 2017–18 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. Southern Circuit, the nation’s original regional tour of independent films and filmmakers, coordinates multi-week tours for invited filmmakers and their new work. Filmmakers participate in community screenings and audience engagement activities across the south.
The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of South Arts. Southern Circuit screenings are funded in part by a grant from South Arts, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Each screening is followed by a discussion and Q&A with the filmmaker. SEPT. 28, 6 P.M. WHEN GOD SLEEPS with Till Schauder, Writer/Director Synopsis: This rap-punk-rock documentary tells the story of Iranian musician Shahin Najafi who is forced into hiding after hardline clerics issue a fatwa for his death, incensed by a rap song that focuses on the oppression of women and human rights abuses. Shahin’s frantic escape leads to an impossible romance when he falls in love with the granddaughter of the first Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Their backgrounds make their relationship a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. About the filmmaker: Till Schauder got his start in Germany where he wrote and directed the award winning films Strong Shit and City Bomber. His United States debut, Santa Smokes, won several international awards, among them Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Studio Hamburg Newcomer Award. In 2012, Schauder completed his first documentary, the critically acclaimed The Iran Job, which was released theatrically in several countries. The film was shortlisted for a German Oscar, and it is now available on Netflix. Schauder earned his Master of Arts at the University of Television and Film, Munich. He teaches film classes at New York University and Vermont College of Fine Arts where he is the founding faculty member of the Film Masters Program.
OCT. 26, 6 P.M. SOUTHWEST OF SALEM with Deborah S. Esquenazi, Director Synopsis: Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four excavates the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh and Anna Vasquez— four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. The film begins its journey inside a Texas prison, after these women have spent nearly a decade behind bars. They were 19 and 20 years at the time that allegations surfaced. About the filmmaker: Deborah S. Esquenazi is an Austin, Texas-based documentary filmmaker and radio producer, instructor, and journalist. Her work explores the intersections of mythology and justice, identity, and power. She has been a Sundance Creative Producing Lab Fellow and a Firelight Media Producers’ Lab Fellow. She has received funding from Humanities Texas, Sundance Institute, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fund and many others. Southwest of Salem, her debut film, received international attention for its initial investigation into the high-profile San Antonio Four case and has been written about in Forbes, The NewYork Times, The Texas Observer, The Marshall Project, and many other publications.
NOV. 2, 6 P.M. JACKSON with MAISIE CROW, Director/Producer/Director of Photography Synopsis: Jackson is an intimate, unprecedented look at the lives of three women caught up in the complex issues surrounding abortion access. Set against the backdrop of the fight to close the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, Jackson captures the essential and hard truth of the lives at the center of the debate over reproductive healthcare in America. About the filmmaker: After an award-winning career as a photojournalist, Crow turned her attention to filmmaking. In 2014, her short film The Last Clinic was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy, and she was listed as one of PDN InMotion’s 20 Emerging Artists to Watch in Film and Video. In 2012, her multimedia project Half Lives: Chernobyl Workers Now won an Overseas Press Club award. In 2010, her short film A Life Alone was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She recently worked as a director of photography on the MTV documentary series True Life. JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
All images © Guerrilla Girls and courtesy of guerrillagirls.com; Above: Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? 2012; Right: Dearest Art Collector, 1986
Performance: A “One Girl Gig” with the Guerilla Girls Title: Making Trouble with the Guerilla Girls NOV. 30, 6 P.M. In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the first women matriculating to Auburn University, JCSM has invited the Guerilla Girls for a “onegirl gig.” Since 1985, a group of anonymous feminist women artists from New York City have been publicly calling attention to the inequities of the art world. Donning gorilla masks and taking pseudonyms of dead women artists, the group employs guerilla tactics, inundating public spheres with posters, books, stickers, and performances exposing the scarcity of women artists in museums and galleries and the over-representation of the female body in the same places. During her performance at JCSM, the Guerilla Girl will talk about, among other things, how they invaded the Oscars with a billboard and sticker campaign about discrimination in Hollywood, and about their 17-foot-tall posters at the 2005 Venice Biennale. SUPPORTED IN PART BY AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND WOMEN’S STUDIES AT AUBURN UNIVERSITY.
www.
Visit JCSM.AUBURN.EDU for complete program listings. Our E-MUSE is the best way to stay current with JCSM programs and events. Sign up today at jcsm.auburn.edu.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS K-6 Family Studio SELECT SUNDAYS, 1:30–3 P.M. Family Studio is held on select Sundays from 1:30-3 p.m. for students in kindergarten through 6 grade and their families. Register at jcsm. auburn.edu to reserve your space. Parents and guardians are asked to participate with their child during the program. Visit the online calendar for the latest information as topics may change slightly. Family Programs are supported in part by a City of Auburn K–12 Arts Education Outreach Grant. A $5 suggested donation is appreciated in continued support of programs. SEPT. 17 SKETCH AND EXPLORE Come explore the new exhibits at JCSM and create art together. We will think about how artists can use the museum to inspire their art practice and try some of the techniques ourselves. OCT. 8 UPCYCLING CHALLENGE! After gaining inspiration from Jean Shin’s MAiZE and the sculptures from JCSM’s biennial exhibition Out of the Box, families will be tasked with working collaboratively to create unique artworks and inventions out of recycled materials. NOV. 12 DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY Looking at the work of Leo Twiggs, we will talk about diversity in the Auburn community and the world, and then create individual art pieces and a collaborative project responding to our discussion.
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Educator Open House THURSDAY, SEPT. 7, 5:30–7 P.M. K-12, early elementary, and university educators from Auburn and the surrounding area are invited to learn about our educational programs to help you connect your classroom with JCSM. Enjoy refreshments as you network with fellow teachers, and then head to the galleries to see our new exhibitions. Other community organizations will be present with information about their educational programs and resources. Reserve your space to attend online. Questions? Email Xoe Fiss, K–12 curator of education, at xoefiss@auburn.edu.
Teens: 7th Grade and Up Separate art workshops and opportunities for teens in 7–12 grades will be held throughout the year. Check the website for the latest information in the fall. Teen art workshops are planned with the help of the JCSM Teen Council. Comprised of local middle and high school students, the Teen Council contributes ideas, creates art, and helps design and facilitate programming for teens to participate in the museum and engage with art. If you are interested in adding your email to a mailing list to learn about teen programming, please email xoefiss@auburn.edu.
JCSM Docents The JCSM docents, or tour guides, lead tours and assist with select programs at the museum under the guidance and supervision of the K-12 curator of education. From August to May, docents participate in training sessions focused in art history, current exhibitions, and facilitating tours and activities for all ages that engage visual literacy skills and critical thinking about art. Anyone interested in joining our team of volunteer docents should contact JCSM tour coordinator Debbie Frojo at 334-8443486 or at jcsmtours@auburn.edu.
Winter Community Day: A Celebration of Diversity THURSDAY, DEC. 7, 5–8 P.M. Join us for our first biannual Community Day. This winter our theme is celebrating diversity in the Auburn community. Student groups from Auburn University and local community organizations will have displays about their culture or organization and facilitate activities for you to enjoy with friends and family. It will be a wonderful day to appreciate being together before winter break.
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Learning in the
Museum by Xoe Fiss
“There is a rapidly emerging consensus that the most successful museums of the future will be places to hang out, engage, and contribute.” —CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF MUSEUMS
S c
chools and museums are often seen as very different places of learning, both because of the way learning is structured within the spaces and the expectations for the content that is taught. Traditional schooling has been viewed as career-centered where museums can be viewed as a leisure activity. However, as both schools and museums adapt to 21st-century needs, the way students and visitors of all ages learn in classrooms and museum galleries is growing more similar. Much of this change in museum education is in response to recent research about how visitors learn in museums and a greater focus on visitor education in museums. For example, educators John Falk and Lynn Dierking have developed the Contextual Model of Learning to describe the three contexts that
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influence visitors’ learning in museums. They explain that museums are innately spaces of free-choice learning; the visitor chooses where to go, what to spend time looking at, and how long to stay in the museum. During the visit, the personal context, sociocultural context, and physical context overlap and shape the visitor’s museum experience. The personal context is our prior knowledge and interests, the sociocultural context is anyone we are visiting the museum with as well as other visitors in the museum, and the physical context is the museum space itself: Can you navigate the space easily? Are there places to sit down? Is it easy to find and read the label for the artwork? Falk and Dierking later add a fourth dimension: time. As museum visits are typically more isolated and less consistent than attending a regular class or school, it is important to remember that museum learning extends before and after the visit. For example, you might read a book about an art movement
before visiting the museum and, after seeing art from that period in person, you enhance and add to what you have already learned. Like research about learning in museums, there have been new approaches developed to better understand learning and choice in classrooms. Choice-based approaches in schools focus on sharing authority between the student and teacher. Rather than framing learning in a hierarchy of knowledge where there is always a right answer, in choice-based approaches, ambiguity, and discussion are celebrated and used to help develop personal connections and meaningful, engaging learning experiences. Students are given a choice about what they learn and make, which helps them stay focused and retain new knowledge. Museums are embracing similar ideas of choice and shared authority, especially within participatory activities in galleries and events. Choice-based classrooms focus on
differentiation, or what resources, visual aids, and types of instruction can be provided to support different types of student learning. Using my experience as a former middle school teacher, my research as a museum educator has focused on how similar resources can be translated for museum use. Resources and differentiation are important in the museum, studio, and classroom to help the learner feel comfortable in the space. In museums, this is called museum literacy, or feeling confident and competent to use the museum to learn and engage with different ideas. Though museums are naturally spaces of free-choice learning, like a library it takes time to learn how to use a museum so that your visit feels meaningful and worthwhile. We typically do not go to the library to read the same book, just as we have different reasons and goals for a museum visit. So, my question for you is, what do you want to learn in the museum today?
REFERENCES Center for the Future of Museums [CFM] 2010. Demographic transformation and the future of museums [Scholarly project]. In American Alliance of Museums. Falk, J., & Dierking, L. (2000). Learning from museums: Visitor experiences and the making of meaning. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
What do you want to learn in the museum today? Learning in the Museum
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OUTCOMES
1072 SOCIETY EXCURSION:
A Travel Journal by Teresa Rodriguez
This year’s 1072 Society trip was my first. I felt a little trepidation that the bus ride would be dull, but no! I knew many of the people traveling with me and enjoyed pleasant conversation on my way. Cindy passed out fruit cups and pastries. The ride was smooth. I was not expecting the difference in perspective as we rode along in the big touring bus. Seeing the scenery from six feet off the ground was a new experience. And, how nice to not be navigating the Birmingham traffic! We arrived at the museum, stepped off the bus, walked in, and were assigned very experienced docents who led us through the exhibit Third Space, an outstanding exhibition of American contemporary art. I would be hard-pressed to say I had a favorite piece; there were so many excellent works and such a broad spectrum of artistic approaches. The docents were very knowledgeable and generous with us.
Teresa Rodriguez and Ursula Higgins
Two friends and I had time to look at the American Art Collection before lunch. We sat at a large square table on the lower level for lunch. Excellent service, lovely dĂŠcor, good coffee. We were so fortunate to be able to also see a private collection of conceptual art. It was displayed in an unassuming warehouse in an industrial park a little outside Birmingham. The very knowledgeable collector, Michael Straus, began by explaining why he was drawn to conceptual art and talked about the individual artists whose work he collected. I have never really spent much effort in understanding conceptual art. His talk about every single piece on view left me absolutely enlightened by the tour we received. I am now a believer. This was one of the unexpected benefits for being part of the 1072 Society. I rode back to Auburn with a great feeling of satisfaction for a day well spent.
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BOOK YOUR holiday event
@JCSM To reserve your date, contact Lauren Horton at 334-844-3488 or laurenhorton@auburn.edu.
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| Rock painting studio with Auburn, Alabama ROCKS!
SUMMER FUN Despite being closed for months, museum staff found ways to keep audiences informed and engaged over the summer. Social media followers reacted to hands-on art activities for ages 2 to 100 with education curator Xoe Fiss, as well as Collection Spotlight blog posts. The Museum grounds were a pop-up home for a Pure Barre workshop, the Museum Shop with LocAL Market, and a rock painting studio with Auburn, Alabama ROCKS! At the city of Auburn/Auburn Arts Association’s Downtown SummerNight ArtWalk, all the buzz was about the museum button-making station. At the Ralph B. Draughon Library, university staff and community members joined together for conversations about diversity in response to the permanent collection. Educators partnered with the College of Sciences and Mathematics for the 2017 Eclipse Across America, where Auburn students learned eclipse saftey and created shadow drawings.
| Art making activity at the Museum Shop and LocAL Market pop-up
JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
GALLERY
| Button-making was a hit at the city of Auburn/Auburn Arts Association' s Downtown SummerNight ArtWalk
Gallery | FALL 2017
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GALLERY | Pure Barre session in the Susan Phillips Gardens
Julie Bennett/AL.com
| Conversations prompted by art with Scott Bishop and Nighet Ahmed
Julie Bennett/AL.com
JCSM.AUBURN.EDU
| University and community audiences experience a partial solar eclipse
HANDLE WITH CARE Arts professionals from Denny Park Fine Arts carefully tagged and deinstalled more than 600 pieces from Amber Luster Chandelier over the course of three days. Denny Park Fine Arts is the only company authorized by the Chihuly Studio to provide cleaning, deinstallation, packing, moving, and storage of Chihuly artwork. Be sure to see the sculpture reinstalled when we reopen.
ART CHANGES LIVES Gallery | FALL 2017
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REOPENING SALE THURSDAY, SEPT. 7
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FALL SALE THURSDAY, OCT. 19 PRE-THANKSGIVING SALE THURSDAY, NOV. 16
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Dear Auburn University Faculty, We are once again delighted to share with you this complimentary copy of the JULE, your university art museum members’ magazine. In this issue, you’ll discover all the many things we have planned for this semester, which includes a powerful symposium in conjunction with our featured exhibition, Leo Twiggs: Requiem for Mother Emanuel. Please plan to join us at our ticketed event to celebrate Out of the Box: A Juried Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, featuring 12 sculptures chosen by juror Jean Shin. In addition, JCSM will present Ms. Shin’s upcycled art installation, entitled MAiZE. We hope you will agree that this “corn maze,” is perfect for our landgrant institution. If you like what you see, please consider a museum membership so you can continue to stay well informed about all of JCSM’s many programs through this nationally award-winning publication. Most importantly, it is our sincere hope that you and your students make use of the educational resources and experiential opportunities this museum provides through the many exhibitions, programs, and diverse collections we maintain on your behalf. Thank you for all you do, and remember that art changes lives, M A R I LY N L A U F E R , P h D, D I R E C T O R
T O P L A N Y O U R V I S I T, G O T O J C S M . A U B U R N . E D U / P L A N - A - V I S I T.