visual arts @ miami
Art Museum McGuffey Museum Hiestand Galleries Cage Gallery
spring 2015
Miami University College of Creative Arts visual arts @ miami | 1
visual arts @ miami spring 2015 edition Editor: Sherri Krazl Contributors: Art Museum Staff Tracy Featherstone Diane Fellows Jeanne Harmeyer John Humphries Morgan Murray Murali Paranandi Ann Taulbee
visual arts @ miami
is a publication of the Miami University Art Museum (MUAM) showcasing visual arts at Miami University for members and the Art Museum community.
Distributed in the Oxford Press prior to the Fall and Spring semesters, visual arts @ miami also serves as a unified resource for visual arts and culture within the College of Creative Arts at Miami University.
MUAM, Cage Gallery, Hiestand Galleries and McGuffey Museum are FREE and OPEN to all. Check the back cover for a map detail, contact information, a complete list of current exhibitions and hours.
on the cover
Sakuma Tetsuen (Japanese, 1850–1921); Chinese scholars in a Garden (Leisure Pursuits for Gentlemen: Calligraphy, Painting, Music and Chess) [detail]; Late Meiji (1868-1912) or early TaishĹ? (1912-1926) period; Six-panel screen: ink and colors on paper, wood and metal; Gift of Walter I. Farmer; 1972.P.1.4
spring 2015
Inside this issue
Directions 3 Collections News 4 Upcoming Exhibitions 5 McGuffey Moments 6 Staff Spotlight ~ Scott Kissell 7 8-11 Art Museum Exhibitions / Programs Volunteer Spotlight ~ Elaine Rauckhorst 12 Chocolate Meltdown 13 Donor Spotlight ~ The Brevermans 14 In the Cage 16-17 Hiestand Happenings 18-19 Art Museum Exhibitions / Programs 20-21 Alumni Spotlight ~ Sydney Johnson 22 Events & Exhibitions @ a Glance 23-24
Art Museum Staff Robert S. Wicks, Ph.D., Director Jason E. Shaiman, Curator of Exhibitions Cynthia Collins, Curator of Education Laura Stewart, Collections Manager/Registrar Mark DeGennaro, Preparator/Operations Manager Sherri Krazl, Marketing & Communications Coordinator Debbie Caudill, Program Assistant Sue Gambrell, Program Coordinator Scott Kissell, University Photographer Stephen C. Gordon, McGuffey Museum Administrator
Membership Association Steering Committee:
Elaine Rauckhorst, President Sarah Michael, Secretary Alan Straus, Treasurer Heather Kogge Sherri Krazl, at large Sue Momeyer Robert Mullenix Rachel Pfeiffer Robert S. Wicks, ex-officio
Collections Development Committee:
Sara Butler Diane Fishbein Nancy Koehler Bonnie Mason Ellen Price Laura Stewart, ex-officio Dennis Tobin Robert S. Wicks, ex-officio Jay Zumeta
Students @ MUAM Interns/Volunteers: Fall 2014 Kimberly Blake Mahaley Evans Courtney Freeland Allie Koscianski Gao Naren Allie Rosemann Winter 2015 Julia Lampson Jonathan Moritz
Spring 2015 Shae Burgess Alexander Butterfield Meghan Canfield Caroline Cox Mackenzie Egan Camryn Longworth Maren Madigan Anna Wold
Student Workers: Ben Fritz Emily Grizzell Trayli Monroe Morgan Murray Miles Senior
Art Museum Student Organization Executives: Maggie McMillan, President Sruthi Ramakrishnan, Treasurer Bridget Garnai, Marketing Kimberly Blake, Secretary
ArtMuseum and Sculpture Park 801 S. Patterson Ave. | MiamiOH.edu/ArtMuseum | (513) 529-2232
directions
from the director
Museums & Collaboration 2.0 BY DR. ROBERT S. WICKS
C
uration has traditionally referred to the practice of organizing exhibitions for museums or taking charge of a physical collection usually undertaken by a single individual, the curator. Today the meaning of curation has broadened to include the act of sifting through and selecting content for presentation, such as popular music or website content. The democratization of curation has come about because of changes in the larger society.
Curatorial practice has also expanded in its scope, giving rise to what might be called collaborative curation, in which museum professionals, college faculty, public school teachers, students and even the general public actively participate in the exhibition planning process. This approach to exhibition making has been an integral part of MUAM’s culture for a number of years, culminating in several significant exhibitions, such as Grass Routes: Pathways to Eurasian Cultures in 2012 and this year’s Revealing the Light Within: The Healing Powers of Expressive Arts.
Planning for Miami’s 2014-15 Freedom Summer commemoration was no exception. The collaborative process ensured that multiple perspectives were incorporated into all of the programs and exhibitions surrounding the effort to memorialize the training that took place on the campus of the Western College for Women, now part of Miami University. The insights gained from the experience far outweighed the downside of no longer having complete control over decision-making or the inconvenience of having to attend yet another meeting with yet another group of stakeholders. In the end, nearly every audience, from civil rights veterans to K-12 students, Miami undergraduates, faculty and researchers, were able to find a meaningful entry point to the programs and exhibitions. Our goal is to achieve this level of relevance for every project we take on.
Hundreds gathered during the Freedom Summer Conference and Reunion Weekend for events all over campus. Civil rights veterans and other guests joined us for Herbert Randall’s reflections on his experiences as a Freedom Summer photographer 50 years earlier. Photo by Scott Kissell
visual arts @ miami | 3
collections HIGHLIGHTS
Back in the U.S.S.R. By Collections Manager/Registrar, Laura Stewart
L
ast year marked the twenty-fifth anniversaries of two major events in the history of Communism. In 1989, students protested in China’s Tiananmen Square while East and West Berliners in Germany began crossing the wall that had separated them since 1961. If you have ever wondered what Soviet Communism looked like during its heyday, it is now possible to examine visual evidence of this period right here in Oxford, at Miami University Art Museum. Thanks to a generous gift from beloved museum patron Frances McClure, Photographs of U.S.S.R., a portfolio of photographic images by renowned American photographer Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971), has become part of the Art Museum’s permanent collection. The portfolio consists of twenty-four black and white photogravures of people and places in the U.S.S.R. taken during several visits to the communist nation in 1930 and 1931. Originally from New York City, Bourke-White became a resident of Ohio in the late 1920s. She spent several years in Cleveland, first as a student at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University), and later as an artist-entrepreneur. She established a commercial photography studio in Cleveland and became known primarily for her architectural and industrial imagery. Bourke-White’s professional career included being the first female photographer for Life magazine, the
first American female war photojournalist, and the first foreign-born individual allowed to photograph industry in the Soviet Union. Bourke-White’s initial visit to Russia came in 1930, when she traveled there to photograph industrial workers and projects, documenting the Soviet Union’s first “Five Year Plan” for industrialization. The following year, she returned to photograph the Russian people, which led to a 1931 book of photographs, Eyes on Russia. The portfolio now in the collection of the Art Museum contains documents of the Communist shift from an agricultural to an industrial nation. It includes images of the Kremlin in Moscow and Joseph Stalin’s mother. Other photogravures are of factories, machinery, workers, dancers and landscapes. One of many striking portrayals of the daily life and circumstances of the Russian people is an image of children and parents waiting to be seen at a health clinic. Bourke-White captures their quiet patience as they sit together on a long wooden bench with a lifesized poster of Vladimir Lenin hanging above them. The Fall 2015 semester will feature an exhibition of all twenty-four images from Bourke-White’s Photographs of U.S.S.R. The exhibition is co-curated by Kimberly Blake, a Curatorial Intern during the Fall 2014 semester. We do know how lucky we are, to be at Miami University and have an art museum that can take us back to the U.S.S.R.
Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971); Kremlin: Moscow (detail), 1930-31; photogravure; Gift of Mrs. Frances D. McClure; 2013.73v
4|
visual arts @ miami
Girl Scouts at the Art Museum Art in 3-D Junior Program Saturday, February 28, 10 a.m.-noon
Colors & Shapes Brownie Program Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m.-noon
To register, contact Cynthia Collins, Curator of Education, at Collinc5@miamioh.edu or by phone at (513) 529-2243. Visit our web site at www.MiamiOH.edu/ArtMuseum
A free program including storytime led by the Lane Public Library children’s department, paired with a related craft. For children ages 3-5, accompanied by an adult. Held at the Art Museum ~ an early childhood arts and reading partnership with The Lane Library. Thursday, February 26, March 26 and April 23, 10 a.m.-noon
If Music be the Quilt of Life… Play On! Juried exhibition of works by Studio Art Quilt Associates February 15 – April 15 Music-making is a human activity that takes place across time and in every place. Because music is an expression of the culture that creates it, there are many genres: jazz, opera, techno, folk, country, rock, pop, rap, Latin, reggae, classical, & symphonic. Music can be created by the human vocal system, by air forced through a specific shape, by percussion, or by the vibration of strings. Each method creates sounds that are distinctly different. Music shares the same principles as her sister arts, dance, theatre and visual art: they have movement, harmony, variety, balance, proportion, unity and especially the pattern or repetition that creates rhythm or texture. Can you express diversity in music as color, shape, form or texture in a quilted creation? Curator: Carole Gary Staples | Juror: Deidre Adams
Miami University Voice of America Learning Center 7847 VOA Park Drive • West Chester, OH • 45069 www.MiamiOH.edu/VOALC • voalc@MiamiOH.edu
Upcoming Exhibitions Fall 2015
AUGUST 25 - december 12
Margaret Bourke-White: Photographs of U.S.S.R. (Douglass Gallery) Margaret Bourke-White’s adventurous spirit led her to photograph various danger zones around the globe. Though her concern for politics and social justice was that of a global participant, her zealous photojournalism shows us a uniquely American spirit. In this exhibit, Soviet Russia is captured through Bourke-White’s lens as she documents the industrialization and political changes in the region, and how this represents an American sympathy for developing and war-torn nations.
The Past is Present: Metal Point Drawings in the 21st Century (McKie Gallery) For the past 6 years, Dennis Angel has produced metal point drawings on paper, a meticulous process popular in 15th and 16th century Europe. This exhibition will include preparatory drawings paired with the finished metal point drawings, and several of Angel’s still-life installations. Dennis Angel (American, b. 1955); Nautilus Shell (detail), 2012; Silver and 24K gold on tinted paper; Collection of the Artist
Kinetics: The Intersection of Creativity and Innovation (Farmer Gallery) This exhibition of kinetic works from the Art Museum’s permanent collection and several regional artists will explore the marriage of design and aesthetics with technology and innovative constructions popularized in the 20th century. Kinetics is developed in connection with the upcoming Year of MIAMIdeas: Creativity and Innovation (2015-2016) initiative set forth by President Hodge.
#ArtThatMoves visual arts arts @ @ miami miami || 55 visual
@ McGuffey
McGuffey Moments
By Museum Administrator Stephen C. Gordon
The Artistic McGuffey
C
aroline Rich McGuffey (1839-1905) was a remarkable woman. A sister-in-law of William Holmes McGuffey, Caroline, beautiful and talented, was also a ceramist, art collector and early member of the Cincinnati Pottery Club, a prestigious organization that included “some of Cincinnati’s best people – the beauty, wealth and society of the Queen City of the West” (Anita J. Ellis, The Ceramic Career of M. Louise McLaughlin, p. 99). Caroline married Alexander Hamilton McGuffey in 1867 following the death of his first wife, Elizabeth Drake McGuffey. Alexander was then a prominent attorney and through his involvement with the McMicken School of Design at the University of Cincinnati, undoubtedly encouraged Alice and Helen, two of his daughters, in their work as woodcarvers. Caroline’s matrimonial portrait, painted by the noted Cincinnati artist Thomas Buchanan Read, depicts a modern, sophisticated woman. At age 28, the young bride would raise a family, join the city’s elite, and work among other accomplished ceramists such as Mary Louis McLaughlin and Maria Longworth Nichols, the founder of Rookwood Pottery. McGuffey’s known works include two signed art pottery vases fired in 1883 by Rookwood, a signed gilt jar, and an unsigned floral vase. Physically, Caroline’s signature feature was her lustrous hair. It is showcased in a rare ferrotype photo taken ca. 1867 by J. P. Ball, a renowned African-American photographer based in Cincinnati. It is clear that Ball’s photo was the image used by the artist who painted the back of Mrs. McGuffey’s head on a porcelain plate (lower left) now in the museum collection. In her book, Dressed for the Photographer, historian Joan Severa notes that back views of women are rare, and as such provide information on “the manner of shaping the hairstyle.” The rear perspective makes Caroline appear mysterious and unknowable. The 9-inch plate also features the interwoven cipher “AHM,” the initials for Alexander Hamilton McGuffey. Caroline’s portrait, floral vase and ferrotype are just a few of the treasured family objects on display in the McGuffey Museum. Photo by Scott Kissell
McGuffey Museum 401 E. Spring St. | Oxford, OH 45056 | (513) 529-8380 Stephen C. Gordon, Administrator McGuffeyMuseum@MiamiOH.edu www.MiamiOH.edu/McGuffeyMuseum Museum hours: Thursday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m.
art Art museum Museum people Staffspotlight Spotlight
Kissell ~ Behind the Lens S
een all around campus toting his camera and gear, senior university photographer Scott Kissell has been capturing the essence of the Miami University Art Museum for the past seven years. A life-long Ohioan, originally from Beavercreek, Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from Wright State University. Having taken photography classes in college, along with a life-long affinity for photography, he began his career working as a photojournalist for the Springfield News-Sun covering good and bad news and happenings. “It was my job to photograph a lot of tragedies – I saw a lot of things I didn’t want to see.” He also worked at his alma mater and did freelance photography before joining Miami in 2005. Scott, his wife, Margo and their son, Quinn, reside in Oxford. At the Art Museum, Scott is responsible for helping digitize the collection of 17,000 works. He also covers all of the special events, openings and major projects. Before each exhibition opens he shoots installation and publicity shots. “We are fortunate at Miami to have an art museum like this with so many things that students and the community can study and enjoy – it’s really big culturally for this community,” he said. Some of the highlights of the many projects he has worked on at the Art Museum include photographing the Charles M. Messer Leica Camera Collection, the photography collection, and the many artifacts, some of which are thousands of years old. Scott is inspired by many photographers. Edward Weston is one of his favorites, in part because “he did a lot of studio photography that he then applied
to his landscapes.” He relates to this approach to photography because, “being a photographer in a university allows you to photograph something different each day - action events, portrait work, architecture, landscapes and even works of art.” “I enjoy the studio shoots at the museum because I have to figure out the best angle to shoot each object. Some are more challenging than others, my experience here really has made me a better photographer.” Scott shared some of his earliest memories of when his interest in photography was sparked. “I remember a trip out West with my family when I was 12. My mom bought me my first Yashica rangefinder film camera for the trip. I specifically recall photographing amazing landscapes including the Badlands in South Dakota. I documented our whole trip with that little camera. I was hooked with my first scrapbook. I loved that when you open up that trip album it revives the memories and feelings that you were experiencing from when the shutter was clicked.” Photography has changed so much in the past 20 years with the shift from film to digital, and yet Scott still feels passionate about it. To have survived all the change feels good. Scott feels his greatest accomplishment in the photography business is that he is still in it. “It’s a very humbling profession; there is always something new to learn. You never know it all, and there are so many good photographers out there. I feel very blessed to be able to still do it, and I plan on taking pictures as long as I am able.”
visual visualarts arts@@miami miami| |7 7
Figures in a Garden:
T h e I de a l Wor l d i n C h i n e se A rt
By Jason E. Shaiman & dr. ann barrott wicks
E
ngaging with students at Miami University in an academic environment goes well beyond working with interns, giving tours to classes of current exhibitions, or showing thematic selections from the collections. Art history majors are given the opportunity to curate an exhibition each Spring semester for their senior capstone course offered during the Fall term. The Spring 2015 exhibition Figures in a Garden: The Ideal World in Chinese Art is produced by eight students under the direction of Professor Ann Barrott Wicks in the Department of Art. With the assistance of Art Museum staff, the students learned about the curatorial process, collections management, education, installation practices, graphics design, marketing and promotion in order to develop the exhibition. They were responsible for defining the theme, selecting and researching the objects featured in the exhibition, writing the text, and designing the layout.
8|
visual arts @ miami
Figures in gardens show how an ideal space was constructed according to long-established Chinese beliefs. Gardens, especially those of the educated elite, were designed to model the perfect balance among heaven, earth and people. This idea of balance is deeply embedded in traditional Chinese thought. Around the 10th century in China, educated gentlemen, or scholars, adopted a philosophical blend of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism called Neo-Confucianism. The primary goal of Neo-Confucians was self-cultivation— intellectually, spiritually and morally. Those who passed the imperial civil service exams were given prestigious positions in the Chinese bureaucracy with the potential of advising the emperor. The works in this exhibition picture gardens designed for these scholars’ meditation, as places where one’s vital essence could be refreshed. The landscapes, figures, birds and plants symbolically represent elements of the ideal Chinese world—nature in balance, harmony among all.
AN ART HISTORY CAPSTONE EXHIBITION ~ january 27 – june 27 mckie gallerY
Related Programs
Tuesday, February 3, 5:30 p.m. Figures in a Garden: The Ideal World in Chinese Art ~ Ann Barrott Wicks, Ph.D., Department of Art, Miami University
Art historian Ann Barrott Wicks will explain the historical context and philosophical ideas underlying the work chosen for the exhibition of Chinese art at the Art Museum on view through June 27. She will highlight specific works from the show, recounting the surprising circumstances surrounding the acquisition and identification of some of the paintings. Tuesday, February 10, 6 p.m. A Celebration of Diversity / Reception
The Art Museum Student Organization (AMSO) will host a reception to welcome international students prior to a gallery talk at 7 p.m. highlighting the capstone exhibition Figures in a Garden: The Ideal World in Chinese Art.
Tuesday, February 10, 7 p.m. Symbols and Meaning in Chinese Art ~ Abbigail Crawford, Alexandra Czajkowski, Naren Gao, Delaney Lee, Jim McClanahan, Wilson Pittman, Danielle Riggs, Gabrielle Turner and Dr. Ann Barrott Wicks
What is it like to work on a museum show? Hear eight senior art history majors discuss favorite experiences from theirCapstone exhibition, Figures in a Garden: The Ideal World in Chinese Art. The audience will have an opportunity to look and ask questions about individual objects and works in the gallery as well.
Tuesday, April 7, 7 p.m. The Jade Dragons of Hongshan ~ Professor Guanglin Tian, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
An exploration of excavations in Liaoning Province associated with the Neolithic Hongshan Culture dating from approximately 4,700-2,900 B.C.E. Discoveries include a unique ancient temple complex with stone platforms and painted murals, monumental clay figures, and the earliest representations of the dragon in Chinese art. Tuesday, April 7, 6 p.m. Reception
Faculty, staff and students are invited to join us for a reception to welcome Professor Tian prior to his presentation. Co-sponsored by the Confucius Institute
Pictured l-r: Wilson Pittman, Danielle Riggs, Jim McClanahan, Delaney Lee, Alexandra Czajkowski, Abbigail Crawford, Naren Gao, Gabrielle Turner and Dr. Ann Barrott Wicks
Faculty Focus A
nn Barrott Wicks, Professor of Art History, will be retiring in May 2015 after thirty-two years at Miami University. She received a B.A. in Humanities from Brigham Young University in 1975, her M.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University in 1977, and her Ph.D. in Oriental Art History from Cornell University in 1982. She joined the Art History faculty at Miami University in 1983. In 1992, she was Visiting Professor at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. She was Visiting Summer Professor at the University of Seoul, South Korea, in 2009 and 2010. Dr. Wicks specializes in the history of Chinese painting and has brought several painters from China to Miami University for lectures and exhibitions. She has published books and articles about both traditional and contemporary Chinese painting. Professor Wicks lived in Asia for five years. She speaks fluent Chinese and has traveled extensively in China conducting research. At Miami University, she teaches courses that include the art, religion and culture of India, China, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. “I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Ann Wicks since I came to Miami in 1991,” said Department of Art Chair Peg Faimon. “She has always been a wonderful role model for her art history colleagues, as well as the other members of the department. Her care for her students, her concern for quality in everything she does, her collaborative nature, and her ‘can do’ attitude are evident everyday. We will miss her expertise and wise counsel, but hope to see her wonderful smile visiting us on a regular basis.”
visual arts @ miami |
~ BEST WISHES IN YOUR RETIREMENT! 9
art museum spring exhibition ~ january 27 – may 16 DOUGLASS gallery
A Student Response Exhibition
Freedom Summer
Related Programs
Thursday, March 5 6 p.m. Hooded Truths ~ Candace Hunter, Artist, Chicago, IL
In the series of works titled Hooded Truths, Chicago artist Candace Hunter explores the image of the “hoodie” to retell moments of U.S. history, continuing to ask for the full truth, whether painful or not. Hunter uses the process of photo transfer, traditional collage and repetition of images. Co-sponsored with the Contemporary Art Forum
Billy Simms, Graduate Student, Studio Art (Printmaking); One Nation (detail), 2014, photo-litho print with relief printing and hand stitching.
O
By Curator of Exhibitions, Jason E. Shaiman
ne of the primary initiatives of the Miami University Art Museum is to attract and interact with students and for those future graduates to experience and participate in the arts in new ways. This second iteration of the Summer Reading Program Student Art Response exhibition, in collaboration with the Miami University Summer Reading Program, is one facet of this exploration. It allows current undergraduate and graduate students to exhibit their art in a museum gallery setting. Each summer incoming freshmen are provided with a selected book that will be the basis of their first critical analysis and dialogue session at Miami University. The 2014 book chosen by the Summer Reading Program committee is Bruce Watson’s, Freedom Summer: The Savage Season of 1964 That Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy. The Fall 2014 semester at Miami University was filled with commemorative events marking the fiftieth anniversary of Freedom Summer.
To carry on the dialogue beyond the Fall events, the Miami University Art Museum is hosting the second annual Student Response Exhibition. An open call for entries was extended to all students to participate in this juried exhibition by submitting creative responses to the theme of Freedom Summer and issues of freedom today. The jurors for this exhibition were Ann Taulbee, Department of Art; Dr. Nishani Frazier, Department of History and Black World Studies Program; and Bruce Watson, author of Freedom Summer. The accepted works, featured in this exhibition, include printmaking, photography and poetry created by undergraduate and graduate students.
Thursday, March 5, 7 p.m. Student Artists’ Responses to Freedom Summer
Join student artists:
Madeline Hrybyk Danny Kuhl Xuan (Renee) Li ang David Malone Sandra Mattingly Christopher G. Maurer Rebekah Mohn Billy Simms Claudia Tommasi Liza Torrence
as they explore visual and narrative concepts of freedom. Participants will have the opportunity to work on large panels creating visual images and/or narratives articulating what “freedom” means to them. Juried exhibition artists will also be available to share insights regarding their inspirations.
ART museum spring exhibition ~ january 27 – june 27 walter i. farmer gallery
William Douglas McGee: Abstract Expressionist By Curator of Exhibitions, Jason E. Shaiman
Related Program Thursday, February 12, 6 p.m. Painting’s Returns: William McGee’s 21st-century Modernism ~ Morgan Thomas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Art History, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, University of Cincinnati.
The recent rediscovery of William McGee’s remarkable body of work raises fascinating questions for art history and criticism today. This lecture retraces some of the key moments in McGee’s artistic trajectory, exploring his links to artists like Agnes Martin, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman and Jasper Johns, as well as his interest in visual poetry and the role of construction, abstraction, and enchantment in art. It aims to show how McGee’s elusive position in the history of American modernism makes his art all the more relevant to discussions at the center of contemporary art and culture today. Co-sponsored with the Contemporary Art Forum
L
ike many of his contemporaries at the height of the Abstract Expressionist movement, William Douglas McGee explored various materials and methods of making that illustrated his personal experiences and responses to the social and political climate of the mid-20th century. In the summer of 1952, McGee was a student at the famed Black Mountain College near Asheville, North Carolina. There, he painted alongside the likes of Robert Rauschenberg and Elaine de Kooning, who would become major figures in the second generation of Abstract Expressionists. McGee was profoundly influenced by teacher and mentor Franz Kline, from whom he learned to navigate personal philosophical approaches to art making. Almost exclusively a painter throughout his career, McGee had an on-andoff again relationship with collage, first in the 1950s, again in the 1960s, and finally in the late 1970s and early 1980s. According to an interview with McGee in 1970, the artist’s principles and philosophy towards painting was easily transferable to the methods he used for his collage work. McGee was always interested in the balance of different components in his art: heavy and light, masculine and feminine, harsh and soft. By controlling these aspects, consciously and unconsciously, he brought them together and created what he considered his best result. For McGee, the importance of each material factored into the end result of an artwork. McGee’s collages differed from those of his contemporaries because he largely refrained from the use of pop culture references. He most commonly used pieces of letters, notebooks, mat board and other substrates. Only a few examples include type-written material, such as newspapers or magazine articles, so that the text did not infer specific meaning to the work. The results were aesthetic responses to his landscape, environment, people and places. Many works included in this exhibition are graciously loaned by Larry Huston and Dr. Flavia Bastos. The works by McGee in the collection of the Miami University Art Museum were previously gifted by Mr. Huston. The exhibition is co-curated by Mahaley Evans. William Douglas McGee (American, 1925-1999); Untitled (detail), 1959; Mixed media collage, 23 3/4 x 18 1/2 inches; Collection of Larry Huston
visual arts @ miami | 11
A Love of Arts and Action
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
E
laine Rauckhorst taught fourth and fifth grade Language Arts, Math and Science at Saint Peter in Chains of Hamilton until her retirement in 1995. She recalled enjoying visits to her classroom by docents from the Miami University Art Museum and felt it would be a great extension of her teaching to become a docent herself. After joining the Miami University Art Museum docents in 1995, Elaine has been involved in many areas of the docent program. Aside from working with the art, she most enjoys the camaraderie, gatherings and hosting luncheons. “I enjoy it a lot; I’ve given a lot of hours to it but it’s never felt like work,” she stated. Elaine also credits her involvement with the Art Museum to a college experience when an art appreciation course piqued her interest to learn more. “I love all art – it doesn’t need to be from a certain period or medium – though I do have some favorites in the MUAM collection like Land of the Rivers V by H.A. Sigg and Conservatory: Portrait of Frida Kahlo by Miriam Shapiro.”
Elaine Rauckhorst is pictured in front of the center panel of the triptych by Miriam Shapiro (American, b. 1923), Conservatory: Portrait of Frida Kahlo, 1988. Photo by Scott Kissell
About the Art Museum Docent Program: Meeting weekly when school is in session, the Docent Program is coordinated by the Curator of Education, Cynthia Collins. Docents lead tours, provide classroom based instruction demonstrating artistic methods and more. Any individual interested in becoming a volunteer or docent should contact Cynthia at collinc5@MiamiOH.edu or (513) 529-2243.
12 |
visual arts @ miami
Her recommendation to someone planning to visit an art museum would be, “seek out a docent who can get you started, then go back and discover what YOU personally enjoy about it – let it speak to you.” An avid outdoorswoman, she loves participating in sports and gardening. In addition to playing golf she is active in paddle sports, especially platform tennis and pickleball, which she enjoys year round. Her love of gardening has led her to serve as her church gardener. She and her husband Bill have three daughters and seven grandchildren ranging from age 3 to 21.
A Perfectly Delicious Collaboration
Saturday, January 17 1–5 p.m. Oxford Community Arts Center 10 S. College Ave. ~ Oxford A creatively delicious fundraiser and friend-raiser to help support the Oxford Community Arts Center and the Miami University Art Museum. Children’s Activities | Chocolate Tastings & Sales | Bake Contest | Art Exhibit | Educational Information Raffle Baskets | Live Auction FUN FOR ALL AGES!
Tickets
$7 pre sale | $10 at door Children 12 & under free
Available on-line and at Oxford Community Arts Center and the Miami University Art Museum
www.ChocolateMeltdown.com
Love chocolate and the arts? Make an afternoon of it at this delicious FUNdraiser to be held at the Oxford Community Arts Center on Saturday, January 17. Sample chocolate confections from local and regional chocolatiers and learn about the history of this delicious treat. Enjoy a chocolate-inspired art exhibit and bake off. Buy a chance to win a raffle basket full of deliciousness.
And it’s all in support of two important arts venues in Oxford ~ the Miami University Art Museum and the Oxford Community Arts Center. Show your support in this simple, fun way. Tickets are just $7 in advance or $10 at the door and can be purchased at either location or online.
TASTING BOOTHS*
At Your Service Chocolates Latour Diane’s Artisan Chocolates Kilwin’s Chocolates Kofenya Kroger Maverick Chocolate Company Miami University Art Museum Miami University Bakery Oxford Coffee Shop Oxford Community Arts Center Ruby’s Chocolate Silver Spoon Catering MOON Co-op *as of 12/22/14
visual arts @ miami | 13
Harvey & Deborah Breverman: Collecting a Past Together
BY DR. ROBERT S. WICKS
T
he year was 1958. After completing an art degree at Carnegie Mellon University and a tour of duty in the Army, Harvey began graduate school at Ohio University (OU). Deborah Dobkin was a senior government and history major from Washington, D.C. and worked at OU’s student center. Harvey and Debby attended Hillel together and saw each other “from Friday to Friday.” Soon “wonderful things developed.” Even though Debby had no passion for art, at least initially, Harvey was impressed by her intelligence, research capabilities, and knowledge of history. Their disparate interests “filled in all the gaps.” They married in 1960.
Upon earning his M.F.A. Harvey took a faculty position at the University of Buffalo where he taught painting, drawing and printmaking until retiring in 1995. He is internationally known for his unique approach to figural images and for using small details to capture essential
Deborah and Harvey pictured behind the scenes at the Art Museum reviewing their collection files. Header image features six of the ancient oil lamps recently donated to the Art Museum.
truths. His art is widely exhibited and is collected by museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Miami University Art Museum (MUAM) owns several of his works.
Debby became a secondary school History and English teacher and taught in Buffalo schools for more than thirty years. She was known for running a tight ship. They began collecting antiquities during Harvey’s appointment to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Amsterdam, in 1965-66. Madame Schulman, wife of Amsterdam’s premier ancient coin specialist, tutored the couple. The Brevermans enjoyed “tea, cookies and talk” with her and learned about antiquities, including ancient oil lamps. Some of the mold-made ceramic vessels had Jewish symbols, Latin inscriptions or depicted Roman gods. “I immediately responded to them,” Debby recalls, and wanted to collect examples representing the various periods of antiquity. Harvey was interested in the lamps from an aesthetic point of view. He kept meticulous notes of their acquisitions on 3 by 5 inch note cards, including detailed drawings of each piece. Their collection of ancient oil lamps, Greco-Roman vessels and terracotta heads were acquired in New York, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Greece and Israel.
When Harvey was installing an exhibition of his work here in 1987, Debby was introduced to MUAM’s rich collection of antiquities by former Curator of Collections Edna Southard. Debby quickly realized that their collection complemented what Miami already owned. The couple also wanted their treasures to be housed at an institution that would actively use the works to enhance the educational experiences of its students. The collection was gifted to MUAM in 2013 and the process of cataloguing has begun.
April 19, 2015 Flight of the Flier Sunday, April 19 Noon – 5 p.m. Millett Hall
Workshops offering instruction in a variety of exciting skills from blacksmithing to boomerang making and throwing to arduino robotics to trapeze arts will take place in the days and weeks leading up to the festival. Check the website early and often for the line-up of awesome pre-festival workshops!
» MUAM memberships support programs, exhibitions and member activities
JANUARY 24 7 - 10 P.M. MILLETT HALL OXFORD, OH
25 25 25 RS
E
E
RS
RS
ITY
TH
ITY
TH
ANNUAL
RESERVE EARLY! $64 NOW! GENERAL ADMISSION RESERVE EARLY! $74 AFTER DEC. 31. $64 NOW! GENERAL ADMISSION $74 AFTER DEC. 31.
GENERAL 25th ADMISSION $74
RSVP TODAY!
513-529-6333
A A RT RT S S S E SS E R I ES SE R I E S ERIS
» Reciprocal members gain free/discounted access to over 600 museums in North America
SATURDAY Black Tie Optional
E
RSVP TODAY!
513-529-6333
ITY
RSVP TODAY! 513-529-6333
Black Tie Optional
TH
ANNUAL
PERFO
RM
IN
I ANNUAL M PERFOR
G
N
G
RT
Become part of the Art Museum today!
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24 7-10 P.M., MILLETT HALL OXFORD, OH SATURDAY, JANUARY 24 Black Tie Optional 7-10 P.M., MILLETT HALL OXFORD, OH
$319 NOW! RESERVED TABLES OF 4 $380 AFTER DEC. 31 $319 NOW! Includes sparkling wine RESERVED TABLES OF 4 & chocolates $380 AFTER DEC. 31
Includes sparkling wine
Annual Performing NArts SeriesRESERVED & chocolates A
MeMbership has never b e e n M o r e r e wa r d i n g . . .
TOAST! TOAST! TOAST! WINE TASTING WINE TASTING WINE TASTING G
oxfordkineticsfestival.org
M I A M I M I A MM I A M I I U UN UN N IV IV IV
Powered by MAKETANK Inc.
PERFOR
M
I
TABLES OF 4 $380
25th Annual Performing ArtsIncludes Seriessparkline wine Sample hundreds of wines & chocolates
25th Annual Annual Performing Arts Series 25th Series
Sponsored by Kona Bistro
Sponsored by Kona Bistro Celebrate with Hundreds of Wines, Craft Beers and Luscious Hors d’Oeuvres and Desserts provided by Kona Bistro Celebrate with HundredsKona of Wines, Craft Beers Sponsored Bistro Sponsoredby by Kona Bistro and Luscious Hors d’Oeuvres and Desserts provided by Kona Bistro
To join or learn more, visit www.Miamioh.edu/artMuseum, call (513) 529-1887, or stop in the MUaM at 801 s. patterson ave
MiamiOH.edu/PerformingArtsWineTasting Shows MORE THAN JUST
visual arts @ miami |
RESERVE EARLY 513-529-6333 RSVP Today!
MiamiOH.edu/PerformingArtsWineTasting15 RESERVE EARLY 513-529-6333 RSVP Today!
Cage Gallery Lectures, Workshop & Symposium Monday, February 9, 4 p.m. (Alumni 1) Current works/Columbus Jonathan Barnes (‘82), AIA Architecture and Design, Columbus February 21 – 22* (Alumni 1) Visualizing Architecture Workshop Monday, February 23, 4 p.m. (Alumni 1) Visualizing Architecture Alex Hogrefe (‘10) Founder: VisualizingArchitecture.com Date TBA* Driverless car experience design ~ Klemens Rossnagel Head of Design Research, Audi, Munich, Germany Thursday, April 2, Noon – 5 p.m. Building Information Modeling (BIM) Symposium ~ Collaborative Creativity Wednesday, April 22, 4 p.m. (Alumni 1) Physiognomy and the relationship between natural history and architecture history ~ Jenny Donnely (‘04,’07) (Ph.D. Candidate: University of Pittsburgh) *Visit the A+ID web page for updates and details of these and all programs, exhibitions and information.
16 | visual
arts @ miami
Through January 20
The Architect’s Tour: Notes for the Design Traveler ~ Ben Jack
The exhibition coincides with the publication of Ben Jacks’ book about beauty, experience, traveling to learn, and learning to see. The photographs were made on visits to iconic Modern and contemporary buildings in Europe. The Architect’s Tour: Notes for the Design Traveler is published by Culicidae Architectural Press. February 9 – 20
Design & Research Methods Faculty: Diane Fellows, Associate Professor, Architecture + Interior Design
ARC636, 2015 Design and Research Methods is the Master of Architecture pre-thesis writing seminar of the M.Arch design process. Each ARC636 graduate student will present thesis process boards (graffiti boards) on topics indicative of their interests and passions for all things architecture. ARC636 invites the CAGE Gallery visitor to engage the boards by leaving your comments and questions. February 26 – March 6
Light: Place: Time ~ Studio Film + Architecture
Faculty: Diane Fellows, Associate Professor, Architecture + Interior Design
Light: Place: Time explores the temporal condition of an urban street over a three week period in February 2015, through stories discovered in the details of the urban street. About Studio Film + Architecture: the design studio considers how film narrative is structured, multiple events through time are juxtaposed, and point of view is communicated as the moving image is the core component of the studio design process. Each student builds a narrative of a city street in Cincinnati explored in Light: Place: Time, and as the semester unfolds engages a vision of the urban street—its transportation and infrastructure. The future of the automobile will be explored as a temporal habitat engaging urban architecture, landscape, inhabitant and visitor. During the semester, Studio Film + Architecture will collaborate during key workshops with the Experience Design Graduate Group (Faculty: Helen Armstrong, Graphic Design, Department of Art). Studio Film + Architecture guest critic: Klemens Rossnagel, Concept Director, Audi International, Munich, Germany March 9 – 20
Stuart Hyatt: Sampling
Stuart Hyatt is a Grammy-nominated artist and musician who creates interdisciplinary media projects in the public realm. His work facilitates collaboration with people and places often overlooked by conventional contemporary art practice. Projects follow rigorous conceptual frameworks yet present themselves through simple pop and folk aesthetics.
Showcasing Architecture + Interior Design COLLEGE of Creative Arts, Miami University IN the cage April 6 – 17
“Best in Class” Graphic Design Exhibition
This is an exhibition of jury-selected work by second, third and fourth year B.F.A. graphic design students. The work in this show represents the design curriculum, from traditional to interactive to three-dimensional media, in both self-authored and collaborative projects. “Additionally—Experience the 2-D design work of nearly 40 undergraduate students in this unique print-installation,” said Sandra Gross (Miami ‘91, MFA ‘04), director of Brazee Street Studios. “gallery One One supports the creative minds of our local students and is thrilled to champion this group of young, diverse designers.” Brazee Street Studios gallery One One April 11-May 2. An opening reception will be held 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 11. March 30 – April 3
Applied Arts: Student Experiments and Designs in Fashion, Architecture, and Studio Arts from the Czech Republic Miami alums and faculty joined with a group of 17 Miami students to participate in the 10th annual international summer ArtCamp at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic, July 5 – 25, 2014.
Building Information Modeling Symposium Collaborative Creativity | Thursday, April 2 Noon – 1 p.m. ~ Opening of Exhibition of Collaborative Installation Collectively created by architecture students from Ball State + Cincinnati + Kentucky + Miami 1 – 2 p.m. ~ Keynote presentations Doug Noble and Karen Kensek, Professors, School of Architecture, University of Southern California + Authors of BIM in Current and Future Practices + ACSA creative achievement awardees Peggy Deamer, Professor, School of Architecture, Yale University Author of “Recasting Labor” 2 – 3 p.m. ~ TEDstyle presentations Dr. Das, Professor and Chair, Architecture, Ball State University Professor Harfman, DAAP, University of Cincinnati Professor Luhan, Associate Dean, College of Design, University of Kentucky Professor Paranandi, Architecture + Interior Design, Miami University 4 – 5 p.m. ~ Discussion workshop
Cage Gallery
John Weigand, Chair, Department of Architecture + Interior Design 101 Alumni Hall, Oxford (513) 529-7210 arcid@MiamiOH.edu http:/MiamiOh.edu/cca/academics/ departments/arch-id/ Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. *Visit the A+ID web page for updates and details of these and all programs, exhibitions and information.
Hiestand Galleries Showcasing work by students and visiting artists College of Creative Arts, Miami University
North Gallery Through February 10, 2015
2015 Miami University Young Painters Competition for the $10,000 William and Dorothy Yeck Award Juror: Franklin Sirmans, The Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head, Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Juror Lecture: TBA Reception: 5:15 – 6:15 p.m., Award Ceremony: 5:45 p.m. This national competition for artists 25-35, celebrates the current trends in contemporary painting. The winner of the competition receives the $10,000 William and Dorothy Yeck Award. The 2015 finalists, chosen by juror Franklin Sirmans are: Christie Blizard, San Antonio, Texas; Dorielle Caimi, Oakland, California; Lyla Duey, Brooklyn, New York; Jessica Hess, San Francisco, California; Seung Yeon Huh, New York, New York; Molly Kaderka, Kansas City, Missouri; Lori Larusso, Lexington, Kentucky; Ana Medina, Los Angeles, California; Simone Montemurno, Los Angeles, California; Vanessa Gully Santiago, Brooklyn, New York.
March 5 – 16
B.F.A. Capstone Exhibition
Reception: Thursday, March 12, 4:30 – 6 p.m. Department of Art senior studio majors participating in the semester long Capstone course feature their latest visual investigations.
M.F.A. Thesis Exhibitions
May 7 – 15
B.F.A. Graphic Design Exhibition
Reception for the Artists: Friday, May 15, 4 – 6 p.m. This annual exhibition includes recent works by Senior Graphic Design majors from the Department of Art. Package, identity, web and logo design are included in this exhibition.
March 30 – April 7
Matthew Kirby ~ Painting Recent Work
Reception for the Artist: Friday, April 3, 4:30 – 6 p.m. Matthew Kirby’s paintings are a reflection upon the history of painting and use references and ideas that are integrated with his personal experiences of religion. There is a sense of incipient violence that is intended to be subtle and may be felt indirectly. Kirby accesses a wide scale of subjects in a multi-layered approach that creates situations in which work by Paul Gauguin and Odilon Redon, for example, are detached from their original function and combined with other media such as film stills and text. By applying specific combinations and certain manipulations, different functions and/or contexts are created. [www.matthewkirbyart.com]
April 10 – 18
Taurey L. Overturf ~ Painting Wanderlust
Reception for the Artist: Friday, April 17, time: TBA Overturf’s work deals with ideas of daydreams and mirages. It is the disillusion of reality that spurs the imagination to create an enchanted alternative. Overturf’s process of constructing the image through various layers of oil paint transforms into the deconstruction of the foreground and background and figurative space. The jewel-like tones of saturated color call the viewer closer but can also repel the viewer back into reality. [www.taureyloverturf.weebly.com] April 21 – 29
Kate Rowekamp ~ Printmaking
Reception for the Artist: Thursday, April 24, 4:30 – 6 p.m. Kate Rowekamp explores the life cycle of a newly discovered creature, the Catter Sapien. Through the chief researcher’s eyes we observe the emergence of these creatures from birth to death. The idiosyncrasies in their developmental patterns reveal parallels to the emergent adults of our own species. [www.katerowekamp.com]
hiestand happenings
Robert E. & Martha Hull Lee Gallery Through February 13
Xuan Chen ~ Color
April 14 – 23
Benjamin Mark ~ Metals ~ Traversing A Path
M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition Reception: TBA In Traversing A Path, Benjamin Mark intends to transform the gallery space to give it a more tranquil outdoor feel. By producing a space where the viewer can have a sense of protected personal space near the artwork, they can look inward and meditate on their own thoughts and ideas. [www.benjaminrmark.com]
Above left: Grad Show 2014 Installation; Above top l-r: Taurey L. Overturf, Show You Incredible Things; Benjamin Mark, Connect; and Kate Rowekamp, Abandonment.
Friday, January 30, Reception for the Artist: 5:15 – 6:15 p.m. (Hiestand) Xuan Chen, the 2014 winner of the William and Dorothy Yeck Young Painters Competition shares her latest studio works in the exhibition, Color. In the exhibition, Chen juxtaposes the historical light installation of the 1970s, the current trend in color study, and the contemporary advances in digital imaging. The historical light installations were created using light instead of paint at a time when digital imaging was a budding technology. Due to current technological advancements, digital imaging is now common and allows the artist to imitate, produce, and/or reproduce the “real” with astonishing accuracy and detail. Chen revisits the histories of abstract painting with a contemporary twist, where she will rematerialize painting, using paint as well as the reflection of paint to create an aura of light in this recent body of work. [www.xuanchen.net] February 18 – March 11
Nicholas Hill ~ The Tokyo and Kyoto Projects: Works on Paper
February 19, Reception for the Artist: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. (Hiestand) Lecture: 6 p.m. (Art 100) In, The Tokyo and Kyoto Projects: Works on Paper, Nicholas Hill presents a series of cyanotype images that explore ideas of place, visual associations and memory. Using formats and mark making that echo traditional Japanese printmaking approaches, Hill also examines contemporary approaches that bridge printmaking, drawing and painting. Nicholas Hill’s visit and lecture is supported by the Visiting Artist, Scholars and Exhibitions (VASE) Program in the Department of Art.
May 2 – 15
Visual Collective: recent works by B.F.A. Studio majors in the Department of Art
Reception: Tuesday, May 8, 4 – 6 p.m. This annual exhibition includes recent works of our B.F.A. studio majors chosen by the Department of Art studio faculty.
Hiestand Galleries Ann Taulbee, Director taulbeae@miamioh.edu (513) 529-1883
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Other hours available by appointment. Galleries closed: During exhibition installation and January 1-3, 20 and 23-24; March 24 – 28; and May 19 – September 1. All receptions are in the lobby of Hiestand Galleries in Hiestand Hall, 401 Maple Ave., Oxford, Ohio. All lectures are in ART 100, unless noted otherwise. For complete details, visit the Hiestand Galleries website: www. MiamiOh.edu/hiestand-galleries/
visual arts @ miami | 19
Contemporary Arts Forum
(1)
Mechanolotry, The Miniature And The Traveling Object ~ Jon Lundak February 5, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Lundak grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho. He has instructed at Alfred University and Northern Kentucky University and is currently instructing sculpture at Towson University. His sculpture involves a heightened sense of craftsmanship and material knowledge. This affinity for material exploration has helped guide his abilities as a maker. Lundak has examined the miniaturization of architectural space and the implications of the viewers memory on these sculptural spaces. Currently, he is exploring the traveling of objects as well as the methods, vessels, perception and phenomena of travel. (1)
Painting’s Returns: William McGee’s 21st-century Modernism ~ Morgan Thomas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Art History, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, University of Cincinnati February 12, 6 p.m. (Art Museum) Dr. Thomas will discuss works by artist William McGee (1925-1999) who studied with Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) and Franz Kline (1910-1962), both of whom would become major influences in his work as an abstract expressionist and color field painter. McGee’s collage works currently viewable in a Miami University Art Museum exhibition are from the permanent collection and on loan from local private collectors Larry Huston and Dr. Flavia Bastos.
Tangents and Time: Creative Process ~ Nicholas Hill February 19, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Nicholas Hill is Professor of Art at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. Former department chair and museum director at Otterbein, Hill teaches drawing and printmaking. He earned a B.F.A. from Michigan State University and his M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. The recipient of grants from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC), the New York Council on the Arts and Artists Space-New York City, Nicholas has had residencies at the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Ragdale Foundation. He is the recipient of residency grants in Dresden, Germany, from both OAC and GCAC. In 2014, Hill had solo exhibitions in Santiago, Chile, and Dresden, Germany. (2)
(2)
(3)
Specific Abstraction ~ Matt Rich February 26, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Matt Rich received a B.A. from Brown University, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture before obtaining an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His solo exhibitions include Project Row Houses in Houston, devening projects + editions in Chicago, the Suburban in Oak Park, IL, Samsøn Projects in Boston, MA, VOLTA NY art fair and Halsey McKay in East Hampton, NY. His works were reviewed by Modern Painters, Artforum and Art Papers. Rich’s paintings get rid of the canvas and its hired muscle, the stretcher bar. Built from individual fragments of painted paper, these paintings achieve carefully calibrated spatial and coloristic ambiguity. The ability to articulate ambiguity in a sustained, specific, systematic and satisfying way is a central goal of his work. [www.mattrich.com] Hooded Truths ~ Candace Hunter March 5, 6 p.m. (Art Museum) Hooded Truths is a cornucopia of images and ideas swathed in the costume of 21st Century urban America — the hoodie. In the series of works titled “Hooded Truths,” Chicago artist Candace Hunter explores the image of the “hoodie” to retell moments of U.S. history, continuing to ask for the full truth, whether painful or not. Hunter uses the process of photo transfer, traditional collage and repetition of images. (3)
Spring 2015 Lecture Series Design Isn’t About Design, It’s About People ~ Dennis Cheatham March 12, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Dennis Cheatham is currently an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Miami University. He is a design researcher, designer and educator with 15 years of professional design experience as a graphic designer, interaction designer, copywriter and creative director. Cheatham has worked in agency, in-house, corporate, non-profit and freelance environments with and for organizations including Southwest Airlines, HKS Architects, Cook Children’s Hospital, Water is Basic and public broadcasting television station, KERA. His research is focused on how design thinking, processes and outcomes affect and are influenced by human perception, behavior and actions through a synthesis of social science methodologies, rhetorical criticism, and design thinking, processes and outcomes. [dennischeatham.com] (personal/professional) [designworkbench.com] (research)
The Road Less Traveled: Living As An Urban Artist In 2015 ~ J. Taylor Wallace April 2, 6 p.m. (Art 100) J. Taylor Wallace holds a B.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and an M.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. In 2009 he was a recipient of a Knoxville Museum of Art’s sponsored Bonnaroo Art Pod. His numerous group exhibitions include Runneth Over at the Mildred Lane Kemper Museum in St. Louis, Missouri, multiple public art exhibitions and invitational at Kulturprojekte-Berlin Galerie in Berlin, Germany. Wallace was honored with a commission for the James Agee Park in 2008. Public Collections include Chicago Parks District Tree Project: McGuane Park and Charles Krutch Park Sculpture Garden in Knoxville, Tennessee. He lives and works in Chicago and currently owns Metal Magic Interiors Inc., a steel design and fabrication shop, specializing in functional, durable, handmade American products. [www.jtaylorwallace.com] (4)
(4)
Small Part To Calendar ~ Allison Miller April 9, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Allison Miller was born in Evanston, Illinois, and now lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She is represented by Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, and has had solo shows at ACME, Los Angeles. Her group shows include the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, the Orange County Museum of Art, Ameringer, McEnery & Yohe and D’Amelio Terras in New York, and Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles. Her work has been written about in Artforum, frieze, Flash Art, Modern Painters and the Los Angeles Times. (5) It’s Not Brain Surgery ~ Laurie Haycock Makela April 16, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Laurie Haycock Makela has been a recognized voice of transdisciplinary graphic design practice and education in the United States and Europe for over 30 years. With a degree in English and Visual Design from The University of California, Berkeley, and an M.F.A. from The Cranbrook Academy of Art, Makela has lead experimental programs at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, including the Experience Design Group AT Konstfack in Stockholm and as a guest professor at ZKM/HFG in Karlsruhe, Germany. She recently returned to her native Los Angeles, where she co-founded D2O, a collaborative, transdisciplinary practice, partnering with April Greiman, Michael Rotondi and others. [www.designtoobjective.com]
Meeting In The Department Of Galaxies ~ Pavla Scerankova April 30, 6 p.m. (Art 100) Born 1980 in Košice, Slovak Republic, Pavla lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2011, she earned a PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Recent exhibitions include Old Light in the Galaxies Department at Fait Gallery in Brno, Czech Republic, Europe, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Thomas Boutoux and Gunnar B. Kvaran; Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, and the 9th Biennial of Photography and Visual Arts in Liege, Belgium. Her work is based in sculptural and installation art with a tight relation to the given space and time of the observer. Another aspect of work consists in the creation of objects with the element of action challenging the spectators to interact. However, it is more frequent for these objects to have the form of a video, or rather a video sculpture. In general, Scerankova’s projects deal with the question, how an individual experience transforms into a single image. [www.pavlascerankova.com] (6)
(5)
(6)
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
by communications intern, allie rosemann
The Faces of Faces of Freedom Summer S
ydney Johnson, a 2014 Miami University graduate with a dual major in Black World Studies and Social Justice was a Curatorial Intern at MUAM in the Spring of 2014. Though traditionally the curatorial internships are filled by Art History students, Jason E. Shaiman, Curator of Exhibitions, saw great potential in adding Johnson to his team with a focus on co-curating the Fall 2014 Faces of Freedom Summer photography exhibition. Jason reflected that after the interview he, “felt very good about Sydney and that she was the right candidate.” Indeed, she was the perfect fit. Her responsibilities included: extensive research in order to write the text panels, photo labels and the gallery guide, and plan the exhibit design, including the color scheme and the arrangement of the photographs. Jason came to see how this project quickly became very personal for her. Sydney shared that, “getting the opportunity to work on this exhibition changed my life in so many ways. Not only did it solidify my love of preserving the past, but also it made my desire to become a curator in a Black history museum concrete. Further, this experience really enhanced my sense of responsibility for the uplift of my people. My ancestors fought and died so that I could have a better future, thus I must strive daily to honor their legacy and work to build a brighter future for generations to come.” Johnson began executing her “sense of responsibility” while working on the Faces of Freedom Summer exhibition by making the decision with Jason to write a deeper more thorough detailed explanation for the photograph captions that encompassed the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Through the educational experience, intensive research and a rare opportunity
to meet the exhibition photographer, Herbert Randall, Johnson was able to successfully develop deeper explanations about the photographs in the context of Freedom Summer. While, Johnson did not assist with the installation of the exhibition she did have the opportunity to come back to MUAM to see the result of her four-month long project, reunite with the staff and Herbert Randall. The outcome of her work on the exhibition was not only aesthetically pleasing, but also informative by preserving the memories of Dorie Ladner, Rabbi Lelyveld, Sandy Leigh, Fannie Lou Hamer and the countless other Freedom Fighters of 1964’s Freedom Summer. Although the Faces of Freedom Summer exhibition ended its run at the MUAM in December, the experience and passion Johnson gained from her internship will live on. Johnson came into the Art Museum seeking an internship she needed for her major. Reflecting on the experience, Johnson states that she took more than requirements with her. “My takeaway was simple—I have a job to do. So many people of all racial, ethnic, educational and class backgrounds are ignorant about American history—particularly Black American history. Therefore, I must make my life’s work the preservation of the stories, the memories and the objects that tell the story of the struggles and triumphs of Blacks in America.” Today, Johnson is a first year graduate student in the public history program at American University, in Washington, DC. There is little doubt that one day she will meet her goal and become a curator at a Black history museum, and pass on the stories of her ancestors to future generations.
Hundreds gathered inside the Faces of Freedom Summer exhibition this Fall to re-live the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer through the spoken words of Freedom Summer photographer Herbert Randall. Sydney returned to campus for the event. Pictured leftright Sydney Johnson, Herbert Randall and Jason E. Shaiman.
events @ a glance
visual arts @ miami
January/February January 17 – Chocolate Meltdown ~ a chocolate tasting and art fundraising event. (Oxford Community Arts Center) 1 – 5 p.m. January 24 – 25th Annual Performing Arts Series ~ Wine Tasting. (Millett) 7 – 10 p.m. January 30 – Artist Reception: Xuan Chen. (Hiestand) 5:15 – 6:15 p.m.
February 3 – Lecture: Figures in a Garden: The Ideal World in Chinese Art ~ Ann Barrott Wicks, Ph.D., Department of Art, Miami University (Art Museum) 5:30 p.m.
February 3 – Open House: Extended Gallery Hours ~ Celebrating New Exhibitions. (Art Museum) 5 – 7 p.m. February 5 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Jon Lundak ~ Mechanolotry, The Miniature & the Traveling Object. (Art 100) 6 p.m. February 9 – Lecture: Jonathan Barnes (’82), AIA, Current works/Columbus. (Alumni 1) 4 p.m.
February 10 – Reception: A Celebration of Diversity ~ International Student Welcome Reception sponsored by the Art Museum Student Organization. (Art Museum) 6 p.m.
March March 5 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Candace Hunter ~ Hooded Truths. (Art Museum) 6 p.m.
March 5 – Gallery Talk & Hands-on Event: Student Artists’ Responses to Freedom Summer ~ Madeline Hrybyk, Danny Kuhl, Xuan (Renee) Li ang, David Malone, Sandra Mattingly, Christopher G. Maurer, Rebekah Mohn, Billy Simms, Claudia Tommasi and Liza Torrence. (Art Museum) 7 p.m.
February 10 – Gallery Talk: Symbols and Meaning in Chinese Art ~ Capstone Participants: Abbigail Crawford, Alexandra Czajkowski, Naren Gao, Delaney Lee, Jim McClanahan, Wilson Pittman, Danielle Riggs, Gabrielle Turner & Dr. Ann Barrot Wicks (Art Museum) 7 p.m. February 12 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Painting’s Returns: William McGee’s 21st-century Modernism ~ Morgan Thomas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Art History, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), University of Cincinnati. (Art Museum) 6 p.m.
February 15 – Reception: If Music be the Quilt of Life…Play On! (Voice of America) 2 – 5 p.m.
February 19 – Artist Reception & Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Nicholas Hill ~ The Tokyo and Kyoto Projects: Works on Paper. Reception: (Hiestand) 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., Lecture: (Art 100) 6 p.m. February 21-22 – Workshop: Visualizing Architecture ~ Alex Hogrefe (’10) (Alumni 1) Time: TBA
February 23 – Lecture: Alex Hogrefe (’10) ~ Founder: VisualizingArchitecture.com (Alumni 1) 4 p.m.
February 26 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Matt Rich ~ Specific Abstraction. (Art 100) 6 p.m. February 26 – Art Explorers. (Art Museum) 10 a.m. – Noon
March 12 – Reception: B.F.A. Capstone Exhibition. (Hiestand) 4:30 – 6 p.m.
March 12 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Dennis Cheatham ~ Design Isn’t About Design, It’s About People. (Art 100) 6 p.m. March 26 – Art Explorers. (Art Museum) 10 a.m. – Noon
April/May
April 2 – Building Information Modeling Symposium ~ Collaborative Creativity. (Alumni 1) Noon – 5 p.m.
April 17 – Artist Reception: Taurey L. Overturf, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Painting ~ Wanderlust. (Hiestand) Time TBA
April 3 – Artist Reception: Matthew Kirby, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Painting ~ Recent Work. (Hiestand) 4:30 – 6 p.m.
April 22 – Lecture: Jenny Donnely (‘04, ‘07) ~ Physiognomy and the relationship between natural history and architecture history [Ph.D. Candidate]. (Alumni 1) 4 p.m.
April 2 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: J. Taylor Wallace ~ The Road Less Traveled: Living As An Urban Artist In 2015. (Art 100) 6 p.m. April 7 – Reception & Lecture: The Jade Dragons of Hongshan ~ Professor Guanglin Tian, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China. Reception: (Art Museum) 6 p.m. Lecture: (Art Museum) 7 p.m. April 9 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Allison Miller ~ Small Part To Calendar. (Art 100) 6 p.m.
April 15 – Film: Art & Craft (2014) (90 mins.) Introduction by Robert S. Wicks, Art Museum Director. (Art Museum) 7 p.m.
April 16 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Laurie Haycock Makela ~ It’s Not Brain Surgery. (Art 100) 6 p.m.
April 19 – Oxford Kinetics Festival ~ Flight of the Flier. (Millett) Noon – 5 p.m. April 24 – Artist Reception: Kate Rowekamp, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Printmaking. (Hiestand) 4:30 – 6 p.m.
April 30 – Contemporary Artist Series Lecture: Pavla Scerankova ~ Meeting In The Department Of Galaxies. (Art 100) 6 p.m.
May 8 – Reception: Visual Collective: recent works by B.F.A. Studio majors in the Department of Art. (Hiestand) 4 – 6 p.m. May 15 – Reception: B.F.A. Graphic Design Exhibition. (Hiestand) 4 – 6 p.m.
visual arts @ miami | 23
exhibitions @ a glance Through January 20 Ben Jacks ~ The Architect’s Tour: Notes for the Design Traveler (Cage Gallery)
March 9 – 20 Stuart Hyatt: Sampling (Cage Gallery)
January 27 – May 16 Freedom Summer: A Student Response Exhibition (Art Museum)
March 30 – April 7 Matthew Kirby, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Painting ~ Recent Work (Hiestand Galleries)
Through February 13 Xuan Chen ~ Color [2014 winner of the William and Dorothy Yeck Young Painters Competition] (Hiestand Galleries)
January 27 – June 27 Figures in a Garden: The Ideal World in Chinese Art ~ An Art History Capstone Exhibition (Art Museum) January 27 – June 27 William McGee: Abstract Expressionist (Art Museum)
February 9 – 20 Design & Research Methods ~ Architecture + Interior Design (Cage Gallery)
February 15 – April 15 If Music be the Quilt of Life… Play On! (Voice of America)
February 18 – March 11 Nicholas Hill ~ The Tokyo and Kyoto Projects: Works on Paper (Hiestand Galleries)
February 26 – March 6 Light: Place: Time ~ Studio Film + Architecture (Cage Gallery)
March 5 – 16 B.F.A. Capstone Exhibition (Hiestand Galleries)
Xuan Chen, Painting Light (detail)
March 30 – April 3 Applied Arts: Student Experiments and Designs in Fashion, Architecture, and Studio Arts from the Czech Republic (Cage Gallery)
April 6 – 17 “Best in Class” Graphic Design Exhibition (Brazee Street Studios gallery One One)
April 10 – 18 Taurey L. Overturf, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Painting ~ Wanderlust (Hiestand Galleries) April 14 – 23 Benjamin Mark, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Metals ~ Traversing A Path (Hiestand Galleries) April 21 – 29 Kate Rowekamp, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Printmaking (Hiestand Galleries)
May 2 – 15 Visual Collective: recent works by B.F.A. Studio majors in the Department of Art (Hiestand Galleries)
May 7 – 15 B.F.A. Graphic Design Exhibition (Hiestand Galleries) May 28 – June 27 Union County High School Art Exhibition [Liberty, Indiana] (Art Museum)
visual arts @ miami
Miami University Art Museum 801 S. Patterson Ave. | Oxford, OH 45056 (513) 529-2232 ArtMuseum@MiamiOH.edu www.MiamiOH.edu/ArtMuseum Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday: Noon-5 p.m. Closed Sunday-Monday Hiestand Galleries 124 Art Building | Oxford, OH 45056 (513) 529-1883 sfagallery@MiamiOH.edu www.MiamiOH.edu/HiestandGalleries Gallery hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Cage Gallery 101 Alumni Hall | Oxford, OH 45056 (513) 529-7210 archid@MiamiOH.edu www.arts.MiamiOH.edu/architecture-interior-design Gallery hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. McGuffey Museum 401 E. Spring St. | Oxford, OH 45056 (513) 529-8380 McGuffeyMuseum@MiamiOH.edu www.MiamiOH.edu/McGuffeyMuseum Museum hours: Thursday-Saturday: 1-5 p.m. VOICE OF AMERICA LEARNING CENTER 7847 VOA Park Dr. | West Chester, OH 45069 (513) 895-8862 www.regionals.MiamiOH.edu/voalc/