NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART

Look In The Mirror

A Museum Activity Kit

Activity kits inspired by women artists have been developed by the New Mexico Museum of Art.

A self-portrait by artist Beatrice Wood, for example, encourages students to make their own self portrait at home. Materials needed: • Mirror • White paper (8.5” x 11”) • Pencil eraser • Colored pencils • Watercolors

To learn about Beatrice Wood and find instructions on how to draw a selfportrait, visit: museumfoundation.org/education Activity kits for all Museum of New Mexico divisions are generously sponsored by $10,000 in private gifts through the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. The funds help create specialized activities for thousands of schoolchildren across New Mexico.

Poetic Justice

Lessons in Art, Poetry and Time

When the events of summer 2020 kicked off a period of activism that recalled the civil rights and feminist movements of the 1960s, New Mexico Museum of Art Curator of Contemporary Art Merry Scully got to thinking.

She had three artists on her mind: Judith F. Baca, Mildred Howard and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.

All three women had come of age during these movements. Over decades, in paintings, installations, film and monumental works, each artist addressed difficult issues on both global and local levels—civil rights, housing, land use and the environment, to name just a few. In their works, Scully saw lessons for newer generations.

“They were telling stories and histories that were often considered on the periphery, and because of the subject matter and their gender, they were often marginalized,” says Scully. She knew their works and struggles needed to be recognized and contextualized today.

Thus was born Poetic Justice, a three-person exhibition on display at the Museum of Art from October 9, 2021, through March 27, 2022.

Jaune Quick-To-See Smith (Citizen of Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, MT), Indian Head Nickel, 1994. Mixed media on canvas, 72 x 72 in. Heard Museum Collection. © Courtesy of the artist and the Garth Greenan Gallery. Photo by Craig Smith.

“These three innovative artists have for decades been creating complex works of beauty that evoke memory, history and emotion,” Scully writes of the exhibition. “The exquisite prose of their visual storytelling draws attention to non-dominant perspectives.”

That prosaic quality led Scully to envision another component of Poetic Justice: the possibility of a writerly lens on such moving visual art. She enlisted the participation of three New Mexico poets, each one of whom embraces social justice in their art: New Mexico Poet Laureate Levi Romero, former Albuquerque Poet Laureate Hakim Bellamy, and Santa Fe writer and visual artist Edie Tsong. Each poet is contributing a work reflecting on either a part or whole of Poetic Justice, rounding out the multimedia experience.

Continuing the outreach initiative, a public symposium on Saturday, October 16, will bring together all three artists, who each will give a presentation and participate in a roundtable discussion. The panel will also incorporate the poetic responses, either through a recording or live readings.

Scully says Poetic Justice continues a recent thread of intentionality in the Museum of Art’s curation. “I think it’s in keeping with what the museum has been doing for the last few years in terms of trying to broaden how we contextualize work being made in the West and Southwest. It’s something we’ve been highly conscious of, that interest in the social and cultural context of artwork.”

Scully adds that the exhibition is highly anticipated for its commission of two new works. Baca is creating a paleta cart entitled Build a Wall, while Howard is building an installation, The Now of Time and Space, that sums up several running themes in Poetic Justice.

Of course, as Scully points out, “We are so happy to be able to commission these projects as it provides money to help realize an artwork.”

Private contributions to the Museum of Art Exhibitions Development Fund through the Museum of New Mexico Foundation have supported Poetic Justice programming, including technological equipment for mounting the exhibition and broadcasting the October 16 symposium.

To support the New Mexico Museum of Art, contact Kristin Graham at Kristin@museumfoundation.org or 505.216.0826.

Judith F. Baca, Farewell to Rosie the Riveter, in situ, detail from the 1950s section of the Great Wall of Los Angeles, painted summer 1983, acrylic on concrete. Courtesy of Judith F. Baca