Inside Out Issue 5

Inside | Out

a n e w stat e o f m i n d at t h e Oa k l a n d m useu m o f ca li fo rn ia

remembering the firestorm Richard Misrach’s stunning photos of the 1991 blaze

special section the museum of california campaign

Green Giant a contemp orary perspective on eco -pioneer john muir

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welcome

Dear Members, Friends, and Storytellers: The Story of California. The Story of You. Much more than OMCA’s catch phrase, the notion of storytelling is central to the Museum’s mission and to the exhibitions and programs we’re presenting in the coming months.

The Story of Adventure and Revolution. Though born in Scotland, John Muir became the quintessential Californian for his spirit of wonder, adventure, exploration, and stewardship. The first major exhibition on his life and legacy, A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey features artwork, artifacts, extraordinary specimens, and interactive elements. The show also introduces stories of “Modern-Day Muirs” and encourages visitors to find their own path to the beauty and preservation of California’s landscape.

The Story of Ancestry and Tribute. This year’s Days of the Dead exhibition takes us into the personal stories of love and loss through home altars that reflect the intimacy and spirituality of this sacred tradition. Visitors are also invited to leave personal offerings expressing their own memories and to attend our annual Días de los Muertos community celebration on Sunday, Oct. 23.

Finally, we are pleased to include with this issue a report on our successful Museum of California Campaign. We were gratified to culminate the campaign with a major grant funded by voterapproved Proposition 84. Much as we appreciate this recognition by an important funding agency, we are most proud of the support from the many private donors who participated in this effort.

The stories continue throughout the fall with lively programs and events, from our contemporary art initiative the Oakland Standard to Friday evening offerings during this beautiful season. We want to ensure that your visit to OMCA is worth telling about—and we look forward to hearing your stories as well!

Lori Fogarty Executive Director

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T op to bottom : abi g ail h uller ; s h aun roberts & T oni Gaut h ier

The Story of Loss and Rebirth. Berkeley photographer Richard Misrach captured the devastation of the 1991 Oakland Firestorm in these stunning images, shown for the first time as a complete body of work, both at OMCA and at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. While the pictures tell a story of devastation, the exhibition also offers the opportunity for area residents to share their memories of this monumental event in our local history.

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O n t h e cover : step h en josep h , h erbarium print . meadow rue , t h alictrum anemonoides . ranunculaceae . Hab . I ndiana . C ollected by J o h n M uir . c . 1 8 6 6 .

T h is pa g e , L E F T T O R i g h t : S tep h en josep h , h erbarium print . C ourtesy of t h e jo h n muir national h istoric site ; provided by jensen arc h itects

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Walk on the Wild Side

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From Firestorm to Rebirth

A new exhibition explores the life and legacy of trailblazing naturalist John Muir and looks at the ongoing conservation efforts of eight “Modern-Day Muirs.”

In 1991, renowned photographer Richard Misrach captured searing images of the devastation wreaked by the Oakland Firestorm.

Twenty years later, his moving photographs inspire and educate.

Bleeding heart. Dicentra spectabilis. Fumariaceae.

Hab. Indiana. Collected by John Muir. c. 1866.

departments 4 After Hours

8 Thought Leaders

On Friday evenings, the Blue Oak café and the OMCA Store come alive with special programs and fun for all ages.

Architect Mark Jensen, who has designed a new installation for OMCA, is reinventing the way museums use public spaces.

5 Gallery News

18 38 Million Stories

Reviving our butterfly collection, reflecting on California’s recent history, and observing the autumn harvest are just three of the many projects we have in the works.

Yosemite’s Shelton Johnson is passionate about his mission: to encourage more minorities to visit our national parks.

6 Development

Longtime OMCA docent Mary Nell York shares her memories of surviving the 1991 Oakland Firestorm.

A prestigious new grant will enhance the Museum’s nature education programs for years to come.

19 Member Spotlight

20 Calendar

7 Commemoration

A guide to the Museum’s exhibitions, events, and programs.

Our annual Días de los Muertos exhibition celebrates the artistry of home altars that honor deceased loved ones.

22 The Museum of California Campaign

The Story of California. The Story of You.

Oakland Museum of California

In this special report, OMCA extends heartfelt gratitude to our generous supporters.

Inside Out is published three times a year by the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607. museumca.org. ©2011.

Contributors: Ann Dickson, Lori Fogarty, Maggie R. Pico, Sunny Green, Gail Bernstein Produced by: Diablo Custom Publishing dcpubs.com

Editor: Kelly A. Koski

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after hours

TGIF!

Every Friday night, OMCA presents intriguing events, yummy cocktails, and loads of opportunities to see and be seen

Enhance Your Experience at the OMCA Store On select Friday evenings, the OMCA Store hosts a series of engaging workshops designed to enhance visitors’ museum-going experiences.

To complement A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey, the store is offering events that explore the themes of conservation and environmental stewardship. On Friday evenings in September and October, there will be sessions on hiking, farming, shelter, survival skills, and more. In addition, the store offers a large selection of related materials—books, maps, and guides—to help us honor John Muir’s achievements and, in whatever small way possible, follow in his footsteps.

Later in the fall, the store will feature a variety of special events related to the annual Días de los Muertos celebration, which recognizes the importance of commemorating our loved ones.

For more information on OMCA’s Friday night activities, visit museumca.org.

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s h aun roberts & T o n i G a u t h i e r

Wine and Dine at Blue Oak Café Blue Oak is the place to be on Friday nights between 6 and 9 p.m., when visitors can savor the café’s irresistible food and drinks while enjoying live music.

The café’s award-winning chef, Robert Dorsey III, creates distinctive dishes, such as Thai curry noodles and grass-fed beef burgers, which reflect the modern-day melting pot of California culture. “My focus has always been to stay fresh, exciting, and local,” says Dorsey, who sources many of his ingredients from Bay Area farms. Of the cocktail party ambience that transfigures the café on Friday nights, Dorsey says, “Great food, people, and culture. What more could you ask for?”

g allery news

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signs of the times Thought-provoking new projects shed light on our recent past and illuminate contemporary trends

top to bottom : terry carroll ; jason lew ; s h aun roberts & T oni Gaut h ier

The Butterfly Project

A Snapshot of Our Recent Past When it opens this summer, a dynamic new section of the Gallery of California History will highlight stories that have defined the Golden State from 1975 to the present.

From a simulation of an early Silicon Valley garage to an examination of Left Coast stereotypes—hot tubs, anyone?—the new exhibit offers visitors opportunities to engage in hands-on explorations.

At the center of all this is the Marketplace of Ideas, a space in which visitors can learn about California’s many ahead-of-the-curve innovations. Wide-ranging topics such as locavore cuisine, edgy dance styles, and the genesis of Burning Man reveal how California has been the birthplace of ideas that have resonated around the world.

One of the treasures of the Snow Museum—a precursor of present-day OMCA—was a vast collection of butterflies. Collected primarily between the 1870s and 1930s, the dried specimens were kept for decades in little glassine envelopes. Over the years, curators added new specimens to this extraordinary trove.

“This collection offers valuable ecological information,” says Chief Curator of Natural Sciences Douglas Long. “Butterflies are one of the first species to respond to changes in climate and habitat, and because we have the data on when and where they were found, we can connect them to environmental changes. Each butterfly represents a marked point in time.”

But the specimens were extremely brittle, having been in storage for so long. Enter Alicia Goode, a specialist who has begun the painstaking process of rehydrating and restoring them to their original beauty. “We have had a one hundred percent success rate,” says Goode, who has restored 300 butterflies to date. “They look like they were collected yesterday.”

Standard Fare This season, the Oakland Standard—a provocative assortment of art projects produced by OMCA— features several don’t-miss events.

On August 14, visitors are invited to “Culture,” an exploration of all things cheese related, and September 18 is a celebration of autumn harvest called “Seed.”

Both of these interactive events are co-organized with the Greenhorns.

On October 28, the Oakland Standard presents “A Woman’s Work,” featuring a documentary film about the Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

Directed by Courtney Stephens in collaboration with Les Blank, the film looks at the volunteers who run OMCA’s legendary White Elephant Sale year after year. “They are an amazing group of women,” says Senior Curator of Art René de Guzman. “There’s probably nothing they couldn’t do.”

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development

You Make It Possible We could not do it without you! Here’s a look at some of the ways we are growing— with the support of our community at our side.

OMCA Awarded Nature Education Grant The Museum recently received a grant of nearly $3 million to help ensure that when the Gallery of California Natural Sciences reopens in 2012, it will offer a first-rate nature education program. Awarded by the state of California’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the grant—the California State Parks Nature Education Facilities Program funded by Proposition 84—will enable the Museum to fulfill its mission of educating our community about the natural history of California and inspiring them to become conscientious environmental stewards.

Donor Events We invite you to enrich your Museum experience by participating in one of our donor circles. As one of the visionary donors that support OMCA, you will enjoy invitations to events such as the following: Director’s Dinner Sept. 24 Donor Forum Members at the Director level celebrate OMCA at this special event with Executive Director Lori Fogarty.

Honoring the Near and Dear Celebrate the special individuals in your life with a gift to the Oakland Museum of California. A commemorative gift offers you an artful way to honor or remember individuals who have been important to you with an enduring gift—not only for your loved one but also for the Bay Area community. When you give a commemorative gift, the individual or family you indicate will receive a personalized card acknowledging your contribution, without reference to the amount of the donation.

To make a tribute contribution, contact Membership Services at 510-238-6614.

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Heritage Society Morning Tea Sept. 27 A tea to honor donors who have chosen to include OMCA in their estate plans.

Distinctly California Oct. 14 Donor Forum Members at the Curator level are invited to a private reception and conversation with photographer Richard Misrach.

Estate and Legacy Planning Workshop Oct. 25 Provide security to your loved ones while also supporting OMCA. Corporate Night Nov. 4 Employees of Corporate Partners and their families enjoy free admission.

For more information on upgrading your membership to the Donor Forum level, contact Loretta Lowrey at llowrey@museumca.org or 510-238-6563.

commemoration

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Offerings of Love and Loss

jason lew

OMCA’s 17th annual Días de los Muertos exhibition explores the stories behind home altars

17th Annual Community Celebration for Days of the Dead Oct. 23, 12–4:30 p.m. In conjunction with the Días de los Muertos exhibit, this year’s “Community Celebration for Days of the Dead” will feature ofrendas, performances, demonstrations, activities for children, and a variety of vendors.

Entrance to the event is included with Museum admission and free for OMCA Members. For more information, visit museumca.org.

Celebrated between October 31 and November 2, Días de los Muertos is associated with iconic elements—such as sugar skulls and altars, or ofrendas—that honor deceased loved ones. But for this year’s Días de los Muertos exhibit, which runs from October 12 to December 11, OMCA looks beyond the icons and delves into the tales that the ofrendas have to tell.

“The exhibit focuses on intimate expressions,” says Evelyn Orantes, OMCA’s cultural arts developer. “This year, we invited thirteen artists and three school groups to create altars with personal stories related to Días de los Muertos.”

Guest curator Patricia Rodríguez, a former gallery director at the Mission Cultural Center, chose the beauty of home altars for the exhibit’s theme as a way to explore the narratives of love and loss embodied in the ofrendas. Her idea was to invite visitors to peer into small houses, or casitas, to view altars made by artists, schools, and community groups. “You imagine you are looking inside someone’s house, and from that you get more intimacy,” she says.

As an example, artist Consuelo Jiménez Underwood is designing an installation in memory of her father, a Yaqui Indian, who taught her how to weave. Her piece includes barbed wire to evoke the way her family was separated by the U.S.–Mexico border. “Consuelo’s piece tells the story of her family in a powerful way,” Rodríguez says. “And that is what Días de los Muertos is about—honoring the dead and showing that we love them.”

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Thought le aders

A Conversation With Mark Jensen

Growing up in nearby Piedmont, architect Mark Jensen was a frequent visitor to the Museum.

“I could have drawn the floor plans from memory,” he jokes. Now, he has designed OMCA’s latest addition—a dynamic space for programs, events, and everyday visitors. Sited on OMCA’s Oak Street Plaza, the installation features metal chairs and tables hanging from hooks on a prefabricated surface, creating a striking piece easily modified for different occasions. With credits that include SFMOMA and the Sonoma County Museum, Jensen has become a much soughtafter designer of spaces that enhance the relationship between museums and the public.

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architectural drawingS provided by jensen architects

The progressive architect discusses his inside-out approach to cultural spaces

Q: You used to come to the Museum as a kid. How was your experience different when you revisited it as an architect?

A: Aside from my childhood memories, I think the Museum is an incredible piece of architecture. I’d put it in the top ten buildings in the Bay Area, in terms of contemporary architecture. The way the building is completely buried underground and open to the city is a radical conception. I love the building, so I was certainly drawn to this project.

Q: What appeals to you about working on public cultural spaces?

A: I’m interested in work that’s part of a larger cultural dialogue. Houses, offices, and shops can engage audiences in a broader dialogue, but it seems that cultural facilities— museums, galleries, anything arts related—are automatically more connected to that conversation.

Q: What are some of the factors you take into consideration as you develop these projects?

A: I’m interested in how architecture sets up relationships—between a city and its occupants, or in this case, a museum and its visitors. You’re writing the script for a play of how life unfolds after you do a building. It’s almost an inside-out way of thinking, making a place for things to happen rather than something to look at from the outside.

“You’re writing the script for a play of how life unfolds after you do a building. It’s almost an inside-out way of thinking, making a place for things to happen rather than something to look at from the outside.”

Q: Is there a growing architectural tendency to think of cultural spaces from the inside out?

A: Yes and no. There are architects who just want to make formal conceits, and next generation, there will still be people doing that. But a unique aspect to our times is breaking down divisions between how things are made and how things are consumed, making that process more transparent. Seeing what’s behind the scenes in a museum, not just the paintings on the wall. People are interested in immersive environments, where they are involved in the process of creation instead of prepackaged, shrinkwrapped consumption.

Q: How will the OMCA project fit in with your idea of establishing relationships?

A: It goes back to the building’s original design, this radical idea that the city would sort of thread its way through the space, that the building wouldn’t be something you just bump up against and then go inside. I see the Oak Street Plaza right now as a space that people just pass through, but the programming the Museum is working on for that space, combined with our project, will make it a place for things to actually happen.

The building’s original concept was very poetic, and this project is a way of reintroducing those ideas by creating a space where you’re not yet in the Museum but off the street, and still part of the city somehow. If our modest little project can help restore or push forward some of the building’s original concepts, then it will be a success.

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Walk on the

Wild Side John Muir’s experience in the Golden State led to his becoming a founding figure of the environmental

movement. Now, in a provocative new exhibit, OMCA celebrates the legendary naturalist’s life, work, and legacy in California—and beyond.

Above: John Muir, archival photograph; background drawing: John Muir, South Fork Kings River, c. 1891.

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Opp o si t e P a g e : H o lt- at h e r t o n C o l l e c t i o n s , U n iv e rsi t y o f t h e P a cific Libr a ry, © 1 9 8 4 . T h is p a g e : S t e p h e n J o s e p h , h e rb a rium pri n t. C o ur t e sy o f t h e J o h n M uir N at i o n a l His t o ric S i t e .

The Man Who Made Mountains Glad When John Muir landed in San Francisco by steamer in 1868, he asked a local for directions to “any place that is wild.” A man pointed Muir across the Bay, and he hopped a ferry to Oakland. From there, he walked to Yosemite Valley, where he began a lifelong love affair with the Sierra Nevada wilderness—a passionate relationship between man and earth that would plant the seeds of modern environmentalism and establish Muir as an iconic steward of the natural world.

“He walks into Yosemite, and he walks into the history books,” says Muir scholar and author Bonnie Gisel, who consulted on OMCA’s new exhibition, A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey. “Everything he came to appreciate and understand grew out of his experience in California.”

Muir was born in Scotland in 1838, then later immigrated with his family to Wisconsin. He schooled himself in math, geometry, and philosophy while also developing into a skilled inventor. He later studied botany at the University of Wisconsin, and a thousand-mile walk to Florida’s Gulf Coast preceded his transformative voyage to California.

“I am hopelessly and forever a mountaineer,” Muir wrote upon arriving in Yosemite. “I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature’s loveliness.”

Muir became a respected defender of the American wilderness and shared Yosemite’s wonders with influential visitors, including President Theodore Roosevelt. “He helped us appreciate the great value in the natural universe,” says Gisel. “He told us very clearly that the world around us matters.”

Muir’s writings are largely credited for establishing Yosemite National Park. He also contributed scientifically, proving the theory of Yosemite’s glacial origins, despite opposition from California Geological Survey chief Josiah Whitney, who contended that the dramatic topography was created by earthquakes. The scientific community eventually sided with Muir.

In 1892, Muir helped found the Sierra Club, he wrote, “To make the mountains glad.” He served as the seminal environmental organization’s first president until his death in 1914.

“He poured his heart and soul into caring about nature and wilderness,” says Gisel. “It’s upon Muir’s shoulders that we stand to look out on and care for the natural world.” >

A Walk in the wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey, Aug. 6, 2011– Jan. 22, 2012 Special Events Donor Forum Preview Aug. 4, 6–8 p.m. Donor Forum Members are invited to an exclusive reception and viewing of A Walk in the Wild.

Member Preview Hours Aug. 5, 3–7 p.m. Be among the first to view the exhibition, and enjoy music, food, and cocktails.

Member Mornings Saturdays, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19, Dec. 17, 9–11 a.m. Enjoy Members-only viewing hours of the exhibition and hear “Modern-Day Muirs” talk about their experiences in the wild. For featured speakers, visit museumca.org/membership.

Fivespot. Nemophila maculata Benth.

Hydrophyllaceae. Hab. above Yosemite Valley, Sierra Nevada, California. Collected

by John Muir during a trip to Yosemite with the Sierra Club, 1907.

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Artifacts and Action Plans Guest curator Dorris Welch brims with pride when discussing the Museum’s upcoming John Muir exhibition.

“Because we are the Oakland Museum of California, to be able to honor and bring John Muir’s legacy into a modern-day light is an extremely important thing,” Welch says of the OMCAexclusive show.

A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey opens August 6 and runs through late January. It promises to be a fresh look at Muir’s life and work, as well as at some of the countless people keeping his legacy alive today. The exhibit features four sections: An action realm highlights Muir’s environmental activism and several “Modern-Day Muirs”; a discovery realm focuses on his scientific observations and draws heavily from OMCA’s Natural Sciences collection; and a wonder realm celebrates Muir’s joy of experiencing the natural world.

But Welch says it’s the fourth section—the adventure realm—that may steal the show, with a series of immersive installations that allow visitors to re-create some of Muir’s hairiest moments. “A lot of people know he was a prolific writer and conservationist, but don’t know he was also kind of a crazy mountain man whose adventures testify to his spirit of exploration,” Welch says. “He pushed himself into extreme situations to get to places he felt were important.” Visitors can experience this firsthand through interactive displays that simulate some of Muir’s exploits, including his nocturnal investigations behind Yosemite Falls and a night he spent in a hollowed-out sequoia, watching the trees around him burn in a forest fire. But the show isn’t just experiential dazzle: It also presents a rare look at a trove of Muir’s original field drawings, journal entries, and manuscripts. It’s that combination of action and artifact that has Welch so excited about the exhibit.

“I want people to take away two things from the show,” she says. “A desire to go out and experience the wilds of California, and a desire to take care of our natural resources, wilderness areas, and environment.” >

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a legacy of conservation and activism Modern tributes to Muir are easy to find. In 1989, he became the first Californian honored with a commemorative day, now observed every April 21. The John Muir Wilderness covers a large portion of the southern Sierra Nevada, while just north of San Francisco, Muir Woods National Monument protects a plethora of coastal flora and fauna. The mountainous John Muir Trail, meanwhile, is a magnet for hikers, and the Martinez home where he once lived is a National Historic Site.

The recognition is well deserved. Muir is widely considered the Father of the National Parks for his conservation work. The Sierra Club he founded has grown to include 1.4 million members and become one of the country’s strongest environmental organizations.

Despite the commemorations and accolades, it may be the people continuing Muir’s tradition of environmental stewardship who best exemplify his legacy.

A Walk in the Wild features examples of such environmentalists, described by curator Welch as “regular people who devote their lives to making a difference studying, protecting, or educating about the environment.”

Included are Kemba Shakur, an Oakland activist who facilitates urban revitalization through tree planting and environmental education, and Greg Stock, Yosemite’s park geologist. Each year, Stock spends weeks in Yosemite’s backcountry, exploring geological features and monitoring glaciers. He often finds himself literally following Muir’s footsteps and even mimicking some of Muir’s experiments tracking receding glaciers.

“He used hand-carved pine stakes, and we’re using PVC pipe, but the basic experiment is exactly the same,” Stock says. “Stick something in the ice, and come back later to see how far it has moved. We’re fortunate to have Muir’s work to learn and build from.”

Nearly 150 years after he landed in California and began to forge his legacy, Muir’s message and memory remain central to the core values of the state in which he became a legend.

“Our stewardship is essential for our success as a nation and a world,” says Gisel. “There’s never going to be another John Muir, but a little bit of him lives on in all of us.”

A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey is made possible by generous support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, the Bernard Osher Foundation, an anonymous donor, the OMCA Natural Sciences Guild, the J. M. Long Foundation, Guy and Jeanine Saperstein, and the University of the Pacific Library, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, John Muir Papers.

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from firestorm to rebirth two decades after the 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm, aN exhibit of images by renowned photographer Richard Misrach inspires reflection and renewal

M

ajor environmental catastrophes smolder in human memory. From Hurricane Katrina to the recent Japanese tsunami and nuclear meltdown, the devastation of these events is unforgettable; in fact, we mark time by them. We remember where we were, how we felt, and what happened to us and our loved ones before and after.

In 1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach, photographer Richard Misrach documents such a landmark experience. The 1991 Firestorm was one of the worst fires in California’s history, claiming the lives of twenty-five people and incinerating some 3,500 homes in Oakland and Berkeley.

Statistics are one measure of the wrath of that wind-driven fire. Misrach’s signature color prints are quite another. The exhibit, which opens Oct. 15, features compelling iconic images—sans human beings yet bearing witness to the profound loss borne by countless individuals and the community they called home. The largest print, made by Misrach himself, is eight by ten feet—a printmaking feat made possible only with the technology of today’s giant ink-jet printers.

Even as Misrach’s disquieting images raise questions about the causes of the Firestorm, they also commemorate the enormity of the loss. Misrach, a longtime Berkeley resident, has donated fourteen of these prints to two local collections— seven each to OMCA and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, as well as twenty-six additional images to each institution. Thanks to his skill and generosity, this page in California’s history—and our memories of it—will surely endure.

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All photos on pages 14-17: Richard Misrach, Oakland Fire Aftermath, 1991.

Edition #1/3, archival pigment print. ©Richard Misrach.

“It is a simple, if almost incomprehensible equation: The world is as terrible as it is beautiful, but when you look more closely, it is as beautiful as it is terrible. We must maintain constant vigilance, to protect the world from ourselves and to embrace the world as it exists.”—Richard Misrach

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“With this exhibit, we want to provide a place where people who lived through the fire can get together and remember. We also want people to think about the conditions that created it so this history will never be repeated.”—Drew Johnson, OMCA, Curator of Photography

changing photography’s point of view R

ichard Misrach launched his career in the 1970s when, as a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, he documented street life on Telegraph Avenue, images published in his first monograph, Telegraph 3 A.M. (1974). He then turned to the creation of “cultural landscapes” with an eight-by-ten-inch view camera—forgoing black-and-whites that were then the mainstay of museum-quality craft, and helping to pioneer large-scale color photography with a sociopolitical edge.

Over the decades, the focus of Misrach’s keen sensibility has been described as “the collision of nature and civilization.” He is perhaps best known for his ongoing epic

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series on the American Southwest, Desert Cantos, freezeframes of desert floods, bombing ranges, mass graves of animals, and more. Other topics of his work range widely and have taken him far afield, from the petroleum industry’s toxic wastelands along the Mississippi River and the detritus of Katrina, to the beaches of Hawaii and the pyramids of Egypt.

Misrach’s photographs have been exhibited worldwide and are held in the collections of more than fifty major institutions, here and abroad, including OMCA; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, among many other awards and distinctions.

1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach is made possible in part with support from Stone & Youngberg.

experience the Misrach exhibit • View the exhibit from Oct. 15, 2011 to Feb. 12, 2012.

•

Visit the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive to see its presentation of 1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach this fall. OMCA Members enjoy reciprocal admission to BAM/PFA, when showing proof of membership.

• Record your memories of the Oakland Firestorm in OMCA’s storytelling booths before the exhibit opens and in the memory book during the exhibit’s showing.

• Join Richard Misrach for a California Futures discussion and walk-through of the exhibition on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

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3 8 Million stories

Mountains of Diversity Park Ranger Shelton Johnson wants all Americans to experience the transformative power of Mother Nature

“Our national parks are a light that has burned for more than a hundred years.

I don’t want that light to go out.”

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W

hen Oprah Winfrey visited Yosemite National Park last autumn, she wasn’t just seeing the valley for the first time. She was also answering the call of Yosemite ranger Shelton Johnson, who had written her a heartfelt letter.

“Oprah, I need your help spreading the word that the national parks really are America’s best idea,” he wrote, “and that this beauty belongs to every American, including African Americans.”

Johnson—one of the “Modern-Day Muirs” featured in A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey—has worked for years to connect minorities with national parks. A century before him, John Muir evangelized about the glory of Yosemite to Americans increasingly enveloped in city life, and Johnson says the two men’s missions aren’t so different. “It’s the same tradition,” he says. “It’s the recognition that there’s medicine in these mountains.”

Johnson grew up primarily in inner-city Detroit. In graduate school, he worked for a summer at Yellowstone National Park but stuck around longer than planned. “Mountains grab ahold of you,” he says. “I couldn’t leave.”

Just one percent of visitors to Yosemite are African American, but Johnson believes the key to increasing that figure is fostering a connection to nature at an early age. “If you bring inner-city kids to a national park, they’ll be moved by the experience,” he says. “You don’t need to convince people of nature’s power when they’re standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon.”

Johnson has leveraged multiple platforms to spread his message, starring in Ken Burns’s acclaimed documentary series on America’s national parks and appearing last year on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He also portrays a buffalo soldier in an interpretive performance he wrote to educate visitors about the African American army regiment that once patrolled Yosemite.

His 2009 novel, Gloryland, is the fictional memoir of one such soldier.

With minorities expected to comprise half the nation by 2050, Johnson says making national parks meaningful for all Americans is imperative. Like Muir before him, he understands that building connections to nature creates a population invested in protecting the wilderness. “I’m engaging with the present but driven by the future,” he says. “Our national parks are a light that has burned for more than a hundred years. I don’t want that light to go out.”

member spotlight

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Mary Nell York has been a vital member of the OMCA community for more than three decades.

Up From

T op : A bi G ail H uller

OMCA docent Mary Nell York has a personal connection to the upcoming exhibition on the OaklandBerkeley fire

Richard Misrach, Oakland Fire Aftermath, 1991. Edition #1/3, archival pigment print. ©Richard Misrach.

the Ashes Mary Nell York has seen a lot of art in her day. As an OMCA docent for thirty-one years, she has led tours through the garden, the Gallery of California History, and the Gallery of California Art; she also has served as chairman of the Docent Council and president of the Art Guild.

Yet it’s safe to say that in all these years, she’s never seen an exhibition that will touch her as personally as OMCA’s upcoming show, 1991: OaklandBerkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach.

One of eighteen OMCA docents who lost their homes in the fire, York and her husband were residents of Hiller Highlands in north Oakland. On the day the fire broke out—October 20, 1991—the couple almost didn’t make it out of their house. “Everything was on fire on both sides of us,” she recalls.

Fortunately, they did make it, but they lost the house and all their belongings. As it turned out, amid the devastation, they found solace and support from their friends at the Museum. “We moved to Point Richmond, and my Museum friends had a shower for us,” York says. In addition, York’s friends around the country were able to contact her through the docent office.

Still, the recovery process was long and hard, and the Yorks weren’t able to return to a rebuilt home for three years.

Out of sensitivity to the survivors, photographer Richard Misrach waited twenty years before partnering with OMCA to exhibit the images he took after the firestorm. So how does York feel about seeing the exhibit now?

“I’ll go tour it,” she says. “Ten years ago, it would have been too raw.”

According to York, the exhibition will remind her less of what was lost and more of what was gained. “Material things don’t add up to much,” she says.

“It’s the wonderful warmth shown to us that matters.”

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calendar

exhibitions, events, and programs

Donor Forum Exhibitions Family Events Member Events Special Events Trips & Tours

Fall Harvest Sept. 18, 1 p.m. The Oakland Standard celebrates autumn’s bounty in California. Produced with the Greenhorns.

Director’s Dinner Saturday Sept. 24 Director-level Donor Forum Members celebrate OMCA at this special event with Executive Director Lori Fogarty.

AUGUST Donor Forum Preview A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey Aug. 4, 6–8 p.m. Donor Forum Members are invited to a reception with the curator and private viewing of the exhibition.

Members Preview A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey Aug. 5, 3–7 p.m. Be among the first to view the exhibition.

One World, Many Stories

Aug. 7, 12–4 p.m. Join us for the annual Summer Reading Celebration with the Oakland Public Library. Enjoy storytelling, a scavenger hunt, and more.

Culture Aug. 14, 1 p.m. Join the Oakland Standard for an interactive cheese-making event produced with the Greenhorns.

SEPTEMBER

Family Day: Adventure Up Close Sept. 25, 12–3 p.m. Explore A Walk in the Wild and the Museum gardens with your family.

Family Day: Take Time for Adventure Sept. 11, 12–3 p.m. Follow in John Muir’s footsteps as you plan adventures to follow all year.

Heritage Society Tea Sept. 27 The OMCA Heritage Society honors donors who include OMCA in their estate plans.

California Futures Sept. 16, 7 p.m. Join filmmaker Tom Ropelewski and members of the Dixon/Lange family for a screening of Child of Giants.

O Zone Sept. 30, 5 p.m.–midnight. Don a beard or mustache in honor of eco-pioneer John Muir, and enjoy food, drinks, and sustainable fun!

Make OMCA yours! Host your next event or corporate function at one of the most stunning examples of midcentury modernism in the United States.

With gorgeous views of Lake Merritt, OMCA offers a lush, contemporary setting for weddings, corporate receptions, and special events. Corporations and nonprofit organizations receive a twenty percent discount; OMCA Members receive a ten percent discount.

Call Angela Wilbourn at 510-238-3009 to book your event today!

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drew alit z er photography

Book a facility rental before August 31, and receive up to 20 percent off!

OCTOBER Teacher Feature Oct. 14, 4–7 p.m. Teachers are invited to a special evening highlighting opportunities to engage students.

Distinctly California Oct. 14, 5–7 p.m. Curatorlevel Donor Forum Members are invited to a private reception and conversation with photographer Richard Misrach.

California Futures Oct. 14, 7 p.m. Join photographer Richard Misrach for a conversation about remembering the 1991 Firestorm.

Family Day Oct. 16, 12–3 p.m.

Community Celebration for the Days of the Dead Oct. 23, 12–4:30 p.m. Enjoy music, dance, a mercado, and demonstrations of traditional Mesoamerican arts and foods.

Estate and Legacy Planning Workshop Oct. 25 Provide security to your loved ones while also supporting OMCA. A Woman’s Work Oct. 28, 7 p.m. Join us for the screening of a documentary about the Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS Michael C. McMillen: Train of Thought Through Aug. 14, 2011

OPENING EXHIBITIONS A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey Aug. 6, 2011–Jan. 22, 2012 Days of the Dead 2011 Oct. 12–Dec. 11, 2011 1991: Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath, Photographs by Richard Misrach Oct. 15, 2011–Feb. 12, 2012

ONGOING EVENTS Member Mornings A Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir’s Journey, private viewing hours and talks.

Select Saturdays, 9–11 a.m.

Free First Sundays!

First Sundays are always free!

Made possible by Wells Fargo.

11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Museum Guild Trips Join the OMCA History Guild for a trip to the Bay Model and Marine Mammal Center (Aug. 16). The History Guild also presents an excursion to New Orleans (Nov. 6–11). Join OMCA’s Art Guild for an exploration of the life of Gertrude Stein through local museum shows and collections (Aug. 23). The Art Guild also presents Art-venture in Virginia (Sept. 17–22) and Japan: Ancient Traditions … 21st Century Expressions (Oct. 18–31). Join OMCA’s Natural Sciences Guild for a trip

Architecture Tours by the Council on Architecture First Sundays at 1 p.m.

OMCA Bike Tours Sundays, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, 10 a.m.–noon OMCA Highlight Tours Fridays and Saturdays at 1 p.m.

Docent Tours of the Gallery of California Art Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Docent Tours of the Gallery of California History Sundays at 3 p.m.

Events and programs are subject to change. For updated listings, visit museumca.org.

to the Sandhill Cranes and Cosumnes River Preserve (Nov. 17–18). As a Member of the Museum, you can join the Guilds and are eligible to travel with them. For more information, visit museumca.org/travel.

Museum Hours Monday Closed Tuesday Closed Wednesday

11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Thursday

11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Friday

11 a.m.–9 p.m.

Saturday

11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Sunday

11 a.m.–5 p.m.

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The Museum of California Campaign The Story of California. The Story of You.

Oakland Museum of California

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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

“ ‘Makeover’ understates the exhilarating effect achieved ...”

J ason le w

–San Francisco Chronicle, May 1, 2010

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the museum of california campaign

T

he Museum of California Campaign really began in 1999, with a master-planning process to look at available space within the Museum. No one envisioned then the fabulous transformation we see today. In 2002, with seventy-five percent of the vote, the citizens of Oakland passed Measure G, which started us on the path toward the completion of our first major capital campaign. That we were ultimately able to raise $65.8 million dollars is amazing. This report is a thank-you to the generous investors who brought us to this point.

The original campaign goal was $53 million, an unimaginable stretch for our board of trustees, who courageously voted to approve and begin our capital campaign in 2006.

It was a leap of faith on everyone’s part. But our confidence grew, enabling us to increase the goal several times.

The result was an unprecedented private fund-raising effort for OMCA, with more than 1,500 donors giving more generously than ever before. Those donors who gave $1,000 or more are listed in this publication. But I want to thank every one of you, whether you gave $10 or $1 million.

Thousands turned out last year for our Opening Celebration Weekend. The smiling faces and the buzz in the galleries that day—and every day since—are proof that we all made a wise investment in the cultural life of our community.

I hope you are as proud of the results as I am. Your continued generosity and support will ensure our Museum continues to prosper.

I look forward to seeing you at the opening of the Gallery of California Natural Sciences in 2012.

Thank you, Sheryl Wong Chair, The Museum of California Campaign

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T O P T O B o t t om : TH O M A S H E I S N E R ; s h aun rober t s & t oni g au t h ier

Our Executive Director, Lori Fogarty, worked with staff and trustees, and sought input from volunteers and the community to create a plan for the Museum. This plan convinced donors that the Oakland Museum of California would not just be renovated but transformed into a model for contemporary museums—one that is now being looked to as an example throughout the world.

Transforming California’s Museum Over the course of a decade, architects and artists, exhibit designers and historians, engineers and landscape artists, community curators and families, docents and teachers, volunteers and staff, trustees and contractors, and friends and supporters worked together to transform OMCA physically and philosophically, resulting in:

Dynamic new galleries and breakthrough experiences New ways to teach and learn Welcoming visitor amenities State-of-the-art collections preservation

s h aun rober t s & Toni g au t h ier

These are the specific experiences and project elements that your gift to The Museum of California Campaign helped make possible.

• • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

California Collections and Research Center Gallery of California Art Gallery of California History Gallery of California Natural Sciences 90,000 square feet of gallery space reimagined Gallery overlooks—restored architectural detail 4,280 square feet of new gallery space Hundreds of interactive experiences Dedicated changing exhibition spaces and a commitment to constant updates Expanded Great Hall Education and student facilities Docent office California Room Museum Archive and Research Center Lecture Hall James Moore Theater

• • • • • • •

•

• • • • •

OMCA Store Blue Oak café Visitor Hub and level-three ticketing Central stairway and Oak Street canopies Oak and 10th Street ADA ramps New 10th Street school entry Plenty of seating, from custom-made modular seating to portable poufs to loaded lounges to outdoor benches Countless art, history, and nature intersections, reflecting multiple perspectives and languages Invitation to touch and interact Restrooms on all levels New lights, floors, walls, pipes, and wiring Seismic retrofitting, fire, and safety updates LEED Certification

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the museum of california campaign

The Museum of California Campaign The Oakland Museum of California gratefully acknowledges the following donors who have made gifts of $1,000 or more in support of our extraordinary reinvention.

Sheryl Wong Campaign Chair Ira Michael Heyman Honorary Campaign Chair Campaign Cabinet Richard C. Edwards Virginia R. Furth Lance A. Gyorfi Yvonne McCredie Christopher M. McLain Sandra Naham Wolfe John Wyro Insiders Committee Barbara Bream Sue Cake Bob Freidenberg Tam Hege Susan Schroeder Nancy Stryble

LEADERSHIP DONORS Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation — California Cultural and Historical Endowment National Science Foundation California State Parks Nature Education Facilities Program funded by Proposition 84 Barclay and Sharon Simpson — S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation Stephen and Susan Chamberlin Chevron Cinco Hermanos Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan Kresge Foundation Oakland Museum Women’s Board The Bernard Osher Foundation Mary Ann and Steven Read

MAJOR DONORS Robin and Rich Edwards Virginia Robinson Furth Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund Hedco Foundation Koret Foundation National Endowment for the Humanities National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration OMCA Art Guild Reuben and Muriel Savin Foundation — Stephen and Dale Block Flo and John Bryan Mr. and Mrs. Donald Chaiken Jeanie and Dan Christopoulos Richard and Beth DeAtley Sheila Duignan and Mike Wilkins Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund Lance and Katherine Gyorfi Walter and Elise Haas Fund

Leo and Florence Helzel, The Helzel Family Foundation Ira Michael Heyman William G. Irwin Charity Foundation Cindy and Jerry Johnston Daryl and John Lillie The Thomas J. Long Foundation Barbara and Christopher M. McLain Mary and Ronald Nahas OMCA History Guild OMCA Natural Sciences Guild Raymond Family Foundation Ann and Jon Reynolds Marianne Buttner Robison Jean Simpson Wong Family Trust

—Letters to the Editor, San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2010

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“ ‘Remodel’ does not do it justice. It is a total jump-start into the 21st century, interactive, engaging, hands on.

Loved it. ... What an asset for the city of Oakland and all of us Californians.”

To p t o bo t t om : Gre g Habiby ; D re w ali t z er P h o t o g ra p h y ; Gre g Habiby ; D re w A L i t z er P h o t o g ra p h y

“Thank you for the experience!

Your museum is beautiful.

I would think one would need to spend days in there to really experience it all!”

Capital Campaign Chair Sheryl Wong (left) greets donor Estelle Knowland.

Leo and Florence Helzel at donor celebration for new galleries.

KEY DONORS Helen McCleave Cake William and Carol Chiasson Randi and Bob Fisher Joseph and Beth Hurwich The James Irvine Foundation Clare and Christopher Lee Mendelson Family Fund The Frederick G. and Helen F. Novy Family Seavey Family Fund StopWaste.Org The Morris Stulsaft Foundation Maureen and Craig Sullivan Alan and Jennifer Varela The Patti and Bruce Westphal Family — Anonymous Raymond A. and Betty Ann Barnett The Douglas Family Anita I. Martinez and Jeffrey Sloan Matson Navigation Company Yvonne S. and John W. McCredie Judi and Stuart McKee Kathleen McLean Mr. and Mrs. Frederick L. Nelson Jackalyne Pfannenstiel Rogers Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard C. Terry, III Judith and William R. Timken Lida and Ted Urban Jennifer Walker Willcuts Family Sandra Naham Wolfe and Steven F. Wolfe Evans and John Wyro COMMUNITY DONORS Rollin and Millie Armer Janet A. Berckefeldt Carl Bergard Jeff and Patty Calder Mr. and Mrs. Matthew J. Cox Christopher C. Curtis and Beverly Galloway

Joffa and Ellen Dale Karen and David Eichler Lori and Skip Fogarty Robin G. and Peter B. Frazier Robert and Carol Freidenberg Bernice Greene John and Tamra Hege Bea and Richard Heggie Lynne LaMarca Heinrich and Dwight Jaffee Walter Hood, Hood Design H. Nona Hungate Jacqueline and Steven Kane Estelle Knowland The Ray Lent Family Joan and Roger A. Mann John L. McDonnell, Jr. Meyer Sound Laboratories Eleanor Moore Mike D. Moye Dawn D. Muller Nancy and Steven Oliver Patricia and Robert Raburn Peter Ralston and Pattie Litton Susan L. Rasmussen Kathryn G. Riddell Dr. and Mrs. H. Robert Ripley Barbara and James M. Rockett Paul Sack and Shirley Davis Jerry and Barbara Schauffler Dr. Philip D. Schild and Shirley Dichek Schild Susan and Paul Schroeder Katherine McKenney Shea and James Shea Pamela and Merritt Sher Dr. and Mrs. Jon F. P. Sigurdson Frances L. Singer Deborah Calahan Smith Carole and Bob Stoffregen Nancy S. Sweetland Helen Tryon Penelope Wong and Tim Kochis

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the museum of california campaign

Anonymous (3) Daniel F. Altemus and Marie B. Riehle Steve and Lori Anderson Mary Arnett Ophelia B. Basgal and Gary T. Fitschen Marilyn Fini Beach Edgar A. Benhard John and Susan Bowe Barbara Good Bream Carol Carman May Chen and K. M. Tan, M.D. Sara and Brian Cherry Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Clark Fred and Joan Collignon Lawrence and Mary Del Santo Bruce and Joan Dodd Dr. and Mrs. James F. Eggert Jerome B. and Nancy Falk Dianne and James Fristrom Shelby and Frederick M. Gans Craig and Rosemarie Garman Janet and Terry Geiser Earl and Bonnie Hamlin Anthony and Angela Harris Mr. and Mrs. Melvin C. Harrison, Jr. Beverly Jane Hawley, in memoriam Barbara Henry Carolyn and Douglas Higgins Susan and David Hodges Elizabeth A. Hook Connie and Bob Hosemann Lucy A. John Laurence and Sandra Kessenick Ronald and Elena Krause Linda A. Larkin and Brett Stineman Leah and Neil MacNeil Maryanne Madison Sheila Martin-Stone Mr. and Mrs. John W. McDonald Barbara and Vernon Mowry Roberta O’Grady

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OMCA Council on Architecture Maggie and Tony Pico Mary Ann Poggetto Genevieve M. Prlain Ronald and Joanne Richards Paul and Sheri Robbins Bill and Jeanne Ryan Trudy and Charles Salter Italo Scanga Foundation Sarah E. Shaver Nancy Stryble Katie Tamony John A. Tuttle and Douglas A. Drummond Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Walls Robert A. and Vicki L. Wilkins Ralph C. and Velma K. Williams Sheila Wishek Judith D. Wood Thomas K. Yee and June M. Yee Mary Nell and Carl York William J. Zeile Kathy and Phil Zimmerman — Anonymous (3) Kellie and Steve Abreu Tom and Cynthia Adkisson The Alt Kennedy Family Richard and Diane Arney Marianne and Tommy Aude Melvin and Barbara Bacher Sue and Ron Bachman Dana and Peter Barnett Janet and Chris Bensick Sandra and Paul Berger Gail and Ralph Bernstein Ken and Carla Betts Peter and Lee Bewley Barbara and Welby Bigelow Beverly F. Blatt and David H. Filipek Herbert W. Bock Dr. Thomas and Janice Boyce Roland E. Brandel Rena Bransten The Braunstein Quay Gallery Family

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

From second photo from top: Campaign donors Wayne Jordan and Quinn Delaney; Maureen Sullivan; Jonathan Moscone, Julie Irwin, and Barclay Simpson.

T O P t o bo t t om : s h aun rober t s & t oni g au t h ier ; dre w ali t z er p h o t o g ra p h y ( 3 )

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s h aun rober t s & t oni g au t h ier

Dr. Kenneth and Candace Caldwell Jim and Ann Carroll Phil Caruthers and Peg La France Caleb B. Case Ernest Chann Suzanne Christensen and Steve Spellman Alger and Kathleen Ciabattoni Mary Lou Ciranni Carole A. Cohen June and Michael Cohen Shirley B. Conner Robert Cooter and Blair Dean Michelle R. Cox Sharon and L. Dale Crandall Bette Chinn Dare Alta D. Davis David and Lee Devine Gennaro A. DeVito Barbara and Wilbert Din Nancy and Hugh Ditzler Thelma and Jonathan Dixon Sidney F. Dommes, III, and Enid Meyer dos Remedios Family Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dreiman Linda and Gilbert Duritz Gladys M. Eaton Patricia L. Edgar Patricia M. Elam

Helen Peggy Falknor and Enrique Suárez del Solar Robert and Ellin Firth Helena R. Foster Nancy H. Francis Marianne and Herb Friedman Arlene and Jack Garfinkle Donald and Marjorie Gibson Nancy Goddard Reeve Gould Gregory and Linda Govan Reyla Graber Ellen and Roger Hahn Gwendolyn J. Halpin Harriet and Peter Hanauer Rory Hayden and Susan Willson Jim Hill Beverley and Albert Hillman Robert and Ruth Hussey Tim and Michelle Inama Erin Jaeb and Kevin Kelly Ginny and John James Robert and Ellen Jasper Kenneth and LaDonna Jensen Harold and Mary Ella Johnston Natalie and Bob Juntz Debrah and Mickey Karlinsky Beth and Fred L. Karren The Kasch Family Stephen and Ruth Kass Duke and Daisy Kiehn

Bonnie McPherson Killip Virginia H. Kincaid Marilyn and Earl Kinney Marian S. Kobayashi Roxana Larsen Rebecca Lee George and Nancy Leitmann Ellen and Barry Levine Norman and Helen Ann Licht Sue L. Littlehale Bill and Marilyn Logan Edward and Evelyn Loo Loretta Lowrey and Hakki Etem Robert M. and Johanna Mandel Dr. Richard and Gloria Marchick Doris Cuneo Maslach J. Meeder Benjamin and Patricia B. Mendoza Wallace D. Mersereau In memory of Mia Mitchell Carlisle and Rhoda Moore Richard Nagler and Sheila Sosnow Cordelia A. Neal Kay and Lori Nelson Cherie L. Newell and Kenneth P. Hamik Diana and George Nugent Maureen O’Brien and Roy Creekmore

Shanna O’Hare Diane Ososke Lorraine Parmer Andrea Pearlstein The Pease Family Fund H. Louise Pubols Carolyn and Gerald Raffo Lenore M. Raffo James and Ruth Reynolds Suzanne B. Riess Mary Kate and Max V. Rittmann In memory of Manuel and Concepción Rivera Deborah and Louis A. Roessler, III Arthur and Roselyn Rosenfeld Melissa Anne Rosengard Hugh Ross and Diana Diamond Ross Raine Rude Sonya H. Ruehl Ryder Family Foundation John F. Sampson and Sharon L. Litsky Ken and Marjorie Sauer Beverly and Robert E. Sereda Carolyn Demeter Sheaff Mrs. Norvel Smith Francine and Tilden Sokoloff Family James and Suzanne Soper Jerry and Judith Steenhoven

“I have been to museums all over the world, and this is definitely one of my all-time favorites! So interactive, so fun, so variable, and creative. Hurrah!”

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the museum of california campaign

Lorna and Cris Strotz Leesy Taggart and Jon Elliott Susan Talbott and Michael A. Jordan Jeanne L. Thomas Casey and Rich Thompson Howard Thornton and Robert Lieber Joan F. Tornlof Satoye and Floyd Tsujimoto Family Maedine D. and Robert W. Turner Bradley D. Van Every and Donna L. Gianoulis Eileen and James A. Vohs Susan and Edward Waller LaVerne R. Wellens Tamara White and Steven McCanne Rita Wieland Judy L. Wilkinson Ann L. Williamson John and Patricia Winther Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Wong Cliff and Virginia Wong — Anonymous (3) Ronald D. and Patricia Adler Grace Aikawa Joan and Paul Armstrong The Art Group

Gay and Alan Auerbach David Avidor and Penny Righthand Lora L. Baker M. L. Baldwin Richard Barbieri Frank and Lee Battat John and Marion Blackmer Nancy and Roger Boas Elizabeth A. Brady Ralph and Donna Briskin Mollie Brown Richard E. and Lavera L. Brown Mr. and Mrs. Timothy N. Brown Thomas and Tecoah Bruce Stephen and Frances Butler Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Campbell Bill and Susan Caplan Patricia M. and Eugene V. Cattolica Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Ceaser Deirdre Cerkanowicz Jim and Francoise Cervantes Gordon B. Chamberlain Melton and Kelley Chew Pat Clinton Janet and Simon Cohn Steve and Maya Cohn Sandra and Michael Coleman Barbara J. Conley Robert and Renate Coombs

Edith Copenhaver and Nipam Patel Mary Corley and Jeff Bond Jane and Tom Coulter Beniquez and John Cross Edward Cullen and Ann O’Connor Anne Curran Judy and Don Davis René de Guzman and Marion Burke de Guzman Rajnika NT T. and Helen Crane Desai Janet Dinsmore Rita M. Dougherty Shirley Douglas Mr. and Mrs. Michael Doyle Marlynn R. Dykstra Celina Echazarreta EDAW Dave and Sally Elliott Ruthanne K. Farnsworth Robert Ferber and Linda Maepa George M. Foster Mr. and Mrs. Robert Frazer Joan Gale Judy and Sheldon Greene Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Greif Sharon Guthrie Raphael C. Guzman and Marilyn J. Tiaven Liisa and Jon Hale

Dr. Wallace B. Hall, in memoriam Diane Dyer Harmon and Don Harmon Ms. Ann E. Heuer and Mr. Alex Heuer Galen Howard Hilgard and Henry R. Hilgard Adrienne and Donald H. Hillebrandt Mrs. Charles H. Hine Gayl and Harlan Hirschfeld William and Louise Houghton Linda Hart Huber Mr. and Mrs. John Hunter Mr. and Mrs. William B. Inwood Marilouise E. Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Barry Jellison The Reverend Anne and Mr. Douglas Jensen Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. T. Jensen Adele and Richard Jensen Penelope A. Johnson Thomas and Kathleen Jones Rita Kane Pat Kernighan and Paul Gordon Janice P. Kidd Ken and Sue Kingsbury Robert W. Kirby, Jr. Thomas and Barbara Koerber Doris U. Kretschmer Germaine La Berge

“I love the new arrangement of displays in the art gallery. Very thoughtprovoking and visually interesting. The thirty-minute tour was just long enough to give the kids a nice dose of art while keeping them hungry for more.”

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T O P T O B O TT O M : jason le w ; dre w ali t z er p h o t o g ra p h y ; s h aun rober t s & t oni g au t h ier ; dre w ali t z er p h o t o g ra p h Y

“Such a change from many museums. ... It makes me excited to be a Californian.

Great job and thank-you!�

Right: Campaign donors Roger Schwab, of the Hedco Foundation; former OMCA Foundation Chair Daryl Lillie; John Lillie; Robin Edwards; OMCA Foundation Trustee Rich Edwards. Bottom: Helena Foster.

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Lorene S. Lamb Wayne Lamprey and Dena Watson-Lamprey Janet Chan Lee, in memory of Ada Chan Wong Mr. and Mrs. Theodore B. Lee Mr. and Mrs. Bud Leiber Guillermo G. Leonardo and Frank B. Leonard Dr. and Mrs. Arnold W. Levine Mary and David N. Lillevand, Jr. Sharon G. and Philip E. Linhares Steven and Judy Lipson Douglas J. Long Sandy Lundgren Susana Macarron Kathryn MacFarland John J. Mahoney George L. Marchand Nancy L. Martz John and Valerie Matzger Jean McCarter Alden and Barbara McElrath Karen and John Medford Susan E. Messina Jean H. Methmann Anneliese B. Miller Samuel R. Miller and Maude H. Pervere Dorothy and Arlen C. Mills Marjorie and John Minney Juliane and James Monroe In memory of Saburo Muroga Phillip M. Newport and Peter V. Dempsey Alma Owens Charles and Julie Palley Anita K. Pearson Susan and Jim Penrod Phyllis and Stephen Pfeiffer Genevieve R. Power Mr. and Mrs. David Pyle Kristi A. Rasmussen and Brian Tulloch Joseph J. Ray Shelagh Reed Jean K. Reilly

Margaret Ricker Barbara Riley Mary L. Roberts Victoria Robinson Ronald V. Rosequist Rutherford Ranch Winery Nancy Sampson Alfred J. and Sharon L. Sanchez Ruth and Jack Sechler Kay Sekimachi Gary and Dana Shapiro Rosalind Singer Camilla and George Smith Mary and Daniel L. Smith Robert and Linda Spencer Rosemary V. Springer Ann M. Squires Pete and Deborah Stark John Steinmetz Ann Steppan Joy A. Tahan Mrs. William N. Tahan Nelcy Kornelia Tarics Lolly Todd Alissa Van Nort Liz Varnhagen and Steve Greenberg Yvonne Vergez Claire Isaacs Wahrhaftig Phoebe Watts Janet and Charles Weaver Gail M. Weininger Marilyn and John Welland Angela Wilbourn and James Pierce Scott E. Wilson Jennifer Wolch and Michael Dear Merilyn Wong-McClain and David M. McClain Steven A. Wright Virginia and Nancy Zinns

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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94607-4892

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT PERMIT NO.6563

collection highlight

Eleanor Antin, The King, 1972.

Black-and-white video transferred to DVD. “A woman seated before a mirror applies a fake beard. She strokes and trims each section of hair, smokes, and gazes at herself admiringly. The scene is simultaneously humorous and provocative.

My daughters, ages four and seven, love this video. They watch it whenever they are in the Art Gallery, and I often need to pull them away.

Why does she have a beard? Why is she smoking? Why is there no sound? Every question they ask leads to another conversation, and I learn more about the way they see the world.” abigail huller

— Carin Adams, Associate Curator

Follow OMCA staff collection highlights at museumca.org!

The Story of California. The Story of You.

Oakland Museum of California museumca.org