OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2017 VOLUME 65 No. 4
CLASSES - EXHIBITIONS - EVENTS - NEWS
STAFF & BOARDS Roswell Museum and Art Center 100 West 11th Street Roswell, NM 88201 (575) 624-6744 tel (575) 624-6765 fax www.roswellmuseum.org Mission The Roswell Museum and Art Center inspires discovery, creativity, and cultural understanding of the art and history of the American Southwest and beyond. Newsletter Roswell Museum and Art Center Magazine Volume 65 No. 4. The Museum’s magazine is published quarterly and is provided as a benefit of membership. Location
The Museum is located in downtown Roswell at 11th and Main Streets, adjacent to the Roswell Convention and Civic Center. Admission
Staff Directory Caroline Brooks, ext. 12 c.brooks@roswell-nm.gov Executive Director Sara Woodbury, ext. 15 s.woodbury@roswell-nm.gov Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Amanda Nicholson, ext. 22 a.nicholson@roswell-nm.gov Curator of Education Amberly Meli, ext. 13 a.meli@roswell-nm.gov Registrar
Board of Trustees Officers: Cymantha Liakos, Chair Bill Siders, Vice Chair Donovan Fulkerson, Secretary/Treasurer Members: Anne Baker Jamie Barnes Peggy Krantz Priscilla Ornelas Jessica Parham Nanette Schumacher Lorrina Segovia DeAngela Velasquez
Jeremy Howe, ext. 23 j.howe@roswell-nm.gov Planetarium Coordinator
Ex-Officio: Tabitha Denny, Roswell City Council Liaison
Candace Jordan, ext. 25 c.jordan@roswell-nm.gov Librarian
Roswell Museum and Art Center Foundation Board of Directors
Aria Finch, ext. 28 Ceramics Manager Museum Store Staff, ext. 17 Barbara Posuniak, Manager Elizabeth Shelhorse Lea Rohr Fraser Museum Attendants, ext. 14 Tiffany Melancon Cory Frederick Darrick Constance Deborah Melancon, ext. 11 Bookkeeper Brandon Strange, ext. 27 Preparator Daniel Gomez Custodian
Admission is free. Donations are welcome. Museum Hours
Tuesday - Saturday, 9 am - 5 pm Sunday, 1-5 pm Closed Mondays and major holidays Museum Store Hours
Tuesday - Saturday, 9 am - 4:30 pm Sunday, 1-4:30 pm Closed during lunch from noon - 1 pm, Mondays, and major holidays.
Officers: Chelsea Green, President Ron Hillman, Vice President Jacqueline Miller, Secretary Mary Alice Lysak, Treasurer Directors: Donald B. Anderson, Director Emeritus Riley Armstrong Yasine Armstrong Jim Ball Claire Chase Parker Folse Debra Franks Nola Fulkerson Ivan Hall Paul Hanna Jared Hembree Mitch Krakauskas Diane Leven Cymantha Liakos, RMAC Trustees, Chair Ryan Perry Kendra Price Brinkman Randle Sherri Toles Beth Waldrip Maria Wiggins Staff: Cindy Torrez, RMACF Director 400 N. Pennsylvania, #220 Roswell 88201 (575) 627-0918 rmacfound@qwestoffice.net
RMAC is on Facebook and Instagram
For real-time announcements, events, and exhibit information, check us out on Facebook and on Instagram at @rmacroswell.
Ex-Officio: Caroline Brooks, RMAC Executive Director
Cover: Jane Abrams, Elijah’s Fish Tangle (detail), 2015, oil on linen, 64” x 79”. Courtesy of the Artist.
DIRECTOR’S VIEW This has been an exciting time at the Roswell Museum and Art Center. October marks the 80th anniversary of the Museum and we are also celebrating 50 years of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program and the re-opening of the Goddard Planetarium. Additionally, I am happy to share that the pilot event, pARTy After Hours, which took place on September 8, brought both new and returning visitors to the Museum for a fun-filled evening of music and art. One of the goals of the event was to expand our museum audience and partners. As such we collaborated with Youth & Professionals for the Arts Collective (YPAC) and Roswell Next, both of which contributed greatly to the event’s success. We look forward to future partnership opportunities with these innovative and creative groups. This month we are honoring the 50th anniversary of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program with the exhibition RAiR at 50: Beyond the Gift of Time, which presents more than 170 current and past artists from the Program. The exhibition opens on the Museum’s birthday, on Friday, October 6, with a reception from 5-7 pm, and Mayor Dennis Kintigh will give a birthday proclamation at 5:30 pm. Many past RAiR Program alumni will be traveling to Roswell to be a part of the weekend’s festivities which includes exhibitions at Isaac’s Pipe and Supply, 222, and Bone Springs Art Space. Visit the Museum’s website for further details. The finishing touches are being put on the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium in preparation for its re-opening on Saturday, October 14. After 48 years and tens of thousands of children and adults sitting in its seats, the once cutting-edge Planetarium had become obsolete. More than a year of conceptualization, fundraising and other preparations led to a hub of activity in August and September, beginning with the Roswell Independent School District’s removal of the old seating, outdated equipment, and the 100s of boxes of slide-based programs.
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The weeks continued as local contractors and City maintenance workers refurbished the interior with new carpeting, drywall and paint, and addressed electrical needs. Specialized planetarium contractors Ash Enterprises from Virginia and Florida travelled to Roswell to install the new seating and LED lighting around the perimeter of the dome, clean and paint the dome, and to do maintenance and updates on the vintage starball. Finally, Evans & Sutherland from Utah and Bowen Technovation from Indiana installed the Digistar 6 digital projection system and Dolby Surround 7.1. The test projections we’ve witnessed so far have been incredible and we are excited to start developing programming for schools and the general public using these new, worldclass resources. Thank you to the many groups and individuals who contributed to this significant project. I hope you enjoy this issue of the Museum Magazine, including articles on pages 4 and 5 that explore some of the Museum’s milestones as a WPA Federal Art Center, the origin of the Planetarium and science programming with the Roswell Independent School District beginning in the late 1960s, and expansion of the Ceramics Program starting in the 1970s. In addition, along with attending events on October 6 and 14, be sure to take a lunch break on Wednesday, October 18 for a Brown Bag Lunch lecture on the Museum’s WPA History. See you at the Museum!
— Caroline Brooks, Executive Director
Celebrating 80 Years The Roswell Museum and Art Center’s WPA History one is currently off view for conservation. We also have several pieces of Tejada’s furniture in our vaults to keep them protected.
For 80 years, the Roswell Museum and Art Center has enriched southeast New Mexico with its multidisciplinary collections and educational programs. Its community-driven mission takes inspiration from its origins as a WPA institution. Above: Museum exterior, c. 1938, Roswell Museum and Art Center Library and Archives. Right: Roswell Museum office, c. 1930s, Roswell Museum and Art Center Library and Archives.
The Roswell Museum developed out of the Federal Art Center Program, a national initiative supervised by the Federal Art Project and sponsored through the Works Progress Administration. Federal art centers were intended to provide the kind of art access available in metropolitan areas to rural communities and other low-density populations. To qualify for an art center, interested individuals or community groups would submit an application to the FAP, and demonstrate sufficient interest and revenue to support the institution. Approved art centers received staff from the FAP, who worked with the sponsors and community to coordinate exhibits and programs. The Roswell Federal Art Center was initially organized in 1935 as a collaboration between the Archaeological and Historical Society, now the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico, and the WPA. It opened to the public on October 6, 1937, in time for the New Mexico State Fair, and was officially dedicated in December of that year. The museum featured one main gallery and performance stage, now Founders Gallery, and a side gallery, today the hallway outside of Founders. WPA craftsmen provided the building’s furnishings, including three tin chandeliers by Eddie Delgado, and chairs, tables and other wooden furniture by Domingo Tejada. The chandeliers hang today in Founders Gallery, though
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The Roswell Federal Art Center maintained an active schedule of exhibitions and programming. The main gallery hosted a rotating selection of WPA exhibits, while the side gallery showcased local archaeological artifacts and related materials. The federal exhibit schedule offered an eclectic range of shows, from current work by WPA artists to more historical materials. The Roswell Federal Art Center also staged exhibitions highlighting New Mexico artists, including Peter Hurd, Sidney Redfield and Gustave Baumann. Education comprised a vital part of the Roswell Federal Art Center’s mission. The center offered classes in traditional media such as drawing and sculpture, as well as what would today be considered interior design. In addition to its own activities, the Roswell Federal Art Center participated in other WPA-related projects around town, including overseeing Roswell’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp, which also offered art instruction. More than 100 community art centers opened around the country between 1935 and 1942, but with the advent of World War II and the end of the WPA, many of these centers closed permanently. The Roswell Federal Art Center survived and ultimately thrived by becoming a municipal museum. As a former federal art center still in operation today, RMAC remains an important link to a rich chapter of WPA history, as well as an important cultural resource to the community. To learn more about the early history of the Museum, attend the Brown Bag Lunch lecture on Wednesday, October 18 at noon in the Bassett Auditorium.
Education at the Museum
Ceramics Program
Title III Funding and Partnering with RISD In January 1968 the Museum and Roswell City Schools embarked on a project to add and enrich existing art and science programs in the community. The project was financed by a $300,000 threeyear grant from the Federal Government under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Trained professionals in the arts and sciences worked in three general areas. First, Title III personnel assisted teachers in Chaves County to add meaningful programs to the existing school curriculum. Secondly, they worked with adults and children’s interest groups, taught classes, organized art and science clubs, and conducted field trips. The third area facilitated the presentation of student work at the Museum. Title III classes were taught by prominent Roswell Artists-in-Residence artists such as Howard Cook and Barbara Latham, as well as well-known local educators including Beverly Carpenter and James Waldrip, and were available to children and adults free of charge. The classes included a wide variety of visual arts as well as a youth symphony orchestra, Spanish, zoology, and a fine arts slide lecture and film series. In the spring of 1968 a Science Club of about 100 members was formed and the students were involved in numerous activities including field trips to Carlsbad Caverns and Sitting Bull Falls. The Science Club assisted in the planning and installation of a terrarium, an aviary and an aquarium at the Museum. They created a botanical garden east of the Museum with specimens from around New Mexico. The Robert H. Goddard Planetarium was dedicated on June 2, 1969, in conjunction with the completion of the Robert H. Goddard Workshop exhibit. Title III funding provided for the interior dome, star projector, seating and staffing, while long-time supporter Donald Anderson generously donated funding for the building and outer dome. Led by Planetarium Director James Waldrip, the planetarium programming significantly added to the existing Title III science curriculum for the schools and public. The space was also used for films and music concerts. James Waldrip went on to lead the planetarium almost continuously until his retirement in 1990. On August 10, 1970, the Title III program came to an end. While the Museum was no longer fiscally able to offer free studio art classes, a new federal grant was awarded to continue funding for science programming and natural science displays. Eventually funding diminished and the displays were taken down in the late 1970s. The Planetarium has remained in continuous operation with some annual support still provided by the school district. 5 Fall 2017
Planetarium contruction, c. 1968.
Aria Finch in the Roswell Museum ceramics studio, c. 1986.
Under the direction of instructor Aria Finch, a small ceramics program was created in the fall of 1979. The program started with two students but eventually outgrew the working space located in the south end of the current Hunter Gallery. In 1986, the studio was moved to a larger space on the west side of the Museum and a new gas kiln and kiln yard were built. The building of the Patricia Lubben Bassett Art Education Center wing in 1999 created a more spacious environment for ceramics students to work, as well as storage, room for throwing wheels, and a Raku yard. The new addition, also created space for two multi-purpose classrooms, a research library and archives, an auditorium, and offices. Aria Finch has been teaching both children and adults for almost 40 years. In 1981, the Pecos Valley Potter’s Guild started and continues to this day with an annual showcase of artwork, much of which is the product of the RMAC ceramics program. The ceramics program continues to thrive and is one of the most well-regarded programs in eastern New Mexico, serving approximately 90 students per term.
CLASSES & EVENTS To register, please mail or drop off a completed registration form with your payment to the RMAC. Forms can be picked up at the Museum or downloaded from the Museum website. For questions, contact Amanda Nicholson at 575-624-6744, ext. 22. Scholarship Opportunities The Museum strives to provide meaningful opportunities and learning experiences that are accessible to all of the Roswell community. As such, the RMAC Foundation generously provides scholarships for children and adults, who are interested in taking classes and workshops at the Museum but may have financial need. To apply for a scholarship please contact Amanda Nicholson at a.nicholson@roswellnm.gov or at 575-6246744 ext. 22. Please note, class prices include a 5% tax. Unless otherwise noted, supplies are included with children’s classes.
Children’s Classes and Workshops
Design Your Own Board Game Instructors: Matt Bromley & Mary Alice Balderrama
POW! - Painting on Wood Instructor: Veronica Luevano
Age/Skill Level: All ages and skill levels Children under 10 must be accompanied by a registered adult. Tuesday through Thursday November 14, 15 & 16, 4-5:30 pm $40 members; $50 non-members
Age/Skill Level: 8-16, all skill levels Wednesdays for 4 weeks October 4-25, 3:30-5 pm $40 members; $50 non-members Learn to paint on wood and open up your imagination! Use this time to paint classic landscapes or creative visual masterpieces from your very own realm. You will be taught the necessary steps to create 3-4 beautiful paintings on wood. Holiday Make and Take Section I: Age: 4-12, beginners & up Saturday, November 11, 1-4 pm $20 members; $30 non-members $10 per additional child Section II: Age: 4-12, beginners & up Saturday, December 9, 1-4 pm $20 members; $30 non-members $10 per additional child ‘Tis the season to get artsy! Give yourself some time to shop locally while we help your children create one-of-akind presents for you and your family including ornaments, decorations and artwork. We will even help wrap presents so they are ready to gift. This is a “come and go” style class. Your children can stay for as long or little as you’d like within the hours listed.
Adult and All Ages Classes and Workshops Figure Drawing Instructor: Jennie Bower Age/Skill Level: All ages and skill levels Children under 16 must be accompanied by a registered adult. Tuesdays & Thursdays for 3 weeks October 24 - November 9, 5-7 pm $50 members; $60 non-members Artists have been studying the human figure for at least since the time of the ancient Greeks. We will use a variety of drawing methods, with the aim of training the eye for realistic representation.
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Have you ever wanted to create your own board, card, or dice game? Now is your chance to design your own game. Learn the history of board games and game mechanics. Develop a theme, plan and design, construct the components, and play test your idea to produce your game. Handmade Holiday Cards Instructor: Sara Woodbury Age/Skill Level: All ages and skill levels Children under 10 must be accompanied by a registered adult. Saturday, November 18, 1-4 pm $40 members, $50 non-members Nothing says season’s greetings like a handmade card. In this workshop we will make our own holiday cards using block printing, collage, drawing and more. Let your creativity run wild and create some unique works of art that you can mail to your family and friends!
Faculty Aria Finch holds a BA degree from the University of Texas at El Paso, and has attended graduate school at North Texas State University and Texas Women’s University. She is a 2013 recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2009, her work was chosen for the 5th World Ceramic Biennale in Icheon, South Korea. She has managed the RMAC ceramics program since 1979. Anna Edwards has been involved with ceramics for 16 years. Studying with her mentor, Aria Finch, she has been involved in teaching children and adults at the RMAC and has worked with the RISD. Anna has studied at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Potter’s Council, Santa Fe Clay, and the RMAC. Jennie Bower received a BA in studio arts from Macalester College in Minnesota in 1974 and an MFA in painting from Claremont Graduate School in California in 1978. During the 1980s, she taught at the University of Minnesota at Duluth, the College of St. Scholastica and worked at the Duluth Art Institute. She spent several years in Central America in the 1980s and 1990s, and most recently taught art at ENMU-Roswell. Lorie Mitteer is a member of Pecos Valley Quilters, a local group of fabric artists. Lorie has been enjoying the art of sewing for over 40 years and is a practiced artist in many mediums. Mary Alice Balderrama is a first grade elementary arts teacher with the RISD elementary arts program. She is a co-facilitator of RMAC’s Second Saturday program. She also volunteered her time to produce YPAC’s Make Art Take Art gallery and art events.
Making a Fabric Postcard Instructor: Lorie Mitteer Age/Skill Level: 12 & up, all skill levels Sunday, December 3, 1-4 pm $40 members, $50 non-members Create your own sewn postcards that can actually be mailed! Using various types of fabric and stitching techniques, we will personalize cards that will be fun for sending, receiving, and even for display. This is mail that everyone will want to keep forever.
Matt Bromley is the lead designer, illustrator, and creator of Wildbird Games. For as long as he can remember, he has been designing games for family and friends. He has launched two games this past year and currently has three others soon to be released. Sara Woodbury is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Roswell Museum and Art Center. She received her BA in art history from Lake Forest College in Illinois, and earned her MA at Williams College in Massachusetts. She has been making and sending handmade cards to her friends and family since 2012. Veronica Luevano is a local self-taught artist with extensive practice and enthusiasm for multiple mediums. Her experience includes watercolor, clay, acrylic, and jewelry making. She specially enjoys sharing her artistic experiences with children and lending her knowledge to help students create fun pieces that are visually enthralling.
Fall Planetarium Programming Explore our spectacular cosmos from the comfort of the newlyremodeled Robert H. Goddard Planetarium. Programs include a full dome show accompanied by a starball presentation. Shows will be approximately 40 minutes. Admission fees apply. October: IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System Tuesdays, October 24 & 31, 7 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2 pm Saturday, October 28, 2 pm Follow the creation of NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) and get an in-depth look at how IBEX is collecting high-speed atoms to create a map of our Solar System’s boundary. Hear from the scientists and engineers that developed the spacecraft, and get the latest updates on the mission’s discoveries. November: Universe
Planetarium Grand Re-Opening & STEAM Family Day Saturday, October 14, 10 am - 3 pm | Free Be a part of the celebration of the newly-reopened Robert H. Goddard Planetarium and be among the first to transport yourself to the farthest reaches of the universe with our new world-class digital projection and audio systems. The event will include free planetarium shows each hour, beginning after the ribbon cutting with Mayor Dennis Kintigh at 10 am, through 2 pm. Hands-on art and science activities and a chalk art drawing competition for all ages will be offered outside the Planetarium. The Roswell Independent School District will also have refreshments available for purchase from 11 am - 2 pm. For more information and to register for the chalk drawing competition, please visit www.roswellmuseum.org.
Brown Bag Lunch: The Roswell Museum’s WPA History Wednesday, October 18, 12-1 pm | Free Join Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Sara Woodbury in the Bassett Auditorium for an informal presentation on the Roswell Museum’s WPA history. Sara will share some highlights from her ongoing research in the Museum’s WPA archive, illustrated with historical images. Come learn about the exhibits and programs that the Museum offered in the 1930s, and discover how its proactive, community-driven mission continues to shape this institution today. Visitors are welcome to bring a lunch. New Mexico Military Institute cadets view an exhibition of prints by Honoré Daumier, 1939. Roswell Museum and Art Center Library and Archives. 7 Fall 2017
Tuesdays, November 7-28, 7 pm Wednesdays, November 1-29, 2 pm Saturdays, November 4-18, 2 pm Take an historical look at how we have envisioned the universe though the ages. Visit some of the ancient sites where our ancestors erected great structures with astronomical significance. Finally, look at the universe through the eyes of today’s scientists and space explorers to experience a spectacular overview of the heavens. December: Two Small Pieces of Glass Tuesdays, December 5-19, 7 pm Wednesdays, December 6-20, 2 pm Saturdays, December 2-23, 2 pm Galileo’s telescopic observations began a revolution, transforming our views of the cosmos and our place within. Two Small Pieces of Glass puts you in the middle of a modern star party. Discover the wonders that even a small amateur telescope can reveal and learn about the scientists that made such views possible.
CALENDAR LISTINGS The following events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Donations are always welcome. Friday, October 6, 5-7 pm RAiR at 50 Opening Reception and Museum Birthday Celebration | 5:30 pm – Mayoral Birthday Proclamation and Cake Saturday, October 14, 10 am - 3 pm Planetarium Grand Re-Opening & STEAM Family Day Wednesday, October 18, noon Brown Bag Lunch | The Roswell Museum’s WPA History with Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Sara Woodbury October Planetarium Programming | IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System | Admission Tuesdays, October 24 & 31, 7 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2 pm Saturday, October 28, 2 pm
November Planetarium Programming | Universe Admission Tuesdays, November 7-28, 7 pm Wednesdays, November 1-29, 2 pm Saturdays, November 4-18, 2 pm Friday, November 17, 5:30-7 pm Roswell Artist-in-Residence Lecture and Reception with artist Rachel Grobstein Saturday, December 2, 5-7 pm Holiday Open House (see back page for details) December Planetarium Programming | Two Small Pieces of Glass | Admission Tuesdays, December 5-19, 7 pm Wednesdays, December 6-20, 2 pm Saturdays, December 2-23, 2 pm
EXHIBITIONS
RAiR at 50 Beyond the Gift of Time E X H I B I T I O N For five decades, the Roswell Artistin-Residency Program has enriched RAiR at 50: Beyond the Gift southeastern New Mexico’s creative of Time community, an achievement recently October 6, 2017 honored with the Governor’s – April 6, 2018 Award for Excellence in the Arts. Patricia Gaylord Founded in 1967 by philanthropist, Anderson, Entry, businessman and artist Donald B. Russell Vernon Hunter and Spring River Galleries Opening Reception: Friday, October 6 5-7 pm: Reception 5:30 pm: Mayoral Proclamation and Birthday Cake
Anderson, the RAiR grant provides the financial and personal freedom for artists to concentrate on their creative work for a year, and has become known as “the gift of time” due to its exceptional length and generosity. Yet what impact does RAiR have on these artists once their residency ends? How does their time in Roswell continue to shape their careers and the type of work they choose to make? In celebration of RAiR’s 50th anniversary, this exhibition invites alumni of the program to share their recent art with the Roswell community. With more
than 170 participants submitting new work, this show will occupy most of the Museum’s galleries, emphasizing the grant’s impressive scope. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about RAiR’s many recipients while discovering how their work has continued to evolve since their time with the program. Classes, workshops and other activities will also be offered throughout the exhibition, and several artists will provide original works for purchase through the Museum Store. If you love contemporary art in all shapes and forms, this show is for you.
John Jacobsmeyer, TV Room, 2008, oil on linen, 22” x 26”. Courtesy of the Artist.
Pennsylvania Impressionists Works from the James A. Michener Art Museum EXHIBITION Pennsylvania Impressionists: Works from the James A. Michener Art Museum November 10, 2017 – May 31, 2018 Founders Gallery
In keeping with its mission, the Roswell Museum and Art Center concentrates primarily on the art and history of the American Southwest, but occasionally we present work from different regions. One of these opportunities is Pennsylvania Impressionists, curated by the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. This exhibit has developed out of a partnership between RMAC and the Michener Art Museum. In 2018, we will participate in a special exhibition entitled Magical and Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, A Retrospective, co-curated with the Michener. Our own Hurd and Wyeth collection will comprise a significant portion of this show, with
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several works traveling to Pennsylvania at the end of October. While our works are on view in Doylestown, the Michener Art Museum has generously offered an exhibition of paintings by Pennsylvania Impressionists. Drawn from the Michener’s permanent collection, this selection highlights fifteen works by some of Pennsylvania’s most renowned Impressionist painters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including John Folinsbee, Edward W. Redfield, Fern Coppedge, and more. From springtime meadows to the snow-covered river scenes, this exhibition has a landscape for every season. Since these works rarely travel to the western United States, visitors will have an unusual opportunity to explore regional painting traditions from another part of the country. William Langson Lathrop (1859-1938), Untitled (Landscape With Figure) (detail), c. 1897, oil on canvas, 19” x 25” . Courtesy of the James A. Michener Art Museum. Michener Art Endowment Challenge Gift of Malcolm and Eleanor Polis.
EXHIBITIONS
Rachel Grobstein
Exhibition News
Roswell Artist-in-Residence EXHIBITION Rachel Grobstein: Roswell Artistin-Residence November 18, 2017 - January 7, 2018 Marshall and Winston Gallery Lecture and Opening Reception: Friday, November 17 5:30 pm: Lecture 6-7 pm: Reception
Rachel Grobstein’s labor-intensive process of miniature painting and sculpture is intended to create intimacy and slow down the act of seeing by representing objects that are commonly overlooked. She often installs her work directly onto the wall with pins, creating a subtle architecture of shadows and playfully referencing natural specimens. Recent work takes the form of visual inventories, suggesting the pathos of creating order from fragments of endless lists. Since coming to Roswell, Grobstein has begun a series of miniature tableaus based on objects on peoples’ bedside tables. She began by asking friends to send pictures of their nightstands from home, but lately she has expanded the series to include a wide circle of people in Roswell. Grobstein has long been interested in the way personal collections create snapshot biographies, and she became especially fascinated by the array of objects on nightstands: detritus like tissues and the day’s receipts get jumbled with mementos, novels and prescriptions.
Rachel Grobstein, Bedside Table (Shanti), 2017, gouache, paper, balsa wood, pvc, clay, tissue, wire, 3.75” x 3” x 2.25”. Courtesy of the Artist.
Grobstein states, “I’m interested in the way these collections create complicated portraits speaking to everything from dreams and sex to memory and self-maintenance. As miniature tableaus, these pieces engage with the tradition of still life, cataloguing a daily world of repetition, consumer culture, and routine. One of my touchstones lately has been Norman Bryson’s book Looking at the Overlooked in which he writes: ‘Still life loves the “so-what?”’ I love the idea that still life inverts what we often consider unimportant.” To learn more about the artist, please visit www.rachelgrobstein.com.
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In 2018, the Roswell Museum and Art Center will participate in a special exhibition entitled Magical and Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, A Retrospective, co-curated with the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. This exhibition explores the multifaceted careers of Hurd and Wyeth through a broad selection of works from both artists, including pieces rarely seen in the Southwest. The Roswell Museum’s collection will also feature prominently in the exhibition. This retrospective will first be presented in Doylestown from January 20-May 6, 2018, and then will be on view in Roswell from June 15-September 16. An illustrated, scholarly catalogue will accompany the exhibition. At the end of October 2017, about fifteen of our works from the Hurd and Wyeth collection will travel on loan to the Michener Museum. While those pieces are in Pennsylvania, the Michener will provide us with a special exhibition on Pennsylvania Impressionism, which will be on view in Founders Gallery from November 10, 2017-May 31, 2018. Featured artists will include Fern Coppedge, Edward W. Redfield, John Folinsbee, and many more. In the summer of 2018, visitors can anticipate the return of their favorite Hurd and Wyeth paintings while having the opportunity to see many new works.
Above: Henriette Wyeth, Copa de Oro (detail), 1950, oil on canvas, 27” x 24”. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Winston, 1953.005.0001 Peter Hurd, The Dry River, 1938, egg tempera on panel, 47” x 41”. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Longwell, 1953.006.0001
STAFF NEWS
MEMBERSHIP We are pleased to acknowledge the following new and renewing members for the period of April 16, 2017 to June 15, 2017. New members are noted in bold. BENEFACTOR Dr. & Mrs. Tres Latimer Mrs. R.J. Myers PATRON Mr. & Mrs. Rolla Hinkle Mr. & Mrs. Greg Krantz Mr. Morgan Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Willis Scharmer Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Serafino Dr. & Mrs. Richard Sidd Mr. & Mrs. Grandin West CORPORATE PARTNER Xcel Energy ADVOCATE Mr. & Mrs. Clayton Barnhill Mr. & Mrs. John Bassett Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bell Mr. & Mrs. Rowdy Green Mr. & Mrs. John Grieves Mr. Troy Hays Mr. & Mrs. Bob Hutchings Mr. & Mrs. Peter Kelly Mr. & Mrs. John Kopcik Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Mayer Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Miller Mrs. Barbara Corn Patterson Mr. & Mrs. Bill Siders Dr. & Mrs. Donald Wenner ENTHUSIAST Mr. Joseph Drago Ms. Debra Franks Ms. Claudette Foster Mr. & Mrs. John Hinkle Mr. & Mrs. Byron Holloway Mrs. Jana Lamontine Mrs. Carolyn Oas Ms. Jane Oldrup Mrs. Beth Pappas Ms. Deb Prince Mr. & Mrs. R.K. Redd Mr. & Mrs. William Roberts Mr. Howard Charles Russell HOUSEHOLD Mrs. Karen Armstrong Ms. Estrella Baltazar
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Ms. Mary Beauchemin Mr. & Mrs. Mike Boling Dr. & Mrs. James Boss Mr. Randle Brinkman Ms. Jacqueline Deen Mr. & Mrs. Brian Doyle Mr. & Mrs. Larry Fresquez Mr. & Mrs. Jim Gill Mr. & Mrs. Taylor Marley Ms. Jennifer McIntier Ms. Twyla Pack Ms. Courtney Palmer Ms. Laura Roebuck Mr. & Mrs. Robert Sabin Mr. Bruce Sands Mr. & Mrs. James Schultz Mr. Phelps White, IV Mr. Randy Young FRIEND Ms. Loyce Bayes Ms. Julie Cannon Mr. Jerry Dutchover Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Glass Ms. Eileen Grooms Mrs. Fae Harper Ms. Janice Manning Ms. Paula Miller Mrs. Margaret Philips Mr. Jim Raby Ms. Pamela Rambin Mr. Rick Richardson Ms. Minda Ryan Mrs. Dorothy Torrez Ms. Juanita Whitaker EDUCATOR Ms. Jamie Barnes Mr. & Mrs. Carpenter SENIOR Mr. & Mrs. Lee Allison Ms. Sandra Baggett Ms. Cindy Boswell Ms. Cherri Hudson-Brown Ms. Ann Carson Ms. Bettie Lou Cheney Ms. Pamela Davis Ms. Roberta De Corsia Mr. Custis Dunn Mrs. Sara Dunn
Roswell Museum and Art Center
Mrs. Eunice Faber Mr. Byron Fannin Mrs. Patricia Goodwin Mrs. Trudy Hale Ms. Celeste Johnson Ms. Evie Lucero Mrs. Bunny Mason Ms. Corrine Meda Mrs. Susan Padilla In Honor of Mrs. Nina Pettit Ms. Cindy Prince Ms. Barbara Quiggle Ms. Susan Roberts Mr. Robert Sherman Mrs. Joyce Tucker Ms. Annette Voliva Mrs. Zelma Wilcox STUDENT Ms. Angela Cervera Mrs. Alisha Chavez Ms. Christina GutierezFinley Mr. Philip Roberts Miss Amelia Tenorio Ms. Emily Vasquez
In preparation for the Museum’s upcoming science and art festival in fall 2018, Curator of Education Amanda Nicholson attended the International Public Science Events Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, this past June. The two-day conference provided opportunities to make connections with other science festival organizers and learn about various festivals, some of which with over 15 years of success. Session topics included sponsorship, branding, impact, evaluation, artist-scientist collaborations, and multigenerational programming. Amanda also attended a large-scale science festival, Beakerhead, in Calgary, Canada, in September. Beakerhead is an annual program that brings together the arts, sciences, and engineering sectors to build, engage, compete, and exhibit interactive works of art, engineered creativity and entertainment. These community-connecting concepts will help to influence and inspire the Museum team as planning for our own festival goes forward.
Image from Beakerhead festival in Calgary, Canada.
At the end of July Planetarium Coordinator Jeremy Howe joined planetarium staff from around the country in Salt Lake City, Utah, for training on Digistar 6 software at the Evans & Sutherland planetarium facility. The training provided an overview of the software in preparation for its installation in the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium, as well as scripting to create our own programs and how to share content with Digistar planetariums. Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Sara Woodbury published a short article in the July/ August issue of Art in Print, an international journal dedicated to printmaking history and practices. Her article explored three etchings in the Roswell Museum collection by SwedishAmerican artist B.J.O. Nordfeldt (1878-1955).
STAFF NEWS FOUNDATION NEWS On October 14, the children of Roswell will get to have the “full dome” experience in the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium. The Roswell Museum and Art Center Foundation is proud to partner with the City of Roswell and the Roswell Independent School District to bring this experience to our community. All donations to the Foundation are important. Your donations to the annual appeal, participation at fundraisers, grants, corporate sponsorships, bequests, and memorials made it possible for the Foundation to pledge $185,000 to this project. Led by Board President Kendra Price and Fundraising Chair Ryan Perry the RMAC Foundation has been able to raise the necessary $195,000 that when combined with the Foundation’s pledge allows the completion of this project. The Foundation would like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and companies for their donations, sponsorships, and grants to the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium Digital Conversion project.
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Don & Sally Anderson Armstrong Energy Corporation Kyle & Yasine Armstrong In Honor of Mary Alice Walker-Lysak Riley Armstrong In Honor of Patricia R. Greenwade In Honor of Riley A. Armstrong Robert G. Armstrong In Honor of Jim Waldrip John Bassett In Memory of Patricia Lubben Bassett Robert H. Bean In Memory of Doralea S. Bean The Brainerd Family In Honor of William F. Brainerd In Memory of Connie Brainerd Joel Carson Sealy H. Cavin DBS Commodities Margaret M. (“Bonnie”) Detwiler In Honor of Drucilla Denney In Memory of Margaret M. Detwiler Joseph P Drago Robert Entrop & Rebecca Johnson Family & Friends In Memory of Marjorie Bentley Fulkerson Services Inc Danny & Nola Fulkerson In the Honor of The Fulkerson Family Goddard High School Golf Teams In Honor of Coach Jim “Sarge” Waldrip
Rowdy & Chelsea Green In Memory of Richard “Rick” Benton Balzano Steve & Carol Henderson Hinkle Law Firm Madison M Hinkle In Honor of Rolla R. Hinkle II Rolla & Rosemary Hinkle, III In Honor of Jim Waldrip John Houston In Memory of Elaine Houston Gene & Sandra Lee In Honor of Corbin Lee Henderson Kay H. Liakos In Memory of William G. Liakos, Sr. The Lysak & Walker Family In Memory of Richard Knadle Anna Maria Matteucci Sandra Matteucci Kay R. McMillan In Memory of Colin R. McMillan The Miller Family Foundation Ron and Cindy Miller Randy and Jacque Miller Elly Mulkey Mark B. Murphy In Memory of Martha R. Murphy Mark B. Murphy In Memory of Bert H. Murphy Neverland Theatre Co. Pecos Flavors Winery + Bistro
Brinkman Randle Emilee Marlayne Ribbach In Honor of Mark Alan Ribbach Ritter & Company, LLC RMAC Trustees & RMAC Foundation In Honor of Laurie J. Rufe Roswell Fine Arts League In Memory of Richard Knadle Laurie J Rufe In Honor of Mike Rufe Rod & Nanette Schumacher Sandra Westall Shank The Toles Family Foundation Dr. & Mrs. Richard J. Sidd Bill & Nancy Siders Strata Production Company Mary D. Stickford In Memory of Robert J. Allen The Torrez Family In Honor of Larry & Dorothy Torrez Waide Irrigation William & Elizabeth Weber Tammi L. Westall Karen Westall Garel “Ray” Westall, Jr. Maria Wiggins In Honor of Kim D. Wiggins
MUSEUM STORE In honor of the Museum’s 80th anniversary, the Museum Store is in the process of developing a series of posters, postcards, totes and other merchandise featuring imagery of items from the Museum’s Permanent Collection and early history. Merchandise for this ongoing project will start appearing in October and will be added to over the next year. Stop in and purchase something you’ll enjoy in recognition of the Museum’s many milestones.
Fall 2017
Gussie DuJardin, Crustose Lichen on Pink Granite X20, 1976 , acrylic on linen, Gift of the Artist, 46” x 46 ½”,1978.014.0001.
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SAVE THE DATE Holiday Open House Saturday, December 2, 5-7 pm | Free
Join us for a wonderful evening filled with music, make-and-take art activities, tours, delicious refreshments, and more at this allages seasonal event. Relax as you take in the exhibitions RAiR at 50 and Pennsylvania Impressionists or attend a short planetarium show. Discounts in the Museum Store will also be available.
Edward W. Redfield (1869-1965), The Upper Delaware (detail), c. 1918, oil on canvas, 38” x 50”. On loan from the James A. Michener Art Museum. Gift of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.