FA L L 2 01 4
u i m a . u i owa .edu
1
6
10
12
23
3
Locations & Hours
22
Dvorák on Dvorák
4
Fall 2014 Calendar of Events
23
Polllock on Tour
5
From the Director
24–25
Museum Party
6–8
Fall 2014 Exhibition
26
Staff Changes
9
Legacies for Iowa
27
From the University of Iowa Foundation
10–11
Education
12–13
Loans & Exhibitions
14–15
Profiles In Philanthropy
16–21
Lectures
Cover: Chinese export porcelain ribbed Nanking teacaddy with original lid, circa 1800 Underglaze blue with gold trim 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. Collection of Shirley M. Mueller, MD
Editor: Elizabeth M. Wallace Copy editor: Gail Zlatnik Design: Meng Yang Copyright © 2014
NEWS/STUDIO ONE 90.9 FM NEWS 910 AM ClaSSICal 91.7 FM 2
UIMA
www.iowApublicrAdio.org
T E M P O R A RY O F F I C E S
STU D IO AR TS B U I LD I N G 1375 Highway 1 West/1840 SA Iowa City, IA 52242-1789 319.335.1727
uima.uiowa.edu
T E M P O R A RY LO C ATI O N S
FI G G E AR T M U S E U M
IOWA M E M O R IAL U N IO N TH I R D FLOO R 125 North Madison St. Iowa City, IA 52242 319.335.1742
Free admission
225 West Second St. Davenport, IA 52801 563.326.7804
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 12–5 p.m.
UIMA@IMU On-campus visual classroom featuring an extensive installation from the Museum’s permanent collection
Free admission to the Figge Art Museum for University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff with UI ID cards, and UIMA members with their membership cards.
BLACK BOX THEATER On-campus space for UIMA special exhibitions
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY STAND BY YOUR MUSEUM!
Gallery space and storage for 12,000 objects from the UIMA’s permanent collection, located one hour east of Iowa City
MEMBE RSHIP MEMB ERSH IP CARD CARD
JOIN ONLINE
uima.uiowa.edu
u i m a . u i owa .edu
3
FALL 2014 CALENDAR
E X HIB I T I O N S SEPTEMBER 13–DECEMBER 7
TEA TIME: GOING DUTCH Black Box Theater, third floor, Iowa Memorial Union
Through APRIL 1, 2015
JACKSON POLLOCK: "MURAL" Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA
ONGOING
UIMA@IMU, third floor, Iowa Memorial Union
ONGOING
VIDEO CLASSROOMS, Studio Arts, Iowa Memorial Union
PUBLIC PROGRAMS SEPTEMBER 5
5:00–7:00 p.m.
SEPTEMBER 22 7:30–8:30 p.m.
FIRST FRIDAY Iowa Artisans Gallery, 207 E. Washington St., Iowa City JEANNE AND RICHARD LEVITT LECTURESHIP: AMERICAN CRAFTS IN CONTEXT The Violin Makers of Prague by Jan Spidlen, 240 Art Building West
OCTOBER 1
7:30–8:30 p.m.
EXHIBITION LECTURE Dutch Tea Time and Beyond by Shirley M. Mueller, 240 Art Building West
OCTOBER 2
7:30–8:30 p.m.
LECTURE Indian Printmaking: Rediscovery, Revolution, and Renewal by Waswo X. Waswo, 240 Art Building West
Co-sponsored with the School of Art and Art History Printmaking Area and the Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literature
OCTOBER 3
5:00–6:30 p.m.
FIRST FRIDAY, FilmScene, 118 E. College St., Iowa City
OCTOBER 9
7:30–8:30 p.m.
EXHIBITION LECTURE Still Life and Life in the Dutch Golden Age by Julie Hochstrasser, Black Box Theater, IMU
OCTOBER 21
7:00–8:00 p.m.
SMART TALK Jackson Pollock’s "Mural" from the University of Iowa: A visual exploration of its recent study and treatment by Yvonne Szafran, Senior Conservator and Head, Paintings Conservation, J. Paul Getty Museum IC Public Library, Meeting Room A
OCTOBER 30 7:30–8:30 p.m.
EXHIBITION LECTURE Luis Meléndez and the Still Life Tradition by Ronni Baer, 240 Art Building West
NOVEMBER 6 7:30–8:30 p.m.
THE BETTE SPRIESTERSBACH DISTINGUISHED LECTURE: Around and Beyond Jackson Pollock's "Mural" by David Anfam, 240 Art Building West
NOVEMBER 7
FIRST FRIDAY, FilmScene, 118 E. College St., Iowa City
5:00–6:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER 30 2:00 p.m.
MUSIC@THE MUSEUM: DVORÁK ON DVORÁK National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids
DECEMBER 5
5:00–7:00 p.m.
FIRST FRIDAY, FilmScene, 118 E. College St., Iowa City
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE RECEPTION
PAT R O N E V E N T S OCTOBER 29
4
UIMA
FROM THE DIRECTOR
from the Director Dr. O’Harrow with Yayoi Kusama’s Red No. 28 (1960) (detail) Oil on canvas, 52 x 41.75 in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gaston de Havenon 1969.517
Dear Museum Supporter, As many of you have noticed over the past four years, since my tenure began at this venerable institution, my staff and I have worked hard to expand the museum’s mission, aligning it with the growing mission of the university. Reaching out into the greater community of Iowa City–Cedar Rapids and the State of Iowa has been a key aspect of this new strategy, and so far we have achieved some wonderful results. For instance, this summer the Sioux City Art Center opened an exhibition on Pollock’s Mural as part of their 100th anniversary celebration. This is one example of our statewide collection-sharing initiative sponsored by the Matthew Bucksbaum family. The Pollock opening featured a number of events and activities, including an excellent speech by Dr. Sally Mason, president of the University of Iowa. Many people from across the state attended these gatherings. This partnership with Sioux City followed immediately on the finale to our Pollock Mural partnership with the J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Conservation Institute, and Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Over the past two years, this project yielded impressive outcomes: the UIMA has a totally conserved masterpiece, significant academic work has been completed on Pollock and Mural (e.g., two books, several conferences, and one symposium), the university and the UIMA have received great publicity nationally and internationally, and, last but not least, 304,349 people attended the Mural exhibition in Los Angeles this spring, which was a record for the Getty. At a weekly average of 25,362 visitors per week, I would imagine this is also a record for people viewing artwork from the UIMA! This fall, we have an unusual partnership with the awardwinning National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and Orchestra Iowa, both in our sister community of Cedar Rapids. As part of our expansion of the “decorative arts,” the UIMA has acquired three magnificent Czech instruments: a beautiful violin made in 1832 by Emanuel
Photo by Heather Aaronson
Adam Homolka, a concert violin made in 1883 by Jan Baptista Dvořák, and, finally, a gem of a viola made c. 1790 by Caspar Strnad. This final instrument was originally part of the famous collection of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg, and was used in the court chamber group when it was considered the most famous orchestra in Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A concert in Cedar Rapids in November will celebrate these masterpieces, and will feature the art of a Czech legend with Iowa connections, the composer Antonín Dvořák. This event will also showcase the talents of the music director and the new concertmaster of Orchestra Iowa. Additional related educational events are planned in conjunction with the UI School of Music over the upcoming academic year, so keep an ear out! Finally, our work with the Maquoketa Art Experience in downtown Maquoketa has continued to flourish, with additional arts and educational programming following our popular show that featured prints by Elizabeth Catlett, the first student to receive a fine arts MFA from Iowa, in 1940. Numerous primary and secondary school students have participated in UIMA programs, and attended lectures by UI academics from various other faculties, making it a very successful partnership indeed, both from the point of view of the museum as well as the university. These cooperative ventures, initiatives, and events across our region and throughout the State of Iowa demonstrate the commitment and creative approaches the museum has taken to expand arts education for our students, academic staff, visitors, and citizens. We hope you enjoy the diversity of offerings, and we look forward to seeing you at another museum event soon.
Sean O’Harrow, Ph.D. Director
u i m a . u i owa .edu
5
FALL EXHIBITIONN
T E A T I M E : G O I N G D U TC H September 13–December 7
Black Box Theater
Chinese export porcelain ribbed Nanking teacaddy with original lid, circa 1800 (detail), Underglaze blue with gold trim 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 in., Collection of Shirley M. Mueller, MD
You’ve probably heard of the Slow Food movement— but have you heard of the Slow Art movement? This fall, the University of Iowa Museum of Art will bring both groups together by engaging in Slow Art about food.
7, 2014), an exhibition focused on close study of Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten’s Blue and White Teacups and a Bowl with a Yixing Stoneware Teapot, a Teaspoon, and Lumps of Sugar on a Ledge, generously lent by Shirley M. Mueller, MD, of Indianapolis.
In conjunction with the 2014–2015 university-wide theme, Food for Thought, the UIMA will present Tea Time: Going Dutch (September 13–December
Tea Time: Going Dutch is a collaboration between the UIMA and Professor Julie Hochstrasser of the School of Art and Art History. Hochstrasser
6
UIMA
FALL EXHIBITION
will teach Life and Still Life in the Dutch Golden Age: Crafting an Exhibition, an upper-level undergraduate course designed to give students an opportunity both to work firsthand with an original work of art and to learn about creating museum exhibitions. Hochstrasser’s class will meet in the Black Box Theater space, where they will undertake an in-depth examination of Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten’s painting and investigate its place within the larger economic, social, and artistic context of the Dutch Golden Age. Over the course of the semester, the students will develop and mount an auxiliary exhibition about the painting by inventing creative ways to present their research findings to the public. In addition to Roestraten’s painting, Shirley Mueller has lent a Yixing teapot from the Tek Sing shipwreck (1822), a Chinese export porcelain Nanking creamer (c. 1800), a Chinese export porcelain ribbed Nanking tea caddy with original lid (c. 1800), and a Yixing teapot reproduction from Yixing, China (c. 2000), so that Hochstrasser’s students and museum visitors can explore the
important links between trade and arts among the Dutch and the rest of the world. Audience members are encouraged to visit the exhibition repeatedly between September 13 and December 7, 2014, to follow the progress of the student project and to contemplate Roestraten’s multilayered work. The dynamic nature of this exhibition program means that visitors who make multiple visits over its three-month-long run will see new displays each time.
SLOW ART OR SLOW LOOKING
Conceived as a kind of antidote to the fast-paced, technology-driven character of most contemporary North American lives, the Slow Art movement encourages viewers to slow down and look, really look, at individual works of art for extended periods of time. The idea behind the movement is that this kind of focused viewing can expand the experience of a particular piece and bring new insights into its formal qualities as well as its content.
Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten Blue and White Teacups and a Bowl with a Yixing Stoneware Teapot, a Teaspoon, and Lumps of Sugar on a Ledge, 1680 Oil on canvas 11 1/4 x 15 1/8 in. Collection of Shirley M. Mueller, MD
u i m a . u i owa .edu
7
FALL EXHIBITION
In the context of a university environment, Jennifer L. Roberts, the Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, explains, the practice goes even further, to “serve as a master lesson in the value of critical attention, patient investigation, and skepticism about immediate surface appearances.” These skills, she argues, are crucial to both academic and civic success. Hochstrasser’s class will put the Slow Art theory to the test as they devote the fall semester to exploring Blue and White Teacups and a Bowl and the pathways that open up from its rich content. We invite you to join us in the Black Box Theater to practice your own reflection on Roestraten’s work and, perhaps, exchange insights with the students you encounter!
Sponsored in part by Members Special Exhibition Fund
Food for Thought In the spring of 2015 the University of Iowa will embark on its first theme semester, an initiative intended to bring together academic and community participants to explore a common topic from multiple vantage points. Courses, exhibitions, festivals, performances, and projects will take on the Food for Thought theme from their unique perspectives and contribute to a wide discussion that highlights and connects individuals and programs in new ways. The UIMA’s Tea Time: Going Dutch exhibition, along with several other fall 2014 programs around the university, is presented as an “appetizer” to the activities planned for spring.
8
UIMA
LEGACIES FOR IOWA
Legacies for Iowa The Legacies for Iowa project is a large-scale arts-sharing initiative that brings the extraordinary collections of the University of Iowa Museum of Art to communities across the state. Each object in our collections is a repository of our past and our present. As a cultural and educational institution, the UIMA has a responsibility not only to preserve these collective histories, but to create a legacy for the future of art in everyday life. With the generous support of the Matthew Bucksbaum family, the UIMA is empowered to do just that. Through this project, the UIMA facilitates collaboration and conversation between the people of Iowa and UI faculty and students. The time and resources needed to develop an art exhibition from concept to finished experience present a challenge for many nonprofits. The Legacies project waives the loan fees associated with borrowing artworks and provides educational materials, installation support, feedback in developing publicity and marketing materials, and assistance in facilitating exhibition programming. Since 2009, Legacies has worked with the Figge Art Museum, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cornell College, the University of Northern Iowa, and the Maquoketa Art Experience, among others. The most recent Legacies exhibition, I Am: Prints by Elizabeth Catlett, held at the Maquoketa Art Experience, inspired a flourishing partnership between the MAE staff and volunteers and the university, as programming and lectures developed. During the UI School of Art and Art History’s Arts Fest event this past May, UI Arts Share helped support a workshop between visitors at the MAE and the UI Printmaking Department. Community members immersed themselves in the image-making process, and used Catlett’s work as a direct inspiration and guide as they experimented. A live Skype-feed connected the MAE workshop to the UI printmaking studio, allowing for real-time exchanges and providing an opportunity for both UI and the local Maquoketa community to engage one another through art. This year marks a pivotal point in the Legacies project. With the addition of two new staff members, Kevin Chamberlain and Sarika Sugla, UIMA will be able to reach still more Iowans. Sarika, assistant curator for Legacies, will manage and expand the overall project and coordinate exhibitions, loan agreements, and meetings with venues. Her responsibilities merge the work of both curator and registrar with outreach, and will
Sarika Sugla and Kevin Chamberlain
provide the focus and development that the program needs. Sarika received an MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa. While at UI, she received the Iowa Arts Fellowship. She also worked as an archivist for the Iowa Print Group Archives and as a curatorial research assistant to Chief Curator Kathleen Edwards at the UIMA. Kevin, the preparator for the Legacies project, will coordinate the preparation, photography, movement, and installation of art and exhibitions. Kevin recently graduated from the University of Iowa as a Bodine Fellow and Obermann Graduate Fellow, finishing with an MFA in ceramics and a museum studies certificate. During his time at UI, Kevin interned with the UI Museum of Natural History and worked as an assistant preparator at the UIMA. Kevin’s artwork and practice is centered around research, community involvement, and interdisciplinary approaches in education. By providing knowledge, experience, resources, and a newly dedicated team, the UIMA looks forward to offering new art experiences to communities throughout Iowa. Thanks to the support of the Matthew Bucksbaum family, Legacies for Iowa: A Collections Sharing Project can bring UIMA collections to an art center or museum near you.
u i m a . u i owa .edu
9
EDUCATION
MOVEABLE MUSEUM In June of 2008, the University of Iowa Museum of Art was one of many structures on the university’s campus that were affected by severe flooding. The UIMA was faced with the challenge of continuing to educate people about art without a traditional museum environment. Based on committed and consistent outreach efforts, the UIMA School Programs have grown to become a focal point for the museum’s Education Department as it continues to serve K–12 students of Iowa across the interdisciplinary curriculum. Through this program, UIMA Education Partners (including private foundations, corporate sponsors, and individuals) have funded the purchase of artworks that travel to schools, libraries, and other educational settings. Works from five continents, demonstrating a wide range of media, are incorporated into the classroom experience.
10
UIMA
For the first time art objects from the School Programs Collections were on view in a comprehensive summer exhibition at the Figge Art Museum. The exhibition was an experiment intended to inform our ideas about using the UIMA School Programs, within the future UIMA as well as in the community.
EDUCATION COLLECTIONS
UIMA has recently added this exciting object to the American Indian School Programs Collections. An American Indian member of the Alutiiq people, Jerry Laktonen of Kodiak, Alaska, is both a traditional carver and an artist who creates contemporary pieces based on traditional concepts. In this work, Laktonen combines traditional mask forms with his love of basketball. A die-hard University of Washington Huskies fan, Laktonen plays the sport, as do his four daughters. This is not just a personal dedication to the sport: In American Indian communities of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, the population can be quite small and the weather inhospitable to outdoor sports. Basketball does not require as many players as other “American� sports, and it can be played indoors, which accounts for much of its popularity and adoption by these communities.
Jerry Laktonen (American; Alutiiq, b. 1951) Dunqiiq Mask Red cedar, feathers, pigment, reeds, sinew 20 x 10 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. UIMA School Programs Collections, AIS.44
u i m a . u i owa .edu
11
LOANS & EXHIBITIONS
UI School of Art and Art History Levitt Gallery, Art Building West University of Iowa
Montreal Museum of Fine Art 2 Hood Museum of Art 2 Dartmouth College
African Gallery, Krannert Art Museum University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
1 Brooklyn Museum Fowler Museum at University of California 2 Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1 Broad Contemporary Art Museum 2 at LACMA San Diego Museum of Art
Smithsonian American Art Museum 1
Meadows Museum Southern Methodist University, Dallas 2
1 3
National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution
Michael C. Carlos Museum Emory University, Atlanta
The primary missions of museums are to collect objects, preserve them, and present them to the public. These objects are usually stored and displayed in museums and facilities that meet specific public, physical, educational, research and scholarly criteria established by the museum profession. Since its inception in 1969, UIMA has generously lent hundreds of artworks from its permanent collections to museums around the world. Over the past six years, not including the Legacies for Iowa project, UIMA has lent the ten objects listed here, as well as one in-house exhibition, to ten museums, including the Grey Art Gallery, New York University; Santa Monica Museum of American Art; Mint Museum, Charlotte; Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Whitney Museum of American Art, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.
Tabwa peoples
Blanton Museum of Art University of Texas, Austin
Current UIMA loans include the following: Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida
Sam Gilliam
León, 1903, oil on panel
Red April, 1970, acrylic on canvas
Gift of Owen and Leone Elliott, 1970.64
Gift of the Longview Foundation and Museum purchase, 1971.11
Sorolla and America Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas November 1, 2013–May 15, 2014 San Diego Museum of Art: May 30–August 26, 2014 Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid September 23, 2014–January 25, 2015 (Catalogue: Ediciones El Viso)
Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties Brooklyn Museum: March 7–July 6, 2014 Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College August 30–December 21, 2014 Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin February 8–May 3, 2015 (Catalogue: Monacelli Press)
Henri Matisse Blue Interior with Two Girls, 1947, oil on canvas Gift of Owen and Leone Elliott, 1968.38 Matisse, La figura. La forza della linea, l’emozione del colore Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy February 22–June 15, 2014 (Catalogue: Fondazione Ferrara Arte)
12
UIMA
Yasuo Kuniyoshi Eggplant, 1921, ink on paper Museum purchase, 1981.9 The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi Smithsonian American Art Museum March 3–August 30, 2015 (Catalogue: Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida
Palazzo dei Diamanti Ferrara, Italy
3 Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid
Beaded mask Tabwa peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo Mid-20th century, glass beads, fur, monkey hair, cloth, feathers The Stanley Collection, x1990.656 African Cosmos: Stellar Arts National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution June 20–December 9, 2012 Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta January 5–June 28, 2015 (Catalogue: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution)
Marsden Hartley E, 1915, oil on canvas Mark Ranney Memorial Fund, 1958.1 Marsden Hartley: The German Paintings Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA August 3–November 30, 2014 (Catalogue: Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
Nkisi (power figure) Kongo peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood, feathers, glass, metal, animal teeth, shell, cloth The Stanley Collection, X1986.508 African Gallery, Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign September 2012–September 2016
Horn container with figurative stopper Shamballa peoples, United Republic of Tanzania Wood, gourd, fiber
Franz Marc
The Stanley Collection, X1990.716a,b
Franz Marc
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution April 22, 2013–January 5, 2014 Fowler Museum at University of California, Los Angeles April 20–September 14, 2014 (Catalogue: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution)
Akte auf Zinnober (Nudes on Vermilion) 1910, oil on canvas Gift of Owen and Leone Elliott, 1968.64 German Expressionism and France: From Van Gogh and Gauguin to the Blaue Reiter Los Angeles County Museum of Art June 8–September 14, 2014 Montreal Museum of Fine Art October 6, 2014–January 25, 2015
Five prints by Mauricio Lasansky, one by Lee Chesney, and one by Barbara Fumagalli Mauricio Lasansky and the First Generation UI School of Art and Art History Levitt Gallery, Art Building West August 25–September 11, 2014
u i m a . u i owa .edu 13
PROFILES IN PHILANTHROPY
Supporting a Neighborhood Museum Museums are community treasures. They reach the broadest possible public audiences, allowing visitors to engage with works of art that can challenge and provoke, enlighten and inspire, educate and amuse. The University of Iowa Museum of Art is our “neighborhood museum,” and we are delighted to share the stories of three Iowa City families who are helping to maintain this prized cultural resource for our community. Through their philanthropy, these generous contributors have enabled the UI Museum of Art to lay a secure footing for future institutional growth. We encourage you to join them in choosing your own way to deepen the distinction of our very own neighborhood museum.
John S. & Patricia C. Koza A gift to support the presentation of UIMA exhibitions Trish and John Koza have lived in Iowa City their entire lives and are deeply invested in their community. In fact, they celebrated their family’s fifth Iowa City generation with the recent birth of their granddaughter. The Kozas value the museum as an important community cultural resource, and they cherish the abundance of art experiences that have enriched their lives for decades. To assure that future generations can enjoy the same museum offerings, John and Trish have established the Koza Family Fund to support exhibitions at the UI Museum of Art. Through their philanthropy, they have made a powerful statement about the importance of art for our community and for our future. Their lasting contribution touches the very core of the institution by providing reliable income
14
UIMA
Photo by Rochelle Green, Green Door Photography
to enable the museum to fulfill its primary mission: providing the experience of art for the public. We are grateful for their support, which will maintain the museum’s vibrancy now and for generations to come.
PROFILES IN PHILANTHROPY
Joyce P. & W. Richard Summerwill A gift to the Fund for Rebuilding the UI Museum of Art Wherever Dick and Joyce Summerwill travel, they seek out museums, but their first love has always been the UI Museum of Art. That love inspired the couple—who eagerly anticipate the day when they can once again visit their favorite treasures from the UIMA collection—to make a generous leadership gift to help rebuild the museum. Joyce and Dick foresee a dynamic future for the museum, with a new building that will bring people together and connect them with a world of art and inspiration. The Summerwills’ commitment to the UI Museum of Art runs deep, starting with Dick’s father, Bill, who helped launch the 1962 fundraising campaign that built the original museum. Joyce worked closely with the first director, Ulfert Wilke, and in 1969, she and Wilke established the docent program,
which provides an informative introduction to the museum for visitors and schoolchildren. We admire the Summerwills’ enduring involvement with the UI Museum of Art, and we are thankful for their continued partnership as we build the future together.
Gerald & Sandra Eskin Memorial gifts to create the Gerald Eskin Ceramics Art Initiative, an endowed fund that will support exhibitions and programming offered by the UI Museum of Art related to the field of ceramics Gerald Eskin (1934–2011) was an avid collector of both contemporary and prehistoric ceramic pottery from around the world. Prior to pursuing his artistic career full-time, Eskin taught marketing and marketing research at Stanford University and the University of Iowa. He was also co-founder and director of Information Resources, Inc., one of the world’s leading providers of marketing information and software. To honor his life and artistic work, the Gerald Eskin family has developed a unique program of philanthropy for the UI Museum of Art. Memorial gifts have been directed to the UI Foundation to establish an endowed fund, the Gerald Eskin Ceramics Art Initiative. The initiative
Photo by David Hiser
is based on Gerry’s ideals: the understanding and appreciation of ceramics, and the encouragement and support of a broad view of the study of ceramics, from ancient Chinese and pre-Columbian to modern American works. UIMA audiences will benefit from this philanthropy by enjoying exhibitions, lectures, teaching, and research inspired by Gerry’s boundless enthusiasm and artistic passion.
u i m a . u i owa .edu 15
LECTURES
JEANNE AND RICHARD LEVITT LECTURESHIP: AMERICAN CRAFTS IN CONTEXT
9/22
7:30–8:30 p.m. 240 Art Building West
JAN SPIDLEN
Emanuel Adam Homolka (Czech, 1796–1849) Violin, 1832 (detail) Maple, spruce, and various other materials Collection of the University of Iowa Museum of Art
The Violin Makers of Prague Addressing a broader idea of craft, Jan Spidlen will speak about the long tradition of violin-making in Prague, Czech Republic. Spidlen himself is a master creator of exceptional string instruments and the recipient of numerous prizes at international violin-making competitions, for which he also serves as a juror. Born into a family of famous violin makers, Spidlen continues the musical heritage of the Czech people, as well as that of his family workshop.
Jan Spidlen is a world-renowned Prague-based violin maker. His family has created violins for generations, and in his father’s workshop, Spidlen was exposed to the craft at a very young age. Spidlen has studied wood-carving at various prestigious institutions, including the Art and Industrial School in Prague; the Mittenwald violin-making school in Germany; and the esteemed London-based firm J & A Beare, where he worked as a restorer. For more than a decade Spidlen has been a member of the Violin Makers’ Artists’ Circle and was inducted into the Entente Internationale des Maîtres Luthiers et Archetiers d’Art (International Society of Violin and Bow Makers) in 2003. At the jubilee tenth Triennale, an international violin-making competition in Cremona, Italy, Spidlen reached an astonishing and rare level of achievement, earning the first and second prizes for his two violin entries, as well as two other prizes for the best tone and workmanship of the whole competition. Spidlen currently lives with his family in Prague, where he manufactures new violins and continues the legacy of his family’s workshop.
16
UIMA
LECTURES
EXHIBITION LECTURE
10/1
7:30–8:30 p.m. 240 Art Building West
SHIRLEY M. MUELLER
Dutch Tea Time and Beyond In the seventeenth century, Chinese export porcelain teapots sent to Europe were new, exciting, and novel in shape and design. These special vessels were used only by the very few who could afford tea. In the eighteenth century, all this was to change as tea became more available. Chinese export teapots were mass-produced, and distinctiveness was often an afterthought. Dr. Mueller tells the story of how unique seventeenth-century teapots lost exclusivity in the eighteenth century, while at the same time gaining wide recognition and rock-star status.
Shirley M. Mueller, MD, is an author, lecturer, and collector of Chinese export porcelain. Her recent publications include four papers investigating the chronological development of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Chinese export teapots, plus a book chapter and five articles exploring the question of why collector’s collect. She has spoken on these subjects and others in London, Paris, South Africa, Singapore, and Nanchang, China, as well as across the United States. An Iowa native and University of Iowa alumna, Dr. Mueller served as both a tenured professor and chief of neurology at Wishard Memorial Hospital, Indiana University. Following ten years as a practicing neurologist, she left the medical profession in 1995 and embarked on a career in investment. She is currently president and CEO of MyMoneyMD, a company that provides clarification and guidance to investors. At the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2000, Dr. Mueller curated an exhibition relating to errors made in orders for Chinese export porcelain. Currently, she has an exhibition titled The Luxury of Tea and Coffee, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Parts of her collection have been on display in New York City. Dr. Mueller serves on local and national arts committees.
u i m a . u i owa .edu 17
LECTURES
EXHIBITION LECTURE
10/9
7:30–8:30 p.m. Black Box Theater, IMU
JULIE HOCHSTRASSER
Still Life and Life in the Dutch Golden Age The loan of Pieter van Roestraten's Blue and White Teacups and a Bowl with a Yixing Stoneware Teapot, a Teaspoon, and Lumps of Sugar on a Ledge from the private collector (and Iowa alumna) Shirley M. Mueller, MD, has provided an opportunity for students to design an exhibition exploring the painting's cultural context—the Dutch Golden Age, a time of prodigious global trade. Tea was one of the first commodities brought to Europe by the Dutch East India Company, and Roestraten's picture registers the spread of the new practice and the material culture of tea time within the genre of still life. Professor Julie Hochstrasser will discuss with visitors to the gallery the stories behind the rise of Dutch still life and the commodities it pictures, and field questions about the student exhibition-in-progress.
Julie Berger Hochstrasser is an associate professor at the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, specializing in the history and techniques of Dutch and Flemish painting. Hochstrasser received her BA from Swarthmore College; an MA from the University of California, Berkeley, concentrating on Renaissance art; and a PhD, also from UC Berkeley focusing on seventeenth century Dutch painting. Notably, Hochstrasser has received fellowships from the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery, Washington, DC; the American Council of Learned Societies, as a Burkhardt Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University; and a Fulbright Doctoral Research Fellowship to the Netherlands. Hochstrasser’s research has been published in numerous anthologies and exhibitions catalogues, and in leading international art-historical journals and magazines. She is the author of Still Life and Trade in the Dutch Golden Age (Yale University Press, 2007) and is on the board of the American Association of Netherlandic Studies. Hochstrasser is currently working on a research project, “The Dutch in the World,” investigating art and visual culture in sites of early Dutch trade in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
18
UIMA
LECTURES
SMART TALKS
10/21
7:00–8:00 p.m. IC Public Library, Meeting Room A
YVONNE SZAFRAN Jackson Pollock’s "Mural" from the University of Iowa A visual exploration of its recent study and treatment Mural, the University of Iowa’s landmark painting by Jackson Pollock, recently traveled to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for two years of intensive analysis and treatment by the scientists at the Getty Conservation Institute and the conservators at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Yvonne Szafran, head of the museum’s paintings conservation department, will present a visual exploration of the Getty’s fascinating study and work with Mural, as well as a review of the painting’s creation and early history.
Yvonne Szafran is Senior Conservator and Head of Paintings Conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where she has worked since 1978. Originally from Cambridge, England, she studied art history, studio art, and chemistry at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a guest conservator at both the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (1985–86) and the Yale University Art Gallery (1999). Last fall she served on the international scientific committee for the conference “Painting Techniques: History, Materials and Studio Practice” at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and she is an invited speaker for an upcoming international conference on Rembrandt at the National Gallery of London. She has worked with many of the paintings in the Getty’s collection, and, in other major museums around the world, with works by Rembrandt, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Cezanne, Renoir, and Picasso.
u i m a . u i owa .edu 19
LECTURES
EXHIBITION LECTURE
10/30
7:30–8:30 p.m. 240 Art Building West
RONNI BAER
Luis Meléndez and the Still Life Tradition Luis Meléndez (1716–1780) was the greatest still life painter of eighteenth-century Spain. The artist rendered everyday objects with exacting detail, but also created marvelous effects of light and color and a wide range and variety of textures. This lecture will examine Meléndez's extraordinary working methods and put his creations into the broader context of Spanish and Dutch still life painting, from its roots in antiquity through the eighteenth century.
Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Ronni Baer received her PhD in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, and has taught at NYU, Emory, and the University of Georgia. She has worked in curatorial departments at the Frick Collection, the National Gallery of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the High Museum of Art, and the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. She is currently the senior curator of paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Baer has received numerous awards and honors for her scholarly research and exhibitions and is a renowned authority on the Dutch painter Gerrit Dou. Notably, she was awarded the Encomienda de la Orden de Isabel la Católica by King Juan Carlos of Spain, and she was invited to be a Getty Research Institute Guest Museum Scholar in 2013. Currently, she is working on a major loan exhibition devoted to examining how the social classes are depicted in seventeenth-century Dutch portraits, genre scenes, and landscapes. Provisionally titled "Rank and Status in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer," it is scheduled to open at the MFA in the fall of 2015.
20
UIMA
LECTURES
THE BETTE SPRIESTERSBACH DISTINGUISHED LECTURE
11/6
7:30–8:30 p.m. 240 Art Building West
DAVID ANFAM Around and Beyond
Jackson Pollock's MURAL Commissioned in 1943 by Peggy Guggenheim—transatlantic collector and patron of the arts extraordinaire—Jackson Pollock's Mural played a key role in catalyzing the movement known as Abstract Expressionism. Since then, this astonishing painting has influenced generations of later artists and sculptors, including Lee Krasner, David Smith, and Richard Serra. As such, Mural remains arguably the seminal American painting of the second half of the twentieth century, bringing to the fore such considerations as large scale, the expressive gesture, and the issue of pictorial imagery versus abstraction. In this lecture David Anfam—the pre-eminent expert on Abstract Expressionism—explores the genesis of Mural, its cultural context, and its ongoing legacy in art over the past half-century and more.
David Anfam is the senior consulting curator at the Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, and the director of the museum’s newly formed Research Center. He received his BA and PhD degrees from the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London. Throughout his career Anfam has written extensively and guest-lectured at more than fifty of the top museum and cultural institutions in the world; over the past twenty-five years his publications have included his survey Abstract Expressionism (1990), now translated into three languages; the prize-winning catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Mark Rothko, first published in 1998 and now in its fifth printing; a monograph on Anish Kapoor (2009); and some fifty catalogue essays on artists ranging from Wayne Thiebaud and Howard Hodgkin to Edward Hopper, Franz Kline, and Jackson Pollock. Anfam is presently curating a focus show around Jackson Pollock’s Mural, due to open at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, in April 2015.
u i m a . u i owa .edu 21
DVORÁK ON DVORÁK On Thanksgiving weekend, the popular Legacies for Iowa Collections Sharing Project, supported by the Matthew Bucksbaum family, will be embarking on a new type of exhibition program: making music with our partners! The program and related exhibition is titled Dvořák on Dvořák, and will be a joint event with the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and with Orchestra Iowa, both based in Cedar Rapids. This Bohemian extravaganza will feature a special musical performance of the chamber work of Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), the renowned Czech composer who spent time in Spillville, Iowa, where he visited cousins. The group of four Orchestra Iowa musicians will include the newly minted concertmaster (yet to be announced), as well as Dr. Timothy Hankewich, their energetic music director, on the piano. They are scheduled to perform Dvořák’s Romanza op. 11, Trio op. 74, Four Romantic Pieces op. 75a, and his famous Humoresque op. 101. The string musicians will be performing on three historically important Czech instruments from the UIMA collection: an 1883 violin by Jan Baptista Dvořák (1825–1890), an 1832 violin by Emanuel Adam Homolka (1796–1849), and a c. 1790 viola by Caspar Strnad (1752–1823). The star of the concert will undoubtedly be the ruby red violin by Jan Baptista Dvořák, which was designed in the late nineteenth century specifically to play the music of Antonín Dvořák. The violin’s shape, arching, and other details show the influence of Italian models popular in the late nineteenth century, in particular the art of Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu (1698–1744). Jan Baptista Dvořák’s design allows for a greater sound to be projected to a larger audience, and his red violin is a perfect example of this.
Jan Baptista Dvořák (Czech, 1825–1890) Violin, 1883 Prague, Czech Republic: spruce, maple, other woods
For more information, visit www.ncsml.org
UIMA EXTENDS A SINCERE THANK YOU TO OUR FIRST FRIDAY SPONSORS:
H. Dee & Myrene Hoover and John Menninger
FilmScene is a nonprofit, member-supported cinema arts organization in downtown Iowa City. www.icfilmscene.org
POLLOCK ON TOUR
Jackson Pollock’s Mural has begun its tour.
(L to R) Tom Learner, Head of Science, Getty Conservation Institute; Mary Westbrook; Carrie Z. Norton
(L to R) Timothy Potts, Director, J. Paul Getty Museum; Sally Mason, President, University of Iowa; Tim Whalen, Director, Getty Conservation Institute
Following its glamorous opening in Los Angeles, the newly dazzling Mural took center stage at the 100th-anniversary party for the Sioux City Art Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Jackson Pollock: “Mural” is on view at the Sioux City Art Center from July 12, 2014, to April 1, 2015, before Mural travels overseas. We look forward to bringing you details about the painting’s journey in the next UIMA Magazine.
(L to R) Dan Moore; Sean O'Harrow, Director, UIMA; Sally Mason, President, University of Iowa; Stacy Anderson; Al Harris-Fernandez, Director, Sioux City Art Center
(L to R) Susann Hamdorf; James Hayes; Lynette Marshall, President & CEO, University of Iowa Foundation
u i m a . u i owa .edu 23
Images courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust
On March 10, 2014, representatives from the University of Iowa and the UI Museum of Art attended the opening reception for Mural at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The Iowa delegation received a private tour of the exhibition before the event, and then joined other guests of the Getty to celebrate the debut of Mural following its magnificent two-year conservation process. The seminal painting was exhibited at the Getty Center from March 11 to June 1, 2014, where it was viewed by more than 300,000 visitors, breaking records both for average weekly attendance and percentage of Getty Center visitors who viewed the exhibition.
MUSEUM PARTY From Splatter to Sparkle—Join the Journey, April 12, 2014
T
his year’s Museum Party, in the Oakdale Ballroom of the Coralville Marriott, celebrated Jackson Pollock’s Mural. Guests attending From Splatter to Sparkle—Join the Journey were immersed in the colors and stories surrounding the UIMA’s signature masterpiece. A live theatrical production, written and directed by Meg Eginton and acted by sixteen talented members of the local community, traced the journey of Mural from inception to its home at the University of Iowa. The finale of the production presented twelve Mural-inspired wearable works of art created by artists from Iowa and beyond. Guests voted for their top-three favorite works, prizes were awarded, and all twelve works were displayed for two weeks following the Museum Party in downtown Iowa City store windows. Thanks to the dedicated Members Council and Committee Co-Chairs Tim Conroy and Laurie Zaiger, the evening was an unprecedented extravaganza!
24 UIMA UIMA 24
MUSEUM PARTY
We’d like to thank all of our generous Museum Party supporters HONORARY CHAIRS: John & Patricia Koza MUSEUM PARTY SIGNATURE SPONSORS
Willis Law Firm/Security Abstract University of Iowa Community Credit Union MUSEUM PARTY SPONSOR: Integrated DNA Technologies MUSEUM PARTY HOSTS
Party photos by Impact Photo
Anna & James Barker · Jackie Blank · Kristin Hardy & Gerry Ambrose Hudson River Gallery-Nick Hotek · Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service Tom & Polly Lepic · Marriott Hotel & Conference Center · Jane McCune Phelan, Tucker, Mullen, Walker, Tucker & Gelman LLP Shive-Hattery, Architecture-Engineering · Alan & Liz Swanson Unique Events · Mary Westbrook
u i m a . u i owa .edu 25
STAFF CHANGES
The UIMA staff would like to thank Diane Scott and Pat Hanick for their long and dedicated tenures with the museum. Diane served the museum as its accountant for four years, and was employed by the university for eighteen years altogether. Pat was employed by the UI Foundation and served as the museum’s director of development for ten years. Both Diane and Pat have been instrumental in advancing the financial stability and security of the museum. They are valued colleagues and friends as well. We wish both of them the best in their retirement—and in their new roles as lifetime UIMA supporters.
DIANE SCOTT
What were you doing before you came to the UIMA? After graduating with a BA in accounting from Wartburg College, I began as an accountant for the UI Office of the Provost. I was hired to provide support to University College, which houses a variety of orientation and academic support programs. Following the retirement of the UIMA accountant, Diane Scott, I added the UIMA to my job responsibilities. I support both University College and the UIMA, and I am able to be involved with many different activities on campus.
What does an accountant do for the UIMA?
ALEX BRANNAMAN
The accountant maintains accounting and budgetary functions for the UIMA. This includes monitoring and reviewing accounts, making sure purchases and transactions follow UI guidelines, and coordinating the fiscal year-end closing process. I also provide assistance to staff regarding university regulations, policies, and procedures. Communication is an important part of this job, as I coordinate with both internal and external individuals and organizations. I prepare and update reports to help the staff analyze data, and I am also involved with nonfinancial areas, such as human resources.
What are your goals for the UIMA? I am looking forward to being involved in the future of the UIMA. From the international Mural exhibition to the development of a new building, the future here is very exciting! As an accountant I hope to provide the staff with information that is both understandable and useful. The financial aspects and requirements of the university are always changing, so one of my goals is to plan and adapt accordingly. I am eager to work alongside fellow staff members, as well as to get to know those who have relationships with the UIMA. I hope the UIMA continues to develop and grow into the future, and I am happy to be along for the journey!
26
UIMA
What’s Going On? This is an exciting and busy time for the University of Iowa Museum of Art, and I’d like to share some of the latest happenings with you.
Please consider investing in your museum during this period of expansive vision and unprecedented growth.
As you may know, in May 2013 the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa Foundation announced an ambitious $1.7 billion fundraising initiative, For Iowa. Forever More: The Campaign for the University of Iowa, which will end in December 2016. I am thrilled to report that the campaign’s momentum has been strong, and to date, the UI Museum of Art has raised $4.7 million of its $5 million goal for programming!
Consult with your financial advisor to learn about the best way to manage your philanthropy, either through outright giving or deferred giving. Both methods are equally important in forging the museum’s future, and both could provide significant tax benefits for you. A bequest would allow you to make a substantial contribution without diminishing the assets available to you during your lifetime.
Generous alumni and friends like you have helped us reach this important milestone. Your donations, of all sizes and for all areas, are allowing us to establish reliable funding sources that nurture the heart of the museum’s mission: to present exhibitions, provide educational outreach, and care for the collections. Thank you, patrons, one and all. Securing resources to support mission-focused operations is only part of the museum’s story, however. We must also focus on the capital campaign for our new building. We have welcomed gifts for this facility since the building flooded in 2008, and some museum friends have already chosen to donate to this vital cause, even without knowing the location, architect, design, or cost. Soon, the UI will have decisions on all these factors— and many more—when it confirms the privatepublic partnership agreement and finalizes design decisions for the new museum. Once we reach that pivotal juncture, the capital campaign for the new building will begin in earnest, and you will play a key role in our efforts.
For more information about giving, you may visit the UI Foundation website at www.uifoundation.org or call the UI Foundation at (319) 335-3305 or (800) 648-6973. Finally, I am retiring from the UI Foundation after ten meaningful years of service, but I am happy to announce that I will begin working part-time at the UIMA, where I will focus on special projects. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our steadfast museum patrons, and I warmly embrace the philosophy of “once a friend, always a friend,” so please know that your notes and phone calls are most welcome.
Director of Development pat-hanick@uiowa.edu (319)467-4768 or (800) 648-6973.
u i m a . u i owa .edu 27
1375 Highway 1 West/1840 Studio Arts Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1789 (319) 335-1727 uima.uiowa.edu
Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–1956) Mural, 1943 Oil and casein on canvas 95 5/8 x 237 ¾ in (242.9 x 603.9 cm) Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1959.6 Reproduced with permisson from the University of Iowa
July 12, 2014–April 1, 2015 Sioux City Art Center
JAC KSO N P O L LO C K: MU R A L UIMA participation in this exhibition is made possible in part by
and
Rod & Deborah Zeitler
The State University of Iowa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization soliciting tax-deductible private contributions for the benefit of The University of Iowa. The organization is located at One West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52244; its telephone number is (800) 648-6973. Please consult your tax advisor about the deductibility of your gift. If you are a resident of the following states, please review the applicable, required disclosure statement. GEORGIA: A full and fair description of the charitable programs and activities and a financial statement is available upon request from the organization using its address/telephone number, listed above. MARYLAND: A copy of the current financial statement is available upon request from the organization using its address/telephone number, listed above. For the cost of copies and postage, documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are available from the Secretary of State, 16 Francis Street, Annapolis, MD 21401, 410-974-5521. NEW JERSEY: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state. nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. NEW YORK: A copy of the last financial report filed with the Attorney General is available upon request from the organization using its address/telephone number, listed above, or from the Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. PENNSYLVANIA: The official registration and financial information of the State University of Iowa Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, (800)732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. WASHINGTON: Financial disclosure information is available upon request from the Secretary of State, Charities Program, by calling (800) 332-4483. WEST VIRGINIA: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, West Virginia 25305. Registration does not imply endorsement.