w i n t e r 2 016
from the director
critical posture on current social conditions and to explore the mysteries of the human condition. Thanks to an illuminating presentation, in the gallery and in the catalogue, by our Asian art curator Natsu Oyobe, Xu Weixin: Monumental Portraits offers UMMA visitors an unprecedented art experience.
O
ne of our goals at UMMA is to offer students an extraordinary art experience that will not only expand their understanding of history and other cultures, but will give them an awareness of the art of their own time, and the role that art plays in defining their own cultural moment. As we strive to achieve this goal, I am extremely proud that UMMA is hosting the first major American exhibition of Chinese artist Xu Weixin. Xu is a portrait painter working in a Realist mode—a traditional genre in a traditional style—yet his work is as provocative and politically savvy as any of his colleagues in the contemporary arena. It is also profoundly moving. As a younger artist Xu rejected the path taken by many other young Chinese artists who adopted newly accessible Western techniques, and opted instead to continue exploring an art form that has deep roots in Chinese culture. He has repurposed these traditions, to take a
Xu’s work, as it defies trends both within China and internationally, is an inspiration, and his courage and insight are shared by another non-Westerner, Istanbul artist Ferhat Özgür. Özgür’s video Metamorphosis Chat is currently on view in our Media Gallery, the artist’s first solo show in the U.S. The work uses a candid and friendly conversation between two women to explore issues of religious and social customs in Turkey. The gallery installation blurs the boundaries between the video and the viewing space, extending the transformative environment of the work. The furniture in the gallery is similar to the furnishings in the video, and while the two friends exchange their stories on-screen, visitors can feel as though they are socializing with them. From two emerging artists we move to the work of legendary sound artist and composer Alvin Lucier. Lucier’s 1969 work I am sitting in a room was recently acquired, along with the rest of his archive, by the Museum of Modern Art. Its new recording of his performance of this piece is on loan to us, and we are presenting it for the first time as an
installation. Lucier was one of the founders of the influential Sonic Arts Union; his fellow founders were also directors of the ONCE Festival, a showcase of experimental music held in Ann Arbor from 1961 to 1966. Lucier first performed in Ann Arbor at their invitation in 1964. UMMA is delighted to be hosting his work a half century later—throughout his career Lucier’s sound experiments have defined the notion of progressive art, so much so that even today, in an environment saturated with technology, he is still an icon of the avant garde. All of these artists have taken risks and pushed the boundaries of their respective mediums, and as pioneers in their fields they are role models for our students. We are thrilled to be featuring a spectrum of this kind of progressive work. As a university art museum, the core of our mission is to support our students as they move forward in their lives to become the global leaders of tomorrow. I hope you join us to see these extraordinary artists and other exhibitions and related programming that UMMA has coming up this new year. Warmest regards,
Joseph Rosa director
CONTENTS Cover Xu Weixin, Miner Wang Haizhong, 2005–2015, oil on canvas, Collection of the artist
From the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Annual Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
UMMA News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
UMMA Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Exhibitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
In Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
UMMA Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2
umm a .umic h.ed u
umma news
MAX BECKMANN’S 1946 WORK BEGIN THE BEGUINE, one of the highlights of UMMA’s twentiethcentury collection, is currently on loan to the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, part of their winter exhibition I Got Rhythm: Art and Jazz Since 1920. The exhibition—on view through March 6, 2016—explores the impact of jazz on artists as diverse as Otto Dix, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Piet Mondrian. Our Beckmann painting is one of a series of darkly manic works executed after the artist’s exodus from Nazi Germany and during the last years of his life as an exile in America. Max Beckmann, Begin the Beguine, 1946, oil on canvas, Museum purchase, 1948/1.103
U-M THIRD CENTURY INITIATIVE SUPPORTS UMMA’S CAMPUS COLLABORATIONS
FRIDAY, MARCH 11 7–10 PM Live Music Curators’ Conversations Light Refreshments
UMMA After Hours is generously sponsored by Fidelity Investments.
w in t er 2016
A recent $50,000 grant from the University of Michigan’s Third Century Initiative will expand UMMA’s role as a resource and partner for U-M faculty and students. The grant supports enhancements to the UMMA Exchange—a new, interactive, digital platform for Museum-based teaching and learning—as well as staff and graduate students to train users and develop exemplary content. The UMMA Exchange, scheduled to launch in fall 2016, will allow faculty to create and share gallery guides, lesson plans, and online exhibitions that integrate the Museum’s collections into courses and research projects. Accordingly, the UMMA Exchange will increase opportunities for engaged, action-based, student learning experiences—a key goal of the Third Century Initiative. UMMA’s project has the potential to impact the broader educational landscape by developing a new model of collaboration among universities, museums, and audiences.
3
Clockwise from right: Xu Weixin, Mao Zedong, 2005– 2012, oil on canvas, Collection of Taikang Space Museum; Miner Liu Jinsuo, 2005–2015, oil on canvas, Private collection; Huang Shuai, 2005–2012, oil on canvas, Collection of Taikang Space Museum
XU WEIXIN: MONUMENTAL PORTRAITS
4
umm a .umic h.ed u
a. alfred taubman gallery i | february 20–may 29, 2016
exhibitions
O
ne of the most accomplished painters working in China today, Xu Weixin has been creating portraits of his country’s citizens since the 1980s. In the past 10 years, he has focused on close-up, larger-than-life-size faces, painted in a Realist style that has roots in China’s modern history. His method draws our attention to the personal lives and stories of his subjects. As individual portraits, each work invites an emotional connection between the viewer and the subject. But when these portraits are exhibited together in a series, as an installation, they take on a collective power, and begin to speak of the larger human condition. Xu Weixin: Monumental Portraits, the artist’s first major exhibition in the United States, brings together selections from his two best-known portrait series. Miner Portraits features images of miners who have labored in the harsh conditions of state-owned mines. Going against the political rhetoric of the art that predominated during China’s revolutionary era, Xu rejects the glorifying images of blue-collar workers that served as the foundation of the state. Instead, his paintings of miners capture their candid expressions, emphasizing that their lives and experiences are as important as that of any other human being.
The subjects in Chinese Historical Figures: 1966–1976 are people who lived through the turbulent decade of the Cultural Revolution. The familiar faces of major political figures are mixed with those of lesser-known individuals, including students and Red Guard soldiers. By representing and displaying these subjects with utter neutrality and uniformity, the artist compels us to look beyond the fragmented and faceless impression we may have of a major historical event, into the stories and experiences of each individual. Xu Weixin was trained in the style of Socialist Realism—the heroic naturalism, employed to depict ideals of the Communist state, that was the dominant painting school in China after the Communist Revolution in 1949. In the 1990s, the overtly political agenda and naturalist style of Socialist Realism gradually lost its status, as the art scene, fueled by international attention and commercial success, became more diverse. While sharing the critical consciousness of many of his contemporaries, Xu has continued to explore the aesthetic possibilities within Realism. These series of monumental portraits, begun in 2005, have been his breakthrough, where he merges the documentary power of Realist painting with the immersive, transformative experience of installation art. Natsu Oyobe curator of asian art
RELATED PUBLICATION
XU WEIXIN: MONUMENTAL PORTRAITS A full-color exhibition catalogue published by UMMA and authored by Natsu Oyobe, with an essay contribution by Wang Lin is available for purchase at the UMMA Store and online at store.umma. umich.edu.
Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Health System, University of Michigan Office of the President, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional generous support is provided by the University of Michigan Confucius Institute, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, Beijing Fu Zhan Zhou Culture Art Development Co. Ltd, Boylescott Limited, and University of Michigan Ross School of Business China Initiatives.
w in t er 2016
5
exhibitions
Ferhat Özgür, Metamorphosis Chat, 2009, video, Courtesy of the artist, ©2015 Ferhat Özgür
6
umm a .umic h.ed u
exhibitions
media gallery | december 5, 2015–march 27, 2016
FERHAT ÖZGÜR METAMORPHOSIS CHAT In Turkish artist Ferhat Özgür’s Metamorphosis Chat, two women, clearly dear friends, are chatting comfortably over a cup of tea in a traditional Turkish living room. One of the women is neatly dressed in modern clothes, wearing makeup and jewelry. Her friend’s attire, with headscarf and no other adornment, is representative of a more conservative Muslim culture. It is apparent that we are watching a “real” conversation unfold as opposed to a scripted scenario. There is a feeling of lightheartedness between the women and a sense of unrehearsed comfort in front of the camera. The critical moment of their conversation occurs when the woman in secular dress kindly asks her friend if she ever wishes to remove the scarf to be more comfortable. While we might predict that her answer would have something to do with the scarf’s religious and cultural significance, she answers simply that she doesn’t think about removing it, as she has worn it since childhood and is used to it. It is at this moment that the women begin a giddy game of swapping clothes, until they are both literally and figuratively walking in each other’s shoes. The headscarf has been controversial since wearing it was banned in Turkey in 1923. At that time Turkey was established as a secular state by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who saw headscarves as an obstacle to his agenda of modernizing a new Turkish Republic. However, though Turkey is a secular country, more than 95 percent of its citizens are Muslims. Thus this seemingly simple article of clothing has figured in the ongoing clash between those favoring the secular principles of the state, and those who are more religiously conservative. w in t er 2016
In Metamorphosis Chat the innocuous exchange between the two women deflates, if just for a moment, the intense complexity of this moral debate, and reminds us instead of the potential for transformation, and the power of empathy in discovering our kinship with others. Born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1965, Özgür lives and works in Istanbul. The artist positions his work at the convergence of the cultural conflicts that define his home country, “in between the tensions of tradition and modern times.” Encompassing video, photography, painting, and drawing, his work has been featured in solo shows and group exhibitions at MoMA PS1, Marabouparken-Sweeden, Gallery Bernhard Bischoff & Partner in Bern, and Mekan68 in Vienna. Özgür has participated in numerous biennials, including the 6th Berlin Biennial, the 10th Istanbul Biennial, and the Mardin Biennial in southeastern Turkey. Kathleen Forde adjunct curator of media arts Lead support for this exhibition is provided by SAHA – Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey, the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities, and the Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Endowment. Additional support is provided by the University of Michigan Islamic Studies Program, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and Women’s Studies.
7
exhibitions
photography gallery | december 5, 2015–may 8, 2016
T
he co-invention of photography in 1839 marked one of the defining technological advances of the 19th century. Announced in close succession in Paris and Great Britain, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre’s (1787–1851) sharply detailed unique process on a metal plate and William Henry Fox Talbot’s (1800–1877) softer focused process that enabled multiples on paper created not only fascination with the possibilities of these technologies but also engendered ongoing discussion about photography’s merits, potentials, and applications. Over the coming decades enthusiasts refined and expanded the technologies giving photographers more flexibility. Talbot’s signature process, the calotype, he described as “photogenic drawing” although he must have imagined an application in science as his first public showing was at the British Association for the Advancement of Science. And the debate as to whether photography belonged in the sciences as a research aid or whether its pictorial qualities merited inclusion in the arts fueled discussion on both sides of the argument.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND VICTORIAN SOCIETY EARLY BRITISH PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE UMMA COLLECTION
8
umm a .umic h.ed u
exhibitions It is natural that a new technology would both exploit existing pictorial conventions as well as suggest new ways of creating images based on its own principles, and this was true of photography. Early photographic images include subject matter derived from painting traditions. These include portraits of family members and friends, still lifes of household objects, and landscapes that allow practitioners in the new medium to forge their own innovative and distinctive visual canons. A number of trends in Victorian Britain can be found in photographs of the 19th century: the interest in social reforms to benefit workers in the industrial age led to projects to document and record areas of urban blight or renewal, as with D.O. Hill’s scenes of St. Andrews and Thomas Annan’s views of streets and back passageways (closes) of Glasgow. Another thread through Victorian Britain was a sentimental view of the Isle’s remote past and many photographers recorded monuments such as castles, houses, and particularly Gothic monastic ruins. As with the album Ecosse, a photographic album assembled to record a French family’s visit to Scotland, James Valentine’s numerous views of his native Scotland dovetailed with the new interest in leisure travel, and these images could be customized to reflect the interests of the particular collector. Along with this nostalgic backward glance at Britain was an interest in allegorical or literature-based figural studies such as Julia Margaret Cameron’s Kiss of Peace and Frederick Evans’ portrait of F. Holland Day.
Given the reach of the British Empire during the 19th century, it can be problematic to define “British” photography when so many Britons were living ex-patriot lives in areas as far flung as India, Egypt, and East Asia. Cameron lived in South Africa and Ceylon for several years, as did Charles Scowen who opened a photographic studio in Ceylon. These photographers, as well as the important firm of Francis Frith & Co. captured both the travels and the colonial lives of Britons overseas. The first half-century of British photography marks the journey of a new medium with distinct expressive and artistic potentials. Although photography did serve as an aid to science and exploration, its pictorial potentials captured aspects of British society and interests in ways that are poetic and certainly artistic. From the posed “portrait” of that very British invention, a steam locomotive, set against a painted background to the silvery tonalities of the lowlands near the eastern coast of England in Peter Henry Emerson’s views of the Norfolk Broads, the advances in camera speeds and printing techniques captured picturesque ruins, people, and cities of Victorian England. Carole McNamara curator emerita Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the Marvin H. and Mary M. Davidson Endowed Fund.
Peter Henry Emerson, Cantley Wherries Waiting for the Turn of the Tide, plate 14 from Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1886, platinum print, Museum purchase made possible by the W. Hawkins Ferry Fund, 2002/2.234.1 Opposite Julia Margaret Cameron, The Kiss of Peace, circa 1865, albumen print, Museum purchase, 1975/1.63
w in t er 2016
9
exhibitions
10
umm a .umic h.ed u
irving stenn, jr. family gallery | january 23–may 22, 2016
exhibitions
ALVIN LUCIER
I AM SITTING IN A ROOM I am sitting in a room is a sound installation based on a performance of the same name by renowned American composer Alvin Lucier. When the work, which was first performed in 1969, was acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2014, the museum produced an archival recording of Lucier performing the piece himself at MoMA. This recording is the version of the work that is being presented in the Irving Stenn, Jr. Family Gallery at UMMA, and it is the first time the work is being configured as an installation. The piece consists of Lucier reading a text, playing the recording back into a room and then re-recording it. This material is then played back and again re-recorded. This process is repeated in succession until eventually the words become unintelligible. The text read by the artist describes this process—it begins, “I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice . . . “ and continues with reference to Lucier’s own stutter: “I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have.” Alvin Lucier was born in 1931 in Nashua, New Hampshire. He is part of a crucial generation of American post-war experimental composers (who were also close colleagues and collaborators) that includes John Cage, Steve Reich, and Pauline Oliveros. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was also a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and Gordon Mumma. As in I am sitting in a room, his work explores the physical properties of sound—the resonance of spaces and the transmission of sound through physical media. Lucier has been a pioneer in many areas of music composition and performance, including the notation of performers’ physical gestures, the use of brain waves in live performance, and the generation of visual imagery by sound. His recent works include a series of experimental sound installations and works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra. Kathleen Forde adjunct curator of media arts Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost and the Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Endowment.
Alvin Lucier, I am sitting in a room, 1969/2014, audio installation, 17:36 min, dimensions variable, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Committee on Media and Performance Art Funds 2014. © 2015 Alvin Lucier. Image courtesy Amanda Lucier
w in t er 2016
11
exhibitions
brandon bridge | february 27–july 3, 2016 The Detroit architect Albert Kahn (1869–1942) created an astonishing number of buildings in Detroit and elsewhere, and rose to international prominence during World War II. To keep pace with an accelerating project load throughout the first three decades of the century, the Kahn office sometimes kept a camera eye on large buildings as they grew, monitoring the pace of construction, the quality of execution, and the supply of materials. Albert Kahn: Under Construction presents a selection of remarkable archival photographs culled from the collections of the Bentley Historical Library and Albert Kahn Associates, starting with bare sites and ending with finished buildings. They are ordered in relation to needs that recurred throughout Kahn’s practice. These photographs provide 12
documentation of weekly—sometimes daily—progress on sites from Detroit to the Soviet Union, helping us reconstruct the growth of buildings closely associated with American industrialization in the 20th century, and elucidating the building practices of the time. Photographed by some of the leading commercial photographers of the day, these images show workers constructing office buildings in Detroit, University of Michigan campus buildings, and the military industrial complex of wartime America. While they belong to the seemingly mundane phase of construction administration, photographs of the immense Glenn Martin Assembly Plant, the Chrysler Tank Arsenal, the umm a .umic h.ed u
Willow Run Bomber Plant, and the Dodge Truck Plant convey the huge effort required by wartime production, depicting irreversible changes to American manufacturing. Photographs of buildings that have been recently demolished remind us how wartime acceleration left building stock in need of new uses; not all could be maintained over time. These documentary photographs also show the diversity of their little-known makers’ visual and compositional skills. Like all photographs, they function not solely as documents, but also as historical narrative. Vivid images of steelworkers suspended in the air, or of the laborious installation of a timber floor strong enough to support a tank or a plane recall cultural w in t er 2016
historian and theorist Walter Benjamin’s theory that images “awaken” us to history. These remarkable photographs provide an unusual window onto 20th-century architecture as it came into being, and into a past with which we are unfamiliar. Claire Zimmerman guest curator associate professor, department of history of art and taubman college of architecture and urban planning Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Endowment.
Ford Motor Company Assembly Building under construction, Edgewater, NJ, 1930. Albert Kahn and Associates, Architects/ Albert Kahn Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. 13
in focus
HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON Île de la Cité, Paris, 1952, printed later, gelatin silver print, Gift of Maxine and Lawrence K. Snider, 2014/2.262
The Île de la Cité is in every way the heart of Paris, an island in the Seine where two exquisite medieval churches, Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle, and a notorious prison, the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette awaited the guillotine, sit atop soil once occupied by the Gallic Parisii tribe that gave the city its name. To stand at the western tip of the island—as does the small huddle of people at the center of this photograph—where the forked waters of the river reunite, is to stand at the intersection of the cultural, historical, and geological forces that have shaped the city. It was just these types of intersections that Henri CartierBresson stalked with his camera, spending four decades traveling the world to witness wars, deaths, coronations, and regime changes. But most frequently he found his ideal subject by observing ordinary human transactions, in settings made extraordinary by his ability to perfectly position his lens—at a precise point in time and space when a sublime configuration of form and light would be animated by an equally sublime, though always fleeting, moment of organic motion. He began his career in the early 1930s, when advances in camera technology—enabling the taking of quick photos in 14
january 26–may 8, 2016
natural light—made photojournalism a viable career, and indeed he is known as the father of the profession. But he accepted the term reluctantly, as a professional necessity. CartierBresson saw himself as an artist and the camera as a drawing tool, a way to create an instant sketch. His early training as a painter had led him to an obsession with the formal geometry of Renaissance painting and an affinity for the spontaneity and absurdity of Surrealism. It is this last quality that is the least acknowledged in his work, though he clearly understood and exploited the unnatural, often otherworldly way in which the camera fixes a point in space and freezes a moment in time. He amplified the innate surreality of the camera’s trickery by composing his scenes with a “rigorous geometrical organization” so exacting and visually arresting it made him a cult figure. This geometry is on view in Île de la Cité, Paris, though in place of the eye-twisting Golden Section one sees instead a classic and pleasing symmetry, as the two halves of the Pont Neuf meet in the center of the frame. The composition may seem placid, even static, in comparison to Cartier-Bresson’s more well-known images of speeding bicyclists or leaping pedestrians—until one realizes that the waters of the Seine, one of the world’s most storied waterways, are rushing toward the camera, toward the viewer, moving forward and outward, ceaseless and unstoppable, like time itself. Ruth Keffer guest curator This photograph was recently gifted to UMMA by Maxine (BS ‘64) and Larry (BA ‘60, JD ‘63) Snider.
umm a .umic h.ed u
programs
UMMA DOCENTS CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY
Ángela Pérez-Villa
IN 1975 AN INTREPID GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS approached UMMA Director Brett Waller and proposed that the Museum create a docent program. Waller had had experience forming a docent program elsewhere and his formative ideas included “…a thorough screening and recruitment program, rigorous continuing training both in art history and in the methods of informal education, and ongoing evaluation and quality control.” He found that he and the volunteers shared similar ideas and that “…their enthusiasm was contagious and their clearheaded realism reassuring.” Waller and these early volunteers laid the groundwork for the structure of the successful, dynamic program in place today. UMMA docents recruit highly motivated and multi-talented w in t er 2016
volunteers who are intensively trained by UMMA Education and other staff in the Museum’s collection areas and gallery teaching and additionally schooled by U-M faculty in art history, world religions, and culture. Docents have regular continuing education on temporary exhibitions and on tested and emerging theories of museum teaching, preparing them for the full variety of museum audiences. The traditional focus of docent attention has been school children and the adult public and these groups are well-served at UMMA. Two successful programs developed in the last five years demonstrate that docents are also dedicated to new audiences, research, leadership, and personal growth. continued >> 15
programs
Students participating in Elementary Mathematics Laboratory, Teaching Works, U-M School of Education, examine a model of a Chinese watchtower with Docent Heidi Goodhart.
“Our students have discovered, observed, created, and analyzed art, all with the tremendous support of the Museum’s thoughtful docents.” SIMONA GOLDIN research specialist, elementary mathematics laboratory co-director (2014) teachingworks project, u-m school of education
Docent Wes Rae engages students in a discussion of Barbara Hepworth’s Sphere with Colour (Grey and White).
Jeanie Mack-Powers, Docent since 1996, with a participant in the Meet Me at UMMA program.
16
At the National Docent Symposium in Cincinnati in September, Deputy Director for Education Ruth Slavin and a cadre of docents gave a presentation entitled “The Senses are Alive and Well,” detailing their approach and their five years of experience with the Meet Me at UMMA program that offers tours for visitors living with memory loss. As the title of their talk suggests, these docents are using a sensory-based approach that reflects the latest research on working with people with memory loss to improve quality of life and create social connections. As you can see in the photos included here, UMMA docents include humor, respect, and patience working with these patrons but also, as Slavin notes, “docents incorporate insights from their own practice, leading researchers, and people with memory loss to provide high-quality museum experiences for this audience, their families, and caregivers.” In addition to the regard docents have for participants of this program, it is reported that working with this population brings deeper meaning to the people who implement these programs which they then carry over to their other Museum efforts. In effect, this high quality program helps propagate other quality programs. UMMA also partners with U-M institutions to address needs in teaching and learning. Three years ago, UMMA was approached by a School of Education staff member who wanted to incorporate arts experiences for the Elementary Mathematics Laboratory (EML) students who work on campus for two weeks solidifying their understanding of fractions and math concepts needed to advance in middle school. Docents worked with Pam Reister, Curator for Museum Teaching and Learning, to create a series of tours and hands-on activities that moved children through simple contour drawings to sketches with perspective, from watercolor to multi-media creations. This year docents planned and implemented all lessons for this program. Simona Goldin, Research Specialist in the TeachingWorks project at the School of Education which designs and administers EML, shared that she has been “consistently moved and impressed by the meaningful and high-quality programs that UMMA constructs in partnership with the EML. The program has provided rising fifth graders with hands-on experiences of impressive depth. Our students have discovered, observed, created, and
w in t er 2016
UMMA docents include humor, respect, and patience working with patrons living with memory loss. analyzed art, all with the tremendous support of the museum’s thoughtful docents.” The Museum is lucky to have access to docent artists when creating other public programs such as Family Art Studio. Lisa Borgsdorf, Manager of Public Programs, has relied on docents to create hands-on activities that are directly tied to art on display. Lois Baru, Docent Emerita, wrote that the workshop she attended with her granddaughter “was the perfect combination of gallery time and hands-on time—all beautifully coordinated. Docent Susan Clinthorne did a fine job both engaging the children and sharing her knowledge. I will look forward to attending more of these ‘little gems’.”
Marlene Ross, an UMMA Docent since 1998, works with a participant of the Meet Me at UMMA program.
Forty years after the first docent class, UMMA Director Joseph Rosa stresses how important the docents are to achieving the teaching goals of the Museum. “Docents are integral to the teaching and learning mission of UMMA, make possible the school tour program, and actively expand and enrich our university offerings. We are honored to celebrate their anniversary and look forward to posting highlights of their story this year.”
17
programs
LAST FALL UMMA EDUCATION DEPARTMENT staff Lisa Borgsdorf (Manager of Public Programs), Pam Reister (Curator of Museum Teaching and Learning), and Lauren Rossi Harroun (Education Program Coordinator) piloted a new Student Programming and Advisory Council (SPAC), encompassing the former Council and Student Docent Corps, as a means to better enable students to serve UMMA’s mission while helping them develop into the museum professionals of the future. All SPAC members attend regular meetings designed to deepen their connection to UMMA and their knowledge of museum culture. Three committees carry out the active work of the Council: Student Docents; Programs & Events; and Marketing & Outreach. According to Borgsdorf, “Each committee makes a substantial contribution to maximizing the impact of the programming, outreach, and teaching and learning missions of UMMA’s Education department.” This year’s Student Late Night, planned by the SPAC for U-M students, was held on October 22. The event had a 1990s theme to coincide with the exhibition Come as You Are: Art of the 1990s (on view through January 31), and featured artmaking activities, a photo booth, ‘90s trivia, WCBN DJs, and more. The Council also launched a new visibility poster campaign on campus, distributing posters monthly that feature works of art from UMMA’s collections along with popular song lyrics selected by members of the SPAC. All of the posters include the tagline “Have you visited your art museum lately?” and are intended to raise awareness of UMMA among students. 18
ENGAGED LEARNING CREATES THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS
programs “I came to Michigan with an interest in museums and art history, and was lucky to find the Student Docent and SPAC programs at UMMA. I’ve loved having the chance to share my interest in art with my peers and the community through the programs I’ve helped plan. It’s helped prepare me for a field I am interested in pursuing after graduation.” JEAN RAFAELIAN cognitive science and history of art, 2016
Student Docents are trained to develop and lead tours for U-M Staff and public, as well as work with children and families on the weekends. In addition, they undertake interpretation and display of works for online projects and UMMA’s study cases. “The Student Docent program taught me so much, both about UMMA’s incredible collection and how the institution plays a role in the Ann Arbor community. The various activities helped me figure out what aspects of museum work I could see myself doing in the future. It also gave me the skills necessary to land a wonderful summer internship at an art museum.” Lauren Plawecki, History of Art, 2015 With well over 10,000 followers UMMA’s student blog, The Annex, continues to serve as a venue of engagement and expression of students’ voices. Council members provide creative content for the blog on a regular basis, including interviews with visiting artists and curators. SPAC members also contribute to UMMA’s presence on social media, posting photos on the Museum’s Instagram account and live-tweeting at UMMA events, and help to conceptualize and implement participatory student engagement projects such as Exploring Identities and LOVE ART MORE. w in t er 2016
Lauren Plawecki
19
annual report
UMMA METRICS FOR FY15 FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
VISITATION
$5,667,733
205,000
On-site museum attendance
2,000
Off-site attendance for exhibitions
32,576
Education program participants
Annual Operating Budget
$11,617,000 Endowment Market Value (6/30/15) up 8% million from fiscal year 2014
$316,756
Earned Income store, event rentals, conservation lab, donation boxes, traveling exhibition fees
$7,683,582
Total dollars raised in FY15 includes all gifts, foundation grants, government grants, pledges, bequests, and campus partner support
17,800
Public and student programming
14,776
Teaching at UMMA
28,776
Social media followers
136,101
Website visits
15,970
Visits to The Annex, UMMA student blog 10,095 followers
$1,569,276
Museum surplus
848
Members
40
Regular employees
EXHIBITIONS, PROGRAMS & COLLECTIONS
25
Part-time and temporary employees
14
Exhibitions
100
Docents
727
Educational programs
5,155
Docent hours
96
Public and exhibition programs
493
Class visits (U-M and K–12)
138
Adult and family classes/tours
U-M STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
11
New acquisitions purchased
361 CLASS VISITS/7,540 STUDENTS Teaching in U-M Galleries and Study Rooms
393
Works of art gifted
35
Works of art loaned to other institutions
12 SCHOOLS/39 COURSES U-M Schools (non-LSA) 24 DEPARTMENTS/285 COURSES LSA Departments 14 PROGRAMS U-M Programs: Area Studies or Special Institutes 19 PROGRAMS/8,400 STUDENTS Programs organized by and for students 53 STUDENTS/6 MUSEUM AREAS Research associates and fellows, interns, student docents
16
Different venues
2
Works loaned to European countries
1
Work loaned to Canada
33
Works loaned within the United States
SERVICE TO K–12 SCHOOLS 132 CLASS VISITS/5,309 PEOPLE K-12 school tours 33 SCHOOLS/14 DISTRICTS Public schools 19 SCHOOLS Independent schools 3 WORKSHOPS/85 TEACHERS Professional development for teachers
20
umm a .umic h.ed u
annual report
ANNUAL GIFTS The University of Michigan Museum of Art is most grateful to the following individuals, corporations, and institutions for their generous support of acquisitions, exhibitions, and programs, and for gifts to the collections from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. $350,000+ Maxine and Stuart Frankel Irving Stenn, Jr.
$100,000–$349,999 Nancy Dolinko Berkowitz and David Berkowitz
University of Michigan Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Research
$5,000–$9,999
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Anonymous (2)
Richard and Rosann Noel
Peter B. Aronson
University of Michigan Office of the Provost
Linda Bennett and Robert Bagramian
Nancy and Ziggy Alderman
David Bohnett Foundation
Julie and Robert Taubman
Lisa and Eric Eisner
Robert Vogel and Elke Clark
University of Michigan A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Dr. and Mrs. S. M. Farhat
John and Maureen Voorhees
Barbara and Oscar Feldman
Timothy and Laurie Wadhams
Alice Fishman and Michael DiPietro
Warner Bros. Television
University of Michigan Office of the Vice Provost for Equity, Inclusion, and Academic Affairs Julian Zajfen Ken Ziffren Ziffren Brittenham LLP Marissa and Jeremy Zimmer
Ilene H. Forsyth
Martin Warshaw and Joyce Watson
Beth and Mike Goodman-Plante
Dr. William C. Weese
Mr. Robert E. Heller
Mary Lou Welz
Mrs. Doreen N. Hermelin
Jann Wesolek and Joel Greenson
Dr. and Mrs.* Joachim Janecke
Elise Weisbach
Marina and Bob Whitman
Mrs. Gail Kasdorf* Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor
GIFTS UNDER $1,000
Mrs. Betty Jo Kolb
1,156 Gifts Totaling $140,816.91
Skip Brittenham
$2,500–$4,999
Joseph and Annette Allen
CBS
Anonymous
Peter and Barbara Benedek
Charlie Collier
Essel and Menakka Bailey
Fidelity Investments
Jamey Cohen
Christie’s
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
Marissa Devins and Matt Rice
Tom and Ellen Hoberman
Cruse W. and Virginia Patton Moss
Dr. and Mrs. Paul R. Lichter
DONORS TO THE COLLECTIONS
Dr. Robert and Eva Moyad
National Endowment for the Arts
Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff
Navid Mahmoodzadegan
Robert and Daryl Offer
Dr. Seymour and Barbara K. Adelson
University of Michigan Health System
Myrna and Newell Miller
Sam Fischer
Mark and Lee Pavach
Mr. and Mrs. James Agah
Amy Rose Silverman
Tom Fontana
The Family of Marian S. Bush
University of Michigan Office of the President
Molly and Jay Sures
Susan Wexler Piser and Michael Sandy Bank
Catherine and Nathan Forbes
University of Michigan CEW Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund
Prof. and Mrs. Stephen M. Pollock
David L. Chambers and John G. Crane
Kevin Reilly
University of Michigan Department of History of Art
Jack and Noreen Rounick
Marvin H. and Mary M. Davidson
Gary and Jacqueline Sasaki
University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities
Leslie Feely
Lori Shepard, Simply Scrumptious Catering
D. James Galbraith Family
$1,000–$2,499
Frances U. and Scott K. Simonds
Mrs. Helen T. Klocko
Jenni Konner and Richard Shepard
Tena and Christopher Achen
Mrs. Susan Sosnick
Mrs. Katherine A. Aldrich
Ashley and David Kramer
Raymond and Janet Bernreuter
Dr. and Mrs. James C. Stanley
$25,000–$99,999
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
$10,000–$24,999 Lisa Applebaum and George Haddad Beijing Fu Zhan Zhou Culture Art Development Co. Ltd. Boylescott Limited Comerica Bank Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Dr. and Mrs. Richard F. Gutow Alan Hergott and Curt Shepard Greg Hodes and Heidi Hertel Hodes
Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan Fox Television Group/FX The David Geffen Foundation Cliff Gilbert-Lurie HBO Rita* and Peter Heydon
Linda and Ben Lambert Susan B. Meyer NBC Universal Cable Entertainment Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald Drs. Bertram and Elaine Pitt
Eeta Gershow Ms. Kathleen Lauster Martha and Dady Mehta Betty I. Monroe, PhD
Margaret and Howard Bond Susan and Robert Brown and the Monroe-Brown Foundation
Toyota Motor Corporation Trish Turner-McConnell and Tom McConnell
Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications
Roirdan Burnett and Lois Wecker
University of Michigan Center for European Studies
Mark and Cindy Cendrowski
University of Michigan Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Samantha and Ross Partrich and Andrea and Joel Brown
Kammi and Brad Reiss Family
Lauren and Richard Prager
Ernestine and Herbert Ruben
Mrs. Lois J. Dickinson
Kathy Savitt
Regent Emerita Julia Donovan Darlow and Judge John Corbett O’Meara Mrs. Marilyn M. Dickson
Ellen and Bill Taubman
Bob Shaye
Michele Oka Doner and Frederick Doner
University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies
Showtime Networks
Amy and James Dubin
Larry and Maxine Snider
Nick and Kelly Dyer
University of Michigan Credit Union
Judy and Alfred* Taubman
Stephen and Nicole Eisenberg
w in t er 2016
William Castellana
James Packard
Random House Studio
Retirement Income Solutions, Inc.
Mr. Edward L. May
Mary Paul Stubbs and Bruce Stubbs
The Japan Foundation
Prue and Ami Rosenthal
Mrs. Barbara R. Levine
University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender University of Michigan Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design University of Michigan Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies
Kammi and Brad Reiss Family
Dr. Shalin and Rebecca Sanghvi Larry and Maxine Snider Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink Daphne Swabey Margaret Condon Taylor Penny and John Tropman Marsha L. Vinson and Marvin Rotman Thomas Wilson and Jill Garling Ms. Rosemary Wilson * deceased
21
annual report
HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY15 ACQUISITIONS
1
3
2 1 . Frank Stella, Quathlamba II, from “Notched V Series,” 1968, lithograph on paper, Gift of Marsha L. Vinson and Marvin Rotman, 2014/2.21. 2 . Artist Unknown, Bamileke Peoples, Cameroon, Feather Headdress, 19th century–20th century, feathers, fabric and palm fiber, Gift of the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications in memory of Warren M. Robbins, 2014/2.78.3.
4
3 . Victor Vasarely, Untitled, circa 1960–1970, serigraph on paper, Gift of Dr. Seymour and Barbara K. Adelson, 2015/1.375. 4 . Louis-Felix de La Rue, Bacchanale, 18th century, pencil on paper, Gift of David L. Chambers and John G. Crane in honor of the retirement of Carole McNamara, Senior Curator of Western Art, 2015/1.386.
22
umm a .umic h.ed u
annual report
7
5
8 5 . Karl Blossfeldt, Equisetum hiemale, from “Urformen der Kunst,” published 1929, photogravure on paper, Gift of Eeta Gershow, 2014/2.5. 6 . Joel Meyerowitz, Bay Sky, 1987, vintage chromogenic contact print on paper, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA), 2014/2.263. 7 . Artist Unknown, Japan, Set of Kaiawase (Shell Game), 19th century, color and gold on shells, Museum purchase made possible by the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, 2015/1.378A&B. 8 . Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bombed-out Church, World War II Liberation, 1944, vintage gelatin silver print, Gift of Thomas Wilson ’79 and Jill Garling ’80, 2014/2.323. 6
w in t er 2016
23
umma happenings
Top: Families learn about Julian Schnabel with local artist Collin McRae before creating art projects of their own during Family Art Studio. Below: UMMA Dialogue: A Thirty-Year Journey with Tyree Guyton and Jenenne Whitfield, and exhibition curator MaryAnn Wilkinson
umm a .umic h.ed u
Above, right: U-M students, and U-M President Mark Schlissel enjoy Artscapade. Below: Drummer Stephen Boegehold of the Michael Malis Trio performs at UMMA After Hours; UMMA Director Joseph Rosa discusses Julian Schnabel with guests at UMMA After Hours.
Above: UMMA Docent and local artist Sophie Grillet engages families with Julian Schnabel during the Family Art Studio program. Below: One family contemplates the work of Julian Schnabel before creating their own project during Family Art Studio.
Below: 1,000 students attended Come as You Are-themed Student Late Night on October 22, 2015.
Caption information
25
campaign
UMMA RECEIVES $150,000 GRANT FROM THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES FOR ENGAGED LEARNING COLLECTIONS ACCESS
T
he University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) has received a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant will support UMMA’s Engaged Learning Collections Access Project, an effort to create and enhance data for 5,000 works of art in the Museum’s permanent collection. “This grant from IMLS is key in helping UMMA achieve its goal to reach beyond our walls to build a stronger, broader community,” said Joseph Rosa, UMMA Director. “Along with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the University of Michigan Third Century Initiative, this IMLS grant will enable the development of virtual strategies that will seamlessly integrate the onsite and offsite experience for our visitors.” The Engaged Learning Collections Access Project will enhance core knowledge about the Museum’s artworks and improve the ability to search records in the Museum’s collections management system. UMMA will bring together a team of curators, graduate students, and collections staff to document and improve data—including applying established keywords to improve searchability— for objects that have been identified as user priorities. With this significant IMLS funding, UMMA will make focused and rapid progress on increasing core knowledge about these key 26
objects—a major advance in its ability to deliver information to K-12 and University teachers, their students, youth, and adult online audiences. The one-year project coincides both with a dramatic expansion in Museum curatorial staff (from two curators to four) and the development of a transformative set of technology projects including a new website, collections management system, and the UMMA Exchange—an interactive, digital platform for Museum-based teaching and learning. After the grant period, UMMA will update more collections records annually, improving 1,200 objects a year with the expanded curatorial staff and graduate student support. The award is part of the IMLS Museums for America—Collections Stewardship grant program that supports the exemplary management, care, and conservation of museum collections. This grant is the largest award UMMA has received from the Institute. “IMLS helps museums provide opportunities for visitors to experience science, history, art, technology and living collections in unique and interactive ways,” said IMLS Acting Director Maura Marx. “With this federal support, museums all over the country will be better equipped to care for their collections, create exhibitions and learning experiences for visitors, and contribute to a better quality of life for their communities.” umm a .umic h.ed u
One-of-a-kind jewelry, accessories, games, toys, and home accents
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea Available Daily
also available:
ALVIN LUCIER: I AM SITTING IN A ROOM
XU WEIXIN: MONUMENTAL PORTRAITS
In conjunction with upcoming UMMA exhibition, Alvin Lucier: I am sitting in a room, the UMMA Store will offer a collection of audio tracks and books to accompany the sound installation. Find a variety of items about and related to the exhibition, keep exploring Alvin Lucier and the history of experimental music while at home.
By Natsu Oyobe, UMMA Books, University of Michigan Museum of Art, limited supply
gift wrapping always complimentary
SHOP ONLINE! STORE .UMMA .UMICH .EDU STORE HOURS MON–SAT 11AM–5PM, SUN 12–5PM
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PA I D Ann Arbor, MI Permit No. 144
525 South State Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1354 734.763.UMMA umma.umich.edu
For up-to-date details on UMMA exhibitions and programs, visit umma.umich.edu or follow UMMA on Facebook or Twitter! connect online facebook.com/ummamuseum twitter.com/ummamuseum instagram.com/ummamuseum
become a member umma.umich.edu or umma-giving@umich.edu
gallery hours September–April Tuesday through Saturday 11am–5pm Sunday 12–5pm Closed Mondays
building hours September–April The Forum, Commons, and selected public spaces in the Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing are open daily 8am–8pm. The Museum is always free. $10 suggested donation appreciated.
through january 31, 2016
Come as You Are: Art of the 1990s through february 21, 2016
Soviet Constructivist Posters: Branding the New Order through march 27, 2016
Ferhat Özgür: Metamorphosis Chat through may 8, 2016
New Technologies and Victorian Society: Early British Photographs from the UMMA Collection january 23–may 22, 2016
Alvin Lucier: I am sitting in a room february 20–may 29, 2016
Xu Weixin: Monumental Portraits february 27–july 3, 2016
Albert Kahn: Under Construction
university of michigan board of regents: Michael Behm, Grand Blanc; Mark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor; Laurence B. Deitch, Bloomfield Hills; Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe; Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms; Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor; Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park; Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor; Dr. Mark S. Schlissel, ex officio contributors: Lisa Borgsdorf, Katharine Derosier, Charlie Edwards, Kathleen Forde, Roberta Frey Gilboe, Kathryn Huss, Ruth Keffer, Carole McNamara, Natsu Oyobe, Anna Sampson, Ruth Slavin, Leisa Thompson, Carrie Throm, Nettie Tiso, Claire Zimmerman designer: Susan E. Thompson