MUSEUMS E N G AG E M E N T R E P O RT / 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6
JOEL AND LILA HARNETT MUSEUM OF ART
JOEL AND LILA HARNETT PRINT STUDY CENTER
LORA ROBINS GALLERY OF DESIGN FROM NATURE
A BINDER LIES OPEN ON A TABLE, turned to the story of a woman waiting to hear the outcome of her father’s surgery. Turn a few pages and another story describes a photographer capturing the moment he realized he was in love. At the center of it all is a black and white portrait of a woman by photographer Meg Eastman.
Museums are a nexus. Museums can be a place for stillness and introspection, but they also offer space for people and stories to come together. They draw you in with the eye-catching colors of a vibrant painting or a massive geode. Their galleries provide space for creation, innovation, and conversation. And sometimes you walk out destined for a course you never expected.
ART + STORY
Picture your last visit to a museum. You probably walked the halls, quietly studied the art, read the labels for more information, maybe talked to someone about your interpretations. But what if an exhibition invited you to contribute your own voice, building a story to be continued by visitors yet to come? Students in the spring 2016 Museum Studies Seminar wanted to find the point of convergence for these varied experiences in one exhibition. In Tell Me a Story, labels and panels were replaced with prompts aimed at inspiring visitors to write stories and contribute drawings that captured their responses to the artwork on view. When standing in front of Jennifer Bartlett’s The Four Seasons: Autumn (left), observers were asked, “Is the artist trying to tell you a story in this artwork?
Or can you make up a story even better than what she intended?” The questions elicited recollections of dogs, philosophical musings about life as a puzzle or a game, and cartoon drawings of what happens next in the scene. MIRANDA ROSENBLUM, ’18, a Museum Studies student, says, “A lot of times museums are sterile places where you look at art and say, ‘Someone thought this had lots of value, and I’m looking at it because that’s what culture is.’ Our exhibit tries to break down that fourth wall and engage visitors, saying, ‘What about this piece or work inspires a story in you?’”
2
In conjunction with The French Horse from Géricault to Picasso, Ruth Bouldan, professor of painting and drawing at Virginia Commonwealth University, led a drawing workshop. Participants gathered on Westhampton Green on a clear April afternoon to draw Shakota Lena, a Bay Overo Paint horse — and caught more than a few stares. Tell Me a Story wasn’t the only innovative, student-curated exhibition on display this spring. The French Horse from Géricault to Picasso: Works from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts was the outcome of a team-taught course by Mitchell Merling, Paul Mellon Curator and head of the Department of European Art, VMFA; Jeffrey Allison, Paul Mellon Educator and manager of VMFA statewide programs and exhibitions; Kristie Couser, curatorial assistant for the Mellon Collection, VMFA; and Richard Waller, executive director of University Museums. Students came from Richmond and central Virginia, including Randolph-Macon College, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Richmond, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University. “Working alongside students from other universities was interesting,” says CLAIRE MCDONALD, ’16. “It was great to have an opportunity to collaborate with even more students that share my passion for art history. We all had different art historical backgrounds and training, meaning we all brought something different to the table.”
Students in the Museum Studies class led events and activities that encouraged a variety of audiences to engage with art through inventive storytelling. In one session, undergraduate students taught a two-part class for students age 50 and up through the School of Professional and Continuing Studies’ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
64
classes from all five University of Richmond schools, as well as other local colleges visited University Museums in 2015–16
2,407
people attended 38 museum exhibition programs
7,836 visits to University Museums
3
ENGAGE + INVOLVE
Throughout the first floor of Boatwright Memorial Library, visitors encounter paintings from graduating art students alongside work produced in screenprinting, digital photography, and color composition courses. Upstairs, prints from French engraver and portraitist Pierre-Alexandre Aveline, after François Boucher, line the wall of the quiet study room.
“It shows the library isn’t only a place for studying,” says Lucretia McCulley, head of scholarly communications. “It’s also an art gallery. It intersects with everything that’s happening in the library.” The library isn’t the only space to incorporate works from artists known both regionally and internationally. The works of Malcolm Morley hang in the Robins School of Business, the Law School features prints by Jackie Battenfield, and works by Axel Guhlmann can be found in the Carole Weinstein International Center. The museum walls gradually stretch and extend, creating a backdrop to life on campus.
“WE WANTED AN EVENT THAT WOULD INVOLVE STAFF in the work of fellow staff members — to not only involve them in the Richmond community, but in the campus community. Sometimes this knowledge can help us do our jobs better, sometimes it helps us build relationships, sometimes it gives us something else to talk to our constituents about.” —Kirsten Petrocelli, ’14, Office of Alumni and Career Services, on the University Staff Advisory Council’s guided tour of University Museums
4
“TYPICALLY ONE VIEWS ART WHILE STANDING. A dancer’s natural response is to move. [Edna] Andrade’s exhibit got my students to interact with a visually interesting space. Their bodies focused on a new point of interaction — a new dance partner to engage with — and brought the art to life. It expanded their understanding of space and the possibility of their own movement.” —Cheryl Pallant, adjunct instructor of English, on her Introduction to Contact Improv class’s visit to Edna Andrade: An Overview
9I
student works of art displayed on campus in 2015–16
Students danced the night away, surrounded by the natural glitter of rocks and gems, at the University Museums semiformal, held in September at the Lora Robins Gallery.
I86
works from the permanent collection on view through the Art on Campus program
452
participants in 36 museum programs for students
5
LEARNING + WORKING
“WE WANTED TO CREATE A NETWORK, not only for everyone to get together and share job postings and gallery openings, but to also provide a connection for International studies major CARLY CAHILL, ’18, has a passion for the arts, but always saw a career in diplomacy or international affairs. But working with University Museums as a museum ambassador and and as the 2016 Harnett Summer Research Fellow revealed new possibilities for connections. In particular, her summer fellowship included a threeday trip to New York City to meet with a network of Richmond alumni working in a variety of roles within the art world. She learned about directing a commercial gallery, cultivating donors at a major museum, and consulting with clients of a global insurance firm.
“The experience shaped the way that I think about my international studies degree,” Cahill says. “It was interesting to see that there were so many different ways of getting involved in an industry that went beyond what most people think about. There are international, cultural, and social components to art that I find interesting, the politics that I find interesting, but then you have the creative piece that just adds a completely different level.”
6
current students and graduating seniors so that they’d have contacts in the art world and could see what career opportunities are out there across pretty diverse fields.” —Laura Doyle, ’06, on the network of Richmond alumni working in the visual arts in New York City
“ONE TOPIC WE DISCUSSED was the role of intellectual property law in public spaces and, in particular, the public display of creative Students find a number of ways to get up close and personal with University Museums. Kristopher Kersey, assistant professor of art history, specializes in Japanese art, aesthetics, and material culture, a common theme in his courses. University Museums was a natural place to turn for representative examples, such as a pin-up-style nude on a fan by Yasumasa Morimura and a hakata doll, both found in the permanent collection. The difference between viewing art online versus seeing the real thing is a frequent discussion. “Most students come away saying seeing art in person was more sensorially enveloping,” he says. “By the same token, there’s always a minority of students who come away saying that online is better — that they can see more, and they like being able to zoom in and out. It should never be either/or; it should be how to use both.”
works. The visit [to University Museums] placed discussions regarding intellectual property law in context and made it real. It was helpful, both to see the works at the center of such agreements — and how they are displayed — and to discuss these issues with museum staff.” —Chris Cotropia, professor of law, whose Intellectual Property Law and Policy class visited University Museums to see examples of museum and artist agreements, and processes for acquisition and deaccession.
I,696 people attended 103 guided tours
320
objects pulled from the museum collection storage for faculty and student tours Student Ambassadors are the first point of contact in University Museums galleries. They greet visitors, share essential information about exhibitions and the permanent collection, and serve as museum docents. But that’s not all; ambassadors get a behindthe-scenes look at the field at large, as well as a foundation in art history and natural history, through weekly training sessions with museum staff.
I0,533 visitors to the museums’ website
Search the online collections database, and learn more about current and upcoming exhibitions and programs at museums.richmond.edu.
7
EDUCATION + PLAY “MUSEUM IN A BOX gave a great variety of high-quality specimens that we wouldn’t normally have access to in the classroom. The activities that were included covered a wide span of introductory earth science topics. It helped engage my students by getting them hands-on with geology.” —Timothy Winkler, St. Michaels Episcopal School, on incorporating Museum in a Box in his classroom
MARCIN JERZEWSKI, ’18, has long been fascinated with art and art history — an interest that led him to work as a behind-the-scenes education and collection assistant for University Museums. His primary task? Developing the Museum in a Box program, which merges the University’s collection with state Standards of Learning topics. Working with Martha Wright, coordinator of museum visitor and tour services, Jerzewski crafted three boxes covering the geology of Virginia, printmaking, and mollusks.
“I researched the existing teaching plan and hands-on activities, located items in museums’ education collection that could be used in the box, and wrote lesson plans for our activities,” he says. The boxes are borrowed by regional schools — many of which lack the resources to purchase similar materials or send students on field trips. The free program enriches classroom teaching with interactive experiences.
8
Matthew Houle, curator of museum collections, helps Richmond City students match raw mineral specimens to polished examples. This hands-on activity applies concepts they learned while on a guided tour of Massive: Large Rocks and Minerals from the Collection.
8
schools in four counties participated in Museum in a Box
“WITH THE INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS THE TOUCHABLE SPECIMENS, the digital photos, the scavenger hunts, question-and-answer session, and especially the make-your-own-rocks PlayDough activity, all of the children — and the adults — gained a new understanding of, and appreciation for, rocks and minerals.” —Cora Gross, homeschool group leader, whose students and parents visited Massive: Large Rocks and Minerals from the Collection
726
school children, teachers, and chaperones attended 30 tours and workshops
266
attended two Family Days, an arts-centered family fun program centered around current exhibitions
9
COLLECTIONS + EXHIBITIONS Our growing permanent collections and changing exhibitions are the backbone for engagement with the campus community and beyond.
1.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS INCLUDE WORKS BY: • • • • •
Isabel Bishop Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Gilda Ellis James Gillray Francisco de Goya
• • • • •
George Luks Mary Elizabeth Nottingham Nam June Paik Sheila Pitt Camille Pissarro
• + 1 whale vertebrae
2015–2016 EXHIBITIONS
Our fourteen special exhibitions this year ran the gamut of topics, including Op art, storytelling, jazz, the Vietnam War, portraiture, mid-century America, student art work, and large rocks and minerals. 6.
9.
7.
10
8.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ACQUISITIONS 1. Gilda Ellis, Untitled, c. 1970s 2. Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Bearded Old Man Wearing a Plumed Turban, 1645–50 3. Mary Elizabeth Nottingham, Standing Nude with Tall Stool I, 1928–29 4. Isabel Bishop, Single Strap Hanger, 1950 5. Whale vertebrae
10.
EXHIBITIONS 6. Jay Bolotin, XVIII Vanity, 2015 7. Nathan Benn, New Haven,Vermont, 1973 8. Bernard Perlin, Sketch for You Make It Right, They’ll Make It Fight, 1942 9. Robert Hodierne, Hill 881, 1967 10. Romare Bearden, Louisiana Serenade from the Jazz series, 1979 11. Selenite, Chihuahua, Mexico 12. Andy Warhol, Reigning Queens (Queen Beatrix), 1985 13. Pierre Daura, Martha in Her Graduation Dress, 1946
11.
12.
13.
11
IMAGE CREDITS COVER, from top to bottom “Drawing the Horse” workshop featuring Shakota Lena, a 1998 registered Bay Overo Paint horse, owned by Kym Osterbind, recruiting coordinator, Law School Career Development Office, University of Richmond. Photograph by Kim Lee Schmidt Visitors in the exhibition The French Horse from Géricault to Picasso: Works from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photograph by Kim Lee Schmidt PAGE 1, clockwise from top Margaret M. McLemore Eastman (American, born 1979), Sarah, 2001, gelatin silver print on paper, 16 x 20 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Student Works Collection, 2001, Bobby Chandler Purchase Award in Art, M2001.03.01 © Margaret McLemore Eastman, photograph by Taylor Dabney Participants in the “Drawing the Horse” workshop. Photograph by Kim Lee Schmidt Andy Freeberg (American, born 1958), Michelangelo’s Moses and the Dying Slave—Pushkin Museum, 2010, photogravure on paper, 22 ½ x 30 ¾ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Center Street Studio Archives, H2010.11.06 © Andy Freeberg, photograph by Taylor Dabney PAGE 2, clockwise from left Andras J. Bality (American, born 1963), The Ambitious Corporal, 1997, oil on canvas, 36 x 31 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of the artist, M1998.01.01 © Andras J. Bality Miranda Rosenblum, ’18, and Tim Gruber, ’16, students enrolled in the Museum Studies Seminar Jennifer Bartlett (American, born 1941), The Four Seasons: Autumn, 1990–1993, screenprint on wove paper, 31 ½ x 31 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2007.02.02 © Jennifer Bartlett, photograph by Taylor Dabney PAGE 3, clockwise from left Visitors in the exhibition The French Horse from Géricault to Picasso: Works from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photograph by Kim Lee Schmidt Participants in the “Drawing the Horse” workshop. Photograph by Kim Lee Schmidt Museum Studies Seminar students leading a class for students in the School of Professional and Continuing Studies’ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Photograph by Jamie Betts PAGE 4, from left to right Pierre-Alexandre Aveline (French, 1702–1760), after François Boucher (French, 1703–1770), Second Livre de Fontaines Inventées (Second Book of Invented Fountains), 1742, etching with engraving on paper, 9 ½ x 5 7/ 8 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase
12
with a grant from the Ahmanson Foundation, H2003.07.05 Malcolm Morley (American, born 1931), P-26 Pea Shooter, 2001, 13-color screenprint on paper, 40 x 29 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2008.23.04 © Malcolm Morley PAGE 5, top to bottom Students in Cheryl Pallant’s class Introduction to Contact Improv, visiting the exhibition Edna Andrade: An Overview Axel Guhlmann (German, born 1966), TransFORMissionen: Spuren im Kellerlicht: Farbradierundgen und Texte, 1998, etching and aquatint on paper, 19 3/ 8 x 25 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of the artist, M1999.06.12 © Axel Guhlmann Students participating in Night at the Museum: Semi-Formal. Photograph by Jamie Betts Entrance to the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, Night at the Museum: Semi-Formal. Photograph by Jamie Betts PAGE 6, clockwise from left Bradley Wright Ferrarini, ’06, 2005 Harnett Summer Research Fellow, with Carly Cahill, 2016 Harnett Summer Research Fellow, in New York Lindsay Ganter, ’09, with Carly Cahill, 2016 Harnett Summer Research Fellow, in New York Carmen Hermo, ’07, 2006 Harnett Summer Research Fellow, with Carly Cahill, 2016 Harnett Summer Research Fellow, in front of the Brooklyn Museum, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art visitor pass PAGE 7, from top to bottom Yasumasa Morimura (Japanese, born 1951), Animai-No-Bi (Ambiguous Beauty), 1995, photo offset lithograph on paper with bamboo, 19 ½ x 11 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of the Peter Norton Family, M1995.02.01 © Yasumasa Morimura, photograph by Taylor Dabney Kristopher Kersey, assistant professor of art history, and his students visit the Harnett Print Study Center. Photograph by David Hershey Student Ambassador Maureen Reed, ’18, and student museum attendant Timaj Yusef, ’18, conducting Museum Story Time during Family Arts Day Celebration 2015. Photograph by Heather Campbell PAGE 8, top to bottom Marcin Jerzewski, ’18, education assistant, University Museums, working with the Museum in a Box program Participants in attendance for the collection focus talk “Eleven Treasures from the Chinese Ceramics Collection.” Photograph by Carly Cahill
PAGE 9, clockwise from left Matthew Houle, curator of museum collections, University Museums, leads a school group through a mineral matching activity at the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature Smithsonite, Kelly Mine, Socorro County, New Mexico, United States, 3 ¾ x 11 ¼ x 9 inches, 21 pounds, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase, R1977.01.1469 © University of Richmond Museums, photograph by Taylor Dabney Museum Studies Seminar students leading a class for students in the School of Professional and Continuing Studies’ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Photograph by Jamie Betts Luther Memorial School students engaged in the Museum in a Box program in their classroom PAGE 10, clockwise, top to bottom Gilda Ellis, W’49, (American, born 1928), Untitled, circa 1970s, screenprint on Arches paper, 18 x 25 ¼ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of Gilda (Randy) Mann Ellis, W’49, H2015.13.09 © Gilda Ellis, photograph by Taylor Dabney Robert Hodierne (American, born 1945) Hill 881, 1967 (printed 2015), digital print on paper, 12 x 18 inches, collection of the artist © Robert Hodierne Bernard Perlin (American, 1918–2014) Sketch for “You, Make It Right, They’ll Make It Fight,” 1942, graphite on paper, 38 ½ x 27 inches, collection of the Estate of Bernard Perlin © Estate of Bernard Perlin Nathan Benn (American, born 1950) New Haven, Vermont, 1973, archival pigment print on paper, 15 x 21 inches, collection of the artist © Nathan Benn Jay Bolotin (American, born 1949), XVIII. Vanity, from the series The Book of Only Enoch, 2015, etching and woodcut on Arches Cover paper, 23 x 31 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase, with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2015.06.19 © Jay Bolotin, photograph by Tony Walsh PAGE 11, clockwise from left Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Italian, 1609– 1664), Bearded Old Man Wearing a Plumed Turban, 1645-1650, etching on laid paper, 4½ x 3 1/ 3 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2015.15.06 Mary Elizabeth Nottingham (American, 1907–1956), Standing Nude with Tall Stool I, 1928–1929, oil on newsprint, 16 x 11 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of H. Talmage Day, H2015.18.12 © Estate of Mary Elizabeth Nottingham
Isabel Bishop (American, 1902–1988), Single Strap Hanger, 1950, etching on paper, 8 3/ 8 x 3 ¼ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2011.26.01 © Estate of Isabel Bishop Whale Vertebrae, Miocene Epoch (23.03-5.332 million years), 39 inches long, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of Robert Simon, R2015.05.01 Romare Bearden (American, 1911–1988), Louisiana Serenade from Jazz series, 1979, color lithograph on Arches paper, 24 3/ 8 x 33 7/ 8 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2015.12.01 © Romare Bearden Foundation, photograph by Taylor Dabney Pierre Daura (American, born Catalonia, Spain, 1896–1976), Martha in her Graduation Dress, 1946, oil on canvas, 34 1/ 8 x 28 inches, Indiana University Art Museum, Gift of Martha R. Daura, 2001.78 © Martha Randolph Daura and the Indiana University Art Museum
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), Reigning Queens (Queen Beatrix), 1985, screenprint on Lenox Museum Board [Extra, out of edition. Designated for research and educational purposes only], 39 3/8 x 31 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., H2013.12.06 © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Selenite (known as “Desert Rose”), Chihuahua, Mexico, 11 ½ x 22 x 16 inches, 56 pounds 8 ounces, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase, R1977.01.1294 © University of Richmond Museums, photograph by Taylor Dabney INSIDE BACK COVER Nam June Paik (Korean, 1932–2006), Sonata I, II, III, and IV, 1996, lithograph, screenprint, and etching on Rives BFK paper, 21 x 26 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2015.22.01-.04, © Estate of Nam June Paik, photograph by Taylor Dabney
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND MUSEUMS JOEL AND LILA HARNETT MUSEUM OF ART JOEL AND LILA HARNETT PRINT STUDY CENTER LORA ROBINS GALLERY OF DESIGN FROM NATURE University of Richmond Museums 28 Westhampton Way Richmond, VA 23173 (804) 289-8276 • museums@richmond.edu
MUSEUMS.RICHMOND.EDU
Heather Campbell Curator of Museum Programs
Matthew Houle Curator of Museum Collections
Katreena Clark Museums Operations Manager
Elizabeth Schlatter Deputy Director and Curator of Exhibitions
Steve Duggins Museum Preparator
Richard Waller Executive Director
Henley Guild Museum Preparator
Martha Wright Coordinator of Museum Visitor and Tour Services
David Hershey Assistant Collections Manager
MUSEUMS.RICHMOND.EDU