Gallery Buzz

Trellised Garden with Animals, made in the Flemish workshop of Wilhelm de Pannemaker in the 1560s/70s, is the most important Renaissance tapestry in the Gallery’s collection. It has returned after two years at the Textile Conservation Laboratory of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where it was conserved with funds from a Conservation Project Support grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The experience of installation was amazing as is the tapestry itself, and can only be suggested through the few attached photographs.

Not enough can be said to thank everyone who participated in this challenging installation: Monica, who organized and coordinated the entire event; Colleen and Kerry, who braved the terrifying heights of the Renaissance gallery; Barry, Andres, and Keith, who worked incredibly hard to get us (and the tapestry) up, unrolled, and lit; Marlene Eidelheit, the director of the cathedral’s conservation lab, who directed the installation; and Gretchen Spittler, an experienced art handler who generously volunteered her time. We would never have been able to conserve this tapestry without the skills of Chris Garland, grants writer extraordinaire, and the tremendous support for the tapestry project from Grant and Margie.

Click on any of the images below – to view the full size image. Enjoy.

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I hope you can spend some time with this extraordinary work of art. It will be up for a year, at which time we’ll rotate it with the next great Renaissance tapestry Battle of the Animals, which is still at the lab in New York. Stay tuned.

(Shameless plug: if you want your very own Trellised Garden with Animals, but don’t have room … Colleen Underhill has made it available at the Gallery Store in the form of a beautiful computer mousepad.)

Thanks again to all my colleagues for making this possible.
Take a trek up to the Renaissance gallery if you haven’t already. You’ll be amazed. Really.

Submitted and photographed by
Nancy Norwood
Curator of European Art
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester

This is the 1^st  full length monograph about Walter Pach, a very important person in the development and promotion of modern art in America.  Most of those interested in art know of the “Armory Show”, the 1913 exhibit in an armory in New York City, actually entitled “International Exhibition of Modern Art”.  Many do not know that the importance of the show was the international aspect and that the only way this happened at all was because of Walter Pach.

Pach began his formation in the art world accompanying his father who was a professional photographer whose main contract was with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Young Pack got to wander the empty galleries off hours and hone his eye for art. (He never supported the modern idea of photography as an art form, stemming from this early background.)

Pach was an American artist, who had been living in Paris on and off during the 1^st decade of the 20^th century.  He was employed by William Merritt Chase to coordinate the Chase Class in Europe for several years and his knowledge of Spanish, French and Italian along with his organizational skills, made these summer programs very successful.  He also took advantage of the training offered by Chase and also by Robert Henri both abroad and in New York City at the New York School of Art.

When the time came to put together an exhibit of modern art, the person who knew all the artists, or their dealers, and who did not have the language barrier of the other show organizers, Walter Pach was the only choice to help bring the newest art to America.  He was exceedingly good at this and accompanied the show to both New York City and subsequently Chicago and Boston.  Pach was also friends with American Moderns such as John Sloan, Robert Henri, Arthur B. Davies and Walter Kuhn.  Pach also became instrumental in acting as a dealer for early collectors of modern art such as NYC lawyer John Quinn and Walter Arensberg.

Later in his life, Walter Pach became a noted author and lecturer on modern art and related topics.  The Print Club of Rochester brought him to speak at the Memorial Art Gallery on April 20^th 1938, on “The Painter Gravers” illustrated with lantern slides.  His knowledge of many artist’ work and his own personal experience as a painter and etcher, gave him an “unusual understanding of his subject” as the invitation points out.

A good read, using material from archival sources, with many illustrations, this book should be of interest to those who wonder how the European artists got their start in America.

Review submitted by
Susan Nurse

Walter Pach (1883 – 1958)
The Armory Show and the Untold Story of Modern Art in America
By Laurette E. McCarthy, Pennsylvania State University Press,  2011.
MAGStack N7483.P25M38 2011

As a receptionist at the Admission Desk of the Memorial Art Gallery, one of the perks of my job is that I get to meet a lot of new guests. People travel from all over the country to Rochester and inevitably stop in to view our collection while they are in town.

One kind of guest that I had never met before was a traveling non-gnome. Kate and Jen visited the museum during our extended hours on Thursday evening, toting a rather over-stuffed white puff-ball with them. He looked like one of those white, puffy clouds that roll across the blue sky on beautiful day while, you try to discern if the cloud has a shape. Big Bear was this guest’s name.

They explained to me that they keep a “scrapbook” of sorts of the variety of landmarks that they have visited by photographing Big Bear there. How awesome is that!

 “He’s kind of like the traveling gnome,” Kate said. “We take Big Bear on trips and photograph him at places.”

The traveling non-gnome has been a popular meme in which an inanimate object is taken along by its owner(s) and photographed. These objects range from stuffed animals to dolls and have been photographed all over the world. Check out rabitroundtheworld’s photo stream on flickr, to get an idea of what Big Bear’s job is.

We are thrilled that Big Bear came in on Thursday evening to be photographed at the MAG as a landmark of Rochester. With a long history through the University of Rochester, the Memorial Art Gallery came into existence in 1913. The gallery features a balanced collection and a variety of temporary exhibits such as the widely popular Psychedelic, Extreme Materials, and Crafting Modernism. We are looking forward to our 100 year birthday next year and hope Big Bear and other traveling non-gnomes can be a part of our Centennial Celebration too! And don’t forget – if your non-gnome visits the Memorial Art Gallery, share your pictures with us on our Facebook page!

Thank you for visiting, Kate, Jen, and Big Bear!

By Rebekah Moraites, MAG Admissions

As a follow up to the write up in the Arts Rochester blog, artist/illustrator John Kastner is back in Rochester, and the Memorial Art Gallery couldn’t be happier for him. Long time Creative Workshop artist-teacher, John was awarded Best of Show in the 50th Annual Illustration West Competition held by The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, and he was able to make his way west for the Opening.

Just this morning, John shared some photos with us and we wanted to share them here as well. There will be more to come, but we wanted to be able to post these as soon as we got them. Congratulations, John!

 

This book is an exhibition catalogue for the exhibit of the same name that was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through March 18, 2012.  As is the case with many MET exhibits, this was a very scholarly and complete study in the genre of portraiture.  There are 5 essays on the theme of portraiture in Italy during the Renaissance period and a complete catalogue of the works in the exhibit.  Each object has a lengthy citation that is interesting in itself, including provenance (history of ownership) and conservation.

How portraiture was seen and used by patrons changed dramatically during the Renaissance period, particularly in Italy.  Portraits of patrons and/or donors were small parts of larger religious works, and this continued in this period, but single sitter portraiture rose as an art form with the rise of wealthy families.  While we 20^th c viewers may see strict profile as a repeat of earlier forms and not very life-like, the new rich patrons saw them as very representative of their new secular power- like the profiles of Romans on coins.   In other cases, 3 /4 view portraits brought a more life-like form, more familiar to us today.  Since Italy was a series of city-states, each with powerful families in need of images for their castles and palaces, many artists stepped up to provide them with portraits.  The list of artists is a who’s who of major artists of the Italian Renaissance.  Names include those in the exhibit title, but also Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi,  Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Alberti to name a few. Sculptural busts and medallions were also created, some in the guise of Roman statesman.  Their patrons also have familiar names such as Medici, Sforza, d’Este, Strozzi, Sassetti, and Visconti.

Portraits were also produced to solidify alliances through marriage, introducing the bride to her expectant groom.   Popes, who continued to exert tremendous power in Italy, continued to have likenesses of themselves in both painting and sculpture.

New scholarship can also be followed in this book, as unidentified artists and sitters are here identified.  Even if you don’t read every entry, this is an exhibit catalogue to greatly enjoy.

The Renaissance Portrait: From Donatello to Bellini
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York by Yale University Press 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58839-425-5
MAG call number N7606 .R46 2011

Written by:
Susan Nurse

For the past five years or so, I have wanted to plan a show about ‘the machine.’  Certain pieces in our collection, like Charles Sheeler’s Ballet Mechanique, (figure 1) Louis Lozowick’s Aeroplane, Image Thrown on a Screen, (figure 2) and John Wenrich’s Asphalt Plant, Painted Post, N.Y., (figure 3) have always appealed to me.  These potent, machine-age idealizations long formed the kernel of my concept for this show.  But beyond those sleek, clean, perfect machines and industrial complexes, was there another story that wanted to be told?

When I began to organize the exhibit in earnest, I gleefully combed through our collection for work to complement this core group.  I was surprised and excited to find artists’ responses to the machine that were so much more varied and nuanced than I had anticipated they would be.  Upon closer inspection, even the Sheeler, Lozowick and Wenrich I had always perceived as unadulterated celebrations of the machine unfolded in complex, layered narratives of the awe and anxiety evoked by industrialization in the early 20^th century.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright gave an address to the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society on March 4, 1901.  To this group united by a belief in the importance of handmade beauty and an inherent distrust of growing industrialization, Wright said, “We must look to the artist brain, of all brains, to grasp the significance to society of this thing we call the Machine.” Inspired by Wright’s words, I brought together the work I selected for the show, and I watched, fascinated, as a portrait of the mechanical muse of the 20^th century, both creator and destroyer, grew from this uncanny intersection where art meets machine.

To see more, visit Modern Icon: The Machine as Subject in American Art on view in the Lockhart Gallery of the Memorial Art Gallery until May 6, 2012.  The exhibit, drawn primarily from MAG’s permanent collection, consists of 24 works of art from 1913-2004.

Jessica Marten, Assistant Curator

 

 

Just months after Kodak’s first nationwide picture contest, the first exhibition of the Rochester International Salon of Photography was held at the Memorial Art Gallery, December 5, 1929-January 5, 1930. Unlike the Kodak Salon, the Rochester International accepted photographs made using all types of cameras.

Victor Rayment of the Kodak Office called an organizational meeting at the Gallery’s Library on May 16, 1929 that included Glenn E. Matthews, E. P. Wightman, Gertrude Herdle, Helen Williams, Alexander Leventon and other area photographers.

In a draft letter in the Gallery’s archives he wrote:

“It has been felt by many contributors to the Rochester Salon of Photographic Art that the interests of Pictorial Photography would be better served if a salon, international in character, were held in preference to the present exhibition which is limited to local entries.

“Such a salon would bring the best in artistic photography to Rochester, would be an incentive and inspiration to local workers; also the public of the city would become better acquainted with photography as a medium of artistic expression.”

In the foreword to the 1929 exhibition catalogue, the organizers stated their hopes that “Rochester as a city should appear before the world with a tender of welcome to the highest artistic expressions of the photographic science with which the city is identified,” an early expression of Rochester as the “Image Capital of the World.”

Jurors of the 1st Salon, shown here judging in the Gallery’s library. Shown: F.R. Fraprie, J.H. Mackay & William A. Alcock, photo by Stone from 12/1/1929 Democrat & Chronicle.

The International Salons continued at MAG until 1982.

The Creative Workshop is located on the lower level of Cutler Union, at the eastern end of the Memorial Art Gallery complex. The stately façade belies the activity, creativity, passion and pleasure that this facility produces. The classes offered at the Creative Workshop touch nearly 3,000 lives throughout the year. There are about 100 scholarships offered each year to the Rochester community as well.  To learn more about classes for all ages, and about the Art Day Camps, click here.

Just above a Knoblauch Bench in the entry to the Creative Workshop (above), there is an area for reflection and celebration, given to us from a 10 year old. Noel Dorothy Parcells was a dreamer. You could often find her reading, dancing, acting or laughing til’ the sun went down. She liked the Beatles, sunshine, peace signs, and she was mortified when other kids didn’t know who Hendrix was. She played the clarinet, wrote poetry, and loved to draw. At her former school, Village Elementary in Hilton. she was part of the REACH program for gifted children.
Nicole described herself best in this poem:

Noel

Imaginative, creative, special, unique,
Daughter of Raechel.
Lover of art, music, freedom.
Who feels passionate for Art,
Excitement for dancing,
Sorrow for homeless people.
Who fears death, cars and airplanes.
Who would like to see an eclipse,
Outerspace and the world.
Resident of Rochester.

Here are some detail shots of her works, currently on view:

If you are so inclined, come by and pay a visit. Sit and reflect. Share some of your thoughts. The artwork will be on view through the end of March. Memorial scholarships have been established for a student from each the two schools Noel most recently attended. 

Every so often, someone will reach out to the Memorial Art Gallery to share the story of their own personal inspiration found within the walls of the Gallery. In the mail this week, Richard T. shares his favorite painting “Back from the Orchard” and the poem that it inspired. We asked permission to share it with you here. Enjoy.

Seen in a Frame

Sly Eyes is watching
the back porch, hoping Ma
won’t barrel out
and yell, “Now, Abram,
you get back here
like I said – hands and pockets full -
and not a morsel in your mouth!”

He’s behind the old black walnut,
goldenrod and asters all around,
flaming sumac down the orchard lane.

From up here I can see
the pockets of his brown overalls
bulge with apples,
and two more – red and yellow -
under one arm.
Looks like he’s gobbling a Lodi –
skin like sunshine, flesh soft as butter,
big and round as a baby’s head.

Downstairs it’s almost supper time -
cool maple shadows drift through
the open window, down my written page.
Abram’s twelve but older than,
and, even hidden there behind the tree,
he’s in a beam of light.

But I am Mary Margaret,
Mamma’s true and only daughter, fifteen -
so I know (that’s right) I know.

by Richard TenEyck
(after the painting “Back from the Orchard” by Eastman Johnson)

MAG is excited to be the only tour venue for Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design, organized by the Museum of Art and Design in New York City. And we’re delighted that four works from MAG’s own permanent collection are included in the show, which opens to the public on February 26:

Castle and Paley have long been associated with the School for American Crafts (SAC) at Rochester Institute of Technology. The exhibition features three other artists who taught at SAC: Hans Christensen, Ronald Hayes Pearson, and Jack Prip. Several of their students at SAC earned a place in the show as well: Vincent Ferrini, Ronald Senungetuk, Olaf Skoogfors, Robert J. King, Lorna Pearson, and Ruth Radakovich. The latter also taught at MAG’s Creative Workshop. She is represented in Crafting Modernism by a spectacular and slightly dangerous Cocktail Ring (1969), guaranteed to draw envious stares and possibly blood!

Written by:
Marie Via
Director of Exhibitions