A View to Change Visit us on the Museum’s roof terrace during the final months of Cocktails on the Skyline and experience the changing view of downtown’s skyline, as Devon Tower truly begins to take shape. See not only the creation of the first high-rise in decades but also the friendly faces of our roof top regulars and staff before we close for the season in October.
A View to Change Visit us on the Museum’s roof top during the final months of Cocktails on the Skyline and experience the changing view of downtown’s skyline, as Devon Tower truly begins to take shape. See not only the creation of the first high-rise in decades but also the friendly faces of our roof top regulars and staff before we close for the season in October.
Photo by Paul Houston
Inside at a Glance
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La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections Beginning Sept. 9, see more than 85 works from over 30 North American collections together for the first time.
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Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION Join Museum Curator Alison Amick on a studio interview with artist Jonathan Hils, during his creation of the exhibition.
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Major Acquisition Enhances OKCMOA Collection Two exceptional works by leading American minimalist artist Anne Truitt will join Ellsworth Kelly, Thomas Downing, and Gene Davis on the third floor.
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IN FOCUS @ OKCMOA
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7th Annual ARTonTAP Oklahoma City’s best beer tasting event is just around the corner. Find out more about this stellar benefit that you don’t want to miss.
Art Critic Jerry Saltz Makes First Appearance & Jerry Saltz Interview Jerry Saltz will make his first appearance in Oklahoma this fall. Learn more about this celebrity art critic for New York Magazine.
Mission The Oklahoma City Museum of Art enriches lives through the visual arts.
EXECUTIVE STAFF Glen Gentele, President & CEO Rodney Lee, Finance Director Jack Madden, Facility Operations Director
EDITORIAL STAFF Alison Amick, Curator for Collections Chandra Boyd, Senior Associate Curator of Education Jim Eastep, Senior Development Officer Nicole Emmons, Editor & Publications Coordinator Brian Hearn, Film Curator Jennifer Klos, Associate Curator Leslie A. Spears, Communications Manager
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS Elby J. Beal, Chairman Frank D. Hill, Immediate Past Chairman Frank W. Merrick, Chairman-Elect Suzette Hatfield, Vice-Chairman Leslie S. Hudson, Vice-Chairman Duke R. Ligon, Vice-Chairman Judy M. Love, Vice-Chairman Virginia A. Meade, Vice-Chairman Peter B. Delaney, Treasurer John R. Bozalis, M.D., Secretary Frank McPherson J. Edward Barth *James C. Meade Katy Boren *Charles E. Nelson William M. Cameron Cynda C. Ottaway Teresa L. Cooper Christopher P. Reen Theodore M. Elam Marianne Rooney *Nancy P. Ellis Robert J. Ross *Shirley Ford Amalia Miranda Silverstein, Preston G. Gaddis M.D. David T. Greenwell Darryl G. Smette Julie Hall Jeanne Hoffman Smith Kirk Hammons Denise Suttles K. Blake Hoenig Jordan Tang, Ph.D. Honorable Jerome A. Holmes Lyndon C. Taylor Joe M. Howell, D.V.M. Wanda Otey Westheimer Willa D. Johnson Charles E. Wiggin Penny M. McCaleb Marsha Wooden Katie McClendon *Lifetime Trustee
Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center 415 Couch Drive Oklahoma City, OK 73102 (405) 236-3100 Fax: (405) 236-3122 www.okcmoa.com Readers’ comments are welcome. E-mail nemmons@okcmoa.com. Requests for permission to reprint any material appearing in this publication should be sent to the address above.
Photo by Jim Meeks
Dear Members and Friends
I HOPE THIS ISSUE OF CONNECT finds you well and enjoying the summer. I have excellent news to share with you on a number of fronts. It is my great pleasure to tell you that the Oklahoma City Museum of Art was just REACCREDITED by the American Association of Museums! This is a wonderful achievement for the institution and one that recognizes the Museum’s commitment to excellence and professional standards of operation. It also signifies an ongoing process of learning and improvement which is critical. Your participation and investment in the Museum has helped us through the process and will continue to guide us as we press further into the 21st century. Thank you for your amazing support. If you haven’t visited OKCMOA’s website recently, I encourage you to enjoy a new virtual experience of the Museum. We are excited about the changes and look forward to ongoing updates and advancements, as we work to fully integrate all of the online components planned for the site. Expect to see improvements in making online purchases as well as keep an eye out for upcoming drop-down menus to simplify navigation. I want to take a moment to commend the education team. The art camps this summer were amazing, and everyone had a fantastic time. We look forward to the upcoming fall 2010 session of classes available for children and adults. Cocktails on the Skyline is having a fantastic year with great live music, food, fun, wine, beer, mixed drinks, exciting people, and an excellent view of the new Devon Tower under construction in the neighborhood. I cannot wait to see each floor rising towards the sky and to witness the transformation of the downtown Oklahoma City skyline. The next several years downtown will be where the action is, so enjoy it as it unfolds. The Renaissance Ball—titled La Serenissima after the upcoming exhibition— formally inaugurates the Museum’s 2010–11 season on September 10. La Serenissima quite literally means “the most serene” and is a name for the Republic of Venice. This year’s Ball is as spectacular and exciting as ever. We have a full cycle of upcoming exhibitions and programs scheduled for September through December, starting with the opening of La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections and the second installment of the NEW FRONTIERS: Series for Contemporary Art, featuring Oklahoma sculptor and University of Oklahoma professor Jonathan Hils in the exhibition Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION. Read through this issue of CONNECT to learn about upcoming programs at the Museum during the fall season. Join us on Wednesday, September 8, from 6–8 p.m., for the member’s preview opening reception for the fall exhibitions. There will be a combined preview lecture, featuring speakers for both shows from 5:30 p.m.–6:15 p.m. I think you will enjoy the mixed exhibition and program experience that resonates with the concept that all art was once contemporary. I look forward to seeing you again soon!
Sincerely,
Glen Gentele, President & CEO ON THE COVER Unidentified Artist, formerly attributed to Michele Marieshi. View of Venice: SS Giovani e Paolo and the Scuola di San Marco, ca. 1756-60. Oil on canvas, 51 x 66 in. (129.54 x 167.64 cm). Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Museum Purchase, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, 48.1
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Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Italian, 1727-1804). The Building of the Trojan Horse, mid 1770s. Oil on canvas, 88 1/4 x 154 in. (224.16 x 391.16 cm). Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1950.658. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art/Art Resource, NY
La Serenissima
September 9, 2010–January 2, 2011
Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections FOR OVER A MILLENNIUM, the Italian coastal state of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, or La Serenissima, flourished as a center for sea trade and the arts. It also became an important destination on the Grand Tour. Venice’s impressive skylines and unique network of canals, palaces, and churches inspired artists, especially during the eighteenth century. Today, collections throughout North America hold many works from this prolific period. This fall, see many of these impressive works in La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections. Originated by the Museum, La Serenissima brings together more than 85 works from over 30 North American collections. Together for the first time, these works cover eighteenth-century Venetian art in the age of the Grand Tour and through the decline of the Republic, which was brought about by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy in the last decade of the century. “The exhibition underlines the fact that the last flowering of religious baroque painting and a high development of view painting took place in La Serenissima during a time of declining trade and at a critical point in the ongoing war with the Ottoman Turks over the dominance of seagoing trade routes,” said curator Hardy George, Ph.D. “The decline of Venice’s religious art was not a slow and painful process brought about by a lack of faith or declining moral values but a sudden interruption caused by Napoleon’s invasion of the traditionally impenetrable city in 1797. While the religious, symbolic, and mythological works commissioned by the church and aristocracy abruptly ceased, the influence of view painting, associated with the works of Canaletto, Bellotto, and Guardi, lived on and became connected with mainstream developments in English and French art of the early nineteenth century.”
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SEASON SPONSORS PRESENTING SEASON SPONSOR
Inasmuch Foundation SEASON SPONSORS
Allied Arts Foundation Chesapeake Energy Corporation Devon Energy Corporation OGE Corporation Oklahoma Arts Council Bank of America | Crawley Petroleum E.L. & Thelma Gaylord Foundation Kirkpatrick Foundation | MidFirst Bank SandRidge Energy, Inc. Cox Oklahoma | GlobalHealth | The Oklahoman Thatcher Hoffman Smith Film Endowment LA SERENISSIMA SPONSORS
James C. and Virginia W. Meade Oklahoma Humanities Council EDUCATION SPONSORS
Sarkeys Foundation and Sonic, America’s Drive-In Arts Education Endowments Oklahoma Community Service Commission
La Serenissima highlights mythological, biblical, historical, and genre from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Canada. works by artists such as Pietro Longhi, Sebastiano Ricci, Giovanni Battista Religious subjects by G. B. Tiepolo show the intense devotional Tiepolo, and his son, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo. It also contains works aspect of his work, especially his painting Saint Charles Borromeo by Venetian view painters, such as master painter Antonio Canaletto, (Cincinnati Art Museum). This work illustrates the devout Carlo Borromeo, Bernardo Bellotto, Luca Carlevarijs, and who became a leading statesman of Francesco Guardi. These artists created the papal court at the age of twentyexquisite paintings of Venice’s streets and two and shortly afterwards became the waterways that had a broad appeal and archbishop of Milan, meditating on the influenced many artists living both in and image of the crucified Christ, whose outside of the coastal state. spiritual presence is indicated by a View painting is a significant section single burning candle. Similar religious in the exhibition that includes exquisite themes also are explored in paintings works by leading artists of the period. For and graphic works, such as Guardi’s example, three atmospheric paintings The Sacrifice of Isaac (The Cleveland by Carlevarijs, who is credited with Museum of Art), in which the faith and introducing view painting to Venice, are devotion of Abraham are tested by included. These topographical views God’s command for him to sacrifice his of Venice’s ornate architecture show son unquestionably, and G. D. Tiepolo’s the Basin of St. Marks and the mouth of series of etchings devoted to the Holy the Grand Canal seen from the quay Family’s Flight into Egypt (National Gallery of the Ducal Palace and come from of Art and Fine Arts Museums of San the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Francisco). and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. La Serenissima also exhibits Additionally, Canaletto’s extraordinary three of the most important series of topographical accuracy can be seen in prints associated with eighteenthhis straightforward portrayal of The Grand century Venice. Canaletto’s intriguing Canal near the Rialto Bridge (Museum topographical etchings of Views of of Fine Arts, Houston), and his “capricci” Venice and Environs (The Cleveland Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, 1696-1770) and Studio. Saint Charles Borromeo (Fragment of St. Charles Borromeo Meditating on the Crucifix), 1767-69. Oil on canvas, 48 or imaginary flights of fantasy are Museum of Art and The Metropolitan 1/2 x 44 1/8 in. (123.19 x 112.08 cm). Cincinnati Art Museum, John J. Emery Fund, 1924.178 exemplified in his Capriccio: Farmhouse Museum of Art) beautifully capture on the Venetian Mainland and Capriccio: Villa and Ruins by a River Venice’s topography and the nearby landscape. In addition, G. B. (Springfield Museums, Massachusetts). Also central to the exhibition Tiepolo’s Vari Capricci (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and National of view paintings of Venice are Guardi’s atmospheric and expressive Gallery of Art) and Scherzi di Fantasia (The Cleveland Museum of Art paintings of the Regatta at the Rialto Bridge (Sarah Campbell Blaffer and The Metropolitan Museum of Art) present highly fanciful images of Foundation), San Giorgio magicians, wizards, warriors, Maggiore, Venice (Toledo as well as snakes and skulls Museum of Art), and View of on smoldering altars, and the the Dogana and Santa Maria escapades of forest nymphs della Salute (The Nelson-Atkins and untamed satyrs. Museum of Art). The exhibition Two large-scale concludes with works by works—G.B. Tiepolo’s Juno late-eighteenth–earlyTriumphant, as Queen of the nineteenth-century artists Air (Sarah Campbell Blaffer Ippolito Caffi and J. M. W. Foundation, Houston) and Turner. These artists were G.D. Tiepolo’s The Building of influenced by Canaletto’s the Trojan Horse (Wadsworth work and the romantic Atheneum Museum of Art)— interpretation of Venice’s add theatrical drama to the slightly derelict beauty. Caffi exhibit. The former shows and Turner employed many Juno, the Queen of the gods, of the same vantage points being drawn across the and topographical subjects heavens in her royal chariot associated with the view by two peacocks, with Luna, paintings of Canaletto, such the moon and night goddess, (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto (Italian, 1697-1768). The Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge, ca. 1730. Oil as the Doges Palace, the on canvas, 19 1/2 x 28 3/4 in. (49.7 x 70 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The Robert Lee Blaffer Memorial fleeing the presence of her great domed church of Santa Collection, gift of Sarah Campbell Blaffer sibling, the sun god Helios. The Maria della Salute, and the latter presents the story of the Trojan Horse, as taken from the second sumptuous palaces along the Grand Canal as well as the glorious Rialto book of Virgil’s Aeneid, showing the Greek invaders constructing the Bridge. horse before the gates of Troy. The considerable size of these easel Never before have these works been brought together as a whole. paintings gives a clearer idea of the scale and grandeur of the artists’ Don’t miss this opportunity to see these extraordinary eighteenth-century much larger decorative works in fresco in the palaces and churches of Venetian paintings and prints from outstanding collections across North Venice and its surrounding areas. Another painting by Jacopo Amigoni America. An illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition. based on Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas Appearing Before Queen Dido, comes
CONNECT | Vol. 2010, Issue 3
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Museum Curator Alison Amick visits with artist Jonathan Hils in his studio. Photo by Christina Hicks.
Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION September 9, 2010–January 2, 2011
JONATHAN HILS is an associate professor of sculpture at the
JONATHAN HILS: I actually started out in music and was a guitar player, following my dream of being in a rock band and recording, but through some very odd life events, I wound up in art school. I walked into the sculpture program—it just seemed natural. It seemed right. That’s where I really started. I went to Georgia State University for my undergrad then finished my MFA at Tulane.
He moved to the North Georgia mountains to live off of the land, with no electricity and no running water, and proceeded to be an organic farmer, creating hand-hewn country woodenware, making dough bowls, traditional wooden utensils, and cabinetry with no power tools, just doing it by hand. I would go visit him when I was living in Atlanta; there was this interesting duality of living in the city, having that city experience, and then traveling two hours and being in the mountains with nothing, just you and the land. While I was up there, he introduced me to this whole Appalachian Mountain craft culture—women who were doing these incredible handmade quilts, people who were making handmade lace, woodworkers who were doing a lot of work by hand. That influenced my work ethic, and some of the aesthetics that you see in my pieces relate back to textiles, back to lace making. I think that was a huge influence for me in a roundabout, non-academic way. Academically, there are influences through Eva Hesse, Richard Deacon, Martin Puryear, David Nash, that post-minimal sensibility that infuses a lot of handmade material work I really enjoy—that’s always been something I have gravitated to.
AA: What have been the greatest influences on your work?
AA: Describe your artistic process.
JH: When I was working on my undergraduate degree, I had an uncle who was a huge influence—not necessarily on my artistic thinking but more on my thinking about the world. He was a professor for a number of years who woke up one day and decided that his academic life, his home life, and everything that he had achieved to a certain point, was not satisfying. He quit his job and, this is terrible to say, divorced his wife.
JH: My artistic process is incredibly physical. There’s a performative aspect to what I do. How I create is performance art, in a way, because of the repetitive nature of things. I think when you see my work you get a sense of its time and labor. All of this is basically cut by hand, bent by hand, and welded by hand—there is no real automation in it other than the physicality of repeating a process over and over again to achieve the ends that I’m trying to realize.
University of Oklahoma School of Art & Art History. His sculpture is included in public and private collections and has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the U.S. Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION exhibits a selection of large-scale, hand-wrought automobiles by the artist. These steel and aluminum sculptures express his interest in the American phenomena of oversized vehicles and society’s relationship with them. During the production of the exhibition, Curator Alison Amick visited with Hils in his studio. ALISON AMICK: Can you describe your artistic training and how you developed an interest in sculpture?
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Another part of my process is this sort of personal game in terms of how I fill in the forms. There is a lot of looking at things and trying to figure out how the light and the lines are going to compact and expand as the viewer moves around the piece. Most of the time I put into sculptures revolves around just stepping back and looking at them. It can be very frustrating, as this process involves working for eight to ten hours a day. Sometimes I step back and say, “I can’t even see that I’ve made any progress.” But, it’s also this extended process that I’m attracted to that I think frustrates most people. AA: When did you begin depicting automobiles and how has your interest in them changed or altered over time? JH: When I started depicting automobiles, it was more of a political angst that came out of the election in 2004. There was a divisiveness happening in the United States that seemed to have our political parties at more and more disparate ends. Yet, it seemed like they were all trying to achieve the same things. I started using NASCAR originally. There’s a long history to NASCAR that was completely opposed to how it was perceived at that point in time and how it was being used politically. The fact is that it was started by a bunch of people who were breaking the law and didn’t really have a high regard for family values in a traditional sense. They were against the government and very rebellious, and [in 2004] you have it being used to represent a sort of wholesome way of life and to unify it. I felt like, using NASCAR, I could key off of something that was completely American, something that started in the United States, a completely American sport. That element of the spectator sport was interesting to me, especially as it is a sport that burns natural resources. It uses rubber, oil, and gas—all for the sake of entertainment. Then the more I invested in how people thought about sports and cars, the more I felt like there were some interesting things going on economically in the United States, especially with the automakers. The economy, the ecological and environmental concerns that we’re faced with, and how the car as a status symbol is perhaps in flux and changing is interesting to me. AA: How do you choose specific vehicles for presentation, and then what determines the scale in which you create them? JH: They all have to be a little bit bigger than life size. I’m not trying to render any of these vehicles in a hyper-realistic fashion. I pull models off the Internet and then, using digital technologies, find distances and measurements. A lot of it is built in space with a rough idea of scale, but most of it is just getting a sense of the identity of the car and trying to pull out some of the essential elements that I think people will identify. AA: Speak a little about the vehicles you are creating for INTERSECTION.
Detail of one of the vehicle sculptures, showing the intricate pattern of the welds used to create it. Photo by Christina Hicks.
JH: The muscle cars in the show are pulled directly from the Steve McQueen movie Bullitt, which are a 1968 Mustang Fastback and a ‘68 Dodge Charger. This film is known for its incredible car chase scene that’s a little over 12 minutes and is still regarded as one of the great car chase scenes in cinema. I thought that was an interesting idea. You’ve got this typical, allAmerican guy being chased by bad guys with overtones of the continued on page 9
Upcoming Events EXHIBITION LECTURE “La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections” and “Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION,” featuring Hardy George, Ph.D., and artist Jonathan Hils Wednesday, September 8, 5:30 pm GALLERY TALK “La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections,” featuring George Knox, Ph.D., eighteenth-century Venetian art specialist Thursday, September 9, 6:30 pm FALL TEACHER WORKSHOP Tuesday, September 14, 5–8 pm PANEL DISCUSSION “Art Criticism: Writing, Editing and Publishing,” offered in partnership with Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) and the School of Art at OU Saturday, September 18, 1–3 pm TINY TUESDAY Shapes in Venice Tuesday, September 21, 10 am–noon GALLERY TALK “Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION,” featuring artist Jonathan Hils Thursday, September 30, 6:30 pm FRIENDS’ LECTURE “The Good, the Bad, and the Very Bad: A Year in the Life of an Art Critic,” featuring Jerry Saltz, senior art critic, New York Magazine Thursday, October 7, 6:30 pm ARTIST TALKS Glenn Herbert Davis and Cedar Marie, Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship Recipients 2010, copresented by Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Thursday, October 21, 6 pm COURSE Understanding Contemporary Art, copresented by OKC Downtown College Tuesdays, October 26-November 30, 5:30-8:30 pm FAMILY DAY Featuring La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections and Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION Saturday, November 6, 12–4 pm FRIENDS’ LECTURE “18 Years of Friends Speakers,” featuring James C. Meade, past chairman, Friends of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Wednesday, November 10, 6:30 pm CONCERT Featuring the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Sunday, November 28, 1 pm For a complete listing of programs, visit the Museum’s Web site okcmoa.com
CONNECT | Vol. 2010, Issue 3
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SHOP THE STORE FIND UNIQUE TREASURES THAT ARE TRULY WORKS OF ART BUDDHA BOARD WATER WIZARD
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In the Galleries
La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections September 9, 2010–January 2, 1st Floor
Detail of a map used as an overlay on one of the trucks in the exhibition. Photo by Christina Hicks.
cold war. The bad guys are in the black car, and Steve McQueen is in this great green car. For the exhibition, the two cars will actually be pointing away from each other rather than chasing each other. I hope people will think a little bit about what that could represent beyond just the aesthetics, not only thinking about the utility of these cars, but also the entertainment of these things chasing each other and where we are now in terms of thinking about ourselves in the bigger picture. The pickup truck is completely and distinctly an American vehicle, with the idea of it being something you would use for working. The vehicle has been represented in commercials in very patriotic and utilitarian ways, and yet, at the same time, there’s this odd dichotomy of it being used as purely a status symbol and not necessarily fulfilling the identity it used to have. So, I thought of the pickup truck, and I began questioning how many are actually used for a purpose. Are people really thinking about why they have these things and what they could mean? One pickup truck will hold about 10,000 little play balls. There’s sort of a connection to childhood and also economy. I grew up walking through Kmart, and they had these giant ball towers. As a kid, they always stuck with me, the amazing array of different sizes and colors. It was something that seemed monolithic and beautiful, and yet it had all this potential, imagining all of those things being extracted and having them go free. There’s this tension to that kind of confinement and yet a little bit of playfulness in using the balls, a reference to their use as childlike entertainment. It’s a way of looking at how the vehicles are being used and how people think about using them today, implying a little bit of frivolousness in the whole system. AA: I understand one of the pickups will have a series of maps placed on top and will be illuminated from within. How did you choose the cities or metropolitan areas that you worked from to create these maps? JH: There are a lot of countries from the Middle East representing the tensions that have evolved through political and economic entanglements. There are also a number of U.S. cities intermixed with other cities from around the world, including cities from Europe, South America, and the Middle East. Riyadh and Tehran will be included, but it will be incredibly difficult to tell them apart. That is part of the idea of the piece though—once you look at these maps digitally, after I’ve applied the same filters and process to every single image, the only difference really is the way these cities and roads have been placed. Some of them seem very organized, and some of them are incredibly organic and abstract. You can almost sense where they’re from by looking at them. I think there’s an attitude to the line work that gives you a sense of something that might be far eastern or something that’s definitely industrial and western European. Overall, they all blend together.
This interview was held on July 29 in the studio of the artist. To read the complete version of the interview, visit okcmoa.com.
Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION September 9, 2010–January 2, 3rd Floor
Alfonso Ossorio: Gifts from the Ossorio Foundation Through November 28, 2010, 2nd Floor
Luis Jiménez: Works on Paper July 15–December 12, 2010, 3rd Floor
Dale Chihuly: The Collection Ongoing, 3rd Floor CONNECT | Vol. 2010, Issue 3
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Major Acquisition Enhances OKC
Two Works by Renowned American Artist An TWO WORKS by artist Anne Truitt (1921- 2004) are new and exciting additions to the Museum’s collection. Purchased with funds from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Kirkpatrick Foundation in honor of the philanthropic work of the late Joan Kirkpatrick, The Sea, The Sea (2003) and Memory (1981) will be installed in the Museum’s third floor galleries in mid-October and represent the work of a leading American minimalist artist. Truitt was born in Baltimore, MD, in 1921 and died in Washington D.C., in 2004. She grew up on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in affluent circumstances. She made significant strides in bringing forth the voice of women in art and is often compared to the artists Morris Louis, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, and Kenneth Noland. Truitt became a central figure in the minimalist movement following her 1963 solo exhibition at the André Emmerich Gallery, New York, which presented her experiments in color through sculpture. Along with her female contemporaries—Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Diane Arbus, Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell, Ruth Orkin, among others— Truitt made important contributions to contemporary American art and culture. Truitt’s works are represented in numerous private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and others. Last year the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. presented a retrospective exhibition (October 2009-January 2010) of Truitt’s
work titled Perception and Reflection, which opened to critical acclaim and set Truitt solidly within the historical canon of contemporary art. The latest exhibition of her work, Anne Truitt Sculpture 19622004, at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York (May 9 – June 26, 2010), marked another major presentation of the artist’s work in the twenty-first century and featured her sculpture The Sea, The Sea. “Truitt’s art is a fine addition to the Museum’s holdings, especially as it relates to the Washington Gallery of Modern Art Collection, which contains works by Truitt’s contemporaries, Ellsworth Kelly, Thomas Downing, and Gene Davis, ” said Glen Gentele, president & chief executive officer, Oklahoma City Museum of Art. “It is of special interest to note that in the late 1960s, Truitt received an artist fellowship grant through the Washington Gallery of Modern Art.” Truitt was notably influenced by the work of Barnett Newman and is renowned for her large, vertical, painted, wooden sculptures, which she began making in 1961 and continued throughout her career. Though she continued to work on canvas, her intense interest in working with color
Left: Anne Truitt (American, 1921-2004). The Sea, The Sea, 2003. Acrylic on wood, 81 x 8 x 8 in. (206 x 20 x 20 cm). Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Purchase with funds provided by the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Kirkpatrick Foundation in memory of Joan Kirkpatrick, 2010.026 © The Estate of Anne Truitt / Bridgeman Art Library / Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
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Above: Anne Truitt (American, 1921-2004). Memory, 1981. Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 72 in. (183 x 183 cm). Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Purchase with funds provided by the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Kirkpatrick Foundation in memory of Joan Kirkpatrick, 2010.027 © The Estate of Anne Truitt / Bridgeman Art Library / Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
CMOA Collection
nne Truitt Purchased
evolved from the flat, two-dimensional medium into the dynamic, three-dimensional columns for which she became known. The Sea, The Sea is one of a handful of sculptures created by the artist prior to the end of her life and is painted in layers of translucent blue with a thin, white, delicate, crown along the top of the piece. The sculpture is human-scale, quiet, and approachable yet contains a lovely distance and beauty. In two-dimensional contrast, Memory is a classic minimalist painting with a narrow field of color along the bottom edge of the canvas that provides a sense of grounding and alludes to images of bigsky landscapes through clean hard-edged abstraction. Both of these works are excellent examples of the artist’s oeuvre and make beautiful, contemplative, companion pieces. For more information on Anne Truitt and her work, visit annetruitt.org
MUSEUM PURCHASES WORK BY JASON PETERS THE MUSEUM HAS PURCHASED fifteen untitled black-on-black paper cutouts (2009) by artist Jason Peters. The works were part of Jason Peters: Anti.Gravity.Material.Light (January 28–April 11, 2010), the inaugural exhibition of the Museum’s NEW FRONTIERS: Series for Contemporary Art. Conceived individually and mounted as a single, large-scale installation, the fifteen cutouts are the first work of this kind produced by Peters. A Brooklyn, New York-based artist, Peters was born in the United States and raised in Munich, Germany. He returned to the United States to attend college and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland. Peters has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in New York, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. and has been awarded residencies in New York, Kansas, Omaha, Missouri, and Utica. Peters works with ready-made objects to transform everyday goods into large-scale, sculptural installations, in addition to making photographs, related drawings, and collages. Most of the cutouts relate to the sculptural installations he created for Jason Peters: Anti.Gravity.Material.Light. One such sculpture is still visible above the Museum Store entrance. The acquisition strengthens the Museum’s holdings of works on paper and contemporary art and builds upon examples found in the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Westheimer, and Vogel collections.
Jason Peters (American, b. 1976). Untitled
For more on Jason Peters, visit www.jasonpeters.com. An exhibition catalogue of Jason Peters: Anti.Gravity. Material.Light is also available for purchase in the Museum Store.
Leslie and Dale Chihuly Honor Carolyn Hill A NEW GLASS SCULPTURE has been added to the Museum’s collection of Chihuly glass. Donated by the artist, Dale Chihuly, and his wife, Leslie, the piece honors the late Carolyn Hill, who was director of the Museum from 1994 to 2008 and was instrumental in bringing Chihuly’s work to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Putti Frolicking in Branches Atop Speckled Carnelian Vessel (1998) relates to Chihuly’s collaboration with Italian master glassblower Pino Signoretto and master glass artisan Lino Tagliapietra. Chihuly brought the two artists together and created designs for Tagliapietra to blow and Signoretto to affix to the glass. This sculpture features seven putti, the Italian word for cherubs, which is a specialty of Signoretto. Dale Chihuly: The Collection, on view in the third floor galleries, includes additional examples of Chihuly’s work with these Italian master artists. Putti figures were a favorite of Hill’s and may be found throughout the exhibition, including the Putti with Birds and the Persian Seaform Ceiling installations. Hill also requested that two putti be placed near eye level on the Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum’s atrium. Chihuly’s work is represented in over 200 museum collections, including the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. He is well known for his work in glass, from series of single objects to large-scale sculptures and installations. Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941, he received a B.A. in interior design at the University of Washington, studied glassblowing at the University of Wisconsin, and received an M.F.A. in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. He co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and later established the Boathouse, which serves as his studio, production facility, and exhibition space. Chihuly’s revolutionary working method divides the creative process among a group of skilled artisans, expanding glass art beyond the scope of a single artist. He and his team of glassblowers have traveled to locations such as Finland, Ireland, Jerusalem, and Venice, where he has collaborated with master glassblowers, like Tagliapietra and Signoretto, in the creation of new works.
Dale Chihuly (American, b. 1941). Putti Frolicking in Branches Atop Speckled Carnelian Vessel, 1998.
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IN FOCUS @ OKCMOA LAST CALL FEATURING SKETCH TO SCREEN
FAMILY DAY
History was made for attendance on a Thursday night during Last Call, August 12, with more than 1,200 in attendance and a sold-out theater for the Mamma Mia! Sing-Along. Curator-led tours took place as well as a costume contest with designer Johnathan Kayne, and Born In November provided live entertainment on the roof terrace.
Families enjoy handson art activities during Family Day featuring Sketch to Screen: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design. A special exhibition-related event included screen test photos taken by Romy Owens.
Photos by Rex Barrett, Glasseyestudios.com
deadCENTER FILM FESTIVAL
Photos by Romy Owens
2010 deadCENTER Film Festival Panel on The State of American Film Criticism. (L to R) Brian Hearn, OKCMOA film curator, with film critics Pete Vonder Haar, Gerald Peary, and Elvis Mitchell.
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COCKTAILS ON THE SKYLINE
LECTURES
Photos by Paul Houston Photography
The 2010 Roof Terrace season has been the most successful to date, averaging more than 500 people every Thursday since opening May 6.
Two standing-room-only lectures were presented featuring Sketch to Screen: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design.
Sandy Schreier presented “Hollywood Dressed & Undressed” for the June 2 Friends’ Lecture.
Deborah Nadoolman Landis presented “Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design” on preview night, May 5.
BEAUX ARTS 2010 Committee Chair Bebe MacKellar, center, with debutantes (L-R) Bailey Bennett, Jennifer McLain, Ann McCampbell, and Rebecca Arnold. The annual Beaux Arts reception at the Museum took place on Thursday, June 3 with the debutantes, escorts, and parents. MacKellar presented a check to OKCMOA President and CEO Glen Gentele from last year’s ball’s proceeds. Photos by Ryan Piersol
SUMMER CAMPS JUNIOR LEAGUE OF OKC
Members of the Junior League of Oklahoma City during a gathering held at the Museum. Pictured (L-R) Chelsey Cobbs, Margaret Creighton, Mandy Ellis, Beth Perry, and Lesley St. John.
This summer, Museum School offered 25 camps, serving 267 students, ages 4–16. The photo above was taken by photography instructor Mike Muller of his summer campers.
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Let the Museum Cafe staff help you plan your holiday party catering!
BUY $200 IN MUSEUM CAFE GIFT CARDS, GET 10% BACK IN GIFT CARDS!
PRE-PACKAGED THANKSGIVING & CHRISTMAS DINNERS AVAILABLE. MENUS ONLINE.
Offer good November 1 - December 31, 2010
Taking orders beginning in October for Thanksgivng and immediatley after Thanksgiving for Christmas Dinners
CATERING | FINE DINING | BRUNCH | MUSEUM CAFE TEA
Here is the band line-up for the closing months: SEPTEMBER 2 – Bruce Benson 9 – Marcy Priest 16 – Born In November 23 – Amy Young and Friends 30 – Born In November
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OCTOBER 7 – Bruce Benson 8 – ARTonTAP! (Friday) 14 – Born In November 21 – Bruce Benson 28 – Born In November okcmoa.com
Photo by Alan Ball Photography
IT’S BEEN A GREAT SEASON ON THE ROOF TERRACE!
Photo by Alan Ball Photography
MONDAY 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. | TUESDAY-SATURDAY 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. | MUSEUM CAFE TEA Tues. - Thurs. 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. SUNDAY BRUNCH 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. | For more information, call (405) 235-6262. Make reservations or view menus at okcmoa.com/eat
Docent Spotlight: Sue Francis DO YOU ENJOY LEARNING ABOUT ART and sharing your knowledge with others? That is just what being a volunteer in the Museum’s docent program is all about. Join Associate Curator of Education Amy Young as she finds out more about one of these exemplary volunteers. Amy Young: Please tell us a little about yourself. Sue Francis: I was born in Muenster, Texas, but grew up in Duncan, Oklahoma. I attended the University of Oklahoma, majoring in public relations, as well as obtaining a teaching certificate in social studies. I also have a master’s degree in the history and philosophy of education. I have been married to my husband, John, for 48 years. He was an engineering professor at OU and then became involved in administration. When he retired from OU, we moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he was Dean of Engineering at Bradley University, until he retired a second time. We returned home to Oklahoma in 1998 and settled in Oklahoma City. Our children grew up in Norman and both graduated from the University of Oklahoma. Our oldest son, John, now lives in Kansas City, where he is the Marketing Director for a group of hospitals. Our second son, Steve, lives in Los Angeles and is a partner in a lighting company that provides lights and lighting expertise for various film productions, but he works mostly on commercials and music videos. AY: What career did you hold before becoming a docent? SF: This is an interesting question for me because I never thought I had a career, but I have had several jobs. I taught 6th and 7th grade English, Geography, and Spelling for one semester. I was rehired, but we moved for John to take his first college teaching job in Rolla, Missouri. There I taught a class of 36 2nd grade students in a parochial school. There were 25 boys and 11 girls. I learned a lot and had pink eye three times in one year. Returning to OU, I was a teaching assistant, while doing graduate work. When our children entered grade school, I took a part-time secretarial job in the OU Chemistry Department and worked there in several positions for 12 years. I never wanted to work full time and was fortunate to have free time for our sons, my friends, and my volunteer work. When we moved to Peoria, I had the opportunity to teach writing at the community college, Illinois Central College. This was my favorite job. I loved working with these students. I did this for four years until opportunities to travel with my husband beckoned me.
SF: I love learning about art. When I was growing up, I never had much of a chance to visit art museums, and there was little emphasis on art in my education. At OU, I would visit the art museum, but of course, it was nothing like it is today. I never took any fine arts electives in college. I was too busy taking the classes I needed to graduate. My learning curve as a docent would surpass Mt. Everest. I have been like a sponge soaking up information from everyone at the OKCMOA. But, the fun begins when you share your knowledge and enthusiasm as a docent leading tours. I enjoy talking to all ages, finding something in our museum and each exhibition to attract and interest most everyone. AY: Do you have a favorite piece in the Museum? Why is it your favorite? SF: This is a difficult question, but I think I like the Chihuly Tower the best for everything it gives to the Museum. It is a wonderful first impression at our front door; when visitors come in, especially for the first time, and look at the Tower, they begin to realize they are going to see many special things in the Museum. I also love the look of the Tower, very free and full of light, both day and night. AY: Do you have a favorite artist (any artist, in our Museum or not)? Why? SF: I enjoy the Impressionists. It is difficult for me to pick just one artist out of this group. I really enjoy looking at an impressionistic painting with a group and letting everyone talk about what they see. I believe this kind of art stimulates imagination. Also, the colors often chosen by Impressionists really attract me. AY: What has been your favorite exhibition so far at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art?
SF: As a docent leading tours, my favorite exhibition has been Roman Art from the Louvre. We had so many different kinds of groups, some of whom probably never thought they would step foot in an art museum. As for my own personal favorite, of course, I have loved any exhibit that brings more Impressionists. I also loved the Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibit, The Dutch Italianates. And the exhibition Sketch to Screen: The Art Sue Francis leading a tour of Sketch to Screen. Photos by Jim Meeks. of Hollywood Costume Design was so much AY: What are your hobbies? fun. How can I just give one favorite exhibit? Looking back at all of the exhibits I have experienced, plus the promise of SF: Reading is number one, but I also enjoy needlework (the closest thing to all the good exhibits to come, makes me very happy to be a Museum of Art being an artist that I can do). I love gardening, playing bridge, and mahdocent. jongg too. I also enjoy my volunteer work. In addition to being a docent at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, I volunteer with the Orchestra League and at AY: What has being a docent taught you about yourself and the world around the Oklahoma History Center. you? AY: How many years have you been a docent and how did you become involved in the Museum? SF: I have been a docent at the OKCMOA since 2000, so this is my 10th year. When we lived in Peoria, I was active in the MUSE board at the Art Museum. I helped with receptions, etc., but my friends there always told me that I should become a docent. So when we moved to OKC and I saw a newspaper article about the Museum needing docents, I called and volunteered. AY: What do you find most rewarding about being a docent?
SF: As a docent, I have learned not to be afraid to try something new, something completely different than anything I have done in the past. I have learned to see many things with different “eyes.” For example, when I see clouds, I can appreciate how an artists can capture that image on canvas, not like a photograph but with an interpretation that a camera could not capture. I have not only learned from professionals, but also from my fellow docents as we explore new things together. If you or someone you know would like to learn more or join Sue in the docent program, call Bryon Chambers at (405) 236-3100, ext. 212.
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Art Critic Jerry Saltz Makes First Appearance JERRY SALTZ, senior art critic for New York Magazine, makes his first appearance in Oklahoma this fall at the OKCMOA. On Thursday, October 7, Saltz presents “The Good, the Bad, and the Very Bad: A Year in the Life of an Art Critic.” The lecture spotlights stories from his latest book Seeing Out Louder and focuses on how artists and critics navigate the turbulent waters, competitive nature, and attitude of the contemporary art Jerry Saltz world. Named “Best Art Critic” in 2006 by Time Out New York, Saltz is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist in Criticism. From 1998-2007, he served as Senior Art Critic for the Village Voice, and his writings were compiled and published by Figures Press in 2003 in the book titled Seeing Out Loud: The Village Voice Art Columns, 1998-2003. A second volume of his criticism, Seeing Out Louder was recently published by Hard Press
Editions. Saltz has lectured at universities and museums across the U.S., including Harvard, the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Cleveland Art Institute, among others. Currently, he teaches at Columbia University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received an Honorary Doctorate in 2008. Saltz is the founder of N.A.M.E. Gallery in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, an artist-run gallery established in 1973, where he helped to curate more than 75 exhibitions. This talk, the first of the season for the Friends’ Lecture series, will take place at 6:30 p.m., in the Museum’s Noble Theater. Friends’ lectures are free to Museum members at the Friend, Friends, and Sustainer membership levels. Seating is limited to 250, and reservations are recommended. Prices are $5 for general membership levels and $10 for nonmembers per ticket. For more information, contact Jim Eastep at (405) 236-3100, ext. 215.
Jerry Saltz with Irving Sandler by Irving Sandler
IN JULY 2008, New York Magazine art critic Jerry Saltz visited Rail Consulting Editor Irving Sandler’s home to talk about his life and work. IRVING SANDLER: What brought you into criticism? JERRY SALTZ: It was an accident. Charlie Parker said: “If you don’t play the saxophone for a year, you get a year better.” He could have added, “If you don’t play it for two years, you might not be a saxophone player.” After two years of not working at all and fretting about it all the time I stopped making art altogether. I haven’t made it since. I miss it. I miss being able to listen to music while writing, working with materials, and the amazing psychic space making art creates. Soon, I became a long distance truck driver; my CB radio name was the Jewish Cowboy. I’d come on and say “Shalom, partner.” While driving trucks I thought about how much I loved art and the art world. I knew I wanted to be part of that world no matter what. I thought writing criticism would be easy, so I decided to become a critic. IS: How did you first begin to write? JS: I had never written anything in my life. To become a critic I read Artforum religiously. I wanted to write the way they wrote in that magazine, which seemed very cool, smart, and reserved, although I was secretly horrified because I barely understood a syllable of what I read. Worse, when I did understand what I read I kept thinking, “These people hate art!” At first I tried to write like that. Whenever I read what I had written afterwards I had no idea what I was talking about. I had all these other thoughts and feelings I wasn’t sharing. That’s when I began to change in my attitude about writing.
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convincing enough. I like clarity and density. I’m interested in a maximum amount of information in a minimum amount of space. I can’t stand reviews where you have to read several paragraphs before you even get to the artist’s name. Name the artist in the first paragraph or don’t write about the artist at all. Don’t be a show-off. Worse is when you read a whole review and you don’t really know what a critic thinks; that’s a critic hiding and lying. It’s even more weasel-y to slip one negative phrase into the second to last paragraph of an otherwise neutral or descriptive review. That’s art-critical B.S.. I want every sentence of a review to have either an idea or a judgment. I love description in criticism; that’s one of the hardest and most important parts of criticism. But I want to describe in ways that also contain judgments or ideas. For example, it’s uninteresting to just write, “The painting is square.” It doesn’t take a stand on the squareness of the painting. You need to write something like, “The way so-and-so uses the square is unoriginal” or “repetitious” or whatever. Good criticism places itself in the middle of an argument without it being about the critic. It’s there and invisible. IS: Does writing come easily to you?
IS: What effect do you want your criticism to have? JS: First, I want it to be interesting to read, not just be smart, dodgy, dogmatic, obtuse, or authoritarian. It kills me when someone says, “I started a review of yours and can’t wait to finish it.” When that happens I think I’ve failed; it’s my job to get the reader to read a review from the beginning to the end. Especially on newsprint, which people tend to pick up only once. If I don’t get someone to read me all the way through, I believe it’s my fault, not the reader’s. Other than not being read, the worst thing that can happen is being misread. When someone thinks I’ve liked something that I thought I was saying I disliked, I know something’s way off in the review—not in them) that I wasn’t clear or
JS: No. I wish it did, but it doesn’t. I don’t even really think of myself as a writer; I think I’m more of a folk-critic, a raw nerve, or a loudmouth. I agree with the sportswriter Red Smith who wrote, “Writing is easy: You sit down at a typewriter put a piece of paper in … and open a vein.” For me there is no such thing as writing. There is only re-writing. Before I write I don’t hate anything more than writing. Once I’m writing, I don’t love anything more. When I’m done I often think I’ve written a bullet-proof review. Then, when I read it in print, I cringe at the kinks and flaws. Each week I try to learn from my mistakes and not make them again and again. Other than the love of looking at art, what keeps me going is the desire to write better. This excerpt from the 2008 interview Jerry Saltz with Irving Sandler is reprinted with permission of The Brooklyn Rail. To view the complete interview, visit okcmoa.com/JerrySaltz
PANEL DISCUSSION
Art Criticism: Writing, Editing, and Publishing
Friends Lecture “In Celebration Of The Friends”
THIS FALL, join the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, along with the
ON WEDNESDAY, November 10 at 6:30 p.m., the Friends of
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) and the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Oklahoma, for the third and final panel discussion of the 2010 Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship. The program, created by OVAC, is underwritten by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oklahoma Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities and is a national model. The yearlong program features three panel discussions that are free and open to the public. The Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship seeks to encourage a deeper understanding of contemporary art and to inspire art writing that is informed, articulate, and engages audiences in contemplating the art of our time. Art Criticism: Writing, Editing, and Publishing will be held Saturday, September 18, from 1 to 3 p.m., in the Museum’s Noble Theater. Distinguished panelists include Tracy Albein, editor of Review Magazine, Kansas City; Tyler Green, founder and editor of the blog Modern Art Notes, Washington D.C.; and Eleanor Heartney, contemporary art critic and contributing editor to Art in America, New York. Independent curator and writer Shannon Fitzgerald will moderate. “The visiting critics are influential, active luminaries who are recognized regionally, nationally, and globally for their work. We will engage with current ideas about art and learn about art publishing. Already, the program has led to three Fellows publishing reviews of Oklahoma exhibitions in out-of-state art publications. Their writing exposes Oklahoma’s exhibitions to the national critical dialogue on art,” said Julia Kirt, executive director, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. Seating for the panel discussion is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please visit writecurate-art.org. The Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Oklahoma Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, Oklahoma Arts Council, and Allieds Arts.
COLLEGE MONTH The Oklahoma City Museum of Art invites students from Oklahoma higher education institutions to engage with the Museum this September free-of-charge, as part of OKCMOA College Month. This unique opportunity offers college students unlimited, free access to one of Oklahoma’s premiere cultural institutions and inspires connections with art and the public programs presented at the Museum. College Month highlights the Museum’s mission to enrich lives through the visual arts. It underscores our work to create a cultural legacy in art and education that current and future generations can experience at the Museum and carry with them throughout their lives.
the Oklahoma City Museum of Art welcome guest speaker James C. Meade. Join Mr. Meade as he reminisces about his 18 years as Chairman of the Friends, which involved 54 speakers and a wide variety of art disciplines. Discover the origins of the Friends membership level and the impact it has had on the well-being of the Museum. Then, hear about speakers who have presented at the Museum over the years, including what they spoke of and their interactions with the Friends. In conclusion, Mr. Meade will briefly highlight his association with the Friends as well as how the speakers have affected his own avid collecting, which ranges from American painting, seventeenth- and eighteenthcentury English and American silver, and antique firearms, to James Meade stands in the second floor portrait gallery beside his silver collection, which is on loan to the Museum. Photo by Jim Meeks. ancient Greek coins and a budding collection of rare books. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, James Meade graduated from Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and spent approximately one year in the United States Navy. He received his degree in chemical engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology, one of the divisions of Carnegie Mellon University. While at CMU, he was a classmate of Andy Warhol, although not influenced by him. Additionally, he obtained a degree in business from Babson Institute in Boston before entering the oil and gas business. He has been involved in this endeavor all his working life and is currently Chairman of Meade Energy Corporation. Mr. Meade became involved with the Oklahoma Art Center at the Fairgrounds in the late 1980s, serving as vice president and then as the last president of the Art Center. Following the merger of the Oklahoma Art Center and the Oklahoma Museum of Art, he became the first president of the merged entity, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Mr. Meade continues to be involved with the Museum as a lifetime trustee and is a member of several committees. Friends’ lectures are free to Museum members at the Friend, Friends, and Sustainer membership levels. Seating is limited to 250, and reservations are recommended. Prices are $5 for general membership levels and $10 for nonmembers per ticket. For more information, contact Jim Eastep at 236-3100, ext. 215.
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THANK YOU! Members and donors
IN SPITE OF THE DOWN TURN IN THE ECONOMY over the last 24 months, the Museum has been very fortunate in receiving new and renewed donations. This year many of our Season Sponsors have increased their annual gifts. Through overwhelming support, the Museum has been able to maintain its fiscal responsibilities. We proudly welcome the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation as a new Season Sponsor for 2010-2011. Additionally, the Museum received program grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which reflect national development efforts. The Museum remains the beneficiary of gifts to endowments, memorial tributes, and gifts from planned giving. The Museum’s three annual fundraisers continue to entertain sold-out crowds. Membership sales remain robust and provide the Museum with important unrestricted dollars for day-to-day expenditures. In-kind gifts also are important and have helped the Museum with free or discounted professional services, gifts to the collection, and donations to fundraisers. We extend our deepest gratitude for the continued financial support the Museum receives annually from its members and donors. We welcome all questions concerning your continued vital support of the Museum. Please feel free to contact the development office during business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 236-3100, ext. 215.
Awards Constant Contact All-Star & Oklahoma Gazette’s Best Of OKC THE OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART is proud to have received an All-Star Award from Constant Contact®, Inc., a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online survey tools. The Museum was selected for meeting Constant Contact’s best-practice standards for the use of Email Marketing throughout 2009. The award recognizes the Museum’s commitment to best practices in email marketing through frequency of campaigns, open rates, bounce rates, and click through rates. Additionally, the Museum has been voted Best Museum in the 2010 Oklahoma Gazette’s Best of OKC awards. The Museum would like to thank all its supporters for voting. The Gazette recieved just over 19,000 ballots for this year’s contest.
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7th Annual ARTonTAP OKC’S BEST BEER TASTING EVENT!
THE 7TH ANNUAL ARTonTAP, Oklahoma City’s best beer tasting event, will be held Friday, October 8, 2010, 7–10 p.m. Enjoy more than 80 different beers alongside great food, music by Born in November, and of course, the fabulous artwork on display in the galleries. Mingle in the Museum’s lobbies and mix on the roof top at the Stella Artois Roof Terrace Beer Garden, all to benefit the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s world-class exhibitions. Don’t miss this stellar, sell-out event. Supporting the Museum and the arts has never been more fun or tasty. Tickets are $45 for members, $50 for non-members. For information, call (405) 236-3100, ext. 207. You can purchase tickets online at tickets.okcmoa.com or at the Museum’s front desk, beginning Monday, September 13.
Visit the Museum’s new website for all the lastest information and look for updates as we strive to improve your online visit.
2010-11 Annual Fund Campaign Support the Museum Today THE MUSEUM’S 2010-11 ANNUAL FUND campaign is underway. Gifts or pledges to the Annual Fund are crucial to sustaining the Museum’s operations, from programs and exhibitions to security, maintenance of facilities, and care for the collection. Your generous contribution helps the Museum enrich the lives of nearly 150,000 visitors annually, making possible educational programs that engage all ages—including approximately 10,000 schoolchildren each year. Your gift also assists in bringing to Oklahoma City thought-provoking, visually stunning exhibitions, like La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections and Jonathan Hils: INTERSECTION. Additionally, your gift helps provide state-of-the-art care for the Museum’s permanent collection. With your donation, you can take pride in knowing that you are making a significant difference in one of the most dynamic cultural institutions in Oklahoma. The development staff at the museum encourages inquiries about supporting the Museum. Please contact the department if you have any questions about making a donation or the important programs your gift will support. You can reach the development office by calling (405) 236-3100, ext. 215 or ext. 207, or by e-mailing annualfund@okcmoa.com.
OKCMOA FACILITY RENTALS
Host your next business meeting, educational program, wedding reception, seated dinner, and more surrounded by the beauty and sophistication found in the galleries and spaces at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The success of your next event is just a call or click away.
GREAT SPACES | GREAT ART
Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center 415 Couch Drive | Oklahoma City, OK 73102
PHONE NUMBERS Main: (405) 236-3100 Cafe: (405) 235-6262 Store: (405) 236-3100, ext. 232 Membership: (405) 236-3100, ext. 215 or 200 Adult Tours: (405) 236-3100, ext. 286 School Tours: (405) 236-3100, ext. 213 Facility Rentals: (405) 236-3100, ext. 286 Fax: (405) 236-3122 Toll free: (800) 579-9ART
MUSEUM HOURS Tuesday−Saturday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday: 10 a.m.–9 p.m. (May–October) Winter Hours: 10 a.m.−9 p.m. last Thursday (January−April) Sunday: noon–5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Major Holidays
GENERAL ADMISSION Members: Free | Adults: $12 Seniors (62+): $10 | College Students (with ID): $10 Military (with ID): $10 | Children (ages 6−18): $10 Children (ages five and under): Free Tours (15 or more): $7 per person Senior Tours (15 or more): $6.50 per person School Tours (15 or more): $3 per person FILM ADMISSION Members: $5 Adults: $8 Seniors (62+): $6 College Students (with ID): $6 MUSEUM CAFE Sunday Brunch: 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday: 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday: 11 a.m.–10 p.m. (405) 235-6262 (Reservations & Catering)
WEB SITE okcmoa.com
NETWORK Twitter @okcmoa | Follow us on Facebook
For availability, contact Matt Thomas at (405) 236-3100, ext. 286, or e-mail events@okcmoa.com Visit online okcmoa.com
OKCMOA offers docent-guided and self-guided tours to pre-scheduled adult and school groups of 15 or more. Call (405) 236-3100, ext. 286 (adults tours) or ext. 213 (school tours) for details.
CONNECT | Vol. 2010, Issue 3
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An exhibition of the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany. This Exhibition has been generously sponsored by Herman Miller.