Cleveland Museum of Art: Art Crawl II

Almost exactly two years ago, the Cleveland Museum of Art hosted it's first Art Crawl -- still one of the most interesting events I've attended.

Tonight, Art Crawl Mark II was hosted after hours at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Though the Museum closed at 5:00, the doors reopened at 6:00 for eighty invited guests at the Circles donor levels and above. Divided into intimate groups of about twenty, we had four stops, each lead by a curator or conservator and paired with creative h'dourves and wine.

All four stops were wonderful and really demonstrated both  the passion and personality of CMA's staff. While it's easy to be intimidated by the academic aspects of art but the passion and enthusiasim is contageous.

Stop 1, Reto Thuring, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art with Janet Cardiff's Forty Part Motet

Until a couple weeks ago I can say I honestly had no idea who Janet Cardiff was -- until I got stuck at O'Hare with her when United decided to let our flight to Cleveland leave despite knowing our (different) arriving flights were only slightly delayed and arriving at the gate while the aircraft was still there. (No I'm not bitter, United).  Hearing the artist describe her work I wasn't sure what to expect, and to be honest based on other AV installations I was a little skeptical. Before tonight I had not experienced the work.

Reto provided some background on the artist and the work standing outside the 1916 building in the Atrium -- while occasionally the parting doors would let gasps of choral voices escape. Introduction complete we entered the 1916 building to a chorus of voices -- and the combination of voices and the imagery of the art displayed in the gallery was a powerful, almost religious experience much as if walking into an active cathedral. If you find the right pace in the room it is as if you are in the middle of a choir.

I highly recommend visiting the work (in a 1916-building level 2 gallery) before it disappears in early June.

Stop 2, Sona Rhie Quintanilla, Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art with the late 1400s Mandala of Vajradakini

Another relatively new curator to the Museum, Ms. Quintanilla provided  great insight into the Mandala of Vajradakini, currently in Gallery One's focus area just off the main entrance to the museum. Extending beond the surface artistic elements of the work I thought the discussion on Tantra, Yoga reincarnation and Enlightenment -- to be very enlightening (pun not intended).

Stop 3, Louise W. Mackie, Curator of Textiles & Islamic Art with Afruz Amighi's His Lantern.

A piece that I've walked by several times since the Islamic galleries opened and thought was interesting, Ms. Mackie's explanation of the piece -- a hanging woven polyethylene piece with projected light creating shadows -- brought an entirely new level of understanding to the piece and the artist. Connecting the symbols in the art to classic counterparts, such as a nearby prayer niche as well as subtle but more modern political statement -- keys echoing those worn in a war brought new understandings to the piece. Ms. Mackie's enthusiasm for the piece and her description of meeting the artist and artist's execution (hand cut with a hot metal knife) was also infectious.

Stop 4, Moyna Stanton, Conservator of Paper with Antonio del Pollaiuolo's Battle of the Nudes

The last stop was certainly not least -- and I'm not only saying that because paper conservation is an area of particular interest for Rachel -- Ms. Stanton's wonderfully in depth look at the history of Battle of the Nudes was a crash course in print making, differences between "states" in prints, the technique Antonio del Pollaiuolo's work, and the history of repairs to the piece and what has been filled in.

Like a good television drama she was really getting rolling and while I was on the edge of my seat (looking forward to hearing more about the work, particularly the photomechnical infill in one corner) the time was up and we had to move on.

The evening concluded with a light reception and quick remarks from museum director David Franklin, a nice way to wind down and chat with other patrons.

I can't wait for the next one -- and I really hope it will be less than two years this time.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art Young Professionals (@ClevelandArt)

One corner of the Atrium as viewed from the Boardroom.
A single photo does not do it justice.

Anyone who knows me -- or who has read more than a few installments of this blog -- knows that I'm a passionate supporter of the arts in Cleveland and a relatively young professional.

Heretofore the Cleveland Museum of Art has not had an organization targeting its appeal at the Younger Professional and I have to admit that I've been a bit concerned that the sharp and stately appearance of the Museum's physical presence may unfairly color others impression of the institution. Namely, as something "old" "stuffy" and "academic"; something that as I've become closer to the museum is certainly not true of either the Museum, its staff or current leadership.

In short something should be done to take the sharp edge of the granite exterior to help other young(er) Clevelanders to enjoy and appreciate the gem we have in our back yards.

Luckily I'm not the only one who has felt this way and a group of staff within the museum over the past few months has been quietly reaching out laying the groundwork for such an endeavor, culminating in the first official task force meeting tonight.

Tenatively named RallyMUSE, there are some really exciting ideas in the air and it will be exciting to see what comes out out meetings between  now and when the group officially launches later this summer.

I probably shouldn't say much more -- and perhaps I shhouldn't have said that much -- but while I'm on a roll, it's clear that this endeavor has the enthusiastic support of all levels of museum staff. Likewise the crosssection of individuals in attendance was wonderfully diverse. Through conversations that bubbled across the course of the evening it's clear there are a lot of passionate people inside and outside the museum prepared to invest time and energy to help make this a success
I'm looking  forward to the process and already can't want of the official launch!

Lincoln

1000+ Visitors plus Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1968-70

February marked a milestone for Lincoln in Cleveland: During the month this blog had more than 1,000 unique visits. While I've been flirting near the thousand mark for the past several months this is the first time I've hit that number. Thanks to everyone who's stopped by to read -- I always welcome comments and suggestions.

Since this week has been quiet (though Rachel and I are thinking about seeing Memphis at PlayhouseSquare Frideay) Below I continue with the series looking that the Cleveland Museum of Art, through old issues of its publication, The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. All of the posts in the series, in reverse chronological order, can be found here.

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My collection of Bulletins continues with September 1968. The format changed sometime in the 1960s and by the September issue, the bulletin no longer carries a issue or volume number and it is devoid of information about the Museum, instead presenting extensive essays on specific pieces.

This format continues in November 1968 but the back cover announces Design and the City: An Architectural Exhibition at The Cleveland Museum of Art from December 11 to January 12: It sounds interesting, and I wonder if any lasting change came out of it:

"...conceived by the Cleveland Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and brings together the interest of the public and professionals alike in planning for choesive improvement of the Metropolitan Cleveland Area. The ehxibit [...] consists of the efforts of over 60 architects, planners, engineers, and desigeners as well as numerous public officials of the city and the county, the Cleveland Board of Education, Case Western Reserve University, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, and the Seven County Transportation Study. Interesting physical features of past and present Cleveland are shown together with possible directions for future planning of the city"

December 1968 through February 1969 are also again devoid of institutional infromation, but June 1969 includes the 1968 annual report which is full of gems, some foreshadow the Museum's current expansion and renovation projects. The new Educational Wing, designed by Marcel Bruer, began construction on June 17, 1968:

The curtailment of the Museum's exhibitions and activities -- due to a lack of classrooms or auditoria for the duration of construction -- is in fine focus, as is the work of the Museum's "inhabitants" -- which from the description has probably not changed much in the 43 years since, but in reading

"[68.206] is the Museum's registration number and has also been carefully painted onto the back of the painting by a member of the Registrar's Department. Here at least four cards must have been prepared [...] these are the permanant records by which the Museum mantains its inventory of works in the collection."

I have to assume that these cards (and the "notebook with much additional information gleaned from previous and continual research" maintained by the Paintings Department) have been supplanted by technology, but I'm sure the process is much the same. The introduction, announcing the addition of 365 new works to the collection and pinning completion of the Educational Wing Construction as 1970, continues "We are more certainly justfied than Mr. Micawber in repeating that, "Things will be much improved in the not too distant future" -- as it will be when the current renovation and expansion is concluded.

Although reports of individual departments are interesting, very little jumps out as being strongly relevent after 40 years, though it was interesting to read the Registrar's report noting a collection of 41,287 objects (I haven't been able to locate the 2011 current collectcion size), and Public Relations noting Museum attendance of 435,106, "a reduction attributed in part to inconveniences occasioneed by the construction of the new Education Wing."

The Printing department is proud to announce that a IBM Selectric Composer was installed to facilitate printing of some publications formerly printed outside. Admission to the museum continues to be free -- and Monday remains day off for the Museum's galleries, with normal hours being published as  Tuestday, Thursday, and Friday 10-6, Wednesday 10-10, Saturday 9-5, and Sunday, New Year's Day, and Memorial Day 1-6.

The February 1970 and February 1974 bulletins have little text but serves as an illustrated "Year in Review" for acqusitions from the previous year, and it's interesting to compare acquisitions over time and to see how many of the pieces from both I can recall seeing in the Museum's galleries -- somewhat suprisingly, I recognize more pieces from the 1970 edition.

June 1974 ends this tour through the Museum's history-via-Bulletin with the 1973 annual report. Light on institutional (vis collection) information, Betsey Belkin is noted as joining the Cleveland Museum of Art Library -- today, Ms. Belkin is Ursuline College's Director of Library. Also coming of note from the Library is the note that the circulating collection of the library's photography department has been phased out (with much of the contents donated to the Cleveland Public Library). This change makes the Museum's library for the first time completely non-circulating.

Burried near the end of the report, in the sea of text, "A decision was reached to permanently install The Thinker in its present damaged condition in front of the museum's south entrance. A bracket was designed and manufacturerd to support the sculpture on a new granite pedestal which was imported from Italy." -- it's easy to forget that the well-weathered and slightly deformed statute wasn't always the way we see it today.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Rembrandt In America Preview Events (@ClevelandArt)

This week the Cleveland Museum of Art opens what may be the most anticipated exhibition in recent memory: Rembrandt in America. With this exhibition the traditional Members Preview Party seems to have been replaced with a series of more focused events.


Members Happy Hour

 Last night Rachel and I found ourselves at the Members' Happy Hour during the Museum's normal Friday evening operating hours and featuring DJ Reena Samaan with a cash bar and a diverse collection of attendees and the energy and buzz in the space was on par with that of the Summer Solstice.

Last night we did a quick survey of the exhibition and engaged in extensive socializing.

Tonight Rachel and I returned to the museum for the Supporting Circles Reception after-hours and the seeming successor in interest to the Members Reception and Preview Party -- an event attracting a distinctly older group and generally lower key gathering.

The event tonight began with welcoming remarks from David Franklin, the museum's gregarious director and the most captivating and compelling introduction to and overview of an exhibition I can recall presented by Jon Seydl, Curator of European Painting and Sculpture 1500-1800.

The exhibition covers the full span of Rembrandt's career spanning a universe of attributions -- randing from unquestionably Rembrandt (including a number of self portraits) to those originally attributed to Rembrandt where the true source -- and amount of Rembrandt's involvement, if any, is now in doubt.

While Rembrandt's work is visually gripping on its own with intriguing light and detail the exhibition presents works of questioned and unquestioned attribution in close proximity allowing the viewer to visually compare them and draw their own conclusions. In another gallery, paintings that are obviously the same subject -- one by the hand of Rembrandt, the other by a student -- lets the viewer truly understand the difference and mastery: One is softly lit but has crisp, almost life-like details while the other the focus is just a bit too soft -- almost if the camera's lens was a hair out of focus -- and the shapes are quite a bit  less photorealistic.

The exhibition also features an interactive exhibit with one the pieces in The Cleveland Museum of Art's collection that falls squarely into the questionable attribution category and attendees are invited to look at the art under the same conditions as the curators and conservators -- direct light, UV, XRay, Raking light and the like.

Though slightly irreverent, I found that great fun can be had asking and answering "What emotion is that facial expression embodying?"

The one question lingering is "why is the M in Rembrandt backwards and red?"

Rembrandt in America, now through May 16th at the Cleveland Museum of Art, members always see exhibitions free - otherwise $14/adults with student and children discounts. In addition to the ticketed special exhibition, a free companion in the form of Rembrandt Prints from the Morgan Library and Museum in the 1916 Building's Gallery 101

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Music in the Galleries (@ClevelandArt, @CIM_Edu)

Bach: Selections from Suite No. 2 (Prelude, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue)*
Lebegue: Puer Nobis Nascituri^
Pachelbel: Der Tag Isto so Freudenreich^
Bach: Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin in E major, BVW 1006%
Paganini: Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 No. 23%
Stravinsky: Elegie for Solo Viola&
Reich: New York Counterpoint for Clarinet and Tape+
at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Contemporary Art Gallery 225, East Wing

*-Annalisa Boerner, viola; ^-Paula Maust, organ; %-Boson Mo, violin; &-Ji Young Nam, viola; +-Elinor Rufeizen, clarinet

The holiday season is over and I'm back at the office -- while everyone recovers from their festivities, the beginning of January is always a bit quiet on the performing arts front. The Cleveland Museum of Art, however, is pressing along uninterrupted with the series of monthly concerts in the galleries featuring performances of Cleveland Institute of Music students.

While previous performances have been in the 1916 Building's galleries, tonight's concert moved to one of the Contemporary galleries and continued a trend of increasing attendance. The next concert, by the way is Wednesday, February 1st at 6:00 -- perhaps a fine prelude to the CIM@Severance concert on at 8pm just down the street.

Tonight's concert began with Violist Annalisa Boerner introducing her selection of four movements from Bach's Suite No. 2 -- originally composed for solo cello but "stolen" for solo viola. As Ms. Boerner began playing her suite of dances, the gallery was filled with a delightfully warm sound on a cold winter night. While I can't say I would have called the pieces dances without prompting, the emotions ranged from deep and almost sad in one movement to a passioned embrace in another and a more lively higher mood in another.

Following, organist Paula Maust returned to the instrument she played at the last concert in the galleries introducing her selections -- under the heading of "Christmas Miniatures" -- reminding the audience that this is the 11th day of Christmas. Both were delightful but had distinctly different sounds, Nicolas-Antonie Lebegue's Puer Nobis Nascitur was more evocative of the sounds of a flute than the lumbering weight of an organ. Johann Pachelbel's Der Tag ist so freudenreich, on the other hand, was unmistakably Organ-esue (Organic?) and sounded as if it would be right at home as a processional for a religious service.

Next, Bach's Partita No. 3 for solo violin played by Mr. Boson  Mo. In introducing the piece he was sure to point out that unlike the earlier Bach piece, this composition had not been stolen from another instrument and instead was originally composed for solo violin. The Gavotte en Rondeau was the most familiar piece from the program and rather happy -- fitting in nicely with the bright colors of the contemporary galleries. The Bouree was rather short by comparison but faster in tempo, and it was during this movement when the "moth to the candle" effect was most noticed as guards and patrons seemed to be gravitating toward and lingering in the music.

Mr. Mo continued with a distinctly different piece in Caprices for Solo Violin by Niccolo Paganini, without whom, Mr. Mo observed, violinists may not have had to practice as much and while this struck me as less musical than the pieces before it, it also seemed more expressive and an excellent fit for some of the more abstract visuals that surrounded  the musicians tonight.

Stravinsky's Elegy for solo viola, played by Ms. Ji Young Nam by contrast seemed out of place in its profoundly mournful mood surrounded by abstract bursts of color and energy.

Closing out the program, and the icing on a luscious cake, was Elinor Rufeizen's repeat performance off Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint for Clarinet and Tape, which was featured on the program for her recital at CIM a few weeks ago and one of the more unusual compositions I've heard. As I wrote then, "was layer upon layer of music created a polyphonic chaos that grew and subsided, ebbed and flowed: A note would build, reverberate, then decay while another note existed in the same space. Then other notes would appear and take over the stage. You could hear the sounds of the subway ... then the hustle and bustle of a crowd on the sidewalk ... then a traffic jam. All of the ambient noise you encounter in New York captured by a solo and recorded clarinet" -- while I think the gallery acoustics were a bit harsh on the sound letting ones eyes take in the art while the ears take in the music the two seemed to be perfectly matched: Explosions of layered color and notes; the twisted metal of a mangled exit stair with the distortion of a decaying note.

But neither art nor music is decaying in Cleveland.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1957-68 (@ClevelandArt)

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to everyone! I'm staying in Cleveland this year and though it doesn't look like we're in for a White Christmas thus year, the performing arts seem to have pulled up their collective covers for a well-earned respite. I figured I'd take this opportunity, then, to continue my series looking back at The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, a rather large cache of back issues of which I was fortunate to come into several months ago and have been slowly working my way through. The rest of the series, including one from before the Museum's 1916 building had even opened, can be found here.

March 1957. Forty-Fourth Year. Number Three. This issue should--chronologically, at least--have been included in my last post but somehow escaped my hands. In the rest of the world, Standard and Poor's published the first of the now ubiquitous S&P 500 and the Treaty of Rome is signed forming the European Economic Community a major step to what is today's European Union. More amazing, however, is the story that lies under the heading A Missing Fragment Recovered:

"One of the finest objects in the Museum's collection of the Arts of the Americas is the seated figure of a man, Olmec culture, given by Mrs. R. Henry Norweb in 1939. The statute is damaged, the head, the left arm and the left knee are missing but despite these mutilations, it surprises with its classical form its resilience and viral intensity.
"The brilliant visual memory of a friend of the Museum has recently made it possible to restore one of the missing parts of this statute; the left hand and knee. A letter supplies the details of the story, 'When we were in Mexico, we went one evening to the more than modest home of an Indian woman in Inguala who works in the fields at harvest time [...] She had nothing at all of interest ... but as the two men were leaving the son brought out another box of junk, My husband recognized it as probably the missing piece from that figure in the Cleveland Museum. I thought he was mad however, the master's eye was certainly true' "

The odds, to me, of fragments a piece originally sculpted somewhere between 1200 and 300 BC separated by thousands of miles were reunited (after the first fragment had been in the Museum's collection for 18 years) on the strength of chance and visual recollection is stunning (the piece, with Accession Number 1951.179, can be found in the Museum's collection online)

Membership stands at 6,834

September 1957. Forty-Fourth Year . Number Seven. While September of 1957 may be better known in history for the "Little Rock Crisis" of the American Civil Rights Movement   The cover of this issue features a picture of the Northwest-Corner of the "New Wing" -- representing the first capital expansion of the Museum. While the "1958 Building" was demolished as part of the 2005-13 renovation and expansion (and it seems that some of the "damage" to the 1916 building's facade as part of that expansion is still being undone) it blazed the trail in several respects for the current expansion including the complete closure of the museum for a period of time and the and, perhaps most importantly, court-granted permission to use endowment funds to construction.

January 1968. Volume LV. Number 1. There's a ten-year gap in my cache of bulletins and at some point during this time the Bulletin has undergone a massive redesign including color covers and a larger size -- roughly 7"x8.5" instead of 5.5"x8.5" -- a trend that has continued with the bulletin's descendant, today's Members Magazine is a full 8.5"x11". This increase in mass is not wasted: The first entry in this Bulletin spans 17 full pages, more than the entire length of most prior bulletins. Mrs. Albert M. Rankin has joined the Board of Directors -- and she continues to be an active supporter of Cleveland arts to this day.

February 1968. Volume LV. Number 2.

April 1968. Volume LV. Number 4. Though Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, both neighbors to the Cleveland Museum of Art voted to federate in 1967, this issue ends by announcing "The Trustees and the Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art wish to join the University Circle community in taking formal notice of the presidential installation of Robert Morse and the inaugural year of Case Western Reserve University [...] The Museum has traditionally enjoyed a close relationship with the academic community of Cleveland and this relationship has now been made more intimate and productive by the new joint program in the history and criticism of art announced recently.

June 1968. Volume LV. Number 6. The inside front cover contains an artists rendering of the "Proposed Educational Wing" -- today's North Wing and main entrance -- although alterations have been made over the years, the image presented here is still very recognizable. The letter, signed by Emery May Norweb, President and Sherman E. Lee, Director -- is too lengthy to quote here -- but is filled with resonant echos of the current construction project "At the same time we also hope the prospect of things to come will enlist their material support; the physical discomfort of new construction is as nothing compared to the ensuing financial distress."

The annual report continues with reports that the Library's collection totals 59,925 volumes: Today, based on some reports (or rather, a somewhat recent library job posting) the collection exceeds more than 456,000 cataloged volumes and 500,000 digitized slides making it one of the largest art libraries in the United States.

And that seems like a fine place to stop this installment.

Happy Holidays!

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Chinese Art Music: Yang Wei and Ensemble (@ClevelandArt)

The Program as Presented:
Busy Horses Deliver the Grain (Harvest) (Yangquin,eng, ehru, cello)
Tai Ping Tune (Pipa, sheng, erhu, dizi, cello)
A Plum Blossom--3 Variations (Ruan, sheng, pipa, dizi, cello)
Green Song (sheng, pipa)
Three Sighs at the Guan Pass (vocals, cello, guanzi, pipa, sheng)
Jade (pipa solo)
Autumn at Dressing Table (ruan, sheng, dizi)
Melody of Jin (cymbals, sheng, pipa)
Jian Nan Ho (pipa, sheng, maguhu)
Xiang Yun (Musical Sound of Hunan) (ruan, sheng, ehru, dizi, cello)
The Ancient Battlefield (pipa solo)
Lantern Festival (erhu, sheng, cello, pipa, dizi)
(Yang Wei, pipa, yangquin, ruan, music director; Wu Wei, sheng; Wang Hong, ehru, guanzi, maguhu; Miao Yimin, dizi; Mike Block, cello, ruan, vocal. At the Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art)

Rachel suggested that we attend tonight's concert at the Cleveland Museum of Art and I accepted eagerly... this afternoon though I was under a bit of an Advil-resistant headache. Based on what happened last time we almost forwent this concert. But we didn't and it was a great way to spend an evening -- and a relaxing way to end a stressful day.

The program -- as you can see above -- was extensive, with twelve pieces selected from a total of fourteen listed in the program and announced by Mr. Wei as the program progressed. Being introduced to the Ehru earlier this week as a solo instrument with Wednesday's Concert in the Galleries it was interesting to hear that instrument tonight as a part of an ensemble.

Between most pieces Mr. Wei provided commentary and background information -- for example there is apparently a contentious debate as to if the Ehru is a traditional Chinese instrument or not -- and the long histories of the instruments in the Chinese tradition used for tonight's performance -- from as old as 8,000 years to as "new" as 1,000 years.

Generally speaking the moods of the pieces played fit into one of three groups: Festive, Meditative, or Anguished. My favorites from the evening fit into that first category: The celebratory and energetic Busy Horses Deliver the Grain, according to the program note inspired by a dance tune opened the program and featured the only use of the Yangquin, a "hammer dulcimer", on tonight's program. Coming full circle to the Lantern Festival, where through bright musical colors it was easy to imagine lanterns being released above a celebratory and festive crowd. In between, Melody of Jin (a place) was the most percussive of the pieces was bright and chaotic with the only appearance of cymbals on the program.

The most meditative of the pieces -- Jade-- a piece for solo pipa was introduced by Mr. Wei noting that that Pipa colors can be "warm, dark, fresh, or messy" and that the composer had asked for varied colors. As the playing commenced I slipped into another world while I just let my brain go blank. In Jian Nan Ho, literally "The Beauty of Jian Nan", the balanced melodic sound of the piece seems to emulate that of a gently flowing river that moves on to a bit faster trot.

Spanning the meditative and anguished worlds, one of my favorite pieces was Three Sighs at the Guan Pass, based on a poem about forced exile and a man departing friends for an unknown future. The Chinese text of the poem ("The morning rain of Wei city drenches the light dust. The willow leaves near the inn appear to be greener. Let us toast one more time before departing, for after going through the West Gate, we, old friends, might never meet again") was sung by cellist Mike Block and was haunting.

Green Song originally composed in the late 80s for soprano and pipa but played tonight with sheng and pipa, was inspired by the poetry of Li Po, and Mr. Wei mentioned that the same poet had inspired many of Fu Baoshi's works. Though the program notes give no further background, listening to the piece I get the sense of two instruments searching against a desolate sound scape in solitude and an unrelenting and extremely heavy sense of pure anguish.

Speaking of anguish -- while the concert itself was delightful and far from it, the audience members surrounding us pushed both Rachel and I to our limits between the excessive -- and excessively loud program flipping plus elbowing and in-concert texting of one gentleman, and the pervasive conversations behind us left us both on the brink.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Brian Ulrich Buyer's Remorse Event (@ClevelandArt)

When I frist walked through Brian Ulrich's Copia-Retail, Thrift, and Dark Stores 2001-11, the exhibition in the East Wing Photography Gallery (through January 16, 2012) it immediately struck me and captured my attention and interest

Divided into three sections, the exhibition visually explores the retail boom and conspicuous consumerism (Retail), the inital recession and rise of Thrifting, into the era of Dark Stores: Cavernous buildings once bustling with goods and people now sitting idle and empty. In that first section, the number of nondescript homogeneous scenes that could be "Anywhere, USA" (A line of cash registers from a Target in Granger, IN, for example, could just as easily be found in any Target in the country) and in the sheer expanse -- the foreground starts around Register #10 and you approach the softly-focused horizon at Register #32 leads you to wonder how we got to the point where a retailer would need 32 registers.

Likewise the completely absent expression on shoppers faces is uniquely disturbing -- and eerily uniform, be it a woman eyeing groceries, a child in a toy store, or a man selecting a fishing rod. Are we really in there?

While Thrift didn't appeal to my senses in the same way as the outer movements, Dark Stores is perhaps where I lingered the longest -- a shot of long-abandoned escalators in the infamous Dixie Square Mall has a strangely unique context for what is quite possibly the most photographed scene in the Dead Mall world; nearby a sign in an abandoned store announces a "Over 100 year" history -- and you can't help but to wonder what did them in? What about the people who worked there? What about the craftsmen whose work is now visible in the form of naked walls?

But that wasn't the reason Rachel and I were at the museum tonight. One of a rapidly growing number of exciting events the museum is hosting on the Wednesday and Friday evenings (when the galleries are open until 9pm), tonight's Buyers Remorse Young Professionals event featured cocktails and a DJ spinning tunes with casual conversation in the Museum Cafe (where one of Rachel's robots watched from the sidelines as part of the 2011 Staff Art Show in the same space) and the photographer Brian Ulrich in the Photography Galleries with his photographs. By the time Rachel and I made it from the Cafe to the galleries, Mr. Ulrich was in the tail end of talking about the project, and gladly fielded a stream of questions from a gallery full of curious attendees and provided humorous yet detailed answers to each question.

While the physical distance between galleries and reception is a bit of a hurdle (at least until the atrium opens in the Fall of 2012) to creating the ultimate event, events like these certainly gives both regular museum attendees and those who may be living in Cleveland blissfully unaware of the treasures we have a unique and hands-on experience with the art...and in this case, the artist.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Music in the Galleries with Gregory Fulkerson, Violin (@ClevelandArt)

Bach: Partita no. 3 in E major, BVW 1006
Bach: Sonata no. 2 in A minor, BVW 1003
Bach: Sonata no. 3 in C major, BVW 1005
Gregory Fulkerson, violin
In Gallery 20, at the Cleveland Museum of Art

I've often thought that it might be nice to bring music into the museum's galleries -- at least one Member's party for a special exhibition included the sounds of a small chamber ensemble wafting through the galleries, and I was intrigued.

But until recently that was it. Earlier this month the museum began a series that will repeat monthly bringing music into the museum's art-filled galleries. The prior outings I've had previous engagements, but I was bound and determined to make it to this session especially after a comment on a different CMA post strongly suggested attendance.

Rachel and I made our way to the museum and then to the galleries about 20 minutes before the 7:30 starting time. On our way to the gallery hosting the concert (Gallery 20 in the 1916 building, just West of the Rotunda) we ran into a guard and upon answering in the affirmative to "Are you here for the concert?" he warned "It's going to be cozy...lots of people got here before you". Closer to the musical epicenter, one of the guards I know suggested that we grab stools on the way in. The gallery was comfortably full -- just enough room to breathe, and certainly an appreciative audience.

We caught the tail end of Associate Director of Music Tom Welsh's introduction before the concert quickly got under way with the mesmerizing Partita No. 3, the first movement of which (Preludio) provided a very lively and thrilling introduction to the evening as the notes resonated throughout the gallery it was impossible not to enjoy the movement. It took me a while to figure it out, but part of the reason the movement felt so familiar is that it is one of the few classically inspired pieces on my iPod--and one I delight in listening to over and over--in the form of violinist Vannessa-Mae's Bach Street Prelude. While the Bach Street Prelude has a decidedly energetic techno flair, Mr. Fulkerson's Preludio exuded no less energy and simply came alive in the galleries.

Rachel's favorite from the evening was the Gavoette en rondeaux, the third movement from the Partita, which had a delightfully lively dance like flare.

Sonata no. 2 took things much more slowly and sensually with the first movement (Grave) being particularly sensual and the third movement (Andante) played lovingly. The second movement (Fuga) had hints that reminded me of the Partita, and overall while my ears were soaking in the sounds, my eyes were delighting in the art in ways that I've never noticed while strolling the galleries.

Ending the trilogy was Sonata no. 3 with a slow delicate adagio first movement, leading into a danceish fuga second movement, in which I resisted the urge to kiss Rachel solely and barely because we were in a fulll view of a crowded gallery. I was apathetic about the third movement (largo), my least favorite of the evening, but the program ended with the lively allegro assi fourth movement. Closing my eyes, I picked up some hints again of the preludio though transformed and less closely related than in the earlier piece.

In the end though, it was a delightful evening of wonderful music in a nearly perfect setting.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Bu

I wasn't feeling well on Friday (And I'm still not feeling all that well this morning) but when I met Rachel last night she surprised me with tickets for that evening's Viva and Gala performance of Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Bu.

I had read the description, which sounded interesting and had I been feeling better I probably would have suggested it myself. Unfortunately the program got off to an inauspicious start more than 15 minutes past the announced starting time, and never really recovered.

Well... I can't say "never" because the longer the music went on, the worse I felt. We snuck out after the fourth piece, and it is entirely possible that we missed some dramatic turn. This, though, was the first time I left the museum feeling markedly worse than when I got there -- usually the museum is one of my medative spot, somewhere to recenter myself.

The program notes contained no set list and advised that the program would be announced from the stage -- but this seemed to be a bit hit-or-miss and when they were announced I couldn't understand them well enough to make note.

There were strong moments -- by the third piece I had closed my eyes and got the sensation of a lively dance around a campfire, eventually morphing into something that would sound more at home in a '60s club -- perhaps most clearly embodying the promise of a blend of traditional instruments and modern sounds and techniques.

-- but overall the audio mix was unnaturally bass heavy, distorting the sound, and by the fourth piece causing every one of the steady beats to hurt more than the last.

Also interestingly -- I'm not sure if it was the performance, the audience, or just my state of mind -- it was one of the flattest and most two-dimensional. From my seat at the back of the Gartner Auditorium's balcony it seemed more as if I were watching a film than a live performance; there seemed to be no audience<->performer dynamic.

(With Bassekou Kouyate, lead ngoni & ngoni ba; Amy Sacko, lead & backing vocals; Fousseyni Kouyate, ngoin; Moussa Bah, ngoni bass; Alou Coulibaly calebasse; Moussa Sissoko, percussion; Moustafa Kouyate, ngoni)

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Schola Cantorum de Venezuela (Viva & Gala)(@ClevelandArt)

If it seems like many of the recent posts have revolved around the Cleveland Museum of Art it may because of how accessible -- both physically and psychologically -- the institution is--and how much there is going on at any given time . Tonight I had driven to the Museum to find Rachel in the galleries, but when I walked into the North lobby I bumped into Tom Welsh, the museum's Associate Director of Music, who had asked if I was planning on attending the concert.

"Concert? Tonight?" I asked momentarily confused and he mentioned the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela -- a Venezuelan choir. Not knowing if Rachel would be up for it I didn't commit, but when I found her hiding in "A Passion for Prints: The John Bonebrake Donation" she was also interested so we made our way back to the lobby.

I initially confused the ticket seller by asking for "two tickets" -- For what, she needed to know: The film, The lecture, The exhibition, The Choir. Confusion resolved and tickets in hand we found or way up to our seats on the balcony. My first time up there, I was interested to see how it would compare: While it offers a great vantage point, I felt a bit emotionally distant from the performers on stage.

The program assembled by the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela -- hailing from a country as known for its musical culture as anything else -- came in two parts: Aqua (Water) and Fiesta (well...Fiesta) with the Fiesta generally bolder and a bit more lively.

While I'm generally attracted to sharp contrasts, in Agua the subtle variations in texture from piece to piece and between voices within a piece were mesmerising, and the relative even keel of that half of the program created the perfect mood for some quality meditation. Cloudburst, "a ceremony, a celebration of the unleshed kinetic energy in all things" was a favorite the program with bold statements performers and the perfect vocal representation of rain (along with support from a handful of instruments). In the next piece, Binnamma, the rise and fall of voices sounded like the ebb and flow of waves. Closing out the first half, Yemaya, with soloists Paul Sojo, Javier Silva, and Victor Gonzalez, was a very light, happy, and moving choral piece and was my favorite from the first half of the program.

After intermission the show resumed with Primavera Portena from Las Cuatro Estaciones (Spring in Buenos Aires from The Four Seasons) with the program note that "the four tangos that comprise The Four Seasons are instrumental and in this program, the chior [sang] them with instrumental accompaniment." -- of course, a fiesta should start with a tango! Mule Rendeira (Lacemaker Woman) with percussion was hypnotic and rythmic. Cerezo Rosa (cha cha cha) was a lively dance, and all of the other pieces in the program were likewise lively and enjoyable. I'd be remiss to not mention Besame Muchowith the translated lyrics "Kiss me, kiss me much...", Son de la Lomay (They are from the Hill) with a good rhythm and, to borrow a lyric "con suis trovas fascinates que me las quiero aprender" [and I want to learn their fascinating rhythm].

The program ended with Nuestra Navidades (Our Christmas) including a bit of an audience sing along and concluding with a true fiesta on stage -- including a couple who had been dancing in the aisle joining the chior.

Lincoln

Part I: Aqua

Calcano: Evohe (Text: Planchart; Venezuela)

Castellanos: Al Mar anochecido (To the sea in twilight) (Text: Jimenez; Venezuela)

Whitacre: Cloudburst (Text: Paz; USA)

Golijov: From Oceana (Text: Neruda; Argentina)

A. Grau: Binnamma (Spain/Venezuela)

G. Grau: From Aqua (Text: Palacios; Venezuela) [Cancion de los rapidos remeros (Song of the Rowers); Yemaya

Part II: Fiesta

Piazzolla: From Las Cuatro Estaciones (The Four Seasons) (Arr. Escalada; Argentina) [Primavera Portena (Spring in Buenos Aries)]

Brazilian Folk Song: Muile Rendiera (Lacemaker Woman) (Arr. Fonseca; Brazil)

Lopez-Gavilan: Mambo que rico e (Mambo, how nice it is) (Cuba)

Ruffino: Cerezo Rosa (cha cha cha) (Arr. Alvarado; Cuba/Vinezuela)

Frometa: Toy Contento (Arr. Sauce; Venezuela)

Zapata: El Menciona'o (The Named One) (Arr. Ruiz; Venezuela)

Velazquez: Besame Mucho (Arr. A. Grau; Mexico)

Matamoros: Son de la Loma (They are From the Hill) (Arr. A. Grau; Cuba)

Galindez: La Arestinga (Arr. A. Grau; Venezuela)

Barros: Engo una forma mas (I have another way) (Arr. Raga; Cuba)

Rojas: Nuestras Navidades (Our Christmas) (Venezuela)

>

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1950- (@ClevelandArt)

I had planned on attending a facility recital at the Cleveland Institute of Music tonight, but when I got over to University Circle I couldn't find a parking space, so I returned home. My Grandmother sent a collection of things from my late grandfather -- including a publication dating from 1911 -- which reminded me it's been a little while since the last installment of my Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art retrospective. The complete series, starting with an issue from 1915, can be found here.

September 1950. Thirty-Seventh Year. Number Seven. This bulletin, with a cover featuring a picture of smiling children in the "Junior Museum" is virtually entirely a schedule of events, including "Free Entertainments" for young people Saturday Afternoons at 2:00pm "These programs will consist of films, music, plays, marionette shows, and illustrated talks. Children under six not admitted; adults not admitted until 2.00p.m., and only if seats are available. For a monthly calendar of these events, apply to the Educational Department".

On October 13, Harry Fuchs, a cellist who's name was instantly recognizable and who served the Cleveland Orchestra for nearly 40 years (including the Principal and Assistant Principal chairs) presented a cello recital, and a series of lectures, films, and chamber music  presents a full schedule. Walter Blodgett, Curator of the Department of Musical Arts, continues a series of weekly informal organ recitals

January 1954. Forty First-Year. Number One. A two-year gap exists in my collection of bulletins, but in the centerfold of this issue proves interesting in light of the current Fu Baoshi exhibition: Rocks Orchids and Bamboo, a 1952 acquisition, credited to Shih-t'ao, Chinese from the 1600s. Accompanying the piece, a note, authored by Sherman E. Lee -- four years before being appointed as Director of the museum--an appointment some credit for the museum's tall stature today. That note includes a quote from the artist "I am always myself and must naturally be present in my work. The beards and eyebrows of the old masters cannot grow on my face. The lungs and bowels (thoughts and feelings) of the old masters cannot be transferred into my stomach (mind)."

February, 1954. Forty-First Year. Number Two: Part One.  The Library -- before it adopted the Ingalls name -- is declared to have become a "mine of information" with the acquisition of 29 of the then 36 "coveted volumes of the Old Series of Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen sammlungen des allerhochsten kaiserhauses. [Google Translate is saying Yearbook of the Art Historical Collections of the Imperial House] The first volume appeared in Vienna in 1883 and the publication is still continued in the New Series". Googling, I can't determine if the New Series is still being extended. The Library is also proud of its acquisition of a complete set of the Societe francaise d'archeologie, published since 1834 "and still in full force". It was still in full force in 1954 and it's still in full force -- now online -- in 2011 with volume 169.

Museum Membership stands at 4,549.

April, 1956. Fourty-Third Year. Number Four. The current renovation and expansion project is not the Museum's first, as this issue opens with photos of the progress and "The progress of the new wing of the Museum is increasingly evident with the erection of the greater part of the steal framework. Only the sections where it will join the present building remain to be set in place" -- It continues, with words that can be taken to heart with the complete enclosure of the new Atrium and West Wing today -- "From now on the progress will be far less evident. On a monumental building such as this, the setting in place of the granite walls [...] and other interior equipment will be at best a lengthy process"

The membership has jumped considerably with a long list of new names and a total membership of 5,902.

September 1956. Forty-Third Year. Number Seven. The cover of this has photos of the 1958 Building -- now demolished -- well under construction, but is otherwise a schedule of events for the next quarter, and nothing particularly notable was noted. It is worth noting though the a subtle evolution in the typesetting was noticed leafing through this issue.

February 1957. Forty-Fourth Year. Number Two: Part Two. More pictures grace the cover of this issue, showing the West Section of the 1958 building connecting to the 1916 building. Now demolished, the land that this building sat on will soon become the "Living Room" of the Museum -- the magnificent new atrium. Again, though, the issue is entirely a schedule of events -- and one that seems to be thinning, perhaps in anticipation of...

April 1957. Forty-Fourth Year. Number Four. "THE CLOSING OF THE MUSEUM" proclaims a headline on the last page of this issue, "The Museum closed to the public on April 1. This decision   was in part necessary because of the plans to re-adapt the present building to new and changed uses, but it was caused by the impossibility of protecting and safeguarding the collections without proper air conditioning and dust control." Further, "During the period the Museum is closed, the Library will continue its services in the Department of Slides and Photographs. However, the borrowers will have to indicate their needs by telephone and the slides or photographs desired can be called for at a new temporary entrance at the West End of the New Wing." and "The public will have no access whatsoever to the building when it is closed."

It concludes with this note from then-Director  William M. Milliken that echos today: "The sacrifices that must be made during the period of transition will be met, one is sure, in the same generous spirit which has marked every relationship between the public and the Museum. The date of completion is not far distant [...]"

During this time, the Museum has encamped at the "Old Art School" on Juniper Drive. While I haven't been able to determine the precise location though this item from the Cleveland Memory Project indicates the intersection of Juniper and Magnolia Drives; if so, that facility -- even that intersection -- is now buried under a Case Western Reserve University Student Residential Village.

With this post turning wordy... I'll save the rest of the 1950s for next time.

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Fu Baoshi Young Professionals Night (@ClevelandArt)

The Young Professionals Event tonight at the Cleveland Museum of Art is one of those odd events where it came to my attention not through a single channel but through seemingly every vehicle I pay even the slightest bit of attention to. Needless to say, I was rather intrigued by the opportunity and was excited to "give it a whirl" so to speak.

Rachel was working at the museum tonight so after we were both finished with work for the day  we met in the galleries when we were both finished and killed some time in medieval and contemporary before making it back to the reception. The reception was quiet but well attended -- an interesting mix of people I know and museum staffers I recognized and completely new faces.

The reception featured Chinese takeout containers and deserts (I'm proud to say that I held my own with chopsticks, but Rachel had me firmly beat in that category). Also at the reception a supply of paper, ink, and brushes where you could try your hands at Fu Baoshi's techniques. Once again Rachel's artistic side had a chance to shine.

At 7PM, though, the most interesting -- and unexpected -- part of the evening began. Curator Anita Chung gave a guided tour of the exhibition, relating Mr. Baoshi's art -- both subject matter and techniques to the political and social climate which existed in China throughout his career, and his struggle to remain relevant (and not have his art appear elitist) after the rise of communism. Ms. Chung's enlightening presentation as we strolled through the exhibition also touched on the differences between Western and Chinese art: Where Western art tends to show things from a fixed perspective, Chinese frequently shows the subject over a period of time; where Western is quick to reject and adopt traditions (think all of the "isms") where Chinese has a very long tradition that isn't (or at least wasn't) readily rejected.

Ms. Chung was understandably very excited about her exhibition and her detailed (and far from boring) tour gave en excellent overview and things that will certainly help to appreciate the exhibition when I return to peruse it at my (our) own pace.

(as a side note today was Rachel and my septamensiversary)


Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Folias & Romances: Music Dialogues between Orient and Occident (@ClevelandArt)

(The full program is at the conclusion of this post)
Ferran Savall, Voice and Toeorbo; Jordi Savall, Lira da gamba and seven strings bass viol.

One of the reasons I love living in Cleveland is that you're virtually surrounded by the arts -- be they performing or classical -- and near the end of this chock-full weekend I found myself in the Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art for father and son team Jordi and Ferran Savall's performance.

While I'm at the museum practically weekly, this was the first event I've attended at Gartner. While the performance was fantastic, the organization didn't quite meet my expectations for the museum (for one, at least three different times were advertised depending on where you looked) and the event started late and ran longer than the box office had indicated, leaving me a bit harried and stressed about being late for the next event on my schedule. I probably should have left at intermission, but I was otherwise enjoying the concert too much to leave it unfinished.

I wasn't sure what to expect musically; the three instruments used aren't exactly common, but the result was musical magic. The program wove a selection of music picked from a progression of regions together. Within each grouping (From Orient, The Celtic Traditions, The Catalan traditions, The Spanish Folias, From Occident, Dialogues: The Mediterranean Traditions, and Ostinatos from the Old & New World) the music was played without pause, resulting in a beautifully flowing  program with a color that evolved slowly but clearly.

Being a Celtic fan, it is perhaps without surprise that my favorite portion of the program was the lively and animated -- entirely instrumental -- The Celtic Traditions, where at points it was hard to resist dancing a little jig in the auditorium. The Catalan Traditions that followed shifted to beautifully soothing (Particularly the younger Savall's voice in El Mariner. The second half of the program was more in the direction of lullabies, between two wonderfully voiced instruments in the hands of Jordi Savall and the voice in the hands of Feran Savall.

It was no accident that the concert ended on Jarabe Loco with the lyrics translated as "At last they are united / the old and the new world / and now they only stand divided / by a sea as deep as it is old" -- that is precisely what the program accomplished.

Lincoln

The full program:
From Orient
Shepardic (Sarajevo): Paxarico tu te llams (Instrumental)
Hebrew Lullaby (Israel): Noumi, moumi yaldatii
Traditional (Afghanistan): Nastaran (Instrumental)
Shepardic (Music) and Muguel de Cervantes (text): Marinero soy de amor
The Celtic Traditions
Dan R. MacDonald: Abergeldie Castle Strathspey
Traditional (Scottish): Regents Rant
Ryan's Mammoth Collection (Boston, 1883): Crabs in the Skillet
Ryan's Mammoth Collection (Boston, 1883): Lord Moira's Hornpipe
The Catalan Traditions
F. Savall (Music), Manuel Forcano (text): Mireu el nostre mar
Traditional (Catalonia): El mariner
The Spanish Folias
Antonio Martin y Coll: Diferencias sobre las Folias
From Occident
Traditional (Catalonia) and F. Savall: La canco del lladre
Marias: Muzettes I-II
Traditional (Breton) and J. Savall (Improvisations and variations): Gwerz "O Sonjal"
Dialogues: The Mediterranean Traditions
Traditional (Greece): Apo zeno meros
Shepardic Lullaby: Durme, hermosa donzella
From Morocco: Ghazali tal jahri (Instrumental)
Traditional (Turkey): Uskudar'a
Ostinatos from the Old & New World
Diego Ortiz: Romanesca & Passamezzo Moderno (Instrumental)
Canarios (Ostinato improvisations)
Improvisations after A. Valente & Jarocho traditions: Folias Criollas / Jarabe loco.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1947-50

[This is the fourth installment in a series; Part 1 covers 1915-20, Part 2, from 1920-29, and Part 3 from 1930-47]

I've been swamped at work, preparing for two trips to California, one that's already been rescheduled, and a trip to Michigan for work, plus a different trip for pleasure, so what better way than to relax by slipping 64 years into the Museum's history.

World War II has ended; and in 1947, depending on where you set the marker, the Cold War has either begun or is in its nascent stages. In Cleveland, Burke Lakefront Airport opened for operations; the Case School of Applied Sciences changed its name to the Case Institute of Technology (CIT would join with cross-street rival Western Reserve University 20 years later in 1967 to form Case Western Reserve University). "Untouchable" Eliot Ness was tht year's unsuccessful Republican mayoral candidate.

Television station WEWS, goes on the air on December 17, 1947 and is the first commercial television station in Ohio (16th in the country), it's call letters stand for Cleveland Press founder Edward Willis Scripps* -- perhaps best known as being one half of the Scripps-Howard media empire. WEWS is, to this day, Scripps-Howard's broadcast flagship... but enough background:

October 1947. Thirty Fourth year. Number Eight. On Friday, October 3rd, Lincoln Kirstein, president and director of The School of American Ballet will present a lecture on the Language of Classical Dance. In passing, he's credited as the "Founder of Ballet Society". In 1948, that organization will be renamed New York City Ballet. Oh, and by the way: He was a driving force behind the creation of Lincoln Center in New York -- though not the namesake.

December 1947. Thirty Fourth Year. Number Ten. Membership is rebounding from it's Depression- and World War-induced lows and now stands at 3,838 -- still below the 1920s peaks.

September 1948. Thirty Fifth Year. Number Seven Part One. The bulletin includes a centerfold. Not that kind of centerfold -- Franz Hals's Portrait of a Lady in a Ruff. More interesting, however is the announcement of Masterpieces from the Berlin Museums:

Cleveland is fortunate in being one of the centers of the country in which the
paintings from the Berlin Museums will be shown. They will be exhibited here
from October 6th through October 22nd. In the Spring of 1945, as the United
States armies advanced in Germany, they found a huge cache of art objects in a
salt mine at Mertkers, among which was an outstanding group of paintings, the
finest from the collection of the Kaiser-Fredrich-Museum and numerous examples
from the National-Galerie of Berlin. Shortly thereafter the group was brought to
this country for safekeeping and stored in the vaults of the National Gallery,
Washington DC until such time as it could be returned safely. Such arrangements
have now been made, and of the two hundred examples, half have already recrossed the Atlantic.

It is further noted that a special admission charge of $0.25 will be levied for the exhibition--to be used for the German Children's Relief Fund.

October 1948. Thirty Fifth Year. Number Eight. This month's centerfold, Coronation of the Virgin attributed to Pedro Nicolau-de-Albentosa. The museum's schedule of upcoming events is, understandably, weighted heavily to the Masterpieces from the Berlin Museums exhibition.

April 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number Four. The Jane Taft Ingalls Membership Endowment Fund of $1,100.00 (no zeros are unaccounted for) was established by Mrs. Albert S. Ingalls. The Ingalls name is well-associated with the museum via the Ingalls Library, but it does not appear that that association has been fully-forged in 1949. Walter Blodgett, the museum's first Curator of Musical Arts gives an extensive series of organ recitals -- He'll give well over 1,000 of them during his 31-year tenure at the museum. Membership is now reported as 3,962.

June 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number 6. Part 1. The museum is maturing as an independent organization, and another tie to its founders fades as John Huntington Hord, grandson of one founder passes.

October 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number 8. Those ties further slip as Mrs. Ralph King passes. "Elected a Benefactor by reason of her many gifts to the Museum, she actively carried on the deep interest which she and her husband, the late Ralph King, had shown from the earliest inception of the Museum. The Print Department is a monument to their generosity and to the concern for its development which they aroused in others." Rodin's The Thinker, outside the museum's South Entrance and purchased by the Kings for the Museum in 1917 is among 840 items the Kings donated to the Museum's collection.

December 1949. Thirty Sixth Year. Number Ten. Salmon P. Halle, co-founder of Cleveland's Halle Brothers department store, and like the Kings before him, and active supporter of the Museum's Print Department, passes. As an interesting tangent, actress Halle Berry's name was, reportedly, from her mother's fondness for the Halle's store. William G. Mather, today perhaps best known as the namesake for the Steamship William G Mather, permanently anchored near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is elected as Honorary President and Trustee Emeritus. President Harold T. Clark reports that "Mr. Mather asked to be relieved of the burdens of office, but the Trustees, in deferring regretfully to his request, wished to pay him this signal honor. He has served as President from February 14, 1936, as a Trustee from the twenty-fourth of November, 1919 and as a member of the Accessions Committee from July 13, 1915. In that last capacity, the Museum has had the advantage of his wisdom and taste since the year after its incorporation. Few people have had the influence which he has had in the development of the Museum's collections. As Honorary President, the Museum will be able to call oh him, as before, for advice and counsel.


Lincoln
*- For my California readers, this is the same Scripps who's name is scattered about the San Diego area: He retired there in 1890 and died in 1926.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1930-47

With another warm week under our collective belts and a tiring week in the office, I figured I'd unwind by returning to the stack of Cleveland Museum of Art Bulletins occupying a corner of my living room.

If you missed the last post, covering 1920 to 29 you might want to peak in, or if you have no idea what I'm rambling about you might be interested in the first installment.

Today's post covers two decades -- and a tumultuous period in American history: The end of the Great Depression and the beginning and end of World War II. Some scholars -- and at least one high school economics teacher -- link the two events, and logically it makes sense, but that's neither here nor there. The collection of discarded Bulletins was, sadly, rather light on the '30s, hence this post's two-decade span.

February 1934. Twenty First Year. Number 2, Part One. Prohibition ended with the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment by the Twenty-first Amendment by a majority of states just two months prior to this issue -- incidentally Ohio was one of the three states that pushed the amendment to ratification on December 5, 1933. At the museum, a schedule of events shows Saturday "Radio Talks" on WHK at 5:45 PM. WHK, Ohio's oldest radio station, and the 15th oldest in the country still broadcasting, can be found today at AM 1420, though in the early 30s as a CBS affiliate you would have tuned to 1390 KHz.

The schedule of events also includes frequent Organ Music programs and discussions in the auditorium.

John Long Severance is the President of the Board (the hall that bears his name and still serves as the home of the Cleveland Orchestra opened three years prior); and William Mathewson Milliken had also begun his Directorship of the museum at the beginning of the decade -- both will leave lasting imprints on the museum, and as I learned this afternoon, Mr. Milliken also headed the Public Works of Art Project for Region 9 of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Museum's Education staff totals nine. The library staff of seven includes a Miss Thwing -- and I have to wonder about her relationship to the Thwing Center that now stands just a few hundred feet from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Admission is still just $0.25.

December 1935. Twenty Second Year. Number Ten. The Autumn flower show this year paired flowers in paintings and was describes as "one of the most beautiful exhibits ever held in the museum" and included five paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe--this being barely 20 years after her work first gained widespread acclaim. Among those thanked for their participation, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Ginn -- Mr. Ginn, like Mr. Severance, had a close association with the Cleveland Orchestra, this time memorialized in the elegant Ginn Suite at Severance Hall.

The Bulletin offers five upcoming concerts in the "Cleveland Concert Course," sponsored by but not taking place at the Museum. For information, call CHerry 5805 (Today that number would be 241-5805*, but Google doesn't turn up any current results). Radio programs are listed for WTAM and WGAR including the Art Museum Drama. (WTAM is still around, and the WGAR call letters survive in Cleveland as WGAR-FM, but WGAR-AM is now WNKR). Total membership stands at 3,554 -- rather shocking as in October 1929 membership was reported as 6,365, and in 1922 the Board had hoped for membership of 10,000 by the end of the year.

March 1943. Thirtieth Year. Number Three. As if the membership numbers from 1935 weren't disappointing enough, the reported number is now just 3,113. For the first time since the building opened, hours and admission prices have changed: 9AM to 5PM except: Closed Mondays, Wednesdays until 10PM, Sundays 1PM to 6PM, and Friday Evenings 7PM to 10PM during Lecture Season. The Museum is closed July 4, Thanksgiving, and December 25. (Today the Museum is still closed Mondays, otherwise open daily 10AM to 5PM except until 9PM Wednesdays and Fridays). Then as now, admission is free at all times.

June, September, November, 1943; and March 1947 (Thirtieth Year, Number Six, Seven, Nine and Thirty-Fourth Year, Number Three, respectively) don't offer anything particularly noteworthy, with a relatively stable Museum organization and in-depth analyses on particular artworks. In September, Membership is reported as 3,008.

June 1947. Thirty-Fourth Year. Number Six. Part One. Miss Neil G. Sill, librarian of the Museum since February 1, 1920, retired as of April 15, 1947. The event is reported in the Bulletin "Miss Sill several years ago asked to be relieved of her responsibilities, but was generously willing to remain until after the war crisis. She submitted her resignation on December 1, 1946 to take effect at such time as the Trustees should decide, but no later than the spring." -- I find it hard to imagine, in the 21st Century someone staying in a job "several years" longer than they would otherwise desire.

President Milliken writes that "The strain of carrying the Library through the war years has made it seem imperative that, for a time at least, she have a period of rest and relief from responsibility. Miss Sill, during the years she has been in charge of the Library has built it up so that it is one of the outstanding special libraries in the country. Her ability in building up important representation in the various sections of the Library under her control and her wisdom in the selection and purchase of books have been outstanding contributions to the Museum's growth".

And I wonder if there are any modern markers of Ms. Sill's impact on the Museum's Ingalls Library during her 27-year reign early in the dawn of the museum?

And since I've wandered through these few issues for far longer than I originally set out to do, I suppose I shall save the rest of the last three years of the decade for the next post.

Lincoln

*- For completely tangential trivia, the 216-241 Exchange is one of several dozen served from the Ohio Bell Building on Huron Avenue, is a great example of Modern American Perpendicular Gothic Architecture and is frequently cited as the inspiration for the Daily Planet Building in Superman.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1920-1929

Continuing leafing through the series of Bulletins of The Cleveland Museum of Art from where we left off after Our Last Visit's 1915-April 1920 Tour, we find ourselves at:

July 1920. Seventh Year. Number Seven. Ninety-one years ago, Frederic Allen Whittling, the Museum's first Director, writes that "[...]The public is expecting the art museum to become not only home to the Muses, but the interpreter of beauty in all its forms. This widening vista of what an art museum may mean in its community, has already brought about amazing changes in the conception of the proper functions of the museums of art. They are becoming more than places where objects of beauty are preserved. They are becoming places of beauty and inspiration themselves."

I pause here to interject that these words could be called almost prophetic for the renovation in general new Atrium currently under construction at the Museum specifically, but continuing: "For today we are realizing more than ever before that the most beautiful life is that which is lovely in itself and in its personal relations is so much a part of the community that it enhances its surroundings while it gains new beauty therefrom."

Mr. Whittling concludes by noting the importance of "awakening the spirit of modern men, women, and children to a further realization of the part a love of beauty must play in a well balanced life"

To that end a short entry in the journal describes that small portions of the museum's collections are on display in specially designed cases in 20 Cleveland branch libraries, some Cleveland Heights schools, and the hope that this may be broadened to more schools. I wonder if this program is in any way still existent, it sounds like a great way to bring art to the people.

A photo shows a much sparser -- but easily distinguished Armor Court; still one of the museum's top draws. Many credit the interest, then and now, to Cleveland's manufacturing roots.

October 1920. Seventh Year. Number 8. An insert flutters out from between the pages titled "Sunday Entertainments for Young People at the Cleveland Museum of Art," listing a schedule of plays and films in the Auditorium (which has not yet picked up the Gardner) prefix.

Prospective patrons are instructed to "[t]ake the Euclid Car to East Boulevard or the East 105th Car to Payne Avenue and Walk East through Wade Park to the Museum." The University Circle name of the Museum's home came from a street car turnaround located at Euclid and East 107th -- I haven't found when that turnaround disappeared, but it's obvious Cleveland's street car system is still in full swing at this point.

A group of anonymous donors have presented the museum with $250,000 for the establishment of a department of Music and the acquisition of a memorial organ and tablet for the Auditorium. Their names will be revealed when the Organ is installed: The McMyler Memorial Organ was cleaned and revoiced as part of the museum's ongoing renovation.

Prices in the museum's Lunch Room have risen: Lunch is now $0.80, afternoon tea $0.60, and dinner (on lecture nights, with reservation) is $1.50. Shocking, right?

December, 1921. Eighth Year. Number 10. The museum's membership totals 4,684. The Museum's events list includes Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 47 in a lecture series on the appreciation of Chamber Music with Beryl Rubenstein. A composer, pianist, teacher, and --eventually--veteran, Mr. Rubenstein joined the faculty of the naescent Cleveland Institute of Music earlier in that year; the institution having been founded only the year prior. In 1932, he would take over the directorship of that institution and serve -- with a breif interuption for enlistment in World War II -- until his death in 1952.

Lunch: $0.75; Tea: $0.40; Dinner $1.25.

January, 1922. Ninth Year. Number 1. There is a plea for patrons with suitable materials to consider donating them to the Library, as the cost building a collection to include the necessary back journals is an expensive undertaking, and some are both difficult and expensive. For comparison, as of June 30th, 2010, the library held 456,105 volumes and in the first six months of 2011 -- 89 years later -- the library has cataloged over 4,200 new items.

Total attendance from the date the Museum building opened, June 7, 1916, to December 7, 1922 was 1,634,150, or approximately 251,000 per year if my math can be trusted. Today, the museum's annual attendance is 335,262 in the galleries plus 406,124 patrons served through education and public programs*

The trustees announce their hope that by the end of 1922 membership will reach 10,000; history will prove this goal optimistic. The organ is still under construction and the director's note explores: "The visitor to the museum usually takes away as much as his experience has prepared him to absorb. The aim is to increase in every possible way the attractiveness of the message the objects have to give."

January, 1926. Thirteenth Year. Number 1. Prices are no longer published for the Lunch Room, and membership tallies 5,023. There is a plea for members as the approved budget exceeds 1925s by nearly $10,000 and this difference is best made up through member's contributions. While Severance Hall may still be a few years in the future, John L. Severance is elected Vice President of the Museum's board.

A picture shows art displayed in a gallery: The in the intervening years the mounts have changed but it otherwise would not shock a time traveller.

June, 1926. Thirteenth Year. Number 6. After slipping in March, Membership is back up to 5,087 -- still well short of the board's optimistic 1922 goal. "informal" organ recitals are available Sundays at 5:15.

December, 1926. Thirteenth Year. Number 10. Turning attention outdoors, The Bulletin announces that Mrs. Windsor T. White has assumed the entire cost of the Euclid Avenue Terrace of what is now known as the Fine Arts Garden, allowing the Garden Club to focus on other areas of the Museum's "park foreground" and "much" of the grading has been finished. Today, even with signs of construction punctuating the view, the Fine Arts Garden, with the Euclid Avenue Terrace and the Lagoon make for a spectacular front yard for the museum.

October, 1929. Sixteenth Year. Number 8. The last in the cache from the roaring '20s, this issue of The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art was published in the same month as the Stock Market Crash of 1929--the event most identify as triggering the Great Depression. If the Bulletin knows of the impending trouble, though, it keeps the secret well-hidden. In fact this issue is pretty sparse, one take away: Near the close of the decade, membership totals 6,365.

Lincoln

*- Based on the annual report for Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2010; the latest figures I have available.

Cleveland Museum of Art: Bulletin of the Museum 1915-1929

I'm a sucker for ephemeral institutional history: Those reports, policy manuals, and various other internal documents that are written at one time and never intended to survive the ages: It is the disposable that is never disposed. I find it interesting to thumb through these documents (or Page Dn through PDFs) and see what has and hasn't changed. In the paper world, it's interesting to feel the quality of the paper and look at the typesetting in days before computers and "Desktop Publishing" was a glint on the horizon, and to think of who has browsed those pages in the decades past.

My girlfriend, aware of this trait, noticed that a collection of assorted issues of "The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art" (which was published from 1914 to 1994, to be replaced by the Member's Magazine, which is still published) was to be discarded and swept them up for me. Arriving home tonight, after dutifully slipping in some needed violin practice, I couldn't help but to sort them chronologically, and thumb through a the pages and think about what else was happening in the world, what names are encountered, and how times have changed.

Before I really realized what I had done, I had made it through all of the issues I have through 1929. Without further ado, some of my observations.

November 1915. Second Year. Number Three. The earliest issue in this cache takes us back to 1915. The Cleveland Orchestra won't exist for another three years--Severance Hall is about 15 years away. World War I is raging overseas, but it will be another 17 months before the United States joins the fray. It had been hoped that the Museum's opening and inaugural exhibition could be announced, but construction delays mean that installation work cannot begin before January of 1916. (The Museum will eventually open June 7th, 1916)

Dudley P. Allen bequests $150,000 to be held in trust for the Museum with the interest income to be paid "For 100 years and for as long thereafter as the institution shall effectively and worthily carry out the purposes of its organization". The trust is held by Cleveland Trust Company, through mergers and acquisitions, now known as KeyBank: The trust still exists, and fewer than four years remain of that original 100 year term. It would be difficult to argue that hte museum is not effectively and worthily carrying out its purposes.

Though the Museum's physical presence hasn't opened, Mrs. Emily S. Gibson is actively stirring interest in educational programs through visits to Cleveland libraries, and reports that the Cleveland Public Schools superintendent is eager to incorporate the museum in educational programs after it opens.

The Membership for the not-yet-opened museum totals 530, the names occupy scarcely more space than one full 8-1/2" by 11" sheet and include such names as Howard M. Hanna (M.A. Hanna company a major specialty chemical company), William R. Hopkins (first, and only, Cleveland City Manager, and a major proponent of the airport that now bears his name--Cleveland Hopkins International Airport), F.E. Drury and Charles S. Brooks, both of whom have strong ties to the Cleveland Play House as well, also appear. Rounding out the list of names that jumped off the page, members of the Blossom Family-- 45 years later, give or take, the Blossom Music Center will be named for one if their members.

April 1920. Seventh Year. Number 4. World War I has ended; the depression is yet to come and "An Appeal For New Members" appears in The Bulletin "For the past two years the Museum has made no active campaign for membership, believing the war needs of the country made such an appeal unpatriotic". The appeal goes on to report that previously two trusts had entirely funded the museum's operations, but due to growth of the museum and increased costs, those funds now fall far short.

The museum thanks Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the use of her Steinway piano "during her absence" and Harry J. Wamelink for "frequently" lending a Mason and Hamlin piano.

Membership now totals 1,983; names are not published. The museum is open 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday except until 10pm on Wednesdays and 1pm-10pm on Sundays. Admission is free Sundays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and all public holidays -- $0.25 otherwise. In the Lunch Room, table d'hote lunch is $0.60, afternoon tea is $0.40, and if you're attending a lecture, make a reservation before 3pm for a $1.00 dinner.

I had originally planned on covering the rest of the 1920s... but this post seems long enough. Perhaps there will be a Part II: Are you interested?

Lincoln

Cleveland Museum of Art: Art Crawl

A few weeks ago I received an emailed invitation to the Cleveland Museum of Art's first Art Crawl, an after hours wine, hors d'oeuvres and conversation event open to members at the Fellow level and higher.

I wasn't sure what to expect but my ladyfriend and I eagerly RSVPed, and tonight was the night. At 6:30 pretty intimate gathering of probably fewer than 120 people met in the lower level of the Museum's north wing and were further into even smaller groups of perhaps thirty each for talks with museum staff and then wine and food nearby (but not in the actual galleries for obvious reasons!)

Our group had the following itinerary:

Icon of the Mother of God and Infant Christ (Virgin Eleousa) by Angelos Akotantos with Dean Yoder, Conservator of Paintings. Followed by Boutari Kretinos Red and White wines, Domas Yolandi (Grape leaves stiffed with herbs and rice, tzatziki sauce), Spanikopita: Sauteed spinach, garlic, feta cheese, minted greek yogurt)

Mr. Yoder's discussion brought light to the importance of this icon, how it came to be attributed to the artist (somewhat rare for works of that type from that period). Particularly interesting to me were the challenges of the condition for a painting that's nearly 600 years old and the techniques used to clean, stabilize, and generally conserve the painting -- something I've been interested in since I first became really aware of the art at a Cleveland Museum of Art Member's Appreciation Day two years ago, a Science Cafe event last year. As my ladyfriend's career goal is conservation, I've been slowly learning even more lately.

A View from Moel Cynwich: Looking over the Vale of Afon Mawddach and Toward Cader Idris by William Turner of Oxford. Heather Lemonedes, Curator of Drawings. Followed by Osbourne Amantillado Sherry; Cilantro curry and spinach dip, crispy pita chip; Smoked salmon "tartar", English cucumber cup, creme fraiche.

Ms. Lemonedes discussed her role as curator of drawings while standing in front of a magnificient watercolor. Seem nonsequeter? We learned tonight that the museum considers anything on paper to be a drawing -- including watercolors. Beyond that Ms. Lemonedes discussed the importance of this particular work, and her interest in expanding the museum's holdings of British drawings to compliment the already impressive collections of other nationalities. Particularly interesting was the social nature of art acquisition, and the respect Cleveland has in the art dealer world. Ms. Lemonedes's enthusiasiam bubbled over.

The sherry was a bit too strong in both taste and smell for me, barely surviving two sips, but the cilantro curry and spinach dip on crispy pita was great. My ladyfriend and I both thought it had a hit of something familiar but couldn't quite place it.

The Age of Bronze by Auguste Rodin. William Robinson, Curator of Modern European Art. Latur Ardeche Chardonnay, Latour Valmoissine Pinot Noir; Micro baked bire, apricot compote, baguette; Duck confit, apple chip, sour cherry puree.

Topping the previous curator's impressive enthusiasm, William Robinson was clearly a curator passionate about his work. Though the Age of Bronze was the center of the discussion, it ultimately included the museum's relationship with Rodin while he was living: The casting of the Age of Bronze in Cleveland's discussion was overseen by Rodin personally and the last casting while he was living -- the patina was chosen specifically to be a "crushed grape" look unlike the patina of the same piece in the Met's collection which was overseen by the French government and Rodin felt was all wrong. Interestingly, unlike many other collections, the vast majority of Cleveland's Rodin holdings were cast while the artist was alive; many other museums collections consist posthumous castings.

While I didn't really love any of the wines, the Latour Ardeche Chardonnay was my favoirte from the evening, being farily light and not overly dry. Disappointingly, this stop's food offerings were the ones I was most looking forward to--but they had completely run out by the time my group made it to this stop.

Bringing Forth the Fruits of Righteousness From Darkness by Damien Hirst. Paola Morsiana, Curator of Contemporary Art. Menage a Trois Red and White. Trio of soup sips: cantaloupe, avocado, strawberry rhubarb.

At the peak of enthusiasm, Curator Paola Morsiani jovially declared herself the queen of the contemporary galleries and discussed Damien Hirst's monumental Bringing Forth the Fruits of Righteousness From Darkness -- a triptych made up entirely of butterfly wings arranged to resemble stained glass windows in a Gothic church -- from an angle I hadn't previously considered: The commercial nature of contemporary art, and how Mr. Hirst is aware of the business of art, and the art is a product of that business environment... in other words, he knows how to make money from his art.

Like the other curators, Ms. Morsiana eagerly and happily answered questions following her brief talk, and I took the opportunity to enquire about how a work of that scale -- on loan from an anonymous collector for 5 years, and Ms. Morsiana is not bashful about admitting that she'd be thrilled to have the collector donate the piece -- gets loaned to the museum.

Reception with Director David Franklin and Membership staff.

Following the conclusion of the groups, everyone assembled on the lower level of the East wing for a light reception and even more conversation: Perhaps most interesting all of the curators who had given their time throughout the evening seemed to remain for the reception and were just as eager to continue answering questions.

The longer I live in Cleveland and the more time I spend both in my "home" galleries and of those of museums I encounter in my travels along the way, I'm increasingly appreciative of both the strength of Cleveland's collection (and reputation) along with the pure passion of its staff at all levels.

Lincoln