MEMORIAL ART GALLERY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
JIM SANBORN THE CENTENNIAL SCULPTURE PARK'S NEWEST ADDITION
HER VOICE CARRIES SARAH C. RUTHERFORD AND THE NEW MURAL FOR THE HURLBUT GALLERY
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017
V o i c e s FIFTY YEARS A CLOTHESLINE PARTICIPANT
Juried Show 400+ Artists Ceramics, Jewelry, Wood, Leather, Painting, Glass, Metal, Photography, & More
Yes, as a long time Clothesline participant I go back to hanging my paintings on a clothesline strung along the Gallery's wrought iron front fence. No fancy waterproof canopies, display tables, carpets, or any of that. However, there was an audience eager to see and many times purchase the works of the hardy exhibitors, and it was the beginning of long wonderful relationships that developed over the years between me and many of the thousands of viewers. I loved it! On the grounds of the Memorial Art Gallery I could show my work and relate one-on-one with interested viewers. Yes, sometimes viewers do not understand my impressionistic approach to my work, but then many do. I am there to discuss my paintings and that I can be found painting at our High Falls, or at the Finger Lakes, at Gloucester, or on a street in Europe. Most of my work is done en plein air, outside on location, and I enjoy sharing these experiences with Clothesline viewers.
FREE ENTERTAINMENT • FOOD AND DRINKS GALORE • ART ACTIVITIES
It is energizing packing these landscape paintings in the van and setting up for the show…with of course much help from my wonderful wife and framer, Rita, and family.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 9, 10 AM–5 PM • SUNDAY, SEPT. 10, 10 AM–5 PM (mag members' preview 9:30 AM both days)
A-NOTHER OPENING…OF A-NOTHER SHOW! I want to also thank the Gallery, sponsors, hard-working volunteers, and all the super-talented exhibitors who make Clothesline a local treasure. I love it!
Dick Kane Artist-Teacher, Creative Workshop at MAG
text "givemag" to 24587 to make a donation today
Cover: Jim Sanborn, Argentum: Double Positive, 2017. Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY. Maurice R. and Maxine B. Forman Fund, Marion Stratton Gould Fund, Clara and Edwin Strasenburgh Fund, and Thelma M. Knapp Fund, with additional support from Steven Sumberg. Photo Credit: J. Adam Fenster.
CALENDAR
ONGOING
Sunday, August 13
Thursdays 5:00–9:00 PM 1/2 Price Admission
Friday, Sept. 1
• Docent-led tours - 6:00 PM
The Power of the Female Gaze last day 6:15 PM–7:45 PM Art Social - Vibrant Water Colors $20/includes museum admission Art Social is now also on First Fridays! The first Friday of every month brings another new creative project for you and your friends!
(Except August 17 and September 21)
• MAG DeTOUR - 6:00 PM/$10 (includes museum admission) August 17: A Little DeTOUR with Scott Pukos September 21: Mindfulness DeTOUR*
*($15 for Sept. 21 includes museum admission, DeTOUR, and Yoga Class)
• Gallery Store shopping • Special Events
Thursday, Sept. 7
August 17: Alternative Music Film Series (free) September 21: Alternative Music Film Series (free)
6:00 PM Rainforest IV - Opening Performance Free with museum admission Temporary exhibition with Eastman School of Music. On view September 7–10.
• Art Social - 6:15 PM/$20
Saturday, Sept. 9
10:00 AM−5:00 PM Clothesline Festival $5/includes museum admission Shop among 400+ New York State artists booths. Member preview starts at 9:30 AM. Please, no pets.
Wendell Castle seated in Long Night (2011). Photo by Adrien Millot, Courtesy of Friedman Benda Gallery and Wendell Castle.
August 3: Illustrated Music, Rhythmic Designs August 10: Woven with Fibers and Textures August 17: Inspired by Stained Glass August 24: Paper Dolls for Grownups August 31: Delicious Doodles September 7: Playing with Perspective September 14: Colorful Collage September 21: Zentangles in Color September 28: Watercolors Inspired by Autumn
• Food & drink available for purchase from Brown Hound Downtown
Sunday, Sept. 10 10:00 AM–5:00 PM Clothesline Festival $5/includes museum admission Member preview starts at 9:30 AM. Please, no pets.
Sara Blake, Flowers
Saturdays Noon–2:00 PM Kids Create Dates - $10/Child Fun hands-on art projects for kids from 4−14 in MAG’s front entrance. (Except September 9)
Thursday, Sept. 14
7:00 PM Meet the Artist: Charles Atlas Free with museum admission Join Douglas Crimp (Art History Professor, U of R) in a lively conversation about the life and career of Charles Atlas, creator of Here She Is... v1.
Creative Workshop Open House September 9 & 10
Visit the Creative Workshop during Clothesline to meet faculty, create art, and learn more about classes and camps for kids, families, and adults!
Wednesday, Sept. 20
9:00 PM MAGsocial and Lakeshore Records Present: Severed Heads Tickets: $20 (advance) or $25 (day of) Live concert in the M&T Bank Ballroom. Tickets on sale at MAG, Lakeshore Record Exchange and AlternativeMusic.com
Sundays 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM Going For Baroque Organ Concerts Free with museum admission
Amy Montrose, Clothesline Performer, 2015. Photo courtesy of Richard Wersinger.
JIM SANBORN: ARTIST A look at the new addition to the Cent ennial Sculpture Park WRITTEN BY JONATHAN BINSTOCK | MARY W. AND DONALD R. CLARK DIRECTOR
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im Sanborn is a cryptographer, historian of atomic science, and anthropologist. He is also an artist. Conceptually and intellectually rigorous, he never makes anything that isn’t exquisitely crafted; he gives every millimeter, every detail of his art the utmost consideration. Having grown up in Washington, DC, Sanborn is steeped in the culture of invisible, sometimes secret, forces. Espionage as well as free-market and government forces are often top of mind. If the range of his expertise seems impressively, perhaps impossibly, broad, it's because it is. Jim Sanborn is a polymath and one of the most brilliant people you'll ever meet.
He is probably best known for a work of sculptural cryptography, Kryptos. Take a minute to Google it. Kryptos is an outdoor artwork commissioned by the CIA in the 1980s and situated on the grounds of the agency’s Langley headquarters. The sculpture is still stymieing the nation’s top cryptographic professionals and has generated lots of impassioned discussion, even conspiracy theories about its existence. In the mid1990s Sanborn began working with powerful projected light. He custom
Jim Sanborn, Argentum: Double Positive, 2017. Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY. Maurice R. and Maxine B. Forman Fund, Marion Stratton Gould Fund, Clara and Edwin Strasenburgh Fund, and Thelma M. Knapp Fund, with additional support from Steven Sumberg. Photo courtesy of J. Adam Fenster.
built a large light projector for which he designed his own oversized glass slides. In clandestine fashion, he traveled to remote locations in the wee hours of the morning to project graphic images over quarter-mile distances for hours at a time. It was as if he were drawing with light on landmasses and other structures created over millennia. These light projections revealed the formal, visual truths of natural and human-made formations. With time-lapse photography he recorded his findings while rendering starry trails in an eerily bright blue Maxfield Parrish-like sky. Cryptography and the revelation of truth—these are aspects of Sanborn’s work that find new representation in his latest sculptural installation, Argentum: Double Positive. Just as some of Sanborn’s prior works helped articulate the visual meaning of a place, Argentum aims to illuminate various historical truths of Rochester and this region. Sanborn projects historical references onto MAG’s 1913 facade, transforming the facade into a screen awash with the drama and ambitions of a people, place, and culture. The work quotes primary texts that describe events and people using both historical and contemporary languages. In their juxtaposition, these languages read as both recognizable and unfamiliar. To decode this linguistic knot, turn not to the cryptographers in your midst, but rather to your friends and neighbors, someone who knows historical Chinese, perhaps, or a speaker of Onondowagah (Seneca native language). Together you will discover a rich, complex, and extraordinary history of global proportions that gives form to the dynamic City of Rochester that we know today.
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The 2017 Artists' Affair artists (left to right: Olivia Kim, Nita Brown, Jeff Kell, Nancy Jurs, Elizabeth Lyons, John Greene, St. Monci, and Peter Pincus) with Jonathan Binstock
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an Artists’ Affair Written by Rachael Unger | Director of Marketing and Engagement P h o t o g r a p h y b y R i a Ta f a n i
M
ore than 175 guests enjoyed an evening of wining, dining, and bidding at MAG’s first-ever An Artists’ Affair fundraiser. This fabulous event turned our M&T Bank Ballroom into an immersive artistic experience, providing guests with the opportunity to interact with eight regional artists and admire their unique works in an intimate and creative setting.
Sotheby’s New York kindly provided an auctioneer, Selby Kiffer, to expertly lead a live auction and cash call. The evening was brought to a close with guests enjoying dessert, coffee, and drinks in the Vanden Brul Pavilion, claiming their winnings, and heading out into the night with custom MAG cookies and beautiful, unique glass paperweights by artist Robin Lehman.
Seated at one of eight tables, each designed by an artist, attendees simultaneously enjoyed the art and their meals while sipping libations. Throughout the evening guests bid on their favorite works by participating artists Nita Brown, John Greene, Nancy Jurs, Jeff Kell, Olivia Kim, Elizabeth Lyons, St. Monci, and Peter Pincus.
A fun night was had by all while we raised almost $45,000 to help make MAG more accessible to a broader and more diverse audience. By all accounts it was a great event, and so we are already looking forward to the next An Artists’ Affair on April 28th, 2018. We hope to see you there!
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1. Patrick and Gail Riggs pose for pictures with their children, John and Abigail. 2. Elizabeth Stauderman rocking the stunning fascinator. 3. Margaret and Dave Burns are all smiles with their daughter Collene and son-in-law Maclean. 4. Mary Sue Jack with MAG’s own Jamie Dinolfo. 5. Todd Green and Stephanie Sheak pose with Pete and Nan Brown for a quick pic. 6. Duffy Palmer, Nita Brown, Mark Siwiec, and Lauren Dixon get friendly. 7.Hon. Melissa Barrett and husband Basil, delight in the evening. 8.Derrick Burgess and Courtney Smith cheer us on during dinner. 9. Vickie and Jim Durfee raise their glasses during the cocktail party. 10. Bleu Cease and Essie Germanow show off those award-winning smiles. 11. Trudie Kirshner, Wendell Castle, and Elizabeth Lyons discuss the opening of Wendell Castle: Remastered in October.
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HER VOICE CARRIES Sarah C. Rutherford and the newest installation in the Hurlbut Gallery By Margot Muto | Exhibitions Coordinator
Painter and muralist Sarah C. Rutherford is the latest artist to be featured in the Hurlbut Gallery. Her installation for MAG, part of a city-wide project called Her Voice Carries, showcases the unique stories of five women who live and work in various Rochester communities. The mural she made for MAG serves as an introduction and a key to the entire project, which ultimately will consist of five mural portraits located throughout the city. Rutherford recently spoke with Margot Muto about her art and latest project. Margot Muto: How did you come to meet the women who are portrayed in Her Voice Carries? What process did you use to select them? Sarah Rutherford: I went on a journey beginning with recommendations from different community leaders within the city. The decision came down to geography and the desire to represent a variety of stories and life experiences. This is just the beginning of the project and I am committed to honoring all the women who have shared their story with me through a blog. MM: Beauty and quality are important to your work, specifically regarding the iconic representation of each woman in Her Voice Carries. What impact do you hope this will have on viewers? SR: It’s important that each woman is well represented. Public art has the ability to reach an audience that might not otherwise consider art as an integral or accessible part of their lives. While beauty can be subjective, I do believe finely crafted work may be
more universally accepted, creating greater opportunities for the message to be considered. I hope to combine the inspiration I feel from knowing each of these women with the intention of creating connections and conversations among the audience. I believe this is an important step to bridging gaps between different communities. I encourage viewers to travel through various neighborhoods and consider our city as a whole. MM: How is community engagement a form of artistic practice? SR: As an artist engaged in public art, it is important to consider, perhaps even reflect, the communities in which I am working. Once the artwork is complete it no longer belongs to me, but rather to the community where it resides. I tend to view myself as a conduit, using my skill set to work with others to create a message that resonates with them. This engagement allows me in turn to grow as an artist and a person. MM: Your works in the past have included illustration, mixed-media paintings, and installations. What led you to start painting directly on the wall? SR: I have always painted on a large scale, so the transition to mural work always made sense to me. I was really drawn to the community impact, that it was something for everyone. It’s an egalitarian platform that everyone can enjoy. WALL\THERAPY has been a huge influence in that transition along with inspiration from the amazing international artists the program has brought to Rochester. MM: Many of your local mural projects focus on elements of Rochester's identity. One may argue that you are contributing to shaping that identity. Why has Rochester become so important to you and your artistic career? SR: Rochester is the perfect place for a young emerging artist. I arrived here 10 years ago, shortly after college. The combination of a low cost of living, strong artistic network, and strong community support has been ideal. It is also a city where you can witness growth in a relatively short amount of time and where passion is the main ingredient needed for success. It's empowering to be part of palpable change.
"The seeds of Her Voice Carries are planted here in Rochester, a city that has deeply impacted my growth as a young artist and a young woman. This project is my love letter to Rochester, and was born from my individual search for connections and my desire to understand our city as a whole. We so easily fall into the same routines and networks. I hope to encourage people to expand their circles, allow them to overlap, and listen to the women and their voices around our community."
Sarah C. Rutherford Follow Sarah's Project
HerVoiceCarries.Blog
@HerVoiceCarries
#HerVoiceCarries
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Underwritten by Helen H. Berkeley, with additional support from the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. The Memorial Art Gallery is supported primarily by its members, the University of Rochester and public funds from Monroe County. Memorial Art Gallery is also supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. *Half-price Thursday admission after 5 pm is made possible in part by Monroe County.
Thank you to our Sponsors
Wheelchairs are available in the Vanden Brul Pavilion coatroom. The auditorium is equipped with an assistive listening system made possible by the Mark and Bobbie Hargrave hard of hearing fund of Rochester Area Community Foundation, the MAG community access endowment fund, and an anonymous donor. To schedule a sign language interpreter or touch tour for the blind, or to request a braille or text calendar, contact cander35@mag.rochester.edu (585.276.8971). People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call via relay service. We also offer a special cell phone tour for the visually impaired.
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