MEMORIAL ART GALLERY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
JAVIER TÉLLEZ NOSFERATU (THE UNDEAD)
ART BRIDGES DAVID HOCKNEY ARRIVES
Javier Téllez, NOSFERATU (The Undead) (still, detail), 2018. Photo courtesy of the artist.
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 8
ART& TREASURES ROCHESTER'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS GARAGE SALE
RE-HOME & REPURPOSE ARTWORK AND MORE...
SAVE THESE DATES June 4-6 DROP OFF Donations at MAG June 7-10 VOLUNTEER and/or ATTEND the Sale Spread the word to friends & family
If you have donations that need to be picked up before the sale week, please contact Mary Lisa (585.325.4140 x 130, msisson@howeandrusling.com) or Bonnie (585.766.8630, bvoll77@rochester.rr.com).
Support MAG • Connect Friends • Celebrate Art
V O I C E S I’m Jason. I’m around the MAG a lot. Maybe you’ve seen me as a student, as a teacher, or crafting at a recent event. In whatever capacity, I like to help make things fun. Creativity is what makes the world go round—that and coffee. This place is important to me because I remember coming here as a kid, taking classes in the Creative Workshop and walking through the art galleries with my parents. I was so excited about making art that I chose to study Studio Art at Nazareth College, which gave me the opportunity to learn from amazing artists including Kathy Calderwood and Mitch Messina. Following Naz, I built a career as a tattoo artist and bodypainter; I’ve even had my reality show 15 minutes of fame on Skin Wars: Fresh Paint with Ru Paul. For the first time last year, I exhibited at MAG’s Clothesline Festival and the experience was eye opening. I plan to do it again, and for as long as I can, to bring beauty to this world. Usually, you’ll find me making something. I’ve just launched a studio with my friend and colleague Rose Van Tyne in the Hungerford Building (studio 423). Please visit us! We open up every First Friday or Second Saturday. To sum it all up, I am thrilled knowing I’m a part of this creative museum. If another child or adult, or for that matter creature with multiple appendages, finds themselves getting a little of the creative spirit, the technical knowhow, or the inspiration from interacting with me, I’m pleased.
Jason Ferguson Ceramics Instructor, Creative Workshop
Memorial Art Gallery | 500 University Avenue | Rochester, NY 14607
CALENDAR Thursday, April 5 7:00 PM Microscopic to Monumental: Origami in Wood, Bronze, and Steel G. Milton Wing Lecture with Dr. Robert J. Lang. Dr. Lang is one of the pioneers of the cross-disciplinary marriage of origami with mathematics. Free with museum admission. The G. Milton Wing Lectures are supported by the University of Rochester Department of Mathematics. Sunday, April 8 Last day to see Rosalyn A. Engleman: Beauty is Everywhere Wednesday, April 18 4:30–7:00 PM Especially for Educators: Creating Digital Exhibitions and Portfolios Join UR Librarians Joe Easterly and Kim Hoffman in a participatory workshop where you will learn creative applications using Omeka software. This will be a hands-on evening where we plan and build a digital exhibition. Art; Social Studies; ELA; IT Teachers, Librarians. Contact Chelsea Anderson to register. 585.276.8971, cander35@mag.rochester.edu Saturday, April 21 8:00–11:00 PM NOSFERATU (The Undead) Opening Party Open to all museum members. Contact Bella Clemente to register. 585.276.8942, bclemente@mag.rochester.edu Sunday, April 22 2:00 PM Meet the Artist: Javier Téllez in conversation with W.J.T. Mitchell Artist Javier Téllez will discuss his recent commission for MAG and the connection between cinema and mental health with the eminent scholar and theorist W. J. T. Mitchell. Free with museum admission. The Distingu ished Visiting Humanist program is supported by the University of Rochester Humanities Center. Monday, April 23 6:00–9:00 PM Emily Sibley Watson Society Dinner with Javier Téllez Exclusive dinner with artist Javier Téllez and director Jonathan Binstock. Open to Emily Sibley Watson Society Members. Contact Bella Clemente to register. 585.276.8942, bclemente@mag.rochester.edu Saturday, April 28 6:00–11:45 PM An Artists' Affair An evening celebration bringing awareness and support to an important initiative, the MAG-RCSD’s Expanded Learning Collaboration. An evening of wining, dining, bidding, and collecting! $200/person, Call 585.276.8942 for tickets. Sunday, April 29 2:00–3:00 PM Ancient Egyptian History Mirrored in Temples Celebrate National Volunteer Recognition Month and enjoy a lecture with retired UR Chemistry Professor Samir Farid. Open to docents, volunteers and the public (with museum admission) Contact Maryanne Monley for information, 585.276.8984, mmonley@mag.rochester.edu Thursday, May 3 7:00 PM Lecture by Larry Merrill Larry Merrill will talk about Wards of Time, the Lockhart Gallery exhibition of his photographs of Greek and Roman antiquities Wednesday, May 9 4:30–7:00 PM Especially for Educators: Articulate! Conversations Between Art and Voice Come explore the potential of art and word in this workshop that focuses on Poets Walk and MAG’s collection. Docent, poet and teacher Kitty Jospé will share ideas on creative writing using art and word as tools for heightening understanding through sharpened attention. Art; Social Studies; ELA; IT Teachers, Librarians Contact Chelsea Anderson to register. 585.276.8971, canderson@mag.rochester.edu Thursday, May 17 Trip to Toronto to see Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors Travel to AGO with director Jonathan Binstock to see this extremely popular exhibition in Toronto. The exhibition features Yayoi Kusama’s mesmerizing infinity mirror rooms, paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from the 1950s to the present. Open to Watson and Monet Society Members. Contact Bella Clemente to register. 585.276.8942, bclemente@mag.rochester.edu Tuesday, May 29 6:00–9:00 PM Director’s Circle Spring Lecture with Dr. Robert B. Simon Join us to hear Dr. Robert Simon, art consultant, tell the story behind discovering Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. Open to all Director's Circle Level Members. Contact Bella Clemente to register. 585.276.8942, bclemente@mag.rochester.edu
THURSDAYS
ONGOING
5:00–9:00 PM 1/2 Price Admission Docent-led tours - 6:00 PM
No docent-led tours on April 19 and May 17
MAG DeTOURSM - 6:00 PM/$10 (includes museum admission)
Purchase tickets online: mag.rochester.edu/events/detours/ SM
April 19: Animals in Art DeTOUR (in collaboration with Seneca Park Zoo) SM
May 17: Game of Thrones and the MAGsocial DeTOUR
Third Thursday Organ Concerts - 7:30 PM April 19: 18th-Century Organ Concertos May 17: Baroque Brass Special Events - 7:00 PM April 12: Hidden Passions (free with museum admission) Dr. Hal Kanthor: Pediatrician/Gilbert & Sullivan collector Danielle Ponder: Attorney/Musician April 19: Alternative Music Film (free) May 17: Alternative Music Film (free) Art Social - 6:15 PM/$20 (includes museum admission) April 5: Calming Contours April 12: Playing with Pointillism April 19: Mysterious Space April 26: Zentangles with Color and Dimension May 3: Quick Prints May 10: Lavish Landscapes May 17: Meditative Mandalas May 24: Pick Your Portrait May 31: Fancy Flowers Food & drink available for purchase from Brown Hound Downtown Gallery Store shopping
FRIDAYS
1:00 PM Docent-led tour of the museum and collection Free with museum admission
$5 Friday!
5:00–9:00 PM April 6 • •
Interactive performance by Martin Freeman titled Heretical Potato Synthesizers. Art Social - Colorful landscapes inspired by David Hockney (6:15–7:45 PM) ($15 | includes museum admission)
May 4: • • • •
Live performance by Jimmy Highsmith Jr. Dick Kane speaks about his show in the Lucy Burne Gallery (5:00 PM) Book talk and signing with Alan and Paul Singer on their book Arthur Singer: The Wildlife Art of an American Master (7:00 PM) Art Social - Inspired by Mexican paper cutting (Papel picado) / Cinco de Mayo (6:15–7:45 PM/$15 | includes museum admission)
SATURDAYS
Noon–2:00 PM Kids Create Dates - $10/Child Fun hands-on art projects for kids from ages 4–14 inside MAG’s front entrance
SUNDAYS
1:00 PM Docent-led tour of the museum and collection Free with museum admission May 13: Special Mother's Day Tour 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM Going For Baroque Organ Concerts Free with museum admission
CENTERFOLD: Izzy Robinson with bronze sculpture from Centennial Sculpture Park, Creation Myth (detail). Tom Otterness, 2012.
Written by Laura Brill | Curatorial Assistant
C
onsulting Senior Curator of Media Arts John G. Hanhardt has been leading the effort to commission a series of works of art for MAG since early 2016. Inspired by the history, culture, and politics of Rochester and our region, this series, “Reflections on Place,” makes its premiere with a new work by artist Javier Téllez: NOSFERATU (The Undead), a film installation that focuses on cinema and mental illness.
Téllez’s film is a nod to Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, the silent expressionist masterpiece directed by F. W. Murnau in 1922. Téllez made his work in collaboration with people living with mental illness after a series of workshops that he conducted on the subjects of vampirism and the representation of psychiatric institutions in film. Combining black-and-white 16mm film and color digital imagery, NOSFERATU (The Undead) was shot at the Eastman Kodak factory, the Dryden Theatre of the George Eastman Museum, and the Main Street Armory, all in Rochester. “We chose a vampire for the main character of the film,” said Téllez, “because we wanted to reflect on light and darkness as the fundamental principles of cinema, and to focus on those who are stigmatized by being different and condemned to invisibility.” The mise en scène of NOSFERATU (The Undead) comprises a ‘’film inside a film,’’ juxtaposing scenes
from Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens with additional scenes that Téllez developed with his collaborators who act as fictional patients in a set representing a ward at an insane asylum circa 1960. Téllez shows his associates simultaneously as actors and spectators of their own film. This reversal of roles is a recurrent motif in the artist’s work, and it is a way to destabilize preconceived notions about the perception of mental illness. NOSFERATU (The Undead) also mixes documentary and fiction, including aspects of the manufacturing of celluloid film at the Kodak factory. It documents a performance of the internationally renowned silent film accompanist Philip C. Carli, the George Eastman Museum’s resident musician, who provides a superb piano accompaniment for Murnau’s silent film. Javier Téllez’s film projects involve close collaborative ventures with disenfranchised communities, such as psychiatric patients or people with disabilities, allowing them to participate in the creative process in order to produce a dignified and nonstereotyped image of themselves. Combining different approaches with filmmaking, Téllez opens a dialogue that provides a fresh interpretation of classical myths, private and collective memories, and historical references. OPPOSITE: Javier Téllez, NOSFERATU (The Undead) (still, detail), 2018. Photo courtesy of the artist.
SPECIAL GUEST JESSICA MARTEN | CURATOR IN CHARGE/CURATOR OF AMERICAN ART
P
lease welcome a very special guest to our museum: David Hockney’s 15 Canvas Study of the Grand Canyon (1998). This spectacular painting is on loan to MAG from Art Bridges, a nonprofit foundation established by arts patron and philanthropist Alice Walton dedicated to providing audiences throughout the United States with access to outstanding works of art. The British artist David Hockney based this gridded painting on a 1986 photo-collage of his view from a ledge on the south rim of the Canyon at Powell Point. By choosing the iconic Grand Canyon as a subject, he invokes the long association between America’s grand landscapes and its citizens’ sense of national pride.
This installation of 15 Canvas Study of the Grand Canyon (1998) in MAG’s Nancy and Alan Cameros Gallery of 19thCentury American Art is the newest addition to the modern and contemporary interventions staged throughout our historical collections. In the coming months, we will invite our visitors to share their feedback on the conversations this painting has started at MAG. What kind of similarities do you see between the Hockney and the more traditional American landscapes like Albert Bierstadt’s The Sierras Near Lake Tahoe, California (1865), which was painted over a century earlier? How does juxtaposing contemporary and historical works affect the way you experience art at MAG? Let us know. We would love to hear from you!
ABOVE: David Hockney, 15 Canvas Study of the Grand Canyon, 1998. Oil on canvas, 66 1/2 x 65 1/2 in. Image courtesy of Art Bridges.
| CREATIVE WRITTENM BY RACHAEL WORKSHOP CURRICULUM EM O R I A LBALDANZA A RT GA L L E RY C R E AT I V E WO R KS H DIRECTOR OP
The Creative Workshop is—and has been for generations—a place where Rochesterians have learned to draw, paint, sculpt and more! In the past few years we have come to see extraordinary value in the SHORT workshop. By definition, a SHORT is a hands-on art class for which no prior experience is needed. SHORTS meet once or twice in our well-appointed studios and derive inspiration from our museum’s collections. In this day and age of busy schedules, these programs are easier commitments to make. In recent years, we launched both Art Social and Kids Create Dates. Maybe you’ve attended a sipping and painting program out in the community, or brought your children to a play date at a creative location. What makes our programs unique is our attention to creative conversation, inspiring settings, and good responsive instruction from teaching artists. You won’t make the same artwork as someone else in our programs; you’ll express yourself with originality! Every Thursday night MAG hosts a creative gathering with a special theme (always listed on our website) with two encouraging and knowledgeable teaching artists. With our unparalleled experience planning creative environments, we’ve designed Art Socials, where groups or individuals not only make art but also friends. This year, we're adding a number of
other exciting SHORTS for adults. For spring, there are courses in stained glass... (make a suncatcher using the same techniques Tiffany used), jewelry making, or colorful yarn dyeing. We’re also encouraging you to drop everything and draw! Our Drop & Draw program meets twice and builds your observational and sketching skills in and around the galleries and grounds. Last year, we started Kids Create Dates, a drop-in, friendly, custom art studio for kids as young as 4 and as old as 14. Now we also offer Start with Art; OK, It’s Fabulous Art Project Time, and tours and activities for groups. These special programs inspire and teach art-making skills and strategies in as short as two hours. Start with Art is on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and OK, It’s Fabulous Art Project Time and Kids Create Dates are on Saturday afternoons. For the Tour & Activity program, we will gladly work with you to arrange a perfect program for your group. Join us and make art you are proud of!
HONORING OUR FRIEND & TEACHER:
An Exhibit of Original Artwork by Dick Kane and his Students at the Creative Workshop’s Lucy Burne Gallery
April 12−May 11, 2018
The
evening
of
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018
Join us to celebrate nine regional artists who are empowering MAG to deepen the impact of art and creativity in the lives of public school children in Rochester. Mark your calendar for this annual fundraiser — an evening of wining, dining, bidding, and collecting! Host a table! Become a sponsor! Featured Artists: Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez Robin Cass & Bill Klingensmith Shawn Dunwoody Andrea Gill John Gill Leonard Urso Robin Whiteman Sabra Wood/Cat Clay
Please join us for an Opening Reception April 19, 5:30-7:30 PM May 3 (11:00 AM-NOON): Dick Kane will speak in the Auditorium and then walk through his show in the Lucy Burne Gallery
mag.rochester.edu/events/artists-affair
General: $15* Senior Citizens: $12 Children 6–18: $6 College Students: $6 FREE: UofR + members
Wednesday–Sunday 11:00 AM–5:00 PM Thursday* 11:00 AM–9:00 PM $5 Fridays: 4/6, 5/4 11:00 AM–9:00 PM
HOST
Picture yourself at MAG on your special day! (585.276.8950)
TOUR
Friday & Sunday: 1:00 PM
PERKS
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CREATE
Art classes with the Creative Workshop (585.276.8959)
mag.rochester.edu/creativeworkshop
Sculpture Park
Wednesday–Sunday 11:00 AM–5:00 PM Thursday 11:00 AM–9:00 PM $5 Fridays: 4/6, 5/4 11:00 AM–9:00 PM
DeTOURS: 4/19, 5/17 6:00 PM
Thursday: 6:00 PM
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Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester 500 University Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 585.276.8900 | mag.rochester.edu
*Half-price Thursday admission after 5 pm is made possible in part by Monroe County. CHERYL DINOLFO COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Thank you to our Sponsors UUnderwritten by Helen H. Berkeley, with additional support from Michael Feinstein in memory of Susan S. Feinstein, and 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.
Accessibility 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 the 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
For more information For more information about programming, events, tours, and all things MAG, visit our website at mag.rochester.edu, or follow us on social media!