arts quarterly spring 2016

Spring 2016Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art

Susan M. Taylor

DIRECTOR’S LETTER

At NOMA, we constantly seek different ways to serve our audiences, both from within and outside of our New Orleans community. There are seventy-two discrete neighborhoods in New Orleans, each with distinctive characteristics, interests, and needs that define them. How do we reach them? How do we engage communities in the work of the museum? For NOMA, it’s an opportunity and an obligation. One important way is to create meaningful partnerships that help us maximize our resources and interact with our audiences. This February, NOMA reached out directly to one specific audience: teenagers. NOMA held its first NOLA Teen Summit, an opportunity for area youth and youth leaders to exchange ideas for programming geared towards teens both at the museum and in New Orleans. This spirited meeting of minds allowed NOMA to hear the voices directly from those in the community we want to serve. We have taken this experience and their recommendations to plan—with teens as our partners—new opportunities for them to participate at NOMA. Among the many ideas that emerged was a monthly Teen Day of Service in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Currently, teenagers over the age of sixteen are welcome to volunteer at NOMA, but on this monthly day teenagers of all ages are invited to collect service hours. The deep-seated tradition of community service in New Orleans permeates all aspects of our society, and NOMA is privileged to support that spirit of giving back. Thanks to continued support from The Helis Foundation, we have also expanded free admission for all teenagers, every day, through the end of 2016. Keep on the lookout for more programming announcements for teenagers in the near future. As a center for lifelong learning, how else can NOMA foster connectivity among its constituencies? We are responding to this priority by using the permanent collection, our greatest teaching tool, as inspiration. NOMA launched a new initiative in 2016—the reinstallation of the museum’s early Latin American art collection. This undertaking will result in the creation of a permanent gallery for these works of art. To aid us in the process, we’ve enlisted the help and guidance of a strong, invigorated leadership committee, led by board member Stephanie Feoli and her husband, Dr. Ludovico Feoli. A recent reception at the home of Dr. Salvador and Luz Caputto to launch this committee was an opportunity to share our ambitions for this project and the programming that will result from a sustained focus on this aspect of our work. The enthusiasm with which our plans were received is an encouraging indicator of this initiative’s support. This reinstallation project is a long time in the making. NOMA’s early Latin American art collection, praised by scholars across the nation, only recently made its way back to the museum after being on loan to other institutions for many years. With the assistance of this committee and the scholarship of curatorial fellow Lucia Abramovich, who will develop interpretive materials—in both Spanish and English—for the gallery, I am confident that the presentation of this collection will engage the interests of NOMA’s Spanish-speaking community and beyond. How can NOMA encourage creativity and interaction? How can we diversify our audiences to touch every corner of our neighborhoods? We don’t have all the answers yet, but are working to develop fresh approaches and solutions to create substantial museum experiences for everyone. Whether in the museum or out in the community, we are committed to a lifelong journey of learning and creative thinking.

Susan M. TaylorThe Montine McDaniel Freeman Director

Cover Charles & Ray Eames, Stackable Chairs, DSS, 1954Herman Miller Furniture Company, Zeeland, MI, 80.5 x 55.8 x 54 cm (each chair), fiberglass; zinc-plated steel; rubber; plastic

Left Anna Atkins, British, 1799-1871, Ceylon [examples of ferns], 1852-54, Cyanotype printMuseum purchase, General Acquisitions Fund, 81.385

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FEATURE

10 The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction

Exhibition from the internationally- renowned Vitra Design Museum celebrates the enduring role of simplicity in design

MUSEUM

INSPIREDBYNOMA

4 Eric Blue

EXHIBITIONS

5 Auspicious Imagery in Edo-period Art

5 Bob Dylan: the New Orleans Series

6 Negative Histories

COLLECTIONS

8 Curator’s Pick: Juan Hamilton’s Abstract Form No. 43

9 Recent Acquisition: Edward Steichen’s Rodin, Le Penseur

Page 10 THE ESSENCE OF THINGS Page 8 GEORGIA O’KEEFE AND JUAN HAMILTON

CONTENTS Spring 2016

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COMMUNITY

VISIT

14 Spring Programs in the Sculpture Garden

LEARN

15 Teen Summit Brings New Perspectives to Youth Programming

15 Poetry Slam and Open Mic

15 Call for Docents

SUPPORT

16 NOMA Donors

17 Friends of the Sculpture Garden

18 Spring Forward with NOMA Friends and Supporters

20 The Helis Foundation Honored at Annual Fellows Dinner

21 Fellows and Fellows Circle Members

22 New Leadership Committee for Early Latin American Art

23 Odyssey Approaches its Golden Anniversary

23 2015 Volunteer of the Year

Page 18 SPRING FORWARD WITH NOMA FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERSPage 6 NEGATIVE HISTORIES

Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art

Opposite left Tokujin Yoshioka, “Honey-pop” Chair, 2001, © Vitra Design Museum; Photo: Andreas Sutterlin

Opposite right Dan Budnick, Georgia O’Keeffe at the Ghost Ranch with Pots by Juan Hamilton, 1975, Silver print, Photograph © Dan Budnick

Above Left Imogen Cunningham, American, 1883-1976, Negative of a snake, 1929, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Clarence John Laughlin, 82.281.87

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I NS PI R E D B Y NOM A : E R IC B LU E

You’re from New Orleans. Did you ever come to NOMA as a child?I did. I grew up in a single parent home—there were four of us—and my mom would drop us off here, go run her errands and do whatever she needed to do that day, and come back and pick us up later. There wasn’t that much trouble you could get into back then, so I spent quite a number of Saturday afternoons here.

Do you have any specific memories from visiting? Is there a certain artist you liked?Not anyone specific. NOMA was a place to come and kind of reset, and I do this to this day. When I have really choppy days, I’ll come here in the middle of the day, and my staff will know that if they can’t find me, I’m probably here, or sitting out there [gestures to City Park]. I think as a kid, if your norm is a little bit challenging, often times what you need more than anything are just opportunities to reset. So you can come here, and the world gets as big as the pieces on the wall. And you spend hours and hours and hours in the galleries, and when you do re-enter your personal reality, the walls don’t seem quite as confined. [Visiting NOMA] has served that purpose for me, and honestly, it’s probably where I learned how to dream.

I tell my mentee all the time that I’ve got absolutely no walls. I don’t believe in them. If there are things I realize I cannot do, often it leads me to believe that I just haven’t figured out how to do it, not that it can’t be done. And you learn that in places like NOMA. And particularly as kids in urban America—regardless of color—I think if you are lower to middle class or poor in America, you need opportunities where you are reminded that the only limits that exist are the ones you affirm.

For me it was as simple as being able to come here a few times a month and look at a work of art. You can look at a work of art, and think that maybe the artist had no idea where he was going with this when he started it, but he knew he was going somewhere. I think looking at art taught me to approach life that way.

What kind of art are you drawn to?For a while, I was a huge contemporary art fan. I lived in New York for a while and took refuge in contemporary art because there were pieces that spoke more to me. Because I could see pieces of myself in the art, and I think that people feel at home when they can see themselves in art. And that doesn’t necessarily mean a black guy seeing a black guy in a work of art. For the better part of my adult life I just felt more comfortable with contemporary art because it allowed me to take refuge and see that there’s order in chaos.

Considering what I imagine to be a high-stress field like yours, it must be nice to come here and think about something completely different. In a way, it helps you with your own business, it seems.Yes, it does. It also gives you perspective. I think folks look at finance and think of it as the antithesis of art, but there’s tons of creativity in the field, and as an adult this allows me to kind of be reminded of that. And also it humbles you, right? If I have a really good day, it’s because I’ve convinced someone to sell me something, and that’s great, but... Now I own it, so now what? You could say, “Eric, I’m giving you a billion dollars and I’ll give you a year to produce that [points to Skylar Fein’s Black Flag for Georges Bataille]” or anything like that, and I couldn’t do it. So it keeps you grounded. It humbles you.

New Orleans native Eric Blue is a managing director of RLMcCall, a private equity firm, and is also a founding principal of Cardinal Points Holdings, LLC, an equity sponsor of ClearCompass Digital Group. Previously, Blue served as an M&A and capital markets attorney with two international law firms, as an associate at Drum Capital Management, and prior to attending law school, as an Industrials corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions investment banker with an international investment bank. Additionally, he serves as member of the board of directors of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans and is a member of its pension committee. Blue graduated with a BS in Finance from Xavier University of Louisiana, a JD from The University of Texas School of Law and is a Level II Candidate in the CFA Program. Blue, who was recently elected to NOMA’s board of trustees, spoke with Arts Quarterly’s editor on a walk through NOMA’s galleries.

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This and nearly thirty other paintings and ceramics, all with subjects of good fortune, are currently on view in the Japanese Gallery on NOMA’s third floor. Drawn from NOMA’s permanent collection and generous loans from the Gitter-Yelen Foundation, this exhibition explores a few of the multitude of ways in which artists employed auspicious imagery in their work.

Lisa Rotondo-McCord, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Asian Art

Arts and culture flourished in unprecedented ways during Japan’s Edo period (1615-1868). During this long era of relative peace and stability, innovative painting styles, such as Rinpa, Maruyama-Shijo, nanga and zenga were developed and refined alongside traditional painting schools and practices. Irrespective of their artistic affiliation, Edo-period artists responded to their patrons’ demands for works of art that featured auspicious imagery, particularly that associated with the wish for long life. These works often served as gifts for birthdays and other celebrations. Artists selected their subjects from a long-established body of legend, folklore and popular religion, often with Chinese antecedents. The subjects ranged from legendary figures celebrated for their immortality, animals renowned for their longevity, and plants, such as the pine, whose physical attributes associate them with the theme. One such painting is Shibata Zeshin’s Gods of Good Fortune at Mount Horai. Zeshin (1807-1891), a versatile and technically innovative painter and lacquer artist of the late Edo, here depicts a gathering of the gods in their palatial compound atop Mount Horai, the Daoist mountain of immortality. Jurojin, the god of longevity (easily recognizable by his elongated cranium), is seated facing the viewer; Benzaiten, the goddess of love and music is to his right. Replete with symbols of long life—pine trees, cranes, deer, and turtles—this highly detailed work emphatically proclaims its function as a conveyer of good wishes.

AUS PICIOUS I M AGE RY I N E D O -P E R IOD A RT

EXHIBITIONS

Shibata Zeshin (Japanese 1807-1891), The Gods of Good Fortune at Mount Horai, circa 1880s, Ink and color on silk, Museum purchase, Asian Art de-accession funds, 2012.68

Bob Dylan (American, born 1941), Rescue Team, Oil on canvas, On loan from Black Buffalo Artworks, EL.2016.15.19, © Bob Dylan

B OB DY L A N: T H E N E W OR L E A NS S E R I E S

In a suite of twenty-three paintings, Bob Dylan presents a distinctive vision of New Orleans, a city for which he has well-known affection. As he wrote in Chronicles, the first volume of his autobiography, “There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better. There’s a thousand different angles at any moment...No action seems inappropriate here. The city is one very long poem.” Dylan explores a number of these angles, painting traditional views of French Quarter courtyards and alleyways, as well as capturing moments in the private and public lives of New Orleans’s inhabitants. These images evoke a timelessness in both their subdued palette and the ambiguous mode of dress of his figures. A sense of theatricality is inherent in both the compositions and in Dylan’s choice of figure subjects—ministers, singers, barbers and performers, with both the viewer and viewed carefully defined. Best known as one of America’s greatest songwriters and composers, Dylan has had a long engagement with art. Between 1989 and 1992 he created over ninety sketches that came to be exhibited as the Drawn Blank series in 2010.

Bob Dylan: New Orleans will be on view in NOMA’s Great Hall from April 22 – July 31, 2016.


N E GAT I V E H IST OR I E S

Although the history of photography has typically focused on the importance of positive prints in photography, the photographic negative possesses its own rich history. From the origins of the medium to the present, photographers have learned to see the world as a negative and have explored the abstract properties of the negative image. With the advent of digital photography, the era of the negative is drawing to a close. This spring, NOMA will explore the historical and contemporary role of the photographic negative in three related presentations. Drawing mostly on its own permanent collection, NOMA will exhibit some of the earliest examples of photographic negatives in

Paper Negatives and avant-garde and twentieth-century uses of the negative image in Negative Image. These two exhibitions will provide a historical context for the chief component of this spring program, a monographic exhibition on the monumental work of a contemporary photographer, Vera Lutter: Inverted Worlds. In an increasingly digital world the negative as an object is fast becoming a relic of photography’s past. In the earliest years of photography, however, negatives were all that existed. William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of the paper negative (the earliest form of the negative) created only negative images during his first few years of experimentation. These often took the form of cameraless photogram images, made by placing leaves, lace and other specimens in contact with a piece of photo-sensitized paper. Once exposed to the sun, the specimen was removed and an inverted shadow remained imprinted on the paper. Anna Atkins’s image of ferns in Ceylon is an early example of this kind of photograph. Since each of Atkins’s prints is unique, she often used a single specimen multiple times to make a number of slightly different images which she would share with friends and amateurs in the field.

Below Imogen Cunningham, American, 1883-1976; Negative of a snake, 1929; Gelatin silver print; Gift of Clarence John Laughlin, 82.281.87

John Moyer Heathcote, English, 1800-1890, Windmill in Anglia, ca. 1853, Paper negative, Museum purchase, Tina Freeman Fund, 2015.125

Above Vera Lutter, Radio Telescope, Effelsberg, XV: September 12, 2013, 2013; Unique gelatin silver print; 96 x 84 in., Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery © Vera Lutter, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

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N E GAT I V E H IST OR I E S

When Talbot first started making negatives in a camera, he did not use them to produce positive prints: he greatly valued the negative image itself. This is also true of most nineteenth century photographers. While few of them felt that the negative was the final product, they still took them very seriously. Printmaking was so time consuming and expensive that reading the efficacy and potential in a negative became an important skill. Paper Negatives includes some powerful examples that demonstrate how an early negative can be easily legible or visually confounding. For example, in the negative of a windmill from the 1850s, the wooden structure of the rotor blades is articulated with great clarity, silhouetted against an empty sky. On the other hand, the trees, buildings, and topography in a large landscape negative of India by John Murray from the 1860s all read as a confusing jumble of elements that would be much clearer, although maybe mundane, in a positive. In the early twentieth century, artists exploited the confusion inherent in negative images. Many employed different dark room techniques to partially or wholly reverse the tones of an image in their final prints. The results upended the conception of photography as a medium

that represented the real world and pushed it into the realm of abstraction. For example, in the exhibition Negative Image, Imogen Cunningham’s Negative of a Snake plays aggressively with our sense of perception. The snake is, in real life, light and dark, but in the opposite pattern. Nevertheless unless one is a herpetologist, the snake does not look inverted. The other components of the image, however, all seem like pieces of a visual puzzle that do not quite fit together: what looks like water is in fact wood, and what looks like stone is water. This combination of things that look right and others that look wrong makes for a compelling image. Although the negative as a necessary step in the photographic process is disappearing, the negative image is not. Perhaps to counter the increasingly immaterial nature of photography, many artists are returning to the oldest processes and emphasizing the craft based qualities of photograph making. Vera Lutter does so on a monumental scale, producing large, one of a kind negative images using room-sized cameras. She affixes photographic paper to one of the walls inside the camera and then waits for the very faint traces of light coming in through a lens to imprint on the paper. Her exposure times have ranged from three hours to three months.

During the time of the exposure, Lutter works inside the camera, moving around to control the amount of light that each part of the paper receives so that it remains even across the field in the end. The resulting negatives, which are often around nine feet high and longer in width, are thus the final expression of photography and performance. In these images, the world is presented as a laterally reversed and tonally inverted version of itself. Light is dark and dark, light; left is right and right, left. What is more, since the exposures are so long, they present a seamless continuum of time, each infinite moment superimposed on the others. In these images, therefore, the world neither was nor is, but is constantly in the process of becoming.

Russell Lord, Freeman Family Curator of Photographs

These exhibitions will all be on view from April 15 – July 17, 2016. Vera Lutter will be presented in the Templeman Galleries, Negative Image will be in the A. Charlotte Mann and Joshua Mann Pailet Gallery, and Paper Negatives will be in the Frederick R. Weisman Galleries. There will be an opening lecture with Vera Lutter on Tuesday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. Check noma.org for more details. Vera Lutter: Inverted Worlds is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in association with the New Orleans Museum of Art. The exhibition is sponsored in part by Millie and George Denegre and Adrea Heebe and Dominick Russo. Additional support is provided by Dr. Siddharth K. Bhansali.

Anna Atkins, British, 1799-1871, Ceylon [examples of ferns], 1852-54; Cyanotype print; Museum purchase, General Acquisitions Fund, 81.385

John Murray, Scottish, 1809-1898; Landscape with architecture, circa 1860; Paper negative; Lent by Dr. Siddharth K. Bhansali


COLLECTIONS

Sculptor and ceramicist Juan Hamilton lived and worked alongside painter Georgia O’Keeffe for decades, serving as O’Keeffe’s longtime studio assistant and constant companion in her Abiquiú, New Mexico home. O’Keeffe’s tumultuous relationship with the much-younger Hamilton resulted in a shared exploration of the Southwestern landscape that closely connected these two artists. Throughout their lives, both O’Keeffe and Hamilton drew upon the landscapes and cultures of New Mexico to create strikingly modern artworks

that marry the visual language of the desert with influences culled from modern art. Like O’Keeffe’s landscape paintings, Hamilton’s sculptures reflect the influence of indigenous Mexican and Native American art as well as modern European sculptors like Constantin Brancusi and Jean Arp. Suggesting rocks and pebbles worn smooth, the undulant forms of sculptures like Abstract Form No. 43 pull the shapes O’Keeffe explored in her paintings out from canvas and into three dimensions. Hamilton entered O’Keeffe’s life just as she began losing her eyesight, and his intensely tactile sculptures became increasingly meaningful for O’Keeffe as she slowly lost her vision entirely. As Hamilton once said of his work, “I feel them three-dimensionally, in the center of my chest.” For O’Keeffe, Hamilton’s sculptures were a way of experiencing the landscape she so loved through touch instead of vision. This photograph of O’Keeffe holding one of Hamilton’s sculptures, taken just as her vision began to fail, shows her powerful response to Hamilton’s work. O’Keeffe’s connection to the desert landscape of the Southwest was such that she often described it as a sentient being, writing of one painting from this series that it represented “two hills reaching out to the sky and holding it.” Her paintings, like Hamilton’s sculptures, call forth an intimate connection between body and landscape, and self and nation. As O’Keeffe wrote, “One cannot be an American by going about saying that one is an American. It is necessary to feel America, like America, love America and then work.” Recently rediscovered in NOMA’s art storage, Hamilton’s Abstract Form No. 43 is now installed next to Georgia O’Keefe’s painting My Backyard in the Davis Gallery on the second floor.

Katie Pfohl, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

C U R AT OR’ S PIC K : J UA N H A M I LT ON ’ S A B ST R ACT F OR M NO . 4 3

Juan Hamilton (born 1945), Abstract Form No. 43, Black patinated bronze, Gift of Mrs. P. Roussel Norman, 91.449, © Juan Hamilton

Dan Budnick, Georgia O’Keeffe at the Ghost Ranch with Pots by Juan Hamilton, 1975, Silver print, Photograph © Dan Budnick

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Steichen spent a year visiting Rodin’s studio before he attempted a portrait photograph. He finally settled on photographing him with his white marble Monument to Victor Hugo and his bronze The Thinker. According to Steichen, the studio was so cramped that it was impossible to produce a single image with Rodin and his two sculptures, so he produced two separate images, one of Rodin and the marble, and another of The Thinker, and then collapsed the two images in the darkroom to produce this masterful combination print. The result is an ambitious, and artful attempt to echo the grand art tradition of depictions of artists in their studios, with Rodin transformed into the materials of his trade, echoing the solid substance of the bronze that he faces. Dark and brooding, Rodin seems to contemplate his own work, The Thinker which is itself the physical embodiment of contemplation.

Rodin died in 1917. At the time, Steichen was serving in the US Army in the aerial photography reconnaissance division during World War I, but he received a special dispensation to attend Rodin’s funeral as the representative of the US government. Steichen would then go on to work for Condé Nast for many years and become one of the best recognized fashion photographers in the world, and later served as one of the most influential photography curators at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he organized the important photography exhibition The Family of Man in the 1950s, which became an international sensation. This one print, then, brings together two of the most important artists in the fields of sculpture and photography.

Russell Lord, Freeman Family Curator of Photographs

NOMA recently acquired a masterful photograph by photographer Edward Steichen of the sculptor Auguste Rodin. This print, a very generous gift from Jim and Cherye Pierce, instantly fills one of the most significant gaps in NOMA’s otherwise comprehensive collection. The work is one of the most recognized images from the pictorialist movement, the first cohesive international movement to argue for photography as a fine art around the turn of the twentieth century. Although NOMA has a number of small works made by various pictorial photographers, this is by far the most important image in the collection from that era. When Steichen first traveled to Paris in 1901, he was only twenty-two and Rodin, sixty-one, was one of the most recognized and important living artists in the world. Nevertheless, they shared a mutual respect for each other’s work and formed a strong bond that would last until the elder artist’s death.

Edward Steichen, American, 1879-1973, Rodin, Le Penseur, 1902, Gelatin silver print, printed later, Gift of Jim and Cherye Pierce, 2015.76

R ECEN T ACQU ISITION: EDWA R D ST EICH EN ’S RODIN, L E PENSEU R

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An everyday paperclip, a golf ball, and a cardboard egg carton are highlighted alongside chairs and lamps by design superstars in The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction. In this exhibition, the first dedicated to modern and contemporary design in NOMA’s history, more than 180 objects from 100 years of history explore the role of minimalism in the household objects we use every day, the furnishings we admire in style magazines, and those well-known designs we see in museum galleries. The Essence of Things includes furniture, appliances, lighting, graphic design, and architecture, with work by well-known contemporary and historic designers including Gerrit Rietveld, Eileen Gray, Ray and Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Jasper Morrison, and Philippe Starck. Humble industrial objects like flip-flops and Post-it notes take their place alongside fine art furniture by architect Frank Gehry and a dramatic lamp by Isamu Noguchi. The thin body of a 2008 MacBook Air computer is shown in relation to a minimalist 1953 stool/step/table (really, a wooden box) by Le Corbusier. The computer and Le Corbusier’s stool are both geometrically simple, exhibiting the designer’s quest for a functional object with the fewest interventions possible. All the works of design in The Essence of Things are incredibly varied, but all share this sense of artistic restraint, or minimalism, in their beauty. The exhibition celebrates the idea of simplicity as an emergent and increasingly critical idea in twentieth-century design, making the point that whether planning a piece of furniture, the latest smartphone, or a basic kitchen utensil, many designers embrace minimalism as a way to achieve both rational functionality and elegant aesthetics. The most successful product in furniture history, Thonet Brother’s bentwood Chair No. 14, 1859-60, is shown as the quintessential success of simplicity in aesthetics, manufacture, and packaging. Chair No. 14 is the result of Thonet’s patented bentwood process, in which the form of the chair is derived from the quality of the raw material (the pliability and stability of beechwood). These café chairs, simply constructed with six pieces of steam-bent wood, ten screws, and two nuts, could be efficiently produced and shipped. Thonet sold the chairs at an affordable price, so the company has delivered more than 100 million bentwood chairs since 1860. The Essence of Things includes thirty-six examples of Chair No. 14, shown disassembled into parts and packaged into a single one-cubic-meter clear crate. Thonet’s model inspired today’s market leader for simplicity and efficiency, IKEA. Many visitors to the exhibition might recognize IKEA’s “Billy” bookshelf, which has sold more than forty million units since its introduction in 1978. The concept behind the Swedish furniture megastore

Tokujin Yoshioka, “Honey-pop” Chair, 2001, © Vitra Design Museum; Photo: Andreas Sutterlin

The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of ReductionEXHIBITION FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY-RENOWNED VITRA DESIGN MUSEUM CELEBRATES THE ENDURING ROLE OF SIMPLICITY IN DESIGN


ABOVE Case Study House, #8/Eames House, Architecture model, Charles & Ray Eames/ Eero Saarinen 1945-49 © Vitra Design Museum; Photo: Andreas Sütterlin

“Humble industrial objects like flip-flops and Post-it notes take their place alongside fine art furniture”

draws extreme cost reduction by shifting part of the logistical effort to its consumers, who assemble IKEA’s simple products themselves. In this way the company has been tremendously influential in spreading a minimalist, modern aesthetic worldwide. The Essence of Things explores the role of minimal design in aesthetics with groupings dedicated to geometry, abstraction, dissolution, transparency, and sign. Here, design classics show the profound impact of early twentieth century art/design movements. Gerrit Rietveld’s Red/Blue Chair (designed 1918) is composed of the planes, lines, and primary colors of the Dutch De Stijl artistic movement. The elegantly composed “Wassily” chair (designed 1925) by Marcel Breuer is the first piece of tubular steel furniture designed for the home. Breuer’s experimentation with a new material, based on a beloved steel bicycle frame, became an emblem of the German Bauhaus school’s approach to design. The early twentieth century move toward geometric simplicity in both art and design still inspires today, and perhaps looks as radical today as it did then. While the move to minimal design and reduced ornament was shocking in the early twentieth century, in the post-WWII years this style of modernism found greater acceptance with the American consumer. Ray and Charles Eames put forth a new American vision of approachable, colorful simplicity that is as popular in today’s design magazines as it was in 1950s homes and offices. The Essence of Things includes rare examples that show the Eames’s stages of experimentation in their popular fiberglass stacking shell chairs, and a window into how the couple personally lived with the modern aesthetic through an architectural model of their home in California, the Case Study House, #8, 1945-49. Their Eames House was one of about two dozen homes designed through an Arts and Architecture

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magazine competition that challenged architects to provide new living solutions for the post WWII family, using technologies developed during the War. Ray and Charles Eames’s geometric, open house design relied on materials ordered from catalogs, providing a model for a pre-fabricated home where work, play, life, and nature co-existed beautifully. In addition to historically significant chairs and everyday objects, The Essence of Things uses slide shows to explore the role of minimalism in a variety of related art fields—graphic design, photography, painting, sculpture, landscape design, product design, fashion, food, theater design and technology. Perhaps the most memorable and thought-provoking contribution of this exhibition is to show how the important advancement of minimalist design ideas in the twentieth century continues to influence today’s designers. Tokujin Yoshioka’s “Honey-pop” Chair, 2001 is made entirely of a single material—paper folded into a honeycomb structure—that only conforms to a chair form when someone sits upon it. Andrea Zittel’s A-Z Escape Vehicle, 1996/7 looks like a simple mini-camper, but the sculptor adapts the interior of each of these vehicles to suit the “inner universe” of the owner. Both works of art, rooted in minimalism, step into conceptual art by boldly defying the notion that furniture is merely functional.

Mel Buchanan, RosaMary Curator of Decorative Arts & Design

The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction is organized by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. The exhibition will be on view in the Ella West Freeman Galleries from June 24 – September 11, 2016.

ABOVE From Hand Axe to Multipack Carrier: Selection of objects from the exhibition’s prologue. © Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein; Photo Andreas Sutterlin.

BELOW Carrier box (1m³) containing 36 disjointed Thonet chairs, No. 14, © Vitra Design Museum; Photo: Thomas Dix


VISIT

S P R I NG P R O GR A M S I N T H E GA R DE N

MOVIES IN THE GARDEN

Pull out your blankets and chairs—for the spring 2016 series of Movies in the Garden, NOMA is screening three films that feature iconic music by the award-winning composer John Williams. The series kicked off on March 18 with a screening of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and continues with two more adventure classics in April and May. Before the film starts, enjoy live music by Daniele Spadavecchia and free art activities. Food from Crepes a la Cart, La Cocinita, and Frencheeze food trucks will be available for purchase. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of the event.

April 15 | Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom (PG, 1984)

May 6 | Jaws (PG, 1975)

LOUISIANA R AINBOW

IRIS FESTIVAL

Horticulture lovers and gardening enthusiasts are invited to the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden and the Booth-Bricker Courtyard (adjacent to the Museum Shop) for the annual Louisiana Rainbow Iris Festival, presented by NOMA and the Greater New Orleans Iris Society (GNOIS). Visitors will have the opportunity to purchase Louisiana irises, ask on-site iris experts any gardening-related questions, and even bring their own flowers in for judging. Entry to the festival is free and open to the public. For more information, call 504.658.4100.

Sunday, April 10Flower entries accepted | 7:30 – 10 a.m. Judging | 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.Open to GNOIS members for voting | 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.Show open to the public | 12 – 5 p.m.

DON QUIXOTE AT NOMA

NOMA and The NOLA Project will present a new adaptation of Don Quixote in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden from May 4 through May 22, 2016. This world premiere is a comedy of old folly mixed with new adventures. By Big Easy Award winning playwright Pete McElligott, this new tale follows the insanely idealistic knight and the utterly practical Sancho Panza as they encounter the world. Together they discover life might be safer when approached realistically, but it’s so much richer when the craziest of dreams are followed. As Quixote instructs the audience on how life should be lived, our fantastical knight takes on everything from bandits and romance to grade school math. He rarely wins, but he never loses hope. A site-specific production, Don Quixote was commissioned with the unique outdoor atmosphere of NOMA’s sculpture garden in mind. Similar to past productions Robin Hood: Thief, Brigand (2015) and Adventures in Wonderland (2014), this new telling of Don Quixote will challenge notions of traditional theater and museum environments and inspire audiences of all ages. Tickets can be purchased online beginning April 1. $24 for adults, $18 for NOMA members, Backstage Pass members (The NOLA Project), and children 7 to 17 (children 6 and under will not be permitted).

It’s that time of year again—the weather is beautiful, the flowers are blooming, and there’s no better time to enjoy the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Bring the entire family to NOMA this spring for film screenings, outdoor performances, and a festival.

This production is supported in part by a grant from the New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA).

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LEARN

POETRY SLAM

AND OPEN MIC

Sunday, April 3 | 1 – 4 p.m. Teen Open Mic | 1 p.m. Poetry Slam | 2:30 p.m.

Slam New Orleans is coming back to NOMA this year to host another poetry slam and teen open mic, in celebration of National Poetry Month. Slam New Orleans (Team SNO) is a spoken word collective dedicated to promoting spoken word poetry and slam poetry competitions in New Orleans and representing New Orleans on the national poetry scene. Team SNO was founded in 2008 by a group of local poets who noticed a gap in the local poetry scene and believed that this medium of expression could save lives. Team SNO are the 2012 and 2013 National Poetry Slam champions. This event is included with museum admission. Join us!

CALL FOR DOCENTS

Do you love learning about other cultures, historical periods, art and artists? Would you like to share your love of art with others? Become a NOMA Docent! NOMA docents are dedicated volunteers who engage visitors with art of all genres and facilitate learning. We’re seeking others to be a part of this growing team. Join us at the Docent Open House during Friday Nights at NOMA on April 8 from 5 – 7 p.m., or contact Tracy Kennan at 504.658.4113 or [email protected] to learn more.

TEEN SUMMIT BR INGS NEWPER SPECTIV E S TO YOUTH PROGR A MMING

On Saturday, February 27, NOMA held its first NOLA Teen Summit. Teens and youth organizations from across the New Orleans area—over eighty students and youth program leaders—met up to discuss teen programming in the city and the museum. The day started with a presentation by NOLA Youthshift on the state of youth programs in New Orleans. The participants then were introduced to NOMA through guided tours by different museum staff. Spoken word performances by talented Big Class students brought the group together after lunch. Once everyone settled into the auditorium, youth program leaders Dr. James Dabney of College Track, Ashana and Brandon Bigard of Educational Justice Project, as well as teens Daytoria Bernard of College Track, Keristen Wilkerson and Brittany Firstley of Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies spoke about their experiences in youth programs. Small groups of participants then spread out through the museum to engage in breakout sessions. In these

sessions, teens had a chance to talk back and share their ideas for making NOMA a more teen-friendly place. At the Teen Summit, NOMA received valuable feedback about what makes youth programs attractive to teens. The event launches the planning process for a series of new program initiatives for youth at NOMA. Programs will be designed with a teen advisory committee, enabling teen voices to be incorporated from the very beginning stages.

At NOMA, teens can:

• receive free admission through the Teen Pass, courtesy of The Helis Foundation

• apply to be Volunteer Teen Camp Counselors in the summer (ages 16+)

• get service hours by volunteering during the monthly Teen Day of Service in the Sculpture Garden

Look for more exciting ways for teens to get involved this fall!

Teens learn more about NOMA on a tour during the NOLA Teen Summit.


Foundation and Government Support

$500,000 and aboveCollins C. Diboll Private Foundation

$200,000 - $499,999The Azby Fund

The Elise M. Besthoff Charitable Foundation

The Helis Foundation

$150,000 - $199,999City of New Orleans

$100,000 - $149,000Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation

$50,000 - $99,999 American Council of Learned Societies

Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation

The Gulf Seafood and Tourism Promotional Fund

The Hearst Foundations

DONOR SThe New Orleans Museum of Art gratefully acknowledges our donors, who make our exhibitions, programming, and daily operations possible. We appreciate your continued support of NOMA and its mission. Thank you!

SUPPORT

$20,000 - $49,999 The Harry T. Howard III Foundation

The Institute of Museum and Library Sciences

Louisiana Division of the Arts

The Lupin Foundation

The RosaMary Foundation

$10,000 - $19,999The Garden Study Club of New Orleans

Goldring Family Foundation

John Burton Harter Charitable Trust

Lee and Jeffrey Feil Family Foundation

New Orleans Theater Association

Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust

Zemurray Foundation

Corporate and Individual Support

$100,000 and aboveSydney and Walda Besthoff

IBERIABANK

Joshua Mann Pailet

Estate of Françoise Billion Richardson

Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen

$50,000 - $99,999The New Orleans Convention & Visitors

Bureau

Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack

WDSU-TV

$20,000 - $49,999Joseph and Sue Ellen Canizaro

Regions Bank

Sheila and H. Britton Sanderford

Estate of Warren and Sylvia Stern

Whitney Bank

$10,000 - $19,000Anonymous (2)

Chevron

Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Davis

First NBC Bank

Estate of Albert and Rea Hendler

Sandra and Russ Herman

Elizabeth and Willy Monaghan

Sally E. Richards

Jacki and Brian Schneider

NOM A BUSINESS COUNCIL

PlatinumSuperior Energy Services

GoldChevron

Hyatt Regency New Orleans

International-Matex Tank Terminals

Jones Walker

Frank B. Stewart Jr.

SapphireBayou Lacombe

Construction Company

SilverBellwether Technology

Corporate Realty

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Phelps Dunbar, LLP

World Trade Center of New Orleans

H. Russell Albright

Barbara and Wayne Amedee

Larry W. Anderson

Honorable Steven R. Bordner

E. John Bullard

Joseph and Sue Ellen Canizaro

Mrs. Carmel Cohen

Mrs. Isidore Cohn Jr.

Prescott N. Dunbar

Lin Emery

William A. Fagaly

Randy Fertel

Lyn and John Fischbach

Tim and Ashley Francis

Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Freeman

Sandra D. Freeman

Tina Freeman and Philip Woollam

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Hansel

Abba J. Kastin, MD

Lee Ledbetter and Douglas Meffert

Thomas B. Lemann

Dr. Edward D. Levy Jr.

John and Tania Messina

Anne and King Milling

James A. Mounger

Judith Young Oudt

Mrs. Charles S. Reily Jr.

Pixie and James Reiss

Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. Renwick

Arthur Roger

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Rosen

Brian Sands

Jolie and Robert Shelton

Margaret and Bruce Soltis

Mrs. Frederick M. Stafford

Nancy Stern

Mrs. John N. Weinstock

Mercedes Whitecloud

ISA AC DELGADO SOCIETY

For more information about supporting NOMA, please contact Brooke Minto at 504.658.4107 or [email protected].

BronzeCrescent Capital Consulting

Eskew + Dumez + Ripple

First NBC Bank

Kim Starr Wise Floral Events

Le Meridien New Orleans

Solomon Group

GreenBasin St. Station

Boh Bros. Construction Company, LLC

Ernst & Young

Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company

Hammack, Hammack, Jones, LLC

Hotel Monteleone

Johnson Rice and Company, LLC

Laitram, LLC

Neal Auction Company

New Orleans Auction Galleries

Premium Parking Service

Reily Foods Company

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NOM A CIRCLES

President’s CircleMr. and Mrs. Tom Benson

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Bertuzzi

Mr. and Mrs. Sydney J. Besthoff III

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph O. Brennan

Mr. and Mrs. David F. Edwards

Mrs. Lawrence D. Garvey

Ms. Adrea D. Heebe and Mr. Dominick A. Russo Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Mayer

Mrs. Robert Nims

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Rosen

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Sherrill

Mrs. Patrick F. Taylor

Director’s CircleMr. and Mrs. Robert H. Boh

Mr. Daryl G. Byrd

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Coleman

Dr. and Mrs. Scott S. Cowen

Ms. Deborah Augustine Elam and Mr. Cary Grant

Mrs. H. Mortimer Favrot Jr.

Mr. Jerry Heymann

Mr. Robert Hinckley

Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Moffitt

Mr. and Mrs. William Monaghan

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Patrick

Dr. and Mrs. James F. Pierce

Mrs. Charles S. Reily, Jr.

Ms. Debra B. Shriver

Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Siegel

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce L. Soltis

Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Steeg

Mrs. Harold H. Stream Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Taylor

Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Thomas

Patron’s CircleDr. Ronald G. Amedee and Dr.

Elisabeth H. Rareshide

Mr. and Mrs. Luis Baños

Mr. Brent Barriere and Ms. Judy Barrasso

Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Baumer, Jr.

Ms. Dorothy Brennan

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Canizaro

Mrs. Marianne M. Cohn

Mrs. Marjorie J. Colomb

Mr. Leonard A. Davis and Ms. Sharon Jacobs

Mr. and Mrs. James J. Frischhertz

Mr. and Mrs. Edward N. George

Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Goodyear

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Heebe

Mr. and Mrs. H. Merritt Lane III

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Lemann

Dr. Edward D. Levy Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Thomas Lewis

Mrs. Louise H. Moffett

Dr. and Mrs. Pavan Narra

Dr. Howard and Dr. Joy D. Osofsky

Mr. Joshua Mann Pailet

Mr. and Mrs. Brian A. Schneider

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Shearer

Ms. E. Alexandra Stafford and Mr. Raymond M. Rathle Jr.


Mr. and Mrs. Stephen F. Stumpf Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. James L. Taylor

Ms. Catherine Burns Tremaine

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Brent Wood

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NEW MEMBERSHIP GROUP: FRIENDS OF THE SCULPTURE GARDEN

The New Orleans Museum of Art is delighted to announce our membership group formerly known as the Advocates—Friends of the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. We are pleased to share that New Orleans artist Lin Emery will serve as the honorary chair of this exciting initiative. Friends of the Sculpture Garden celebrates the renowned Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden and the New Orleans Museum of Art. For more than a decade, the garden has been a beloved part of NOMA and the city of New Orleans. This group will honor that legacy and will ensure that it continues to thrive for decades to come. Friends will provide critical operating support for the museum and its programs—securing the museum’s role as a cornerstone for arts and culture in our community. For more information, please contact Molly Cobb at [email protected] or 504.658.4127.

Minoru Niizuma, Japanese, 1930–1998; Castle of the Eye, II (illustration), 1970, Marble, Gift of the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Foundation, 98.143 © Estate of the artist

SAVE THE DATEThere will be a reception for Circles members on May 18, 2016 at 6 pm.


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NOMA welcomed guests on February 25, 2016 for a special preview of the exhibitions Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum, and Unfiltered Visions: 20th Century American Self-Taught, a presentation drawn from NOMA’s permanent collection. Anne Imelda-Radice, director of the American Folk Art Museum, was present for the opening festivities, along with exhibition curators Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, who led attendees in a walk-through of Self-Taught Genius. NOMA ushers in the spring season every year with two popular events: the

NOMA Egg Hunt & Family Festival, and Art in Bloom. Presented by Whitney Bank, this years Egg Hunt & Family Festival was moved indoors on March 12 due to a threat of rain, but that didn’t stop hundreds of children and their families from having fun inside the museum with egg hunts, art activities, StoryQuest, face painting, and more. Special thanks to lead sponsor Catherine Burns Tremaine, and event chairs Genevieve Douglass and Liz Wood. Spring events culminated in Art in Bloom presented by IBERIABANK, the annual five-day floral celebration.

S P R I NG FORWA R D W I T H NOM AF R I E N D S A N D SU P P ORT E R S

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1. Susu and Andrew Stall

2. Anne-Imelda Radice, Susan M. Taylor, Stacy C. Hollander, Valérie Rousseau, Anne C.B. Roberts

3. Russ and Sandra Herman

4. Susan M. Taylor and Princess Giorgiana Corsini

5. Guests enjoy a tour of Self-Taught Genius with curator Stacy C. Hollander

This year’s theme, “Artful Entertaining,” showcased speakers, tastemakers, and exhibitors who celebrate the art of entertaining. Special thanks to event chairs Carol Bienvenu and Mathilde Currence for organizing another successful, spectacular spring event. Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York. The exhibition and national tour are made possible by generous funding from the Henry Luce Foundation, as part of its 75th anniversary initiative. Presentation of this exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art is sponsored by the City of New Orleans and the Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by Sandra and Russ Herman.

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6. Curator Alice Yelen Gitter gives a tour of the exhibition Unfiltered Visions

7. Lynda Warshauer, Anne Villere, Elinor Bright

8. Hunter Hill and Meghan Donelon

9. Liz Wood, Dana Hansel, Genevieve Douglass

10. Richard and Mathilde Currence, Carol and Al Bienvenu

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THE HELIS FOUNDATION HONOR ED AT A NN UA L FELLOWS DINNER

In 2015, nearly 200 Circles and Fellows members were responsible for contributing more than $800,000 in unrestricted operating funds, which provided critical support to NOMA’s exhibitions, public programs, and educational activities. The annual Fellows Dinner is a way for NOMA to show gratitude for these members and their extraordinary support. Since 1975, the Isaac Delgado Memorial Award has been given each year at the Fellows Dinner. This honor is given to a distinguished individual or organization whose long-term service, support and dedication to the museum sets precedents for NOMA.This year’s recipient was David Kerstein and The Helis Foundation. Under Kerstein’s leadership, The Helis Foundation’s charitable gifts have resulted in the success of major museum initiatives that have contributed to NOMA’s growth as a leader in the arts and culture community of New Orleans. Through their ongoing support, NOMA is able to offer free admission to Louisiana residents every Wednesday, a program that opens NOMA’s doors to

larger audiences and raises awareness of the museum’s exhibitions and collections. In 2015, they also expanded that support to offer free admission for all teenagers—local residents and out-of-town visitors—every day of the week. This program has been immensely popular, attracting hundreds of teenagers, and is now in its second year. NOMA has also been able to acquire several significant works of art with contributions from The Helis Foundation. In the last few years alone, key works by Alexis Rockman, Robert Rauschenberg, and most recently, Lynda Benglis have been added to NOMA’s ever expanding permanent collection. These additions have strengthened the collection, attracted new audiences, and enhanced NOMA’s place as a top tourism destination in the region. Generous, sustained donations to NOMA’s endowment have ensured the longevity of the museum’s programs and initiatives and enhanced the museum experience for all visitors. The support of David Kerstein and The Helis Foundation exemplifies a true investment in NOMA’s present and future.

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1. Stephanie and Ludovico Feoli

2. Susan M. Taylor and David Kerstein

3. Frank and Paulette Stewart

4. Pam Lupin, Louis and Nairne Lupin

5. Penny Francis, Mike Siegel

SUPPORT

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NOM A FELLOWS A ND FELLOWS CIRCLE S

FellowsDr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Adatto

Mr. Alvin R. Albe Jr.

Mr. Wayne F. Amedee

Mrs. Jimi K. Andersen

Mrs. H. W. Bailey

Mrs. Howard T. Barnett

Ms. Roberta P. Bartee

Mrs. Edward B. Benjamin

Mr. and Mrs. Dorian M. Bennett

Ms. Virginia Besthoff and Ms. Nancy Aronson

Ms. Elizabeth A. Boh

Mr. and Mrs. Donald T. Bollinger

Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Boudreaux

Dr. and Mrs. L. Jay Bourgeois III

Mrs. B. Temple Brown Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. James J. Bryan Jr.

Mr. E. John Bullard III

Ms. Pamela Richmond Burck

Mr. Harold H. Burns

Mrs. Vivian B. Cahn

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Callan

Mr. and Mrs. Carlo Capomazza di Campolattaro

Mrs. Sandra Carter-Green

Mr. James Carville and Ms. Mary Matalin

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar L. Chase III

Mr. and Mrs. J. Scott Chotin Jr.

Mr. John L. Cleveland Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. C. Clay Clifton III

Mrs. Marjorie J. Colomb

Mr. Barry J. Cooper, Jr. and Mr. Stuart H. Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Davis III

Mr. and Mrs. Charles I. Denechaud III

Mr. and Mrs. George Denegre Jr.

Dr. Nina Dhurandhar

Mr. and Mrs. Clancy DuBos

Mr. George B. Dunbar and Mrs. Louisette Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Prescott N. Dunbar

Mr. and Mrs. J. Kelly Duncan

Dr. V. J. DuRapau Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. David F. Edwards

Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm P. Ehrhardt

Ms. Allison S. Elsee

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Epstein Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Farmer

Mr. and Mrs. C. Allen Favrot

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Feinman

Mr. Tim L. Fields

Mrs. Carole A. Follman

Dr. and Mrs. Larry D. Forster

Mr. David Francis

Mrs. Sandra D. Freeman

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Friedler III

Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Friedman

Mrs. Lorraine Caffery Friedrichs

Mr. and Mrs. Louis L. Frierson

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Frischhertz

Dr. and Mrs. Harold A. Fuselier Jr.

Dr. Kurt A. Gitter and Ms. Alice Rae Yelen

Ms. Kathy Grainger

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Gray

Ms. Susan G. Talley and Mr. James C. Gulotta Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Hales

Mr. and Mrs. John W. Hall

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Hansel

Mrs. S. Herbert Hirsch

Mrs. William H. Hodges

Mrs. Thomas Huber

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Huguley III

Mrs. Marvin L. Jacobs

Dr. Nina M. Kelly

Mrs. E. James Kock Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Herman S. Kohlmeyer Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kohn

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Laborde

Dr. and Mrs. W. Wayne Lake Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Lane III

Mr. and Mrs. Jay M. Lapeyre Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Lawrence

Mr. Paul J. Leaman Jr.

Mr. Lee H. Ledbetter and Mr. Douglas Meffert

Mr. and Mrs. James M. Lewis

Mrs. E. Ralph Lupin

Drs. Cris and Sarah Mandry

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Manshel

Mrs. Walter F. Marcus Jr.

Mrs. Shirley Rabé Masinter

Mr. and Mrs. Greg McCabe

Mr. and Mrs. Michael McLoughlin

Ms. Shelley G. Middleberg and Ms. Carole Jacobson

Mr. and Mrs. R. King Milling

Mrs. George R. Montgomery

Dr. and Mrs. Lee Roy Morgan Jr.

Ms. Mary Wheaton Morse

Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Morton

Mrs. Andrée K. Moss

Mr. and Mrs. Biff Motley

Ms. Bernadette Murray

Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Norman Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. John L. Ochsner

Mr. Roger H. Ogden

Mrs. Richard E. O’Krepki

Ms. Judith Young Oudt

Dr. Sanford L. Pailet

Mr. and Mrs. Gray S. Parker

Ms. Janice Parmelee and Mr. Bill Hammack

Mr. and Mrs. Dick H. Piner Jr.

Mr. Peter A. Politzer

Ms. Gia Rabito

Mr. Howard Read and Mr. John Cheim

Ms. Sally E. Richards

Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Richmond III

Ms. Patricia Welder Robinson

Mr. Thomas P. W. Robinson

Mr. Arthur Roger

Mrs. Carol H. Rosen

Mr. and Mrs. Paul S. Rosenblum Sr.

Mr. and Mrs. Louie J. Roussel III

Mr. and Mrs. Hallam L. Ruark

Mrs. Basil J. Rusovich Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. William Ryan

Ms. Courtney-Anne Sarpy

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Schornstein Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Schramel

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew A. Schwarz

Dr. Milton W. Seiler

Mr. and Mrs. Lester Shapiro

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Sheridan

Ms. Marjorie Shushan

Mr. and Mrs. Rodney R. Smith

Mrs. Joe D. Smith Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Stahel

Dr. and Mrs. Rodney Steiner

Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Strub

Ms. Anne Reily Sutherlin

Ms. Judith Swenson

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh C. Uhalt

Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Van der Linden

Ms. Janis van Meerveld

Mr. and Mrs. George G. Villere

Mr. Jason P. Waguespack

Mr. and Mrs. R. Preston Wailes

Mr. and Mrs. Lester Wainer

Mr. and Mrs. Hugo Wedemeyer

Dr. and Mrs. Rudolph F. Weichert III

Dr. and Mrs. Robert G. Weilbaecher

Ambassador and Mrs. John G. Weinmann

Mr. and Mrs. S. Rodger Wheaton Jr.

Mrs. Sara E. White

Mr. and Mrs. Casey F. Willems

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. A. Williams

Fellows CircleMr. and Mrs. Richard C. Adkerson

Mr. and Mrs. F. Macnaughton Ball Jr.

Ms. Valerie Besthoff

The Honorable Christopher Bruno and Mrs. Christopher Bruno

Mr. Stephen W. Clayton

Mr. and Mrs. D. Blair Favrot

Dr. Barbara Ferguson

Ms. Natalie Fielding

Mr. and Mrs. Octave J. Francis

Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Freeman Jr.

Ms. Monica A. Frois and Ms. Eve Masinter

Ms. Anne Gauthier

Mr. and Mrs. James O. Gundlach

Mr. Henry M. Lambert and Mr. R. Carey Bond

Ms. Elizabeth Livingston

Ms. Kay McArdle

Ms. Marion Andrus McCollam

Dr. and Mrs. Edward F. Renwick

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Shane Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey P. Snodgrass

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Ellender Stall

Mr. and Mrs. Steven W. Usdin

Mrs. Nan S. Wier

Mr. Robert E. Young and Mrs. Nell Nolan


N EW LE A DER SHIP COMMITTEE FOR E A R LY L ATIN A MER ICA N A RT

A room full of enthusiastic supporters recently gathered at the home of Luz and Dr. Salvador Caputto to celebrate the creation of a new leadership committee for the museum’s early Latin American art collection. Chaired by board member Stephanie Feoli and her husband Dr. Ludovico Feoli, this committee will focus on securing support for the reinstallation of NOMA’s early Latin American art collection—a project that has been several years in the making and is scheduled to open in 2017. NOMA’s extensive early Latin American art collection is widely regarded as unlike any other in the

region, with approximately one hundred works of art from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. Since her appointment at NOMA in 2014, curatorial fellow Lucia Abramovich has uncovered new scholarship in her examination of these holdings. “As we approach the opening date for this project, we are sharpening our focus on producing innovative content and programming for this collection,” said Abramovich. “The leadership committee will play an essential role in helping NOMA reach a broad array of visitors, while staying true to the historical and cultural context of these works.”

The collection includes paintings, furniture, sculpture, and silver of varying time periods and genres from this canon. Most of the works in this collection are attributed to the Cuzco school (modern-day Peru), with notable examples from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. This installation will have content in both Spanish and English, providing an ideal opportunity for the Spanish-speaking community of New Orleans to engage with this important, historic genre of art and scholarship. NOMA is also partnering with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Cultural Committee in anticipation of this installation and its related programming.

Unidentified, Ecuador, Ecce Homo, late 17th-early 18th century, Polychromed wood with cloth and silver, Museum purchase, the Ella West Freeman Foundation Matching Fund, 69.41

Cuzco School, Peru, Coronation of the Virgin with the Trinity, 17th century, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase, the Ella West Freeman Foundation Matching Fund, 67.9

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2 01 5 VOLU N T E E R OF T H E Y E A R

On March 6, NOMA celebrated its volunteers at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Brunch. NOMA staff had the opportunity to serve the museum’s volunteers as a way to say thank you for their hours of dedicated service. All volunteers who completed over fifty hours of service in 2015 were invited – about 150 total. The 2015 Volunteer of the Year is Joanna Giorlando. Joanna returned to New Orleans in 2010, and joined the NOMA Volunteer Committee shortly thereafter. She has been a valuable member of NVC since then. From 2011 to 2014, Giorlando served as the chair of Art Ambassadors, and also as vice chair of activities in 2013. She was also a member of the committees for NOMA fundraisers LOVE in the Garden, Odyssey, and Art in Bloom for multiple years. In 2012, Giorlando joined the docent program, where she leads the public in informative and engaging tours of works of art in NOMA’s galleries. She was one of the first docents to sign up for Artful Minds, NOMA’s new program for visitors with dementia and their caregivers. Her friendly, kind manner puts visitors of all ages at ease. She is currently an at-large member of the Docent Advisory Board. NOMA is grateful for Giorlando’s service, and the service of all volunteers.

ODY S S E Y A P P R OAC H E S I TS G OL DE N A N N I V E R S A RY

Odyssey, New Orleans Museum of Art’s signature event, raises funds for NOMA to present world-class exhibitions and arts education programming. The 50th Odyssey presented by IBERIABANK will take place on Saturday, November 12, 2016. Lead sponsorship has also been provided by the Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation. This year’s chairs, Susu and Andrew Stall, have begun preparations for NOMA’s most ambitious fundraiser, which includes three events this year: an Odyssey Committee kick-off luncheon hosted by Susu Stall this April, an intimate cocktail reception for sponsors at the private Audubon Place home of Drs. Rupa and Tarun Jolly on November 10, and the ball itself on November 12, which celebrates a half-century of Odyssey. The ball will be inspired by NOMA’s fall exhibition, Seeing Nature: Landscape Masterworks from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection in the Ella West Freeman Galleries. Co-organized by the Portland Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, this exhibition examines the evolution of European and American landscape painting spanning five centuries. All works are drawn from the collection

of Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen. Artists in the exhibition include Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Birch Forest, Gustav Klimt and others. Odyssey guests will also enjoy George Dunbar: A Retrospective that surveys the career of George Dunbar (American, born 1927), a New Orleans native who played a pivotal role in introducing abstract art to the South. Originally from New Orleans, Dunbar studied in Philadelphia and Paris before returning to Louisiana in the 1950s to create paintings, sculptures, assemblages and prints that marry the stark geometry of modern art with lush, organic materials that call forth Louisiana’s swamps and bayous. In celebration of Odyssey’s 50th anniversary, the event will also honor all past Odyssey committee chairs, who donated their time, expertise, and resources to ensure this fundraiser’s success over the years. Check noma.org in the coming months for more updates on this milestone event in NOMA’s history. For more information or to join the Odyssey committee or become a sponsor, please contact Kristen Jochem at 504.658.4121 or [email protected].

NOMA’s 2015 Volunteer of the Year, Joanna Giorlando (center)

Jan Brueghel the Younger, The Five Senses: Sight, c. 1625, Oil on panel, 27 5/8 x 44 5/8 inches, Paul G. Allen Collection


2016 BOA R D OF TRUSTEES

Julie Livaudais George President

Mike Siegel First Vice President

Sydney J. Besthoff III Vice President

Suzanne Thomas Vice President

Herschel L. Abbott Jr. Secretary

Janice Parmelee Treasurer

Donna Perret Rosen At-Large

Tommy Coleman At-Large

David F. Edwards Immediate Past President

MEMBER SJustin T. Augustine III

Gail Bertuzzi

Siddharth (Sid) Bhansali

Eric Blue

Elizabeth Boone

Robin Burgess

Daryl Byrd

Scott Cowen

Margo DuBos

Stephanie Feoli

Penny Francis

Adrea D. Heebe

Russ Herman

Robert Hinckley

Dennis Lauscha

Louis J. Lupin

Cammie Mayer

Juli Miller Hart

Brenda Moffitt

Elizabeth Monaghan

J. Stephen Perry

Thomas F. Reese

Britton Sanderford

Jolie Shelton

Kitty Duncan Sherrill

Lynes R. (Poco) Sloss

Michael Smith

Susu Stall

Robert M. Steeg

Frank Stewart

Melanee Gaudin Usdin

The Honorable Mayor Mitch J. Landrieu

Susan G. Guidry, New Orleans City Council Member

Dana Hansel, NVC Chairman

NATIONA L TRUSTEES

Joseph Baillio

Mrs. Carmel Cohen

Mrs. Mason Granger

Jerry Heymann

Herbert Kaufman, MD

Mrs. James Pierce

Debra B. Shriver

Mrs. Billie Milam Weisman

HONOR A RY LIFE MEMBER S

H. Russell Albright, MD

Mrs. Jack R. Aron

Mrs. Edgar L. Chase Jr.

Isidore Cohn Jr., MD

Prescott N. Dunbar

S. Stewart Farnet

Sandra Draughn Freeman

Kurt A. Gitter, MD

Mrs. Erik Johnsen

Richard W. Levy, MD

Mr. J. Thomas Lewis

Mrs. Paula L. Maher

Mrs. J. Frederick Muller

Mrs. Robert Nims

Mrs. Charles S. Reily Jr.

R. Randolph Richmond Jr.


Harry C. Stahel

Mrs. Harold H. Stream

Mrs. James L. Taylor

Mrs. John N. Weinstock

ACCR EDITATION

The New Orleans Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.


E D I TO R

Taylor Murrow

A RT D I R E CTO R

Mary Degnan

Arts Quarterly (ISSN 0740-9214) is published by the New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA 70124

© 2016, New Orleans Museum of Art. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of the publisher.

Facing pageShibata Zeshin, Japanese 1807-1891; The Gods of Good Fortune at Mount Horai,(detail) circa 1880s, Ink and color on silk, Museum purchase, Asian Art de-accession funds, 2012.68

Back cover Juan Hamilton, born 1945; Abstract Form No. 43, Black patinated bronze, Gift of Mrs. P. Roussel Norman, 91.449, © Juan Hamilton

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arts quarterly spring 2016

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