My Review of CMA Mabel Hewit Show

For the last few years, I've enjoyed a sense of pride as the Cleveland Museum of Art continues to unveil their massive renovations. Last weekend I got a chance to see the ancient galleries in the 1916 Building and was again awed by the lighting, displays, and the works that I know so well from previous visits.

During my visit I also got a chance to see the newly inaugurated prints an drawings galleries. Here, the CMA is featuring a little-known Cleveland print maker in Midwest Modern: The Color Woodcuts of Mabel Hewit. I am very excited about the decision to choose a local artist to open the new galleries. However, my sincere interests in Hewit's work rests on my growing love of cityscapes, scenes from everyday life, and local histories, I've developed since moving from NE Ohio to Cincinnati.

You will find my review of the show in Aeqai.

Youngstown's Butler Institute of American Art Exhibits Paintings by Rolling Stone, Ronnie Wood

The Butler Institute of American Art, in Youngstown, Ohio, said it would present the exhibition, “Ronnie Wood: Paintings, Drawings and Prints,” from Sept. 21 through Nov. 21. It will feature about 60 works by Mr. Wood, who also played with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces before joining the Stones.

They may be only the paintings and other artworks created by a well-known rock ‘n’ roll guitarist, but the Butler Institute of American Art likes them — enough to give Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones an eight-week exhibition there that the museum says is the first American show of Mr. Wood’s art.

Green is the Color of Art Education

Baby food jars, 2-liter bottles, peanut butter jars, toilet paper rolls, milk cartons, shoe boxes, and fabric scraps are all items many of us who are parents have been asked to save and donate to schools, summer camps, and neighborhood art centers. Recycling materials really is the foundation of most arts educational programming.

CCM Prep is known for it's wonderful music, dance and theater arts programs. Now they are developing a program supporting the visual arts. Encorps! People Recycling for the Arts will be a store that collects and sells recycled materials to teachers, scout leaders, parents, or anyone interested in re-using objects for art projects.

Like Cincinnati Art Snob, Encorps! is one of a growing number of new local innovative start-ups competing for funds through Cincinnati Innovates. Cincinnati Innovates is an innovation contest that offers cash and in-kind prizes to contestants with a connection to Greater Cincinnati that have transformative innovations. Our prize sponsors, assisted by a team of judges from the venture capital and technology industries, will select the winners of the awards.

While most of these are commercialization awards designed to honor for-profit ventures, the contest does include one community choice award of $2000. As a non-profit, Encorps! sees its best chance for Cincinnati Innovates funding in this $2000 award. This award is determined by the number of votes and views it receives by the last day of the competition, September 1, 2010.

Since the beginning of the Cincinnati Innovates competition, Encorps! has flirted with the top spot and for good reason. It is a wonderful idea that involves the whole community through recycling and arts creativity. There are a number of great ideas brewing throughout Greater Cincinnati. As we approach the new academic year and many of us shopping for school supplies, we begin recognizing how our education system currently relies on supplemental arts programming. Encorps! People Recycling for the Arts provides an opportunity for all of us to be involved in arts education through its engaged recycling program.

CAM Hires Fox 19 News Reporter, Regina Russo

The Cincinnati Art Museum has hired longtime Fox 19 news reporter/anchor Regina Russo as their new director of marketing and communications. The press release from the museum is posted here.

Why not An Earthwork (Riverwork) at the Heart of Our Banks Project?

I've always seen the Tyler Davidson Fountain as Cincinnati's Statue of Liberty. The welcoming arms of the Genius of Water greeting all who come to the Queen City is such a beautiful symbol of which the city should be proud. I'm particular drawn to the theme of water celebrated throughout the imagery of the fountain. The different roles water plays in our lives both in play and work force us to recall the natural in the middle of the industrial.

The history of this fountain as the symbol of the city marks the universal importance of water as well as specifically pointing to the Ohio River. One of the earlier stages of developing our riverfront was to move the fountain (again) to the square, maintaining its focus. Since then the city has again grown towards this center with celebrations happening throughout the year. Like the sculpted imagery of the fountain, water is the focus of our work and play.

The wonderful dance of people from various places into the city mirrors the movement of water through the Ohio River and the flow of water through the fountain. It is this movement through natural and industrial spaces that is at the heart of city planning, and Cincinnati has a wonderful model to follow: The Genius of Water.

As we develop our banks, I think it is a good time(and hope it is not too late) to consider another permanent art installation that celebrates our lives on the river; an earthwork that follows the Tyler Davidson Fountain in its lead to welcome and celebrate what connects us.

Crowning our city is an exciting moment, but we must not forget the foundation, where the people work, play, gather.

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Any Images of Smoking in Art?

While in Ripley, OH today, I also visited the Ohio Tobacco Museum. The museum features the history of tobacco farming , the handling of tobacco and lots of memorabilia, such as cigarette packs, matchbooks, cigars, pipes, ashtrays and marketing materials. I remember when the act of smoking was removed from cigarette advertisements. There was a short period of time when almost all television and film characters did not smoke. It was as if everyone quit smoking at the same time. Yet the presence of tobacco and smoking is pretty heavy in our history and culture.

While touring this small museum housed in a 2-story brick house, I tried to recall where smoking finds a place in fine art. I thought of Kirchner's Self-Portrait as a Soldier.

A couple that have been pointed out to me:

@taftmuseum: We have a "smoking lounge" with 3 in 1 room, including this one. http://bit.ly/bo4dTI

@emefem: The Whistling Boy by Duveneck at the CAM. Also Jean Leon Gerome, orientalist painter, has several with hookahs. Does that count?

@theartmuse: Picasso's drawing of a man smoking a pipe and Manet's Indian woman smoking come to mind.

Any others?

Are there others?

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Brag About Your Connection to the Underground Railroad

I visited Ripley, OH this morning for a meeting at the John Parker House. The drive on OH 52 along the Ohio River was a nice one and a number of our hosts encouraged us to return in the fall with the changing colors of the leaves.

The small brick house museum was once the home of former slave and inventor, John Parker. After buying his freedom, Parker earned a number of patents, including one for a tobacco press. Besides some of the often-told slave stories like learning to read and his father owning and selling him and his mother, the inventor was obviously very detail-oriented. He kept very good records. Presumably they were so good that Parker decided to destroy many of them for fear some of the slaves he helped would be traced back to him. He also never liked having his picture taken for fear his image would end up on "Wanted" posters. Of course this makes for a very difficult job of constructing Parker's history. The house museum currently hangs an empty frame over the fireplace, hoping a picture can be found and confirmed. (Of the number of labels hanging on the wall, there is one picture of an African American man in reproduced newspaper clipping that may be him, but it's not yet been confirmed.)

Other visual elements include recently commissioned paintings depicting defining moments in Parker's life. These paintings, while meant to depict Parker (though we do not know what he looks like), the stories are couched in again often-told slave stories and meant to re-tell a story of The Underground Railroad. Yes, The John Parker Museum is another museum that boasts a link to the abolition of slavery and The Underground Railroad. Perhaps because I live in Ohio, it seems as though there are so many places that share this history. Of course there is The Freedom Center, but I've seen others.

While the Museum Center is currently celebrating African American history with America I Am, I'm asking you to name places, museums, collections, paintings, sculptures or other things you've seen that boasts a link to African American History.

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ArtWorks

As an art organization with perhaps the strongest impact in Greater Cincinnati, ArtWorks has always gotten my nod. Yesterday, I got an opportunity to get a closer look at some of their summer MuralWorks projects. Touring with ArtWorks Director of Development, Beth Fiore and Communications and Development Coordinator, Alex Eichler allowed me not only the chance to look past the scaffolding of a couple of the murals in progress, but to speak with teams of teenage artists about the work they are doing.

I'm not sure what was more awe-inspiring; the enormity of the murals, like the one going up in Covington, KY, the creativity in the many designs, as proposed for the numerous pianos currently being painted for Play Me I'm Yours, the anticipation of the final product, or the sense of pride in these works our emerging artists articulate as they explain to me their work with ArtWorks and the community. These are not simply summer jobs or an artist training program. ArtWorks infuses into the young artists a sense of civic pride, respect for community, an understanding of the importance of their work, and the role art plays in the community.

When looking at each of the murals throughout Greater Cincinnati or seeing, playing and listening to the pianos that will be placed around the city in the coming weeks,remember these represent and are the result of honest collaborative efforts that strengthen communities. With each mural, ArtWorks successfully presents the essence of our city's engagement in the arts and culture and sense of community.

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Time Travel: Touring the Histories of Our Cities

The NY Times Travel section is currently highlighting historical tours of various cities throughout the country. These are thematic tours, histories that are pulled from and specific to their cities, such as a history of freedom in Selma, Alabama, the history of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal shipping through the eyes of the residents of lock houses in Washington DC, and a Georgia O'Keefe tour in Santa Fe, NM. Programs like these are not particularly new, as such tours seem always to be a significant part of family summer vacations through national parks and other historical sites. Yet the diversity in topics seems to be growing. As an art historian, it is this teasing out of these stories that is most exciting.

The Cincinnati Preservation Association provides various walking tours through their Architreks program. These tours highlight various parts of the city and explore its various histories. Recently, The Newport Gangster Tour and The Queen City Underground Tour have attracted a number of local groups to become entertained as well as more engaged in the history of Greater Cincinnati. While patriotic festivals are fun and necessary to remember, it is with tours such as these we uncover the culture of our individual cities.

This month I will begin a series of stories highlighting the number of house museums throughout Greater Cincinnati. Seeing how we have lived and moved around the Ohio River, my series will invite you to travel through our lives and times.

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My Review of SOS Art in StreetVibes

Here is my (not-so) recent review of SOS Art.

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OAHSM Local History Blog

I don't usually post about other blogs except perhaps in direct response to a post, but I wanted to be sure to highlight this blog with my own post before adding it to my growing blogroll.

The Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums: Local History Blog is a wealth of information regarding local history museum events, projects as well as presenting provocative questions for museum professionals to consider.

Thanks to Julie Carpenter at The Betts House for introducing it to me.

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Summerfair Accepting Applications for Artist Grants

Summerfair Cincinnati, the non-profit arts organization with offices in Anderson Township, has announced that applications are now available for the 2010 Aid to Individual Artists (AIA) Grant Program. Selected artists will each receive a grant of $3,000 for use in the creation of new works. In addition to receiving the grant monies, artists selected will be invited to participate in a future exhibition. To qualify for the grant, artists must reside within a 40-mile radius of Cincinnati and be at least 18 years of age. Applications are available online at www.summerfair.org. Applications must be postmarked by Friday, August 27, 2010 to be eligible.

To apply, eligible applicants –practicing artists, fine craftsmen and art school students (in a degree granting program with a faculty sponsor) –need to submit both CD-ROM and printed applications. Each application should include artwork images, resume of education and professional achievements, full contact information, and answers to application questions.

Grants will be awarded based on the artistic excellence of the work submitted for review. Judges, brought in from outside the greater Cincinnati area, look for innovation in style and concept as well as the relationship of the works submitted to current standards in the field. Projects are purposely left flexible to respond to artists’ ideas, dreams and needs; however, the goal of the program is to aid the artists’ career development.



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Toledo Museum of Art Announces New Director

The Toledo Museum of Art announced today that Brian P. Kennedy, director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, has accepted the position as the Museum's ninth director with a start date of September 1. Board Chair Betsy Brady and George Chapman, head of the search committee, made the announcement this morning at the Museum.

"The Museum conducted an international search for its next director. We were pleased to have an exemplary group of candidates presented to the committee," said George Chapman. "This was a very positive process that affirmed both the Museum's standing in the art world and the desire of many talented people to work with our collections, our staff and our community."

Kennedy has been at the Hood Museum of Art since 2005. Previously, he served as director of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (1997-2004) and assistant director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (1989-1997). "Brian is well recognized internationally as an exciting young director," said Betsy Brady, chair of the Board of Directors. "He has a warm, friendly personality, a desire for both excellence and diversity, creative energy, and a love of active community engagement that make him a great fit for Toledo."

"I am delighted to be coming to Northwest Ohio to lead the Toledo Museum of Art," said Kennedy. "Its staff, collections and facilities are of the highest quality. I look forward to building on its achievement and becoming closely involved with the Toledo community, renowned for its warmth of manner, and support for its distinguished art museum."

With 70,000 objects, the Hood Museum of Art boasts one of the largest and finest collections at any American institution of higher learning. Kennedy promoted a global art focus at Dartmouth, as evidenced by the broad array of large and small-scale exhibitions and corresponding publications mounted during his directorship. Significant acquisitions were made by gift or purchase, including important collections of Native American and Australian Aboriginal art, Indonesian textiles, and modern art; and a new series of public contemporary art projects featuring artists from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds was launched.

While in Australia, he made many notable acquisitions, including works by Luca Giordano, Pierre Bonnard, David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Gerhard Richter, Xhang Xiaogang, Frank Stella, Karen Lamonte, obtained generous private funding from donors and collected widely across various media for the national art collections. He increased access to the collections by implementing a free admission policy and expanding the museum's traveling exhibitions and loans program throughout the country.

Kennedy received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from University College, Dublin, where he received highest honors for his studies in the history of art and history. He is a prolific author and editor, with numerous books and articles to his credit, most recently a 2008 publication on Irish-born artist Sean Scully and a forthcoming book on American painter and printmaker Frank Stella. He holds a faculty appointment as an adjunct professor in the art history department at Dartmouth, the first Hood director to be offered such an appointment since 1991.

Kennedy is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors, American Association of Museums, and the International Association of Art Critics. He was chair of the Irish Association of Art Historians from 1996-1997 and the Council of Australian Art Museum Directors, 2001-2003. In 2003, the Australian Federal Government awarded Kennedy a Centenary of Federation medal for Service to Australian Society and its Art.

Kennedy, his wife Mary, and teenage son Eamon will be relocating to the Toledo area. His daughter, Anne, is a student at the University of New Hampshire.

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Cincinnati's bad rap? Don't believe the local PR.

I've never heard or read anything bad about Greater Cincinnati...until I moved here.

Okay, perhaps this is because I grew up just outside of Cleveland, but even when I left Ohio, Cincinnati never had a bad rap. In fact, the opposite was always true.

Despite living near Cedar Point, King's Island was often the wished for family destination when I was growing up. I didn't make it here until I was in college and this was my personal intro to the city ( I know now the park isn't in Cincinnati, but it was to me then.) Reading Huck Finn oh so many times in college reintroduced me to the city on the Ohio River as a beacon of hope. And shopping for graduate programs always placed the University of Cincinnati near the top. In fact, UC was always the only Ohio school on my wish list. Instead I attended the U of C, for which few can blame me.

When I did move to Cincinnati, I fell in love with it almost immediately. Quickly, I attached myself to the arts community. There is truly so much to see and do here for everyone no matter the age. In fact, what prompted me to launch my own art tours is the seemingly over-abundance of things to see.

So why do I hear from so many that Cincinnati needs to elevate itself, to be forward-thinking, to reject being left behind? Perhaps the better question to ask is, who is making this claim? I've concluded these questions are posed almost exclusively by local pr and marketing professionals. In the past couple of years I've heard this song and dance repeated so often that it has become the premise of nearly every event, building, mission statement I've read or development I've witnessed.

As an art historian, I know about (and may even be guilty of) killing something before analyzing it. But while I may joke that the only good artist is a dead one, I know it is not true. Selling the city by first tearing it down is not only dishonest, but leads to poor analyses and finally inferior products and services, i.e. fluff and filler.

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As American as Quilts and Jazz Music

Liz Pemberton, So Jazzy! 2006

Perhaps more than any other art form, quilts and jazz are quintessentially American. Not only do they find their roots in our American history, but through intrinsically detailed forms, their artists tell our story. The Freedom Center is now hosting an exhibition that brings both together. Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition inflicts a wonderful sense of pride in the beauty that is these two American traditions.

The show seeks to reveal the formal similarities between quiltmaking and jazz. Though these common elements become plainly evident as you enter the jazz-filled galleries of quilts. The music along with the imagery immediately speaks to our collective cultural history.

When we think of quilts, we may not imagine those like the ones in this exhibit and we may not be familiar with many of the jazz artists, but when you see this show, you will know these art traditions as woven into our own American identity.

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Fine Arts Fund Breakdown of $$

The Fine Arts Fund just approved of the distribution of $10.3 million. The breakdown is here.

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Summer in Cincinnati: Art Histories American Style

With three arts and cultural institutions in Cincinnati opening summer shows presenting American histories of art, the Queen City may be the best summer "staycation" destination in the country.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is devoting its summer to Americana with See America: 9 Views of America. The museum describes these special exhibitions as "a visual road trip through the human and natural landscapes of this great country." The summer is really packed with so much great programming for the whole family. I don't often visit an exhibit more than two times, but I've been there twice already and looking forward to bringing my children later this week.

This week, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will open Textural Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz Tradition. This exhibition combines the the art traditions of quilting and jazz. I am excited to have been invited to the opening gala this evening and look forward to reviewing it soon.

And opening later this week, the Museum Center's America, I Am: The African American Imprint covers five centuries of African American history through rare artifacts from all over the world. I saw an webinar preview of this exhibit a little over a week ago and excited to see an exhibit that seeks to present a comprehensive African American history by employing so many arts and cultural elements we may otherwise ignore as integral to Americana. This exhibit too, I plan to review more fully in the coming weeks.

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