Art-y-Facts: Georgia on My Mind by Barbara Kolesar
Docent Dateline
No exhibition has taken me in more directions than our Centennial exhibition, Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern. Armed with great details from Phil Archer during our docent walk-through, I envisioned my tours would be solely focused on her art work. I soon came to realize that while O'Keeffe was the core of the exhibition, she was also a portal to many other expressions of art.
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All art is connected. O'Keeffe's extraordinary talent let us as docents use her work to begin the discussion and branch out to many forms of expression. For example, I found I was asked to lead tours which focused on photography. From Stieglitz's photographs, we got a sense of O’Keeffe’s aloof, saintly, posed character. He introduced O'Keeffe to the world, even before she became a famous artist, creating her public persona as a regal and remote artist with a detached bearing. The coy, flirtatious O'Keeffe photographed by Ansel Adams gave us a window into a playful side of her, warning us of the “earth cracking” because he caught her in a rare smile.
Detail: Bruce Weber, American, born 1946. Georgia O'Keeffe Holding Skull, Abiquiu, New Mexico, 1980. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of Bruce Weber and Nan Bush. Installation photo of original artwork courtesy of Reynolda House Museum of American Art.
Museum visitors were fascinated by O'Keeffe's clothing. From the dramatic black capes, to the free flowing beige silk tunics, visitors were excited to understand how O'Keeffe treated herself as a canvas, draping her body in organic silhouettes, rich fabric, clear lines, and geometric forms. Amazed by the tiny stitching in the pin tucks, visitors were impressed by her handiwork, as well as her vision in preserving her clothing. Did you know that in the past five years, designers such as Valentino, Michael Kors and Gareth Pugh have put out O'Keeffe-inspired collections? Asked by a Magnet School to connect O'Keeffe's style to literature, I led the group in a discussion about the clean, taut, symmetry of her clothing and art in comparison to Steinbeck's terse, simple, beautiful style of writing. The tough masculine prose of Hemingway is reflected in O'Keeffe's androgynous persona. Her work is tightly cropped, just as Hemingway's words were simple, direct, personal, unadorned—probably a result of his beginnings as a journalist. A true minimalist, Hemingway believed “the greatest writers have the gift of brilliant brevity.” Continued on page three...
Welcome to Reynolda House! The following remarks were given by Don Eppert during the Fall Docent-Volunteer Association meeting on September 18, 2017, on behalf of the Front Desk Greeters at Reynolda. A greeter at Reynolda House wants to ensure that visitors experience three things: 1. A warm and engaging welcome and appreciation for their visit. 2. Efficient processing and preparation for their visit (in tandem with the visitor experience team), including: a. Guidelines for photography, cell phones, handbags and furnishings; b. Orienting to the Museum, directions to the orientation gallery and restrooms; c. An overview of the floor plans, routing and protection officer support. 3. Upon leaving, a genuine "thank you" for coming to Reynolda with encouragement to return and tell others. The key benefits for being a Front Desk Greeter are meeting visitors from all over the world (perhaps even speaking to them in their native tongue), working with the very capable front desk staff and their manager, Cindy Byrd, and hearing visitors say what a great time they had at Reynolda House! Don’t you want to be a front desk greeter, too?
VOLUME 17, ISSUE 2
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New Faces: Meet Chris Jordan by Genie Carr Chris Jordan, the Director of Public Programs at Reynolda House, once wanted to be a veterinarian. “Life is not nearly as linear as expected,” he said recently, in his office in the Education Suite in the Babcock Wing. Chris started at Reynolda House in November 2016, taking over the position previously held by Phil Archer, now the Betsy Main Babcock Director of Program & Interpretation. “I like to think of public programs as a catch-all term that includes all the things that the museum does every day that are out of the ordinary,” Chris said. “Lectures, films, symposia, tours, special tours—those kinds of things—are ways of engaging the public beyond just coming and visiting.” People can visit an art museum to see the paintings and sculptures, but if they are offered activities to help them delve further into the experience, they will come back. Public programming “is the intersection between all the other departments.” All of which makes explaining what Chris does somewhat complicated. For instance, he said, where education may focus on children viewing, interpreting, and actively participating in making art, “I see myself as kind of an intermediary, to create and provide really engaging ways for families and adults to engage with . . . all that the museum does, from a historical standpoint and all the art.” That means working closely with the education department’s staff. “Maybe,” he said with a chuckle, “in a few years I’ll figure out” all of what this job entails.
Chris with his daughter, Daphne.
Chris came to Reynolda from the New Winston Museum. There, he was the archivist, curator, historian, programmer, event coordinator, and any other job that needed doing! The staff was small – staff meetings were with the only other full-time employee, Katherine White Foster, then executive director who is now at SECCA. Chris says he has more meetings now. He joins the other departments for regular meetings and he talks a lot with Phil Archer. “[Phil] has relationships necessary to do this job. It’s good for me to bounce ideas off of him.” Chris is a part of the museum’s full-time staff of about thirty people, each of whom has a firm idea of his or her program’s mission and how to accomplish it. “I’ve never been around such ambitious and competent people,” he said. “Everybody here is creative. ‘Competent’ sounds like a low bar to reach, but when the institution has such a high standard, competency is raised to that standard. They are ambitious in the way they think of the programs, the events, the educational programs they can create. They are ambitious in terms of who we can reach, the changes that we can aspire to—more of an institutional ambition driving forward for a common, bigger picture.” Chris’s non-linear route to museum work involved thinking about his interests and seeing opportunities. A Charlotte native, he graduated from the N.C. School of Science and Math in Durham where he met his high school sweetheart, Jennifer (Jenni). She became his wife after they graduated from N.C. State University. Chris started off at State as a zoology major. After a year, he found a new passion, and switched from science and math to history. “That’s where the museum path began,” he said. They came to Winston-Salem for Jenni’s graduate studies in the biomedical engineering graduate program at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Chris got a job (“to pay the bills”) at University of North Carolina at Greensboro and joined its museum studies master in history program. He finished his degree in 2012, as the New Winston Museum was opening. After four years at the New Winston Museum, the position at Reynolda House opened and he knew he couldn’t pass up that opportunity. Chris and Jenni have an almost three-year-old daughter, Daphne. Presently, a major part of Chris’s work is looking for opportunities—finding enticing ways of engaging the public in the museum’s offerings. Chris and the Reynolda House staff look to the future. Exhibitions make their way to Reynolda after years of coordination with other institutions, research, preparation and marketing. Everybody is involved. Chris and other staff members are looking toward the spring of 2018, when Frederic Church: A Painter’s Pilgrimage opens. “It’s going to be big.”, says Chris. And something else, exciting and perhaps a bit scary: The scale and amount of work that the Georgia O’Keeffe show has entailed may just become “the new normal.” Did somebody say, “Hey, look, 2019 is heading this way”?
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Upcoming Events of Interest to Docent-Volunteers November 18 Saturday: Reynolda Village Holiday Stroll restaurants of Reynolda Village. 5-8 p.m.
Enjoy boutique shopping, live music, and visits with Santa in the shops and
19 Sunday: Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern closes 24 Friday: Caroling Fridays begin Join friends old and new in the Reception Hall of Reynolda to sing along with Christmas carols played on the Aeolian organ, led by museum staff and special guests. 2:45 p.m. every Friday until December 22. 29 Wednesday: Holiday Plant Sale A variety of holiday plants, including cyclamen, poinsettias, bulbs, and Christmas cactus will be available for sale in the greenhouse. 10 a.m.—5 p.m. , through Saturday, December 2. December 5, 12 and 19 Tuesday: A 1917 Christmas, day tours every 15-minutes between 2 and 3:30 pm. $15 Members/students, $20 not yet members. 6 Wednesday: Object of the Month, Reynolda Estate’s London Plane Trees, Preston Stockton, manager of Reynolda Gardens. 1 p.m. 8 Friday and 9 Saturday: A 1917 Christmas, evening tours, every 15-minutes between 5 and 8 pm. $15 Members/students, $20 not yet members.
14 Thursday: Film, Director’s Screening of America Rising: The Arts of the Gilded Age. 6:30 p.m. $15 per person. 17 Sunday: A Christmas Memory For the 31st consecutive year, actress Robin Voiers stars in a one-woman adaptation of Truman Capote’s tale. Members/students $15, not yet members $20.
January 2018: Museum Closed
Art-y-Facts continued... When the entire student body of girls came from Chatham Hall in Virginia, they were interested in the Chatham 1905 yearbook and sorority picture of an austere O'Keeffe, and the prediction of her classmates to be different and uninhibited by male opinion. The Warhol is a favorite painting with our young visitors who see him as an icon of pop culture. The size, style and silkscreen are eye-catching, and the diamond dust sprinkle seems to be the appropriate finishing touch. The Calder pin is one of my favorite objects in the exhibition. I am reminded of a 2012-2014 exhibit at the Whitney Museum in New York titled American Legends: From Calder to O'Keeffe. Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern has “fill(ed) space in a beautiful way,” with Georgia's individualism, plainness, and American toughness. Using O'Keeffe as a portal, I have delighted in making connections to photography, clothing, literature, a “local” school, pop culture and jewelry. Georgia O'Keeffe is a symbol of the uninhibited woman, and she has reminded me that all art is connected. Georgia is on my mind!
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Intelligent Designs for the Centennial by Jeremy Reiskind I've been thinking of our new logos. For the Centennial, Reynolda has designed two logos. The primary logo consists of Art Nouveau lettering with the words “Reynolda Centennial�, and a monogram of sorts with the styled letters R and C with the number 100.
(Primary Logo)
The alternative logo, referred to as the "medallion," consists of a rose encircling a central R and the number 100. The color palette includes a dusky green to reflect general foliage and, in particular, the patina of the tile roof.
(Mediallion)
Here's what the designers, Shane Cranford and Ross Clodfelter from Device Creative Collaborative, have written regarding these designs:
Much like Reynolda itself, the Centennial brand is warm and welcoming with all of the sophistication of a world-class cultural institution. The logo is all- encompassing and inviting, reflecting back on 100 years of community-centered progress. As a whole, the Centennial identity is approachable and refined, with a style that can be appreciated by older and younger demographics; both longtime donors and college students can take pride in it. The centennial brand is effective on a large scale, positioning Reynolda as an elite cultural destination while staying true to its humble, rural roots.
5 The color palette reflects the striking beauty of Reynolda: the vibrant foliage in the garden, the patina of the tile roof and the ornate, gilded frames throughout the bungalow. The lively green color symbolizes Reynolda’s growth and advancement, while the gold reflects Reynolda’s rich history and marks the importance of the 100-year milestone. The monogram is a mark of ownership and pride, referencing the Art Nouveau-style typography found in the original house blueprints and in the intricate wrought-iron lampposts lining the walkways on the estate grounds. The subtle leaf flourish on the tail of the “R” evokes Reynolda’s lush, organic surroundings and represents continued growth into the future. The typography is simple and classic, with approachable softened edges referencing vintage printing techniques used during the Reynolds’ era. The modern sans serif typography paired with traditional serif accents brings Reynolda into the future, while preserving and celebrating its history. The rose is a timeless symbol of beauty and honor often given as a gift to mark a significant occasion. Reynolda is Katharine’s gift to the community, carrying on her legacy of progress and innovation. The medallion (alternate logo) serves as a marker in time, commemorating the first century of Reynolda and signifying the start of a new era. The inclusion of an alternate logo creates a flexible, living brand—ever changing and adapting during this transitional phase in Reynolda’s history. The Centennial logo celebrates and highlights the transition into a new era of Reynolda. The 100-year identity not only encapsulates the rich history of the last century, but also signifies our continued advancement toward an innovative future.
As a paleontologist by training, I have had to contend with an alternative concept to Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection called "Intelligent Design." I won't get into the hairy details of each nor argue for one or another in this essay. However, it occurs to be that the human process of selection has clearly taken place, the result of which are our two fine centennial logos. And the process involves competing ideas/concepts/images from which "survival of the fittest" (or rather the one that best fits the desired message) wins out. The other ideas ("mutations"?) don't survive. And so a new logo has evolved and been created. For the Centennial logos no "extinctions" of a previous centennial logo took place. Obviously we reach one hundred years only one time. Soon, however, in the process of rebranding, we will be replacing our tried and true Reynolda House logo—the one with white-on-dark green view of the house with the name above it. “The centennial identity is a step toward a new unified brand for Reynolda,” says Director of External Relations Sarah Smith, who is leading the rebrand project. Device, the same branding agency who developed the centennial identity is also creating the new Reynolda brand.
Soon the “block” logo will become “extinct,” replaced by a new visual identity and brand experience—a new species, a species "created" in the cauldron of competition (of ideas and images) in which the fittest will survive. This will be an evolution we can all believe in. The new brand will be revealed in late spring/early summer 2018.
Post Office Box 7287 Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7287 Telephone 336.758.5150 Website reynoldahouse.org Facebook: / rhmaa
HOURS: Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. -4:30 p.m. Sunday 1:30-4:30 p.m.
ADMISSION: Adults $18 Members free Children/students free WFU Employees free
Upcoming Exhibition: Winter/Spring 2018 Frederic Church: A Painter’s Pilgrimage February 9 - May 13, 2018 | Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing Gallery More than forty of Frederic Church’s paintings completed during and after the artist’s 1867-69 trip to the Near East, Rome, and Greece will comprise this exhibition organized by the Detroit Institute of the Arts. Reynolda House is the exhibition’s only venue in the Southeast.