Barry Bytes | 6th Issue | Fall 2021

BARRY

6TH ISSUE | FALL 2021

ytes

BARRY ART MUSEUM'S QUARTERLY eMAGAZINE PUBLISHED ON THE CAMPUS OF OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

Photo b y Ech ard Wh eel er

DIRECTOR'S

FOREWORD Hello and Happy Fall!

I am honored to be writing to you as the new Executive Director of the Barry Art Museum. Today marks the threeyear anniversary of our opening, and our institution has grown remarkably. Richard and Carolyn Barry’s unprecedented gift launched our collection into the public sphere in 2018, and our founding Executive Director, Dr. Jutta Page, successfully established the Museum here at the gateway to the ODU campus. We can’t wait to propel into the next era with exciting interventions to our permanent collection, innovative changing exhibits and a robust schedule of free public programs.

Since our last Barry Bytes issue, we opened both Karen LaMonte: Théâtre de la Mode and Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon to great acclaim. These changing exhibitions were developed with guidance from diverse leaders on our vital exhibition advisory boards. Karen LaMonte features a retrospective of the world-renowned sculptor’s impressive Nocturne series. Inventively displayed on theater sets created by the ODU theatre department, this novel exhibit shows her haunting dresses alongside the postwar fashion dolls that inspired the one-third scale series.

Continuing the nocturnal theme this fall, our three-day Museum of the Moon festival welcomed over 12,500 visitors and increased our membership by 41%. The Museum partnered with over 18 regional organizations and another 16 ODU departments to offer programming each night.

our explore

WEBSITE

Museum of the Moon was all we hoped it would be: a unifying event to consider the ways in which this one celestial being is our muse, faithful companion, and object of desire. While the Moon festival is over, you can still see Karen LaMonte’s spellbinding installation through January 2nd. We are immensely grateful to our partners, sponsors and collaborators for making these ambitious projects a reality.

Looking ahead, we are excited to be launching our new U-Nite evenings on the second Friday of each month. From 5-8 p.m. we will explore different topics that bring our collections and exhibitions to life: from fashion and dance to music, film and theater! Cash bar and appetizers are provided, and the event open to all—students especially!

In 2022, we will open Motion|eMotion, an exhibition which explores the arc of automatons as the precursor to modern day robots. Historic automata from our collection will be paired with contemporary artworks and cutting-edge robots developed and implemented right here on the ODU campus and in our community. The artifacts displayed span artistic, industrial, educational, medical and military applications.

We hope you will consider becoming a museum member, and support our efforts to create these exciting exhibits and experiences. This upcoming holiday season we encourage you to bring your friends and family to see our shows and programs in person!

With Gratitude,

CHARLOTTE POTTER KASIC

Executive Director

BARRY ART MUSEUM | 1075 W 43rd Street | Norfolk, VA barryartmuseum.odu.edu | barryartmuseum@odu.edu

of the Barry Art Museum!

Museum of the Moon Motion|eMotion Karen LaMonte: Théâtre de la Mode

Toots Zynsky Introducing The Doll House

Programs Winter Tours Art-Inspired Recipes

in this

ISSUE

HOW IT STARTED Virginia-based Architect Burrell Saunders was inspired by the way the Museum's founders, Richard and Carolyn Barry lived with their art collection in their home in Suffolk, VA. Saunders described their house as a place where people could interact with art in multiple viewing zones, in a more relaxed way.

The original Barrell Point home – and its art collection – have been generously bequeathed to Old Dominion University. Burrell was tasked with designing the Barry Art Museum, a space that demanded reverence for the artwork, and ultimately has become a serene place for contemplation and a concentrated environment for exploration.

“RATHER THAN COMPETE WITH THE ART,” SAUNDERS SAID, "IT REALLY IS AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE ART CAN BE CELEBRATED."

Throughout the museum's space, visitors discover the ingenuity of the dynamic design, which features an interplay between rectilinear and curvilinear shapes.

Since the original gift, the museum has acquired an additional 107 pieces of art. The permanent collection galleries are thoughtfully installed with thematic pairings of glass and paintings that span medium and time. Patterns, colors, textures and images vibrate in tandem, allowing viewers to draw visual connections and parallels Since opening our doors in November 2018 we have reached 32,243 people in person. Over the past three years the museum team has researched, designed and mounted 7 distinct changing exhibitions, ranging from abstract painting, to augmented reality.

As the world turned digital during the pandemic, we reached another 3,000+ through innovative virtual online lectures that paired artists with botanists, scientists and historians. In person, the sculpture court lobby has hosted receptions, art happenings, dance performances, fashion shows and even weddings.

Just last month museum members and art enthusiasts gathered for the opening of Karen LaMonte: Théâtre de la Mode. Event-goers were surprised with a pop-up dance performance by the CORE Theatre Ensemble in the lobby, people gazed down from the balcony above. Local fashion designer and ODU graduate Philip Odango led his models down the Museum’s grand staircase that evening; showing off elaborate cosplay fashions created in response to the exhibition.

HOW IT'S GOING Here’s a look back at some of these beautiful collaborative moments between the art and architecture of the Barry Art Museum...

SUZANNE PETERSON Community Outreach and Artist Educator

CHEERS TO THREE YEARS! IMAGE CAPTIONS: [opposite page: clockwise from top left] ODU Dance Students perform in the Sculpture Court, June 2021; Visitors ; CORE Theatre Ensemble performs during the opening of Karen LaMonte: Théâtre de la Mode, September 2021; Museum visitors get a close up look at Janusz Poźniak's Sanctuary, photo by Ashley Berkman. [images right]: A performance art popup with cosplay designs by Philip Odango; Art-Inspired Yoga lessons

by Rise & Shine Yoga; Museum Members and guests explore Karen LaMonte: Théâtre de la Mode, photo

by Ashley Berkman

18

BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MUSEUM OF THE MOON More than 12,500 people gathered at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University from October 15-17 to bask in the glow of an installation by British artist Luke Jerram. Museum of the Moon is a replica of Earth’s moon, created with NASA imagery and scaled down to 23 feet in diameter. The Moon was was suspended over 43rd Street.

The installation was celebrated with three days of festivities exploring the many ways the moon – humankind’s constant companion – inspires, influences and affects our lives.

Driven by a rhythmic drumbeat, American Indian dance troupe Red Crooked Sky shared a traditional dance honoring the moon. The Back Bay Amateur Astronomers pointed telescopes at the sky. This allowed stargazers to catch glimpses of Jupiter with its recognizable rust-colored bands and its own moons; Gannymede, Europa, Io and Callisto. On nearby benches, audience members sat mesmerized as the Chrysler Glass Studio created glass rockets in its mobile hot shop.

On October 15, environmental groups and scholars from ODU shared perspectives on one of the most significant impacts of the moon: tidal flooding, and the work and research being conducted to develop resilient adaptations to the threat of sea level rise.

18

Inside the Museum, visitors enjoyed STEM activities with NASA and explored Waxing and Waning, an accompanying exhibition showcasing lunar-inspired art and artifacts, including specimens gathered by astronauts from the moon’s surface.

Since the museum opened only two years before the pandemic, the installation and accompanying festival served as a reintroduction to the wider community, inviting more than 2,500 visitors through its doors to discover the collection of glass sculptures, American modernist paintings, historic and antique dolls and automata.

Museum of the Moon was a true community partnership, achieved only through the support of the Bleakhorn Foundation, ODU, the Brock Foundation and Joan P. Brock, WHRO Public Media, James A. Hixon, the ODU Alumni Association and the Rutter Family Art Foundation.

Community partners included Back Bay Astronomers, Catch the King Tide, Chrysler Museum of Art, Community Market on Monarch, Core Theatre Ensemble, Downtown Norfolk Council, Elizabeth River Trail, Nansemond Indian Nation, Lil Truck of Tools, NASA Langley Research Center, Virginia Department of Agriculture, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), Virginia Opera, Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Visit Norfolk, Wetlands Watch, WHRO Public Media and Old Dominion University.

AMBER KENNEDY Old Dominion University Director of News and Media Relations

Images: (left) Luke Jerram, Museum of the Moon, Red Crook-ed Sky honoring ceremony under the moon, photo by Ashley Berkman; (top Rrght) Child uses NASA-provided Virtual Reality goggles at the Barry Art Museum, photo by Ashley Berkman; (above left) Luke Jerram, Museum of the Moon, photo by Echard Wheeler;

NEW EXHIBITION February 10-July 31, 2022

MOTION | e . MOTION Exploring Affect from Automata to Robots

For our fourth rotating exhibition, the Barry Art Museum is proud to present Motion|eMotion: Exploring Affect from Automata to Robots. Pairing the museum’s permanent collection of automata with the work of contemporary artists and scientists, this interdisciplinary exhibition will ask how robots can help us better understand our own humanity by investigating their emotional qualities.

This exhibition initially developed out of an interest to connect the Barry Art Museum’s historical automata collection to 21st-century audiences. Dating from the 19th century and designed primarily for entertainment, these kinetic sculptures predate modern robotics, relying on clockwork to power their movements. Featuring antiquated costumes and often unfamiliar musical accompaniment, these devices initially seem out of sync with contemporary society, relics of a bygone world whose cultural contexts and aesthetic choices often appear distant to our current historical moment.

Yet with their human appearance and deliberate, often uncanny movements, the Barry Art Museum’s automata embody a centuries-long interest in artificial intelligence while also anticipating modern innovations in robotic technologies.

Situated between past and present while imitating a range of human behaviors, these automata provide an unusual opportunity to reflect on the emotional responses we experience toward robots. Through this exhibition, we hope to connect these longstanding historical concerns with contemporary developments, with the intent of exploring how robotics can reveal and even enhance the qualities that make us human.

The exhibition will explore the intersections between robots and affect in three sections.

EXHIBITION ADVISORY BOARD: Peter Eudenbach ODU Art Department Tina S. Gustin ODU School of Nursing Khan Iftekharuddin ODU Batten College of Engineering and Technology Petros Katsioloudis ODU, STEM Education and Professional Studies Yvette E. Pearson ODU Philosophy and Religious Studies

The first part will take a closer look at the Museum’s collection of historical automata.

In addition to connecting these robotic precursors to 21st-century technologies, this section will also address the history of these objects by considering how they reflect 19th-century social, cultural, or economic interests, from the popularity of theater to more problematic aspects such as European colonialism.

The second section will consider the work of two contemporary artists, Elizabeth King and Joseph Morris, who both highlight the intersections between affect and embodiment in different ways.

Renowned for her exquisite multimedia works, King creates intimate sculptures of hands, eyes, and other body parts and animates them through pain-staking stopmotion. Each subtle gesture conveys physical as well as emotional movement.

Joseph Morris considers embodiment through abstract, mechanical sculptures, invoking the physicality of breathing or dancing in his kinetic works.

The final section will take a closer look at the science of robotics and affect through a showcase of projects from ODU and other communities in the Hampton Roads area.

Synthesizing art and STEM, Motion|eMotion invites visitors to explore the many ways that robots engage our lives while also asking what defines our humanity.

Images: (Left) Elizabeth King and Richard Kizu-Blair, What Happened, 1991, remastered for high definition video 2008, silent stop-frame animation, two minutes. Image courtesy of Elizabeth King.

(Above) Roullet et Decamps (French, 18651995), Guitar-Playing Troubador with Pirouetting Harlequin, ca. 1885, automaton, 37 1/2 in. (95.3 cm). Barry Art Museum, Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III, 2017.209.

SARA WOODBURY Guest Curator, PhD Candidate in American Studies, William & Mary

Karen LaMonte, Théâtre de la Mode Photo by Chuck Thomas

I WANTED TO WRAP THE FEMALE FIGURE IN DUSK. Karen LaMonte, Nocturnes video in gallery

As the days get colder & begin to feel shorter, warm yourselves in the immersive Karen LaMonte exhibition. Its rich tones and deep history nourish the soul. Surround yourself with lush garments at such a sweet scale. Trace the history of the fashion doll paired with a trio of white bronze études — the artist's response to the precious size of the original Théâtre de la Mode, at 1/3rd human scale.

Six more weeks to enjoy Karen LaMonte: Théâtre de la Mode

Next, spend time with the velvety dresses on theatrically-lit sets by ODU’s theater department.

Each fold in the cast garments show texture that hints at its material origins, but the precise level of detail allows confounds the experience.

— A note from Barry Art Museum outreach coordinator, Suzy Peterson

IT WAS A DECLARATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY AND CULTURE.

-Karen LaMonte on the meaning of Théâtre de la Mode

Karen LaMonte, Théâtre de la Mode Photo by Steve Polaner

LaMonte's focus on creating a memorable atmosphere begs narrative begs viewers to make the trek into the gallery and engagee on a more intimate level with the textures achieved in multiple media.

COVID still looms largely over our world in 2021, but this exhibition shows that a thriving creative community can recover from just about anything. May we all be inspired by the way LaMonte's works rise from the darkness, reminding us that in our humanity is endless beauty.

This temporary exhibition is on view through Sunday, Jan 2, 2022.

Plan your trip at barryartmusuem.odu.edu Guided tour offerings- reserve your spot today: November 13, 2021 @ 1pm December 11, 2021 @ 1pm January 2, 2022@ 1pm

IN THE COLLECTION

A METER IS THE MAGIC MEASURE

A STUDIO VISIT WITH ARTIST TOOTS ZYNSKY and Brett Day Windham | Providence, Rhode Island There is very little one can say about Toots Zynsky’s celebrated work that hasn't been said or that she hasn't said better herself.

She has spent fifty years pursuing her ideas for filet-de-verre (fused thermoformed glass thread) sculptural “vessels." She is now the de-facto steward for this fused thread vessel process, which she began developing when the American Studio Glass movement was wide open and brand new.

Her studio tour is littered with wonderful terms tossed in the air, from “kiln diving” to “a meter is the magic measure,” a reference to the precise length for her threader to cut the perfect strands of glass thread for her vessels Zynsky clearly loves improvisation, she loves dance, she loves music. She is a noted synesthete: when she’s inspired, she can see colors in music, hear music in colors. Even with this seductive ability, staying open to new ideas in a decadeslong practice is a feat for any artist.

In person, she is erudite and quick, and lives up to her reputation for generosity and kindness. She is seldom still, delicately moving through her space like a dancer, disarmingly chatty and charming while making fine adjustments to her famous glass threading machine (co-designed with her Dutch friend, the late Mathijs Teunissen Van Manen. Early versions of this wonderful Rube-Goldberg-ian device worked with a bike chain), logging the unique speed for a particular color to feed through the contraption, fixing a clamp light in her mobile photo studio, and showing me racks of gorgeous glass rods organized by hue after glowing hue.

Toots Zynsky (American, born 1951), Esile Filet de verre (fused and heat-formed glass threads), 2004, Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III. Toots Zynsky’s masterful bowls of fused glass threads carry an emotional charge. The striations and brittle endings of her filets de verre invite touch, but her multi-layered color range seduces as a rich, optical experience. Esile (Italian: slim, slender) is a vessel of ethereal delicacy.

A few years ago, Zynsky was on a walk through her family’s beloved wood/marshland, thinking that perhaps she’d taken this process as far as she could go.

She worried she was disengaged, just making work that looked like her work.

Slowly, as she walked, she was distracted by the silence, the absence of bird calls. Was she crashing through the brush too loudly, “too much of a city slicker,” she wondered?

She sat and waited for the birds. They didn’t come. After some research, she discovered that most of the songbirds on this precious land had been lost to poor conservation, chemical poisons and climate change. A 50year study shows that North America alone has lost 3 billion birds since 1970...a number of birds which, as she put it, “would “blacken the sky of North America. Incomprehensible.”

Mourning the loss of these birds lit a spark, and her stunning Endangered Species series was born. What better form than a vessel, so beautifully interpreted as a symbol of mourning like a casket or urn, to celebrate this loss of life that paralleled the timespan of her own studio practice?

Soon she’ll move kitty-corner across the street, into a space once occupied by a beloved local theater. Doubtlessly, she will make the new space into a modular, airy, retrofitted studio all over again. I hope that she will continue to build on her halfcentury of carefully machined meters of threaded glass vessels, her agile observations, and continue to hear music in the colors.

"I learned early on that you have to work with glass, you can't just impose your desires on it because it's always doing something on its own. When glass is hot, you have to move with it. It goes irretrievably wrong pretty quickly if you make a mistake. That's not unlike our relationship to the planet. WE need to stay attuned to how we impact our environment and make adjustments when things are out of balance - because when species are gone we can't recreate them."

- Toots Zynsky

BRETT DAY WINDHAM Independent Artist, Writer, Curator

THE

DOLLHOUSE

PROVIDES

INTO

OUR

A

WINDOW

FOUNDERS

A museum exhibition of the Patricia Pistner Dollhouse at the Naples Art Museum inspired Museum co-Founder Carolyn Barry to enhance her doll collection with a special dollhouse...

The woodwork was copied and duplicated, real wooden floors were laid, walls were painted similar colors and wallpaper was hung that matched their new home. The dollhouse was hard-wired for chandeliers, light fixtures, and lamps that plugged into tiny receptacles. Silk carpets, furniture, and other furnishings were custommade. A local glass artist created glass vases for the house, and a miniaturist copied oil paintings from the Barry's collection to hang on the walls. Even their beloved AGA COOKER and Sam Maloof rocking chair were duplicated and incorporated.

The

Barry's

kitchen

and

home

in

Aga

Stove

Barrell

from

Point,

their

Suffolk

Mrs. Barry took her passion for dolls, and discovered her own artform a miniature recreation representing a lifetime of memories. Reminiscing the home where she raised her family, this converted liquor cabinet took on the form of her home on Norfolk's Jamestown Crescent, while the interior was retrofitted to reflect their home in Barrell Point, Suffolk — complete with custom MINIATURES OF THEIR PERSONAL ART COLLECTION, furniture, and fixtures.

The

Barry's

Barrell

living

Point,

room

in

Suffolk

From

the

Barry's

to

the

Doll

to

the

Barry

Suffolk

House

Art

home

—

—

Museum!

Montague Dawson, (British, 18951973), American Privateer Chasseur, The Pride of Baltimore Oil on board, 1955.

The

outdoor

cat,

For Mrs. Barry, creating this miniature work of art became a wonderful project for her to share with friends and family. Here at the Museum, we love to use this piece as a lens to view the Barry’s collection, and how they built it around their home. Visitors can go on a scavenger hunt, locating miniaturized objects from our collection in this elaborate dollhouse of Mrs. Barry’s invention.

Ringo.

INTERN HIGHLIGHT This summer we welcomed Kayla Cochran into our internship program, and for her final project she developed a Barry Art Museum cookbook. Initially inspired by the kitchen and Aga stove in Mrs. Barry’s dollhouse, she carefully researched recipes that paired with more works from our permanent collection. As we head into the holidays, we are delighted to highlight Kayla and this extensive book. Download it here!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Kayla Cochran is pursuing a dual degree with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing and Art History with an anticipated graduation of 2023. A native of Hampton Roads, Kayla has worked for several leading cultural institutions, including as a gallery host at the Chrysler Museum of Art. An awarded scholar, Kayla has been granted the opportunity to research the ownership, history and provenance of Cypriot vases at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

In her current research, Kayla is interested in ethical and moral acquisitions of antiquities and is interested in pursuing a PhD.

WINTER AT THE MUSEUM! VISIT OUR WEBSITE: FOR ALL OF OUR PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Yule Love it!

Images: Léopold Lambert, (France, 1854-1935, maker; Jumeau, maker of bisque head) Automaton: Chinese Tea Server (“Chenoise Verseuse”) Bisque head, glass eyes, mohair wig, silk clothing, about 1890 Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III. Stanislav Libenský (Czech, 1921 – 2002); Jaroslava Brychtova, (Czech, born 1924) Cube in a Sphere Mold-melted, cut, and polished glass, 1979 Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III

WEEKLY

Photo by Ashley Berkman

WEEKLY WEEKLY

TUESDAY

SATURDAY

at 12 p.m.

Every Tuesday at noon a select Automaton is wound up and comes alive!

at 1 p.m.

Ice, Ice, baby!

Join us weekly for a FREE, guided tour at the Museum.

Explore all things wintery on view and in the collection!

RSVP Encouraged!

AUTOMA Tuesdays

DECEMBER Thursday

02

FREE MONTHLY LECTURE SERIES:

Dooyoung Choi | 6-7:30 p.m.

Inspired by the Karen LaMonte exhibition, this month’s lecture will explore how the gaze on the female form has shifted through time.

Dooyoung Choi will explore the phenomenon of self-sexualization, self empowerment and the psychology around these philosophical shifts in the culture of our times.

Dooyoung Choi is an Assistant Professor of Fashion Merchandising at Old Dominion University. She completed her MS and Ph.D. in Apparel Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Her research interests include consumer behavior and social psychology aspects of dress focusing on female self-sexualization.

Friday

10 U-NITE | Theater & Film Experience the Museum at night! University and community partners unite around a monthly theme at the Museum on the 2nd Friday of every month, 5-8 p.m.

Photo by Ashley Berkman

A barry merry holiday season!

barryartmuseum.odu.edu | 1075 W. 43rd Street | Norfolk, VA | barryartmuseum@odu.edu | 757.683.6200

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR BARRY BYTES CONTRIBUTORS:

MUSEUM HOURS: Tuesday - Friday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Saturday - Sunday 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Closed: Mondays, and Thanksgiving Nov. 24-25

Janelle Burchfield Linda Cagney Hirtz Brett Day Windham Amber Kennedy Christopher M. Norton Suzanne Peterson Charlotte Potter Kasic Photography: Ashley Berkman John Wadsworth Photography Echard Wheeler

WITH GRATITUDE TO OUR FALL EXHIBITION OUR SPONSORS:

BROCK FOUNDATION Ms. Joan P. Brock

Bleakhorn Foundation

Mrs. Sarah K. Baker Ms. Linda H. Kaufman Mr. James A. Hixon

RUTTER FAMILY ART FOUNDATION