EDITOR'S
COLUMN
ROSEMARY GABRIEL
n October, we celebrated the ground breaking for our new building on 53rd Street in Manhattan. In November, the exhibition "Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art" opened at the Museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery and our annual Fall Antiques Show Benefit Preview kicked off the next phase of our building campaign. It has been a very busy and exciting time—and the year 2000 promises to be the same, starting with the Outsider Art Fair and the Museum's annual Uncommon Artists symposium. For the latest news on our building, read the Director's Letter on page 13 and a recap of the ground breaking ceremony on pages 14 and 15."Millennial Dreams," a visually breathtaking exhibition and thought-provoking experience, will be on view through May. However,I cannot urge you enough to come celebrate the year 2000 with a visit to view it sooner. See pages 48 and 49 for information about the exhibition and for a discussion of William Alvin Blayney's double-sided work Spiritual Powers in the Nations/Church and State, one of the more contemporary artworks in the exhibition, written by Brooke Davis Anderson, director and curator of the Museum's Contemporary Center. Stepping away from the fanfare and sparkle of new buildings, gala benefits, and sumptuous exhibitions, our lead story on James Castle, by Tom Trusky, moves us into the quiet life and spare elegance of the work of this Idaho artist. In the Spring 1997 issue of Folk Art, associate editor Tanya Heinrich reported that "the artwork of James Castle, featured at the J. Crist booth [at the 1997 Outsider Art Fair], commanded great attention and after this event will surely find its way into many important collections." She was right. "Found & Profound: The Art of James Castle" starts on page 38. "Empire State Mosaic: The Folk Art of New York," a beautiful exhibition on view at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown through December 31, provoked us to ask chief curator Paul D'Ambrosio to give us a mini tour by way of an essay in Folk Art. D'Ambrosio displays a great passion for his subject and covers three centuries of New York State folk art in a perfectly SUNBURST FROM ORIGINAL SALT LAKE TABERNACLE / artist unknown / Salt Lake City / 1852/ carved wood / 18 x 36" / Museum of Church developed nutshell, startHistory and Art, Salt Lake City ing on page 50. Also impassioned about his subject is Dr. William D. Moore,former director of The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of Grand Lodge in New York City. He traces the history and meaning of American Masonic ritual paintings in an engrossing and beautifully illustrated essay starting on page 58. Since writing this essay for us, Dr. Moore has been named director of the Enfield Shaker Museum in New Hampshire. On behalf of the Museum,I wish Dr. Moore and his family all the best in their new home, and all of you the happiest holiday season and a resounding, trumpet-blowing, healthy, and truly fabulous 2000.
I
FOLK ART Rosemary Gabriel Editor and Publisher Jeffrey Kibler, The Magazine Group, Inc. Design Tanya Heinrich Associate Editor Jocelyn Meinhardt Production Editor Benjamin J. Boyington Copy Editor Sarah Munt Intern John Hood Advertising Sales Mel Novatt Advertising Sales Patrick H. Calkins Advertising Graphics Craftsmen Litho Printers MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART Administration Gerard C. WertIcin Director Riccardo Salmona Deputy Director Stephen N. Roache Director ofFinance and Operations Susan Conlon Assistant to the Director Irene Kreny Accountant Daniel Rodriguez Mailroom Beverly McCarthy Mail Order/Reception Collections & Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander Senior Curator and Director ofExhibitions Brooke Davis Anderson Director and Curator of The Contemporary Center Ann-Marie Reilly Registrar Judith Gluck Steinberg Assistant Registrar/ Coordinator of Traveling Exhibitions Sandra Wong Assistant Registrar Dale Gregory Gallery Manager Gina Bianco Consulting Conservator Elizabeth V. Warren Consulting Curator Howard Lanser Consulting Exhibition Designer Kenneth R. Bing Security Deparbnents Cheryl Aldridge Director ofDevelopment Beth Bergin Membership Director Marie S. DiManno Director ofMuseum Shops Susan Flamm Public Relations Director Alice J. Hoffman Director ofLicensing Janey Fire Photographic Services Christopher Cappiello Membership Associate Jennifer Claire Scott Special Events Coordinator Jane A. McIntosh Development Associate Kathy Maqsudi Membership Assistant Wendy Barreto Membership Clerk Edith C. Wise Consulting Librarian Eugene P. Sheehy Volunteer Librarian Rita Keckeissen Volunteer Librarian Katya Ullmann Library Assistant Programs Lee Kogan Director, Folk Art Institute/Curator ofSpecial Projects for The Contemporary Center Barbara W.Cate Educational Consultant Dr. Marilynn Karp Director, New York University Master's and Ph.D. Program in Folk Art Studies Dr. Judith Reiter Weissman Coordinator, New York University Program Arlene Hochman Docent Coordinator Linda Simon Associate Docent Coordinator Museum Shop Staff Managers: Dorothy Gargiulo, Caroline Hohenrath, Rita Pollitt, Suzanne Sypulski; Security: Bienvenido Medina; Volunteers: Marie Anderson, Olive Bates, Angela Clair, Sally Frank, Millie Gladstone, Nancy Mayer,Judy Rich, Frances Rojack,Phyllis Selnick, Lola Silvergleid, Maxine Spiegel, Marion Whitley Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue at 66th Street) New York, NY 10023-6214 212/496-2966 Administrative Offices Museum of American Folk Art 555 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-2925 212/977-7170, Fax 212/977-8134, http://www.folkartmuseum.org
II WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART