The Block Museum of Art - Annual Report 2018-2019

2018 - 2019

ANNUAL REPORT 1

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ANNUAL REPORT 2018 -2019 September 1, 2018 – August 31, 2019 Message from the Director 5 Mission and Vision

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The Block by the Numbers

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Exhibitions Caravans of Gold 13

Isaac Julien 59

Up Is Down 69

Paul Chan 89

Break a Rule 95

2019 MFA Thesis 101

Cinema & Programs 103 Acquisitions & Loans 139 2018-2019 Operations Design

Staff

Partners

Student Docents

Board of Advisors

Financials Support

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159 161 165 171 173 175 177

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MESSAGE FROM THE

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DIRECTOR

istory, is a self-reflexive exercise in the present looking at the past. History is also dynamic. It is comprised of stories.

Change the frame, change the storyteller, you change the story, and you change history. In its exhibitions, screenings, publications and programs, The Block continues to embrace its critical role as a museum—to redress the balance of history by asking, “What has been left out? Whose story needs to be told?”

What has been left out?

Whose story needs to be told?

We were honored to join the Terra Foundation of American Art in its ambitious Art Design Chicago initiative, a city-wide effort to reexamine Chicago’s pivotal role as a hub and catalyst of American art and design. In the exhibition, Up is Down, The Block, for the first time, told the story of the Goldsholl Design Firm, an understudied artistic team whose extraordinary originality transformed popular culture and advertisements for decades. The Goldsholl’s story offered our students a model in which artistic innovation, social empathy, and commercial success coincided and thrived.

We also presented Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa, the most ambitious exhibition in the museum’s history. The eminent scholar Henry Louis Gates, a passionate champion of the exhibition, has stated, “This is a project that cannot be pigeonholed “as an African exhibition. It reaches across boundaries and challenges conventional ideas of Africa, Islam, and medieval.”

For many, Africa’s history is largely seen through the writings of European outsiders. This story typically opens with the beginning of European coastal trade at the end of the 15th century, as though before that time the continent existed outside history, or indeed had no history. Caravans of Gold sought to do nothing less than to change this story by looking closely at material remains that predate direct trade with Europe. The objects on view at The Block were actors in a dynamic global network of exchange: economic, linguistic, political, religious, and of course, artistic. These often-humble fragments are truly treasures, what remains when so much else has disappeared, and they are what makes the past visible to us.

In order to achieve these lofty goals, The Block worked closely with scholars, museum colleagues, and archaeologists from Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria in the development of the exhibition and publication. It is a testament to the importance of the project that they worked so tirelessly on its behalf. We thank them for exceptional partnerships through the years of planning, and their generosity and support of our loan requests. They have shared with us important objects, many in North America for the first time, and we were deeply grateful for their trust in The Block’s capacity to represent and interpret them In addition to hearing the voices of our colleagues in Africa, with a major grant from Northwestern’s Buffett Center for Global Studies, we were able to invite them to visit our campus and also the Evanston public schools in spring 2019. And in the spring quarter, 5

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undergraduate students from Northwestern worked with the exhibition’s curator, Kathleen Bickford Berzock, The Block’s Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, to propose ways of shaping the exhibition’s content within a format that could be shared with institutions in these countries that have so generously lent their cultural patrimony to us. We thank the Buffett for its generous support of this initiative.

We also worked alongside staff from Northwestern’s Program in African Studies, and in cooperation with educators, to develop an exhibition-related curriculum for middle school students. These materials were used in teacher training throughout our community and shared with the Aga Khan Museum and the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian where the exhibition would travel and also be available to educators nationally online. Among the major successes of the Caravans exhibition was the fact that over 1000 students toured the exhibition during its run at The Block.

Woven into and outside of our exhibitions this year were programs and screenings that allowed us to continue to understand the narratives that shape our world. Inspired by One Book One Northwestern’s selection of The Handmaid’s Tale we considered the politics of gender and sexuality. We welcomed groundbreaking artists such as Michael Rakowitz and Fred Wilson, writers such as Tyehimba Jess and Lesley Nneka Arimah, and filmmakers such as Bing Liu, Manthia Diawara, and RaMell Ross to share how they use their work to elevate unseen histories. In timely discussions such as Nations of Migrants and The Walls Turned Sideways we considered the ways that art and culture can confront the realities of incarceration, migration, and immigration.

The Block also celebrated the contributions of contemporary artists who bring a global perspective and critical insights into our times. In recent years, the Museum has expanded its commitment to the moving image by presenting and acquiring media arts to complement the Block Cinema program. We are grateful to artists Isaac Julien and Paul Chan for the privilege of presenting their work at The Block this year and to the many directors, screenwriters, and others from around the world engaged in film who supported screenings and participated in public programs at the Museum.

At The Block, we believe that it is our responsibility to offer everyone opportunities to question the dominant narratives of history, revealing their underlying structures and the value systems at work. All of our work invites an expanding audience—now as international as it is regional—to join us in this process of critical reflection, penetrating the layers of historic narratives, sifting through the fragments in time, to discover what lays buried beneath our assumptions. Reflecting upon works of art is a profound form of activism and an opportunity to be a change agent. Change the story and you change human relationships and their futures.

– Lisa Graziose Corrin, Ellen Philips Katz Director, The Block Museum of Art

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MISSION

STATEMENT The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art enriches teaching and learning on the campuses of Northwestern University and in the communities of their surrounding regions by: • Presenting art across time, cultures, and media; • Convening interdisciplinary discussions in which art is a springboard for exploring issues and ideas; • Collecting art that supports the Northwestern University curriculum.

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VISION

STATEMENT To be a dynamic, imaginative, and innovative teaching and learning resource at Northwestern University through an artistic program that is a springboard for thought-provoking discussions relevant to the curriculum and to our lives today.

To inspire and develop a new generation of artists, scholars, and arts professionals by providing experiential learning opportunities bridging the classroom and the world beyond the campus.

To serve as a crossroad between campus and community, by creating an environment where all visitors feel welcome to participate.

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2018-2019

THE BLOCK

BY THE NUMBERS:

$24 MILLION $4.5 MILLION ENDOWMENT

OPERATING BUDGET

OPEN 37 WEEKS

51,681 TOTAL VISITORS 5,836 PUBLIC PROGRAM ATTENDEES & 3,987 CINEMA ATTENDEES

INCLUDING

576 EVENTS INCLUDING

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245

152

72

55

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TOURS & RESEARCH VISITS

CLASSES

CINEMA SCREENINGS

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

MEETINGS & RECEPTIONS

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6,400 WORKS IN THE COLLECTION 35 BOARD OF ADVISORS MEMBERS 25 FULL-TIME STAFF 23 STUDENT DOCENTS 12 STUDENT WORKERS 2 GRADUATE FELLOWS

134,618

WEBSITE & B LO G V I S I TS

19K

23K

215

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

PRESS MENTIONS IN 22 COUNTRIES BRAND REACH OF 29,076,750

65 PROGRAM PARTNERS 12 NATIONAL & REGIONAL FOUNDATIONS FUNDERS THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 10

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2018-2019 Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time:

Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa

Paul Chan:

Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization

Break A Rule:

Ed Paschke’s Art and Teaching

EXHIBITIONS Up is Down:

Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio

Isaac Julien:

The Leopard (Western Union/Small Boats)

colorless green ideas sleep furiously.: 2019 Art Theory and Practice MFA Thesis Exhibition

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CARAVANS OF GOLD, FRAGMENTS IN TIME

ART, CULTURE, AND EXCHANGE ACROSS MEDIEVAL SAHARAN AFRICA

January 26 – July 21, 2019 Main Gallery 13 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

Curators Kathleen Bickford Berzock and Janet Dees tour Caravans of Gold with Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

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Seated Figure, Possibly Ife, Tada Nigeria, Late 13th -14th century, Copper, Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments

CARAVANS OF GOLD Caravans of Gold invited audiences to travel with The Block Museum along routes crossing the Sahara Desert to a time when West African gold fueled expansive trade and drove the movement of people, culture, and religious beliefs.

Caravans of Gold was the first major exhibition addressing the scope of Saharan trade and the shared history of West Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe from the eighth to sixteenth centuries. Weaving stories about interconnected histories, the exhibition showcased the objects and ideas that connected at the crossroads of the medieval Sahara and celebrated West Africa’s historic and under-recognized global significance.

Caravans of Gold drew on recent archaeological discoveries, including rare fragments from major medieval African trading centers like Sijilmasa, Gao, and Tadmekka. These “fragments in time” were seen alongside works of art that invited audiences to imagine them as they once were. They are the starting point for a new understanding of the medieval past and for seeing the present in a new light.

Presenting more than 250 artworks spanning five centuries and a vast geographic expanse, the exhibition featured unprecedented loans from partner institutions in Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria, many of which were seen in North America for the first time.

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EXHIBITION CREDITS Caravans of Gold, Fragments of Time was curated by Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Block Museum.

The exhibition benefited particularly from the partnership of the following institutions: in Mali, the Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel, Institut des Hautes Études et des Rescherches Islamiques Ahmed Baba, the Institut des Sciences Humaines, and the Musée National du Mali; In Morocco, the Fondation Nationale des Musées, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Royaume du Maroc, and the Musée Bank alMaghrib; and in Nigeria, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. In addition, the following scholars served as key advisors through the development of the exhibition: Abdallah Fili, Mamadou Cissé, Mamadi Dembele, Sarah Guérin, Ron Messier, Sam Nixon, and Ray Silverman. They were joined by Northwestern University faculty and staff including Esmeralda Kale, Alexandria Kotoch, Christina Normore, Rachael Reidl, Zekeria Salem, Amy Settegren, Rebecca Shereikis, and Marc Walton.

Caravans of Gold, Fragments of Time was made possible in part by two major planning and implementation grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Caravans of Gold is also generously supported in part by Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Studies. Two anonymous donors made possible the exhibition’s travel to the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Additional support was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Myers Foundations, the Alumnae of Northwestern University, the Robert Lehman Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Evanston Arts Council, an agency supported by the City of Evanston. Special thanks to Perucca Family Foundation and the Art Institute of Chicago for curatorial research support.

The related publication was supported in part by Northwestern University’s Office for Research, Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, a gift from Liz Warnock to the Department of Art History at Northwestern University, and the Sandra L. Riggs Publications Fund at The Block Museum of Art.

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Chris Abani, Kathleen Bickford Berzock and Gus Casely-Hayford in conversation at Caravans of Gold opening

“The rare fragments that emerge from African archaeological sites help make the past tangible. They are time travelers that are simultaneously of the past and in the present, and they evoke what has been called the archaeological imagination, our ability to imagine the past through its remains.

Caravans of Gold attends to the calls to reform how Africa’s history is recounted.

Fragments of many kinds have been brought together to delve this story of medieval Africa.

There are the material fragments that lie at the heart of the archaeological endeavor, and the textual fragments from Arabic accounts that require another type of excavation to discover and interpret. There are fragments of forms, practices, and techniques that have been passed along through time and that, with care, can provide some insight into the past across distance.”

– Kathleen Bickford Berzock, curator Caravans of Gold

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CARAVANS OF GOLD OPENING DAY APRIL 11, 2019

Frozen temperatures and falling snow did not deter an estimated 2,500 visitors from attending the opening day celebration, making it the biggest opening day turnout in the museum’s history.

OPENING CELEBRATION | Caravans and Crossroads: Art, Music, and Stories An all-ages celebration inspired by Caravans of Gold allowed young visitors to be among the first to experience the exhibition. Chicago artist Rhonda Wheatley led a hands-on activity exploring the powerful stories that objects tell. Visitors enjoyed West African music and DJ sets throughout the museum featuring special guest, seventh-generation Jeli (griot) Morikeba Kouyate. A master of the kora, Kouyate translates the oral history and legends from medieval West Africa to the present day.

OPENING CONVERSATION World-renowned speakers Chris Abani, Nigerian-born novelist, poet, and essayist and winner of 2009 Guggenheim Award and Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., and host of the BBC’s Lost Kingdoms of Africa were joined by Caravans of Gold curator Kathleen Bickford Berzock, The Block’s Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and former curator of African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Taking up themes from the exhibition, this panel considered the relationships among history, power, and imagination, while asking what trans-Saharan exchange from the distant past can tell us about movement and migration today.

Jonathan Holloway, Provost of Northwestern University and Professor of History and African American Studies and Annelise Riles, Executive Director of the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and Associate Provost for Global Affairs provided welcoming remarks.

Griot Morikeba Kouyate performs at Caravans of Gold opening

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CARAVANS OF GOLD PUBLICATION CARAVANS OF GOLD, FRAGMENTS IN TIME: ART, CULTURE, AND EXCHANGE ACROSS MEDIEVAL SAHARAN AFRICA Kathleen Bickford Berzock, ed.

The Block Museum and Princeton University Press HARDCOVER | 2019 | $65.00 | ISBN 9780691182681 | 304 PP. | 9 X 11 | 192 COLOR ILLUS.

The Sahara Desert was a thriving crossroads of exchange for West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe in the medieval period. Fueling this exchange was West African gold, prized for its purity and used for minting currencies and adorning luxury objects such as jewelry, textiles, and religious objects.

The publication Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time draws on the latest archaeological discoveries and art historical research to construct a compelling look at medieval transSaharan exchange and its legacy. Contributors from diverse disciplines present case studies that form a rich portrayal of a distant time.

Featuring a wealth of color images, this fascinating book demonstrates how the rootedness of place, culture, and tradition is closely tied to the circulation of people, objects, and ideas. These “fragments in time” offer irrefutable evidence of the key role that Africa played in medieval history and promote a new understanding of the past and the present.

THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS “Part of the difficulty in conveying the importance of this region’s history has been its paucity of documentation, and the exhibition and its catalog make up for this spectacularly with their display of the region’s legacy of artifacts, from pottery shards to sculpture and gold weights and coins.”

Howard W. French, June 27, 2019, Africa’s Lost Kingdoms 19 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT “Gold flowed from West Africa through major settlements around the Sahara for over 500 years. Yet those sites (Sijilmasa on the desert’s northern edge; Tadmekka, Gao, and JenneJeno in the south) and even Mansa Musa – the medieval emperor of Mali said to have flooded Cairo with gold on his way to Mecca – barely figure in proverbs or the wider cultural imaginary.

Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa aims to redress this imbalance.”

Rebecca L. Spang, December 6, 2019, Adventures of A Shilling

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CARAVANS OF GOLD TRAVEL TORONTO, CANADA

AGA KHAN MUSEUM September 21, 2019 to February 23, 2019 Opened in 2014, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada is home to over 1,000 works showcasing the arts of Muslim civilizations from the Iberian Peninsula to China.

The Aga Khan Museum presents and collects art from historically significant Muslim civilizations as well as contemporary Muslim communities and diasporas around the world. It represents the foundation of North America’s first museum dedicated exclusively to Islamic arts.

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WASHINGTON DC

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION April 8, 2020 to November 29, 2020 Through its collections research facilities, state-of-the-art conservation lab, groundbreaking exhibitions, educational outreach and public programs, the museum seeks to inspire conversations about the beauty, power, and diversity of African arts and cultures worldwide. Since 1981, NMAfA has expanded the parameters of the field of African art history and presented to the public a rich diversity of artistic traditions from throughout continent. The museum’s programs target audiences of all ages and offer a multifaceted view of Africa’s artistic traditions.

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Over 1000 guests fill Pick-Staiger concert hall for the opening program of Caravans of Gold.

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CARAVANS OF GOLD LENDERS

32 LENDERS 250 WORKS CANADA • The Aga Khan Museum, Toronto Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto ENGLAND • The British Museum, London MALI • Direction nationale du patrimoine culturel, Bamako • Institut des hautes études et de recherches islamiques Ahmed Baba, Timbuktu Institut des sciences humaines, Bamako • Musée national du Mali, Bamako MOROCCO • Bank Al-Maghrib, Rabat Ministère de la culture et de la communication, Rabat • National Museums Foundation of Morocco NIGERIA • National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abuja

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UNITED STATES • Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL • American Numismatic Society, New York, NY • Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL • Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY • Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern Libraries, Evanston, IL Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH • Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY • Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI • The Field Museum, Chicago, IL • Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA • Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY • Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, NY • Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit College, Beloit, WI • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA • Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, IL • Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies, Northwestern Libraries, Evanston, IL The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY • National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, • Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH • The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD

Block museum staff works with international partners in shipping and preparing loans for Caravans of Gold

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Block staff members unpack an iconic sculpture on loan from the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments

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“This endeavor promotes and disseminates understanding of the history of Mali and its central role in trans-Saharan trade, which for centuries has been a source of Malian prosperity and influence. As we work to protect Mali’s cultural heritage for posterity, it is heartening to be part of a project that has at its essence a declaration of a historical moment that was of such importance to the world.”

Moulaye Coulibaly, Director, Direction National du Patrimoine Culturel, Mali Mohamed Diagayeté, Director General, Institut Ahmed Baba des Hautes Études Salia Malé, Acting Director General, Musée National duMali Moussa Sow, Director, Institut des Sciences Humaines

“The Caravans of Gold exhibition and its accompanying publication provide an original context for reflecting anew on important artworks from Nigeria’s national collections.

By considering these works through the perspective of medieval networks of exchange, the project breaks new ground in connecting Nigeria’s history to an expanded history regionally and globally.”

Emeka Onuegbu, Acting Director General, Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments

“Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time brings attention to the historic relations across North and West Africa for an international audience. It also advances the critical work of revising Western medieval history from an African perspective. In this endeavor, we look to these historic connections across the Sahara as a precedent for the role they can play in the region today.”

Abderrahim Chaaban, Director, Bank Al-Maghrib Museum, Rabat and Abdellah Alaoui, Director of Cultural Patrimony, Ministry of Culture and Communication, Kingdom of Morocco

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LEARNING WITH CARAVANS OF GOLD

ART HISTORY SEMINAR

RESHAPING AN EXHIBITION: PREPARING “CARAVANS OF GOLD” FOR PRESENTATION IN AFRICA SPRING 2019

Thirteen undergraduate students studied with Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Block Museum Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs in Spring 2019 in her seminar: Reshaping an Exhibition: Preparing “Caravans of Gold” for Presentation in Africa. In this class students negotiated the practical and conceptual challenges that arise in reinterpreting an exhibition for different national contexts. The course was centered around The Block Museum’s exhibition Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time which included loans from museums and research institutes in Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria. While the exhibition would not travel to Africa, The Block Museum was committed to sharing versions of the exhibition’s content with the lending institutions and the individuals in those nations. Working in teams, the students formulated a curatorial approach, selected key objects, and revised label texts for audiences that may not have the chance to visit the physical exhibition. During the course they advanced the idea of creating a version of the exhibition as a Progressive Web App, a compressed mobile computing format which is able to be accessed remotely and without consistent cell service. The PWA, appearing in Arabic, English, and French aims to provide broad access to the exhibition’s content.

Northwestern students from the “Reshaping the Exhibition” seminar present their work at the 2019 College Art Association Conference

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RESOURCE

CARAVANSOFGOLD.ORG ONLINE

In-depth information about the Caravans of Gold exhibition, including images and information about key objects and artworks from the exhibition, interviews with experts, and resources to support teaching and learning.

RESOURCE

CARAVANS OF GOLD TEACHERS GUIDE ONLINE

The Block Museum of Art has developed a Teacher’s Guide and compiled a list of Recommended Resources to help educators teach with key works and themes related to the exhibition Caravans of Gold. The Teacher’s Guide begins and ends with a series of activities to contextualize the Caravans of Gold story and to help students understand what is at stake in learning this history.

RESOURCE

CARAVANS OF GOLD PROGRESSIVE WEB APP ONLINE

The Block Museum has released a free mobile web app designed to share the exhibition with national and international audiences.

Developed with a team of Northwestern students and the University Libraries, the app makes use of recent developments in mobile technology and the minimal computing movement to make an online version of the exhibition widely accessible.

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BY THE NUMBERS

CARAVANS OF GOLD 35,038 VISITORS OVER 152 DAYS FROM 434 ZIP CODES AND 52 STATES ATTENDANCE UP 74% WITH AVERAGE OF 230 VISITORS A DAY

189 PRESS STORIES FROM 22 COUNTRIES

32 LENDERS FROM MALI, MOROCCO, NIGERIA, CANADA, UK, AND US

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8 YEARS PLANNING 9 TRIPS TO MOROCCO, NIGERIA & MALI

449 EVENTS 207 TOURS, 118 CLASSES, 53 SCREENINGS, 27 RECEPTIONS 21 LECTURES 23 WORKSHOPS 3 PERFORMANCES CARAVANS OF GOLD IMPACT REPORT

HTTPS://BIT.LY/BLOCKCOG

Dive deeper into the story of Caravans of Gold including information on exhibition planning and design, communications strategy, engagement, budget and more.

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CARAVANS OF GOLD ENGAGEMENT REPORT Our Caravans of Gold K-12 outreach endeavors were among the biggest efforts the museum has made to reach out to the public schools and develop a suite of offerings to support them in using The Block as a resource for teaching and learning.

The short-term goal of the project was to ensure that local public school teachers and students would make use of the incredible richness of Caravans of Gold while it was on view at The Block. In the long-term, the museum sought to foster connections and generate offerings that could outlive the exhibition’s run at The Block and which could bolster our capacity to be the community’s teaching and learning museum in the future.

The museum was able to advance and augment this work for Caravans of Gold thanks in part to the support of a partner, Northwestern’s Program of African Studies. The Program of African Studies (PAS) was celebrating its 70th anniversary as a leader in interdisciplinary Africanist scholarship and research, and Lauren C. Watkins, The Block’s Engagement Manager, worked hand-in-hand with Amy Settergren, the Outreach Coordinator for PAS, on this K-12 initiative.

Together PAS and The Block met with key teachers and leaders connected to neighboring school districts, hosted five professional development workshops for K-12 educators, participated in educational activities out in schools and sites in Evanston, and developed materials to support field trips to the museum. In addition, the international archaeologists who spent a week at the museum spoke to over 300 students at Niles North High School and led a field trip for a group of eighth graders from the Montessori School of Englewood in Chicago. We estimate we reached about 200 teachers and more than 800 students through these efforts.

However, the impact will continue even as the exhibition has left The Block. The museum is in the process of finalizing an Educator Guide and recommended resources to share on the exhibition’s companion website, which will further extend our reach to K-12 educators and students. Already the museum has fielded inquiries from educators around the country who wish to teach with Caravans of Gold.

Mamadou Cissé archaeologist and chief of the Cultural Mission of Kangaba, Mali meets with student docents

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“I believe that most teachers want to teach hard, complicated, and overlooked history, but teachers often are not sure how to do so. This exhibit and professional development experiences really gave me the confidence and the resources to explore more and push my students. Hopefully by sharing some of these resources and the experiences of our students, other faculty and staff will be encouraged to do the same in the future.”

– Pankaj Sharma, History Teacher, Niles North High School

Visiting international archaeologists meet with area educators at The Block

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Michael Rakowitz discusses themes of history and fragmentation in his artistic practice.

CARAVANS OF GOLD PROGRAMS & EVENTS ARTIST TALK

COUNTER-HISTORIES WITH MICHAEL RAKOWITZ FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Internationally acclaimed artist and Art, Theory, and Practice faculty member Michael Rakowitz explores culture as it is embodied in artifacts. In projects ranging from a recreation of the Ishtar Gate of ancient Babylon to selling dates in an NYC storefront, he has used both food and material fragments to recreate and reimagine cultural and personal histories, particularly related to his Iraqi-Jewish cultural heritage. Drawing upon his own artistic practice and the exhibition Caravans of Gold, Rakowitz will considered cultural loss and removal as well as counter-histories and narratives in artistic practice. He was joined in conversation by Kiersten Neumann, Curator at the Oriental Institute and Ann Gunter, Bertha and Max Dressler Professor in the Humanities, Presented by The Block Museum in partnership with the Departments of Art History and Art, Theory, and Practice, and the Oriental Institute.

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GALLERY TALK

RESEARCH AT THE CROSSROADS: INSIDE THE EXHIBITION CARAVANS OF GOLD MARCH 6, 2019

Audiences experienced Caravans of Gold through the perspectives of Art History PhD candidate Sarah Estrela, Archaeological Anthropology PhD candidate Dela Kuma, and Cultural Anthropology Archaeology PhD candidate Mariam Taher. The three scholars discussed their research on subjects of identity, nationalisms, gender, and language and translation through a focus on objects within the exhibition, including a fifteenth-century Jewish prayer book.

POETRY WORKSHOP

MIGRATION, FRAGMENTATION, AND TRANSLATION MARCH 20, 2019

Maggie Queeney of The Poetry Foundation led a poetry discussion and creative writing workshop in conversation with two Block Museum of Art exhibitions: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time and Isaac Julien’s groundbreaking 2007 video installation on histories of African migration, The Leopard. Together, the group read and discussed poetry of migration, fragmentation, and translation. In response to the exhibitions, participants will composed original poems exploring the experience of migration and the legacies various migrations have left behind.

Student docents tour Caravans of Gold

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Visitors consider maps of Africa commissioned for the exhibition Caravans of Gold

CONFERENCE

YOU CAN’T DECOLONISE AFRICAN STUDIES WITHOUT DECOLONISING AFRICA APRIL 5, 2019

Where is the “African” in African Studies? What is the state of African Studies today? These questions posed by acclaimed Liberian scholar and Oxford University Fellow Robtel Neajai Pailey are intended to provoke and energize the field of African Studies. Scholarship about Africa often relies on specific cultural viewpoints and political interests, and can fail to take into consideration ideas and movements occurring outside the confines of academia. Pailey’s talk, the keynote of the Program of African Studies annual conference titled African Studies Now: Decolonizing the Field, considered the origins of African Studies, its current debates, and new ways of conceiving of the study of Africa. This program was presented by Northwestern Program of African Studies graduate student seminar (AfriSem).

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CONFERENCE

SAHARAN FUTURES APRIL 11, 2019

Saharan Futures was an open convening focused on the current politics and economics of transSaharan trade, aiming to illuminate contemporary realities of migration, security, economic exchange, cultural ow, and identity across the Sahara. The conference explored how historical patterns of sub-Saharan, North African, and global exchange continue to shape the present and future, both in the challenges and the opportunities they present for human development and well-being. Keynote speaker Ann McDougall, Professor of History and Classics at the University of Alberta, focused on commercial development in the desert-edge country of Mauritania. She was one of several conference experts on the movement of people, ideas, and resources within and across borders. This program was presented by Northwestern’s Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa; Middle Eastern and North African Studies Program; and Program of African Studies.

Installation view of Caravans of Gold

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Artist Fred Wilson on the artistic work of reframing

ARTIST TALK

FRED WILSON: AFRO KISMET APRIL 16, 2019

Throughout his career, acclaimed artist Fred Wilson has challenged assumptions of history, culture, race, and museum display by reframing objects and cultural symbols. In Afro Kismet, an extension of his work produced for the 2017 Istanbul Biennial, Wilson sheds light on the presence of Africans in Turkey through materials including glass chandeliers, monumental Iznik tile walls, cowrie shells, engravings, photographs, and Yoruba masks—all building upon research originally conducted for the 2003 Venice Biennale. Wilson shared insights into Afro Kismet—resonant with themes of migration and history explored in the exhibition Caravans of Gold. Following his talk, Wilson was joined in conversation by Block Museum curator Janet Dees. Presented by The Block Museum in partnership with the Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program.

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PANEL DISCUSSION

FROM THE FIELD: INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN CONVERSATION APRIL 24, 2019

The Block Museum presented a special opportunity to hear from six international archaeologists whose excavations in Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria were fundamental to the shaping of the exhibition Caravans of Gold. Exhibition curator Kathleen Bickford Berzock moderated a conversation that included insights into the excavation process, the “archaeological imagination,” and the protection of cultural patrimony. Participants included Abidemi Babatunde Babalola (UK), Mamadou Cissé (Mali), Mamadi Dembélé (Mali), Abdallah Fili (Morocco), Ronald A. Messier (US), and Sam Nixon (UK)—joining us from institutions ranging from the Direction nationale du patrimoine culturel of Mali to the British Museum. Presented by The Block Museum in partnership with the Dept. of Anthropology and Program of African Studies

Visiting international archaeologists left to right: Abdallah Fili, Ronald A. Messier, Mamadi Dembélé [and translator], Mamadou Cissé and Sam Nixon

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Yeelen (1987)

Wanderers of the Desert (1984)

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CINEMA SERIES

SAHARAN EXCHANGES One of the most distinctive and extreme environments in the world, the Sahara Desert has a fascinating cinematic history. While Western filmmakers have sought sublime spectacle among the dunes since the silent era, North African and sub-Saharan filmmakers have also used the desert as a backdrop for bold experiments in style and narrative. Programmed to complement The Block’s exhibition Caravans of Gold, the diverse films in Saharan Exchanges proved that the vast expanses of the region cannot be exhausted by any single genre or perspective.

WANDERERS OF THE DESERT

APRIL 10, 2019

This beguiling fable weds traditions of Arabic literature with modern cinema through stunning compositions and unpredictable narrative structures. An inexperienced schoolteacher arrives in a remote Saharan village, where he learns that a curse afflicts the young men of the region, calling them to wander aimlessly in the desert. As the teacher loses himself in the village’s strange atmosphere, director Nacer Khemir deftly balances the mystical with the contemplative, summoning the inexplicable and the timeless from the everyday. The film has been newly restored by the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique.

LIFE WITHOUT DEATH

APRIL 12, 2019

His life transformed by the passing of his grandfather in the early 1990s, Canadian filmmaker Frank Cole found himself obsessed with the idea of death. Determined to overcome his fear, he resolved to cross the Sahara Desert by camel, training for years to prepare himself for the emotional and physical ordeal. Cole filmed his travels from Mauritania to the Sudan with a 16mm Bolex, capturing the harsh reality of the desert environment with an unflinching intimacy.

Cole offers a deeply personal, yet distinctly Western, perspective on the desert as a space of Romantic sublimity

ISHTAR

MAY 10, 2019

Elaine May’s uncompromising fourth feature, starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as a pair of talentless songwriters who bumble their way into Cold War intrigues in Morocco, has enjoyed a critical re-evaluation in recent years. Shot by acclaimed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro on location in the Sahara, the film offers a comical, selfreferential send-up of both American foreign policy and Hollywood exoticism. Northwestern Professor of History Daniel Immerwahr, author of the new book How to Hide an Empire, offered an introduction to the geopolitical context of the film.

YEELEN

MAY 29, 2019

A landmark in African cinema, Souleymane Cissé’s film is set in the Malian empire of the 13th century and depicts the quest of a young son across the West African landscape to confront his father, a tyrannical magician. Although the film’s mythic narrative and arresting visual style lend it universal appeal, Yeelen’s use of Bambara, Fulani, and Dogon languages and its representation of power struggles across generations have been interpreted as a commentary on Malian politics of the postcolonial era.

WAITING FOR HAPPINESS

MAY 30, 2019

Set in a Mauritanian coastal town at the edge of the Sahara Desert, Waiting for Happiness elliptically explores the gateways between Africa and Europe, tradition and modernity, childhood and adulthood. The cast of characters radiates around Abdallah, a 17-year-old intellectual distanced from the language and culture of his hometown; while he waits to emigrate to France, he struggles to communicate with the inhabitants and migrants around him.

Abderrahmane Sissako weaves together disparate yet invariably intoxicating sights and sounds, teasing out the systems of exchange and translation that exist even when life seems at a standstill.

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Erg Chebbi dunes, Cynthia Becker, 2010

MYERS SYMPOSIUM

TRANS-SAHARAN CONNECTIONS AND THE GLOBAL TURN IN AFRICA: A HISTORY IN FRAGMENTS APRIL 16, 2019

As a culminating event of a day-long symposium, noted archaeologist Susan Keech McIntosh, Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Anthropology, Rice University, reected on the importance of working at the crossroads of art and archaeology and African and Islamic Studies to construct a greater understanding of the global Middle Ages. McIntosh has conducted excavations in Mali and Senegal, and has written extensively on protecting archaeological heritage and cultural property in Africa. Following her talk, McIntosh was joined for conversation by Kathleen Bickford Berzock, curator of Caravans of Gold. This event was supported by the Myers Foundations and presented by The Block Museum and the Department of Art History at Northwestern University.

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PANEL DISCUSSION

DRIVING DESIRES: HOW GOLD SHAPED THE WORLD APRIL 24, 2019

Gold is one of the rarest and most malleable minerals, qualities that have contributed to its enduring value across time and place. Gold has been shaped by artists; its extraction has altered landscapes and its discovery has raised nations. The allure of gold is entwined with culture and economies, politics and religion, power and value. Audiences joined The Block’s Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs Kathleen Bickford Berzock in a conversation with NYU’s Robyn d’Avignon and Northwestern faculty Rebecca Zorach and Marc Walton—specialists from anthropology, art history, and material science—as they excavated the story of gold’s timeless power. Presented by The Block Museum in partnership with the Department of Art History and the Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts.

Left to right: Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Marc Walton, Rebecca Zorach, and Robyn d’Avignon

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EXHIBITION PRESS HIGHLIGHT NEW YORK TIMES

On March 12, 2019 in its Museums special section The New York Times named The Block Museum one of the top ten national museums raising the bar for academic and cultural life on campus.

“The Block Museum of Art on the Evanston, Ill., campus has four galleries to showcase exhibitions and a 150-seat auditorium. An evolving permanent collection of about 6,000 works focuses primarily on prints, photography and drawings. Recently, the museum partnered with Northwestern’s Program of African Studies on the exhibition “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa.”

Caravans of Gold is the first major exhibition addressing the scope of Saharan trade and the shared history of West Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe from the eighth to 16th centuries. Displaying more than 250 artworks, the exhibition features loans from partner institutions in Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria, many of which are being seen in North America for the first time.” - Kerry Hannon 45 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

EXHIBITION PRESS HIGHLIGHT ART IN AMERICA

Critic Josephine Livingston joined The Block for the opening celebration of Caravans of Gold and delved into the significance of the exhibition in a feature article for the April 2019 issue of Art in America.

“Caravans of Gold tells stories of exchange and of beauty, bringing African artisans, travelers, and tradespeople into the role usually occupied in our culture by heroic knights of medieval fiction. It replaces a vision of the Sahara as an empty space with the truth of the Sahara as a venue for movement and the generation of wealth.

It replaces the blank spots in our historical vision with the simple fact of African people’s existence in and relevance to the medieval world.

If this is the only lesson visitors take away with them from the Block out into the contemporary world and every museum they visit afterward, it will have been enough.” –Josephine Livingstone

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EXHIBITION PRESS

DEVDISCOURSE: National Endowment for Humanities grants $350,000 to Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University (November 8, 2018) “The exhibition is a means of binding West Africa to North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.”

ARAMCO WORLD: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa (November 10, 2018) “This exhibit challenges the colonial stereotype of “timeless Africa,” a continent cut off from the dynamics of history.”

ARTGEEK: Exhibition Announcement: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Medieval Trans-Saharan Trade (November 10, 2018) “More than 100 assembled artworks and archaeological fragments will help audiences discover the far-reaching impact of historic trans-Saharan exchange and the overlooked role of West Africa at the forefront of these developments” BLOUIN ART INFO: Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art Showcases Medieval Africa as a Cultural Force (November 29, 2018) “Caravans of Gold’ has been conceived to shine a light on Africa’s pivotal role in world history through the tangible materials that remain.”

EVANSTON NOW: Medieval Africa as a cultural force is subject of major exhibition at Block Museum (November 29, 2018) “By exploring the global impact of Saharan trade routes on a medieval economy fueled by gold, the exhibition upends historical misconceptions and demonstrates Africa’s influence on medieval Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and beyond.”

PATCH EVANSTON Medieval Africa as a cultural force at NU’s Block Museum (November 29, 2018) “The “Caravans of Gold” exhibition includes an unprecedented number of loans from the national collections of Mali, Morocco and Nigeria, never before seen in the United States, including from Mali irreplaceable terracotta sculptures, manuscripts and the delicate remains of woven indigo-dyed cloth from the medieval period that are among Africa’s oldest surviving textiles.”

TRIB LOCAL: Medieval Africa as a cultural force is subject of major exhibition at Block Museum (November 29, 2018) “Unlike the more traditional art museum focus on masterworks grouped within periods and geographical area, “Caravans of Gold” utilizes a cutting-edge curatorial approach, juxtaposing fragments with artworks from across regions and time frames, and drawing revelatory passages from medieval texts in Arabic that describe Saharan trade.”

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SHERIDAN ROAD: On Exhibit (December 1, 2018) “An ambitious new exhibition will showcase the splendor and power of the lost kingdoms and commercial centers of Africa, using centuries-old artifacts from sites around the Sahara Desert and artwork from West and North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East that reveal the reach of Saharan networks, in a first-of-its-kind show.”

EVANSTON MAGAZINE: The Buzz: Block these Dates (December 1, 2018) “By exploring the global impact of Saharan trade routes on a medieval economy fueled by gold, the exhibition upends historical misconceptions and demonstrates Africa’s influence on medieval Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.” Sherry Thomas

SOTHEBY’S MUSEUM NETWORK: Exhibition Announcement: Caravans of Gold (December 1, 2018)

MAKE IT BETTER: 31 of the Best Things to Do in Chicago This January (December 27, 2018)

“The exhibition is notable for an unprecedented number of loans from the national collections of Africa, including many works never before seen in the United States.”

“This “first-of-its-kind exhibition” will feature more than 250 artworks and fragments as The Block Museum “celebrates West Africa’s historic and underrecognized global significance.” Anna Carlson

METROMIX: Exhibition Announcement: Caravans of Gold (December 3, 2018) “The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University’s “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa” is the first major exhibition to highlight West Africa’s global reach in the medieval period of the 8th to 16th centuries.”

JOURNAL OF BLACKS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: Northwestern University’s New Exhibition Will Showcase Art From Medieval African Kingdoms (December 5, 2018)

UFAHAMU AFRICA PODCAST: Ep50. Reflections on 2018 and a sneak peek into 2019 (December 29, 2018) “This exhibit is really eye-opening and makes us rethink the role of Africa in global commerce.”

VOICE OF AMERICA: Exhibition Preview - Caravans of Gold (October 1, 2018) MUTUAL ART: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa (August 01, 2018)

“The legacy of medieval trans-Saharan exchange has largely been omitted from Western historical narratives and art histories, and certainly from the way that Africa is presented in art museums,” Berzock said.”

“Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time challenges the widely held bias of a timeless Africa that is cut off from the dynamics of world history.”

EVANSTON REVIEW Exhibit focuses on art and culture in medieval Africa (December 19, 2018)

ISMALI MAIL‘: Caravans of Gold’ Exhibition traveling from Northwestern University to Aga Khan Museum (August 12, 2018)

“Yusuf Usman, former director general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Nigeria and a contributor to the “Caravans of Gold” publication, believes this collaboration is an essential opportunity for museum goers and exhibition partners.”

“Caravans of Gold” is the first major art exhibition to address the global reach of West Africa in the medieval period.”

CHICAGO MAGAZINE 51 Things to Do in Chicago in January (December 20, 2018)

INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF MEDIEVAL ART: Upcoming exhibition in Chicago: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Afric (August 22, 2018)

“Mention the Middle Ages and most people think of the knights and castles of Europe, but this exhibit aims to reframe this fertile period through the countries of West Africa, where a robust culture produced exquisite gold filigree carvings, coins, tapestries, and sculptures.”

“Using objects as points of entry and inquiry, Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time will interweave the art history, archaeology, history and comparative literature of trans-Saharan trade, situating it within a broad geographical and historical context.”

NEW CITY: Art Top 5 (January 2, 2019)

NORTH BY NORTHWESTERN‘: NEH @ NU (May 30, 2018)

“An ambitious exhibition of material culture from Medieval Africa revives a forgotten history of the continent’s prosperity and cultural wealth that had been elided by Eurocentricism.”- Elliot Reichart

“The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art may call her the associate director of curatorial affairs, but Kathleen Bickford Berzock is a storyteller. It’s what drives her exhibitions.” - Justin Curto THE ART NEWSPAPER: When Saharan Sands Glittered with Gold (January 14, 2019) “New show highlights how the world’s largest desert was a major trade route during the Medieval era.”

-Jason Foumberg

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EXHIBITION PRESS ATLAS OBSCURA: 5 Objects That Illuminate the Medieval Exchange Between Africa and Europe (January 16, 2019) “One of the things we find most exciting about this project is when you’re in the presence of objects from the past, what a powerful experience that is,” says Kathleen Bickford Berzock, associate director of curatorial affairs at The Block. “These objects really put us as close as we can possibly come to knowing and touching a time that’s very, very distant from us and how that activates our ability to imagine and understand a time. - Jonathan Carey ARTSY: Unpacking Medieval African Art’s Profound Global Legacy (January 21, 2019) “Caravans of Gold” is the first exhibition in recent memory to apply a wide lens to the pre-colonial period of African civilizations and their impact to effectively challenge what we think we know about the world.” Niama Safia Sand BIG TEN NETWORK: A Northwestern exhibit explores the often overlooked history of medieval Africa (January 22, 2019) “With items on loan frvom partner institutions in Morocco, Mali and Nigeria, Caravans of Gold draws on exciting new archaeological discoveries that are deepening understanding of how religion, culture and commerce intermingled in the region...They stand beside European works from the same period, drawing visitors into an exploration of the vibrancy of life across Western and Northern Africa.” -John Tolley CHICAGO MAGAZINE: How Northwestern Got Its Hands on Rare Medieval African Art (January 22, 2019)

”It’s rare for American art museums to work with African lenders, because the institutional structures are so different from our own. Caravans of Gold stretches across regions and fields of study, and the loans required multiple visits to Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria.”

Jason Foumberg CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Stories of Chicago-area people hit by government shutdown (January 17, 2019) “It’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions,” said Kathleen Bickford Berzock, associate director of curatorial affairs and exhibition curator of “Caravans of Gold.” The exhibition is on track to open Jan. 26 with the loans from the Smithsonian, said Corrin and Berzock.”Morgan Greene and Elvia Malagon

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APOLLO MAGAZINE: Pick of the Week: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time (January 17, 2019) “This exhibition places medieval Africa at the centre of a global trade network, and explores through some 250 objects how art and ideas, as well as gold, travelled across the Sahara.”

WBEZ WORLDVIEW: “Caravans of Gold” Shows Treasures of Medieval Africa (January 25, 2019) “Berzock joins us to explain how the exhibit ultimately came together, and her novel curatorial approach pairing archaeological artifacts with equivalent artworks in Western museums.” - Jerome McDonell THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN: “Caravans of Gold” exhibition presents first-of-its-kind look into medieval African art, trade (January 25, 2019) “Berzock, who is the associate director of curatorial affairs at The Block, said, “Now I’ve committed seven years to doing that. This exhibition shows that history requires active imagination. There are facts, but we also need to see that through mind’s eye. That’s what art and archeology contribute.” - Daisy Conant APOLLO MAGAZINE: Assembling the fragments of Africa’s medieval past (January 25, 2019) “‘Caravans of Gold’ starts with the acceptance of the incomplete legacy of history and affirms the value and the affective impact of being in the presence of materials that have survived from the past, no matter how fragmented.” - Kathleen Bickford Berzock WDCB THE ARTS SECTION: The Arts Section 01/27/19: Caravans of Gold Exhibit & Lyric Opera Season Preview (January 24, 2019) “The exhibit aims to change perceptions about medieval Africa.” Gary Zidek NORTH BY NORTHWESTERN: The Block Museum celebrates West African history in Caravans of Gold opening (January 26, 2019) “From performances to making art to walking through the exhibit and reading historical texts, the opening celebration for Caravans of Gold provided an opportunity for anyone to learn more about the underacknowledged history of West Africa.” Karen Reyes DAILY TIMES (PAKISTAN): US exhibit portrays Africa’s interconnected medieval past (January 27, 2019) “The idea of medieval Africa as “being the center of intellectual excellence,” paid for by world-wide connections and wealth, “is really important for people to understand,” said the Smithsonian’s African Art museum director Augustus Casely-Hayford.”

THE DAILY MAIL (UK): US exhibit portrays Africa’s interconnected medieval past (January 26, 2019) “The objects tell a pre-slavery, pre-colonial narrative largely left out of history books and school classrooms, organizers said.”

LE MONDE: L’âge d’or de l’Afrique célébré à Chicago en pleine controverse sur la restitution des œuvres (January 28, 2019) “L’idée directrice derrière cette exposition était qu’au Moyen Age, l’Afrique, et en particulier l’Afrique de l’Ouest, jouait un rôle absolument essentiel pour mettre en contact des régions qui allaient de l’Europe au Moyen-Orient”, explique la commissaire d’exposition Kathleen Berzock.”

ART DAILY ONLINE: Medieval Africa as a cultural force is subject of major exhibition at Block Museum (January 29, 2019) “American literary scholar and cultural critic Henry Louis Gates Jr., host of the PBS series “Africa’s Great Civilizations,” said The Block Museum exhibition is significant and timely. “ NORTHWESTERN NOW: Opening day celebration for ‘Caravans of Gold’ sets attendance record (January 29, 2019) “Chris Abani, professor of English at Northwestern, who was born near Igbo in Nigeria, described his experience seeing the medieval bronze sculptures in “Caravans of Gold” “I was literally in tears to see something so close that shapes my lineage,” Abani said.” - Stephanie Kulke WTTW CHICAGO TONIGHT: ‘Arresting’ Exhibition Showcases Fine Art, Sculpture of Medieval Africa (January 30, 2019) “The cultural power of medieval Africa is the subject of the exhibition at The Block Museum of Art on the campus of Northwestern.” - Marc Vitali LIVE SCIENCE: Medieval Map Points to World’s Richest Man, Maybe Ever (January 31, 2019) “Who is the richest person to ever have lived? Put down that Forbes Magazine — it’s not Jeff Bezos. The real answer is in the pages of a Medieval manuscript, The Catalan Atlas. Centered on a page of trade routes sits a West African king holding a golden coin: Mansa Musa, the wealthiest person probably ever to walk the globe.”

-Stephanie Pappas CHICAGO TRIBUNE: ‘Arresting’ The richest man ever was not named Gates or Bezos; he was king of Mali in the Middle Ages (January 30, 2019) “The seven-year vision of a dedicated curator and one of the most ambitious exhibitions The Block has mounted. It packs the museum’s 4,000 square feet with a spectacular array of ancient artifacts.” - Steve Johnson

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Audience member views Camel saddle (tarik or tamzak), Tuareg, Algerian Sahara on loan from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA,

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EXHIBITION PRESS

SMITHSONIAN.ORG: New Exhibition Highlights Story of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived (February 05, 2019) “Caravans of Gold,” which has been eight years in the making, pushes back against misconceptions, and demonstrates Africa’s “pivotal role” in world history through 250 artworks and fragments from West African nations, including Mali, Morocco and Niger.” -Jason Daley NORTH BY NORTHWESTERN: The Block strikes gold with new medieval African art exhibition February 04, 2019) “Reflecting on the exhibition, I can’t help but think about the refrain of “Harmony Hall”: “I don’t want to live like this, but I don’t want to die.” It seems applicable to Caravans of Gold, which breathed new life into artifacts and a story that otherwise might’ve died.” -Justin Curto PIONEER PRESS - Exhibition explores Africa’s influence during Medieval age (February 04, 2019) “I think these objects are the best ambassadors, even across time and across geography, for Africa, as a way of us understanding another place,” said historian Gus Casely-Hayford, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art and a broadcaster.”- Karie Angell Luc MENTAL FLOSS: New Exhibition Highlights Mansa Musa, the Richest Man who Ever Lived (February 07, 2019) “Despite his status during his life, many people today have never heard of Mansa Musa. “Caravans of Gold” aims to combat modern perceptions of a poor Africa by highlighting the affluence of medieval West Africa in a major museum exhibit for the first time.” - Michele Debczak CHICAGO READER: Caravans of Gold’ reminds us that Africa has always been connected to the rest of the world (February 07, 2019) “Fueled by a desire for fine gold and salt, merchants across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East traversed the Sahara, home to several powerful African kingdoms, interacting with the people and experiencing the culture as they purchased their goods.” - Lee Ann Norman MEDIEVAL INSTITUTE - UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: New Exhibit “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: (February 06, 2019) “A new exhibition aims to shine a light on Africa’s significant connections to and influence on the economy and material culture of the world—centuries before the calamitous brutality of imperialism and the transatlantic slave trade.” -Megan J. Hall

YABILADI (MOROCCO): Une exposition raconte comment, au Moyen-Âge, tous les chemins menèrent au Sahara (February 09, 2019)

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ART IN AMERICA: Moving the Middle (April 1 2019) “‘Caravans of Gold’ tells stories of exchange and of beauty, bringing African artisans, travelers, and tradespeople into the role usually occupied in our culture by heroic knights of medieval fiction. It replaces a vision of the Sahara as an empty space with the truth of the Sahara as a venue for movement and the generation of wealth. It replaces the blank spots in our historical vision with the simple fact of African people’s existence in and relevance to the medieval world. If this is the only lesson visitors take away with them from The Block out into the contemporary world and every museum they visit afterward, it will have been enough.

“- Josephine Livingstone

PLANES AND PLATES - BLOG:: New museum exhibit – “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time”(February 09, 2019) “Visitors are able to somewhat grasp how impactful the Sahara was, as a center in the midst of the medieval world that goes from Asia to Europe and down to Nigeria, emphasizing how interconnected it all was.” - S. Crawford CHRISTIES: The must-see exhibitions of 2019 — America (February 08, 2019) “A thought-provoking and insightful introduction to early globalism, revealing how Africa’s ancient history continues to be relevant today.”

MEDIEVALISTS.NET: Symposium to share latest discoveries about medieval Saharan Africa ( (April 2, 2019)

STREETWISE: Northwestern’s Block Museum’s ‘Caravans of Gold’ Shows West Africa’s Global Reach (March 2019)

“The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University will host a week-long gathering of six archaeologists from Mali, Morocco, the U.K. and the U.S., working at the cutting-edge of research on medieval Africa.”

“The exhibit contains an unprecedented number of loans from the national collections of Mali, Morocco and Nigeria, never before seen in the United States.” Suzanne Hanney

ART & OBJECT - Africa’s Overlooked Role in Medieval Art History (April 8, 2019)

THE LUMANARY: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time (March 2019)

“Caravans of Gold urges us to think of the medieval world as not just filled with knights and horses in armor but also of veiled nomads and their camels, burdened with riches.” Claire Voon

“Included in this exhibition are eight items from LUMA’s permanent collection: three textiles, two ivory pieces, two manuscripts and one painting. These pieces were chosen to represent the importance of global trade in the creation of art.” - Allie Huff

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS: Art Exhibit Highlights Influence of Ancient Africa (April 2019) “As the exhibition’s title suggests, many of the objects in it are fragments. Much of the archaeological record from this period has unfortunately not survived time.

Pieces of decorative glazed ceramics attest to the thriving commerce of ancient towns; a fragment of a 15th-century woven blanket from Mali—among the oldest surviving textiles from West Africa—speaks to the origins of contemporary African weaving patterns.”

- Elaine Pasquini POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time (April 10, 2019) “Central to Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time, the past is also made tangible by the rare fragmented remains excavated from key archaeological sites that were once thriving cities and towns involved in Saharan commerce. These scattered bits and pieces are difficult to understand or to assign intrinsic value to. And yet, because they are simultaneously of the past and in the present, such archaeological fragments bring us as close to the past as we can ever hope to be.”

L’ORIENT-LE JOUR: Mansa Musa, l’homme le plus riche de tous les temps (May 3, 2019) “Et l’exposition “Les Caravanes de l’or”, qui a nécessité huit ans de préparation, veut rectifier cette conception erronée et démontrer le rôle pivot de l’Afrique dans l’histoire du monde, particulièrement à travers 250 œuvres d’art provenant de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, notamment le Mali, le Maroc et le Niger” -Irene Mosalli

NEW ART EXAMINER: ‘“Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time” Block Museum of Art (March 2019) “When the doors open into the entrance, light washes away a video projection of scenes from the Sahara.

As the door closes, the scenes emerge again, putting the viewer in a desert setting at sunrise. The action is metaphorical and speaks to the theme of fragmentation and the fragility of things that have eroded over time.”

-Rebecca Memoli HYPERALLERGIC: In Centering West Africa, an Exhibition Tells Another Story of the Medieval Period (March 15, 2019) “Even more, [Caravans of Gold] subtly raises up the entire African continent, which becomes through this retelling, a force of profound socioeconomic change at the global level. As their handout highlights: ‘Journey to a medieval world with Africa at its center.” - Seph Rodney BBC NEWS: Mansa Musa: The richest man who ever lived (March 10, 2019) “As the ruler, Mansa Musa had almost unlimited access to the most highly valued source of wealth in the medieval world,’ Kathleen Bickford Berzock, who specializes in African art at The Block Museum of Art at the Northwestern University, told the BBC.”- Naima Mohamud

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EXHIBITION PRESS ART DAILY: Scientists prove gold purifying process used in medieval West Africa works (May 9, 2019) “Now a team of Northwestern University materials scientists have experimentally replicated the medieval gold purification method outlined by Nixon and Rehren in a 2014 paper using the same material resources and found the process works incredibly well. The unusual method involves heating a mixture of gold, sand and glass to high temperatures and separating out the gold.”

IFL SCIENCE!: Legendary Medieval African Gold Purification Technique Proven To Work (May 9, 2019) “Together with Professor Thilo Rehren, a specialist in ancient technologies, Nixon published a paper in the Journal of Archaeological Science setting out how the Tadmekkans may have heated gold, sand, and glass to “Separate panned gold particles from mineral contamination...by melting the gold and floating the mineral particles off in a light slag melt.” In this way, they achieved purity contemporary civilizations could only match with mercury.”

ATLAS OBSCURA: Medieval Africans Had a Unique Process for Purifying Gold With Glass

(May 9, 2019)

“When Sam Nixon, an Archaeologist with the British Museum, excavated ancient coin molds in Tadmekka, Mali, in 2005, it triggered a several-year exploration of how medieval Africans purified the gold they were using for their currency. “- Evan Nicole Brown PHYS ORG: Scientists prove gold purifying process used in medieval West Africa works (May 10, 2019) “Two of the molds used to produce gold coins in Tadmekka and three replica coins made of wax are included in Berzock’s groundbreaking exhibition, “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa,” currently at The Block Museum through July 21. The show on the movement of things, people and ideas across the Sahara Desert in the medieval period aims to change public perception of Africa’s role in the global economy in the 8th to 16th centuries.”

NEW CITY: Showcasing the Sophistication of Medieval African Art: A Review of Caravans of Gold at The Block Museum (May 28, 2019) “This exhibition is a landmark attempt to show the sophistication of medieval African art and to place the cultures of Saharan Africa in dialogue with medieval Europe. (I don’t mean to exaggerate its importance; medievalist colleagues quizzed me about the show when I traveled to Germany and the Czech Republic earlier this year, and essays from the catalogue have already appeared on syllabi around the globe.) A wide range of objects, from archaeological debris to astoundingly complex sculpture, persuasively shows that Saharan Africa bustled with creative and commercial energy.” Luke Filder

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FUTURITY: Medieval Africans had a great way to purify gold (June 2, 2019) “Now, materials scientists at Northwestern University have experimentally replicated the medieval gold purification method that Nixon and Rehren outlined in a 2014 paper using the same material resources and found the process works incredibly well. The unusual method involves heating a mixture of gold, sand, and glass to high temperatures and separating out the gold.”

THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS: Africa’s Lost Kingdoms (June 27, 2019) “Part of the difficulty in conveying the importance of this region’s history has been its paucity of documentation, and the exhibition and its catalog make up for this spectacularly with their display of the region’s legacy of artifacts, from pottery shards to sculpture and gold weights and coins.” -Howard W. French OKAYAFRICA - Bringing African Artifacts Home (June 10, 2019) “There are many institutions all over Africa that have the capability to preserve, and—more importantly— teach with these objects. A few examples I can think of which all lent objects to the current iteration of the traveling exhibition Caravans of Gold on view at The Block Museum at Northwestern University are the Nigerian National Museum, the National Museum of Mali and others.” - Damola Durosomo FORBES: Gold Refining Techniques Of A Medieval Islamic City Revealed By Experimental Archaeology (June 18, 2019) “This collaborative research between archaeology and materials sciences confirms that the medieval Islamic goldsmiths of Tadmekka had not only found a way to work around the authorities by issuing unmarked dinars, but that they had also discovered an ingenious way to make the most out the gold deposits available to them.” - David Anderson NORTHWESTERN NOW: Head of the Smithsonian visits Block Museum of Art (June 20, 2019) “Lonnie Bunch was on a tight schedule while in town to deliver Northwestern University’s commencement address. But the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution made time to view a groundbreaking exhibition at The Block Museum of Art — which will travel next year to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.” Stephanie Kulke CHICAGO SUN TIMES: New Smithsonian Institution leader Lonnie Bunch to N.U. grads: ‘Never, ever generalize based on race’ (June 23, 2019) “In town to give the commencement address at Northwestern University, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch visited a one-of-a-kind exhibit here through July 21 at The Block Museum of Art. “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa” - Maudlyne Ihejirika

OMENKA MAGAZINE: Ask the Curator: Janet Dees and Kathleen Bickford Berzocks (July 11, 2019) “My job, as curator, has been to aggregate, organize, filter, and shape the story into one that is comprehensible in the form of an exhibition. One of the most exciting aspects of the project has been to work with archaeologists and institutions in Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria who are excavating sites and preserving their countries’ cultural heritages.” -Interview with Oliver Enwonwu and Oyindamola Olaniyan COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION REVIEWS: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time (October 2019) “…From this point forward, any new medieval or ancient African art history course has no excuse for ignoring, marginalizing, or diminishing the material and cultural sophistication of the trans-Saharan trade...With an astute curatorial eye, Caravans of Gold guided the viewer to connect the dots between fragment and whole, and destroyed preconceptions about where the center lies, both physically and metaphorically.” - Elizabeth Perrill WALL STREET JOURNAL: What to Give: Books on Art (November 22, 2019) “The best museums and exhibitions ask us to rethink what we think we know. “Caravans of Gold, Fragments of Time” (Block Museum/Princeton, 311 pages, $65), edited by Kathleen Bickford Berzock, reconsiders the story of the medieval West by shifting the viewpoint substantially south, to the Sahara. Artifacts in ivory, copper, glass and gold, from human figures to drinking vessels, register the interactions between cultures on both sides of the Sahara.” - Cammy Brothers CHICAGO TRIBUNE: 10 best museum exhibits in Chicago for 2019 (December 18, 2019) “Far more ambitious than what you typically find in even the best university museums, this Northwestern museum exhibition told the story of the richest man ever to walk the Earth, the 14th-century Mali king Mansa Musa, and of a rich African culture largely written out of history. Ancient pottery fragments, fully realized metal works and early maps and money helped tell an extraordinary, corrective story.” -Steve Johnson HYPERALLERGIC: Best of 2019: Our Top 20 United States Art Shows (December 12, 2019) “The exhibition was carefully well researched, collaborative, and timely in making the ambitious claim that the medieval epoch should not primarily be envisioned through a European lens, but instead can be more fully understood by seeing the African continent as the fulcrum of worldwide development by it impelling cultural advance, and socioeconomic change. Through an exhaustive assembly of fragments and artifacts, supported by reams of scholarship (including the story of the richest man who ever lived) one sees that the 14th-century trade routes that crossed the Sahara Desert drove the movement of people, goods, and culture in that epoch. Museums should take on these kinds of insightful historical correctives more often. “Seph Rodney

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BLOCK STORIES | CARAVANS OF GOLD •

How Gold Shaped the World: Anthropologists, historians, and scientists on the enduring power of gold [Video] (August 12, 2019)

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Block Museum publication “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time” shortlisted for Alice Award (July 29, 2019)

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Scholars consider the history, power, and imagination of Caravans of Gold during exhibition opening [Video] (July 22, 2019)

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From the Field: International archaeologists share their discoveries with Northwestern students and local schools [Video] (July 15, 2019)

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Medievalists organize study day around Caravans of Gold (July 1,2019)

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Head of Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch and award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tour Caravans of Gold (Jun 25, 2019)

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Caravans of Gold curator Kathleen Bickford Berzock speaks at Harvard’s Villa I Tatti (June 19, 2019)

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Archaeologists gather at Northwestern to share latest discoveries about medieval Saharan Africa (March 26, 2019)

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Study from Art Institute of Chicago sheds new light on “Caravans of Gold” sculptures (March 13, 2019)

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Exhibition Catalog Now Available: Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time (February 27, 2019)

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“Caravans of Gold” offers rich opportunities for education (February 13, 2019)

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Opening day celebration for ‘Caravans of Gold’ sets attendance record [Video] (January 30, 2019)

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Block Museum celebrates January 26th opening of “Caravans of Gold” [Video] (January 15, 2019)

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Medieval Africa as a cultural force is subject of major exhibition at Block Museum (January 8, 2019)

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Johnnetta Cole former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, current President of the National Council of Negro Women tours Caravans of Gold

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ISAAC JULIEN THE LEOPARD (WESTERN UNION: SMALL BOATS) January 26 – April 14, 2019 Alsdorf Gallery

Installation view of The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats)

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Still from The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) (2007)

THE LEOPARD (WESTERN UNION: SMALL BOATS) Isaac Julien’s groundbreaking 2007 video installation The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) presents a lyrical and visceral meditation on histories of African migration.

Combining exquisite cinematography with elements of documentary, dance and musical performance, The Leopard juxtaposes all-too-familiar images of Mediterranean passage–Black bodies crowded in rafts, laid out in reflective blankets on Italian shores, drowning in tempestuous waters–with the tranquil spaces of European tourism and luxury. Born in London in 1960 to Caribbean immigrant parents, Julien has crafted a singular and expansive body of work that moves effortlessly between experimental film and narrative cinema, theatrical exhibition and video installation. With characteristic formal beauty and critical depth, The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) synthesizes Julien’s longstanding examination of Black diasporic and post-colonial experience in a moving and humanistic 20-minute work. Presented in conjunction with The Block’s Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time exhibit, The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) challenged viewers to contemplate the inequities of globalization and the cycles of displacement and violence that have bound Europe and Africa for centuries.

The exhibition was supported by the Mary and Leigh Block Endowment and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

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PERFORMANCE

MOVEMENTS: A RESPONSE TO THE LEOPARD APRIL 4, 2019

Movement is central in Isaac Julien’s 2007 video installation The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats), which presents a lyrical and visceral meditation on histories of African migration. Produced at a time of debate about immigration policies and the relations between the individual and the geopolitical, The Leopard traces the effects of trauma not just on people but also on buildings, monuments, architecture, and landscape. Vignettes choreographed by Russell Maliphant are woven throughout the work, echoing and rearticulating these journeys. Audiences watched as a group curated by D. Soyini Madison, Professor of Performance Studies, responds to The Leopard and to our current moment through dance and movement. This program was presented by The Block Museum in collaboration with the Department of Performance Studies.

Northwestern students in the department of performance studies respond to The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats)

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CINEMA

ISAAC JULIEN: YOUNG SOUL REBELS MARCH 15, 2019

After a decade making experimental film and video as part of the Sankofa Collective, Isaac Julien took a detour into narrative feature filmmaking in 1990 with Young Soul Rebels, a vibrant and intersectional portrait of late-70s British musical subculture. Following Chris and Caz, two pirate-radio soul DJs who stumble upon a tape documenting the murder of one of their listeners, Young Soul Rebels daringly tackles issues of race, class, sexuality, and violence during a period of social upheaval in the UK; it’s also saturated with incredible music, fashion, and period detail.

An essential entry in the “New Queer Cinema” of the early 1990s, Young Soul Rebels remains one of Julien’s most accessible and personal films.

CINEMA

ISAAC JULIEN: LOOKING FOR LANGSTON AND THE ATTENDANT APRIL 3, 2019

These two stunningly-realized works by British filmmaker Isaac Julien are his most direct explorations of black queer identity. Looking for Langston mixes archival material with stylized dramatic scenes to create a dreamlike essay film about the Harlem Renaissance that foregrounds the gay identities of several of the writers of the time, most significantly Langston Hughes. In the short The Attendant, a black museum guard’s fantasies combine fetishism, opera, and a camp sensibility as a painting of a slave and his white master becomes a living tableaux.

Looking for Langston (1989)

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Galya Ben-Arieh, Seemi Choudry, Mirabel Womila (Wiryen), and Jajah Wu discuss immigration and migration

PANEL AND CONVERSATION

NATIONS OF MIGRANTS FEBRUARY 28, 2019

As explored in The Block Museum exhibitions Caravans of Gold and The Leopard (Western Union Small Boats), nations around the world have long been shaped by migration. This program examined urgent issues of migration in our current moment and their connections to our place in the US, Chicago, and Evanston. Drawing on the perspectives and first-hand experiences of economic migrants, international policy experts, and humanitarian organizations, the program considered the ethics of witnessing, self-reliance and resilience, and responsibility in a time of refugee crisis. Through this discussion, we interrogated the legal, social, political, and human implications of our histories as nations of migrants. This program was co-presented by The Block Museum, the The Program of African Studies, and Refugee Knowledge Hub, a communitybased partnership providing leadership, knowledge, and support for refugees and asylees in our community.

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Manthia Diawara and Michael Metzger discuss An Opera of the World

Soleil O (1970)

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An Opera of the World (2017)

Burn the Sea (2015)

CINEMA SERIES

PERSONAL PASSAGES: AFRICAN FILMMAKERS IN EUROPE Personal Passages responded to the concurrent Block exhibitions Caravans of Gold and Isaac Julien: The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) through a series of films that illuminate 20th- and 21st-century migrant experiences across the Mediterranean. While dozens of films have been made by European filmmakers addressing the challenges faced by refugees and immigrants to Europe, the films in this series, made by Tunisian, Mauritanian, and Malian émigré filmmakers, all provide more intimate perspectives on displacement and diaspora.

SOLEIL Ô

JANUARY 30, 2019

One of the most important works of post-colonial cinema, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô confronts the racism and exploitation of French society through the eyes of a Mauritanian immigrant worker in Paris. Working independently on a tight budget, Hondo refracts his own experiences—and his deep insight into centuries-old structures of oppression— through an ironic and subversive sense of humor. Unseen for years, this formally audacious, politically galvanizing film has recently re-emerged thanks to restoration by the Cineteca di Bologna, the George Lucas Family Foundation, and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation; it has lost none of its power, or its relevance, since it first appeared in 1970.

Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.

AN OPERA OF THE WORLD

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

A world-renowned scholar, filmmaker, and theorist of cultural hybridity, Manthia Diawara left Mali at the age of 19, emigrating to France and later to the United States. He returned to Mali in 2008 to film rehearsals for Bintou Were, a Sahel Opera, which tells the story of northward migration. Diawara frames this moving performance with interviews (including discussions with filmmaker Alexander Kluge, novelist Fatou Diome, and sociologist Nicole Lapierre), personal commentary, and archival footage that documents the cycles of migration throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The result is a cinematic essay as free-ranging and inspiring as the borderless society he imagines. In person: filmmaker Manthia Diawara.

BRÛLE LA MER (BURN THE SEA)

MARCH 14

The 2011 collapse of the Ben Ali government in Tunisia prompted a mass exodus of so-called harragas (literally, “border burners”) to Europe. One of these migrants was a young hospitality worker, Maki Berchache, who collaborated with French filmmaker and activist Nathalie Nambot on this poetic and intimate experimental documentary. Shooting on Super 8 and 16mm film, Berchache and Nambot gather together the memories, reflections, dreams, and fears of the migrant community in France, imagining cinema as a space of connection and collective practice within an unfamiliar and sometimes hostile landscape.

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BLOCK STORIES | THE LEOPARD •

Performers activate Isaac Julien’s “The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats)” (April 24, 2019)

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Policy experts discuss urgent issues of migration at Block Museum [Video](April 17, 2019)

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Saharan Crossing: Galya Ben-Arieh on The Realities of Migration Today (February 20, 2019)

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Histories of African migration explored by renowned contemporary artist Isaac Julien

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Northwestern students in the department of performance studies respond to The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats)

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Installation view Up Is Down

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UP IS DOWN

MID-CENTURY EXPERIMENTS IN ADVERTISING AND FILM AT THE GOLDSHOLL STUDIO

September 18 – December 9, 2018 Main Gallery

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Co-curators Corinne Granof and Amy Beste in conversation with Thomas Dyja during the opening conversation

In the 1950s, Chicago-based design firm Goldsholl Design Associates made a name for itself with innovative “designs-in-film.” Headed by Morton and Millie Goldsholl, the studio produced television spots, films, trademarks, corporate identities, and print advertisements for international corporations like Kimberly-Clark, Motorola, and 7-Up. Although they were compared to some of the most celebrated design firms of the day, the Goldsholls and their designers are relatively unknown today. The Block Museum’s exhibition Up is Down: Mid-Century Experimentation in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio reexamined the innovative work of Goldsholl Design Associates and its national impact.

The Goldsholls attended Chicago’s Institute of Design (ID) and were inspired by ID’s founder, the artist and designer László Moholy-Nagy. The curriculum at ID included motion picture production, which Moholy-Nagy viewed as a medium of light and collage. Deeply influenced by Moholy-Nagy’s teachings and Bauhaus approach, with its ethos of aesthetic experimentation and social engagement, Morton and Millie fostered a similar attitude among designers working in their firm. Their work in film grew equally out of the unique moving image and design culture of Chicago. At mid-century, Chicago was known as the “Hollywood” for educational film production, churning out thousands of educational and promotional films each year. Filmmakers worked expansively—producing slide shows, short films, and spectacular industry installations, in addition to print advertising and other ephemera. The creative work these artists pursued often influenced their commercial productions and vice versa.

Featuring films, television ads, and other kinds of moving images alongside designed objects, print advertisements, trademarks, photographs, and drawings, Up is Down was the first exhibition to illuminate the distinctive brand of motion pictures that Chicago became known for in mid-century and the ways the city served as an influential testing ground for ideas connecting art, industry, design, and film. The exhibition provided context for understanding Chicago as a unique site for ideas connecting art, design, and film that eventually gained international currency.

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OPENING

UP IS DOWN CELEBRATION OCTOBER 6, 2019

HANDS-ON DESIGN LAB Artist Jesse Malmed joined us to lead an all-ages activity kicking off the exhibition. Young visitors played with light and images as part of a collective animation project celebrating experimentation and collaboration.

ONLY IN CHICAGO: CONVERSATION WITH THE THIRD COAST AUTHOR THOMAS DYJA Thomas Dyja, third-generation Chicagoan and author of the award-winning The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream, discussed why Chicago was fertile ground for the Goldsholls’ work— and explored the mid-century circumstances that united culture and industry across the city. In conversation with Dyja, exhibition co-curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof shared insight into the groundbreaking work of the Goldsholl Associates, tracing its artistic influences, including those of artist and designer László Moholy-Nagy, as well as the Firms’ lasting design legacy.

A family plays together with light and images in our hands-on design lab.

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Designer Ellen Lupton talks artistic experimentation and commercial design

CONVERSATION

STORYTELLING SERIES: ART DESIGN CHICAGO OCTOBER 21, 2018

Chicago Athletic Association Hotel and Art Design Chicago presented an episode of its Storytelling Series, in conjunction with The Block’s Up is Down exhibition. Curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof sat down for a conversation with artist Jan Tichy, who served as an exhibition consultant for the project. Beste, Granof, and Tichy discussed the Goldsholl’s legacy and the ways in which their work resonates with an ongoing history of Chicago artists, whose practices cross boundaries between design, art, and film.

ARTIST TALK

ELLEN LUPTON: DESIGN IS ART THAT PEOPLE USE OCTOBER 21, 2018

Inspired by the exhibition Up is Down, Ellen Lupton, Curator of Contemporary Design at CooperHewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, addressed the evolving relationship between artistic experimentation and commercial design. In the 1950s and ’60s the Goldsholl design firm’s creative experiments with light and media found their ways to lucrative commercials and patents. Lupton considered this history of design innovation and the state of experimentation and design today. Thinking about how rapid digital culture blurs the boundaries of art and commerce, this program addressed how current designers shape not only what, but how we see.

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CONVERSATION

POLITICS OF THE STUDIO: RACE AND DESIGN IN MID-CENTURY AMERICA NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Using the uniquely cosmopolitan space of the Goldsholl studio as a point of departure— including the long-term position of African-American designer Thomas Miller at the firm—this conversation addressed issues of authorship, representation, and racial inclusion (or lack thereof) in design and advertising workplaces in the 1950s and 1960s. Chris Dingwall, historian and curator of Race and the Design of American Life: African Americans in Twentieth-Century Commercial Art, addressed Thomas Miller’s legacy as a designer and his role in the Goldsholl studio. Korey Garibaldi, Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame, offered literary and historical context for black cultural professionals and best-selling authors who were at the forefront of racial integration following World War II.

Co-sponsored by the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; presented in conjunction with Art Design Chicago. Concurrent to The Designs of African American Life, a symposium at the Chicago Cultural Center, November 2–3, 2018.

Historian Korey Garibaldi

TOUR

SEE THE LIGHT INSIDE THE EXHIBITION UP IS DOWN Exhibition curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof, were joined by Greg Holderfield, Director of the Segal Design Institute, to share their perspectives on the design of Morton and Millie Goldsholl. This gallery talk included insight into the Goldsholls’ studio practice, investigating how play and experimentation inspired their commercial work.

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The exhibition was co-curated by Amy Beste, Director of Public Programs, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Corinne Granof, Curator of Academic Programs, The Block Museum of Art. Up is Down was funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Mary and Leigh Block Endowment

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Northwestern students visit Up Is Down during Wildcat Welcome

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7UP “See the Light� Campaign, Goldsholl Associates (c.1975)

Kleenex-Xperiments, Goldsholl Associates (1960)

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Kleenex-Xperiments, Goldsholl Associates (1960)

CINEMA SERIES

DESIGNERS IN FILM: THE CINEMATIC WORLD OF THE GOLDSHOLLS This film series complemented and extended The Block’s exhibition Up Is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio with five programs of films produced by the Chicago-based Goldsholls, their collaborators, influences, and contemporaries. Presenting a wide spectrum of classic and rarely-seen experimental cinema, animation, and commissioned films, Designers in Film explored the playful and innovative atmosphere of 20th-century moving image-making in which Morton and Millie Goldsholl took a central place.

DESIGNERS IN FILM: FILMS BY THE GOLDSHOLLS AND COMPANY

OCTOBER 12, 2018

In their advertising and personal films like Night Driving (1957), Morton and Millie Goldsholl devised exciting and adventurous forms of image-making—as did their employees and collaborators. This program surveys some of the Goldsholls’ most delightful shorts, along with lesser seen works by Goldsholl studio members. Exhibition curator Amy Beste joined Goldsholl-affiliated filmmakers Wayne Boyer, Byron Grush, Paul Jessel, and Marie Cenkner to talk about their work, their experiences with the Goldsholls, and their place at the cutting edge of experimental screen culture in Chicago.

Works Screened (approx. 75 min.)

NEA titles, Goldsholl Design Associates ca 1975, 35mm, 1 min, courtesy of Paul Jessel and Marie Cenkner

Drop City, Wayne Boyer 1968, Digital, 5 min, courtesy of Wayne Boyer

Night Driving, Millie and Morton Goldsholl 1957, Digital, 4 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives

Nebula 2, Robert Frerck 1969, Digital, 6 min, courtesy of Robert Frerck

Faces and Fortunes, Goldsholl Design Associates 1959, 16mm, 12 mins, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives

Hexagrams, Byron Grush 1966, 16mm, 5 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives

Kleenex-X-Periments: Glove Love and Scratch, Goldsholl Design Associates 1960, 16mm, ca 6 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives A Line on Fanfares, Goldsholl Design Associates 1979, 16mm, 30 seconds, courtesy of Paul Jessel and Marie Cenkner Lichtspiel Nur 1, Robert Stiegler 1966, Digital, 6 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives

Dog License, Paul Jessel and Bill Langdon ca 1972, 16mm, 2 min, courtesy of Paul Jessel and Marie Cenkner Up Is Down, Millie Goldsholl 1969, 35mm, 6 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives Rebellion of the Flowers, Millie Goldsholl 1992, 35mm, 8 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives DL #2 (Disintegration Line 2), Larry Janiak 1970, 16mm, 11 min, courtesy of Chicago Film Archives

DESIGNERS IN CONTEXT: FILM, ADVERTISING, AND MODERNISM

OCTOBER 19, 2018

The mid-century love affair between advertising, design, and modernism united the Goldsholl studio with peers in the vanguard of film and television from coast to coast. This program gathered together dazzling experimental and commissioned films by such celebrated figures as Charles and Ray Eames, Jim Henson, and Saul Bass, along with rarely-screened gems by innovators Fred Mogubgub and Francis Thompson. Lynn Spiegel, Frances Willard Professor of Screen Cultures, introduced the program, situating the Goldsholls within the history explored in her book TV by Design: Modern Art and the Rise of Network Television.

Works Screened (approx. 50 min.)

N.Y., N.Y., Francis Thompson 1957, USA, 16mm, 15 min.

The Pop Show, Fred Mogubgub 1966, USA, 16mm, 7 min.

From Here to There, Saul Bass 1964, USA, Digital, 9 min.

Foote, Cone & Belding – 25th Anniversary, Mort and Millie Goldsholl 1967, USA, Digital, 3 min.

Sears Sox, Chick Strand, Pat O’Neill, Neon Park 1969, USA, 16mm, 5 min. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive

Information Machine, Charles and Ray Eames 1972, USA, 16mm, 10 min.

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COLOR AND LINE: MID-CENTURY ANIMATION

OCTOBER 20, 2018

Challenging and creative films like 1969’s Up Is Down put director Millie Goldsholl at the vanguard of animation during a period of renewal and discovery in the form. This program surveyed some of her influences and peers, showcasing styles that vary from Norman McLaren’s visionary experiments in direct-to-film animation and pixilation to Faith and John Hubley’s beautifully crafted and humanistic narrative shorts. Award-winning animator and Associate Professor of Radio, Television, and Film, Eric Patrick shared his insights into these bold, inventive works.

Works Screened (approx. 50 min.)

Begone Dull Care, Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart 1949, 16mm, 8 min. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada Neighbors, Norman McLaren 1952, 35mm, 8 min.Produced by the National Film Board of Canada Trade Tattoo, Len Lye, 1937, 16mm, 5 min.

Celery Stalks At Midnight, John Whitney 1951, 16mm, 3 min. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive Form Phases IV, Robert Breer, 1954, 16mm, 3 min.

The Hole, Faith & John Hubley 1962, 35mm, 15 min. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive Composition in Blue, Oskar Fischinger 1935, 35mm, 4 min.

Sand, or Peter and the Wolf, Caroline Leaf 1969, 16mm, 10 min.

Frank Film, Caroline and Frank Mouris 1973, DCP, 9 min. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive Envelope Jive, Goldsholl Design & Film Associates ca 1963, 16mm, 10 min.

Plus: additional films by Charles & Ray Eames and Saul Bass

LIGHT PLAY: FILM AND THE BAUHAUS

OCTOBER 26, 2018

The Goldsholls studied at Chicago’s School of Design in the 1940s under renowned artist and educator László Moholy-Nagy, who brought the methods and principles of the German Bauhaus to the US. Known for architecture and design, faculty at the Bauhaus also explored the kinetic possibilities of projected light and film, a legacy that deeply influenced School of Design students in Chicago. Laura Frahm, Assistant Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University, presented her ongoing research on film at the Bauhaus, followed by a screening of key films by Moholy, Hans Richter, and others, and an excerpt from an upcoming documentary about the New Bauhaus with filmmaker Alysa Nahmias in person.

Works Screened (approx. 30 min.)

Lightplay: Black White Gray,László Moholy-Nagy 1926, 16mm, 6 min.

Rhythmus 23, Hans Richter 1923, 16mm, 3 min.

Filmstudie, Hans Richter 1926, 16mm, 7 min.)

Lens Distortion, Millie and Mort Goldsholl ca. 1969, 2k Digital, 4m)

Rhythmus 21, Hans Richter 1921, 16mm, 3 min.

Plus: additional films by Werner Graeff and Kurt Kranz

EVE OF THE FUTURE: WOMEN AND INDEPENDENT FILM BEFORE 1960

NOVEMBER 22, 2018

In 1959, Millie Goldsholl curated the film program for the International Design Conference in Aspen, which pointedly included the most important female voices in independent cinema at that time. This screening brings together many of their vital contributions to experimental, animated, and documentary film, including works by Shirley Clarke, Maya Deren, Mary Ellen Bute, and other trailblazers who challenged the status quo in advance of second-wave feminism.

With an introduction by Jennifer Wild, Associate Professor of Cinema at the University of Chicago.

Works Screened (approx. 30 min.)

At Land, Maya Deren, 1944, 15 min.

A Chairy Tale, Jutra/McLaren, animation by Evelyn Lambart, 12 min.

Bridges-Go-Round, Shirley Clarke, 1958, 8 min.

Obmaru, Patricia Marx 1953, 4 min. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive Color Rhapsodie, Mary Ellen Bute 1948, 7 min.

A Short Vision, Joan and Peter Foldes, 1956, 6 min.

In the Street, Helen Levitt, James Agee, Janice Loeb 1948, 16 min.

Logos, Jane Conger Belson Shimané 1957, 2 min. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive

Tender Game, Faith & John Hubley 1958, 6 min.

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Night Driving, Millie and Morton Goldsholl (1957)

Up Is Down, Millie and Morton Goldsholl (1969)

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Exhibition visitors view the film Up Is Down

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EXHIBITION PUBLICATION

UP IS DOWN: MID-CENTURY EXPERIMENTS IN ADVERTISING AND FILM AT THE GOLDSHOLL STUDIO Amy Beste and Corinne Granof, ed. | Published by The Block Museum of Art | Distributed by Northwestern University Press | Softcover | 2018 | $25 | ISBN 9781732568402 | 210 p.p. | 137 color illustrations The first book to examine the innovative work of Goldsholl Design Associates and Its impact on design and film.

Headed by Morton and Millie Goldsholl, the Goldsholl Design Associates worked at the intersection of art, design, and media, producing trademarks, corporate identities, print advertisements, television commercials, and films for such clients as Motorola, Kimberly-Clark, Revlon, 7-Up, and the National Football League. Although they have been compared to some of the most celebrated design firms of their day, the Goldsholls and their designers are relatively unknown today.

Inspired by the ideas and ideals of artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, with whom they had studied at Chicago’s School of Design, Morton and Millie Goldsholl fostered a culture of exploration and collaboration in their studio. The firm became known for its imaginative “designs-in-film,” applying avant-garde techniques to commercial productions. Its groundbreaking work in the new media of television helped redefine the look of everyday visual culture in midcentury America.

The trailblazing work of Goldsholl Design Associates remains an unexplored contribution within American design and advertising. Published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name at The Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, this volume’s research explores how a new visual language emerged from Chicago’s cross-fertilization of avant-garde aesthetics, business, and cutting-edge media.

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PARTNERSHIP: ART DESIGN CHICAGO

The exhibition Up Is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio was part of Art Design Chicago, an ongoing exploration and celebration of Chicago’s distinct contributions to American art and design. This partnership with cultural organizations throughout Chicago examined the city’s art and design history and legacy through exhibitions, public programs, academic projects, and publications. The second edition of Art Design Chicago is coming in 2024.

The 2018 iteration of Art Design Chicago brought together more than 95 cultural organizations to examine Chicago’s art and design legacy through exhibitions, public programs, special events, and tours as well as several new publications, resulting in the largest exploration of the topic to date. Art Design Chicago 2018 was a spirited celebration of the unique and vital role Chicago plays as America’s crossroads of art and design, creativity and commerce. Initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art, this multi-year project was the first large-scale exploration of Chicago’s art and design history. A citywide partnership of museums, universities, galleries, and other cultural organizations, Art Design Chicago resulted in 46 exhibitions and hundreds of public programs and special events throughout 2018, as well as new scholarly publications and digital resources. Together, partners told stories of the artists and designers that defined and continue to propel Chicago’s role as a hub of imagination and impact.

The Terra Foundation, with Presenting Partner The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and other funding partners, invested $8 million to support the success of Art Design Chicago. Over the course of the initiative, 107 grants were awarded to 72 participating organizations.

The development of Art Design Chicago was guided by active Civic and Advisory Committees made up of cultural and business leaders and influencers in Chicago and beyond.

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EXHIBITION PRESS

NEWCITY ART: Design Top 5: November 2018 (November 1, 2018) “Northwestern’s Block Museum of Art brings together the multidisciplinary work of the Goldsholl Design studio— rarely seen films and light experiments, posters, print advertisements and package design that include widely known logos such as for 7UP, the Motorola M and the Vienna Beef hot dog with fork.” Vasia Rigou NORTHWESTERN COMMUNICATIONS: The Intersection of Film, Art, and Advertising: An Attention-Catching Night at The Block Museum (November 5, 2018) “The late 1950’s and early 1960’s marked a time of experimentation in the world of film, and this avantgarde spirit made its way into the burgeoning television advertising industry. The Goldsholls were at the forefront of this innovative movement.” - Thomas Wall PRINT MAGAZINE: The Goldsholls, Chicago Design Pioneers (December 4, 2018) The Block Museum has a record of bringing attention and new research to under-recognized subjects. While Morton and Millie and the designers at their firm were highly regarded during their firm’s heyday, their work has been largely overlooked in the histories of design, art, and film.” -Steven Heller CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Best in Chicago museums 2018: (December 20, 2018) But the big dog this year in Chicago museums has been the bold and broadly invigorating yearlong Art Design Chicago initiative backed by the Terra Foundation for American Art (with help from the Driehaus Foundation).

The ADC imprimatur (and funding!) was behind dozens of exhibitions, scores of public events, and reams of new research all finding fresh or deeper takes on the city’s visual arts history. - Steve Johnson SPLASH MAGAZINE: Review: Up Is Down (October 13, 2018) “This is a little known and important Chicago story, well told, and captivating.” - Barbara Keer CHICAGO’S NORTH SHORE Plan a Perfect Fall Day Around Chicago’s North Shore (October 12, 2018) “Before the day is over, be sure to stop by The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. Through Dec. 9, the museum’s Main Gallery will house “Up is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio.”

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GRAPHIC DESIGN USA: Trailblazing Goldsholl Design Firm On Exhibit In Chicago (September 4, 2018)

FORM DESIGN MAGAZINE: Up Is Down Review (October, 2018)

“Goldsholl Design Associates, were instrumental in introducing the principles of Bauhaus design to the American public through innovative campaigns for the likes of 7UP, Motorola, NFL, Revlon and Kimberly Clark.

And their advertising and design work also elevated Chicago’s lasting impact on American design.”

“The Goldsholl Studio became famous primarily for its experimental commercials, animations, and logo designs for large corporations and brands such as Motorola, Kimberly- Clark, and 7 Up. The aim of the exhibition “Up Is Down: Mid-century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio” is to raise awareness of the studio’s importance. Its title refers to the animated film “Up Is Down” (1969) by Millie Goldsholl, in which the young protagonist experiences the world in his own, positive way and subsequently has to struggle with a lack of understanding.” - Susanne Heinlein

JEWISH UNITED FUND: Arts & Minds: An innovative design firm, a scandalous play, and a pioneering immigrant artist (September 4, 2018) “Billed as the first major exhibition to explore the trailblazing work of these mid-20th century artists, designers, and filmmakers and their advertising firm, Goldsholl Associates, “Up is Down” explores the many ways in which they applied experimental and avantgarde filmmaking techniques to advertising and brand development.” -Hedy Weiss CHICAGO MAGAZINE: 51 Things to Do in Chicago in September (September 2018) “This show celebrates the golden age of advertising through the lens of a homegrown design giant. In the 1950s, Chicago was a hub for modernist graphic design, with Goldsholl and Associates being one of the bestknown firms, churning out iconic logos for Motorola, 7-Up, and Vienna Beef. It even produced many of the era’s then-groovy, now-nostalgic educational short films.” -Jason Foumberg NEW CITY: Designing A Life Beautiful: “Up Is Down” Tells the Chicago Story of America’s Iconic Brands (September, 2018) “A consumer can often forget the presence of the designer. Curators like Amy Beste and Corinne Granof remind us of the human behind the design—Someone sitting at a desk, thinking about the world they live in, its problems, how to fit within it, how to care for it.” Fulla Abdul-Jabbar APOLLO MAGAZINE: Celebrating the diversity of Chicago’s cultural landscape (August 2, 2018) “At Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art, Terra Foundation funding has enabled director Lisa Corrin ‘to bring to light a forgotten chapter in our city’s cultural history’. Working with Chicago Film Archives, she has explored the experimental artist-designerfilmmakers Morton and Millie Goldsholl and their advertising firm Goldsholl Design & Film Associates, founded in the 1950s.” -Louise Nicholson REEL CHICAGO: Leo B creates new Art Design Chicago campaign (October 12, 2018) “Leo Burnett has played a key role in elevating Chicago’s prominence internationally, and many designs from the Leo Burnett archive are present in upcoming Art Design Chicago exhibitions, such as Up is Down.”

CHICAGO NOW: 9 Amazing Chicago Art tours for fall 2018 (October 18, 2018) “Join the co-curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof, and Greg Holderfield, the Director of the Segal Design Institute, for a tour of the exhibition Up Is Down: Mid-century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio, in which the trio share their perspectives on the groundbreaking design work of Morton and Millie Goldsholl.” - Carole Kuhrt Brewer STREETWISE: Up Is Down at The Block Museum (October 2018) “Visitors will see extremely familiar advertisements that were made right here in Chicago. Up is Down is an award-winning film, dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. Taking the title of this name combined with how the Goldsholls turned the advertising world upside down, Up is Down is a perfectly fitting moniker for this exhibit. ” PICTURE THIS POST: Exhibition Preview (October 25, 2018) “Up Is Down will include rarely seen films, as well as photography, glass slides, posters, print advertisements, and package design that tell the story of the creative life of the studio. The exhibition will highlight some of the iconic corporate logos designed by Morton Goldsholl and the firm and showcase prominent advertising campaigns by the firm ” SIXTY INCHES FROM THE CENTER: Installation View: Up is Down at The Block Museum (October 29, 2018) “Co-curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof discuss the legacy and impact of the Goldsholl Studio on design and advertising. The Block Museum’s Dan Silverstein elaborates on the detailed process required to produce such a tech-heavy exhibition, including how to find old tube televisions in the internet era. ” WBEZ NEWS: NPR Newscast (October 21, 2018) “Logos for Chicago companies like Motorola and Vienna Beef have become iconic but the creators of those designs have started to fade into history, but a new exhibition is trying to change that. - Logos for Chicago companies like Motorola and Vienna Beef have become iconic but the creators of those designs have started to fade into history, but a new exhibition is trying to change that.” - Carrie Shepard

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BLOCK STORIES | UP IS DOWN •

Ellen Lupton on design and innovation at the Goldsholl studio [Video] (Apr 22, 2019)

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“Up Is Down” exhibition catalogue receives 2019 AAMC Award for Excellence (May 13, 2019)

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Lights Up! Draw Down! Hands-on Design Lab at The Block Museum (Dec 3, 2018)

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Storytelling Series with Art Design Chicago: Amy Beste, Corinne Granof and Jan Tichy [Audio] (Nov 26, 2018)

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On the Real Film and Sixty Inches Explore the “Up Is Down” Installation Process [Video] (Nov 19, 2018)

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Making the Modern Image: Mid-Century Commercial Industry In Chicago (Nov 7, 2018)

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Exhibition Catalog Now Available: Up is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio (Oct 31, 2018)

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A Fascinating Paradox: EXPO Chicago Interview with “Up Is Down” curators Amy Beste and Corinne Granof (Oct 29, 2018)

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Only In Chicago: Thomas Dyja, Amy Beste, and Corinne Granof on the Goldsholl’s Design Legacy [Video] (Oct 17, 2018)

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Inside the Exhibition: Sneak Peak of “Up Is Down” Installation [Video] (Oct 1, 2018)

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Meet Mort and Millie – A Look Into the World of the Goldsholl Design Associates from Chicago Film Archives [Video] (Sep 25, 2018)

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Block Explores Legacy of Mid-Century Chicago Design Firm that Turned Advertising Upside Down (Sep 17, 2018)

Visitor views commercials by Goldsholl Associates on exhibition monitors

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Exhibition visitors view the film Night Driving

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Installation view Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization

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PAUL CHAN

HAPPINESS (FINALLY AFTER 35,00 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION July 17 – November 4, 2018 Alsdorf Gallery

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Installation view Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization

Paul Chan (b. Hong Kong, 1973) is an American artist, activist, writer, and publisher. His work reflects a strong commitment to the relation of politics and aesthetics, philosophy and popular culture, art and grassroots activism.

Created from 1999 to 2003, his first major artwork Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization presents a 15-minute looped digital Flash animation inspired by as much by the history of Utopian thought and the US invasion of Iraq as by Web 1.0 banner ads. Completed as part of his MFA degree at Bard College, Happiness also reflects Chan’s formative undergraduate years at the School of the Art Institute, where he first encountered the work of Chicago-based self-taught artist Henry Darger.

Darger’s beautiful and violent imagery runs throughout Happiness, which also cites the thought of radical 19th-century French socialist Charles Fourier. Chan’s invocations of Darger and Fourier summon the shared vitality and transgressive potential of “outsider art” and “outsider politics.”

Cyclical passages of lyricism and turmoil play out across the two sides of Chan’s ultra-widescreen canvas: his vivid colors, uncanny figures and infernal, sensuous landscapes give form to both the delight and the despair of civilization.

In Happiness, Chan communicates a sense of living through a pivotal passage in history, but one whose competing stories and larger horizons remain obscure. Viewed within an expanded view of Chan’s artistic, activist and literary practices in the years around the turn of the millennium, this exhibition captures feelings of possibility and of foreboding. Chan has built on the formal and social concerns that shaped Happiness over a career that has seen major solo exhibitions at the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Schaulager in Basel, and the Guggenheim in New York, where he received the Hugo Boss prize in 2014.

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GALLERY TALK

LUNCHTIME TOUR WITH MICHAEL METZGER JULY 18, 2018

Audiences joined exhibition co-curator Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts, for a lunchtime tour and discussion of the exhibition.

CONVERSATION

THE DEBT IS INFINITE: ON PAUL CHAN AND HIS OUTLIERS OCTOBER 3, 2018

Lynne Cooke, Senior Curator for Special Projects in Modern Art at the National Gallery in Washington, situated Chan’s approach to Darger within a longer history of the changing relationship between modern and self-taught art, which she explored in her landmark exhibition Outliers and American Vanguard Art (which toured to LACMA in November 2018). Exhibition co-curator Jim Hodge, Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at Northwestern, then reflected on these distinctions in an era when new media platforms have eroded the boundaries of what constitutes avant-garde and folk art. Block Media Arts Curator and exhibition co-curator Michael Metzger joined Cooke and Hodge to address the key themes of narrative and social transformation that bind Chan and Darger.

Presented by The Block Museum of Art in partnership with the Arts Club of Chicago.

Michael Metzger discusses the exhibition THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 92

An editioned work, Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization is part of the 2016 gift of 68 works of contemporary art to The Block Museum from art collector, philanthropist, and software innovator Peter Norton. The Block gift is one of a series of gifts Norton has made to university art museums throughout the country. The gifts were made in recognition and support of those institutions advancing innovative work to integrate art into teaching and learning across disciplines, foster creative museum practices, and engage audiences with diverse forms of contemporary art. This exhibition was funded through support from the Bernstein Family Contemporary Art Fund, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Mary and Leigh Block Endowment.

Curated by James J. Hodge, Northwestern Assistant Professor of English and the Humanities, and Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts at The Block Museum.

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CINEMA – October 25, 2018

BAGHDAD IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER In 2002, artist Paul Chan was working as a member of the Iraq Peace Team, formed by the Chicago-based activist group Voices in the Wilderness (now Voices for Creative Nonviolence), which was on the ground in Baghdad to protest the imminent Iraqi war. Chan captures the calm before the storm in this “ambient video essay,” with his focus on the routine work and leisure of the Iraqi people. Among the details that are exotic to western eyes, he reveals a shared humanity, one that is under threat of destruction. With Joe Proulx of VITW/VCNV in person.

Installation view Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization

BLOCK STORIES | PAUL CHAN •

The Debt Is Infinite: Discussing ‘Outlier’ Artists and the work of Paul Chan with curator Lynne Cooke [Video] (Oct 24, 2019)

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Collection Spotlight: Happiness (finally) after 35,000 years of civilization, Paul Chan (Apr 29, 2018)

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BREAK A RULE ED PASCHKE’S ART AND TEACHING September 18 – December 9, 2018 Katz Gallery 95 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

Installation view Break A Rule

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Installation view Break A Rule

Ed Paschke (1939–2004) often began his classes with the assignment to “break a rule.” A bold innovator who enjoyed disrupting conventions, Paschke mentored students at over two and a half decades at Northwestern University to think outside the box. His work and his teaching were devoted to experimentation, playful exploration of the human experience, and capturing “every manner of humanity.” This exhibition considers his teaching alongside his art, foregrounding his printmaking along with self-produced pedagogical materials, to offer a new perspective on this well-known Chicago artist.

The exhibit was organized around three tenets at the core of Ed Paschke’s teaching and artistic practices: learn the rules in order to break them, trust your instincts, and get out of your comfort zone.

While Paschke taught his students basic techniques in painting and drawing, he also encouraged them to break rules and create something entirely their own.

Paschke, who exhibited with the Chicago Imagists and gained recognition in the 1960s and 70s, is known for a range of subjects and characters often considered to be from the social margins. His own works also featured members of the many of Chicago’s various alternative communities, including strippers, burlesque dancers, Lucha Libre wrestlers, and boxers. However, he also sometimes took classic images, like a photograph of the head of the Sphinx, and experimented with color additions, adding symbols and patterns, and covered the original image to render it his own. The process of forging new ground required trusting one’s instincts, and Paschke noted that one challenge of teaching was encouraging intelligent students, accustomed to relying on logic, to break rules and trust their gut instinct. He also encouraged his students to get out of their comfort zone. This diversity and interaction he encouraged was in his words “the very pulse of life” and his attempt to capture it was central to his work. He often said that people loved his work or hated it, and either reaction was fine with him—as long as they were not indifferent.

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OPENING CONVERSATION

BREAK A RULE: ED PASCHKE’S ART AND TEACHING OCTOBER 10, 2018

We celebrated the opening of the exhibition Break a Rule: Ed Paschke’s Art and Teaching with an exploration of Paschke’s practice through the lenses of his former colleagues and students— including insights into Paschke’s work, his circle (the Hairy Who and Chicago Imagists), his reputation in Chicago and beyond. Artists Zach Buchner, William Conger, Antonia Contro and Anna Kunz discussed their personal experiences with Paschke as an innovative educator in a conversation moderated by Block Museum Fellow and exhibition curator Beth Derderian, a doctoral candidate in anthropology. This program was co-presented by Northwestern’s Block Museum of Art and Art, Theory, Practice, at Northwestern University and presented in conjunction with Art Design Chicago.

GALLERY TALK

EVERY MANNER OF HUMANITY: INSIDE THE EXHIBITION “BREAK A RULE” NOVEMBER 29, 2018

bold innovator who enjoyed disrupting conventions, Chicago artist Ed Paschke (1939–2004) mentored students for over two and a half decades to think outside the box. Block Museum Fellow Beth Derderian, doctoral candidate in anthropology, joined us for a discussion of Paschke’s teaching and artistic practices during a tour of the exhibition Break A Rule: Ed Paschke’s Art and Teaching.

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Antonio Contro discusses Ed Peschke’s work as an educator

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BLOCK STORIES | BREAK A RULE •

From The Studio to the Classroom: Ed Paschke as Painter / Professor (October 15, 2020)

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Collection Spotlight: Flamenco, Ed Paschke (October 8, 2020)

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Break A Rule: Artists Remember Ed Paschke as a Professor [Video] (November 14, 2020)

Exhibition curator Beth Derderian [center] in discussion

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Opening conversation of Break a Rule: Ed Paschke’s Art and Teaching

Funded through support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Norton S. Walbridge Fund. Works in the exhibition were from the collections of the Northwestern University Library Archives and The Block Museum of Art with generous loans from Marc Paschke and Sharon Paschke. Curated by 2018 -2019 Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow Beth Derderian. The Block’s annual interdisciplinary fellowship enables graduate students from any school or department across Northwestern University to work within the museum for a full academic year.

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colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

2019 ART THEORY AND PRACTICE MFA THESIS EXHIBITION May 2 – June 21, 2019 Alsdorf Gallery Every year The Block hosts the Master of Fine Arts degree candidates in the Department of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University for a spring exhibition—in which MFA candidates present their thesis work, concluding two years of intensive artistic development.

This year’s thesis exhibition, colorless green ideas sleep furiously., was accompanied by events, programming and a publication conceived by the graduate artists—shai-lee horodi, Hyun Jung Jun, Jessica Frances Martin, and Hamilton Poe.

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shai-lee horodi was born in 1993. She received her name in 2016. Her works are not about – and this text is not about them. Her native language offers no good translation for the word about.

Hyun Jung Jun (b.1989 Seoul, South Korea) currently lives and works in Chicago, IL where she received her BFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. Through various mediums including installation, sculpture, photography, drawing and performance, Jun’s work explores the relationship between body and landscape (culture, society, and nature) in everyday life. J Jessica Frances Martin’s painting practice is figurative, focused on women and the environments they exist in.

How as they merge with their environment they have more power over their image and the world they inhabit.

With a particular focus on narratives of fantasy, interiority, girl culture, and processes of transformation. Martin received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011.

Hamilton Poe (b.1986) studied Chinese and Visual Art at Bennington College. Poe’s art questions aesthetic structures based on claims of ‘genius’ that are commonplace in the reception of art by engaging with the quotidian ephemera of daily life: the materials and experiences that are not recognized as a part of artistic practice.

This exhibition and the associated events including a May 2, 2019 opening reception were co-organized by the Department of Art Theory and Practice and The Block Museum at Northwestern University. Support provided by the Norton S. Walbridge Fund; the Myers Foundations; the Jerrold Loebl Fund for the Arts; and the Alsdorf Endowment.

Installation views of colorless green ideas sleep furiously

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SPRINGBOARD

PROGRAMS

& CINEMA Beyond its exhibitions The Block is home to screenings and events that serve as sites of partnership, platforms for innovative scholarship, and springboards for discussion about contemporary life.

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Artist Fred Wilson at The Block

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CINEMA SERIES

COMPAÑERO: THE RADICAL LIFE AND FILMS OF RAYMUNDO GLEYZER Between 1963 and 1974, Argentinian insurgent filmmaker Raymundo Gleyzer made over a dozen documentaries and one narrative feature film, each one a powerful commentary on Latin American political and social realities. With his organization “Cine de la Base,” Gleyzer made and distributed films in pursuit of revolutionary change—until he was kidnapped in 1976 by Argentina’s military dictatorship and disappeared. Over two nights, The Block screened the director’s most radical and enduring films, joined by Juana Sapire, Gleyzer’s collaborator and biographer. This event was part of a touring retrospective of Raymundo Gleyzer’s films, organized by film critic and programmer Steve Macfarlane.

MEXICO: THE FROZEN REVOLUTION AND RAYMUNDO

OCTOBER 4, 2018

One of Gleyzer’s major works, Mexico: The Frozen Revolution also represents a high point of Latin American political cinema, offering both an ingeniously told history of the Mexican Revolution and a scathing indictment of the political corruption and bureaucracy that betrayed its ideals. Ardito and Molina’s 2003 documentary profiles Gleyzer’s life and legacy through rare footage and interviews with collaborators and comrades.

THE TRAITORS AND ME MATAN SI NO TRABAJO Y SI TRABAJO ME MATA

OCTOBER 5, 2018

Raymundo Gleyzer’s only narrative feature, Los Traidores (The Traitors) follows a union organizer as he falls prey to the corrupting influence of industrialists and Perónist government stooges. An innovative combination of fiction and documentary, The Traitors was perhaps too close to reality: the film is often cited as a catalyst for Gleyzer’s later abduction by the military regime. Shown with one of his final documentaries, an ironic yet forceful chronicle of a labor strike in a metallurgical factory.

CINEMA EVENT

REAR WINDOW WITH SOUND DESIGNER GARY RYDSTROM NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller is famous for its depiction of a certain kind of voyeuristic looking, but it also features one of the most fascinating soundtracks in Hollywood history.

The film lacks a traditional musical score, which allows other components of the soundtrack to be used and appreciated in a rare way. This special screening kicked off a year-long investigation of the film’s sound design, which culminated in a project-based course sponsored by the MA in Sound Arts and Industries entitled “Ear Window.” Seven time– Academy Award–winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom (Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, Jurassic Park, Ready Player One, Toy Story, Finding Nemo) introduced the film. Rydstrom is legendary for his artful use of sound to tell stories in film, and he is an expert on Hitchcock, making him an ideal presenter to open our ears to a new way of appreciating this classic film.

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Rear Window (1954)

Filmmaker Raymundo Gleyzer

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Wings of Desire (1987)

Rabbit a la Berlin (2009)

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CINEMA SERIES

MIGRATING BERLIN: MULTINATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON GERMANY’S YEARS OF REUNIFICATION Timed with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Northwestern doctoral candidates Evelyn Kreutzer and Esra Çimencioğlu presented a series of stylistically diverse films that shed new light on this crucial moment in European history. Migrating Berlin revealed fascinating “micro-histories” that unsettle established East/West narratives about this period of cultural and architectural transformation. With commentary by Northwestern faculty, visiting scholars, and filmmakers, these films demonstrated the urgency of returning to these neglected histories three decades on. Presented with promotional support from The Goethe Institut.

DUVARLAR-MAUERN-WALLS

JANUARY 25, 2019

In 1991, two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and during the 30th anniversary of the guest worker treaty between Turkey and Germany, Turkish filmmaker Can Candan interviewed members of Berlin’s Turkish community, the largest minority living in post-Wall Berlin, about their experiences of the German reunification. This trilingual documentary explores larger issues in this new Germany such as migration, guest workers, cultural identity, belonging, and xenophobia. (In Turkish, German, and English with English subtitles) In person: filmmaker Can Candan Presented with support from the Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program.

BERLIN BABYLON

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

After Germany’s reunification and the decision to relocate the country’s capital to Berlin in 1990, the city faced one of the most sweeping architectural transformations in Western European history. Renowned urban planners and architects were challenged to design a new, future-oriented city while also honoring a past almost erased during and after World War II. Using archival and original footage, Hubertus Siegert presents both a documentary as well as a critical and poetic meditation on history itself. (In German with English subtitles) Presented with support from the Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program.

RABBIT Á LA BERLIN AND WIR BLEIBEN HIER

FEBRUARY 15, 2019

The fall of the Berlin Wall affected many demographics in different ways, demanding people adjust to a new life in a post-communist world and reunified Germany. Bartek Konopka’s Oscar-nominated documentary, Rabbit à la Berlin, tells the allegorical story of Berlin’s wild rabbit population, which had inhabited the death zone of the Wall, and reflects on various forgotten, ignored, or marginalized peoples during and after the Cold War. Dirk Otto’s Wir bleiben hier (We’re staying here) is centered on the peculiar situation of Vietnamese immigrants in eastern Germany after the fall of the Wall. The largest immigrant group in an otherwise homogeneous East German population, they suddenly found themselves in an undefined limbo when their work and residence permits were not valid in the new Germany.

(In German with English subtitles)

WINGS OF DESIRE

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

In Wim Wenders’s iconic Berlin film Wings of Desire, two invisible angels (played by Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander) watch and listen in on the city’s diverse population. Wandering through the city, they encounter many different people and their intimate thoughts and feelings. Wings of Desire is an audio-visual tour de force of immense poetic power, with the ever-present Berlin Wall as an icon of grief. Often read as an allegorical precursor to Berlin’s reunification a few years later, the film figures the desire for human connection in a city of architectural and psychological isolation.

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CINEMA SERIES

WOMEN AT THE END OF THE WORLD Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel selected for Northwestern’s 2018–2019 campus-wide “One Book One Northwestern” program, this series brought together cinematic visions of dystopia and apocalypse featuring women at their center. Like Atwood’s novel, these four films all emerged in the mid-1980s, and all responded to the same political, ecological, and cultural anxieties that figure in The Handmaid’s Tale through their diverse voices and divergent approaches to narrative.

NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND

OCTOBER 17, 2018

In Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved animated film, the world has turned into a toxic wasteland in the fallout of global war.

Princess Nausicaä’s home, the Valley of the Wind, is one of the few places remaining green and untouched but becomes threatened by the mutated and destructive creatures of the post-apocalyptic world as well as by the dangerous ambitions of rivaling empires of humans. Even in this, his second film, Miyazaki’s trademark style and themes are well established, combining his imaginative vision with environmental concerns.

TESTAMENT

NOVEMBER 15, 2018

Lynne Littman’s Testament offers a personal, devastating, and subversively feminist account of societal collapse.

Narrating the ordeals of a suburban Bay Area family in the weeks after a large-scale nuclear attack, Testament measures the deepening crisis through the resilience of mother Carol (Jane Alexander) as she watches traditional figures of patriarchal authority crumble around her. Avoiding graphic violence, Littman instead explores the emotional toll of catastrophe through strong performances and brilliant editing.

BORN IN FLAMES

NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Set in an alternate-reality, socialist democratic United States, Lizzie Borden’s speculative fiction Born in Flames finds the country plagued by social injustice. This feminist classic is a low-budget, grassroots production, a reflection of a long-gone grungy yet vibrant downtown New York City. Made at the height of the Reagan years, it tackles sexism, racism, and homophobia in its intertwining narratives about two rival pirate radio stations run by women, a trio of female investigative reporters, and a government threatened by difference. Showing in a newly restored 35 mm print.

Preserved by Anthology Film Archives with restoration funding from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Film Foundation. Co-presented with the Northwestern Women’s Center, The Block welcomed filmmaker Lizzie Borden in person.

NIGHT OF THE COMET

DECEMBER 6, 2018

In this science fiction cult favorite, a near collision with a comet causes a catastrophe for the planet, killing most living creatures. The select few humans who survived unscathed band together, looking for other survivors while having to contend with the living dead. Filmmaker Thom Eberhardt wrote Night of the Comet around the premise of “valley girls at the end of the world,” and its mix of comedy, camp, and chills is gnarly indeed.

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Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Night of the Comet (1984)

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Birthright: A War Story (2017)

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Jane: An Abortion Service (1995)

CINEMA SERIES

REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS: GENDER, POWER, AND SOCIETY The Block continued its year-long series of programs inspired by One Book One Northwestern’s 2018–2019 selection, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, with films that engage the theme of reproduction. Programmed with the support of the Northwestern Women’s Center, Reproductive Systems brought together documentaries, narratives, and experimental films that interrogate the complex structures of social and biological reproduction and their effects on women’s lives.

JANE: AN ABORTION SERVICE

FEBRUARY 2, 2019

In the four years before the Roe v. Wade ruling made abortion legal in the United States, a clandestine organization of Chicago women offered low-cost, safe, and confidential services to over 11,000 women—the Jane Collective. This invaluable oral history tells that story through the words of women who founded, operated, and used the service.

Directors Kate Kirtz and Nell Lundy skillfully entwine archival footage and forthright testimony to situate Jane alongside parallel movements for peace and civil rights.

THE STEPFORD WIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Joanna Eberhart experiences a major culture clash when she moves from New York City to the all-too-perfect town of Stepford, Connecticut where the women all keep their houses immaculate and the men all belong to a secretive club.

Based on Ira Levin’s (Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys from Brazil) novel, The Stepford Wives’s blend of suspense and social critique paved the way for films and television like Black Mirror and Jordan Peele’s Get Out. The Stepford Wives was introduced by Helen Thompson, Northwestern Professor of English and faculty chair of One Book One Northwestern, discussed the film’s relationship to the Ira Levin novel on which it is based.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATIONS: A FEMINIST HISTORY OF THE SUPERCUT FEBRUARY 22, 2019 This screening traces histories of gendered reproductions in media through the form of the “Supercut.” A viral video genre, supercuts compile multiple instances of a single theme, utterance, cliché, or image from pop culture sources.

Pairing early feminist supercuts by artists such as Dara Birnbaum, with contemporary works by such artists as Natalie Bookchin and Jennifer Proctor, this program revealed how the supercut offers a powerful tool for remixing the social reproduction of gender in media from cinema to YouTube. Filmmaker Jennifer Proctor joined Professor of English James Hodge for a conversation after the screening.

BIRTHRIGHT: A WAR STORY

MARCH 8, 2019

While access to abortion is often front and center in debates, the matter of choice is just one factor in a broad assault on the privacy and autonomy of women. This searing documentary, described as a real-life “handmaid’s tale,” provides a comprehensive overview of the “war on women.” Anchored in the lived experiences of women whose access to reproductive healthcare has been regulated and restricted, the film builds on these testimonies to paint a shocking picture of the forces shaping women’s health policy. Director Civia Tamarkin introduced the film, and was joined by Sekile Nzinga-Johnson, Director of the Northwestern Women’s Center, for post-film discussion.

ILO ILO MARCH 9, 2019 Winner of the Camera d’Or award for best first feature at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Anthony Chen’s engrossing and empathetic drama Ilo Ilo tackles the emotional and socioeconomic complexities of care work in the age of globalization. The story centers on Teresa, a Filipina domestic worker hired by a Singaporean family just before the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Drawing on his own experiences, Chen looks incisively at inequities of class and gender in family dynamics and the delegation of domestic labor. (In Hokkien, English, Tagalog, and Mandarin with English subtitles) THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 112

CINEMA SERIES

VISUAL PLEASURES: THE WORK AND PLAY OF WOMEN’S LIBERATION 2018-2019’s One Book One Northwestern selection, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, imagines how the hard-fought economic and sexual freedoms won by the women’s movement might be stripped away. Co-presented with One Book, the Northwestern Women’s Center, the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and the Sexualities Project at Northwestern (SPAN), the films in this series manifested those freedoms in both form and content.

AUTO-EROTIC: FEMALE SEXUALITY IN THE FIRST PERSON

APRIL 17, 2019

Curated by Northwestern professors Amy Partridge and Helen Thompson, this program brought together three daring works of film and video that forged new paths towards women’s sexual self-representation on screen.

Carolee Schneemann’s classic Fuses (1967), remains one of experimental film’s most uncompromising evocations of intimacy. The Continuing Story of Carel and Ferd (1970–75) offers an early use of video as a medium for confession and confrontation. The late Chicago artist Barbara DeGenevieve playfully deconstructs the motives behind her affair with a truck driver in Desperado (2004–06).

...IS NEVER DONE: FILMS ON GENDER AND LABOR

MAY 3, 2019

Block Cinema welcomed Channels: A Quarterly Film Series, organized by local film programmers Josh B. Mabe and Erin Nixon. This program featured filmmakers that consider structures of the workplace, gendered labor, and the issues surrounding work and class.

LOSING GROUND

MAY 22

With the release of Losing Ground and the publication of her writings, the work of Kathleen Collins is one of the great discoveries of the last decade. Collins died at age 46 in 1988, leaving behind two films and a vast trove of short stories, diaries, and screenplays; a rich artistic legacy exploring the African-American experience. In Losing Ground, Collins tells the semi-autobiographical story of a college professor (Seret Scott) and her painter husband (Bill Gunn), whose marriage is tested by his disregard for her career, flirtatious behavior on both sides, and jealousy as they summer away from the city.

BARBARA HAMMER: MEDIATED SENSUALITY

APRIL 19, 2019

Since the late 1960s, lesbian experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer has restlessly challenged the limits of the visible, pushing against the formal, social, and sexual boundaries of cinema. This program of films (including newly restored prints) showcased Hammer’s ability to translate embodied experience through expressive technique.

Includes Dyketactics (1974), Sync Touch (1981), Vital Signs (1991), and others.

BARBARA HAMMER: DECLARATIONS OF IDENTITY

APRIL 19, 2019

The second program dedicated to Barbara Hammer’s pioneering work includes recent Academy Film Archive and Electronic Arts Intermix restorations of Menses (1974), Superdyke (1975) and Audience (1983). Hammer’s overlapping identities as a queer woman, artist and activist coalesce in films that capture feminist and lesbian social movements in public and private, transforming the act of documentation into jubilation. Curated by KJ Relth and Mark Toscano. In person UCLA Film & Television Archive programmer and curator KJ Relth.

9 TO 5

JUNE 5, 2019

The film 9 to 5 remains a classic for many reasons: its top-tier cast, catchy theme, and the powerful way it blends comedy with a rallying cry for working women. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton’s characters fight against the patriarchy to enact progressive ideas.

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Fuses (1967)

Barbara Hammer

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For All Mankind (1989)

Dirty Looks LA

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City of Lost Souls (1983)

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CELEBRATING QUEER CINEMA CITY OF LOST SOULS

APRIL 4, 2019

Like Hedwig in reverse, this 1983 trans punk musical is the instant cult classic you’ve never seen! Blurring the lines between farce and documentary, City follows the wily performances of trans punk legend Jayne County and Angie Stardust, who runs a boarding house where her lodgers—Tron Von Hollywood, Tara O’Hara, Joaquín la Habana, Judith Flex, and Gary—earn their keep. German film enfant terrible Rosa von Praunheim trained his lens on the genderdefying Americans who sought refuge in Berlin’s 80s club scene, catching some of the most honest and alarmingly prescient dialogue about trans life ever dedicated to celluloid in the process.

DIRTY LOOKS LA: EIGHT YEARS ON

APRIL 5, 2019

Dirty Looks compiled eight years of experimental screenings for a shorts program of signature delights that queer the pop canon and (under)mine history for all of her unanswered questions. Ranging from digital drag revisionism to post-bohemian celluloid, Dirty Looks: Eight Years On reassessed the past through a fiercely queer and politicized lens, asking “who brought us here?” and “where are we now?” This screening spun circles around contemporary queer subjectivities, snarling with a punk zeal and a utopian demand for more. In person: Dirty Looks LA founder and curator Bradford Nordeen. Presented by The Block Museum and Northwestern’s Queer Pride Graduate Student Association and the Sexualities Project at Northwestern (SPAN)

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SPACE PROGRAMS: VIEWS OF EARTH ACROSS THE IRON CURTAIN Seen from space, the Earth depicted in the legendary “Blue Marble” photograph suggested a planetary unity belied by the deep schism between East and West during the Cold War. As it celebrated Earth Day on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Block Cinema brought together three breathtaking films by American, Polish, and Armenian filmmakers that revisit the conquest of space from across this once-unbridgeable divide.

OUR CENTURY AND STATE OF WEIGHTLESSNESS

APRIL 18,2019

Armenian filmmaker Artavazd Peleshian created a small but astounding body of work from the 1960s to the early 90s, including Our Century, his only feature. Here, Peleshian applies his unique conception of “distance montage” to footage of Soviet cosmonauts, using the space program to find a poetic evocation of the human condition. Maciej Drygas’s film State of Weightlessness also takes Soviet space exploration as its subject, combining contemporary interviews with cosmonauts and archival footage to look at both the tedious realities of space flight (brushing one’s teeth in zero gravity) and the larger cosmic implications.

Presented with support from the Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program.

FOR ALL MANKIND

APRIL 19, 2019

In July 2019, it was a half century since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Nothing since has captured the worldwide excitement of this technological “leap for mankind.” For All Mankind was a passion project; Al Reinert taped 80 hours of interviews with the astronauts, and he and editor Susan Korda edited millions of feet of film from nine Apollo missions into a tight 79 minutes. The end result is not a documentation of a single event or even the NASA program as a whole; it’s a deeply moving celebration of mankind’s great adventure into space. Brian Eno’s score captures the feeling of wonder, joy, and levity seen in the images.

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PERSONAL ARCHIVES, POLITICAL MEMORIES: RADICAL PAST IN CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENTARY As activists around the world revisit the successes and failures of earlier political movements, a new wave of documentaries and essay films has begun to look beyond official archives, recovering lost, forgotten, and unseen images to tell stories of struggle. Whether incorporating family photos, home movies, or decades-old documents of protest, the films in this series explored turbulent histories through a distinctly personal lens.

SPELL REEL

APRIL 25, 2019

Freedom fighter Amílcar Cabral commissioned a group of young filmmakers to document the independence movement in late 1960s Guinea-Bissau; lost for decades, their footage was recently restored. Portuguese artist Filipa César collaborates with the surviving filmmakers to tour the material around Guinea-Bissau, staging public screenings with live narration and discussion. Recovering layers of history behind these images, César and her collaborators also expose a yearning for African self-determination that persists today. Presented with an introduction by Sarah Estrela, doctoral candidate in Art History at Northwestern.

THE WALDHEIM WALTZ

MAY 11, 2019

In 1985, the Austrian presidential campaign of former UN General Secretary Kurt Waldheim was disrupted by shocking allegations that the candidate had hidden the true extent of his participation in Nazi war crimes in Greece and Serbia. Director Ruth Beckermann methodically recounts the revelations and denials through news reports, archival interviews with the unrepentant Waldheim, and her own trove of videotapes shot as part of the left-wing opposition against him. Exposing a lingering anti-Semitism that plagued Austria long after the end of the war, The Waldheim Waltz offers chilling lessons for the present.

NAILA AND THE UPRISING

MAY 18, 2019

This galvanizing 2017 documentary turns a spotlight on the role of Palestinian women in leading non-violent protests against the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank in the late 1980s. The film is centered around the experiences of Naila Ayesh, an activist whose arrest and torture by Israeli forces coincided with the first stirrings of the uprising.

Bacha builds upon her firsthand testimony through animated sequences, family dialogues with Naila’s son Majd, and remarkable archival material. In person: Suhad Babaa, the film’s Executive Producer and Executive Director of Just Vision

THE IMAGE YOU MISSED

MAY 30, 2019

Arthur MacCaig spent thirty years documenting the Troubles in Northern Ireland, leaving behind an archive of searing footage. In The Image You Missed, his estranged son, filmmaker Donal Foreman, recovers this material to reflect on the personal and political conflicts that came between them, and the commitment to filmmaking that brings them together after his death. Foreman’s poignant, brilliantly edited essay film raises difficult questions about the nature of family, representation, and activism both then and now. In person: filmmaker Donal Foreman

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The Image You Missed (2018)

Naila and the Uprising (2017)

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Minding the Gap (2018)

Call Her Ganda (2018)

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Distant Constellation (2017)

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NEW DOCS The Block Museum’s ongoing New Docs series, presented with the MFA in Documentary Media, welcomes brand-new documentaries with filmmakers in person.

MINDING THE GAP

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship. Minding the Gap had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where the film earned the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking. Variety listed first-time director Bing Liu as one of ‘10 Documentarians to Watch in 2018’. Chicago-based filmmaker Bing Liu participated in a Q&A following the screening.

DISTANT CONSTELLATION

NOVEMBER 9, 2018

Photographer-turned-filmmaker Shevaun Mizrahi profiles the inhabitants of a retirement home in Istanbul in this intimate documentary, which won major prizes at the Venice and Locarno international film festivals. In beautifullycomposed close-ups and long takes, her subjects ruminate and reminisce as the city transforms around them. The work of an exciting new voice in film, Distant Constellation offers a sensitive, subtle meditation on aging, history, and memory. Co-presented with the Keyman Modern Turkish Studies program.

THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

A filmmaker digs into tales of surveillance inside her Arab neighborhood in Chicago’s south suburbs and discovers that her hometown was the subject of the largest FBI terrorism investigation conducted before 9/11. The Feeling of Being Watched follows a filmmaker’s personal journey to discover the truth about why her community fell under blanket government surveillance and asks: is it still happening? Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian-American journalist and filmmaker based in Chicago. She has reported for the BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, VICE, CNN and was the recipient of a first place Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. This event was a co-presentation of The Block Museum of Art, the MFA in Documentary Media, Muslim-cultural Student Association, the Global Politics and Religion Research Group of the Buffett Institute for Global Studies.

CALL HER GANDA

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

This documentary examines the 2014 murder of Jennifer Laude, a transgender Filipina woman killed by an American Marine, and the struggle for justice waged by her family, friends, lawyers, and investigative journalist Meredith Talusan. Confronting homophobia, colonialism, and the unjust laws of jurisdiction enjoyed by American armed forces in the Philippines, Call Her Ganda tells a powerful story with ingenuity and compassion. Director PJ Raval was joined in conversation after the screening with a representative from GABRIELA National Alliance of Women and Julian Glover, from NU’s Gender & Sexuality Studies program. Co-presented by The Block Museum with the Northwestern University MFA in Documentary Media, the Northwestern University Women’s Center, Northwestern University Gender & Sexuality Studies program, the Northwestern Asian American Studies Program, and GABRIELA National Alliance of Women.

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HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

This insightful, moving, and visually breathtaking documentary offers a glimpse into the emotional geography of African American lives in the South. Director RaMell Ross, an accomplished photographer and writer, was coaching youths in rural Alabama when he met Daniel and Quincey, two young men whose diverging paths into adulthood provide the inspiration for Hale County. Edited with a lyrical, rather than narrative sensibility, Hale County This Morning, This Evening has been celebrated as a creative breakthrough in nonfiction filmmaking, garnering major awards at Sundance and the Full Frame Film Festival. In person: filmmaker RaMell Ross.

CRIME + PUNISHMENT

MARCH 7, 2019

Stephen Maing’s powerful documentary follows NYPD officers who fought against the department’s illegal quota system which disproportionately affects communities of color. While the film is focused on a single department in a particular part of the country, the film’s subjects provide a glimpse into the much larger need for justice reform in the United States. In person: filmmaker Stephen Maing.

MADE IN CHICAGO: THE AREA

MAY 16, 2019

The Area is a new documentary telling a story that’s well known to many. It follows the five-year odyssey of a South Side Chicago neighborhood, where more than 400 African-American families are being displaced by a multibilliondollar freight company. The film is told through the perspective of its residents: homeowner-turned-activist Deborah Payne, who vows to be “the last house standing,” and the Row Row Boys, teen friends who must start a new life across gang lines. In person: filmmaker David Schalliol, protagonist/producer Deborah Payne, and producer Brian Ashby

NU DOCS 2019

JUNE 12-14, 2019

Northwestern University’s MFA in Documentary Media Program was proud to present the thesis films of its fourth graduating class. Audiences joined us to watch a selection of new short documentaries, to engage in dialogue with the filmmakers, and to celebrate their accomplishments. This free, three-night event gave audience members a chance to discover the next generation of filmmakers who are making exciting films and tackling a wide range of topics.

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Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)

Crime + Punishment (2018)

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The Block was proud to continue its tradition of hosting NU DOCS, the showcase of graduating filmmakers from the MFA in Documentary Media Program. Each night of NU Docs features a selection of new short documentaries, with the opportunity to engage with the makers and celebrate their accomplishments. Previous thesis films have gone on to play such prestigious festivals as Locarno, Slamdance, New Directors/New Films, AFI Docs, IDFA, et al.

Sponsored in part by Northwestern’s School of Communication, The Department of Radio-TV-Film, Jane Steiner Hoffman and Michael Hoffman, and The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art.

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Tony Cokes, Evil, Mediation, and Power (2018)

Nathaniel Dorsky

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Rogers Park (2017)

CINEMA SELECTS SPECIAL EVENTS THE ARBORETUM CYCLE

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

Since the 1960s, experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky has been making a distinctive and stunning body of work.

His silent 16 mm films are lyrical explorations of the world around him, focused on the textures, colors, and rhythms of everyday objects and movements. His sharp eye for details reveals the small moments of beauty and wonder to be found everywhere, if one would simply take the time to look. The Arboretum Cycle is comprised of seven of Dorsky’s films, all completed in 2017, and charts “the world of light and plants” over the course of a year. Filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky in person.

MADE IN CHICAGO: ROGERS PARK

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

Filmmaker and Associate Professor of Radio, Television, and Film Kyle Henry’s New York Times Critics’ Pick Rogers Park captures the life, diversity, and flavor of the northside Chicago neighborhood in its story of two couples as they attempt to keep their relationships afloat. Henry and screenwriter Carlos Treviño crafted a film that is both universal in its characters’ raw and authentic emotional lives and a specific and rich portrait of a little-seen corner of the city. Director Henry, writer Treviño, and actors in person. Co-presented by the Northwestern Department of Radio, Television, and Film.

EYEWORKS FESTIVAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION 2018

NOVEMBER 10, 2018

Called “the premier presenter of avant-garde animation from around the world” by Hyperallergic, Eyeworks is a curated festival that showcases abstract animation and unconventional character animation. The 2018 Eyeworks Festival at Block Cinema featured two programs of short films, including restorations, works from rising names in the field, and premieres of new works. The program also screened in Los Angeles and New York City.

SECURITY SOUND AND VISION: TONY COKES

JANUARY 16, 2019

In conjunction with the 2018–2019 Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Dialogue on the subject of “security.” The Block Museum welcomed acclaimed video artist Tony Cokes for a screening and discussion. Since the late 1980s, Cokes’s work has addressed questions of security by critiquing state-imposed forms of visibility, with a particular emphasis on marginalized communities and media technologies in the post-9/11 “War on Terror.” Drawing on his groundbreaking Evil series (2004–present), this screening explores the frictions between pop music and critical theory, political outrage and post conceptual cool, oppressive regimes of visuality and the subversive subcultures of electronic music. Presented by The Block Museum with the support of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities.

MADE IN CHICAGO: PRINCESS CYD

MARCH 1, 2019

As a child, Cyd lost her mother. Years later, while preparing to apply for college, she moves in with her aunt in Chicago for the summer. As the summer passes by, Cyd gets wrapped up in her aunt’s life while exploring her own identity.

Writer/director (and Northwestern faculty member) Stephen Cone lends a deeply personal and sensitive perspective to his entry in the coming-of-age drama genre. In person: filmmaker Stephen Cone and crew from the film

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WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Droll, deadpan, and deliberate, Tsai Ming-Liang’s What Time Is It There? was instantly recognized upon its 2001 release as a landmark of contemporary world cinema and has only grown in poignancy since. The film follows parallel stories of isolation and longing in an era of globalization. Hsiao Kang is a street vendor living with his recently widowed mother in Taipei; Shiang-Chyi is a young woman who buys a dual-time watch from him before traveling to Paris. As Hsiao Kang begins to obsessively change every clock he sees to Paris time, Shiang-Chyi struggles to find human connection in an unfamiliar city. Tsai’s laconic, long-take style yields rich rewards for attentive viewers, delivering gorgeous images, wry humor, and a rare depth of feeling. Corey Byrnes, Assistant Professor of Modern Chinese Culture at Northwestern University, introduced the film.

A BREAD FACTORY

MAY 4, 2019

Supported for decades by community funding, a modest arts space in small-town New York suddenly finds its future in question when a group of art-world celebrities and their corporate backers propose a performance space nearby.

In his third feature, director Patrick Wang recaptures the risk-taking spirit of classic independent cinema, cleverly weaving themes of gentrification, aging, and the bonds of community into a hilarious, casually epic two-part satire.

Between tap-dancing techies, teenage journalists, and two-timing city councilmen, A Bread Factory captures the bittersweet reality of American public life with compassion and conviction. With intermission

SECURITY SOUND AND VISION: RUBBER COATED STEEL AND WATCHING THE DETECTIVES FRIDAY, MAY 17 Presented in conjunction with the 2018-2019 Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Dialogue, the two films in this program applied minimalist techniques to the forensic examination of sound and vision, deconstructing deceptive images of security. British-Jordanian artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan stages an intricate relay of sound and image to investigate the use of live ammunition in crowd control by Israel Defense Forces in Rubber Coated Steel. Chris Kennedy’s Watching the Detectives uses text and still images to reconstruct the mistaken efforts of the amateur social-media sleuths who sought to identify the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing. In person: filmmaker Chris Kennedy

BRANCO SAI, PRETO FICA (WHITE OUT, BLACK IN)

MAY 31, 2019

An act of racialized police brutality against attendees of a dance club near Brasília in 1986, an artist in a postapocalyptic world, and a time-traveling detective who arrives in a modified shipping container on a mission to determine the causes of the inequity: these three elements make up Branco Sai, Preto Fica, a hybrid film using many genres and forms to interrogate the politics of Brazil. The tropes of dystopian science fiction are used to portray the real-life disparity between those who build the cities and those who get to live in them.

LA POLITIQUE DES AUTRES: SHORT FILMS BY AGNÈS VARDA

JULY 11, 2019

This two-part program was organized by Block Cinema in Evanston, filmfront in Pilsen, and the Cultural Service at the Consulate of France in Chicago, with independent programmer Kathleen Sachs. The event gathered together nine of Agnes Varda’s short films from the 1950s to the 1980s. With the support of the Cultural Service at the Consulate General of France in Chicago.Prints Courtesy of the Institut français in Paris.

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Rogers Park (2017)

Agnes Varda

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Dorothy Burge of Chicago Torture Justice Memorials speaks during Walls Turned Sideways

CONVERSATION

WALLS TURNED SIDEWAYS: ARTISTS CONFRONT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM OCTOBER 18, 2018

Audiences joined us for a moderated conversation with Chicago artists committed to justice and to using art as a mechanism for change. Mary Patten and Dorothy Burge of Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, Kevin Kaempf of Lucky Pierre, and Sarah Ross and Eric Blackmon of Prison and Neighborhood Arts Project spoke to their work both as individuals and in collaboration, followed by dialogue moderated by Risa Puleo, Ph.D. Candidate in Art History and curator of the 2019 exhibition Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System, at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston including work by these artists/collectives and 40 others nationally.

This event kicked off the annual Imagining America gathering on art and justice, Transformative Imaginations: Decarceration and Liberatory Futures, which took place in Chicago October 19 – 21.

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LITOWITZ READING

POETRY READING WITH TYEHIMBA JESS JANUARY 31, 2019

Tyehimba Jess read from his Pulitzer Prize–winning poetry collection, Olio (2016), which presents the sweat and story behind America’s blues, work songs, and church hymns. Part fact, part fiction, the book weaves sonnet, song, and narrative to examine the lives of mostly unrecorded African-American performers. Olio is an effort to understand how they met, resisted, complicated, co-opted, and sometimes defeated attempts to minstrelize them. Tyehimba Jess’s first book of poetry, leadbelly, was a winner of the 2004 National Poetry Series. Library Journal and Black Issues Book Review both named it one of the “Best Poetry Books of 2005.” Olio, his second collection, was published by Wave Books in 2016 and received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

Presented by the Litowitz Creative Writing Graduate Program.

Tyehimba Jess at The Block

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LECTURE SERIES

DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY WARNOCK LECTURE SERIES We were proud to continue our partnership with Northwestern’s Department of Art History for the presentation of the ongoing Warnock Lecture series

RACHEL HAIDU: THE SHAPE OF THE SELF

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

Audiences joined Rachel Haidu, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Rochester, for a discussion of her scholarship focusing on national identity and the public sphere, and her research on resurgent notions of selfhood in contemporary art. Haidu’s first book, The Absence of Work: Marcel Broodthaers, 1964–1976, was published by October Books (2010).

JOANNE PILLSBURY: AZTECS IN THE EMPIRE CITY

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Audiences joined Joanne Pillsbury, Andrall E. Pearson Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for a discussion of the civic, national, and scholarly currents affecting the collection of ancient American art in the Gilded Age and the Met’s approach to collecting and exhibiting ancient American Art between 1877 and 1914.

KISHWAR RIZVI: SHAH ‘ABBAS’ IRAN AND GLOBAL EARLY MODERNITY

MAY 1, 2019

Kishwar Rizvi, professor at Yale University, delivered a talk focused on the “golden age” of Iranian art and culture under the reign of Shah ‘Abbas, highlighting the central role the Islamic world played in global exchange, whether of people, ideas, or commodities.

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The Warnock lecture series convenes at The Block

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Left to right: Kyle Delaney, Josh Leonard, Megan Crowley-Matoka, Dario Robleto, Julius Lucks, Danielle Tullman-Ercek, and Susy Bielak

CONVERSATION

EXPLORING ETHICS: ACROSS ART, HUMANITIES, AND SCIENCE MAY 8, 2019

For many artists, researchers, and scientists investigating life—whether working with human remains, studying organ donation, or re-engineering the genetic code—ethical considerations inevitably appear. Questions of consent and personal autonomy, control and access, social responsibility and human rights proliferate across areas of research that work with living subjects. How do professionals in these fields identify, draw inspiration from, and respond to ethical questions within their work? In this program bridging disciplinary divides, artist Dario Robleto; synthetic biologists Josh Leonard, Julius Lucks, and Danielle Tullman-Ercek; and medical anthropologist Megan Crowley-Matoka shared specific dilemmas they’ve encountered in their own work—and discussed commonalities and differences that could lead to new ways of addressing contemporary ethical concerns.

This event was part of the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and The Block Museum of Art’s Artist-at-Large Program, and McCormick’s ongoing Art and Engineering Initiative.

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READING

LESLEY NNEKA ARIMAH MAY 15, 2019

As part of the 2019 Spring Writer Festival, audiences joined writer Lesley Nneka Arimah, whose debut story collection, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (Riverhead, 2017), offers a “humanizing portrait of both the Nigerian citizen and first generation young female immigrant” Evocative, wrenching, and subversive, this dazzlingly accomplished collection explores the ties that bind us–parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends–to one another and to the places we call home.

Presented by the Northwestern Department of English Creative Writing Program and in conjunction with the Evanston Literary Festival.

Author Lesley Nneka Arimah at The Block

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FAMILY STORYTELLING:

TALES OF ART AT THE BLOCK NOVEMBER 3, 2018 /DECEMBER 1, 2018 / FEBRUARY 16, 2019/ MARCH 9, 2019

Museums are full of stories. Young audiences joined The Block Museum docent team on Saturday mornings throughout the year for read-aloud story zones and interactive activities designed to help them look closer and think deeper about the art on view at the museum. Families were invited to discover the stories hidden beneath the surface of the art at The Block and invent their own.

STUDENT RECEPTION

WILDCAT WELCOME SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

The Block hosted a reception for new students as part of Wildcat Welcome, the orientation program that all new students experience together. The program involves activities that foster community, inspire school pride, and prepare students to start fall classes.

STUDENT RECEPTION

HOMECOMING FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL OCTOBER 9, 2018

The Block joined with the Northwestern Arts Circle and the Office of Alumni Relations and Development to host a celebration of arts, music, and Purple Pride during homecoming weekend.

AlUMNI RECEPTION

A DAY WITH NORTHWESTERN APRIL 13 , 2019

For more than 45 years, A Day with Northwestern has drawn more than 400 alumni, students, parents, and friends for a full day of presentations and lectures on timely topics from prominent Northwestern faculty and alumni. Attendees choose from 14 different lectures—on the arts, science, business, journalism, medicine, and more— to personalize their class schedules and enjoy engaging discussions with fellow alumni and friends. The Block was honored to invite alumni for a special visit to Caravans of Gold.

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Jimmie Fails and Joe Talbot in conversation with E. Patrick Johnson

CONVERSATION

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO JUNE 11, 2019

Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Joined on his quest by his best friend Mont, Jimmie searches for belonging in a rapidly changing city that seems to have left them behind. As he struggles to reconnect with his family and reconstruct the community he longs for, his hopes blind him to the reality of his situation. A wistful odyssey populated by skaters, squatters, street preachers, playwrights, and other locals on the margins, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a poignant and sweeping story of hometowns and how they’re made—and kept alive—by the people who love them. The Block hosted a special screening of the newly released film with writer/director Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails in conversation with professor E. Patrick Johnson.

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BLOCK STORIES | CINEMA AND PROGRAMS •

Artist-at-Large Dario Robleto discusses ethics with experts across fields [Video] (June 11, 2019)

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Fred Wilson explores Afro Turk identities in “Afro Kismet” [Video] (May 6, 2019)

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Judith Arcana, Reproductive Rights Pioneer, in Conversation [Audio] (April 3, 2019)

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Artist Michael Rakowitz on counter-histories and drawing inspiration from fragments (March 20, 2019)

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Pulitzer Prize-winning poet brings stories of African-American creatives to life [Audio] (February 11, 2019)

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Filmmaker Talkback: Nathaniel Dorsky on “The Arboretum Cycle” (November 1, 2018)

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Filmmaker’s Talkback: Director Kyle Henry and Writer Carlos Treviño on “Rogers Park” (October 22, 2018)

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Close looking in The Block’s Eloise Martin Study Center

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Every year The Block hosts the Master of Fine Arts degree candidates in the Department of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University for a spring exhibition—in which MFA candidates present their thesis work, concluding two years of intensive artistic development. This year’s thesis exhibition, colorless green ideas sleep furiously., is accompanied by events, programming and a publication conceived by the graduate artists—shai-lee horodi, Hyun Jung Jun, Jessica Frances Martin, and Hamilton Poe. shai-lee horodi was born in 1993. She received her name in 2016. Her works are not about – and this text is not about them. Her native language offers no good translation for the word about.

Hyun Jung Jun (b.1989 Seoul, South Korea) currently lives and works in Chicago, IL where she received her BFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. Through various mediums including installation, sculpture, photography, drawing and performance, Jun’s work explores the relationship between body and landscape (culture, society, and nature) in everyday life. Jun’s work has been included in various exhibitions across Chicago and has participated in the Alchemy residency in Ontario, Canada and the Vermont Studio Center residency in Johnson, VT. Jessica Frances Martin’s painting practice is figurative, focused on women and the environments they exist in. How as they merge with their environment they have more power over their image and the world they inhabit. With a particular focus on narratives of fantasy, interiority, girl culture, and processes of transformation. Martin received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011.

Hamilton Poe (b.1986) studied Chinese and Visual Art at Bennington College. Poe’s art questions aesthetic structures based on claims of ‘genius’ that are commonplace in the reception of art by engaging with the quotidian ephemera of daily life: the materials and experiences that are not recognized as a part of artistic practice. He has shown work at Cranbrook Art Museum, The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

This exhibition and the associated events are co-organized by the Department of Art Theory and Practice and the Block Museum at Northwestern University. Support provided by the Norton S. Walbridge Fund; the Myers Foundations; the Jerrold Loebl Fund for the Arts; and the Alsdorf Endowment.

2018-2019

THE BLOCK COLLECTION

ACQUISITIONS & LOANS

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2018-2019

ACQUISITIONS

After Robert The (American, b. 1961) The End from the series Norton Family Christmas Project 2018 1 × 14 × 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of John Silberman, CAS ‘73 2019.3.2

Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Path of a Moving Ball 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.6

Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Beams of Light Through Glass 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.1

Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Pendulum Swing 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.7

Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Collision of Two Balls 1959/60, printed 1982 18 5/8 × 15 7/8 inches Gelatin silver print Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.2 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Cycloid 1959/60, printed 1982 4 3/8 × 19 3/8 inches Gelatin silver print Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.3 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Magnetic Field 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 17 5/16 × 23 1/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.4 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Magnetic Field 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 19 1/2 × 15 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.5

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Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Soap Bubbles 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.8 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Spinning Wrench 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.9 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Swinging Ball 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.10 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991) The Science Pictures: Water Pattern 1959/60, printed 1982 Gelatin silver print 15 × 19 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.11

Dawoud Bey (American, b. 1953) Untitled #17 (Forest) from the series Night Coming Tenderly, Black 2017 Gelatin silver print 44 × 55 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase funds provided by Susan and Richard Rieser 2019.4 Kwame Brathwaite (American, b. 1938) Untitled (Nomsa Brath with earrings designed by Carolee Prince) 1964, printed 2017 Inkjet print 30 × 30 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Allen‑Niesen Family: Kim, Keith, Kelsey, and Kyle 2019.13.1 Kwame Brathwaite (American, b. 1938) Untitled (Grandassa Models, Merton Simpson Gallery) ca. 1967, printed 2017 Inkjet print 30 × 30 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Allen‑Niesen Family: Kim, Keith, Kelsey, and Kyle 2019.13.2 Peter Coffin (American, b. 1972) Untitled (Spiral Pop‑Up Photo Album) from the series Norton Family Christmas Project 2006 Leather‑bound pop‑up photo album with found photographs Closed: 1 × 12 × 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of John Silberman, CAS ‘73 2019.3.1

“Brathwaite’s signature style presents the models simultaneously as natural and stylized.

Setting them against soft, white backgrounds, he emphasizes their facial features and expressions, their staged postures, and the details of their accessories and clothing. . Depicting the models in this visual context poses an ambivalent confrontation with Western museum exhibition practices, the oppressive legacy of representation, while also empowering its subjects.”

– Evelyn Kreutzer, Graduate Fellow THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 142

Emmanuel Bakary Daou (Malian, b. 1960) Campagne de lavement des mains from the series Le temps Ebola 2014 19 11/16 × 29 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase 2018.10.1

Emmanuel Bakary Daou (Malian, b. 1960) Centre Opérationel d’urgence Bamako from the series Le temps Ebola 2014 11 13/16 × 17 11/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase 2018.10.3

Emmanuel Bakary Daou (Malian, b. 1960) Centre Opérationel d’urgence Bamako from the series Le temps Ebola 2014 11 13/16 × 17 11/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase 2018.10.5

Emmanuel Bakary Daou (Malian, b. 1960) Campagne de lavement des mains from the series Le temps Ebola 2014 11 13/16 × 17 11/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase 2018.10.2

Emmanuel Bakary Daou (Malian, b. 1960) Centre Opérationel d’urgence Bamako from the series Le temps Ebola 2014 11 13/16 × 17 11/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase 2018.10.4

Emmanuel Bakary Daou (Malian, b. 1960) Stop Ebola from the series Le temps Ebola 2014 19 11/16 × 29 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase 2018.10.6

“Le temps Ebola is a series of photographs by Bamako-based photographer Emmanuel Bakary Daou that comprise a haunting and unsettling evocation of a fictional Ebola outbreak in Mali’s capital city, Bamako. In these impactful images, Daou calls on his training as a photojournalist to capture moments that appear strangely realistic.”

– Essi Rönkkö, Assistant Curator of Collections 143 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

ACQUISITIONS

2018-2019

“So many trans-related stories in the media are about people being murdered or are about discrimination of some kind. With this project, I wanted to create representations of many different ways of living and aging as a trans person. I also wanted to record the history of people who, in many cases, paved the road for the world we live in now. I worried their stories were at risk of being lost of forgotten, and I wanted to record and preserve them.”

– Jess Dugan, artist

Jess Dugan (American b. 1986) & Vanessa Fabbre (American, b. 1978) To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults Portfolio of photographs and interview texts 2018 20 × 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, The Block Friends of Art Fund purchase 2019.2.1–12

Sky, 64, Palm Springs, CA, 2016 SueZie, 51, and Cheryl, 55, Valrico, FL, 2015 Gloria, 70, Chicago, IL, 2016 Bobbi, 83, Detroit, MI, 2014 Hank, 76, and Samm, 67, North Little Rock, AR, 2015 Jay, 59, New York, NY, 2015 Justin Vivian, 54, New York, NY, 2017 Preston, 52, East Haven, CT, 2016 Caprice, 55, Chicago, IL, 2015 Tony, 67, San Diego, CA, 2014 Dee Dee Ngozi, 55, Atlanta, GA, 2016 Sukie, 59, New York, NY, 2016 THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 144

2018-2019

ACQUISITIONS

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Birdsong, Arkansas 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 16 × 20 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.1

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Van Cleve, Mississippi 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 10 5/8 × 17 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.7

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Grulla, Rio Grande Valley, Texas 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 16 × 20 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.2

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Grulla, Rio Grande Valley, Texas 1971, printed 2015 Inkjet print 16 × 20 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.8

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Jackson County, Mississippi 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 20 × 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.3

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Los Anaquas, Rio Grande Valley, Texas 1971, printed 2015 Inkjet print 20 × 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.9

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Los Velos, Rio Grande Valley, Texas 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 16 × 20 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.4

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Mingo County, West Virginia, Appalachia 1971, printed 2015 Inkjet print 17 × 13 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.10

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Luxora, Arkansas 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 20 × 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.5

Rose Kgoete (South African, b. 1942), member of the Mapula Embroidery Project 16 June 1976 Youth Day 1999/2007 Embroidery on fabric 43 1/4 × 45 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Gift of Kate Ezra 2018.8

Donald Getsug (American, b. 1942) Sharecropper Henry Williams, Luxora, Arkansas 1970, printed 2015 Inkjet print 20 × 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds donated by Sage Foundation 2019.1.6

Kerry James Marshall (American b. 1955) May 15, 2001 2003 Color screen print 27 × 22 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated to The Block Museum by Kay Deaux 2019.7

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Henry Moore (English, 1898–1986) Standing and Reclining Figures 1950 Color lithograph 11 3/8 × 9 1/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Jeffery H. Loria 2018.11.2 Henry Moore (English, 1898–1986) Standing Figures 1950 Color lithograph 11 × 8 1/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Jeffery H. Loria 2018.11.3 Louise Nevelson (American, b. 1899–1988) Presenza Grafica – Silver 1975 Etching and aquatint with metallic foil 27 5/8 × 21 13/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, donated by Husch Blackwell, LLP 2019.8.12 Catherine Opie (American, b. 1961) Skeeter 1993 Chromogenic print 40 × 30 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Armyan Bernstein and Christine Meleo Bernstein 2018.9 Elle Perez (American, b. 1987) Ian 2017/2018 Inkjet print 44 3/8 × 31 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Marissa Solomon Sutker and Evan Reed Solomon 2019.5 Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881 – 1973) Tête de Jeune Fille (Head of a Young Girl) 1947 Lithograph 26 × 19 5/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Jeffery H. Loria 2018.11.1

“Kgoete is part of the Mapula Embroidery Project, an artist collective founded in 1991 in Winterveld, a region in the Northeast of South Africa that had a history of being a place where native people moved after they were displaced by the apartheid government. For many of the approximately 150 women in the project, the sale of their artwork is their sole source of income. The Project has been called one of the “most important community art projects in South Africa” The artwork the women create usually addresses the history of South Africa, including themes of politics, health, popular culture current events, and social issues.” - Zoe Detweiler, Curatorial Intern

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2018-2019

ACQUISITIONS

David Shrobe Peripheral Space 2019 Oil, ink, charcoal, and colored pencil on paper 11 × 8 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, purchase funds provided by Lynn Hauser and Neil Ross 2019.6 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) Chicago ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print 7 5/8 × 9 5/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.1 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) Chicago, Ill. 1958 Gelatin silver print 9 × 5 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.2 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) Chicago, South Side ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print 7 1/2 × 9 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.3 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) South Side Chicago ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print 9 3/8 × 7 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.4 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) South Side Chicago ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print 9 1/2 × 7 3/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.5 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) South Side Chicago, Ill. ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print

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9 1/2 × 7 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.6 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) South Side ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print 9 1/2 × 7 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.7 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) South Side Chicago ca. 1958 Gelatin silver print 9 5/8 × 7 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.8 Charles Swedlund (American, b. 1935) Travelers Aid ca. 1960 Gelatin silver print 7 1/2 × 9 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Steve Nordman 2018.12.9 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [cactus and rock] 1934 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.1 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [New York, building facade] 1944 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.2 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [trolly, buildings, end of 42nd Street, New York] 1945 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art,

Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.3 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [white sands, New Mexico] 1946 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.4 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [plant and stone] 1947 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.5 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [cypress and moss, Florida] 1947 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.6 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [wood and rocks] ca. 1960 Gelatin silver print sheet: 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.7 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [water and sand, landscape, Oregon] ca. 1960 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.8 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [stone building] ca. 1960 Gelatin silver print

14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.9 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [cactus] 1967 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.10 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [kelp on sand] ca. 1967 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.11 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [jellyfish] 1967 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.12 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [reeds, water, wood] 1968 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.13 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [ice formation, California] 1969 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.14 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock formation] 1969 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.15

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock wall] 1969 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.16 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock formation] ca. 1969 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.17 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock formation] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.18 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [Japan temple facade] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.19 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock, fungus, caligraphy, Japan] 1970 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.20 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [moss and stone] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.21

Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.22 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [water, rock, sand] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.23 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [kelp, sand, rocks] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.24 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [kelp and rock] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.25 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock and water] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.26 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [windows and walls, building] 1970 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.27

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [clouds] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 148

2018-2019

ACQUISITIONS

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [trees] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.28 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [trees] ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.29 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [trees, leaves, grove] 1971 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.30 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [snow and buildings, Europe] 1973 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.31 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [broken glass] 1974 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.32 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock formation] ca. 1975 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.33

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Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [rock and water] ca. 1975 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.34 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [kelp and rock] 1976 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.35 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [calligraphy] 1978 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.36 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [wood and leaves] ca. 1980 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.37 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [antler bone and wheel] ca. 1980 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.38 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [horses and landscape] ca. 1980 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.39

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [clouds] 1981 Gelatin silver print 10 × 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.40 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [clouds, water, skyscape] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.41 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [botanical] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.42 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [plants and leaves, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.43 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [botanical] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.44 Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [plants and leaves, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.45

“We are honored by this important gift of art from the Christian Keesee Collection, which recognizes The Block’s increasing prominence as a university art museum committed to teaching with its collections across fields of study. It highlights the value of the collection as a significant resource for faculty, students and the Chicago-area community.”

– Lisa Corrin, Ellen Philips Katz Director Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [leaves, plants, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.46

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [leaf, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.48

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [plants and leaves, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 11 × 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.47

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [plants and leaves, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.49

Brett Weston (American, 1911–1993) Untitled [plants, Hawaii] ca. 1985 Gelatin silver print 14 × 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift from the Christian Keesee Collection 2018.13.50

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STAR POWER: EDWARD STEICHEN’S GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY The Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography The Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, Florida October 16, 2018 to January 6, 2019 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Dancer Helen Tamiris 1930 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.3 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Helen Gahagan for Vogue 1928 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.8 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Ann Pennington, Ziegfeld Follies Girl, New York 1925 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.9 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Ethel Barrymore 1925 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.10 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Playwright Eugene O’Neill 1926 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.11 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Writer H.L. Mencken, New York 1926 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.14

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Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Evelyn Brent 1928 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.18

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Camel Cigarettes ca. 1930 Gelatin silver print 11 x 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.27

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) President elect Herbert Hoover 1928 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.19

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Sylvia Sidney, Hollywood 1931 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.29

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actor Ed Wynn, New York 1930 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.23

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ca. 1932 Gelatin silver print 12 1/2 x 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.32

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Journalist Heywood Broun 1930 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.24

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Homeless Women: The Depression Advertisement for Traveler’s Aid Society 1932 Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.33

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Dancer Tilly Losch 1930 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.25

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Model Marion Morehouse in a Dress by Vionnet 1930 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.26

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) “Up With Hair” Fashion Shoot at St. Regis Hotel, New York 1937 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.34 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Fay Wray and John Monk Saunders 1933 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.35

2018-2019 LOANS FROM THE MUSEUM COLLECTION

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actor Paul Robeson, New York ca. 1933 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.37

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Gwili André for Vogue 1935 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.45

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actress Katharine Cornell, Improvisation 1934 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.39

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Vogue 1937 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.46

Edward Steichen (American, 1879– 973) Advertisement for Pecebo Toothpasteca.

1933 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.40

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Constantin Brancusi ca. 1922 Gelatin silver print 9 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.22

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Writer Colette 1935 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.41 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Writer Luigi Pirandello, New York 1935 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.43 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Actors Judith Anderson and John Gielgud in Hamlet 1936 Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Morton and Mimi Schapiro, 2012.10.44

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Martha Graham, New York 1931, printed 1960s Gelatin silver print 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.31 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Martha Graham, New York 1931, printed 1960s Gelatin silver print 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.33 Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Martha Graham, New York 1931, printed 1960s Gelatin silver print 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.34

Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Radio City, New York Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) 1932 Mr. and Mrs. Sandburg, Elmhurst, Illinois (Vanity Gelatin silver print Fair) 9 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches November 1923 Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Gelatin silver print Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander 8 x 10 inches Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.36 Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.24 W.B. Yeats ca. 1932, printed 1960s Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Gelatin silver print Sunday Night on Fortieth Street, New York 9 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches 1925 Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Date unknown Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Gelatin silver print Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.39 10 x 8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Vogue Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander 1934, printed 1950s Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.27 Gelatin silver print 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Hat Trick Charlie Chaplin, New York Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 1931, printed 1960s Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Gelatin silver print Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.42 6 1/4 x 13 3/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Edward Steichen (American, 1879–1973) Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Self Portrait Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.30 1935 Gelatin silver print 9 5/8 x 7 5/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Hollander Family in honor of Alissa Schapiro, 2016.15.43

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2018-2019 LOANS FROM THE MUSEUM COLLECTION EXPLORING ASPECTS OF WAR IN AND THROUGH THE VISUAL ARTS

Northern Illinois University Art Museum August 27–November 13, 2019

Otto Dix (German, 1891–1969) Die Trümmer von Langemarck (The Ruins of Langemark), plate 5 from the portfolio Der Krieg (War) 1924 Etching with aquatint 15 3/8 x 13 3/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Norman Gold, 1986.2.19 Otto Dix (German, 1891–1969) Überfall einer Schleichpatrouille (Surprise Attack on a Trench Guard, plate 4 from the portfolio Der Krieg (War) 1924 Etching with aquatint 13 x 10 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Norman Gold, 1986.2.21 George Bellows (American, 1882–1925) The Cigarette, from the series The War 1918 Lithograph 22 x 27 7/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 1995.72 George Bellows (American, 1882–1925) The Bacchanale, from the series The War 1918 Lithograph 24 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 1995.73 Jacques Callot (French, 1592–1635) Death by Hanging, plate 11 from the series Les Misères et les Malheurs de la Guerre (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War) 1633 Etching 3 1/4 x 7 3/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Vivian S. Kaplan, 2011.17.9

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Jacques Callot (French, 1592–1635) The Firing Squad, plate 12 from the series Les Misères et les Malheurs de la Guerre (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War) 1633 Etching 3 1/4 x 7 3/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Vivian S. Kaplan, 2011.17.10 Jacques Callot (French, 1592–1635) Burning at the Stake, plate 13 from the series Les Misères et les Malheurs de la Guerre (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War) 1633 Etching 3 1/4 x 7 3/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Vivian S. Kaplan, 2011.17.11 Jacques Callot (French, 1592–1635) The Wheel, plate 14 from the series Les Misères et les Malheurs de la Guerre (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War) 1633 Etching 3 1/4 x 7 5/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Vivian S. Kaplan, 2011.17.12 Siri Margerin I’m a Sharpshooter: Chantelle Bateman, from the portfolio War is Trauma 16 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.3 Jeremy Begren Hanging Tree, from the portfolio War is Trauma silkscreen 16 x 12 1/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.4

Drew Cameron You Are Not My Enemy, from the portfolio War is Trauma silkscreen 12 x 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.5 Alec Dunn Suzanne Swift, from the portfolio War is Trauma 2011 silkscreen 24 x 9 1/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.8 Siri Margerin & Nave Fortin Maggie Martin, from the portfolio War is Trauma 6 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University , 2012.7.4.11 Ash Kyrie Lamiamh Ali,from the portfolio War is Trauma 2011 silkscreen 12 x 16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.14 Josh MacPhee Captain America, from the portfolio War is Trauma 2011 silkscreen 16 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.18

Roger Peet War is Trauma for Humans and Otherwise, from the portfolio War is Trauma 2011 silkscreen 16 x 12 1/2 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.21 Jesse Purcell War is Trauma, Grenade, from the portfolio War is Trauma silkscreen 16 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.22 Eric Ruin War is Trauma (Soldier and Woman in Iraq), from the portfolio War is Trauma silkscreen 16 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.24 Mary Tremonte Extreme Art Resistance, from the portfolio War is Trauma silkscreen 16 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University Gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.29 Pete Yahnke Rodney Watson, from the portfolio War is Trauma silkscreen 16 x 12 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University, 2012.7.4.33

SOUTH SIDE STORIES: RETHINKING CHICAGO ART 1960–1980

The Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago September 13–December 30, 2018

Elizabeth Catlett (American, 1915–2012) ...And a special fear for my loved ones from the series The Black Woman 1946 Linoleum cut 6 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 1992.107 Murry DePillars (American, 1939–2008) Untitled (Aunt Jemima Pancake and Waffle Mix) ca. 1969 Offset lithograph 21 x 19 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Gift of Larry Silver, 1993.12

FRANKLIN BOGGS: THE ART OF ECONOMIES

Wright Museum of Art, Beloit College June 7, 2019 – August 24, 2019

Franklin Boggs (American, 1914–2009) Back from Wewak 1944 Lithograph 11 15/16 x 16 1/8 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Vivian S. Kaplan, 2011.17.2 Franklin Boggs (American, 1914–2009) Night Evacuation 1944 Lithograph 12 1/8 x 15 15/16 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Vivian S. Kaplan, 2011.17.3

Jeff Donaldson (American, 1932–2004) Study for the Wall of Respect (Miles Davis) 1967 Oil on heavy cream wove paper with mixed media 24 x 18 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, purchase with funds from Block Friends of Art, 2017.2 Mikki Ferrill (American, born 1937) Music Moves, Chicago, 1973 1973 Gelatin silver print 11 x 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, The Richard Florsheim Art Fund Purchase, 2000.25.2 Mikki Ferrill (American, born 1937) Black Muslims, Elijah Muhammad’s Funeral, Chicago, 1975 1975 Gelatin silver print 11 x 14 inches Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, The Richard Florsheim Art Fund Purchase, 2000.25.3

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BLOCK STORIES | THE BLOCK COLLECTION •

Collection Spotlight: To Survive on This Shore by Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre (June 11, 2019)

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Block Museum receives major gift of photography by Brett Weston (May 31, 2019)

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Collection Spotlight: Frau an der Wiege, Käthe Kollwitz (April 10, 2019)

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Collection Spotlight: Pocahontas, 1976, Marisol (December 17, 2018)

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Collection Spotlight: Girl with Earring, 1961/1962, Milton Rogovin (November 12, 2018)

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Members of The Block’s curatorial team consider a collection work in the Eloise Martin Study Center

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Guests arrive to the Block.

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2018-2019

OPERATIONS THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 158

A NEW LOOK

BLOCK REDESIGN

WHAT’S INSIDE THE BLOCK? IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK In the Fall of 2018, we adopted a new look. Like the experience of art itself, our playful “B” is a matter of perception. It is open-ended, and invites viewers to look twice and to find meaning for themselves. Making creative use of the Northwestern University fonts and colors, we have embraced a design that celebrates the spirit of openness that is a core value of the museum. At The Block we are open to dialogue, open to new ideas, and open to new ways of looking at art and at ourselves. The inspiration for the mark and tagline was derived from The Block’s current name graphic, zeroing in on the capital B in the font, and making creative use of Northwestern University’s existing fonts and colors. The Block redesign included a new quarterly print program, a new website, a new museum-wide style guide and a new welcome video,

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Kathleen Bickford Berzock discusses Caravans of Gold

BLOCK

STAFF

ELLEN PHILIPS KATZ DIRECTOR LISA GRAZIOSE CORRIN

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CURATORIAL AFFAIRS KATHLEEN BICKFORD BERZOCK SUSAN AND STEPHEN WILSON ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT/CURATOR OF PUBLIC PRACTICE SUSY BIELAK SENIOR MANAGER OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS LINDSAY BOSCH SENIOR REGISTRAR KRISTINA BOTTOMLEY ASSISTANT MANAGER OF VISITORS SERVICES AARON CHATMAN COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR CAROLINE CLAFLIN STEVEN AND LISA MUNSTER TANANBAUM CURATOR OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART JANET DEES ART HISTORY GRADUATE FELLOW SARAH ESTRELA ASSISTANT MANAGER OF NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS BRYCEN DOBY MANAGER OF SECURITY SERVICES JAMES D. FOSTER CURATOR OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMS CORINNE GRANOF DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT IMANI DAVIS 161 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ELISA QUINLAN REGISTRATION ASSISTANT CARL KAUFFMAN INTERDISCIPLINARY GRADUATE FELLOW EVELYN KREUTZER CURATORIAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT MELANIE GARCIA SYMPSON LEAD PREPARATOR MARK LEONHART ASSOCIATE FILM PROGRAMMER JUSTIN LINTELMAN CHIEF PROJECTIONIST REBECCA LYON PICK-LAUDATI CURATOR OF MEDIA ARTS MICHAEL METZGER ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR JENNA ROBERTSON ASSISTANT REGISTRAR VERONICA ROBINSON ASSISTANT CURATOR ESSI RÖNKKÖ BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR RITA SHORTS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS MANAGEMENT DAN SILVERSTEIN COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS COORDINATOR JOE SCOTT SENIOR BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR JEFF SMITH GRANTS MANAGER/SPECIAL PROJECT ASSOCIATE KATE HADLEY TOFTNESS ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR HOLLY WARREN ENGAGEMENT MANAGER LAUREN COCHARD WATKINS

Janet Dees with professor Huey Copeland at Block program THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 162

NEW YEAR

NEW FACES In the 2018 - 2019 year we bid farewell to Susy Bielak, Associate Director of Engagement, Holly Warren, Engagement Coordinator, Caroline Claflin, Communications Coordinator, Justin Lintelman, Associate Film Programmer, and James Foster Manager of Security Services. We welcomed Elisa Quinlan, Director of Development, and America Saloman, Engagement Coordinator

America Saloman

Elisa Quinlan

BLOCK STORIES | STAFF •

Meet our 2019 Summer Interns: Mary Pedraza and Madeline

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Hultquist (August 5, 2019)

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Meet Elisa Quinlan, Director of Development (July 8, 2019)

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Meet Block Museum Fellow, Sarah M. Estrela (March 6, 2019)

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Block Museum Curator Janet Dees Receives Warhol Foundation Curatorial Research Fellowship (February 6, 2019)

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Meet Block Museum Fellow, Evelyn Kreutzer (November 21, 2018)

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Corinne Granof leads an exhibition tour THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 164

2018–2019

PROGRAM

PARTNERS NORTHWESTERN AFFILIATES Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Alumnae of Northwestern University Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa German Department Kaffeestunde Medill IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) Northwestern Libraries Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University Northwestern University Reunion and Homecoming Residential Colleges Reception Student Study Break Wildcat Welcome

CULTURAL PARTNERS The Arts Club of Chicago Art Design Chicago The Art of Evolution Theatre Company Inc. Chicago Athletic Association Hotel City of Evanston Evanston Art Center Evanston Arts Council Evanston Community Foundation Evanston Literary Festival Evanston Mural Arts Program: EMAP First Saturdays Evanston Mudlark Theater Company The Myers Foundations The Oriental Institute The Poetry Foundation Refugee Knowledge Hub The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Shorefront Legacy Center Terra Foundation for American Art Young Evanston Artists – YEA 165 blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

DEPARTMENTS & ACADEMIC UNITS Anthropology Art History Art, Theory, and Practice English Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program Litowitz Creative Writing Graduate Program McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Middle Eastern and North African Studies Program Performance Studies Program of African Studies Program of African Studies graduate student seminar (AfriSem)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL Americans for the Arts American Alliance of Museums Association Art Museum Curators Association of Art Museum Directors Association of College and Research Libraries Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Ontario College Art Association Grey Gallery, NYU Museum Computer Network National Arts Marketing Project National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Open Engagement Princeton University Press Society for Cinema & Media Studies Tang Teaching Museum & Art Gallery Yale University Art Gallery

Class visit to the Eloise Martin Study Center

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Visitors to the opening day of the exhibition Up Is Down take part in a hands on activity.

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TOUR

PARTNERS

2018–2019

NORTHWESTERN AFFILIATES

DEPARTMENTS AND ACADEMIC UNITS

Alumnae Board Alumni Regents Alumni Relations and Development Teams (Annual Giving, Marketing) Association for Higher Education Administrators Development @ Northwestern University Big Ten Admissions Big Ten Education Deans Big Ten Museum Directors “Day at Northwestern” Program Attendees Global Antiquities Group Kellogg EMBA Kellogg Financial Administration Kellogg Staff Kellogg Tour Guides Materials Science & Engineering Faculty Northwestern African Students Association Northwestern Board of Trustees Northwestern Emeriti Organization NU Libraries Acquisitions Team NU Libraries Donor Board NU Libraries Staff (general professional development) Office of Organizational Strategy and Change Provost’s Office Residential College Undergraduate Admissions

Anthropology Art History Art, Theory, and Practice (Including Animation course) Creative Writing Design (Segal) English (Including New Media course) French History Humanities Journalism (Medill) Kellogg EMBA Kellogg School of Management Materials Science & Engineering McCormick School of Engineering Performance Studies (Courses: Migration, Exile, and Return in African Diasporic Art, Literature, and Performance) Polish Literature Program of African Studies Program of African Studies graduate student seminar (AfriSem) Public History School of Communications Young Evanston Artists – YEA

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Students from the Montessori School of Englewood visit Caravans of Gold

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CULTURAL PARTNETRS

K-12 YOUTH

Aga Khan Isamaili Community Leadership Anixter Center Art Institute of Chicago ArtMakers North Chicago Archaeological Society Chicago Consular Club Ladies Corp Chicago Science Writers Chicago Theological Seminary Des Plaines Garden Club Evanston Arts Center Far West Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago Field Museum Fulbright Scholars Institute for the Study of American Art in China (ISAAC) Lillstreet Art Center Loyola University Chicago Midwest Antiques Club Misericordia Home Museum of Contemporary Photography Nanjing University Newberry Library North Shore Weavers Guild Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Parkland College School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Course on cultural and architectural landscape of Chicago, Methods Seminar, Critical Perspective in Fashion) Senior Living Centers (including Admiral at the Lake, Brookdale Lake View, Glenview Senior Center, Mather Lifeways, Plymouth Place Senior Living) Smart Museum of Art University of Chicago (Medieval Art) University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) (Art History, Islamic Studies) Walters Art Museum Wellesley College & Davis Museum Friends of Art Wheaton College (Graphic Design)

Brass School, Kenosha, WI (5th grade) Center for Talent Development, NU Chicago Friends School, Chicago (3rd – 7th grade) Chicago/Northern Illinois Chapter of American Association of Teachers of French District 65 Art Teachers, Evanston (K-8) Evanston Summer Camp Evanston Township High School, Evanston (9-12) Evanston Township High School STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) class Expanding Lives (Evanston) (High School) Francis W. Parker School, Chicago (Middle School) GEMS World Academy, Chicago Galapagos Rockford Charter School (Middle School) Highland Park High School (9th grade) Montessori Academy of North Hoffman (Middle & High School) Montessori School of Englewood, Chicago (Middle School) NEIU Africa Summer Teacher Institute, Chicago (High School) New Trier High School, Winnetka (High School) Niles North High School, Skokie (High School) North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka (High School) Pilgrim Lutheran School (K-5) Roycemore School, Evanston (5th – 8th grade) Trinity UCC – Isuthu Youth Ministry, Chicago (1st – 12th grade) University of Chicago Lab School, Chicago (5th grade) Waubonsee Upward Bound (High School) Wilmette Park District (Kindergarten) Wilmette Park District Summer Camp (Middle School) Youth and Opportunity United - Nichols Middle School Group, Evanston Township High School Youth and Opportunity United, Skokie and Evanston (Middle School, High School)

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STUDENT DOCENT

PROGRAM

The Block Museum’s Student Docent Program advances The Block’s mission to enrich teaching and learning at Northwestern and in the communities of the surrounding region.

The program is comprised of a group of Northwestern undergraduate students from across campus departments. What unifies them across their varied academic pursuits is their desire to join a community of people who are keenly interested in art and motivated to share it with others.

Student docents’ primary role is to facilitate in-gallery learning experiences. They lead nearly all of the museum’s tours for groups ranging from university students and faculty coming for class visits related to their courses of study, adults visiting the museum from neighboring communities, as well as elementary and high school-age students.

To support them in their role, docents receive in-depth training on the art that the museum presents as well as on how to be dynamic, effective facilitators. All docents participate in a foundational training led by the Engagement Department to learn about different approaches to gallery teaching and learning, including inquiry-based dialogue. This prepares them to facilitate meaningful tours no matter the exhibition at hand. In addition, docents train with Engagement staff and the curatorial department to attain deep content knowledge about each new temporary exhibition. They then integrate their newfound content knowledge and facilitation skills as they prepare to lead tours.

In the 2018-2019 year, student docents put in tremendous work to support engagement around the Caravans of Gold exhibition. This included more training sessions than ever before, as well as an unprecedented number of tours. The Block hosted 207 guided tours in all - an increase of 115% over the number of tours organized around the last major exhibition. The majority of these tours were led by members of the student docent cohort. In this way student docents played a tremendous role in expanding the reach of Caravans of Gold.

Because of their deep involvement in The Block, docents also serve as ambassadors to the university and surrounding communities, helping to ensure the campus community as well as our neighbors in Chicago and the north shore are aware of The Block as a resource, a space for art and dialogue, and their free museum.

Student docent leads the Tales of Art at The Block youth program

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Student docents consider the exhibition Break a Rule

STUDENT DOCENTS 2018-2019 Kelsey Allen-Niesen, 2019 (Asian Language and Culture) Emily Andrey, 2020 (Art History, Russian and Eastern European Studies, Chemistry, Pre-Med) Fiona Asokacitta, 2021 (Art History, History) Jessica Baldinger, 2019 (Theatre, Art History) Lois Biggs, 2020 (Comparative Literature) Alexis Bullock, 2020 (Art Theory and Practice, Psychology) Erin Claeys, 20201 (Theatre) Meghan Considine, 2020 (Communications/ Performance Studies, Art History, Minor in the Kaplan Humanities Center) Rachel Gradone, 2019 (Industrial Engineering, Art History) Cammy Harris, 2019 (History, Theatre) Brianna Heath, 2021 (Art History, German) Emily Hollingworth, 2019 (Music, Arts Administration) Isabella Ko, 2020 (Art History, French)

Janet Woojeong Lee, 2020 (Journalism, International Studies, Culture and Society Concentration) Kristine Liao, 2020 (Journalism, International Studies) Nicholas Liou, 2020 (Art History) Sean McCarthy, 2020 (Theatre, Psychology) Alexander Muller, 2020 (Journalism, Film and Media Studies Minor, Segal Design Certificate) Montgomery Nelson, 2019 (Art History, Political Science) Ella Rubenstein, 2020 (Anthropology, Integrated Marketing and Communications, Segal Design Certificate) James Tsui, 2020 (Biology, Art Theory and Practice) Maria Valencia, 2020 (Radio/TV/Film, Anthropology) Harriet (Zhan) Zhao, 2019 (Economics, Psychology)

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BOARD OF

ADVISORS Winnetka, IL, Appointed 2011, Chair, Board of Advisors, President and CEO, Artists’ Concepts, Inc. (WCAS’66) (SP WCAS’66)

Christine O. Robb

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2015, Art Collector (SP KSM’97)

Anu Aggarwal

New York, NY, Appointed 2017, Vice Chancellor, Marketing and Communications, Rutgers University (MDL’81)

Mary Baglivo

New York, NY, Appointed 2018, Director of Exhibitions, Guggenheim Museum (Parent ’22)

Clare Bell

Los Angeles, CA, Appointed 2015, President/Founder, Vitameatavegamin (WCAS’85)

Maria Bell

Pacific Palisades, CA, Appointed 2016, Artist (Parent ’17)

Christine Bernstein

New York, NY Appointed 2019, Art Collector and principal and founder of the interior and floral design firm Cambridge Bell Flowers

Julie Bernstein

New York, NY, Appointed 2016, Former Financial Advisor, Fortress Investment Group (WCAS ’89)

Stuart H. Bohart

Brooklyn, NY, Appointed 2016, Curator and Advisor, PVC Fine Arts, LLC. (WCAS’85)

Priscilla Vail Caldwel

Glencoe, IL, Appointed 2014, Former Public Defender; Community Volunteer (WCAS’90) (Parent ‘20)

Stacey Cantor

Evanston, IL, ex-officio, Appointed 2018, Vice Provost for Academics; Frances Willard Professor of Human Development and Social Policy; IPR Fellow (cKSM’16)

P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2013, Gallerist, Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery, and professor (Comm PhD ’94)

John Corbett

Evanston, IL, Ex-officio, The Ellen Philips Katz Director of The Block Museum

Lisa G. Corrin

Evanston, IL, Appointed 2013, Grant Writer (WCAS’92) (SP WCAS’93)

Nicole Druckman

Darien, CT, Appointed 2013, Former Art Dealer; Community Volunteer (WCAS’92)

Kristin Edwards

New Haven, CT, Retired, Yale University Art Gallery (TGS PhD ’83)

Kate Ezra

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2013, Founder/President, 555 International

James Geier

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2012, Retired Ophthalmologist (FSM’74 ’76 ’80) (SP FSM’75 ’79 ’80)

Lynn Hauser

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Boa

Members of the Board of Advisors discuss new aquisition

Steven P. Henry

New York, NY, Appointed 2018, Senior Director at Paula Cooper Gallery (WCAS’85)

Ellen Philips Katz

New York, NY, Appointed 2005,Trustee, Northwestern University (WCAS’70)

Zeynep Keyman

Zürich and Istanbul, Appointed 2013, Art Collector, (Parent ’07, ’12)

James A. Klein

Riverwoods, IL, Appointed 2010, President, Acrobat Marketing Company (MDL ’68; ’69)

Dianne Loeb

Seattle, WA, Appointed 2014, NU Regent; Community Volunteer (KSM’80) (SP KSM’81)

Angela Lustig

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2014, Artist; Former VP/Group Creative Director, Abelson Taylor (SP MDL’67 ’68)

R. Hugh Magill

Winnetka, IL, Appointed 2006, Senior Vice President, Northern Trust Company (SP Music ’86)

Kim Allen-Niesen

Los Angeles, CA, Appointed 2017, Art Collector (Parent ’16, ’19)

Irwin Press

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2012, Retired Professor, Notre Dame University; antd co-founder, Press Ganey Associates (WCAS ’59)

Richard M. Rieser, Jr.

Northbrook, IL, Appointed 2013, Founder and former CEO, First Oak Brook Bancshares (SP SESP ’70)

Sandra L. Riggs

Lake Forest, IL, Appointed 2012, Board Member, The Alumnae of Northwestern University (Comm’65)

Selig D. Sacks

New York, NY, Appointed 2007, Managing Director and General Counsel, Ruton Capital (WCAS’69) (Parent ’17)

Jean E. Shedd

Evanston, IL, Retired NU Associate Provost for Budget, Facilities, and Analysis (KSM’97)

Diane Solomon

New York, NY, Appointed 2012, Art Collector (Parent ’10, ’15)

Lisa Tananbaum

New York, NY, Appointed 2015, Art Collector (WCAS’86)

Martha Tedeschi

Cambridge, MA, Appointed 2017, Director of the Harvard Art Museums (WCAS PhD’94)

Ken Thompson

Lincolnshire, IL, Appointed 2015, Managing Director, Level X Consulting (WCAS ’91)

Sue Wilson

Evanston, IL/Santa Barbara, CA, Appointed 2015, Community Volunteer (MDL’70) (SP WCAS’70 KSM’74) THE BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART 174

FINANCIAL

REPORT

Block Museum revenue decreased in the fiscal year 2019; this decrease was due to receiving grants and gifts in 2018 for Caravans of Gold and having those expenses occur in 2019. Due to this, The Block had a planned reduction in its reserves. The Caravans of Gold exhibition also caused an expected increase in expenditure. In future years The Block will make efforts to build reserves or maintain a balanced budget.

Jeff Smith, Senior Business Administrator

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Crowds in the exhibition Caravans of Gold on opening day

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DONORS

HONOR ROLL

$50,000 AND ABOVE Anonymous Donor Lisa Munster Tananbaum and

Steven A. Tananbaum Susan K. Wilson and Stephen R. Wilson

$25,000-$49,999 Anonymous Donor Ellen Philips Katz Zeynep Yasemin Keyman and Melih Keyman Eugene E. Myers* Andra S. Press and Irwin Press Diane Solomon and Craig Solomon Angela Lustig and Dale E. Taylor Susan Gecht Rieser and Richard M. Rieser

$10,000-$24,999 Marilynn Bruder Alsdorf* Stacey L. Cantor and Lowell Cantor Amy O. Geier and James Geier Lynn E. Hauser and Neil L. Ross Dianne Dardes Loeb and Stephen B. Loeb Christine Olson Robb and William John Robb

$5,000-$9,999 Anu Aggarwal and Arjun Aggarwal Kim Allen-Niesen and Keith Allen-Niesen Lorinda Ash Mary L. Baglivo and James Meguerian Clare Bell and Eric Rosof Christine Meleo Bernstein and

Armyan Bernstein Katherine Best and Bob Best Nicole E. Rubens Druckman and

James N. Druckman Kristin Peterson Edwards Edith C. Eisner Barbara N. Fuldner Lynne R. Jacobs and Avery Scheiner Mustafa Jama Constance S. Hodson and Thomas W. Hodson Susie Hahn and Jon Roy Sandra L. Riggs Angela Himsel and Selig D. Sacks Owen D. Thomas Robert F. Vail George Wellde

$1,000-$4,999 Kay Kujala Deaux Janet Sally Dumas Elizabeth Ellrodt and Scott C. Schweighauser Judith Rachel Freeman

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Susan Fuller Carol Ginsburg and Jerome J. Ginsburg David L. Grumman and Mary Ann Grumman Denise M. Gunter Gary Robert Guritz and Jean L. Guritz Robert A. Hastings Steven P. Henry Gail Hodges and Tom Hodges Barbara Bloom Kreml Rosalyn M. Laudati and James B. Pick Nancy Tims Magill and R. Hugh Magill Joseph S. Martinich and Vicki L. Sauter Graciela Claudia Meltzer and Neal D. Meltzer Diane Baraban More Carol J. Narup and Warren G. Petersen John K. Notz Katherine Laun Olson Ronnie K. Pirovino Karen Richards Sachs and David Allan Sachs Jean E. Shedd Paul J. Taubman Martha P. Tedeschi and Michael Lukasiewicz Stephen S. Trevor and Stephanie Hunt Arete Swartz Warren

$500-$999 Sarah M. Pritchard and Neal E. Blair Kate Ezra Mary Pick Hines Doris J. Johnson Mary Mountain Kruse Prem Kumar and Susan Wascher-Kumar Brian S. Posner and Lauri Posner Anne N. Rorimer Susan B. Rubnitz

$250-$499 Nancy A. Abshire James Zachary Belfer Robert O. Delaney Bernard J. Dobroski and Sally S. Dobroski Bryna Goldman Gamson and

Edward P. Gamson Edwin G. Goldstein and Fran Isaacs Goldstein Christopher P. Huisinga William R. Levin Debra K. Mellinger and Edward M. Mellinger Jr. Debby Peterson Jane H. Peterson and Lloyd J. Peterson Alexander F. Stimpson Elizabeth G. Stout Jake Sutker and Marissa Solomon Sutker Virginia Cohen Vale *Deceased 

DEVELOPMENT

REPORT

2018-2019 was an important year for The Block Museum’s development efforts. Two new staff members joined The Block team, alumna Elisa Quinlan (graduate of the School of Communication) who serves as Director of Development and Imani Davis (a recent graduate of Ohio State with a background in film studies) who serves as Program Assistant. Additionally, the museum brought on a new member of our Board of Advisors, Clare Bell, a Northwestern parent who is Senior Director of Exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum.

The Block’s groundbreaking Caravans of Gold exhibition offered many unique opportunities for our donors, alumni and friends to engage with The Block. President Schapiro and his wife hosted a special exhibition opening dinner at their home. We offered private curator-led tours for Northwestern’s Board of Trustees, The Block’s Leadership Circle donors and our own Board of Advisors. We welcomed several museum directors, museum boards, and arts philanthropists from around the country and the world to see Caravans and to learn more about the important work of The Block Museum.

As part of the broader Northwestern We Will Campaign, The Block raised $22 million towards our $26 million campaign goal. The original goal of $15 million was surpassed in 2018 and then raised to match our ambitious vision and future-looking priorities.

A highlight of our fundraising efforts were the contributions of gifts of art to our upcoming 40th birthday celebration and “Thinking about History” initiative which will highlight The Block’s growing permanent collection through acquisitions of modern and contemporary art that encourage students and faculty to “think about history” through art encounters, teaching and research activities. In particular, many members of our Board of Advisors have made important contributions to our gifts of art initiative helping to grow and broaden The Block’s collection through works of art that connect to Northwestern’s curriculum.

In terms of major gifts raised during last fiscal year, The Block acquired a significant collection of Brett Weston photographs, donated by Christian Keesee and the Brett Weston Archive. The Block also was fortunate to receive an important bequest commitment by an individual donor. Thanks to the generosity of our Board member and alumna Lisa Tananbaum, The Block established the Israeli and Jewish-American Art Fund to support the related research and acquisitions of works of art by Israeli and Jewish-American artists. Donor and alumna Katherine Best also established the Best Block Intern Fund to support our summer internship program and to provide unique opportunities to Northwestern undergraduate students who work with our curatorial team and registrars.

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GIFTS OF

ART

Kim and Keith Allen-Niesen Christine Meleo Bernstein and

Armyan Bernstein Husch Blackwell, LLP Kay Kujala Deaux Kate Ezra Amy O. Geier and James Geier John Silberman Jeffrey Loria Christian Keesee and the Brett Weston Archive Andra S. Press and Irwin Press

2018-2019

GRANTS

$100,000 AND ABOVE

Terra Foundation for American Art

$50,000–$99,999

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts National Endowment for the Arts

$25,000–$49,999

Myers Foundations

$10,000–$24,999

Alumnae of Northwestern Illinois Arts Council Agency Sage Foundation

$5,000–$9,999

Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation Hulda B. & Maurice L. Rothschild Foundation Meyerson Family Foundations

UP TO $4,999

Romenesa Foundation Rubens Family Foundation

NU DEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT

Buffett Institute of Global Affairs Department of Art History Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Keyman Program for Modern Turkish Studies Office of Undergraduate Research One Book One Northwestern President’s Office Support Queer Pride Graduate Students Association Sexualities Project at Northwestern Spanish and Portuguese Department

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GRANT

SUPPORT

In 2019, The Block capped off our successful grants campaign for the exhibition Caravans of Gold with a substantial award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Our transition to the next round of major exhibition grants is now underway with a Curatorial Research Fellowship from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts awarded to Janet Dees, Steven and Lisa Munster Tananbaum Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. This competitive grant supports Dees’ curatorial research for an upcoming exhibition on anti-Black violence in American art and culture from the early twentieth century to the present day.

The grant further enabled The Block to hire a dedicated curatorial research assistant, Alisa Swindell, and is funding a series of scholarly convenings as part of the exhibition planning. The Terra Foundation for American Art has also contributed funds that will go towards the development of this project. Thanks to the generosity of the Alumnae of Northwestern University, The Block’s forthcoming presentation of Pop América will feature enriched programming, including selected screenings from Ism, Ism, Ism: Experimental Cinema in Latin America, a groundbreaking touring film series that offers the first comprehensive survey of Latin America’s vibrant experimental film history, first organized as part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time II: LA/LA initiative.

In addition to these project specific grants, general operating support is vital to the museum’s work. In this regard, we are especially grateful to the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Agency for their investment in The Block’s exhibitions and programs, free and open to all.

Visiting middle schoolers tour Caravans of Gold with Northwestern student docents

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