ARTS & CULTURE

ARTS &

CULTURE

Walter Farmer holds a painting at Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point.

PHOTO: LINDSAY C. KENNETH PAPERS, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES, BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

Cincinnati ‘Monuments Man’ Walter Farmer Protected European Art After World War II

The Cincinnati Art Museum’s Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men explores the intersection of history, politics, art and the controversial American tour of German-owned masterpieces in the 1940s

If the title of an upcoming exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) has a familiar ring, that’s probably thanks to George Clooney’s 2014 movie, The Monuments Men, which he starred in, wrote and directed.

But the CAM’s show — Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America — is significantly closer to reality than the fictionalized film, which plays like a lighthearted men-on-a-mission buddy caper to save international artworks from being plundered or destroyed by the Nazi regime during World War II.

Established in 1943 under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies, the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives program was an honorable endeavor to preserve cultural artifacts across Europe both during and after the war. The program protected (and returned) artworks, archives and monuments of historical significance that had been forcefully obtained by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

One of the central figures in the program was Walter Farmer, Cincinnati’s own “Monuments Man.”

Farmer, an architect and Miami University graduate who joined the Army and became part of the military engineering corps, directed the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point in Germany, where, starting in 1945, paintings of tremendous cultural significance and value were gathered, documented and

prepared for return to their rightful owners.

The efforts of Farmer and his team of museum curators, art historians and others trained to identify and care for works of art rose to significant national awareness when 202 masterpieces were brought to the U.S. for a touring exhibition in 1948 and 1949. Those works — a collection of 15th- to 18th-century paintings from Berlin’s State Museums — stopped in 14 cities and were viewed by nearly 2.5 million visitors, making it one of the first museum “blockbusters.”

But the transfer of the artworks to the U.S. was controversial. The paintings from the two German state museums were not forcibly pillaged from private collectors, but rather publicly owned works that Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering took control of and stored in remote salt mines to protect them from Allied bombing, intending to install them later in Nazi-operated institutions. When the American military decided in 1945 to ship hundreds of these masterpieces to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Farmer and his colleagues were shocked and issued a strong protest.

In what came to be called “The Wiesbaden Manifesto,” they expressed their opposition to the removal of the artworks, concerned that they could be absorbed into the collections of American museums.

“We are unanimously agreed,” they wrote, “that the transportation of these works of art, undertaken by the United States Army, upon direction from the highest national authority, establishes a precedent which is neither morally tenable nor trustworthy...We wish to state that from our own knowledge, no historical grievance will rankle so long, or be the cause of so much justified bitterness, as the removal, for any reason, of a part of the heritage of any nation, even if that heritage may be interpreted as a prize of war.”

The CAM exhibition, assembled by Peter Jonathan Bell and Kristi A. Nelson, explores the moral implications of the removal of hundreds of masterpieces from Germany to tour North America.

“Farmer very eloquently wrote that this was not the values that brought America into the war,” says Bell, CAM’s curator of European paintings, sculpture and drawings.

He and his colleagues believed that transporting the art for display in the U.S. was uncomfortably similar to the Nazi’s unauthorized commandeering of masterpieces for their own purposes.

The Monuments Men’s protest of this morally ambiguous episode fell on deaf ears, and the success of the exhibitions in American cities from coast to coast (with Ohio stops at art museums in Cleveland and Toledo), followed by the return of the artworks to German museums, diminished their outspoken criticism. But the implications continue to have resonance in a war-torn world where the cultural treasures of nations such as Syria are at risk.

“There were questions about the morality of bringing all these works to America,” Bell says, “but the sheer delight and edification of so many Americans was on the other side of that equation.”

Bell’s and Nelson’s exhibition could not, of course, present all 202 works that toured in the 1940s; those form the core of today’s Gemäldegalerie collection in Berlin. But using two CAM galleries, it does offer about 25 works and features four paintings that were part of the “202” tour, including Botticelli’s “Ideal Portrait of a Lady” from the late 15th century.

To provide a broader sense of the earlier exhibition, pieces from the CAM’s own collection made by artists whose works toured will be on view, as well as a few from the National Gallery and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. That will give visitors a strong sense of what attracted hundreds of thousands of Americans to stand in long lines, eager to view the masterpieces.

The CAM show simultaneously explores political issues generated by this historical event, offering photos and newspaper clippings showing the artworks stored in the salt mines, crowds flocking to museums, the works arriving via military convoys and their local arrivals, which attracted as much public attention as the masterpieces themselves.

This show is only happening in Cincinnati (it was originally scheduled for last summer but postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic) and is here because Walter Farmer lived in the Queen City from the end of the war until his death in 1997.

He was an interior decorator and lectured at CAM, at the University of Cincinnati, and at Greenwich House Interiors, where he worked. A group of CAM supporters who knew him — Shannon and Lee Carter, Marty and Nick Ragland, Joyce and Jack Steinman, John Steele, and Ellen Rieveschl — advocated for the show.

Farmer’s commitment to the ethical treatment of art continued after the works were shipped to the U.S. He remained in Wiesbaden through 1946, Bell says, “and he mounted exhibitions of (other) art there to show the German citizens that the American Army was taking good care of their cultural patrimony. He wanted to show them that these artworks were there for everyone — not war booty.”

In 1996, when Farmer established the Monuments Men Foundation, he received the German government’s Federal Cross of Merit, its highest recognition, acknowledging his role in this extraordinary episode. His medal is also on view in the CAM exhibit.

“The show is a combination of art, history and politics,” Bell says.

It’s a fascinating exploration of the intersection of issues that remains relevant in today’s world.

The U.S. Third Army discovers Édouard Manet’s “In the Winter Garden” in the salt mines at Merkers, April 25, 1945.

PHOTO: NATIONAL ARCHIVES AT COLLEGE PARK, MD

Officers near military transport vans for the exhibition Paintings from the Berlin Museums.

PHOTO TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART ARCHIVES, 7837-13

Paintings, Politics, and the Monuments Men: The Berlin

Masterpieces in America will be on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum July 9-Oct. 3. Tickets are $10 general admission; $5 for students, seniors and children 6-17; and free for members. Active-duty military, reserves, retirees and veterans of the United States Armed Forces can receive a free three-month membership. More information: cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

CLASSICAL Cincinnati Opera Offers Three Classics in the Great Outdoors

BY ANNE ARENSTEIN

Cincinnati Opera is back onstage, returning to its roots with outdoor performances this summer.

The series includes three classic operas — Carmen, Tosca and The Barber of Seville — presented in 90-minute productions at Summit Park in Blue Ash, featuring stellar casts, accompaniment by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and a 36-member chorus.

All performances will adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state guidelines: Seating is in pods of four to six people, masks are required and entrance and egress will be controlled.

Audiences don’t appear to mind, judging from ticket sales. As of press time in late June, 86% of pod seats had been sold.

The outdoor series is a callback to when the opera performed outside at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden from 1920 to 1971.

Cast and crew members are excited about performing for live audiences, and this season offers opportunities to hear some of the most exciting singers out there, many of whom will be making company debuts.

Mezzo J’Nai Bridges sings the fiercely independent titular role in Carmen (July 17, 22, 26 and 30), while tenor Stephen Costello is her obsessed lover Don José and soprano Janai Brugger returns as Micaela.

Tosca (July 23, 27 and 31) marks the company debut of acclaimed soprano Ana Maria Martinez as the tempestuous diva. The great Russell Thomas returns to sing her lover Cavaradossi, and baritone Quinn Kelsey is the devious Scarpia. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music alum Xian Zhang conducts.

The antic Barber of Seville (July 24 and 29) rounds out the season, with Christopher Kenney as the wily barber Figaro, mezzo Rihab Chaieb as the feisty Rosina and tenor Aaron Blake returns to sing her suitor Count Almaviva.

“It’s like the biggest Rock show to hit Cincinnati!” exclaims Omer Ben Seadia, who directs the season opener Carmen.

Planning for this season as the coronavirus pandemic recedes goes beyond the logistics for a large-scale Rock tour, says Cincinnati Opera’s artistic director Evans Mirageas. An opera COVID compliance team headed by Andrea Shell keeps the company informed of the latest guidance from the CDC.

Everything from ticketing, seating arrangements, entering and exiting the site, and protocols for singers onstage continue to be scrutinized on an almost daily basis.

As of now, all singers will perform unmasked unless guidance changes. That includes the 36-member chorus, which will be positioned on both sides of the stage.

“They’ll sing but won’t be part of the stage action,” Mirageas says. “We worked with (the American Guild of Musical Artists) and they’ve been terrific in supporting our efforts to keep our performers safe.”

The orchestra — consisting of 35 musicians — will be behind the performers. There are no sets, but there will be lighting design and costumes. And yes, the singers will be miked.

“When you have voices of the caliber we have, you want them to sound their best,” Mirageas says.

Sound designer Jonathan Burke, who has extensive experience with outdoor venues, oversees the task of blending the voices and orchestra to approximate a concert hall.

Sound enhancement is equally vital for conductors and the orchestra placed behind the singers. Acclaimed conductor Zhang — who recently was named CCM Distinguished Alumna — says she’ll rely on the engineers to help her achieve the score of Tosca’s dramatic dynamic contrasts.

Ensuring that performers are visible to the entire audience seated on Summit Park’s Great Lawn is another challenge. The lawn is flat and the stage’s elevation is slight compared to that of Music Hall, so a canopy is being built above the stage to support lighting and two jumbotrons, which will project the action to patrons sitting further back.

Stage sets are suggested through lighting and props, and stage singers will be in costume and makeup. The pressure is on for the cast to be larger than life in an art form that is already considered outsized.

“It’s a great opportunity to add more tools to our toolbox,” says baritone Kenney. “There may not be sets, but we’ll be able to see the audience reaction so I can see how I’m doing. I love that.”

Although the operas are 90-minute versions with no intermissions, the great arias, ensembles and most of the choral music are still there.

“As long as no musical crimes are committed, it’s a great way to introduce opera to new audiences,” Martinez says. “The arias and duets are all there, and so is the drama.”

Kenney agrees.

“Barber is already a fast-moving opera and this version really picks up the pace,” he says. ‘But you’ll get the full effect and I hope that you’ll want to see the complete version.”

The shorter operas allow for greater exploration of character and motivation, especially in Carmen, says Ben Seadia. And as the protocols change, she’ll adjust her staging of that opera, which includes four members of the Cincinnati Ballet.

Many of the performers tell CityBeat about their unrestrained delight in being in front of live audiences after months of isolation. Everyone participated in some form of online performance and all agree that nothing matches the real thing.

“All of those challenges are nothing compared to the joy of making music,” Martinez says.

For Cincinnati Opera general director and CEO Christopher Milligan, the 2021 season affirms what he told staff after the 2020 season was cancelled: “We will sing again.”

Rain dates are built into the schedule. When it comes to preparing for outdoor theater, Mirageas turns to his Greek heritage and the origins of theater.

“We began outdoors. I’m channeling my ancient Greek ancestors to say ‘We’ve got this,’” he says.

Omer Ben Seadia PHOTO: PROVIDED BY CINCINNATI OPERA Xian Zhang PHOTO: BENJAMIN EALOVEGA Ana Maria Martinez

PHOTO: SVETLANA PASEDKO

Illustration for “Carmen”

IMAGE: DAVID DE LAS HERAS

The Cincinnati Opera summer festival season in Blue Ash’s Summit Park runs July 17-31. For tickets and more info, visit cincinnatiopera.org.

VISUAL ART On the Impact of the Contemporary Arts Center’s Departing Director, Raphaela Platow

BY STEVEN ROSEN

Raphaela Platow, who recently announced her departure after 14 years as director of the Contemporary Arts Center to lead Louisville’s Speed Art Museum, did some of her finest work during the coronavirus pandemic.

This may sound a little strange, as the CAC — like all museums — struggled during 2020 and into this year. It closed for several months when COVID-19 first arrived, and then again for several weeks in December and early January when there were fears of a resurgence. That upended public awareness for an interest in the CAC’s exhibits, including at least one show that was a big deal: the first major U.S. exhibition of work by the Portuguese street artist Vhils.

I wish I could tell people what they missed, but I was more or less staying home, too.

During that time, Platow began writing her “Director’s Dispatch,” a column delivered via email to museum members. Platow’s missives not only were good, but also unusual. They were deeply personal, sometimes viscerally so, in communicating how she was processing the challenges of 2020-21 and in how Contemporary art could help her with that. I found them enlightening and often moving.

An example is from her April 2021 “Director’s Dispatch,” about her participation in one of the events at CAC’s performance festival This Time Tomorrow, which returned in truncated form this year after a 2020 cancellation. She had attended artist Kate McIntosh’s installation Worktable, which encouraged visitors to smash and break objects and then try to mend them. Platow noted that she chose a small yellow porcelain bird on a white tray, slammed it with a hammer and then worked to repair the harm.

“Destruction and renewal are at the core of McIntosh’s work, and last year epitomized mourning and catharsis for me as we are now one year into the devastating COVID pandemic, racial tensions and social upheaval,” Platow wrote.

“Worktable powerfully shed light for me on how little it takes to destroy and how much time, effort, creativity and resources it takes to build anew,” she continued. “However, the process of rebuilding offers space and opportunity, not just for fixing what has been broken, but to tap into our imagination to envision something better and more useful for our future world. To imagine something not just as it was, or ‘normally’ is, but as it might be — that is the path of true change and the only pathway to a better tomorrow.”

Even the way Platow started this particular newsletter seemed surprisingly forthcoming: “We are back — with caution, we are back. In spite of an incredible loss in revenue, the CAC is back, coming off our performance festival, This Time Tomorrow, and a building full of new exhibitions.”

Being able to get these dispatches made CAC membership worth having during the roughly one-and-a-half years I’ve gone without visiting the building. (The CAC is adding the collection of newsletters to its website soon).

Platow arrived at the CAC after serving as chief curator and acting director of Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum and as international curator at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. She also has held museum positions in Munich and Berlin in her native country Germany. Her résumé states that she has written extensively about Contemporary art, too.

The CAC’s Zaha Hadiddesigned building was but four years old when Platow arrived, and figuring out how to use it best was part of her job. During her tenure here, there was a 400% increase in attendance and a doubling of the museum’s annual operating budget, The Art Newspaper reports.

As the CAC’s director (officially the Alice & Harris Weston Director), Platow presided over some wonderful shows, sometimes working with now-departed curators Justine Ludwig and Steven Matijcio (I retired as CityBeat Arts Editor in 2018 and am not familiar with the input of current senior curator Amora Antilla).

Some of these exhibits brought to town the work of larger-than-art-world celebrities like Patti Smith, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, JR, Mark Mothersbaugh and the late Keith Haring. The CAC also hosted powerful exhibits by artists who were known within the Contemporary art world but not so much outside of it — Tara Donovan, Ugo Rondinone, Glenn Brown, Do Ho Suh, Maria Lassnig, Daniel Arsham, Glenn Kaino, Anne Lindberg and more.

If I had to pick the most important show presented under Platow’s leadership, it would be 2019-20’s Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott. It gave a timely overview as well as an understanding of the demanding work of this Black painter, who died in 2009. Platow organized this traveling retrospective that had its first stop at the CAC, and she should be proud of the national attention it received.

The CAC under Platow championed local artists, and at least two of them had especially impactful shows. One, Mark de Jong’s Swing House, highlighted an already existing re-invention of a Camp Washington house into a kind of indoor playground. And Shinji Turner-Yamamoto’s Hanging Garden at Mount Adams’ then-abandoned Holy Cross Church featured a live tree surviving atop a dead one, their balancing act seeming to defy nature even while being part of it.

It will be interesting to see how the CAC evolves after Platow. Its current deputy director, Marcus Margerum, will serve as interim director.

At the Speed, Platow will move to an encyclopedic collecting museum which, in recent years, has completed a multiyear project that included renovation of its 1927 Neoclassical building and construction of a new, Modernist North Building. The Speed, too, has shown dedication to presenting politically, socially and environmentally relevant Contemporary art (including cinema). Earlier this year, it presented a show of Black artists responding to 2020’s police killing of Louisville medical worker Breonna Taylor. Additionally, it will share ownership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture of a portrait of Taylor by Amy Sherald, who also painted First Lady Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery.

Looking ahead, the Speed has an August show featuring a recently acquired portfolio by the late Ralph Eugene Meatyard — one of Kentucky’s most important photographers — which includes images taken at Red River Gorge in 1967 to raise support for its then-threatened preservation. And coming in October is an exhibit called Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art. It sounds like quite an interesting museum.

Platow’s last day at CAC will be July 9. She will start in Louisville on Aug. 30.

Raphaela Platow

PHOTO: TINA GUTIERREZ ARTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org.