ARTiculate Feb/March 2018

MEMORIAL ART GALLERY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

BILL VIOLA: MARTYRS

"ILLUMINATING OUR MODERN LIVES OF INACTION"

ROSALYN A. ENGELMAN

BEAUTY IS EVERYWHERE ON VIEW THROUGH APRIL 8, 2018

F E B R U A RY / M A R C H 2 0 1 8

Valentine Schmalentine

february9,2018|8-11PM|21+ $17 (ADVANCE) | $20 (NIGHT OF) INCLUDES 1 SIGNATURE DRINK, BEER OR SODA

Wednesday Westwood FEATURING "LET'S PLAY A LOVE GAME," HOSTED BY

Sponsored by Check insponsor

500 UNIVERSITY AVENUE | MAG.ROCHESTER.EDU

V O I C E S MAG’s world-class collection—brilliantly built by generations of curators and generous patrons to represent the heights of human artistic achievement—thrills me daily. And as the fortunate inheritors, my colleagues and I set out each day to build upon the traditional grand narrative of art history by broadening it.

In 2018, the museum presents three exhibitions developed by MAG curators that aspire to expand our understanding of the history of art.

Javier Téllez’s new work of media art commissioned by MAG will feature the artist’s response to significant moments in our city’s history through his creative collaboration with local people living with mental illness. The Surreal Visions of Josephine Tota will introduce to the world an ItalianAmerican immigrant and Rochester artist who was 70 when she began making intense, visionary paintings in the privacy of her home. Monet’s Waterloo Bridge: Vision & Process will apply the results of groundbreaking imaging technology to further our knowledge about the artistic process of one of the world’s most iconic artists.

We are building upon our collections and organizing exhibitions to be more inclusive of historically marginalized artists and lesser known histories. We embrace art that illuminates new perspectives: art that challenges, refuses to provide easy answers, and raises new questions you never thought to ask.

Jessica Marten Curator in Charge/Curator of American Art COVER: Bill Viola, Fire Martyr (detail), 2014. Color high-definition video on flat-panel display. Duration: 7:10 minutes. Marion Stratton Gould Fund, 2017.1. Photo by Kira Perov..

ABOVE: Photo by Jamie Germano, Democrat and Chronicle. 12/1/2017.

CALENDAR

Friday, February 2 5:00–9:00 PM $5 Friday!

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Sand art painting by Katie Jo Suddaby (5:30–8:30 PM) Film screening, Lighting the Way: The German Pioneers of Contemporary Stained Glass (7:00–8:30 PM) $5 admission beginning at 5:00 PM $5 signature cocktail at Brown Hound Downtown 5:00-7:00 PM $5 signature appetizer at Brown Hound Downtown 5:00-7:00 PM

•

$5 discount at the Gallery Store for any purchase of $35 or more

6:15–7:45 PM Art Social - Wander with My Watercolor $15 | includes museum admission

Friday, February 9 8:00–11:00 PM Valentine Schmalentine: Prom Rewind

21+ | $17 advance, $20 day of | includes museum admission You are invited to a night of throwback tunes, classic art, def dresses and wicked tuxes, snap bracelets, juice boxes, and all the nostalgia from your glory years. Go stag, with your friends, or with a dreamy date on your arm, and take back your prom night!

Friday, February 16 A Conversation and Private Tour with Rosalyn A. Engelman

Call 585.276.8942 to register Conversation and private tour with director Jonathan Binstock and artist Rosalyn Engelman Open to O’Keeffe, Monet, and Watson Level Members only.

6:00 PM Conversation (Auditorium) 7:00 PM Reception (Vanden Brul Pavilion)

Saturday, February 17 Noon–5:00 PM Celebration Series: Black History Month

Celebrate our African American community with art activities, music and dance performances, guided tours, and more. Event sponsored by The Gallery Council and 103.9 WDKX. Suggested donation of $5 per family.

Tuesday, February 20–Sunday, February 25 11:00AM–5:00 PM Winter Recess at MAG

MAG will be open Tuesday, February 20–Sunday, February 25 and free to all kids 18 and under!

Thursday, March 1 5:30–8:30 PM Cocktails with Creatives: The Yards

The Yards Collective will offer a Pop-Up Cocktails with Creatives including a one-night-only installation. The evening will include imagery generated by the six artists currently in the Yards Residency. 21+ | $15/includes museum admission and one wine, beer or soda

Friday, March 2 5:00–9:00 PM $5 Friday!

• • • •

$5 admission beginning at 5:00 PM $5 signature cocktail at Brown Hound Downtown 5:00-7:00 PM $5 signature appetizer at Brown Hound Downtown 5:00-7:00 PM $5 Discount at the Gallery Store for any purchase of $35 or more

6:15–7:45 PM Art Social - Terrific Triptych

$15 | includes museum admission

Saturday, March 10 7:00–9:00 PM A Night to Remembrall: A Harry Potter Themed Devour Event All Ages Welcome | $75 per person | includes museum admission

Friday, March 23 9:00 AM–4:00 PM THATCamp Rochester 2018: The Digital Humanities & Technology Camp

THATCamp digital humanities unconferences are informal, spontaneous, and participatory events in which most sessions are group discussions, productive working sessions, or pop-up collaborations.

THATcamp Rochester 2018 is co-sponsored by the Rochester Institute of Technology’s program in Digital Humanities & Social Sciences and the University of Rochester Andrew W. Mellon Digital Humanities Fellows in collaboration with MAG. Registration is required. To register, visit http://rochester2018.thatcamp.org/

CENTERFOLD: Rosalyn A. Engelman, Here Upon My Sleeve (detail), 2004. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.

ONGOING

THURSDAYS

5:00–9:00 PM 1/2 Price Admission Docent-led tours - 6:00 PM

No docent-led tours on February 15 and March 15

MAG DeTOURSM - 6:00 PM/$10 (includes museum admission)

Purchase tickets online: mag.rochester.edu/events/detours/

February 15: I Heart DeTOUR

(with I Heart ROC's Emily Hessney) March 15: the Hairy Details in Art DeTOUR

($15, includes hair styling class) SM

SM

Third Thursday Organ Concerts - 7:30 PM

February 15: Christ Church Schola Cantorum March 15: Scordatura Violin Special Events

February 8: Hidden Passions (free with museum admission) Katie Jo Suddaby: Ordained Pastor/Sand Artist Sabra Wood: Ceramist/Community Advocate

February 15: Alternative Music Film (free) March 15: Hidden Passions (free with museum admission)

Theresa Bowick: Registered Nurse/Community Advocate John Bruning: Optics Engineer/Recreational Mathematician

March 22: Alternative Music Film (free) Art Social - 6:15 PM/$20 (includes museum admission)

February 1: Color Outside the Lines February 8: Touch of Tenderness (Portraits) February 15: Doodles do Dance February 22: Stained Glass Creations on Paper March 1: In Motion Watercolor March 8: Sketching With Watercolor March 15: Zentangles March 22: Fancy Flowers March 29: Patterns and Mandalas Food & drink available for purchase from Brown Hound Downtown Gallery Store shopping

FRIDAYS

1:00 PM Docent-led tour of the museum and collection Free with museum admission

SATURDAYS

Noon–2:00 PM Kids Create Dates - $10/Child Fun hands-on art projects for kids from ages 4–14 inside MAG’s front entrance.

SUNDAYS

1:00 PM Docent-led tour of the museum and collection Free with museum admission 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM Going For Baroque Organ Concerts Free with museum admission

[RE]FRAMING CEZANNE WRITTEN BY NANCY NORWOOD | CURATOR OF EUROPEAN ART

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few months ago, I received a surprise and very welcome telephone call from my colleague George Keyes, Chief Curator Emeritus at the Detroit Institute of Arts. “Nancy,” he said, “I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but I’ve decided your Cézanne desperately needs a new frame. It’s one of the most important pictures in your collection, and it’s horribly underserved as is. And I’ll pay for it.”

Paul Cézanne’s View of Mt. Marseilleveyre and the Isle of Maire (L’Estaque), c. 1882, one of several landscapes that the artist painted of a small fishing village in southern France, is indeed one of MAG’s most significant paintings. It exemplifies his mature style, in which he employs “taches,” the wedge-like strokes characteristic of his work, as well as color and form to build dimension and draw the viewer into the landscape.

With MAG’s thrilled approval, Dr. Keyes consulted with the renowned London frame specialist Paul Mitchell. We all agreed that a relatively plain late 19th-century Louis XV revival frame contemporary to the painting would be the best choice to replace the existing 18thcentury one. Mr. Mitchell’s firm then created an exact replica of the antique frame that we preferred.

Thanks to Dr. Keyes’ generosity, the result was well worth the effort.

As he said after seeing the Cézanne reframed: “It looks just splendid.

For the first time the monumentality of the composition comes to the fore…it can truly speak for itself without the distracting visual interference of the earlier frame!”

ABOVE: Previous frame, in the 18th-century Revival Style BELOW: Current frame, in the 19th-century Louis XV Revival Style Photos by Andy Olenick, Fotowerks

An

Important Collection of Arts & Crafts

Written by Jessica Marten | Curator in Charge/Curator of American Art

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AG recently acquired a treasure trove of watercolors, oil paintings, drawings, and prints by two Rochester artists that embody the aesthetics of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Curators at both MAG and the Strong Museum of Play, which formerly owned the collection, felt it was vital that the 230 works remain in a public collection in the City of Rochester. Related archival materials were acquired simultaneously by the University of Rochester's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. These exciting collections are already inspiring museum staff to develop a fresh consideration of this little-known chapter in the history of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America.

Around the turn of the century, Harvey Ellis (1852–1904) and M. Louise Stowell (1861–1930) were friends, with neighboring studios in the downtown Powers Building, when they created this body of work. Ellis is a key figure, both nationally and locally, in early-20thcentury art, design, and architecture. Stowell, who taught drawing and composition at the Mechanics Institute (now RIT), has fallen into

ABOVE: Harvey Ellis (American, 1852–1904), The Hourglass, 1898. Watercolor, ink, charcoal, and gouache on laid paper. Virginia Jeffrey Smith Fund, in honor of Grant Holcomb and Marie Via, 2016.27

relative obscurity. In 1897, together they helped found the Rochester Arts & Crafts Society, one of the first of its kind in America.

With close study, it is apparent this body of work is the product of a dynamic and collaborative artistic dialogue between the two. Ellis and Stowell appear to have worked closely in developing a shared Arts & Crafts style based upon the strong outlines and flat planes of color of Japanese prints, decorative patterns found in the natural world, and an emphasis on simplicity and restraint. Their particular style also drew from 19th-century sources such as the Pre-Raphaelites, with historical, mythological, and religious themes.

Exhibitions take many years of planning. MAG staff are already identifying grants to fund much-needed conservation of the collection.

In the meantime, we are cataloging, documenting, and researching the group. Little by little our efforts help us to illuminate untold stories.

And there are many stories here: the nationally significant figure, the all-too-frequently-forgotten female artist, and their heretofore undiscovered artistic collaboration. Most importantly, the images are absolutely stunning. Stay tuned!

ABOVE: M. Louise Stowell (American, 1861–1931), The Bridge, 1900. Watercolor, charcoal, and black ink on laid paper, laid down to board. Virginia Jeffrey Smith Fund, in honor of Grant Holcomb and Marie Via, 2016.97

Beauty isEverywhere &

WRITTEN BY LAURA E. BRILL | CURATORIAL ASSISTANT

JONATHAN P. BINSTOCK | MARY W. AND DONALD R. CLARK DIRECTOR

An aesthetic life is a life well lived, and University of Rochester alumna Rosalyn A. Engelman ‘78 (MS) is realizing this potential fully. Engelman is a painter, sculptor, and installation artist—she’s been an artist all her life—who studied art history and studio art at the UR. Her passion for looking at, creating, and sharing art is infectious. To meet her—an ebullient, color-saturated personality who is passionately dedicated to seeing the world and the people around her in new, illuminating light—is to understand how art changes lives for the better. Working with a variety of materials, Engelman produces art with a striking range of expressive content. In all of her work, she is searching for beauty, hope, and transcendence.

"I think about art all of the time. As a matter of fact, when I close my eyes, I see paintings, I see color, and I see all kinds of things that happen in my head."

— Rosalyn A. Engelman (American, born 1938)

Rosalyn Engelman: Beauty is Everywhere, on view in the Lockhart Gallery through April 8, 2018, features five works from the artist’s 2003–04 “Echo Sonata” series, which she created following numerous trips to Japan with her husband. The series, inspired by the art of 17th century Japanese calligrapher, Hon’ami Koetsu (1558–1637), finds its roots in a variety of art historical traditions, from the east to the west. Evocations of American mid-century gestural abstraction recall efforts by artist predecessors to create a universal language of painterly expression by plumbing personal experience and emotion.

Engelman’s commitment to discovering her way to convey her fascination with life’s mysteries—its challenges and hopes—is ultimately what this exhibition is about.

Rosalyn A. Engelman invites you to take this journey with her.

ABOVE: Rosalyn A. Engelman. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The

evening

of

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018

Join us to celebrate nine regional artists who are empowering MAG to deepen the impact of art and creativity in the lives of public school children in Rochester.

Mark your calendar for this annual fundraiser — an evening of wining, dining, bidding, and collecting!

Host a table! Become a sponsor!

Featured Artists: Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez Bill Klingensmith & Robin Cass Shawn Dunwoody John Gill Andrea Gill William Keyser Robin Whiteman Sabra Wood/Cat Clay

mag.rochester.edu/events/artists-affair

GIVE

Give Joe Carney a call (585.276.8941)

HOST

Picture yourself at MAG on your special day! (585.276.8950)

TOUR

Thursday: 6:00 PM

PERKS

Your support means the world to us! Email us at memberperks@mag. rochester.edu or call (585.276.8939)

CREATE

mag.rochester.edu/creativeworkshop

Art classes with the Creative Workshop (585.276.8959)

Brown Hound Downtown

Sculpture Park

Wednesday–Sunday 11:00 AM–5:00 PM Thursday 11:00 AM–9:00 PM First Fridays 11:00 AM–9:00 PM

DeTOURS: 2/15, 3/15 6:00 PM

Friday & Sunday: 1:00 PM

Always Open | Always Free

EAT

PLAY

SHOP

Text GIVEMAG to 24587

Park FREE in any MAG lot.

PARK

Reservations requested for Saturday and Sunday Brunch

(585.506.9725)

Members enjoy borrowing privileges

Wednesday–Friday 1:00–5:00 PM

Charlotte Whitney Allen Library

General: $15* Senior Citizens: $12 Children 6–18: $6 College Students: $6 FREE: UofR + members

Wednesday–Sunday 11:00 AM–5:00 PM Thursday* 11:00 AM–9:00 PM First Fridays 11:00 AM–9:00 PM

READ

PAY

HOURS

CHERYL DINOLFO COUNTY EXECUTIVE

Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester 500 University Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 585.276.8900 | mag.rochester.edu

Underwritten by Helen H. Berkeley, with additional support from the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. The Memorial Art Gallery is supported primarily by its members, the University of Rochester and public funds from Monroe County. Memorial Art Gallery is also supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. *Half-price Thursday admission after 5 pm is made possible in part by Monroe County.

Thank you to our Sponsors

Wheelchairs are available in the Vanden Brul Pavilion coatroom. The auditorium is equipped with an assistive listening system made possible by the Mark and Bobbie Hargrave hard of hearing fund of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the MAG community access endowment fund, and an anonymous donor. To schedule a sign language interpreter or touch tour for the blind, or to request a braille or text calendar, contact cander35@mag.rochester.edu (585.276.8971). People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call via relay service. We also offer a special cell phone tour for the visually impaired.

Accessibility

For more information about programming, events, tours, and all things MAG, visit our website at mag.rochester.edu, or follow us on social media!

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