Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
Summer 2017
DIRECTOR’S LETTE R
Susan M. Taylor
Cover Ida Kohlmeyer, (American, 1912–1997), Synthesis BB, 1983 Mixed media on canvas, Gift of Arthur Roger, 2012.121, © The Estate of Ida Kohlmeyer
Left Leonardo Drew, American, b. 1961, Number 59S, 2016, Painted wood, Museum Purchase, Leah Chase Art Purchase Fund and Robert Gordy Fund, 2016.73, © Leonardo Drew
Summers in New Orleans are traditionally a time for finding refuge from the heat, humidity, and lethargy of a city that seems to move at a slower pace as the mercury climbs. We invite you to find an oasis in the cool confines of the New Orleans Museum of Art, a gathering place that always inspires and invigorates regardless of the season. We find ourselves energized this summer with exciting new hires, revamped programming, and exhibitions that celebrate the extraordinary creative spirit of our region — all enhanced by the taken-for-granted wonder of climate control, a necessity for the well-being of both our art and our visitors. On June 23 we opened Pride of Place: The Making of Contemporary Art in New Orleans, an exhibition featuring the extraordinary collection donated to NOMA by renowned gallerist and art collector Arthur Roger. The members preview had the nostalgic and warm feeling of a class reunion as artists represented by the Arthur Roger Gallery gathered with museum patrons to take stock of the city’s artistic renaissance over the past forty years — one that has embraced the work of a wide range of artists both well-known and at the beginning of their careers. A walk through the galleries offers an experience that is both surprising and satisfying, socially provocative, and broadly inclusive, with works of art that encompass a diversity of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, and sexual orientations. Museum guests from every demographic will be able to “see themselves” on the gallery walls. Arthur’s generosity follows a long tradition of donating collections to NOMA that began in 1910 when the museum’s founder, Isaac Delgado, entrusted nine paintings to form the entire opening collection. The museum’s holdings have since grown to more than 40,000 works of art, thanks in part to the significant gifts of the Melvin P. Billups Collection of decorative glass, the Samuel H. Kress bequest of works by Old Masters, the Victor Kiam collection of art spanning the globe, and the Sydney and Walda Besthoff donation of sculptures and modern paintings, among many donors who have enriched our galleries and thereby our community. A recent statistical survey published by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) reveals that 89 percent of all newly acquired objects at affiliated museums were received as donations and bequests. The importance of considering the people of the city of New Orleans and their access to a public collection cannot be underestimated. Leading by example, collectors like Arthur throughout the country understand the profound impact of placing their collections in the public trust, to be cared for and exhibited for all to see. The act of giving goes beyond financial contributions or donated art, too. The AAMD study notes that nationwide total volunteer hours added up to more than 3.7 million, with an estimated legion of more than 57,000 men and women dedicated to serving their local cultural institutions, unremunerated but rewarded with a sense of shared ownership and civic pride. Memberships and contributions account for more than one-third of operating expenses, while the shrinking pool of government funds has dipped to 15 percent. In turn, museums draw 850 million visitors annually— more than the attendance for all major sporting events and theme parks combined—while directly contributing $21 billion to the U.S. economy each year. At NOMA we are deeply indebted to those who give in all capacities from our stellar volunteer committee to our dedicated trustees. The appreciation of art will remain the central focus of museums such as NOMA, but our offerings extend far beyond what is hung on a wall or mounted on a pedestal. In the months ahead we invite you to watch a movie, discuss a book, attend a cooking class, dance along to music, discover an artist’s inspiration, or purchase a one-of-a-kind keepsake. Keep Arts Quarterly close at hand as your summer survival guide.
Susan M. Taylor The Montine McDaniel Freeman Director
CONTENTS
Summer 2017
FEATURE
MUSEUM
10 Pride of Place
INSPIRED BY NOMA
The Arthur Roger Gift of Contemporary Art
4 Interview with Tim Fields
14 Major Moments in the History of Contemporary Art in New Orleans
EXHIBITIONS
5 McArthur Binion’s DNA Painting on view at Venice Biennale 6 Documentary filmmaker Rick Beyer honors soldier-artists in Ghost Army documentary
ACQUISITIONS
8 Israeli designer Ron Arad’s Big Easy Volume 2 chair
9 Laughlin photo captures Abry Brothers’ history
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ISRAELI DESIGNER RON ARAD’S BIG EASY VOLUME 2 CHAIR
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PRIDE OF PLACE: THE ARTHUR ROGER GIFT OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
Page 15
JOHN WATERS FILM FESTIVAL
Page 20
SPRING REVELRY AT NOMA’S LATE NIGHT MASQUERADE
COMMUNITY VISIT
SUPPORT
15 John Waters Film Festival
18 NOMA Donors
16 Summer events at NOMA
20 Masquerades, Merriment, and Camouflage
17 Albert Ledner documentary to premiere at Architecture and Design Film Festival SHOP
22 Unique items from the Shop at NOMA
OPPOSITE LEFT Ron Arad (Israeli, active London, b. 1951), Big Easy Volume 2 [Edition #11 of 20], 1988. Polished stainless steel, 38.5 x 53.5 x 34 inches. New Orleans Museum of Art, Purchase, William McDonald Boles and Eva Carol Boles Fund, 2016.54. OPPOSITE RIGHT Robert Gordy, Male Head, 1983, Monotype, Promised Gift of Arthur Roger, EL.2016.132.32, © The Estate of Robert Gordy ABOVE LEFT Actresses Deborah Harry and Vitamin C as mother and daughter in John Waters’ 1988 film Hairspray, Courtesy of New Line Cinema ABOVE RIGHT The Merry Antoinettes at NOMA’s Late Night Masquerade party
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P H OTO C O U R T ESY O F T IM FIEL DS
INSPIR ED BY NOM A : TIM FIELDS
Tim Fields is a New Orleans-based attorney with more than 20 years experience at the helm of his own firm. He is an avid art collector and a donor of art for NOMA’s permanent collection. How did your interest in NOMA begin? I’ve always loved it. I worked for attorney Jack Sullivan in college and law school. He was and still is a very big collector and has donated a lot to the museum, too. So early on, starting in ‘90 when I was working for him when I was a Tulane undergrad, I met artists and started going to art openings on Julia Street. Another good friend of mine, Leon Irwin, he was good friends with George Dunbar and he owned at that point about twenty-eight of his pieces. Leon had all antiques in house, but also modern and contemporary art. So probably twentyseven years ago I started getting involved in local art, mostly with local artists, Ida Kohlmeyer, George Dureau, all those typical people. The museum had some of their work, and had exhibitions for them.
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What role do you see NOMA serving in the community? It’s ground central, I think, for the art community. I have always said, I am amazed at the body of work the museum has for a permanent collection in a city of our size. I’ve been to museums in other parts of the country, and around the world, where the focus is more narrow, but NOMA has a little bit of everything. Regina Scully, American, b. 1975, Cosmographia, 2015, I know that Isaac Delgado Acrylic on canvas, Gift of Tim L. Fields, Esq., 2016.64 © Regina Scully made the building and the yard for it, but we have to raise our own money. to her studio and I was fascinated. I NOMA has collected its own think that is the best piece she has art over the last hundred years, ever done—well, that I have bought and I think it is a treasure. for the museum. I am biased a little It’s important to support the bit. [Cosmographia] has an amazing museum and our local artists. Not amount of movement, little vignettes everybody can afford to buy a lot of of just all kinds of things going on. art, but everyone can afford to donate The colors are just very vibrant and something to NOMA. Ten dollars, or the work is definitely unique, unlike twenty dollars, or a million dollars — I anything I have seen. think any level of giving is worthy. Many Are you drawn to a particular people seem to think, “Well, if I don’t type of art or artists? do it, somebody else is going to.” We Well, I love George Dunbar. I have, should always contribute and support I think, nine or ten of his pieces. His the arts. If they’re not supported, new show at Callan Gallery was a eventually they will disappear. I sit on couple months ago, and it was all silverthe board of trustees for my college in leaf instead of the gold-leaf trees he has Virginia, so I’m constantly aware of how done in the past. It’s an extraordinary much fundraising is required and the body of work, especially given his challenges for instititions to stay afloat. age. We are very fortunate to have One of the works you purchased somebody like him. for NOMA was Cosmographia, by Of course I like Ida Kohlmeyer. Regina Scully. Was there something I have a small sculptural piece of hers, that drew you to that painting? and two very large paintings, and a Leon sort of had me interested small painting. I think she was ahead in collecting Asian art — I’ve been of her time and just timeless. Beautiful to China, Thailand, Japan. I was abstracts. I am looking at one here fascinated by Regina’s work and its across my office. connection to Japanese style, and Even furniture. I try to find Susan Taylor said that her work lamps that are made by artists and was on the museum’s wish list, they benches and tables and everything. were looking for one. I said, “Oh, I I like to be surrounded by everything would love to see it,” and so I went beautiful in art. Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
EXHIBITIONS
MCARTHUR BINION’S DNA PAINTING ON VIEW AT VENICE BIENNALE NOMA ON THE ROAD
P H OTO C O U R T ESY O F M A RY SA B BAT IN O/G A L L ERIE L ELO N G
Works of art from NOMA’s permanent collection are frequently requested for loan to other institions. This summer, view Portrait of Marie Angélique Vérany de Varennes, Mme. Georges Gougenot de Croissy (1757) by JeanBaptiste Greuze at the National Gallery Art in Washington, DC, as part of the exhibition America Collects Eighteenth-Century French Painting. The Met Breur in New York is displaying The Ice Hole, Maine (1908) by Marsden Hartley in Marsden Hartley’s Maine. The exhibition will travel to the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, by fall.
McArthur Binion poses with his collage, DNA: Black Painting V, at the 2017 Venice Biennale.
The Venice Biennale, among the most prestigious contemporary art events known the world over, is underway through November 2017. More than 120 artists representing 51 nations are participating in the 57th International Art Exhibition, themed “VIVE ART VIVE.” Among the works on display is a painting recently purchased by NOMA, DNA, Black Painting V, by Chicago-based artist McAthur Binion, who is participating in the Biennale for the first time. A recent review by the New York Times singled out Binion’s work as among the most impressive.
www.noma.org
DNA, Black Painting V was purchased by NOMA in 2016 from the Leah Chase Acquisition Fund, established in honor of New Orleans’ renowned Creole chef, activist, and art collector. The painting incorporates copies of Binion’s 1946 birth certificate woven into crosshatched oil-stick grids that form two ovals. Binion, born in Macon, Mississippi, in 1946, describes himself as a “Rural Modernist.” He was the first African American to earn an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 1973, he moved to New York where he became part of an emerging group
of black artists exploring Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. He relocated to Chicago in the 1990s. His deeply autobiographical, abstract collage compositions are noted for his use of personal ephemera, notably his birth certificate, passport, and his New York address book, forming a unique blend of personal narrative and geometry. In an interview with Katie Pfohl, NOMA’s Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Binion said of his DNA series, “It was very scary for me to start using my birth certificate in my paintings. ... One day I was painting, and I just kept coming back to that birth certificate, how under race it said colored, but because my birth certificate was a copy, colored was written in white on black. My next series of paintings, half are going to have my birth certificate, and half are going to have a photograph of a lynched man, but you are going to have to look really hard to see it under the paint. This is not about race, this is about history and images, about saying more with a lot less.” DNA, Black Painting V originally appeared in the opening of the exhibition NEW at NOMA: Recent Acquisitions in Modern and Contemporary Art on view in the Fredrick B. Wiseman Galleries and Helis Foundation Gallery through October 8.
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EXHIBITIONS
SOLDIER-ARTISTS HONOR ED IN THE “GHOST AR MY” DOCUMENTARY Engineers, was loaded with artists. It wasn’t everybody in the unit, but it was a significant percentage of people in the unit, somewhere between 25 and 50 percent. Of course, one of those artists was Jim Steg. How was the Army able to recruit artists?
Rick Beyer
In 2005, documentary filmmaker Rick Beyer became fascinated with the history of the “Ghost Army,” a topsecret tactical deception unit charged with tricking the Nazis during World War II . Among the veterans of that unit was Jim Steg, the subject of a retrospective on view at NOMA through October 8. Steg’s wartime sketches of refugees he encountered on his tour of duty are on display as part of an exhibition that spans the renowned New Orleans printmaker’s fifty-year career. Beyer’s film will be shown at NOMA on Friday, September 1, at 7 p.m., and he will present a lecture on Wednesday, September 20, at 6 p.m. How did the Ghost Army come to be? The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, also known as the “Ghost Army,” was a deception unit that operated in the European Theater of Operations in World War II, and they used inflatable tanks and sound effects and illusions to fool the Germans. They did this in 21 different battlefield deceptions, starting shortly after D-Day and going to the end of the war. One of the interesting aspects of the story is that the unit selected to handle visual deception, the 603rd Camouflage
They had connections at art schools. In some cases, art schools were doing camouflage programs because it was wartime and people were trying to find a way to contribute. The Pratt Institute in New York and NYU and others did camouflage classes, and that was one way that they recruited artists. Of course, you know people often were looking for a way to use their artistic talent and not end up being in the infantry, which is both not using your talents and also more dangerous than any other branch. So people were looking for the opportunity, as well. The Army had a need, people had an interest, and that’s how this unit came together. Jim Steg emerged from his tour of duty to become a professional artist. What other veterans of the Ghost Army went on to pursue artistic careers? Many veterans of this unit went on to pursue artistic careers. We probably would start that list with fashion designer Bill Blass. We might put in there painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly. We might add wildlife artist Arthur Singer. We could put on there photographer Art Kane, who took that very famous picture of all the jazz musicians on the stoop in Harlem, and other guys, who became illustrators: Victor Dowd, Arthur Shilstone, Bill Sayles. There’s another fashion designer, Ed Nardiello. There were architects. Gil Seltzer was one. Creative people went on to do set design in Hollywood or designing store windows at big department stores.
Even after the war the Ghost Army remained top-secret for nearly 50 years. Why? Some people made efforts to declassify it, but the Pentagon really clamped a lid down on it, and they wanted to keep it secret. It started coming out in the ‘80s and was really fully declassified by the ‘90s. One reason why it was kept secret for so long might be because it worked, and the military wanted to use some of these techniques for possible use against, say, the Russians, if the Cold War had turned hot. If you reveal all the great deceptions, then the next time you go to war, people are going to be looking for those deceptions. It’s just the same way that in football, people look at the game films from the previous games to see what your tendencies are, so you don’t want to necessarily let the enemy—well potential enemies—know what all of your tendencies are. I think that’s probably why it was kept secret. How did you become familiar with the Ghost Army? I first came across this story 12 years ago. My former business partner introduced me to a woman whose uncle had served in the unit. She was very excited and felt that somebody ought to make a documentary about this. I went to what was, in essence, the last official reunion of this unit, in Washington in the fall of 2005. I started meeting the soldiers in the unit, started seeing their photographs, and I was looking at their artworks, and I really fell in love with the story. I mean, it’s a story about imagination and creativity in war. It’s not a bang-bang, shoot-emup story, but it’s a story about using your noggin to save lives. It’s a story in which artists have a role in helping win the war. This stuff is all kind of contrary to the expected, and I always love discovering the unexpected.
Jim Steg: New Works will be on view until October 8, 2017 in the Templeman Galleries. 6
Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
TOP Dummy tanks and trucks set up near the German towns of Anrath and Dulken in March, 1945, as part of The Ghost Army’s last operation.
ABOVE A Ghost Army soldier painted a scene of French villagers in shock at American soldiers lifting what appeared to be an actual tank, unaware that the military vehicle was an air-filled prop made of lightweight material.
RIGHT A replica of an inflatable tank owned by Rick Beyer was displayed in NOMA’s Great Hall at the opening of Jim Steg: New Work.
I fell in love with the people I met, some of the people who’d served in the unit and who’d had some of these artistic careers. Even the ones that I couldn’t meet because of they’d passed away, like Jim Steg, I got to look at their artworks and kind of see the war through their eyes. That’s an amazing thing all by itself, nevermind the deception mission. You have all these artists, who are, by the way, sort of like a traveling art school.
They’re looking at each other’s work and learn from each other, and they are documenting the war and creating this unique documentation of their travels across war-torn Europe. ...I have said many times, and I truly believe this, that this is one of the richest pieces of narrative material that I have ever come across.
Jim Steg: New Work remains on view in the Templemann Galleries through October 8, 2017. The retrospective of works by Steg includes his wartime sketches of refugees he encountered during his tour of duty.
www.noma.org
Learn more about Rick Beyer’s film and companion book at ghostarmy.org.
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ACQUISITIONS
ISR A ELI DE SIGN ER RON A R A D’S BIG E A SY CH A IR
Ron Arad (Israeli, active London, b. 1951), Big Easy Volume 2 [Edition #11 of 20], 1988. Polished stainless steel, 38.5 x 53.5 x 34 inches. New Orleans Museum of Art, Purchase, William McDonald Boles and Eva Carol Boles Fund, 2016.54. © Ron Arad
Ron Arad is one of the most influential designers of our time, known for his daring forms that span the disciplines of furniture, sculpture, and architecture. When the Museum of Modern Art mounted a 2009 retrospective of the Israeliborn designer, they summed up Arad as having been “imitated, idolized, feverishly discussed, and criticized, but never ignored.” Arad’s 1988 Big Easy Volume 2 chair recently became one of the first pieces of contemporary design added to NOMA’s decorative arts collection. This shape of this exaggerated, cartoonish chair suggests comfort, but its hard edges and steel body appear in contrast to its voluptuous curves. This hollow, large-volume shape is one of the artist’s signature forms. Iterations of this design chart Arad’s evolution from countercultural young designer to design superstar with a mass-production studio. 8
Ron Arad left Tel Aviv for London in the early 1970s. In the early 1980s the young maverick operated One Off, a gallery-studio that specialized in bricolage design with rough edges, exposed welding, salvaged materials, and splashes of paint. Arad’s furniture was the physical embodiment of punk culture—design set to the tune of The Sex Pistols and The Clash. It was in that context that Arad made the first version of this chair in 1988. This prototype was made of welded rugged steel, but was soon followed by a production of twenty in smoother stainless steel of which NOMA’s chair is #11. Arad said of his work: “The first of the chairs said to you ‘look I am crude, that’s who I am.’ ... with experience, the welding got better, the technique got better, and if the first ones were about crudeness, the next ones were about being refined.” Arad named the chair
“Big Easy,” self referencing an earlier series of chairs he’d named “New Orleans.” The Big Easy shape had staying power in Arad’s production over the next thirty years, with editions made in fiberglass and upholstered with foam. The form is a powerful statement on volume and illusion, and like the best of Arad’s design, it fully blurs the distinction between furniture and sculpture. The Big Easy is an outstanding example of how one designer can successfully rework designs through a career, turning to different materials, processes, and even attitudes to fully explore an idea. Mel Buchanan, RosaMary Curator of Decorative Arts and Design
Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
L AUGHLIN PHOTO CA PT U R E S A BRY BROTHER S’ HISTORY dated 1946 and titled Suspension #2, depicts a neoclassical building embellished with four fluted Corinthian columns with the bases mysteriously removed. While Laughlin often used multiple exposures or combination printing to produce otherworldly effects in his photographs, here he points to the surreal nature of the real world in an unmanipulated “straight” photograph, in which the large building appears to float in space. In another charming detail, a blurry “ghost figure,” the result of a pedestrian in motion during the exposure, strides along the sidewalk. The grand building appears to be a flophouse, with advertisements for “Rooms for Lease” and “Hotel” tacked to wood scaffolding, but most familiar to many New Orleanians is a sign indicating the building is under construction by Abry Bros., a shoring contractor founded in the mid-19th century that remains one of the city’s oldest family-operated businesses.
Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905-1985), Suspension (#2), 1946, Gelatin silver print, 9 3⁄8 x 7 5⁄8 in., © The Historic New Orleans Collection. Research indicates the building was located in the 200 block of N. Rampart Street, now the site of a parking lot in the French Quarter.
Clarence John Laughlin is considered one of the pioneering American surrealist photographers. Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1905, Laughlin moved to New Orleans with his family as a young child. He became a selftaught photograher and was employed by the WPA’s Historic Buildings Survey to document Louisiana’s historic architecture during the Great Depression. Louisiana’s built environment, particularly the decay of 19th-century plantations, cemeteries, and New Orleans’ raffish neighborhoods and demolition lots, became the primary focus of Laughlin’s artistic output. www.noma.org
Laughlin experimented with multiple exposures and other techniques to depict ruination caused by time and neglect and “to probe the intangible psychological jungle in which every object is enmeshed.” Laughlin wrote, “I am not primarily interested in the camera as a recording mechanism, but, rather, in its possibilities as an extension of the inner eye.” One Laughlin print recently up for sale at Skinner Auction House caught the eye of Russell Lord, the Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings. The gelatin silver print,
Lord approached the sixthgeneration owners of Abry Bros., who were delighted to purchase the photograph for NOMA. “Having opened our doors so long ago, in 1840, Abry Brothers’ history and that of the Crescent City are inextricably linked,” said company president Greg Abry. “Our connection to the community through this historic photo is a great source of pride for our business, our family, and will be for generations to come in the art museum.” Lord added, “I am delighted that so many elements of New Orleans came together to make this acquisition possible. New Orleans’ best recognized photographer, its distinct architecture, an established local family business,, and even the locally specific practice of raising and shoring, all combined to bring this treasure into our impressive photography collection.” 9
Pride of Place THE ARTHUR ROGER GIFT OF CONTEMPORARY ART Pride of Place: The Making of Contemporary Art in New Orleans celebrates art collector and gallery owner Arthur Roger’s transformational gift of his entire personal art collection to the New Orleans Museum of Art. Spotlighting one of the city’s most groundbreaking contemporary art collections, the exhibition explores the rise of modern and contemporary art in New Orleans. Since its founding in 1978, the Arthur Roger Gallery has been one of New Orleans’ most exciting venues for contemporary art. Roger’s personal collection of more than eighty paintings, photographs, and sculptures reflects the gallery’s storied forty-year history as well as Roger’s skill and sophistication as an art collector. Bringing together works of art Roger has collected from the 1970s through today, Pride of Place unfolds as an evolving narrative about place, identity, and belonging in New Orleans’ contemporary art scene over the course of the last four decades. Roger’s personal art collection reflects the city’s dynamic local culture while at the same time responding to more national and international concerns. Incorporating many of the artists that the gallery exhibited over the years, Roger’s collection includes experimental works by regional artists as well as vanguard works made all across the country. The artists included in his collection—many of whose work he purchased long before they became established voices in contemporary art—demonstrate Roger’s trailblazing early engagement with gender, sexuality, and race. Alongside other influential early New Orleans galleries, such as the Orleans Gallery and Galerie Simonne Stern, Roger was instrumental in putting the art of New Orleans into conversation with the broader art world, and into dialogue with the pressing social and political issues of the time, from the AIDS crisis to Hurricane Katrina and the lingering effects of environmental and man-made disasters affecting Louisiana. Roger opened his gallery at a moment when the field of contemporary art was rapidly expanding, incorporating more diverse perspectives. His gallery helped reframe the conversation about regional art, showing how the art of the broader United States—especially the diverse and eclectic artistic culture of New Orleans—could offer a more expansive and inclusive view of American art and identity. Robert Colescott, Power for Desire-Desire for Power, detail, 1987, Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 114 in., © Robert Colescott
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EXHIBITIONS
David Bates, American, b. 1952, Saints (Triptych), 2007, Oil on panel, Gift of Jan Lee and David Bates in commemoration of Arthur Roger, 2016.3.a-.c, © David Bates
“…Roger’s remarkable collection offers an unparalleled glimpse into the history of New Orleans’ evolving art scene…”
As one of the first galleries in the South to embrace the work of female artists, some of the first shows at Arthur Roger Gallery were devoted to the early work of such artists as Ida Kohlmeyer and Lin Emery. Other early projects included showing pointedly political papier-mâché sculptures by Willie Birch and exhibiting the work of openly HIV-positive artist Robert Gordy, whose work directly tackled the AIDS crisis. In 1993, the gallery mounted Regarding Masculinity, a group show that included Sue Williams, Kiki Smith, and Marlene McCarthy, and what later became Catherine Opie’s iconic self-portrait series was presented for the first time. Pride of Place puts early works by such artists as Kohlmeyer and Gordy into conversation with some of the most dynamic art being made in the city today by Luiz Cruz Azaceta, Dawn DeDeaux, Lee Deigaard, and Bob Snead, among others. This gift significantly expands NOMA’s current holdings of modern and contemporary art, bringing works of national importance into the collection while also reaffirming the museum’s commitment to the work of local New Orleans artists. Taken together, Roger’s remarkable collection offers an unparalleled glimpse into the history of New Orleans’ evolving art scene, representing a contemporary art collection still in formation as New Orleans continues to gain prestige as an art capital. Katie Pfohl, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Pride of Place: The Making of Contemporary Art in New Orleans will be on view in the Ella West Freeman Gallery through September 3, 2017. Support for this exhibition has been provided by an anonymous donor, Cathy and Morris Bart, and the Ida & Hugh Kohlmeyer Foundation. Additional support provided by the Rita Sue and Alan J. Gold Philanthropic Fund of the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation, John J. Sullivan, Marjorie Cowen, and James Mounger. Deborah Kass, Camouflage Self-Portrait, 1994, Silkscreen ink and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 72 inches, Promised Gift of Arthur Roger, EL.2016.132.35, © Deborah Kass
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Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
Simon Gunning, The Red Barge and the Yellow House, 2006, Oil on canvas, 39 ¾ x 72 inches, Gift of Arthur Roger, 2013.43, © Simon Gunning
PRIDE OF PLACE ARTIST PERSPECTIVES In conjunction with the exhibition, numerous artists represented by Arthur Roger will offer lectures. SIMON GUNNING, JUNE 23
LEE DEIGAARD, JULY 28
Finding a home in New Orleans’ Bywater neighborhood, Australian-born Simon Gunning has taken his appreciation for the South Louisiana landscape to the canvas. Known for his ability to capture light and color that is unique to the region, Gunning rejects a sentimentalization of everyday life and imbues his work with an edgy style that has been described as a personal statement about life, death, sorrow, and a love affair with his adopted homeland.
Working with a variety of media, including photography, sculpture, installations, and video, Lee Deigaard’s work features animal protagonists and landscapes where humans and wildlife live in mutual harmony. She also explores various ways of seeing and being seen. Navigating between light and dark, body and space, Deigaard aims to understand the mind’s eye in hidden moments.
DAPPER BRUCE LAFITTE, JUNE 30
NICOLE CHARBONNET, AUGUST 4
Bruce Davenport Jr., also known as Dapper Bruce Lafitte, is a self-taught artist from New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward whose work reflects the vibrant street culture of the city. He has received international acclaim for his vivid pen-and-marker drawings of second-lines and Carnival parades.
Aiming to evoke a sense of nostalgia, Nicole Charbonnet borrows from traditional Americana imagery, as well as compositions from noteworthy international artists, to instigate conversation about current social events and politics. Drawn to the idea that painting is a metaphor for recollection, Charbonnet mimics the process of memory with its numerous layers and textures.
BOB SNEAD, JULY 21 Bob Snead, a South Carolina native, took his love of art to establish the Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston and the traveling artist collective Transit Antenna. He holds a B.A. in Studio Arts from the College of Charleston and a M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art. Snead is currently the executive director of Press Street/Antenna Gallery in New Orleans.
www.noma.org
COURTNEY EGAN, AUGUST 18 & SEPTEMBER 1 Melding nature with technology, Courtney Egan’s projection-based sculptural installations deliver an ethereal experience that is both pleasing to the eye and yet unsettling to the consciousness. Inspired by the profusion of flora in New Orleans, Egan’s work explores the growing frequency of human exposure to nature via computers or television and provokes conversation about memory of the natural world.
DOUGLAS BOURGEOIS, SEPTEMBER 8 Born and raised in Louisiana’s Ascension Parish, Douglas Bourgeois combines his southern storytelling roots with technical rigor to create works that have been described as magical. Recurring subjects in his narrative paintings include religious figures and iconography, movie stars, pop musicians, social and political issues, the endangered natural environment, and the signs and symbols of American pop culture. Bourgeois’ meticulously rendered paintings reveal a unique artisanship that that weds well with his ability to express a singular vision through obsessive attention to detail. Read interviews with the artists at noma.org.
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EXHIBITIONS
PRIDE OF PLACE MAJOR MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN NEW ORLEANS Pride of Place: The Making of Contemporary Art in New Orleans is accompanied by a richly illustrated 143-page catalogue that includes an interview between Arthur Roger and iconic American film director and artist John Waters and an essay on contemporary art in New Orleans by NOMA Curator Emeritus William Fagaly. Listed here is a timeline of notable events and institutions from Fagaly’s research.
1922 ARTS AND CRAFTS CLUB An outgrowth of the nonprofit Artists Guild founded in 1919, this artist-driven organization based in the French Quarter offered classes and an ambitious schedule of exhibitions and lectures for the city’s bohemian colony.
1940 PABLO PICASSO’S WORKS APPEAR AT THE DELGADO MUSEUM OF ART — BY CHANCE A shipping strike left crated paintings by Pablo Picasso, en route from San Francisco to New York, stranded at the Port of New Orleans. The Art Association of New Orleans quickly raised funds to present an impromptu exhibition of the trailblazing modernist’s works, including his politically powerful mural Guernica.
1942 JOHN MCCRADY ART SCHOOL Former Arts and Crafts Club student John McCrady established an academy in the French Quarter that instructed many young artists bound for successful careers, including Ida Kohlmeyer, Rolland Golden, Robert Rucker, and Henry Caselli.
1956 ORLEANS GALLERY The first collective contemporary gallery owned and operated by artists opens in the city, cofounded by artists Shearly Ann Grode and Bob Helmer, and later joined by charter artist members George Dunbar, Lin Emery, Jack Hastings, James Lamantia, and Jean Seidenberg.
1967 GALERIE SIMONNE STERN Simonne Stern’s eponymous gallery increases New Orleans’ ties to the New York art world and introduces many now-iconic contemporary artists, including Alice Neel, Jacqueline Humphries, John. T. Scott, Margaret Evangline, George Dunbar, Lynda Benglis, and Sam Gilliam. 14
1976 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER A studio party hosted by artists Bob Tannen and Jim Lelande sparked a conversation within the arts community that led to the former K&B warehouse being transformed into a new museum.
1978 ARTHUR ROGER GALLERY Arthur Roger establishes a gallery at 3005 Magazine Street and becomes a pioneering gallerist for local contemporary artists. As interest grew rapidly in an emerging cluster of Uptown galleries, Roger played a leading role in forming the New Orleans Gallery Association and arranging remarkably successful coordinated gallery openings.
1984 LOUISIANA WORLD EXPOSITION A world’s fair constructed on the Mississippi riverfront featured water sculptures by such internationally recognized artists as Francois-Xavier, Claude LaLanne, Helen Escabedo, and Lynda Benglis, whose The Wave of the World was later installed in a City Park lagoon.
1996 NEWCOMB ART GALLERY An expansion of the Newcomb College Art Department resulted in the creation of the Newcomb Art Gallery, now the Newcomb Art Museum, a space primarily devoted to contemporary exhibitions.
2003 OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART An extensive gift of works of art from collector Roger Ogden forms the nucleus of a new museum solely dedicated to art from the American South, much of it by contemporary practitioners.
2008 PROSPECT.1 A panel discussion hosted by Arthur Roger Gallery on reviving New Orleans’ art scene in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina leads to a concept of the city hosting an international contemporary art series. The fourth iteration of this successful citywide art exposition will open as Prospect.4 in November 2017.
Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
L A V I T S E F M IL
F
and irector d lm fi n atured merica tography is fe A ic n o rt in s by ic se pho porary A rium m e t Five film n Waters, who n o audito ing of C oh artist J Place: The Mak NOMA’s in d e f n o e in Pride ns, will be scre a le r e O m m r. New t the su u o h g u thro
FRIDAY, JULY 21, 7 P.M .
PINK FLAMINGOS
1972, NC-17, 1 H. 33 MIN .
Notorious Baltimore criminal and undergroun d figure Divine goes up aga inst a sleazy married couple who make a passionate atte mpt to humiliate her and seiz e her tabloid-given title as “The Filthiest Person Aliv e.”
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 7 P.M.
CRY-BABY
1990, PG-13, 1 H. 25 MIN. In 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
FRIDAY, JULY 28, 7 P.M .
POLYESTER
1981, R, 1 H. 26 MIN.
A suburban housewife's world falls apart when her pornographer husban d admits he's serially unfa ithful to her, her daughter gets pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's bee n breaking local women's feet.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 7 P.M.
PECKER
1998, R, 1 H. 27 MIN. A talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists and finds newfound fame.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4,
HAIRSPRAY
7 P.M.
1988, PG, 1 H. 32 MIN . A “pleasantly plump” teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
Additional entertainment will precede and follow the movie screenings, including a ’60s-themed Hairspray dance party with WWOZ disc jockey Neil Pelligrin, the retro band Jake & the Nifty 50s for Cry-Baby, and an appearance by drag performer CeCe V. Dementhe dressed as Divine/ Babs Johnson in Pink Flamingos. Visit noma.org for more information.
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VISIT
SU MMER EV EN TS AT NOM A NOMA is the perfect escape from the long, hot summers in New Orleans. In the months ahead, join us as we celebrate the bond between New Orleans and France. Our book club will discuss a series of scintillating titles. Watch documentaries about World War II and a New Orleans modernist architect. BASTILLE DAY FÊTE
NOMA BOOK CLUB
Friday, July 14, 6 – 10 p.m.
Join NOMA staff and fellow book lovers in a reading and discussion program about books related to art, artists, art museums, and NOMA’s collections and exhibitions. To enroll, contact NOMA Librarian Sheila Cork at scork@noma. org or 504.658.4117. Book selections for the summer months will include:
Named the third best Bastille Day celebration in the world by Reuters. com, Bastille Day Fête celebrates the connection between Louisiana and France at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Now in its sixth year, the celebration will be bring a Gallic joie de vivre to the people of New Orleans.
Bastille Day Fête is presented by the Alliance Française of New Orleans, the Consulate General of France in Louisiana, the French-American Chamber of Commerce-Gulf Coast Chapter, and the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. Activities will take place indoors only and will include music and dancing with the local Bon Bon Vivant swing band, can-can dancing, a cooking demonstration by Café NOMA, guided gallery visits of the French collections, numerous French-themed children’s activities and more. The event will also be an opportunity to say farewell to Consul General Grégor Trumel, who will leave his post in New Orleans this summer after three years of service.
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Wednesday, July 12 1:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Thursday, July 13 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday, August 15 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Wednesday, August 16 1:30 – 3 p.m.
Wednesday, September 13 1:30 – 3 p.m. Thursday, September 14 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Stories of Art and Artists by Diana Secker Tesdell
The Master of the Prado: A Novel by Javier Sierra
In this anthology, selections by such great writers including Honore de Balzac, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, Marguerite Yourcenar, John Berger, William Boyd, Doris Lessing, Valerie Martin, Julian Barnes, Orhan Pamuk, and A. S. Byatt address the visual arts. Participants will choose different stories to share with the group. On Friday, July 21, members will participate in a potluck lunch for a debut of book selections for the coming year.
New York Times bestselling author Javier Sierra takes you on a grand tour of the Prado National Museum in this historical novel that illuminates the fascinating mysteries behind European art— complete with gorgeous, full-color inserts of artwork by da Vinci, Botticelli, and other master artists.
Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo by Stephanie Storey The New York Times writes: “Tremendously entertaining and ‘unapologetic’ in its artistic license, Oil and Marble will remind an older generation of the pleasures of Irving Stone’s art historical fiction, particularly his chronicle of the Sistine Chapel ceiling commission, The Agony and the Ecstasy. Storey’s affection for the period is clear. Her narrative instincts are strong and her dialogue sharp. Her exposition is adroit and informative.”
Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
ALBERT LEDNER DOCUMENTARY TO PR EMIER E AT ARCHITECTUR E AND DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL
JIM STEG: NEW WORKS UPCOMING EVENTS In conjunction with the exhibition Jim Steg: New Works, on view through October 8, numerous lectures, special events, and workshops are open to the public.
GALLERY TALK FRIDAY, JULY 7 | 6 PM P H OTO C O U R T ESY O F CAT H ERIN E L ED N ER
Francis Swigart-Steg, artist
ARTIST PERSPECTIVES FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 | 6 PM Jan Gilbert, artist and former student of Jim Steg FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 | 6 PM Interior of architect Albert Ledner’s New Orleans home, designed in 1959.
Renowned New Orleans architect Albert Ledner will be the subject of a documentary premiere in NOMA’s Stern Auditorium on Friday, August 25, at 7 p.m. as part of the second annual Architecture & Design Film Festival: New Orleans, hosted by the Louisiana Architectural Foundation. Designing Life: The Modernist Legacy of Albert C. Ledner is a chronicle of the architect’s life and noted commissions. Ledner, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, entered the building profession in the late 1940s. His singular design process and inspiration is explored in the film with an examination of his prolific residential work in New Orleans as well as the iconic National Maritime Union buildings in New York City, repurposed in 2012 to house the Maritime and Dream hotels. Ledner’s daughter, Catherine, is the co-producer. She documents her father today at the age of 92 reflecting upon his life’s work. The film weaves together interviews with Ledner’s friends and associates, visits the homes he
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designed, and portrays his daily life working and socializing in New Orleans in archival films and photographs. Ledner’s work has been called playful, whimsical—and occasionally even “oddball.” Contemporary architectural students and critics are coming to appreciate his unique style and contributions to modern architecture, leading to recent concerted efforts to preserve his larger iconic structures in Manhattan. Ledner’s work has been featured in numerous national publications, including The New York Times, House Beautiful, and Interior Design. In 2009 he received the American Institute of Architect’s Medal of Honor. Based out of New York City, the Architecture & Design Film Festival is the largest film festival dedicated to the creative spirit of architecture and design. Twenty films will be screened between August 24–27 at locations across the city. For more information, visit adfilmfest.com/site/no2017
Teresa Cole, Ellsworth Woodward Professor in Art, and Chair, Printmaking at Tulane University
DOCUMENTARY FILM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 | 7 PM
The Ghost Army 2013, 70 min. During World War II, a hand-picked group of American GI’s undertook a bizarre mission: create a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the German Army as their audience. Many of the men picked to carry out these dangerous deception missions were artists. The Ghost Army explores their story and the secret mission kept hushed up for nearly fifty years after the war’s end.
LECTURE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 | 6 PM Artists of Deception: The Ghost Army of WWII Rick Beyer, author and documentary filmmaker
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SUPPORT
DONORS The New Orleans Museum of Art gratefully acknowledges our donors, who make our exhibitions, programming, and daily operations possible. We appreciate your continued support of NOMA and its mission. Thank you!
Foundation and Government Support
Corporate and Individual Support
$500,000 and above
$20,000 – $49,999
$500,000 and above
$10,000 – $19,000
Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation
The Bertuzzi Family Foundation
Sydney and Walda Besthoff
Louisette Brown
The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Foundation
The Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation
$100,000 and above
$200,000 – $499,999 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Azby Fund Charitable Lead Annuity Trust Under the Will of Louis Feil City of New Orleans The Elise M. Besthoff Charitable Foundation The Frank B. Stewart, Jr. Foundation The Helis Foundation
Mr. E. John Bullard, III
Deborah Augustine Elam and Cary Grant
The Gulf Seafood and Tourism Promotional Fund
Mrs. H. Mortimer Favrot, Jr. IBERIABANK
Sandra and Russ Herman
$50,000 – $99,999
Sara and David Kelso
$10,000 – $19,999
Estate of Merryl Israel Aron
Cammie and Charles Mayer
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Elizabeth and Willy Monaghan
The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau
Elly and Merritt Lane
Scott and Marjorie Cowen
Tia and Jimmy Roddy
Janice Parmelee and Bill Hammack
SKYY Vodka
Kitty and Stephen Sherrill
Jane and Rodney Steiner
Crescent Capital Consulting, LLC E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation Caroline and Murray Calhoun
Lois and Lloyd Hawkins Jr. Foundation
Feil Family Foundation
The Selley Foundation The Harry T. Howard III Foundation The Marcus Foundation The Walton Family Foundation Zemurray Foundation
Tina and Robert Hinckley
Louisiana Division of the Arts
$100,000 – $149,000
The RosaMary Foundation
Stephen W. Clayton
Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation
Evelyn L. Burkenroad Foundation
$50,000 – $99,999
Audrey and Daniel Buckman
The Garden Study Club of New Orleans, Inc. Goldring Family Foundation Greater New Orleans Foundation Ida & Hugh Kohlmeyer Foundation J. Edgar Monroe Foundation John Burton Harter Charitable Foundation Kabacoff Family Foundation The Lupin Foundation Parkside Foundation Nell Pape W. Waring and Williiam W. Waring Fund New Orleans Theatre Association Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust
Whitney Bank
$20,000 – $49,999
Sally Richards
Liz and Poco Sloss Melanee and Steve Usdin Jones Walker
Arthur Roger Gallery Cathy and Morris Bart Gail and John Bertuzzi Joseph and Sue Ellen Canizaro Chevron Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Lemann Jeri Nims Mr. and Mrs. J. Cornelius Rathborne, III Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Tina Rathborne and Phillip De Normandie Michele Reynoir and Kevin Clifford
NOMA CORPOR ATE MEMBERS
Sheila and H. Britton Sanderford
Gold
Bronze
The Waring Family
Chevron
First NBC Bank
Hyatt Regency New Orleans
Le Meridien New Orleans
International-Matex Tank Terminals
Green
Jones Walker
Basin St. Station
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Boh Bros. Construction Company, LLC
The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau
Silver
Catherine Burns Tremaine
Crescent Capital Consulting, LLC Dupuy Storage & Forwarding, LLC Ernst & Young
Bellwether Technology
Laitram, LLC
Corporate Realty
Neal Auction Company Regions Bank For information about supporting NOMA, contact the museum’s Department for Development by calling (504) 658-4127.
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Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
SAVE THE DATE
NOMA CIRCLES President’s Circle
Patron’s Circle
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Bertuzzi
Dr. Siddharth K. Bhansali
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph O. Brennan
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Frischhertz
Mr. and Mrs. David F. Edwards
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gardiner
Mrs. Lawrence D. Garvey
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Heebe
Ms. Adrea D. Heebe and Mr. Dominick A. Russo, Jr.
Ms. Sharon Jacobs and Mr. Leonard A. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Mayer
Mr. and Mrs. Keene Kelley
Mrs. Robert Nims
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Lemann
Mrs. Patrick F. Taylor
Dr. Edward D. Levy, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. J. Thomas Lewis
Director’s Circle
Ms. Josie McNamara
Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Boh
Drs. Joy D. and Howard Osofsky
Mr. and Mrs. Daryl G. Byrd
Mr. and Mrs. Brian A. Schneider
Mrs. Isidore Cohn, Jr.
Mr. David P. Schulingkamp
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Coleman
Mrs. Frederick M. Stafford
Mr. Robert Hinckley
Mr. Stephen F. Stumpf, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William Monaghan
Ms. Catherine Burns Tremaine
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Patrick
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Brent Wood
Mrs. Louise H. Moffett
Dr. and Mrs. James F. Pierce Dr. Elisabeth H. Rareshide and Dr. Ronald G. Amedee Mrs. Charles S. Reily, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James J. Reiss, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Rosen Mr. and Mrs. Edward Shearer
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Jolie and Robert Shelton
LOVE IN THE GARDEN
September 22, 2017
NOMA’s annual fall soiree in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is sponsored by Whitney Bank. Join us for a night of dining and dancing under the stars and oaks and among the works of art. Honored artists for 2017 include Anita Cooke, Simon Gunning, Karoline Schleh, and Bob Snead. To purchase tickets or to become a sponsor, call 504.658.4121, email love@noma.org, or visit noma.org/event/ love-garden-2017/. The print deadline for the invitation is July 10.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Sherrill Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Siegel Mr. and Mrs. Lynes R. Sloss Mr. and Mrs. Bruce L. Soltis Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Steeg Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Thomas Ms. Susan Zackin
ISA AC DELGADO SOCIETY H. Russell Albright Wayne Amedee Larry W. Anderson Honorable Steven R. Bordner E. John Bullard Joseph and Sue Ellen Canizaro Mrs. Carmel Cohen Mrs. Isidore Cohn, Jr Folwell Dunbar Prescott N. Dunbar Lin Emery William A. Fagaly Randy Fertel Lyn and John Fischbach Tim and Ashley Francis Sandra D. Freeman Sarah and Richard Freeman Tina Freeman and Philip Woollam Lee Gubala Dana and Steve Hansel Susan and William Hess Abba J. Kastin, M.D.
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Lee Ledbetter and Douglas Meffert Thomas B. Lemann Dr. Edward D. Levy, Jr. John and Tania Messina Anne and King Milling James A. Mounger Jeri Nims Drs. Joy and Howard Osofsky Judith Young Oudt Mrs. Charles S. Reily, Jr. Pixie and Jimmy Reiss Polly and Edward Renwick Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Brian Sands Margie and Milton Scheuermann Jolie and Robert Shelton Margaret and Bruce Soltis Mrs. Frederick M. Stafford Nancy Stern Mrs. John N. Weinstock Mercedes Whitecloud
ODYSSEY 2017
November 4, 2017 The 51st annual gala event presented by IBERIABANK will celebrate NOMA and the tricentennial of New Orleans. Themed “A Celebration 300 Years in the Making,” the party raises funds for world-class exhibitions and museum programming. Art patrons gather for one of the year’s most elegant social occasions in a festive setting guaranteed to impress.
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M A SQU ER A DE S A N D MER R IMEN T Mardi Gras may have ended in late February but the spirit of Venetian Carnival carried on in a number of events at NOMA, in keeping with the sybartic theme with the exhibition A Life of Seduction: Venice in the 1700s. The annual Fellows Dinner, held on March 11, offers NOMA the opportunity to thank generous donors for their support over the past year. In 1975, the dinner began to also mark the presentation of the Isaac Delgado Memorial Award to an individual whose long-term service, support, and dedication sets the precedent for the institution. The 2017 honoree was 20
Donna Perret Rosen. She and 200 other distinguished guests were feted with a Venetian-style masked soirée, replete with complimentary hand-held masks at the tables and musical entertainment by a classical trio from the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Two exhibitions opened simultaneously on April 7. Jim Steg: New Work is a retrospective of New Orleans’ most influential printmaker of the 20th century. Steg taught at Newcomb College and Tulane University for nearly four decades. His former students, many of whom have
gone on to successful art careers of their own, were on hand to pay tribute to their beloved mentor. Regina Scully| Japanese Landscape: Inner Journeys paired the abstract work of the New Orleans-based artist with Edo-period Japanese paintings, the culmination of a project between Scully and NOMA Curator Lisa Rotondo-McCord. In the final week of the Venetian exhibition, NOMA kept the doors open till midnight on May 12 with a “Late Night Masquerade” featuring Mardi Gras Indians, stilt-walkers, New Orleans marching clubs, and nearly 800 revelers. Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
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1. Venetian Heritage Society members at NOMA’s Fellows Dinner 2. Ludovico and Stephanie Feoli, Pixie and Jimmy Reiss 3. Michael J. Siegel, Susan M. Taylor, Benjamin M. Rosen and Donna Perret Rosen, recipient of the 2017 Isaac Delgado Memorial Award 4. Frank B. and Paulette Stewart, and Mrs. Isidore Cohn, Jr. 5. Clementina Clarelli, Valentina Nasi, Toto Bergamo Rossi from the Venetian Heritage Society with Susan M. Taylor and Donna Perret Rosen
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8. Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs/ Curator of Asian Art Lisa Rotondo-McCord and artist Regina Scully
14. Drag emcee Carrie Mehome and Youth and Family Programs Manager Elise Solomon
9. Frances Swigart Steg, Steve Clayton, Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings Russell Lord, and Robyn Dunn Schwarz
15. Guests donned wigs and costumes 16. Masked revelers follow the ‘tit Rex parade through the galleries
10. Edible Book Day People’s Choice Award winner Ellie Hardie
17. Merry Antoinettes pose in front of Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun’s painting of Marie Antoinette
11. Hermes Mallea book-signing and lecture: Great Houses of Havana: A Century of Cuban Style
18. Attendees mingled with Mardi Gras Indians from the Wild Magnolias
6. Valerie, Sydney and Walda Besthoff
12. Stilt-walkers from the International School’s Circus Arts program performed during Masquerade: Late Night at NOMA
7. Member preview for Jim Steg: New Work and Regina Scully/Japanese Landscape: Inner Journeys
13. Museum visitors admire homemade book-themed cakes during Edible Book Day on April 7, 2017
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19. Visitors took part in a queen-themed scavenger hunt
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SHOP NOMA
BU Y LOCA LLY M A DE CR A FTS , J EW ELRY, ACCE S SOR IE S
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Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
THE ARTFUL PALATE
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY C H RIST IN A P ERSA N D
Bring home your own “pride of place” with a unique item from the Shop at NOMA. Jewelry, handcrafts, ceramics, and accessories from Louisiana crafters are available for purchase along with books by Louisiana authors.
CUFFLINKS $58 Whether you’re wearing them to a gala or during a night out on the town, these handcrafted enamel-copper cufflinks are great accessories for any formal event. Taking inspiration from her New Orleans heritage, Lindsay Lassen Kane of LLK Designs aims to create jewelry for every occasion in a city with a busy social scene.
BAYOU ST. JOHN STERLING SILVER ETCHED MAP CUFF BRACELET $175 Inspired by the placid waters of Bayou St. John, this sterling-silver cuff bracelet features a vintage New Orleans map. Jewelry designer Brandi Couvillon hammers out each sheet of metal and hand-etches each design. She oxidizes the metal to create the stunning blue ripples in this band. A mix of antique and contemporary chic, this bracelet is perfect for showing off your love of the Crescent City.
This summer, Café NOMA’s popular cooking demonstrations return! “The Artful Palate” will feature eight inspired cooking demonstrations. On consecutive Friday nights at 6:30 p.m. chefs from the Ralph Brennan restaurant group will prepare distinctive culinary favorites from around the world and close to home. “The Artful Palate” is free with museum admission and open on a firstcome, first-served basis. JULY 14 | FARM TO TABLE
LAUGHING LADY BOOK $14
Chris Montero, Café NOMA culinary curator and Napoleon House executive chef
Do you need a new story for bedtime? Dalt Wonk’s latest book makes a great addition to any book collection. Filled with eccentric themes that reflect the city he has come to love, Wonk’s original illustrations and stories will keep you entertained from cover to finish.
JULY 21 | THE EVOLUTION OF VIETNAMESE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS IN MODERN NEW ORLEANS
SILK SCARF $260 Created for a five-part series, this hand-painted scarf proves that art can be more than something one looks at in a gallery. Inspired by the design of artist George Dunbar’s Untitled, 1967, Kathy Schorr’s original patterned scarf makes a distinctive fashion statement.
BUNNY BOX $345 Bring home a whimsical creation from one of the most popular artists represented in the shop. This Bunny Box is among many one-of-a-kind ceramic creations by Susan Bergman, all of which are molded by hand.
BABY CRAB NECKLACE $140 Playing off the Gulf Coast’s maritime heritage, this brass necklace features a baby crab pendant. A perfect accessory for any outfit, the necklace also comes in sterling silver. Sarah Killen, owner and designer for Saint Claude, a New Orleans-based jewelry store, pushes the wearer to see more than what meets the eye in everyday objects and to understand the duality of beauty and darkness found in New Orleans. The Shop at NOMA is open during all museum hours. Find additional merchandise at noma.org/shop/
Knut Mjelde, Ralph’s on the Park sous chef JULY 28 | DOCK TO POT Austin Kirzner, Red Fish Grill executive chef AUGUST 4 | LATIN AMERICAN INFLUENCES AND THEIR ROLE IN THE REBUILDING OF OUR CITY Ryan Hacker, Brennan’s sous chef AUGUST 11 | EATING CLEAN: HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES Chris Fite, Café NOMA chef AUGUST 18 | ORGANIC COOKING Chris Vazquez, Heritage Grill executive chef AUGUST 25 | COMFORT FOOD Austin Egan, Red Fish Grill sous chef SEPTEMBER 1 | THE ULTIMATE DATE NIGHT: NATURAL APHRODISIACS AND THE ART OF PLATING John Navarria, Brennan’s sous chef
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2017 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ACCREDITATION
Michael J. Siegel, President
Susu Stall
Sydney J. Besthoff III, Vice-President
Frank Stewart
Stephanie Feoli, Vice-President
Melanee Gaudin Usdin
Suzanne Thomas, Vice-President
Brent Wood
Elizabeth Monaghan, Secretary
The Honorable Mayor Mitch J. Landrieu
Janice Parmelee, Treasurer Rob Steeg, At-Large
Susan G. Guidry, New Orleans City Council Member
Lynes R. (Poco) Sloss, At-Large
Lynda Warshauer, NVC Chairman
Julie Livaudais George, Immediate Past President
MEMBERS Herschel L. Abbott, Jr. Justin T. Augustine III Gayle M. Benson Elizabeth Boone Caroline Calhoun Scott S. Cowen Margo DuBos Penny Francis Adrea D. Heebe Juli Miller Hart Russ Herman Marshall Hevron Robert Hinckley David Kelso Dennis Lauscha Kenya LeNoir Messer Louis J. Lupin Cammie Mayer Brenda Moffitt Howard Osofsky J. Stephen Perry Thomas F. Reese James J. Reiss, Jr. Britton Sanderford Jolie Shelton Kitty Duncan Sherrill Michael Smith
The New Orleans Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
NATIONAL TRUSTEES Joseph Baillio Mrs. Carmel (Babette) Cohen Mrs. Mason (Kim) Granger Jerry Heymann Herbert Kaufman, M.D. Mrs. James (Cherye) Pierce Mrs. Billie Milam Weisman
HONOR ARY LIFE MEMBERS H. Russell Albright, MD Mrs. Edgar L. Chase Jr.
Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art EDITOR
David Johnson ART DIRECTOR
Mary Degnan
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
Roman Alohkin Sesthasak Boonchai EDITORIAL INTERNS
Starlight Williams Katelyn Fecteau
Prescott N. Dunbar S. Stewart Farnet Sandra Draughn Freeman Kurt A. Gitter, MD Mrs. Erik Johnsen Richard W. Levy, MD
Arts Quarterly (ISSN 0740-9214) is published by the New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, New Orleans, LA 70124 © 2017, New Orleans Museum of Art. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of the publisher.
Mr. J. Thomas Lewis Mrs. J. Frederick Muller Mrs. Robert Nims Mrs. Charles S. Reily Jr. R. Randolph Richmond Jr. Mrs. Frederick M. Stafford Harry C. Stahel Mrs. Harold H. Stream Mrs. James L. Taylor Mrs. John N. Weinstock
Facing page Bruce Davenport, Jr. (Dapper Bruce Lafitte), I’m a NOLA Art Beast, 2013, Pen and marker on paper, 60 x 40 inches, Promised Gift of Arthur Roger, EL.2016.132.18, © Dapper Bruce Lafitte Back cover Clyde Connell, Lady in a Box, 1995, Mixed media and wood, 71 ¾ x 11 ¾ x 2 ¾ inches, Promised Gift of Arthur Roger, EL.2016.132.13, © Clyde Connell Clyde Connell, Lady in a Box, No. 4, 1995, Mixed media and wood, 71 ¾ x 11 ¾ x 2 ¾ inches, Promised Gift of Arthur Roger, EL.2016.132.14, © Clyde Connell
Every effort has been made to acknowledge correct copyright of images where applicable. Any errors or omissions are unintentional and should be notified to NOMA’s Publications Department, who will arrange for corrections to appear in any reprints or online editions.
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Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art
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Arts Quarterly New Orleans Museum of Art P.O. Box 19123 New Orleans, LA 70179-0123 Follow us!