Perspectives Spring Summer 2021 Newsletter

SPRING/SUMMER 2021

Director’s Welcome Dear Friends, One year ago, The Westmoreland published its first digital newsletter, a decision that recognized the COVID-19 pandemic required our planning to be nimble and responsive to the moment. Indeed, we had to delay Border Cantos | Sonic Border, our spring 2020 exhibition by one year, and our fall 2020 and winter 2021 exhibition schedule shortly followed. However, we used the opportunity to experiment with our permanent collection and offer a robust slate of digital programs, a format that will persist beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, one year later, I am so pleased that we are opening Border Cantos | Sonic Border, a unique collaboration between photographer Richard Misrach and composer Guillermo Galindo. Misrach has been photographing the two-thousand-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico since 2004, with increased focus starting in 2009—that has resulted in a distinct melding of the artist as documentarian and interpreter. Misrach collected objects at the border and sent them to Galindo, who interpreted the border into a musical composition comprised of instruments created out of the objects.

Based on the Mesoamerican “Venus calendar,” Sonic Borders plays for a total of 260 minutes and is separated into 13 cycles of 20 minutes.

While the project began in 2004 and has been viewed by the public over the course of three U.S. administrations, the issues presented are no less relevant today as we witness what has been forecast to be the largest number of migrants trying to cross the border in twenty years. Rather than present a policy or position, Misrach and Galindo instead ask us to consider the role of art in political discourse, experience a place many have never ventured, and consider the human experience in an

incredibly complex policy issue. The Westmoreland is committed to be a space to consider challenging issues through the beauty and power of art.

In addition to quickly pivoting our exhibition schedule and translating our programs to a digital format, The Westmoreland also successfully received reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums. Reaccreditation includes a comprehensive examination of policies and procedures as well as a peer review by two museum directors, who in their conclusions wrote: “The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is an impressive museum that has a deeper and broader impact on its community than one would expect for a museum of its size. It accomplishes a great deal with a very lean staff and modest budget, and it adheres to excellent standards of governance, staff leadership, community service, strategic planning, and sustainable business practices.”

I am incredibly proud of The Westmoreland team and you, our supporters, for ensuring that we do indeed have an impact on the community. You make it possible!

With Gratitude,

Anne Kraybill The Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO

BORDER CANTOS SONIC BORDER Border Cantos | Sonic Border is a collaboration between American photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican American artist/composer Guillermo Galindo. Together, they explore the complexities of the Mexican-American border through photography, sculpture, and sound, inviting us to bridge boundaries and initiate conversations.

Border Cantos | Sonic Border is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas with additional loans from the artists. top to bottom Richard Misrach photographing at night on the Nogales border Guillermo Galindo playing Effigy, 2014

Support for this exhibition has been provided by Art Bridges, the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmorealnd Museum of American Art, and Opportunity Fund.

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Both artists address complex topics that touch on politics, environmental concerns, and humanitarian issues. Richard Misrach is well known for his largescale expansive images focusing on the ways humans interact with and impact the natural environment.

Guillermo Galindo’s composition Sonic Border is a 260-minute piece using eight musical instruments that he created from objects discarded near the Mexican-American border. Misrach found these objects on his visits there and sent them to Galindo.

Together, the photographs, objects, and sonic composition introduce distinct yet interrelated ways of experiencing the human consequences of immigration policies.

In his series Border Cantos, Misrach focuses his lens on places and objects in ways that reveal the traces of human impact on the land, bringing social commentary into his compositions. Since 2009, he has photographed along the entire length of the border and captured its diverse landscapes and communities. In many cases, what appears to be arrestingly beautiful on the surface reveals, on closer study, a more complicated story.

the border wall, effigy sculptures, border patrol target practice and methods of surveillance, water barrels, and discarded personal items. In Spanish, the word cantos also means “song,” adding a poetic nod to Galindo’s work as a sound artist.

In 2006, in response to the steady increase of unauthorized immigration across the southern border of the United States, the U.S. Secure Fence Act was approved, leading to more than 700 miles of new construction and surveillance. Misrach’s image, Wall, Los Indios, Texas, 2015, of a lone barrier surrounded by numerous tire tracks highlights how easily circumnavigated many sections of the wall can be.

He first photographed this isolated segment of the wall in 2012. Misrach returned three years later expecting much more of the fence to be constructed, but the only difference was the patch of green grass growing underneath.

Misrach’s photograph Wall, Jacumba, California, 2009, places the viewer on a high vantage point overlooking the land. The sandy terrain stretches far into the background. The small, man-made barrier seems to follow, continuing endlessly as it disappears Since Misrach began his Desert Cantos series in 1979, behind the hills. he has organized his projects into sections he calls “cantos.” This structure, found in Border Cantos as The extreme environment of the desert is a severe well, was inspired by an epic poem by the American threat to migrants. Since the Border Patrol began poet Ezra Pound titled The Cantos. Each of Misrach’s to track migrant deaths in 1998, it is estimated cantos from Border Cantos appears in themes such as that more than 6,000 fatalities have occurred as 2 / Spring/Summer 2021

a result of conditions such as dehydration and hyperthermia. For Agua #1, near Calexico, California, 2004, Misrach photographed a tattered flag flying above a blue barrel labeled “AGUA,” without knowing its purpose. When he began focusing on the border in 2009, he learned of Water Station, a non-profit group based north of San Diego that installs water barrels in the most remote, deadly portions of the Southern California desert. While some Border Patrol agents and local citizens support these relief efforts, others shoot holes in the barrels to prevent their reuse in an attempt to deter people who might try to cross.

Guillermo Galindo’s sound installation Sonic Border is an original score for eight instruments. Based on the Mesoamerican tonalpohuali, or “Venus calendar,” which is composed of 260 days divided into 20 weeks of 13 days, Sonic Border plays for a total of 260 minutes and is separated into 13 cycles of 20 minutes. Within these cycles, the instruments may play in small groups of two or more, or all together as an orchestra. This, to Galindo, expresses “the internal journey evoking what is happening inside the minds and hearts of the people that are crossing the border.” The composition embraces the pre-Columbian belief that there was an intimate connection between an instrument and the material from which it was made, with no separation between spiritual and physical worlds. Galindo explains, “Mesoamerican instruments were talismans between worlds, and the sound of each instrument was never separate from its essence, origin, and meaning.”

With this concept in mind, he “lets each instrument talk to me in its own voice as opposed to shaping it or playing it in search of a particular sound.”

Galindo often finds a musical or sculptural element in Richard Misrach’s imagery which he then incorporates into his creations. Misrach found figures scattered throughout an isolated canyon near Jacumba, California, and named them “effigies” because of their resemblance to the human form. Constructed from agave stalks and draped in tattered clothing, their purpose is mysterious. Galindo’s striking sculpture based on these effigies is made of clothing found at the

border. This instrument, also titled Efigie (Effigy), 2014, is made of crossed pieces of hollow wood—two larger strings at the top create a deep tone, while thinner sets of strings vibrate in the chest area.

Galindo’s hollow wooden instrument, Soundscape, 2014, was inspired by one of Misrach’s landscape photographs. The object is reminiscent of an Aztec drum called a teponaztli, typically made from a hollowed log with slits cut to allow varied pitch when struck. When activated by Galindo, the rusted nails, suggesting the border wall, can be plucked or stroked to make noise. The “valley floor” is covered with pages of a Bible inscribed to a girl.

Piñatas are typically associated with Mexican parties.

Shaped like a soccer ball found stranded on the U.S. side of the border, Shell Piñata, 2014, was inspired by a West African instrument called a shekeré, a gourd traditionally covered in a net of beads or seashells (shown in the illustration). Here, brightly colored shotgun shell casings adorn the surface, giving the festive colors and shape an ominous quality. Richard Misrach found the casings littering the ground at a Border Patrol shooting range and collected them for Galindo. Misrach stated “they had great sound qualities, and they were so colorful, like candy.”

The exhibition opens in the Museum’s Cantilever and Post 1950s Galleries on Saturday, May 30, with a special preview opportunity for Museum Members on Saturday, May 29.

Register in advance for your visit at thewestmoreland.org or call 1-888-718-4253.

During the run of Border Cantos | Sonic Border, Other Border Wall (OBW) will present a virtual exhibition and podcast series for The Westmoreland highlighting their work on borders locally and nationally. Incepted in 2017, OBW focuses on creative resistance to borders by building community, bridges and connections through art. Based in Pittsburgh, OBW is an award-winning, multicultural team of creative women, including designer and writer Tereneh Idia, designer and artist Leah Patgorski, and artist Jennifer Nagle Myers.

Visit thewestmorleand.org/exhibitions for more information. left to right Richard Misrach (b. 1949), Agua #1, near Calexico, California (detail), 2004, printed 2017, From an edition of 5, Pigment print, 60 x 72 inches, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2017.10 Guillermo Galindo (b. 1960), Shell Piñata, 2014, Piñata de casquillos, Sheet metal and shotgun shell casings, 17 x 30 x 30 inches, Art Bridges, AB.2017.4.6

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Exhibitions Cantilever Gallery

Border Cantos | Sonic Border May 30–September 5, 2021 Border Cantos | Sonic Border is a collaboration between American photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican American artist/composer Guillermo Galindo. Together, they explore the complexities of the Mexican-American border through photography, sculpture, and sound, inviting us to bridge boundaries and initiate conversations.

Border Cantos | Sonic Border is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas with additional loans from the artists.

Support for this exhibition has been provided by Art Bridges, the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmorealnd Museum of American Art, and Opportunity Fund.

McKenna Gallery

Doug Cooper: Knowing & Seeing the River City July 18–October 10, 2021

Pittsburgh-based muralist Doug Cooper responds to works of art in the Museum's Scenes of Industry collection.

Please note that the McKenna Gallery will be closed July 6–July 16 for the installation of this exhibition.

Robertshaw Gallery

Sarah Tancred: Heirloom May 14–June 13, 2021

Sarah Tancred creates slip-cast porcelain objects that represent stereotypical domestic objects used or made by women in the post-World War II home. This work investigates the dynamic of women’s role during this era while also commemorating the societal expectation of being a both a working woman, mother and a caretaker of the home.

Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer: Creation Out of Chaos June 18–July 18, 2021

Often drawing on her own memories and experiences as an immigrant, Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer was inspired to begin a new body of work following the 2016 presidential election to address the vast changes she sees in society on a daily basis. She paints zoomorphic and anthropomorphic beings that fluctuate between real and imagined landscapes to explore identity and diversity in our current political climate.

Celebrating 75+1 Years of the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society July 23–September 26, 2021

This juried member exhibition is a collaboration of The Westmoreland and the Greensburg Art Center in celebration of the art of watercolor.

For more information on our exhibitions, visit thewestmoreland.org/exhibitions.

All exhibitions are supported by the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Free admission to exhibitions is generously supported by:

clockwise from top left Richard Misrach (b. 1949), Wall, Los Indios, Texas, 2015, printed 2017, From an edition of 5, Pigment print, 58 1/2 x 78 1/4 inches, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2017.12 Sarah Tancred, Heirloom (detail) , 2020, Porcelain and glaze Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer, Trying to Fly, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36 inches Guillermo Galindo (b. 1960), Cokeflute, Pediaflute, Bottle Flute, 2012–2014, Glass Coca-Cola bottle, plastic Pedialyte bottle, and green glass bottle, Art Bridges, AB.2017.4.8

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EXCITING EXHIBITIONS ON THE HORIZON The exhibition schedule for the remainder of 2021 through spring of 2022 brings exciting exhibitions to the walls of The Westmoreland.

Read on to learn what is in store!

Simple Pleasures: The Art of Doris Lee September 26, 2021–January 9, 2022

Simple Pleasures presents the first major critical assessment of the work of Doris Lee (1905–1983), one of the most recognized artists in the country during the 1930s and 1940s.

Lee’s body of work reveals a remarkable ability to merge the reduction of abstraction with the appeal of the everyday. At one point, postcards of her most well-known painting, Thanksgiving, outsold those of Grant Wood’s American Gothic although Lee was often dismissed because of her decorative, folk-art style and domestic subjects.

This exhibition gives overdue recognition to Lee’s significant contributions to American art and provides an in-depth look at her forty-year career.

Co-curated by Barbara L. Jones and Melissa Wolfe (Curator of American Art, Saint Louis Art Museum), this loan exhibition will include approximately 75 works by the artist spanning from the 1930s through the 1960s from both public and private collections and is comprised of paintings, drawings and prints as well as her highly regarded commercial work, such as fabric and ceramic design, advertisements commissioned by General Foods, and illustrations for Life magazine and the New Yorker.

Simple Pleasures: The Art of Doris Lee is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. This exhibition is also supported by a major grant from Henry Luce Foundation. The Museum also acknowledges support from The Barrie A. and Dee Dee Wigmore Foundation, The Richard C. Von Hess Foundation and The Fine Foundation.

top to bottom Doris Lee (1905–1983), Oranges and Avocados, c. 1950s, Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Booth, Jr. and Burrell Group, Inc., 2009.10 Doris Lee (1905–1983), Vineland, c. 1940, Oil on canvas, 38 x 36 inches, Gift of William P. Emrick, 2009.35

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A fully illustrated, full-color catalogue includes four essays that provide an intriguing exploration of Lee’s life and comprehensive body of work, paying respect to her ability to conjure joy in life’s simple pleasures and erasing the idea that her art was too unserious to be taken seriously. The catalogue is available for sale now in the Museum Shop or online.

The exhibition was organized by The Westmoreland and will travel to three additional venues: Figge Art Museum, Davenport, IA (February 6–May 8, 2022); Vero Beach Museum of Art, FL (June 5–September 18, 2022; and Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN (October 30, 2022–January 15, 2023).

Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance January 30–April 24, 2022 Organized by guest curator Kilolo Luckett in collaboration with the artist, this exhibition examines the American dream through the lives of Black Americans. Using labor as a backdrop, Towns highlights the role African Americans have played in the economy and explores the resilience, resistance, and endurance that have challenged the United States to truly embrace the tenets of its Declaration of Independence.

Despite the horrors of racial violence and trauma of white supremacy, Black Americans maintain the ideals of liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness. For this exhibition, Towns is creating a new body of figurative paintings and story quilts that, along with existing work, expand the historical narratives of enslaved and free people who toiled under the most extreme hardships yet persevered through acts of rebellion, skillful guile and self-willed determination. Working in series, Towns explores themes such as coal miners, agricultural and domestic labor, as well as labor that highlights care and nurturing such as nursing, a theme that the artist felt was important to pursue as he created new work during the COVID-19 pandemic that highlighted the racial disparities that continue to plague the country.

A full-color catalogue will accompany the exhibition featuring an essay by Luckett.

Additionally, a short documentary film will be produced by Eleven Stanley Productions, founded by Njaimeh Njie, a Pittsburgh based photographer, filmmaker, and multimedia producer. The documentary will capture Towns at his Baltimore studio creating the new body of work for this exhibition as well as during his time at a residency in June 2021 at Fallingwater's High Meadow where he will be researching the life of Elsie Henderson. Henderson, who recently passed away at the age of 106, was the longtime cook for several wealthy Pittsburgh families including the Kaufmanns, the owners of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fallingwater. Towns will honor Henderson by creating one of his signature portraits of her for the exhibition.

Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance is supported by Eden Hall Foundation, Arts, Equity, & Education Fund, and De Buck Gallery. This exhibition is completed in partnership with the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area. Funding was provided in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, Environmental Stewardship Fund, administered by the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp.

Arts, Equity, & Education Fund

top to bottom Stephen Towns, I am the Glory, 2020, Acrylic, oil, metal leaf on panel, 48 x 36 inches, Courtesy of the artist and De Buck Gallery Stephen Towns, Two Roses, 2021, Acrylic, oil, copper leaf on panel, 30 x 40 inches, Courtesy of the artist and De Buck Gallery

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UPCOMING EVENTS AT A GLANCE MAY • • • • • •

Wednesday, May 5 > 10am–5pm Café Marchand and Swank Terrace Opening Wednesday, May 19–Sunday, May 23 > 10am–5pm Community Art Week Thursday, May 27 > 7–8pm Gavin Benjamin and His Brand Friday, May 28 > 7pm Sonic Border Performance and Q&A with Artist Guillermo Galindo Saturday, May 29 > 10am–5pm Museum Members' Private Preview for Border Cantos | Sonic Border Sunday, May 30 > 10am–5pm Opening of Border Cantos | Sonic Border

JUNE • • • • • • •

Saturday, June 12– Sunday, June 13 > 10am–5pm Museum Shop Spring Fling Monday, June 14–Thursday, June 17 > 9:30am–12pm Virtual Art Camp: Drawing Wednesday, June 16 > 7pm Virtual Screening: Art21 Borderlands Thursday, June 24 > 7–8pm Gavin Benjamin and His Collaborators Saturday, June 26 > 5–9pm Greensburg Pride Celebration Monday, June 28–Thursday, July 1 > 9:30am–12pm Virtual Art Camp: Painting Wednesday, June 30 > 7–8pm Virtual In Conversation: Photographer Richard Misrach and Chief Curator Barbara Jones

JULY • • • • •

Saturday, July 17 > 7–10pm Summer Movies at the Museum Thursday, July 22 > 7–8pm Gavin Benjamin and His Subjects Friday, July 23 > 7pm Virtual Drag Queen Art Critique Monday, July 26– Thursday, July 29 > 9:30am–12pm Virtual Art Camp: Collage Thursday, July 29 > 6–7:30pm Virtual Lecture 1: 1848-1965: Creation, Politics, Economics, Immigration and Society

AUGUST • • • • • • • •

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Thursday, August 5 > 6–7:30pm Virtual Lecture 2: 1965-1990s: Immigration, Society, and NAFTA Saturday, August 7 > 6pm Border Cantos Dinner Monday, August 9 – Thursday, August 12 > 9:30am–12pm Virtual Art Camp: Sculpture Wednesday, August 11 > 7pm LatinX and Proud! Virtual Reading Series Thursday, August 12 > 6–7:30pm Virtual Lecture 3: 2000-Present: 9/11, Fences, Security, and Subsequent Border Concerns Friday, August 13 > 6pm Mother Sauces: Virtual Cooking Class Saturday, August 14 > 7–10pm Summer Movies at the Museum Monday, August 16, 23, & 30 > 6–7:30pm Virtual Landscape Photography Workshop with Photographer Brian Cohen

Community Events

Community Art Week

Virtual Drag Queen Art Critique

Wednesday, May 19 through Sunday, May 23 10am–5pm

Friday, July 23, 7pm

The Westmoreland has partnered with the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse and the Pittsburgh Glass Center to present this engaging do-it-yourself art making opportunity.

Drop in during regular Museum hours to pick up your free art making kit, while supplies last. Each kit includes instructions and all of the supplies required to complete.

Share your art activity with us at #CommunityArtWeek Limited kits available. So, grab them while they last!

FREE Community Art Week is made possible with support from the McKinney Charitable Foundation and the Brooks Foundation through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee.

Virtual Screening: Art21 Borderlands Wednesday, June 16, 7pm Taking a new curatorial and filmmaking approach, Art21 connects and juxtaposes a group of acclaimed artists as they work along the Mexican-American border, interweaving their stories to chronicle the creative responses to one of the most divisive moments in the history of this area. Ultimately, the artists featured in this episode challenge themselves and audiences to embrace a more empathetic view of one of the most contested areas in North America.

FREE (Limited screening of 100 people)

Join drag queens Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder as they discuss their take on pieces from The Westmoreland’s permanent collection. There will be fun and there will be laughs as they give their tongue-in-cheek critiques of some summertime favorites.

FREE

LatinX and Proud!

Virtual Reading Series Wednesday, August 11, 7pm The Westmoreland teams up with City of Asylum to present this installment of LatinX and Proud!, a reading series featuring and celebrating Latinx artists and empowering the local and national Latinx community.

Participating poets were commissioned to create pieces in response to the exhibition Border Cantos | Sonic Border.

FREE

Virtual Book Club with the Greensburg Hempfield Library The Westmoreland is partnering with Greensburg Hempfield Library to present a virtual bookclub focused on themes tied to Border Cantos | Sonic Border. More details on this collaboration to be announced soon. Visit thewestmoreland.org/events for updates.

Greensburg Pride Celebration Saturday, June 26, 5–9pm The Westmoreland partners with PFLAG Greensburg and The Westmoreland LGBTQ Interfaith Network to present an LGBTQIA+ Pride celebration. Hosted by Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder, join us on the Museum grounds for a performance by dance pop artist, Bryce Bowyn, meet some of the community’s LGBTQIA+ organizations and stay for a socially distanced dance party. Special Drag Queen Art Critiques in the Museum, too!

FREE (Space is limited) Event sponsored by First Energy Foundation.

To register or purchase tickets for these events: • visit thewestmoreland.org/events • call 888.718.4253* *Please note that $1/ticket fee is added to phone orders for paid events only.

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Richard Misrach photographing at night on the Nogales border

Guillermo Galindo playing Effigy, 2014

Virtual Conversations

Virtual Performance

In Conversation: Photographer Richard Misrach and Chief Curator Barbara Jones

Sonic Border Performance and Q&A with Artist Guillermo Galindo

Wednesday, June 30, 7–8pm

Friday, May 28, 7pm

Border Cantos | Sonic Border is a unique collaboration between American photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican American sculptor/composer Guillermo Galindo. Chief Curator Barbara Jones sits down (virtually) to discuss what led Richard to this impactful work and the work’s continued relevancy especially given the current events transpiring at the border.

FREE

The History of the Mexican-American Border, (1848-Present) with Associate Professor of History, Pilar M. Herr, PhD Accompanying the Border Cantos | Sonic Border exhibition, this virtual lecture series by Dr. Pilar M. Herr, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg, examines the historical context of current issues associated with the Mexican-American Border from 1848 to the present.

FREE (Limited to 20 participants)

Lecture 1: 1848-1965:

Creation, Politics, Economics, Immigration and Society

Thursday, July 29, 6–7:30pm

Lecture 2: 1965-1990s:

During this virtual program, listen and watch as artist Guillermo Galindo performs his original score Sonic Border using instruments he created from discarded objects found and collected at the Mexican-American border by photographer Richard Misrach. After experiencing this special prerecorded performance, participate in a live Q&A with the artist.

FREE

For Museum Members

Museum Members Private Preview Saturday, May 29, 10am–5pm Enjoy the very first look at Border Cantos | Sonic Border organized by Art Bridges during this special preview day. This exclusive preview opportunity is available to all Museum members.

FREE Advance registration is required.

To register, contact Daria Jarani, Membership & Grants Manager, at djarani@thewestmoreland.org

Immigration, Society, and NAFTA

Thursday, August 5, 6–7:30pm

Lecture 3: 2000-Present

top middle Richard Misrach (b. 1949), Wall, Los Indios, Texas (detail), 2015, printed 2017, From an edition of 5, Pigment print, 58 1/2 x 78 1/4 inches, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2017.11

Thursday, August 12, 6–7:30pm

opposite page, top left Brian Cohen, Pittsburgh (detail), 2020, digital file/print, 13 x 10 inches

9/11, Fences, Security, and Subsequent Border Concerns

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Virtual Workshop

Culinary Experiences

Basic Landscape Photography with Photographer Brian Cohen

Border Cantos Dinner

Monday, August 16, 23, and 30, 6–7:30pm This three-part workshop will explore the art, history, and techniques, of landscape photography. We will take the time to think about what goes into making a great landscape photograph, with an emphasis on looking first, and equipment second. While the course will be directed towards digital technologies, much of what we cover is equally applicable to film-based media. $60 member/$75 non-member (Limited to 20 participants) Please note: No special equipment will be needed – there will be a discussion on how to get the best out of the equipment you have, from phones to high-end SLRs.

Outdoor Events

Summer Movies at the Museum Saturday, July 17 > Hairspray (1988) PG Saturday, August 14 > Best in Show PG-13 7–10pm Movie begins at dusk.

Join us for an epic night under the big screen as part of our Summer Movies at the Museum series! Bring a chair, social distance and relax. Plus, enjoy fun activities relating to the movie theme. Refreshments available for purchase, including food truck offerings, a beverage bar selection and movie snacks. $3 member/$5 non-member

Saturday, August 7, 6pm In conjunction with the Border Cantos | Sonic Border exhibition, which focuses on the Mexican-American border, we have partnered with Community Kitchen Pittsburgh to bring you a unique culinary experience highlighting dishes with distinct mother sauces from Central and South American countries. This event will take place outdoors and space is limited.

Your registration includes an onsite meal and a link to the Mother Sauces: Virtual Cooking Class. $50 member/$60 non-member Please note, attendees will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing

Mother Sauces: Virtual Cooking Class Friday, August 13, 6pm Can’t make it to the Border Cantos Dinner but still want to learn some delicious new recipes? Learn how to make two dishes featured at the dinner in the comfort of your home!

In partnership with Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, this prerecorded cooking class teaches you how to make these delicious recipes as you also learn about their historical and cultural significance.

Your registration includes a link to the virtual class, recipes, and shopping list.

FREE member/$20 non-member

Advance registration is required.

Please note, the Museum will be open during this event, but the movie will not be able to be moved indoors should there be inclement weather. If the event would be canceled due to inclement weather, refunds will be issued.

Check our website and social media pages for the latest updates. Attendees will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing when outside of assigned seating areas.

To register or purchase tickets for these events: • visit thewestmoreland.org/events • call 888.718.4253* *Please note that $1/ticket fee is added to phone orders for paid events only.

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Gavin Benjamin, photo by Adam Milliron

Artist-in-Residency Virtual Series

Virtual Art Camps

Gavin Benjamin and His Brand

This summer, the Museum offers four creative engagement virtual art camp experiences for children ages 7-10! Each camp digs deep into one of four specific disciplines – drawing, painting, collage and sculpture.

Thursday, May 27, 7–8pm Are you an artist interested in developing your brand? Join artist in residence Gavin Benjamin in a virtual discussion about artists and branding. Artists are encouraged to attend but all are welcome.

FREE

During the week, the art campers will engage with the medium creatively and explore various ways to approach art making using experimentation. These camps will provide the opportunity for young artists to pursue their own interests and subjects within each media with an open-ended approach that will yield diverse results specific to each artist!

Gavin Benjamin and His Collaborators

Please note: Attendance on all four days is necessary for a complete experience. Due to the exploratory nature and likely spontaneous results, video recordings will not be a part of this experience.

Thursday, June 24, 7–8pm

Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline for all camps is Monday, May 31 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

(Limited to 20 participants)

Learn about the team of designers, artists, filmmakers and more that artist in residence Gavin Benjamin works with on his creative process during this virtual conversation.

FREE

Gavin Benjamin and His Subjects Thursday, July 22, 7–8pm Tune in as current artist in residence Gavin Benjamin discusses the body of work he is creating during his residency joined by two of his photographic subjects from the Westmoreland County community.

FREE The Westmoreland Museum of American Art Artist-in-Residency program is presented in partnership with BOOM Concepts and made possible by generous support from The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Limited scholarships are available for the Virtual Summer Art Camps that provide free tuition.

Learn more at thewestmoreland.org/programs/family.

Drawing June 14–17, 9:30am–12pm $75 member/$85 non-member $20 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

Painting June 28–July 1, 9:30am–12pm $75 member/$85 non-member $20 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

Collage and Paper Craft July 26–29, 9:30am–12pm $75 member/$85 non-member $20 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

To register or purchase tickets for these events: • visit thewestmoreland.org/events • call 888.718.4253* *Please note that $1/ticket fee is added to phone orders for paid events only.

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Sculpture August 9–12, 9:30am–12pm $75 member/$85 non-member $20 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

CAFÉ M A R & SWAN CHAND K TERRA CE OPE

NING

Does a visit to The Westmoreland make you hungry? Well never fear, because Café Marchand is reopening on Wednesday, May 5 for grab-and-go service offering a limited beverage and snack menu. When weather permits, take advantage of our newly covered Swank Terrance to enjoy your grab-and-go items. Or, use a delivery service to order from a nearby restaurant and eat your meal al fresco on the Terrace! * Please note that due to current COVID-19 restrictions, food and beverage cannot be consumed inside the Museum at this time. Seating is available outside, weather permitting. thewestmoreland.org / 13

NEW VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

STARTS THIS SUMMER

Taking part in a new, paid eight-week Summer Virtual Internship Program, three interns will join the Museum staff this summer to take on projects in the Advancement, Marketing and Public Relations, Collections and Exhibition Management, and Curatorial departments. In addition to developing skills through their specific project work, the interns will gain a broader understanding of how museum professionals collaborate to plan and support daily operations and will participate in a cross-departmental cohort assignment as well as attend a professional development series with other museums across the nation.

Let’s Meet the Interns!

FUNDRAISING RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYST INTERN ADVANCEMENT DEPARTMENT

Shelby Barthelemy

Shelby Barthelemy is currently a junior studying Economics at Boston University. Growing up in south Florida, she was fortunate enough to be surrounded by arts and culture. She spends much of her free time exploring local art museums and galleries, which have been a source of inspiration for her creative pursuits as well as career aspirations. Through The Westmoreland’s internship program, Shelby hopes to learn about the advancement needed to ensure that the Museum may continue to positively impact communities.

CURATORIAL AND COLLECTIONS INTERN CURATORIAL AND COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITION MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENTS

Michelle Mandarino

Michelle Mandarino is a recent M.A. graduate of Indiana University where she studied Art History and was the Graduate Curatorial Assistant of European and American Art at the Eskenazi Museum of Art. As the Curatorial and Collections Intern, Michelle is excited to work with The Westmoreland Museum’s extensive collection of American modernism. In her free time, Michelle enjoys cooking, working out, and tending to her houseplants.

EXHIBITION & PUBLIC PROGRAMS MARKETING INTERN MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

Akilah Hartgrove

Akilah Hartgrove describes herself as a creative cultural builder. Her interests lie within the intersection of art and social justice. Akilah views the arts as a tool for advocacy and as collective healing for marginalized and underrepresented communities. Akilah recently graduated from Earlham College with a B.A. Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies and is currently enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Arts Management Program. One of Akilah’s creative outlets is experimenting in the kitchen and managing her food blog, @kilah_cancook, on Instagram.

The Westmoreland Summer Virtual Internship Program is made possible by generous support from The Pittsburgh Foundation.

14 / Spring/Summer 2021

TAKE 5 WITH ARCHITECT, ARTIST AND MURALIST

DOUG COOPER This summer from July 18 through October 10, Doug Cooper’s Knowing & Seeing the River City, an exhibition responding to the works of art in the Museum’s Scenes of Industry collection, will be on view in the McKenna Gallery. Find out more about Doug and his upcoming exhibition from this short Q&A with the artist.

1. What fascinates you about murals?

They have the power to make place. They can take an undistinguished portion of a corridor, or a characterless room, and make it into a completely memorable place. My grade school cafeteria had a Works Progress Administration (WPA) era mural along an end wall. That cafeteria is memorable for me because of that mural.

2. Why do you choose to only work in charcoal?

My first mural was in Pittsburgh and the material fit the place. I’m a self-taught artist and have no background in painting.

3. Tell us a little bit about this exhibition.

The thought was to make, actually to puzzle together, a mural in effect, using drawings that I would do that would-be extensions from the paintings that the Museum has in the collection.

So, the idea was to take a painting that has the Mon River exiting at the right-hand end and extend it in some way as a shape into one of my own drawings and then hand it off to another one of my drawings or to one of your paintings.

That was the original thought to have a mural that would thread, and trade back and forth, a river between the paintings from the Museum’s collection and the ones that I would do. The river would be the glue or the string that would tie all these things together to make one image. The exhibition became a kind of a drawing or a mural about the rivers, and the mural as an entirety makes no claim that it is geographic.

4. How long did it take to create one of your works in this exhibition?

Because the sizes vary for the pieces in the exhibition, the time varied as well. The larger pieces, 48 x 86 inches, have taken 2-3 weeks.

5. What do you hope viewers of your exhibition take away from it?

An understanding of the degree to which we who live in southwestern Pennsylvania identify our place in relationship to our rivers.

Doug Cooper, The Point (detail), 2019, Charcoal on paper on board, 60 x 48 inches

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WELCOME DR. ERICA NUCKLES DIRECTOR OF LEARNING, ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS

Dr. Erica Nuckles joined the Museum’s staff as the Director of Learning, Engagement and Partnerships at the beginning of April.

In this role, Erica leads the Learning, Engagement and Partnerships department, which incorporates past education efforts of the organization as well as new focuses on all learning opportunities, partnerships, and the evaluative process to broaden the Museum's educational programming scope.

Previously, Erica served as the Director of History and Collections at Fort Ligonier where she reimagined and expanded the site's programming and curated seven new galleries in the museum, and the Braddock’s Battlefield History Center that reopened in 2019 under the stewardship of Fort Ligonier’s senior staff. She has also worked at Crailo State Historic Site in Rensselaer, NY, where she helped to develop an exhibit on the Afro-Dutch experience in seventeenth-century New Netherland as part of the 2013 Yale Public History Institute, as well as at the Carlyle House Historic Park in Alexandria, Virginia, the DAR Museum in Washington, DC, and Bushy Run Battlefield in Jeannette, PA. Erica grew up in the South Hills of Pittsburgh and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming, a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from the George Washington University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in History from the University at Albany, SUNY. She and her husband, Drue Spallholz, live in Ligonier where they own and operate The Eastwood Inn and Getaway Café.

THE WESTMORELAND PARTNERS WITH PENNSYLVANIA We are excited to announce that the Museum has been named the Pennsylvania Partner in the Arts (PPA) for Region 12 of the state. The PPA program allows small arts organizations to receive funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, on a onetime or ongoing basis through different funding streams. The Westmoreland is now the PPA Partner supporting arts organizations in Westmoreland, Fayette, Somerset, Cambria, Blair, and Bedford counties.

The goals of the Pennsylvania Partner in the Arts program are: • Expanding constituent access to the arts by (a) making arts programs available to communities that may have been underserved in the past by state arts funding, and (b) supporting a wide variety of arts activities in the community, developed in a variety of local settings.

• Encouraging and supporting local decision-making in re-granting of state arts dollars.

• Increasing awareness of and advocacy for government support and funding of the arts at the local and state levels.

• Enabling the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to provide increased assistance to its broad constituency throughout the state.

Know an organization in Region 12 that is interested in applying for support from the Pennsylvania Partner in the Arts Program? Contact Daria Jarani, Membership & Grants Manager at djarani@thewestmoreland.org for more information.

This project was supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), its regional arts funding Partnership. State government funding comes through an annual appropriation by Pennsylvania’s General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

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TAKE 5 WITH ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

GAVIN BENJAMIN Before becoming the newest artist in residence at The Westmoreland this April, multifaceted Pittsburgh artist Gavin Benjamin had a busy end to 2020 and beginning of 2021 with two solo exhibitions, Heads of State at the BoxHeart Gallery (2020) and Downtown Renown: Pittsburgh Sports Greats (2020-2021), as well as being featured in numerous group shows.

Gavin’s residency runs through the end of June, and you can find out a little more about what he’s been working on with this short Q&A: 1. Describe your work in 7 words or less.

Noir-baroque, bespoke, cinematic, identity politics, beautiful, engaging, contemporary.

2. Do you plan to work on a new body of work or develop a new process during The Westmoreland’s residency program? If so, could you describe what you plan to work on?

I will be creating an entirely new body of photographic and portrait driven work during my residency based off the relationships that I create during my time at The Westmoreland. I will work to create relationships within the Greensburg African American community and bring them into the Museum by centering community members as the subjects of my photographs. I will examine the Museum’s collections and archives, incorporating them into my photos and making them accessible to the surrounding community. During my time at The Westmoreland, I will also produce workshops, a short documentary about my time, and curate the giftshop with objects from local inspiring makers. I will be including peer creative collaborators to help accomplish each aspect of the exhibition and accompanying programs.

3. What do you hope to explore or achieve while in The Westmoreland residency program?

At the culmination of the residency, I will have produced a new body of work as well as forged new relationships within the Greensburg and Museum communities. It is my hope that these relationships will result in deeper exchanges surrounding the arts in Greensburg and the influence of the African American community within the Museum setting. I hope to create an accessible exhibition and program that effectively reframes the residency as an all-encompassing endeavor that reaches into the far corners of the museum, its collection, and the Greensburg community.

4. What is something most people don’t know about you?

While the work that I produce does have a whimsical and playful quality, I am very serious about my career as an artist and the aspects that go into creating a sustainable practice.

5. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?

Have more fun, you’re only young once.

See page 12 for details on an Artist-in-Residency Virtual Series featuring 3 programs with Gavin.

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art Artist-in-Residency program is presented in partnership with BOOM Concepts and made possible by generous support from The Pittsburgh Foundation.

above Photo of the artist, Gavin Benjamin left Gavin Benjamin, Heads of State No. 14, 2020 Moab fine art paper, Swarovski crystals, and water based lacquers, 16 x 12 x 2 inches

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THE WESTMORELAND FOR FAMILIES IN-GALLERY ACTIVITY GUIDES AND TAKE-HOME ART KITS Starting in April, there will be new family offerings to enhance your visit to the Museum! Based on feedback from visitors, in-gallery activity guides and take-home art kits have been designed specifically for families with children ages 4-10 in mind. The guides focus on several works of art in the Museum’s collection and provide an opportunity for fun and meaningful engagement with these works of art during your visit at the Museum. Additionally, corresponding take-home art kits, with activities and supplies, are available to continue the creativity and learning at home. Both the in-gallery guides and take-home art kits are free!

Generous support for this project provided by the Remmel Foundation through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee.

18 / Spring/Summer 2021

A Remembrance of Betty Jane Hansen Betty Jane Hansen 1927–2021 Betty was a life-long museum goer. Before moving to Greensburg, she was a resident of downtown Chicago, living within walking distance to the Art Institute of Chicago. She was a member there for many reasons, including because she could pop in whenever she wanted to visit her favorite painting, Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte.

Betty and Judy at Judy’s Retirement dinner

Because of her daughter, Judy, Director Emeritus of The Westmoreland, Betty became a part of the Museum well before moving to Greensburg in 2016, flying in for special events and exhibition openings. She loved the parties and celebrations as well as the respite and quiet interaction with art that the Museum provided. She was immensely proud of its development during her daughter’s tenure.

After moving here it was natural for her to volunteer in any capacity that would help the Museum. She was happy stuffing envelopes behind the scenes or helping to greet attendees at events, like Art on Tap. She faithfully attended openings, events, and lectures, looking forward to the camaraderie and learning they provided.

But perhaps her favorite thing was wandering through the galleries, engaging with her favorite works of art and discovering new ones. She loved the Museum Shop, and I don’t think she ever left without a bag. As our Event Associate, Megan Mulcahey, remembers Betty, “She was always so fashionable in her outfits, jewelry and plastic purses. She was just a beautiful woman.”

Betty loved going to movies too, no matter what was playing, and eating out afterward. She had a number of favorite restaurants in Greensburg.

I have special memories of the many wonderful times we spent together here and in Chicago.

She considered me her fifth daughter, and I considered her not only a second mother but my good friend. Her beautiful smile and easy going spirit will be greatly missed by me and everyone who knew her.

Betty in the McKenna Gallery

–Barbara Jones, Chief Curator thewestmoreland.org / 19

Simple Pleasures Catalogue

Now Available in the Museum Shop and Online The exhibition Simple Pleasures: The Art of Doris Lee does not open until September 2021, but the catalogue for the exhibition is available now in the Museum Shop and online via the Museum’s website. The exhibition and the catalogue give overdue recognition of Doris Lee’s significant contributions to American art, bringing together paintings, drawings, prints, and ephemera spanning her forty-year career.

Four essays, including one written by Chief Curator Barbara Jones, provide an intriguing exploration of Lee’s life and work, paying respect to her ability to conjure joy in life's simple pleasures and erasing the idea that her art was too unserious to take seriously.

MUSEUM SHOP SPRING FLING Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13 10am–5pm

Before summer officially begins, enjoy one last Spring Fling at The Westmoreland! The Museum Shop invites you to this free outdoor pop-up market with fun prizes and other surprises on the Swank Terrace and Jack & Anne Robertshaw Family Gardens walkways. Shop local from your favorite makers, plus have the chance to meet them and learn more about their craft.

Learn more and register at thewestmoreland.org/event/springfling (Social distancing and masks will be required.)

20 / Spring/Summer 2021

THE WESTMORELAND GOES GREEN WITH RECYCLABLE PAPER MEMBERSHIP CARDS! Here at The Westmoreland, we are always thinking of ways to make the Museum’s environmental impact as small as possible. Starting this spring in coordination with Earth Day on April 22, The Westmoreland’s membership cards are going to look a little different. Instead of using plastic, the new cards will be made from recyclable paper and thus be more environmentally friendly. Be on the lookout for your new membership cards soon!

Be on the lookout for your new membership cards soon!

For any questions, please contact Ginnie Leiner, Membership & Development Coordinator at gleiner@thewestmoreland.org.

Create a Legacy of Inspiration The Westmoreland's American art collection has brought hope and inspiration to our community for over 60 years because of generous donors and their legacy gifts. Individuals who join the Museum's Legacy Society by naming The Westmoreland in their will or as a beneficiary ensure the vitality and permanence of both its collection and exhibition programs.

Please consider joining The Westmoreland Legacy Society. For more information and to request a brochure, please contact Rhonda Madden, Director of Advancement, at rmadden@thewestmoreland.org or 724.837.1500 x130.

Charles W. (Bud) Gibbons, III (b. 1947), Spring, 1993 Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 111 inches Gift of the J. Cleveland McKenna Family, 1993.53

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BORDER CANTOS SONIC BORDER May 30–September 5, 2021

Border Cantos | Sonic Border is organized

by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas with additional loans from the artists.

Support for this exhibition has been provided by Art Bridges, the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, and Opportunity Fund.

cover: Richard Misrach (b. 1949) Wall, Jacumba, California, 2009, El muro, Jacumba, California, Pigment print, 80 x 106 inches, Courtesy of the artist, IL.2018.107.1

221 North Main Street, Greensburg, PA 15601 724.837.1500 thewestmoreland.org info@thewestmoreland.org Hours: Wednesday–Sunday: 10am–5pm First hour of each day reserved for high-risk individuals

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The Westmoreland Museum of American Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.