The Menil Collection2016 Annual Report
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THE MENIL COLLECTION2016 ANNUAL REPORT The Menil Collection 1533 Sul Ross Street Houston, Texas 77006 713-525-9400 menil.org 2 | | 3 THE MENIL COLLECTION2016 ANNUAL REPORT 4 | CONTENTS Fiscal Year 2016 July 1, 2015–June 30, 2016 4 Director’s Message 6 Mission Statement and Core Values THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE MENIL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT 10 Progress Report 62 Public Programs 12 Master Site Plan Implementation 66 Education 14 Menil Drawing Institute and Energy House 69 Menil Bookstore 70 Membership Programs EXHIBITIONS and COLLECTION 18 Exhibitions Introduction 74 FINANCIALS 30 Menil Traveling Exhibitions 31 Loans of Art to Other Institutions SUPPORT 32 Collection Introduction 78 Donors 33 Collections Management 82 Corporate Donors 34 Acquisitions 83 Friends of the Library and Glass Key Society SCHOLARSHIP 84 Membership 50 Publishing 52 Website 93 Board of Trustees, Menil Council, 53 Jasper Johns Catalogue Raisonné of Drawings and Founding Benefactors 54 Conservation 94 Staff 58 Research: Library and Archives 2 | | 3 DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Dear Friends of the Menil, he Menil Collection neighborhood has been abuzz with activity since I arrived last June. The capital campaign is headed towards a successful con- clusion, and construction has advanced on the Menil Drawing Institute, energy house, and Tadjacent green spaces. Thousands of plants have been added to our grounds alongside a hundred new trees. Our campus is abloom. The Menil Collection’s fiscal year 2016, which extends from July 2015 through June 2016, ended two weeks before my arrival. It was a year of leadership transition. In June 2015, after a successful twelve-year tenure as Director of the Menil, Josef Helfenstein announced his plans to oversee Basel’s renowned Kunstmuseum. Through Josef’s sound leadership, the Menil’s annual attendance doubled, the value of the endowment Front entrance to The Menil Collection. grew by almost fifty-four percent, and more than one thou- sand works of art were added to the collection. The Board of The Menil Collection green spaces and east portico. Trustees, led by President Janet Hobby, hired Thomas (Tom) Rhoads to serve as Interim Director from the time of Josef ’s Director Rebecca Rabinow departure in December 2015 through the summer 2016. With A previous collector had separated the masks back in the 1940s, care and patience, Tom ensured that the transition in the but thanks to the dedication of Trustee Adelaide de Menil Director’s office was seamless. Tom was a steadying influence Carpenter, the wolf and the caribou were reunited for the first and worked diligently to keep important large-scale programs, time in over seventy years in the Menil galleries. This remark- such as the capital campaign and campus building projects able tale became the focus of our first digital e-publication, on track. The staff and the Board of Trustees of the Menil which may be found on the Menil’s website (see also page 51). Foundation are extremely grateful to him for the efforts he MicroCosmos is one of many highlights from the 2016 made on behalf of this institution. fiscal year that I hope you enjoy reading about on the pages During that time, the Menil presented a full slate of beau- that follow. The Menil is poised for a vibrant future, and I am tiful exhibitions and thought-provoking public programs. privileged to build upon the significant accomplishments that Our Annual Report cover depicts an installation shot from Josef and Tom achieved during this period. MicroCosmos: Details from the Carpenter Collection of Arctic Art. You may recognize the feathered mask that has been a Warmest regards, feature of the Witnesses installation ever since Ted Carpenter placed it in the Surrealist galleries in 1999. Sean Mooney, Curator of the Edmund Carpenter Collection, realized that this mask was originally created as part of a pair. Together they Rebecca Rabinow p. 1: North portico and entrance to The Menil Collection. represent the twin animal spirits of the wolf and the caribou. Director pp. 2–3: The Menil Collection front lawn during the opening celebration for the exhibition As Essential as Dreams: Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Stephanie and John Smither. 4 | | 5 THE MENIL COLLECTION Mission Statement he Menil Collection is shaped by the vision of its founders, John and Dominique de Menil, and their belief that the arts are central to the human experience. There is a deep spirituality and humanism at the heart of the collection, and the intimate and contemplative environment in which art is displayed respects the primacy of the artwork and the Tviewer’s direct encounter with art. The Menil Collection is committed to sustaining the special spirit and core values that define this institution and to keeping them relevant for future generations. Core Values ■ A commitment to taking extraordinary care for works of art and their display in an environment that respects the primacy of the art. ■ Having museum buildings devoted solely to art and its requirements. ■ Preserving the spirit and character of the campus environment and neighborhood setting. ■ An intellectual independence and a willingness to take risks and be out of the mainstream. ■ Valuing the artist’s intention and working with certain artists on a deeper and more sustained level. ■ The central role of research and scholarship. ■ An international character and presence. ■ A commitment to ethical integrity and social responsibility. ■ Accessibility and an institutional culture that is sensitive and responsive to issues of diversity. A visitor views sculptures by Charlie Willeto in the exhibition As Essential as Dreams: Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Stephanie and John Smither. 6 | | 7 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE MENIL 8 | | 9 The CAMPAIGN for the MENIL Progress Report he accomplishments in the first twenty-nine years of the Menil’s remarkable history have defined the museum as an art and urban experience unlike any in the world. Our plans for the future build upon our values and stem from two well- considered studies—a Strategic Plan in 2006 and a Master Site TPlan in 2009. The outcome of these in-depth studies resulted in setting the priorities and goals of The Campaign for the Menil. The Campaign for the Menil will raise $110 million, comprising $60 million for new capital projects and other improvements and $50 million for endowment. Priorities include: New Parks and Green Space to maintain our tranquil urban neighborhood, with particular regard to sustainability and natural planting The Menil Drawing Institute to transform the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of modern and contemporary drawing New Energy House to replace our thirty-year-old plant with an updated building and modern energy-efficient equipment Redesigned Gateway to lead visitors from the upgraded $110 Million parking lot on West Alabama past Campaign Goal* Bistro Menil, now in its third year of operation, and then the Menil Bookstore $93.8 Million Steel framework for Menil Drawing or 85% Institute showing a portion that includes Key Museum Initiatives of Goal the Drawing Room (a large drawing study area) and the Conservation Lab. to enhance collections care and conservation of artwork within our renowned Renzo Piano main building An Increased Endowment to support programming and ensure continued excellence throughout the museum * Goal and amount raised pp. 8–9: Aerial view of Menil Drawing Institute as of June 30, 2016 The new entrance corridor leads visitors to the interior of the museum neighborhood. The parking lot includes site and new green spaces under construction, an environmentally friendly, underground water retention reservoir. surrounded by the live oak canopy of the Menil neighborhood, June 2016. 10 | | 11 WEST ALABAMA The CAMPAIGN for the MENIL Master Site Plan Implementation Gateway SUL ROSS Y L R L R E N E D B O N L P A U U Y M M THE MENIL COLLECTION BRANARD CY TWOMBLY GALLERY NEW ENERGY GREEN MENIL DRAWING HOUSE SPACE INSTITUTE WEST MAIN The Master Site Plan integrates new buildings with the existing widely Phase 2: South Expansion praised exhibition spaces, while expanding green space, clarifying Energy House, new green space, and the Menil Drawing Institute PHASE 1 A PHASE 2 pedestrian circulation, and emphasizing community integration. COLQUITT Visitors pass the Bistro Menil (left) and Menil Bookstore (right) on the pathway to the main museum entrance. Rendering (left to right) of Energy House, Cy Twombly Gallery, new green South Neighborhood Expansion O space, and the Menil Drawing Institute, looking north acrossT the extension T To the south of the Cy Twombly Gallery, significant ele- of West Main Street. E R O ments of the Master Site Plan are nearing reality. The Menil PHASE 1 L PHASE 3 PHASE 4 Drawing Institute will further the museum’s commitment to art, artists, and scholarship. Los Angeles–based architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee (Johnston Marklee) have designed a distinctive building dedicated to the apprecia- RICHMOND tion, conservation, and exhibition of modern and contem- porary drawing. The unique 30,146-square-foot, single-story structure will feature a trio of spacious courtyards. To meet the growing power requirements of the thirty- acre neighborhood, the Menil will soon complete its more efficient Energy House. The 10,000-square-foot facility, also designed by Johnston Marklee, will be an ecologically sensitive, electrical generating plant that supports increased infrastructure. The emphasis on sustainability and natural plantings continues at the heart of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ landscape design around the Menil Drawing Institute and new Energy House. The nearby landscape will include another park, where visitors and neighbors can relax under the shade of a variety of trees. This garden area will serve also as a flexible social space that can be utilized for outdoor events, lectures, small concerts, and movies.