TARA MERENDA NELSON FOURMATS GIL BATLE’S MEMORIES OF PRISON “I TRIED TO COPY THAT PLACE IN THIS EGG…” BOOK CORNER NINTH STREET WOMEN

The title of this letter, MAG Voices, makes me think of the thousands of student voices that we welcome into our museum every year.

I grew up in the D.C. area, so I was a frequent visitor of the National Gallery. Art museums became a place of comfort for me, a way to quietly slip away from the goings-on of everyday life. It’s important to me that others have the same exposure to art that I had growing up.

This past summer, I graduated with the museum’s docent class of 2019. Our group was made up of individuals who came from all walks of life, but shared a singular passion for learning, teaching, and art. We learned from MAG’s Academic Programs team and our mentors how to teach visitors to look carefully at a work of art. My training as a docent taught me the magic in “slow looking,” and I began to form deep connections to countless pieces in the museum’s collection. The extent of rich history, stories, and thought that is often within brush strokes is astounding. The best part of being a docent, of course, is showing those hidden worlds to the kids who come to visit.

Nothing beats the wonder that fills their eyes when they have a meaningful interaction at our museum, and that experience is something every student deserves to have. Creating those opportunities for students has driven my ambition to plan An Artists’ Affair for the past three years. Connecting little visitors with our collection is at the heart of MAG as well as my own.

This year’s event will be special—we’ll have great entertainment, one-of- a-kind artworks by local artists, and the opportunity to raise money for an important cause. This fundraiser ties together the significance of art and education, and the money we raise on May 30th will support brighter futures for Rochester-area school kids.

I hope to see you for this special night, and I thank you in advance for your donations and support!

Bella Clemente Events Manager, Advancement

COVER IMAGE: TARA MERENDA NELSON, INSTALLATION VIEW FROM END OF EMPIRE, 2014. LOOPING 16MM, SUPER 8, SLIDE FILM AND HD VIDEO, SILENT. TARA MERENDA NELSON © Thursday, April 2 7:00 PM & 7:30 PM | Included with museum admission CONCERT: Brighton High School Orchestra at MAG Join us for a celebration of the partnership between the visual and musical arts. Brighton High School students will play the music of Vivaldi, Bach, Delibes, and Mendelssohn throughout the museum in 20-minute concerts.

Saturday, April 4–Friday, April 10 11:00 AM–5:00 PM KIDS FREE WEEK Spend Spring Break with MAG! Kids 18 and under free (with paying adult admission). MUSEUM CLOSED MONDAY, APRIL 6

Sunday, April 5 Ja’Tovia Gary: Giverny I (NÉGRESSE IMPÉRIALE) closes

10:30 AM-1:00 PM | KIDS $15 MAG BUNNY BRUNCH Join us for a Bunny Brunch Buffet at Brown Hound Downtown featuring specialty pancakes, eggs, fruit trays, mini cinnamon rolls, potato puffs, chocolate milk, juice, coffee, tea, mimosas, and more. Tickets also include a make-it-and-take-it art project, fluffs to pet and visit, a museum scavenger hunt, and museum admission. Kids will also get to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt outside on the MAG grounds (weather permitting).

Wednesday, April 15 4:30–7:00 PM | $15 ESPECIALLY FOR EDUCATORS: Graffiti: Is it Really Art? Meet Zone of the Rochester-based graffiti collective FUA Krew, and one of the creators of MAG’s latest mural. Zone will lead an in-depth conversation on Rochester’s graffiti art scene, describe the process of creating graffiti art in public spaces, and share resources that can be used by teachers of all disciplines interested in activities for student expression. Designed for all classroom and art teachers. Please register at 585.276.897 or [email protected].

Thursday, April 16 7:00 PM | Included with museum admission. Free for AIA members. LECTURE: Grassroots Resource Preservation and Management in Kyrgyzstan: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Heritage on a Human Scale Learn more about this on-going set of small-scale heritage and cultural property preservation/education projects designed and carried out by the diverse citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic from K. Anne Pyburn, Provost’s Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington.

Friday, April 17 Tara Merenda Nelson: FourMats opens to the public.

Sunday, April 19 2:00 PM | Included with museum admission LECTURE: The Path to Paradise: Judith Schaechter’s Stained-Glass Art Hear MAG’s Curator in Charge/Curator of American Art Jessica Marten on MAG’s current exhibition exploring the bold and innovative artist Judith Schaechter. This program is free to cultural arts volunteers in celebration of National Volunteer Recognition Month. Contact Mary Ann Monley for more information at 585.276.8974 or [email protected]. Sunday, April 19 (cont'd) 3:00 PM | Free and open to the public CONCERT: OSSIA New Music OSSIA, a contemporary music organization run by students, teams up with Rochester-based modern chamber quintet fivebyfive for a performance in the Vanden Brul Pavilion.

Thursday, April 30 11:00 AM–6:00 PM MAG DAY OF GIVING Consider making a gift to MAG. Visit the Pavilion and share why you love being a part of MAG as a member! Follow us on social media for a glimpse of 24 hours at MAG and help us spread the word by sharing our posts. #rochestergives #tagthemag

Sunday, May 3 Noon–5:00 PM | $5 suggested donation/per group Asian Pacific Heritage Celebration Day

Wednesday, May 6 4:30–7:00 PM | Pre-registration required ESPECIALLY FOR EDUCATORS: Teacher Open House Enjoy everything the museum has to offer, including art, activities, resources, and more! Registration is required. Please register at 585.276.897 or [email protected].

Thursday, May 7 7:00 PM | Included with museum admission ARTIST LECTURE: Kota Ezawa Join MAG Director Jonathan Binstock and Kota Ezawa for an illustrated discussion about the artist's light-boxes, videos, and works on paper that distill found images into his signature pared-down, flattened style.

Saturday, May 9 2:00–3:00 PM | Included with museum admission CURATOR'S TOUR: Breaking Beauty: Judith Schaechter at MAG Join MAG curator Jessica Marten for an intimate, last-chance look at MAG’s major exhibition before it leaves for its tour.

Sunday, May 24 The Path to Paradise: Judith Schaechter’s Stained-Glass Art closes

Saturday, May 30 6:00–10:00 PM | $225/person AN ARTISTS' AFFAIR 2020 Join us to celebrate eight regional artists who are empowering MAG to ignite creativity, stimulate learning, and enrich the lives of Rochester’s schoolchildren. Mark your calendar for this annual event—an evening of wining, dining, bidding, and collecting! To purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/artists-affair. For questions or sponsorship information, contact Bella Clemente: 585.276.8942 or [email protected]

IMAGE, ABOVE, TOP: KOTA EZAWA, JOHN AND YOKO FROM THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY REMIX, 2005. DURATRANS TRANSPARENCY AND LIGHTBOX. 24 1/2 × 24 1/2 × 3 IN. 62.2 × 62.2 × 7.6 CM. EDITION OF 5. ANONYMOUS LOAN, 5.2019L.

IMAGE, ABOVE, BOTTOM: JUDITH SCHAECHTER, THE BIRTH OF EVE, 2013. SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM, GIFT OF THE JAMES RENWICK ALLIANCE THURSDAYS 5:00–9:00 PM Half-Price Admission

• Docent Tours - 6:00 PM | Included with museum admission (no tour 4/23 & 5/21)

• April 16: Third Thursdays Organ Concert - 7:30 PM | Included with museum admission A Musical Tour of 18th-Century Europe on Organ, Harpsichord, and Fortepiano: Works by Nernardo Pasquini, the Bach Family Dynasty (J.S., J.C., and C.P.E.), and more! Annette Richards and David Yearsley performing.

• MAG DeTOURSM - 6:00 PM/$12 | Includes museum admission Purchase tickets online: mag.rochester.edu/events/detours April 23: Medieval Mysteries and Mayhem DeTOURSM May 21: Fun, Friendship and Furniture DeTOURSM with Seth Eshelman of STAACH

• Food & drink available for purchase from Brown Hound Downtown

• THE STORE @ MAG open for shopping

FRIDAYS 1:00 PM Docent-led tours Included with museum admission

$5 FRIDAY! 5:00–9:00 PM April 24: Join us for a night of dancing with Fred Astaire Dance of Rochester. Discounts in THE STORE @ MAG ($5 off a purchase of $35 or more*). Art Social Activity**: "Drawing and Painting Dancers / Sketching People in Motion"

May 21: Celebrate 25 years of music with AKOMA African American Women’s Gospel Choir. Discounts in THE STORE @ MAG ($5 off a purchase of $35 or more*) Art Social Activity**: "Musical Collages" (*not to be combined with other discounts) (**Art Social Activity: 6:15 PM | $20 per person. Please check in at the admission desk upon arrival for location.)

SATURDAYS KIDS CREATE DATES | 1:00-3:00 PM /$15 PER CHILD Classes may be held in the Vanden Brul Pavilion or Creative Workshop. Please check in at the admission desk upon arrival for location.

SUNDAYS Docent-led tours 1:00 PM | Included with museum admission

April 19: Painting in the Gardens Docent Ellen Camfield leads this themed tour exploring pieces in MAG’s collection. May 17: The Artful Use of Wood in the MAG Collection Docent Jerry Alonzo leads this themed tour exploring pieces in MAG’s collection.

EVERY SUNDAY: 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM Going For Baroque organ concerts | Included with museum admission

FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON EVENTS, CLOSURES, AND CLASS CANCELLATIONS AT MAG, CHECK OUR WEBSITE MAG.ROCHESTER.EDU/CALENDAR. TARA MERENDA NELSON: FOURMATS WRITTEN BY ALMUDENA ESCOBAR LÓPEZ TIME-BASED MEDIA CURATORIAL ASSISTANT

Tara Merenda Nelson’s handmade cinema is not about showing the world as it is but about offering a cinematic encounter with that world. Through her work, she emphasizes audience participation, the spaces where the films are projected, and the devices involved in the projection process.

FourMats, Nelson’s exhibition in MAG’s Media Arts Watch gallery, includes two multimedia installations that combine four formats—16mm film, super 8 film, slide film, and HD video— to construct a single image. End of Empire is a vertical puzzle-like image of the tower in , and Moon projects a square composition of the celestial body. Both works are an inquiry into perception and projection, using iconic imagery to reveal the distinct visual qualities of each projected format. To this end, the projection devices are a crucial part of the display.

Nelson (b. 1975) is a filmmaker, curator, and installation artist. Her work has been exhibited in institutions including Mono No Aware, Anthology Film Archives, the Andy Warhol Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. She holds an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and is currently the Curator of the Moving Image Collection at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester.

MAG visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a presentation by Tara Merenda Nelson and her collaborator, Gordon Nelson, featuring a selection of their original Super 8 and 16mm films during a public screening on June, 18, 2020.

On view from April 17 through August 10

IMAGES ABOVE: TARA MERENDA NELSON, INSTALLATION VIEW FROM END OF EMPIRE, 2014. LOOPING 16MM, SUPER 8, SLIDE FILM, AND HD VIDEO, SILENT. TARA MERENDA NELSON ©

IMAGES BELOW: TARA MERENDA NELSON, INSTALLATION VIEW FROM MOON, 2015. LOOPING 16MM, SUPER 8, SLIDE FILM, AND HD VIDEO, SILENT. TARA MERENDA NELSON © “I TRIED TO COPY THAT PLACE IN THIS EGG…” GIL BATLE’S MEMORIES OF PRISON WRITTEN BY JESSICA MARTEN CURATOR IN CHARGE/CURATOR OF AMERICAN ART

Born and raised in San Francisco to Filipino parents, the artist Gil Batle spent over 20 years in and out of California prisons for fraud and forgery. During this time he marketed his self-taught skills as an artist—the same ones that got him convicted for forging IDs and traveler’s checks—earning the respect of his fellow inmates by drawing their family portraits, tattoo designs, and greeting cards.

After serving his time, in 2008 Batle moved to a small island in the Philipines and began to depict his life behind bars in searing detail on the surface of ostrich eggs. The artist begins by drawing with a pencil on the surface of the egg and sculpts the minute detail of his scenes using a high-speed dental drill. The creative impulse that has threaded throughout Batle’s life has now found an outlet in these otherworldly eggs covered with narratives of institutionalized gang violence and racially segregated cell-blocks.

About San Quentin West Block II, Batle said, “San Quentin’s West Block is the closest thing to Hell that I can imagine. It holds more than 700 inmates. The noise level was as loud as a football stadium during a touchdown. There is no way to describe this place. My first term in prison, I was in awe walking past each cell. Each cell had its own character. From daily quiet living in one cell to violent arguing or fighting in the next. I tried to capture that place in this egg. Not even close.”

SAN QUENTIN WEST BLOCK II IS ON VIEW IN THE FOLK ART GALLERY.

IMAGES ABOVE: GIL BATLE (AMERICAN, BORN 1962), SAN QUENTIN WEST BLOCK II, 2017, CARVED OSTRICH EGG. BEQUEST OF ISABEL HERDLE AND GIFT OF MRS. HENRY A. STRONG, BY EXCHANGE, AND FUNDS FROM DEACCESSIONING, 2018.15. WRITTEN BY EBONI JONES CURATOR OF INTERPRETIVE RESOURCES

I am excited to recommend Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel. Gabriel takes her time diving into the personal lives of these five women and the indelible marks they made together on postwar . The title is inspired by the Ninth Street Show of 1951, an exhibition that put New York City artists in the spotlight. She chooses to use the artists’ first names in her writing, making them feel more like friends as you read. Clocking in at 716 pages of content, this book is meant to be savored in pieces. It is also worth taking some time to look at the sections of photographs and paintings interwoven in the text.

In a male-dominated art world, these women stood on their own despite two of them being married to well-known painters! MAG has works by de Kooning and Frankenthaler in our permanent collection, with Frankenthaler’s Seer currently on view. I hope you come visit the museum and library soon!

IMAGE ABOVE: MARY GABRIEL, NINTH STREET WOMEN: LEE KRASNER, ELAINE DE KOONING, GRACE HARTIGAN, JOAN MITCHELL, AND HELEN FRANKENTHALER: FIVE PAINTERS AND THE MOVEMENT THAT CHANGED MODERN ART. PUBLISHED BY BACK BAY BOOKS; REPRINT EDITION (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019). ISBN-10: 0316226173, ISBN-13: 978-0316226172. PREPOSTEROUSLY BREATHTAKING INSPIRATION: AN INTERVIEW WITH JUDITH SCHAECHTER

WRITTEN BY JESSICA MARTEN CURATOR IN CHARGE/CURATOR OF AMERICAN ART

The Path to Paradise exhibition is accompanied by a 166-page catalog—rich with lavish, full-page reproductions of the artist’s work and new scholarship—published by MAG and RIT Press. For a brief glimpse into the engaging and extended interview with the artist in the catalog, read on.

Do you find, at this point in your life or career, that your motivators for going into the studio every day are different than they were when you started out?

Judith Schaechter: I do get (and even enjoy) extrinsic rewards like praise and money, and those things are nice enough. But they are not enough enough! There is just too much gravitational pull away from being an artist in this world for money and praise to sustain almost anyone in the arts. There’s just too much anxiety, heartbreak, and stress. So, there’s always some polestar keeping an artist motivated.

So the ultimate motivator for me is the euphoric feeling of having nailed it by doing justice to some preposterously breathtaking inspiration. That is the most ecstatic euphoria I have ever experienced. That feeling, coupled with the mind and body oneness, is a major reason why I stay in this game. And it doesn’t happen often, just intermittently enough to keep me completely hooked. When I worry about whether my work is worthy or not, I hope that the moments of mind-body synchronicity, coupled with the times I have actually flash frozen a real inspiration into solid, perceivable form for potential eternity — that they are available in the work for the viewer to experience as well.

The Path to Paradise closes May 24, after which it will travel to the Toledo Museum of Art and Des Moines Art Center. Catalogs are available in THE STORE @ MAG.

Lead support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation, with additional funding from the Gallery Council of the Memorial Art Gallery, the Rubens Family Foundation, Pamela Miller Ness and Paul Marc Ness, Corning Incorporated Foundation, and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass. The exhibition is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Support MAG • Connect Friends • Celebrate Art ART& TREASURES ROCHESTER'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS GARAGE SALE RE-HOME & REPURPOSE ARTWORK AND MORE... SAVE THESE DATES June 1, 2 & 3 DROP OFF Donations at MAG Spread the word to friends & family

PLEASE CONTACT THE GALLERY COUNCIL OFFICE TO COORDINATE A DONATION. CALL 585.276.8910

EARLY BIRD NIGHT ($15 at the door, cash only)

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 6–8 PM. SHOP AHEAD OF THE CROWD!

SALE DAYS (Free Admission) FRIDAY, JUNE 5 | 10 AM–4 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 6 (25% DISCOUNT) | 10 AM–4 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 7 (50% DISCOUNT) | 11 AM–3 PM

This annual event features the best in gently used antiques, original artwork, jewelry, pottery, furniture, china, porcelain, silver, fine linens, wearable art, fashion accessories, housewares, and books.

Support MAG • Connect Friends • Celebrate Art For more information * For more information about programming, events, tours, and all things MAG, visit our website at mag.rochester.edu, or follow us HOURS PAY READ on social media: @MAG_Rochester (Twitter), magrochester (Instagram, Facebook) General: $15 Wednesday–Sunday Charlotte Whitney Senior Citizens: $12 Accessibility 11:00 AM–5:00 PM Allen Library Children 6–18: $6 Wheelchairs are available in the Vanden Brul Pavilion coatroom. The auditorium is equipped with an assistive listening system Thursday* made possible by the Mark and Bobbie Hargrave Hard of Hearing Fund of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the MAG College Students: $6 Wednesday–Friday 11:00 AM–9:00 PM community access endowment fund, and an anonymous donor. To schedule a sign language interpreter or touch tour for the UR Faculty/Students/ 1:00–5:00 PM $5 Friday: 4/24, 5/21 and by appointment blind, or to request a braille or text calendar, contact [email protected] (585.276.8971). People who are deaf or hard of Members: Free hearing may call via relay service. We also offer a special cell phone tour for the visually impaired. 11:00 AM–9:00 PM Members enjoy borrowing privileges Thank you to our Sponsors ARTiculate is underwritten by Helen H. Berkeley and the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. The Memorial Art Gallery is supported primarily by its members, the , and public funds from Monroe County. The Memorial Art Gallery is also supported, in THE PLAY EAT part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. @ *Half-price Thursday admission after 5 pm is made possible in part by Monroe County. STORE #SHOPANDSUPPORTTHEARTS Brown Hound Downtown Centennial THE STORE @ MAG supports local (585.506.9725) artisans and provides funding for Sculpture Park

Museum exhibitions and educational Always Open | Always Free Bar & Appetizer Specials programs. Shop THE STORE and 5:00–7:00 PM on $5 Fridays support the arts! Reservations requested for Saturday and Sunday Brunch Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester 500 University Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 585.276.8900 | mag.rochester.edu PERKS HOST JOIN Members are the MAG! Your support means the Picture yourself at MAG mag.rochester.edu/join world to us! Email us at on your special day! Enjoy free admission, memberperks@ (585.276.8950) members-only invitations, mag.rochester.edu and more! or call 585.276.8939

TOUR CREATE Thursday: GIVE 6:00 PM Art classes with the (no tour 4/23 & 5/21) Give Joe Carney a call Creative Workshop Friday & Sunday: (585.276.8941) or email (585.276.8959) 1:00 PM ([email protected]) mag.rochester.edu/creativeworkshop DeTOURS: Members enjoy discounts. 4/23, 5/21, 6:00 PM