Fall 2014 Kress Foundation Department of Art History
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Newsletter Fall 2014 Kress Foundation Department of Art History 1301 Mississippi Street, 209 Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas 66045 phone: 785-864-4713 F email: [email protected] F web: arthistory.ku.edu From The Chair This year the Art History Department was pleased to honor Corine Wegener as the recipient of the 2014 Franklin D. Murphy Distinguished Alumni Award. Cori received a Master’s degree first in Political Science from the University of Kansas in CONTENTS 1994, and in 2000 obtained her Master’s degree from KU in the History of Art. From 1999—just before she completed her History of Art Master’s degree—to From The Chair 1 2012, Cori enjoyed an impressive career trajectory at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In their Department of Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculptures, she began as With Thanks 4 a Curatorial Intern and was subsequently hired as a Research Assistant, then Assis- tant Curator, and finally Associate Curator. In these roles, Cori was responsible for 2014 Murphy 5 the acquisition, conservation, exhibition, and educa- Lecture Series tional programs related to American and European New Faculty 7 decorative arts. Meanwhile, from 1982 through 2004, Cori assumed Faculty News 8 the responsibilities as a Major (now retired) in the U.S. Army Reserve. These years were concurrent Alumni News 15 with the time she spent as an undergrad and grad- uate student, and also concurrent with her cura- Graduate Student 20 torial career at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. News Cori’s mobilizations in the U.S. Army Reserve took Congratulations 22 her to Germany, Guam, Bosnia and Iraq. In Guam, she coordinated education programs for 5,000 Iraqi Financial Support 23 Kurdish refugees. In Bosnia, she supervised multiple economic development projects. In Iraq from 2003- Parting Shot 24 2004, Cori served as an Arts, Monuments, and Archives Officer in Baghdad, and military liaison to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture. After theft, looting and destruction had taken place at the Iraq National Museum, Cori assisted law enforcement and museum staff in recovery and reconstruction efforts. In 2006 Cori founded the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield for which she formerly served as president. The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield is part of the Interna- tional Blue Shield movement, which was established to support implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Cori served as co-organizer of the Smithsonian Institution’s Haiti Cultural Recovery Project in Port-au-Prince. In that role, she advised the Smithsonian on the post-earthquake recovery of Haitian cultural sites, Department of Art History | 1 collections and organizations. From late 2012 to the present, Cori has served the Smithsonian Institution as the Cultural Heritage Preser- vation Officer in the Office of the Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture. There she has developed the Smithsonian’s long-term role in preserving cultural heritage endangered by natural disasters, armed conflict, and related crises. She has coordinated with national and international partners to develop training programs aimed at reducing risk and mitigating damage to cultural heritage, as well as providing appropriate emergency responses. Cori’s multi-faceted career and professional contributions have brought great distinction to herself and to her alma mater, the University of Kansas. Her significant work has taken her to countries all over the world, includ- ing Egypt, Libya, Mali, Syria, and Haiti. She returned to Lawrence to give her lecture entitled “From Berlin to Baghdad: When Art Historians Go to War” on October 2, 2014. Corine Wegener kindly agreed to an interview with Chair and Professor, Linda Stone-Ferrier. Linda Stone-Ferrier: What are you glad you learned as a graduate stu- dent that helped prepare you for your current position? Corine Wegener: I learned a multidis- ciplinary approach to museum work, combining a variety of courses with practical experience. I worked as a part-time membership assistant in the Spencer Museum, which prepared me for a museum career, including attending board meetings, preparing Cori displays a WWII era photo during her lecture at KU, part of the “Berlin” for exhibition openings, and working portion of “From Berlin to Baghdad: When Art Historians go to War.” with donors. I also received a very Image courtesy of the Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas. broad base of experience in art his- tory, enabling me to work with many types of collections– often a requirement in the decorative arts. LSF: What do you wish you had learned or experienced as a graduate student that would have prepared you better for your career? CW: I wish I had learned more about provenance research on collections. I very much hope graduate programs start to offer courses on this topic. It is a fundamental part of collections stewardship, critical to the acquisi- tions and loan process, and can even become a legal liability for museums when not done properly. LSF: What advice do you have for current undergraduate and graduate students regardless of their career aspi- rations? CW: Study what really interests you most. Don’t compromise on that, but also learn some critical skills that will help set you apart in the job market. Also remember that the job you are preparing for may not even exist yet– think strategically! 2 | Department of Art History LSF: Assuming one’s graduate degree is completed before starting a new full-time position, what are the big- gest adjustments that one has to make as one goes from being a graduate student to a professional in the field? CW: Unfortunately many new grads have to balance two or three part-time jobs while pursuing that covet- ed full-time position. Be flexible! Be prepared to take on that task or project no one else wants; it could be a chance to demonstrate your ingenuity and even position you for the next big project. LSF: Why did you choose the career path that you are now on? CW: While I had studied the terrible impact on World War II on cultural heritage, I was really not prepared when I faced it myself at the Iraq National Museum in 2003. Collections were smashed and looted, offices trashed, and staff demoralized. I finally understood the true impact of permanent loss of our shared history and vowed to do everything I could to help prevent that sort of loss in the future. Unfortunately, we are now witnessing this same type of destruction in numerous countries around the world. LSF: What do you consider to be your one or two (or more) proudest accomplishment(s) professionally, and why? CW: I’ve been very lucky to be able to do a variety of rewarding projects in my career, but I am probably most proud of founding the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield. During my tenure as president we created a training program for U.S. military personnel (basically the 21st-century Monuments Men) and we successfully lobbied for the 2009 U.S. ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the treaty and I’m very proud the U.S. is finally in- cluded as an official state party. Major Corine Wegener with Iraqi Jewish Archive at INC Compound. Cori with a damaged painting from the Nader Museum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti following the 2010 earthquake Department of Art History | 3 With Thanks The Kress Foundation Department of Art History benefits from the generosity of alumni and friends whose financial support strengthens the intellectual mission of the department and makes possible an array of programs that enhance our core offerings. We are deeply grateful to the following donors – as well as others who wish to remain anonymous – for their generous gifts in fiscal year 2014: Bijan Amini & Mary Alice Taylor Amini Leslie Diane Moe-Kaiser Brynn H. Andrews Karen Zeitler Murphy Gretchen Day Atwater & Beauford W. Atwater III Margaret E. Nelson & Paul R. Nelson Janet Baker An-Yi Pan Laurie A. Baker Janet C. Powell Nila A. Baker Marla Prather James K. Ballinger & Linda Ballinger Patricia Cain Rodewald & Lance E. Rodewald Marianne Barnard Jonathan C. A. Russell Michelle Mead Dekker Alexandra M. Schriner Edmund R. Eglinski & Pam Boles Eglinski Todd David Shenkenberg & Jan Heimann Shenkenberg Charles C. Eldredge Kevin D. Sigourney & Julie Leyba Sigourney Martha Gage Elton & Alan Elton Stacey J. Skold Ellen R. Goheen & John R. Goheen Dale D. Slusser & Sherry Fowler Edward J. Goldstein Robert L. Speer Randall R. Griffey Andrew R. Stevens & Anna M. Stevens Anne D. Hedeman & John Hedeman Douglas T. Tyler & Karen Fegan Tyler Grace M. Knott & Alan W. Knott Hannah C. Villa Janey L. Levy Denise R. Warner Chu-tsing Li Jane C. Weaver Mike J. McGoffin, Jr. & Allison Sivells McGoffin Margeaux E. Welsh Susan Weinlood McLeod Jessica L. Zuendel We are extremely grateful to Marla Prather The department wishes to extend our deep ap- (BA’78; MA’81), who has established the Prath- preciation toRandall Griffey (PhD ’99), whose er Opportunity Fund in Art History. The fund will estate plans will provide gifts to the History of be used to support study abroad, research and Art Department and the Spencer Museum of travel experiences for graduate students in the Art. The endowed fund in our department will History of Art Department. Marla is a Curator be named in honor of his mentor, Prof. Charles in Modern and Contemporary Art at the Met- C. Eldredge, Hall Distinguished Professor of ropolitan Museum of Art.