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Architecturally OK Desperately A look at Oklahoma City’s rewriting Susan underrated In her first posthumous collection of Life buildings and sights. essays, Susan Sontag revises her legacy. & TRAVEL, PAGE J14 PAGE J5 Arts

statesman.com Sunday, March 4, 2007 Section J

Jane Greig Redefining arte Blanton exhibit Several Austin might reshape locations would the way people look at Latin be picture-perfect American art before prom By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin Q: I am a high-school senior and our prom is AMERICAN-STATESMAN ARTS CRITIC on March 31. The group I am going with wants Patricia Phelps de Cisneros re- to take pictures. We have looked at the Umlauf members very well the last time a Sculpture Garden, Laguna Gloria and Zilker portion of her Latin American art Botanical Garden. The problem is we would collection was exhibited at the not be able to get there in time to take pictures University of Texas’ Blanton Mu- before they close. We are starting to worry seum of Art. that we won’t be able to find anywhere to take In fall 1999, about 40 vibrant ab- pre-prom pictures. Any suggestions? stract sculptures and paintings — Lauren H. from the 1950s and 1960s — just a A: Want a natural setting? Try Mount Bonnell sample of Cisneros’ 3,000-plus col- Park, 3800 Mount Bonnell Drive, or Wool- lection, considered one of the best dridge Square, 900 Guadalupe St. Prefer a Tex- in private hands — went on view in ana or Austin-esque backdrop? Visit the giant a cramped second-floor gallery at star in front of the Bullock Texas State History the Ransom Center, which the Museum, 1800 N. Congress Ave.; the Stevie Blanton was using for its exhibits. Ray Vaughan statue at the Town Lake hike- Though the venue was far from and-bike trail, west of South First Street; the ideal, the kinetic, zoomy, geomet- parklike grounds surrounding the Capitol, ric artwork made an impression on Congress Avenue at 11th Street; or the “Greet- some UT administrators who came ings From Austin” mural on the south side of to the opening reception. Roadhouse Relics, 1720 S. First St. Just perhaps not the kind Cisneros had expected. Q: I am a native Austinite seeing so many “I remember these officials high-rises going up daily. Why have architects walking in and exclaiming ‘This is gotten away from including the outside fire- art from Latin America?’ ” exit slides in case of fires that many buildings Cisneros recalled recently. “To see had years ago? the shock on people’s faces that — G.T.G. something so pure and sophisti- A: The fire code no longer requires these exte- cated could come from South rior fire escapes, says Don Smith, assistant America was a shock to me. I real- fire marshal for the Austin Fire Department. ized how important it was to ex- A high-rise is any building above 75 feet, the plain to everyone possible that reach of a fire department ladder, Smith adds. Latin American art wasn’t all mu- Interior stairwells are pressurized with fans rals and figurative scenes, Frida that push smoke out of the stairwell. In Kahlo and bananas and addition, pressurized vestibule areas allow watermelons.” residents who use wheelchairs a safe place Today Cisneros — who is the wife (telephones included) to wait for assistance of Venezuelan media magnate during an emergency. Gustavo Cisneros — believes that’s During an alarm, all doors in these stairwell going to be easier to explain. It’s not unlock automatically to allow firefighters just because a new exhibit from her access. collection is now on view at the Blanton — the first major Latin American show the museum has Q: My daughter is in the fifth grade and occa- presented in its spacious new sionally is required to do a project for school building, a show accompanied by that requires a typed paper. She desperately the publication of a major catalog needs help with keyboarding skills. and launch of an educational Web Is a class on typing/keyboarding for 11-year- site. olds available anywhere? It’s because with “The Geometry — M.H. of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from the Patricia Phelps de Free classes on basic computer skills are A: Cisneros Collection,” the Blanton available at the Austin Public Library’s Faulk Rodolfo Gonzalez AMERICAN-STATESMAN — which has attracted 150,000 vis- Central Library, 800 Guadalupe St. Call 974- Patricia Phelps de Cisneros provided part of her expansive collection for the Blanton exhibit. itors since opening last April — fi- 7400 for details. nally has the means, and the po- In addition, free classes for all ages in com- tential audience, to trumpet the puter skills, such as keyboard and mouse ‘The Geometry of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from For a slide Find more on story it’s been quietly composing basics, are offered by Austin Free-Net, 2209 show of ‘The for years. Rosewood Ave. or 236-8225. This nonprofit or- the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection’ Geometry of Call it a breakout moment for ganization provides technical expertise, ser- When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost: $3-$5 (free on Thursdays) Hope,’ go to Latin American art in this country. vices and equipment to community organiza- Tuesdays-Saturdays (Thursdays until Info: 471-7324, www.blanton austin360 It’s certainly a breakout moment tions. Want to help? Volunteer your time or 8 p.m.), 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays through museum.org .com. For for the Blanton. Its effort to change donate items such as sturdy comput- April 22 Exhibit tours: 2 p.m. Sundays through more 3austin360.com60 the misconceptions about Latin er tables, rolling desk Where: Blanton Museum of Art, April 22 (free with museum information American art can be widely chairs, paper or Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and admission) on the Blanton, see computer Congress Avenue austin360.com/blanton. See ARTE, J3 equipment (Pentium III or high- er). PHOTOS.COM Prefer to learn at home? Pick up “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing,” a software program designed to demystify the Princesses rule QWERTY keyboard. Q: I read your recent column about what to Girls will be girls, even when parents call relatives. My niece married a man who has a brother. Several years later, my niece’s wish they’d pick another role model sister (also my niece) married her brother-in- law’s brother. Now tell me all the relation- By Wendy Donahue and pink? ships. CHICAGO TRIBUNE Whenever she leaves their Chi- — Jean Wykes cago home, Vivienne totes eight A: In this case, your niece’s brother-in-law is CHICAGO — Attorney Danielle plastic Disney figurines of Snow a brother-in-law in two ways — as the brother Colyer, 39, has a belly button pierc- White, Sleeping Beauty and peers in of her husband and the husband of her sister. ing and four tattoos, including a a blue velvet purse embroidered And the relationship of the children of these dragon across her back. She used to with the word ‘‘Princess.’’ At bed- unions? They would be double first cousins, have Bozo-red hair, dress in vinyl time, Vivienne lines up the rag-doll according to the folks at the Texas State Ar- and vow that her baby would never versions beside her, all of them chives Commission Genealogy Division. get sucked into the Cinderella ‘‘beautiful, with their same Botox- vortex. looking face and deadpan stare into Contact Jane Greig at P.O. Box 670, Austin 78767; (512) space,’’ Colyer observes wryly. 445-3697; e-mail [email protected] or fax (512) 445- So how, she has wondered many Candice C. Cusic CHICAGO TRIBUNE 3968. For more Jane Greig, visit www.statesman.com/life/ times, did her baby grow into the 3- Colyer, who also is social studies greig. Friends, ages 2 to 4, pose for photos at the ‘Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes’ year-old Vivienne Colyer Malone show in Illinois. Disney has elevated princess marketing to an art form. who prefers tutus, tiaras, princesses See PRINCESSES, J10

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Austin American-Statesman LIFE & ARTS Sunday, March 4, 2007 J3

‘Estudio 2 (Study 2),’ 1952

‘Ocho cuadrados (Eight Squares),’ 1961 Gego

BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART IMAGES

Continued from J1 appreciated for the first time, GEOGRAPHY: In instead of being shown in small, out-of-the-way campus digs that few found their way to. Today, visitors to “The Ge- the world of art, ometry of Hope” can learn about the dynamic, logic-inspired ab- stract visual language that per- Latin America colated in cosmopolitan South American cities in the 1950s and her education in the U.S. She and 1960s. Perhaps more important- her husband have residences in ly, they can wander upstairs and isn’t merely south , Madrid and Aspen, see “America/Americas,” the Colo., but spend much of their permanent installation of mod- time in their Manhattan home. ern and contemporary art that For more than two decades unifies the Blanton’s collection of the border Cisneros has been a trustee for of art from 1900 to the present New York’s mighty Museum of day, organizing it based on the last decade with collectors 20th century. The forward- Modern Art. She also sits on chronology and aesthetic pro- no longer coming primarily thinking “America/Americas” various committees at Harvard gression, not geographic origin. from Latin America, but also is the end result. University, the Americas Soci- In other words, the Blanton from the U.S., Europe and Asia. ety and London’s Tate Gallery. and “America/Americas” is That shift is directly related to Yet when it came time to de- proposing a startling proposi- Cisneros picks the greater visibility museums velop a more extensive rela- tion: It’s not “Latin American” and other cultural organiza- the Blanton tionship with an institution, she art. It’s just art. tions have given to art from Patricia Phelps de Cisneros choose UT and the Blanton. Latin America.” has been watching UT for a Why? Geography and One of Brazil’s foremost con- while. “I would be very happy being art history temporary artists, Katie van Cisneros, who turns 60 this a student here,” Cisneros says Scherpenberg, who did a resi- year, founded her Colección with a laugh. “It has everything Before this new art history dency at UT several years ago, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in I want.” could be written, though, geog- says, “The Blanton has the pos- 1980. It’s an offshoot of the She has no current plans to raphy had to be redefined. For sibility to show Latin American Caracas-based Fundación divest her collection, and her fi- one thing, Latin America isn’t art in another, much broader Cisneros, the philanthropic arm nancial donation to the Blanton what — or even where — you light, bringing people from all of the Cisneros Group of Com- covered the seminar, catalog might think it is. In the broadest around to see and perceive un- panies. One of the largest pri- and exhibit expenses (she de- sense, it spans both hemi- known forms of expression— vately held media conglomer- clined to make public the exact spheres and oceans. not only Frida Kahlo exists.” ates in the world, the Cisneros amount). But involving the next “There’s this perception that Van Scherpenberg’s com- Group includes in its vast hold- generation of curators and art Latin America is one monolith- ment is a reminder that the ings Venevision, ’s historians — and having the ic entity,” says Gabriel Pérez- presentation of Latin American primary television network, chance to broaden their knowl- Barreiro, the Blanton’s curator art in this country has never and significant shares in edge of Latin American art — of Latin American art. “And been politically neutral. Spanish-language TV network was the best way, Cisneros fig- that all you do is go south of the As the world slid toward glo- . The Cisneroses are ured, to change the course of art U.S. and get there and everyone bal war in the late 1930s, the ranked No. 114 on Forbes mag- history itself. speaks one language — Spanish. United States developed a keen azine’s World’s Richest People “We’re fighting a lot of ster- And conversely, every one who interest in the continent to the list, with an estimated net worth eotypes about Latin America,” speaks that language and comes south and its abundance of nat- of $5 billion. says Cisneros. “But art is a way from that ‘one place’ has the ural resources. Art was the Through her foundation and through which people can get same traditions, ideas and perfect cultural arm of this new collection, the petite, birdlike past them.” beliefs.” diplomacy. Cisneros spends her consider- “We have to rethink the way But after World War II, the able energy promoting Latin [email protected]; 445-3699 geography and culture inter- U.S. had little need for Latin American art by loaning works sect,” he continues. “Previous- America. And hence Latin to museums, organizing trav- ly, there was always some big art American art all but dropped off eling exhibits and developing historical theory that unites the radar in this country, re- art education programs and ‘Parangolé P16 capa 12. everything in Latin American garded as little more than a materials. The foundation just art, then compares it with art in footnote, folk art or exotica. recently wrapped up an 11- Da adversidade vivemos the United States or Europe. Then, in the 1970s, America country, eight-year tour of (Parangolé P16 Cape 12. That’s just not accurate.” began a love affair with magical multiple exhibits around the We Live From Adversity),’ And that’s why Pérez- realism, thanks to English world. 1965/1992 Barreiro included Paris as one translations of books by Latin “I’ve always thought of the Hélio Oiticica of six Latin American cities American authors such as collection as functioning as a highlighted in “The Geometry Gabriel García Márquez. That museum without walls,” of Hope,” where abstract art in turn sparked interest in art- Cisneros says in her accent-free fomented. ists such as Kahlo. But the pop- English as she wanders the “Paris was most certainly a ularity of Kahlo, Márquez and Blanton exhibit before its open- hub of Latin American abstract their like only served to per- ing. “Though we’ve lived with art,” says Pérez-Barreiro. petuate the misconception that much of this art work in our After all, the creative ex- everything Latin American was home over the years, we’re re- change between the major At- mystical, exotic and filled with ally just stewards of it. So it’s lantic coast cities of South fantastic color. In other words, important to me that the collec- America and European cultural ethnic. tion go out and have a life of its capitals was — and still is — Things were a little different own.” inextricable. Caracas, Montev- in Texas, though, with its his- As the great-granddaughter of ideo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Jan- torical and cultural ties to New York-born, Harvard- eiro and São Paulo, fueled by Mexico. Back in 1940, UT was trained ornithologist and busi- their strong post-World War II the first university in the nessman William H. Phelps, economies, were hotbeds of country to establish an institute who settled in Venezuela in modernist thinking and societal of Latin American Studies, le- 1897, Cisneros received much of progress. A faith in science and veraged in large part by a strong its potential to better the world library of Latin American inspired artists to create a materials. purely abstract aesthetic lan- When UT founded its first art guage of vibrating lines, clean museum in 1963, director ‘Idéia visívle (Visible geometric forms and kinetic Donald Goodhall was a pioneer, Idea),’ 1956 shapes. collecting Latin American art Waldemar Cordeiro It’s like the Blanton and when almost no other U.S. in- scholars such as Pérez-Barreiro stitution did so. In the early having been saying for years: 1970s, New York art collector The development of modern Barbara Duncan began giving Latin America art is insepara- hundreds of artworks from her bly linked to the development of collection, choosing UT specifi- modern art the world over. cally because of its serious study of Latin America. ‘Função diagonal The art world More art world “firsts” fol- (Diagonal Function),’ 1952 lowed. In 1981, UT established Geraldo de Barros takes notice the first professorship of mod- “(The re-hanging of the per- ern Latin American art history manent collections at the Blan- in the country. And in 1988, the ton) appears to be a small ges- Blanton became the first muse- ture, but it represents huge um in this country to hire a strides in the field,” says full-time curator of Latin Marysol Nieves, assistant vice American art. president of Latin American art When discussions about a in the New York office of the new museum building began in auction house Sotheby’s. “The the mid-1990s, Blanton curators market for Latin American art also began thinking of a new has continued to expand during way to showcase their art of the

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