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6 Winter 2010 Museums Now

6 Winter 2010 Museums Now

6 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

INNOVATIVE Directors of American Museums

By jan garden castro How is the deep recession affect- ing the museum world? Many—or, A Short Guide to The Innovators Series shall we say, most?—museums are downsizing staff, programs, The Innovative Directors and Artists series grew out of our passion for and otherwise cutting costs. art and desire to look more deeply into how disparate arts communities Curiously, there is also a high and artists are facing the most financially disastrous period since the turnover rate among museum Great Depression.To form our list, we polled foundation directors, directors. How is it possible, then, museum directors, and gallery directors to arrive at a non-scientific list that some museums are growing, of museum directors and artists with new ideas. Of course, there are too building, expanding, and smarten- many innovators to all be included here. We chose talented individuals ing-up their priceless collections? fully and passionately engaged in their fields and moving beyond cautious Several museum directors on our institutional models. Our list does not imply rank; rather, it is a group of list point out that now is the time people whose achievements and arts contributions we strongly admire. when we should turn to the arts to give us solace and pleasure; now is the time when new art infra- or new outdoor parks. before. Civilizations often track structures and programs stimulate They are transforming their indoor their histories through their arti- economic and cultural growth in and outdoor spaces, using bright facts, and these earliest mysteries their communities. concepts of design, conserva- and visions of life have much to tion, restoration, and installation. teach us. In this vein, innovative The directors we’ve chosen are Of course, this calls for creative museum directors give new life changing American museums by fundraising. In some cases, great to—and fight for—freedoms we creatively addressing shrinking patrons are stepping forward. can never take for granted. endowments, by embracing diver- sity, by attracting new and young- Just as photography was once Now, on to career highlights for er audiences, and by validating outside the bounds of museum each director and their answers to new technologies and art forms. spaces, these directors have one question: Given the economic In fact, most of the directors on added film, performance, instal- downturn and global strife, what our list are builders who have lation, and technologies. At the are some aesthetic, financial, and (Pictured): The lobby of the Asia recently supervised or are pres- same time, stewardship of ancient cultural issues you’re addressing at Society’s New York headquarters at ently supervising the construc- art from cultures around the world your institution? 725 Park Avenue. Image by Frank tion of light-infused architecture is more important today than ever Oudeman. Courtesy of Asia Society.

ART AND LIVING 7 8 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

G R A H A M W.J.

BEALDIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF ARTS

Career Highlights Statement not, has the opposite effect. “What the more traditional gallery Art has always been important to One of the most striking things to does this have to do with me?” experience. me and, as a child, I always want- come out of the extensive re- is the basic question people are Apart from its great collection, ed to be a painter. I turned to art search conducted over the years asking themselves. Explaining the DIA is known for its perennial history when I failed to get into leading up to the reinstallation of that the term “Baroque” derives financial problems, and, despite any of the universities in England our collections was the degree to from the Portuguese word for the great generosity of many, that offered studio classes but which general visitors looked to a deformed pearl is not a good these remain as bad as ever. Such was accepted by Manchester the museum as a place of solace place to start an exploration of the problems were not the driving University, that didn’t—I can take and confirmation. Call it what you profound faith and love of life that force behind the changes; they a hint. After a graduate degree will—a tiny vacation, a reaffirma- lie at the root of Rubens’ art. stemmed from the convictions and in 17th-century art from tion of the good in humankind, Detroit is in permanent crisis, so passion for art shared by many of University’s Courtauld Institute the reassurance found in “Cultural current economic and political us. We hope, though, by reaffirm- and marriage to an American, I DNA”—people visit art museums conditions are par for the course. ing the value of the institution, moved to the U.S. I gravitated to to find out about themselves. But We wanted to make our collec- we will eventually be in a position contemporary art, working as a to pursue this quest, visitors need tions accessible to all and the to fix those financial problems curator at Walker Art Center and first to feel in control. Introducing institution a place to visit regard- permanently. £ SFMOMA. As director at Omaha’s them to the specialist terminol- less of special exhibitions. As the Joslyn Art Museum, I began to ogy/jargon of the connoisseur/ great majority of our visitors are grasp how removed our art his- art historian, more often than from our region, we want them torical framework was from what to feel a sense of ownership, general visitors expected from art to regard the museum as their museums. Two museums later, proverbial “Town Square.” After the result is the visitor-centered 18 months of the New DIA, I think installations at the DIA. most agree that we have done this without unduly disrupting

(Pictured): Graham W.J. Beal. Courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.

ART AND LIVING 9 10 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

JAMES

CUNO President and Eloise W. Martin Director, ART INSTITUTE OF

Career Highlights Who Owns Antiquity?, and in his Statement in the form of our bridge into edited collection Whose Culture? Millennium Park, our sculpture Dr. James Cuno became the Here at the Art Institute of For the past several years, he terrace, and our education center. President and Eloise W. Martin Chicago, we have taken a very has developed programming with All of these new spaces are com- Director of the Art Institute long view of the current economic other cultural institutions (such as pletely free and open to the public. of Chicago in 2004, halfway and cultural climate. Historically, Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project) to We aim to be at the center of the through the museum’s larg- museum attendance has increased present at the Art Institute year- cultural life of the city by offering est expansion project since the dramatically during periods of long themed seasons of exhibi- not just exhibitions and the display construction of its original 1893 economic stress, such as the tions, lectures, performances, of our permanent collection but building. In May of this year, the Great Depression or the recession and readings—all with the goal of also by offering musical perfor- city of Chicago celebrated the of the late 1980s and early 1990s. bringing together cultural produc- mances, lectures, poetry readings, opening of this Modern Wing This fact tells us that museums tion around such central ideas and, this year, even a residency and, with it, the completion of the provide solace, inspiration, and as American identities, cultural with one of the leading modern largest fundraising campaign in perspective during difficult times. exchange, “art beyond borders,” dance companies in Chicago. All the history of cultural institutions Now more than ever, it is of and, this year, the concept of the of these efforts are, of course, in the city. Dr. Cuno is an active paramount importance that we modern on the occasion of the accompanied by creative fundrais- advocate and scholar on the is- continue to uphold our mission opening of the Modern Wing. ing, but we are lucky that Chicago sue of cultural patrimony and on as a truly civic institution. Most has always been—and continues the role of museums in civic life, immediately, we are striving to to be—a city that generously and he has written and spoken remain as accessible as possible supports its world-class cultural extensively on these topics, most to all visitors, which we are able institutions. £ recently in his authored work, to do through offering more than 400 hours a year of free admis- sion and by consciously designing our new addition, the Modern Wing, to create more civic space

(Pictured): James Cuno. Courtesy of the .

ART AND LIVING 11 12 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

VISHAKHA N.

DESAIpresident and ceo, asia society

Career Highlights and Korea, inaugurating a new Statement the arts of Asia. Our exhibitions center for U.S.-China relations, Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art Dr. Desai is the sixth President The financial crisis, more than and developing new initiatives on from Pakistan and the upcoming and CEO of Asia Society, a lead- any other in recent history, the environment, Asian women Arts of Ancient Vietnam (on view ing global organization committed comes at a time when a seismic leaders and partnership among Feb. 2-May 2, 2010) are both to strengthening partnerships shift in world order is underway. the next generation of excep- designed to provide new dimen- among the people, leaders, and For those of us who have been tional leaders in Asia and the sions to understanding countries institutions of Asia and the United committed to furthering greater . Dr. Desai man- with which the U.S. has engaged States. Dr. Desai sets the direc- understanding among Asians aged the Society’s $40 million, in a one-dimensional way. tion for the Society’s diverse pro- and Americans, the crisis has Bartholomew Voorsanger- grams relating to culture, com- also been a clear indicator of I feel strongly that during troubled designed renovation of its New merce, and current affairs—from the growing importance of Asia, times we have to be even more York City headquarters in 2001 major U.S.-Asia policy initiatives especially China, in the world. vigilant about our core mission and is overseeing two new mul- and national partnerships for without being afraid to experi- timillion-dollar building projects Thus, at the Asia Society, while global learning to path-breaking ment. This is the time to ask tough currently under construction: one we have faced economic chal- art exhibitions and innovative questions and be willing to let go in Houston designed by Yoshio lenges (as have all cultural Asian American performances. of old habits, institutionally and Taniguchi and another in Hong institutions in the country), we Guided by Dr. Desai’s leader- personally. £ Kong designed by Tod Williams have redoubled our efforts in ship since 1990 and welcoming Billie Tsien. educating Americans about the her as president in 2004, Asia nuanced nature of Asian cultures Society has expanded the scope Prior to joining Asia Society in and societies. and scale of its activities, includ- 1990, Dr. Desai was a curator at ing opening new offices in India the Museum of Fine Arts Boston Recognizing that during hard and taught at times more people visit museums and other institutions. to find an oasis of calm pleasures and thoughtful contemplation, we have committed ourselves to providing fresh perspectives on (Pictured): Vishakha N. Desai. Image by Jack Deutsch. Courtesy of Asia Society.

ART AND LIVING 13 14 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

JEFF

FLEMINGDIRECTOR, THE DES MOINES ART CENTER

Career Highlights sixteen years as senior curator Meier as well as its internationally always possible and not continu- and curator at the Southeastern acclaimed collection of modern I was appointed Director of the ously required, contributing to and Center for Contemporary Art. At and contemporary art, accom- Des Moines Art Center in the fall positively shaping our community SECCA, I organized two national plishes its mission. of 2005 and earlier served there should be. exhibition programs: : in directorial and curatorial posi- The economic crisis is forcing The Art Center is doing this with Topologies, which toured nation- tions. I envision the Art Center us to create new methodologies the creation of the John and Mary ally, and the Awards in the Visual as a leader in the contemporary for doing almost everything, Pappajohn Sculpture Park, which Arts program, which helped gain art field, responding most often from exhibitions to marketing opened in September. This unique recognition for Ann Hamilton, to younger artists in their first, to fundraising. Our community collaboration between the city, the David Ireland, Mike Kelly, Andre one-person museum exhibi- remains supportive, but our major Art Center, and numerous donors Serrano, and numerous others. tions, as seen in our numerous challenge comes from diminishing is four-and-a-half acres in size projects investigating the work of returns on endowment invest- with 24 major works by artists Cecily Brown, John Currin, Ellen Statement ments. We realize that we do not including Mark di Suvero, Jaume Gallagher, Christian Jankowski, 2009 is the best year yet for the necessarily have to do less; we Plensa, Richard Serra, and Louise Tom Sachs, and Yan Pei Ming, Des Moines Art Center. We are just have to do what we do differ- Bourgeois. This park has literally among others. My focus as direc- presenting significant exhibition ently. Most importantly, the staff changed the aesthetic, cultural, tor has been and continues to be projects, enhancing our physical works to ensure that the institu- economic, and social landscape of on welcoming diverse audiences, infrastructure, building new audi- tion is relevant to our community. the community as it greets every presenting qualitative art of our ences, and opening a new sculp- A recent example is our major downtown worker and visitor time, upgrading the physical fa- ture park in the heart of the city. exhibition, After Many Springs: daily. By following our intuition cilities, and placing the institution Challenging times often lead to Regionalism, and the and by positioning ourselves as a on solid financial ground. creative thinking, and we believe Midwest. This project contributed leader in the field, we have taken significantly to the overall cultural Prior to my positions at the Des this is the moment to reevaluate risks, and we will continue to do record while finding a notewor- Moines Art Center, I served over how the Art Center, with its three so even in the current climate. £ extraordinary buildings by Eliel thy relationship to our commu- Saarinen, I.M. Pei, and Richard nity. The response, both at home and beyond, was impressive. (Pictured): Jeff Fleming. Courtesy of While this way of thinking is not Des Moines Art Center.

ART AND LIVING 15 16 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

MICHAEL

GOVAN ceo and wallis annenberg director, the LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

Career Highlights Transformation, Mr. Govan has Statement photography, and contemporary additionally orchestrated the art. And thanks to the generosity As Chief Executive Officer and Most cultural institutions are commission and installation of of Lynda and Stewart Resnick, we Wallis Annenberg Director of the struggling in this economic down- the artist projects that dot the will open our new - Los Angeles County Museum turn. Fortunately, LACMA has museum’s campus, beginning designed exhibition pavilion in of Art (LACMA), Michael Govan enough steady support from the with Chris Burden’s Urban Light September 2010. In this eco- oversees all activities of the mu- county and its patrons to maintain and Robert Irwin’s evolving palm nomic downturn, it is even more seum, including art programming most of our planned programs, garden. important to invest in cultural and and Transformation, the multi- including major exhibitions of civic projects that can be shared faceted building project that is Prior to LACMA, Mr. Govan was Renoir, American masterpieces, by all and reflect the indefatigable expanding, upgrading, and unify- president and director of Dia Art creative spirit of Los Angeles. £ ing the museum’s seven-building, Foundation in , twenty-acre campus. Since Mr. where he spearheaded the cre- Govan’s arrival at LACMA in ation of the critically acclaimed 2006, he has realized his vision Dia:Beacon. Prior to the Dia Art of engaging contemporary artists Foundation, he served as the and developing the museum’s Deputy Director of the Solomon historic collections, as evidenced R. Guggenheim Museum, by John Baldessari’s installation where his work extended to of Magritte and Contemporary Guggenheim branches in New Art: The Treachery of Images York, , and . and Jorge Pardo’s innovative design of the Art of the Ancient Americas galleries. As part of

(Pictured): Michael Govan. Courtesy of Museum Associates/LACMA.

ART AND LIVING 17 18 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

E R I C McCAULEY

LEEdirector, KIMBELL ART MUSEUM

Career Highlights Statement expenses, we have been able to activity days and a variety of lec- avoid significant cuts and will tures and gallery talks. As many Eric McCauley Lee has been The Kimbell Art Foundation, continue to present outstanding in our community are choosing director of Fort Worth’s Kimbell which owns and operates the exhibitions and educational oppor- to forgo vacation plans and spend Art Museum since March 2009. Kimbell Art Museum, has weath- tunities to the public. Acquisitions their time at home, we are an During this time, the Kimbell has ered the current financial storm have long been the lifeblood of the educational and entertainment acquired The Torment of Saint better than most. The economy Kimbell, and this tradition remains option—as well as a refuge from Anthony, the only known has, however, affected the mu- strong with the recent purchase the cares of everyday life—that by Michelangelo in the Western seum’s membership and earned- of Michelangelo’s The Torment our neighbors and friends turn to Hemisphere. Previously, Dr. Lee income revenues. Fortunately, of Saint Anthony. We are also at little or no expense. £ served as director of the Taft while—as always—monitoring moving forward with plans for Museum of Art in Cincinnati and a new building by Renzo Piano, as director of the University with groundbreaking expected in of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. late 2010. Museum of Art. A native of North Carolina, Dr. Lee received his Admission to the museum’s per- B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees, all manent collection is always free in the , from Yale but there is usually a charge for University. special exhibitions. The museum is also offering a wide array of free programming, including family

(Pictured): Eric McCauley Lee. Courtesy of Kimbell Art Museum.

ART AND LIVING 19 20 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

A R N O L D L.

LEHMAN director, MUSEUM

Career Highlights new contemporary art galleries; every aspect of Brooklyn’s far- control project has given us the and a massive climate control ranging curatorial and educational Since joining the Brooklyn rare opportunity to re-envision program. activities is designed to speak Museum in 1997, Dr. Arnold the presentation of our renowned directly to visitors, to let them feel Lehman has transformed the permanent collections from a that they are represented within nearly 200-year-old museum by 21st-century, global perspective, Statement our vast collection. prioritizing the visitor experience, which reinforces our tempo- diversifying and expanding audi- Last year, a record number of One of the most successful tools rary exhibition and educational ences, re-envisioning the perma- 80,000 visitors attended our in building our new constituencies programs. Our educational and nent collections, and organizing Target First Saturdays, a monthly was the wholehearted adoption of curatorial staff is wholly commit- an enormous range of highly free evening of art and entertain- new technologies: an interactive ted to this new way of thinking. regarded traditional and non- ment. First Saturdays, now in its web site in which visitors can “tag” The and traditional special exhibitions. One tenth year, is a prime example of images of collection objects, excep- cultural organizations worldwide of these shows, Sensation: Young the museum’s goal of engaging tional blogging by staff members have recently experienced ex- British Artists, led to a highly new, racially diverse, and younger who invite and respond to com- traordinary economic challenges. publicized court case reported visitors. By demystifying the ments, online exhibitions submit- With the support of our dedicated around the world in which the museum experience, Brooklyn has ted and selected by web visitors, trustees and outstanding staff, the museum prevailed. Major capital engaged hundreds of thousands documentation of installations Brooklyn Museum will continue projects have included a celebrat- of visitors who had never been in on YouTube, a new membership to take the risks necessary to ed new front entrance and plaza a museum. The enormously lively category on-line, cell phone-based create new and highly engaged designed by Polshek Partnership; 9-11 p.m. dance party and the ex- exhibition and collection tours, and audiences while protecting and the creation of the Elizabeth A. hibition galleries are overflowing, constant experimentation with enhancing our great collections Sackler Center for , as are the art-making programs every new media available. for the future. £ the centerpiece of which is The for families, dance performances, The average age of visitors—now Dinner Party by ; lectures, and films. 35—dropped 20+ years in the past Every museum initiative— 10; more than 45% of our visitors including our mission statement— are people of color. And to further focuses on the visitor experience; our visitor experience goals, (Pictured): Arnold L. Lehman. Courtesy a massive multi-year climate of the Brooklyn Museum.

ART AND LIVING 21 22 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

ANN

PHILBINdirector, HAMMER MUSEUM, UCLA

Career Highlights curator, organizer of large-scale Statement staff and activates the spaces, public art exhibitions, and direc- In January 1999, Ann Philbin No doubt, we are all experiencing exhibitions, and Hammer web- tor of the Curt Marcus Gallery. became director of the Hammer challenging times. The silver lin- site in imaginative ways. Artists Ms. Philbin sits on the board Museum, Los Angeles. Under ing of the situation is that institu- explore and address all aspects of directors of the Foundation her leadership, the Hammer’s tions are forced to be flexible and of a visit to the Hammer, from for Arts Initiatives (formerly the public profile has increased to think creatively about their pro- basic amenities, wayfinding and American Center Foundation) and dramatically through the estab- grams and resources, which can maps to visitor engagement the Association of Art Museum lishment of dynamic exhibitions lead to exciting innovation. For and the creative activation of Directors (AAMD). She is a and public programs. Ms. Philbin example, the Hammer has long spaces around the museum. The past board member of The Andy has also instituted an active suffered from not having a visi- Hammer also intends to create Warhol Foundation for the Visual acquisition program, the Hammer tors’ services department, which more transparency between its Arts (2000 to 2008). Ms. Philbin Contemporary Collection, and has is standard at most museums. staff and audiences by exposing was also a committee member of overseen the building and open- Resources would not allow us to some of the inner workings of the the National Endowment for the ing of the Theater in simply build a new department. museum. For example, visitors Arts’ Federal Advisory Committee December 2006. However, when the James Irvine may be presented with spontane- on International Exhibitions as Foundation invited us to apply for ous opportunities to have a brown Prior to her arrival at the well as the Mayor’s Los Angeles their Arts Innovation Grant, we bag lunch with curators and the Hammer, Ms. Philbin was direc- Economy and Jobs Committee took the opportunity to address director or to visit the Hammer tor of The in New (LAEJC). our need for visitor services in a conservation studio. The Hammer York for nine years. Before taking new and creative way. has created an organic way of the helm of The Drawing Center, working with artists, not only in Philbin was an independent Beginning in the fall of 2009, art- their capacity as object makers ists began work with our curato- but also as problem solvers. They rial staff to create a new kind of are helping us to be a better, more interactive museum featuring dynamic institution. £ an artist-driven visitor engage- ment and education program that encourages daily contact among (Pictured): Ann Philbin. Courtesy of visitors, artists, and museum Hammer Museum.

ART AND LIVING 23 24 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

JOCK

REYNOLDSHenry J. Heinz II Director, Art Gallery

Career Highlights As an artist, Reynolds has organization in Washington, assets more broadly. By mak- garnered numerous grants and D.C., which hosted the exhibi- Jock Reynolds, the Henry J. ing it easier for other museums awards, including two National tion The Perfect Moment: Robert Heinz II Director at the Yale to host our traveling exhibitions Endowment for the Arts Visual Mapplethorpe Photographs in University Art Gallery since 1998, with reduced loan fees or by col- Artists Fellowships, a Fulbright 1989, one month after the show is overseeing a major renova- laborating with these institutions Fellowship, and multiple NEA Art was abruptly cancelled by the tion and expansion of the Yale to develop new exhibitions and in Public Places project awards. Corcoran Gallery. Following his University Art Gallery’s exhibition, publishing projects, audiences He frequently collaborates with work at the WPA, he became teaching, and collection facilities. who might not otherwise get to his wife, Suzanne Hellmuth. Their the director of the Addison One recent curatorial project, encounter and enjoy artworks performances, installations, and Gallery of American Art at Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing from our collection can see them photographs have been commis- Phillips Academy, Andover, Retrospective, a collabora- in their own communities. sioned, exhibited, and collected Massachusetts and held the posi- tion of the Yale University Art We are also developing more ef- in Japan, Australia, France, the tion until September 1998. Gallery, MASS MoCA, and the ficient methods for shipping and Netherlands, and across the Museum of Art, packing objects in order to make United States. opened in November of 2008 Statement it easier and less expensive for in- and will remain on public view From 1973 to 1983, he was an In this time of economic uncer- dividual or small groups of objects for the next 25 years at MASS associate professor and direc- tainty, I feel it is essential for to be on view for active learning MoCA. He is currently organiz- tor of the graduate program museums to share their re- at other college and university ing Robert Adams: The Place We at the Center for Experimental sources as generously as possible. art museums. Opportunities for Live, A Retrospective Selection of and Interdisciplinary Art at Museums aren’t meant to hoard living artists to come to Yale to Photography, 1964-2009, which State University at San their collections and expertise, and create new artworks in residence will begin an extensive tour of Francisco and also a co-founder at the Yale University Art Gallery, are also being expanded. At our American and International mu- of New Langton Arts, one of San my colleagues and I are making university teaching museum, ad- seums in the fall of 2010. Francisco’s premier alternative a concerted effort to reach out to mission is always free in order to artists’ spaces. From 1983 to sister institutions regionally and encourage people from all walks 1989, he served as the execu- nationally to share our greatest of life to partake in visual culture, tive director of the Washington whether for a few minutes or a (Pictured): Jock Reynolds. Courtesy of Project for the Arts (WPA), a whole day at a time. £ the Yale University Art Gallery. multidisciplinary visual artists’

ART AND LIVING 25 26 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

OLGA

VISO DIRECTOR, WALKER ART CENTER

Career Highlights Guillermo Kuitca, and the face of fewer resources, for Arts, is a good example of the Works on Paper, 1980–2008, the Walker staff, board of trustees, potential of this vision. This pow- Olga Viso became director of the which she originated while at the and its generous community of erful, Internet-based gateway for Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Hirschhorn and will coordinate donors, finding innovative ways of teachers, parents, and students in January 2008 following when the exhibition is presented working together to better serve combines the collections of both twelve years at the Hirshhorn at the Walker later this year. artists and audiences has always institutions and brings arts educa- Museum and Sculpture Garden, been our practice. Now, we are tion into schools and directly into Smithsonian Institution (two of Under Viso’s leadership, the ever more emboldened to direct homes as funding for education which she served as director). Hirshhorn shifted its focus to our energies and resources to ad- across the country diminishes. Viso oversees the Walker’s op- present more contemporary vance cultural production through erations and its multidisciplinary, international art in all media. She Over the past decade, 25 Walker- the direct support of artists and international art programs. She extended the museum’s presen- organized exhibitions have to foster our local and global arts has led the development of new, tations and programs beyond the traveled to 57 museums in 14 ecology. Indeed, this work has long-range plans for the next de- gallery spaces, engaging the pub- countries. 2009–2010 will be our never been more urgent. cade that will expand the Walker’s lic with artists and installations in most internationally diverse dance collaborations across disciplines the museum garden, building and For the Walker, this means col- season ever, including Chinese, and more deeply engage artists around the city. laborating more in the coming Japanese, Indonesian, Senegalese, and audiences. Viso’s expertise in year across disciplines, finding and Brazilian performers, many contemporary Latin American art new partners in our community commissioned by us. In the Walker Statement is wide-ranging; she is the author and beyond, inviting artists and Cinema, new films from Iran will of the book Unseen Mendieta As a multidisciplinary art center other cultural thinkers to help be a highlight. With over six million (Prestel), which showcases the that presents emerging talents in us re-imagine the potential of users online, the Walker Channel late Cuban artist’s ephemeral, the visual, performing, and media the museum, and embracing will continue to expand the ways time-based artworks. Viso is also arts from around the world, the anew our civic mission. It also artists and audiences come to- the originating curator of the Walker Art Center takes seri- means harnessing the power of gether—both on site and online—to traveling exhibition Everything: ously its mission to be a creative technology to share and shape examine the power of creative catalyst. That mission inspires knowledge collectively and more expression and the questions that us through the most challenging broadly. ArtsConnectEd.org, inspire and shape us as individuals, (Pictured): Olga Viso. Photo by Cameron times. While taking risks can be developed jointly by the Walker cultures, and communities. £ Wittig. Courtesy of Walker Art Center. difficult for many institutions in and the Minneapolis Institute of

ART AND LIVING 27 28 WINTER 2010 MUSEUMS NOW

ADAM

WEINBERG Alice Pratt Brown Director, Whitney Museum of American Art

Career Highlights in 1998. He serves on many with plans for its construction in neighborhood and to the city for boards and panels, is the author the Meatpacking District. There, many years to come. Our pro- Adam D. Weinberg has been the of numerous essays and cata- we hope to provide a cultural an- cess for designing this building is Alice Pratt Brown Director of the logs, and oversees the Whitney chor for the neighborhood and for inside-out: instead of looking at a Whitney Museum since October Biennial, the 75th of which opens the recently opened High Line. site and figuring out the maxi- 2003. From 1999 to 2003, he in February 2010. mum envelope, we are thinking was the director of the Addison The new building, designed about uses. This building is about Gallery of American Art at the by Renzo Piano, will provide art first, program first. Working Phillips Academy in Andover, Statement long-awaited opportunities for with our staff; we are deciding— Massachusetts. Mr. Weinberg us to show more of our great The most important thing we imagining—what our museum began his career in 1981 at the collection of 20th- and 21st- can do in a challenging time like needs in order to be an important Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. century American art and will the present is look ahead with force within 21st-century art. He left his post there as director optimism. Nothing could be more offer desperately needed space for of education and assistant cura- hopeful than following where art performances, lectures, panels, Any true neighborhood has to tor in 1989 to join the Whitney for and artists lead us. This is the and other public programs. We’ll have a balance of forces within the first time as director of the credo of the Whitney Museum engage directly a bustling commu- it, but it is culture that becomes Whitney branch at the Equitable of American Art. We are deeply nity of artists, gallerists, students, an anchor to a neighborhood and Center. He then moved to , focused on the creation of another educators, entrepreneurs, and res- provides a sense of permanence. where he was artistic and pro- great Whitney building downtown. idents in Chelsea and Greenwich As Renzo Piano says, museums gram director of the American We’re moving ahead carefully Village. Of course, the Whitney are about duration, things that are Center. In 1993, Mr. Weinberg Museum was founded by Gertrude longstanding—commitment, roots, returned to the Whitney as cura- Vanderbilt Whitney in 1930 in the community. You can go there tor of the permanent collection, Village, so we are returning to our and always find something that and he was named senior curator roots, so to speak. will stimulate your eyes, mind, and heart. £ We believe the new building will be a work of great architectural (Pictured): Adam D. Weinberg, Alice imagination that will enable the Pratt Brown Director, Whitney Museum of American Art. Photo © Dawoud Bey. Whitney to contribute to the Art © Sol LeWitt/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

ART AND LIVING 29 American Art Now... TWELVE Innovative Artists

By JAN GARDEN CASTRO the field in association with oth- Memorial newly connected land the economy, we should consider What does it mean to be an ers. Where would sculpture, architecture, language, that they are not the only index of American artist today? First, let’s be, for instance, if , and viewer participation. Christo an artwork’s value. Peggy Guggenheim, Clement and Jeanne-Claude made further think beyond the old genres of Today’s artists seem to have their Greenberg, and Kirk Varnedoe interconnections—nature, archi- painting, sculpture, and draw- collective eyes on world history. had not supported and otherwise tecture, site, sculpture, textiles, ing. Let’s add installation, video, As Julia Peyton-Jones, direc- facilitated his body of work? socio-cultural phenomena, and mixed media, and more. Let’s tor of the Serpentine Gallery in recycling. Some art may be toxic, also realize that old categories— In most cases, one hopes, pure London, told The Art Newspaper, as learned too late. minimalist, abstract expression- aesthetics rule: the artist’s hand, “As the world travels deeper into Some artists mix science, art, ist, and postmodern—do not the meaningful gesture. Yet today, uncharted economic territory, technology, collaboration. Some fit today’s art world. American an artist’s work may require the role of contemporary artists grow budgets as big as corpora- art now—by which we mean multiple processes—the work as social commentators is more tions: Anish Kapoor’s popular, art being made by innovators of hundreds. It may explore the relevant than ever. Significant historically significant, 110-ton based in America—has departed human condition, protest war, developments in art history have sculpture Cloud Gate in Chicago’s from iconic work produced by racism, hunger, sexism; it may often coincided with moments of Millennium Park cost $23 million. Frederick Remington, Thomas even mime detestable states itself. great change. It will be interesting Eakins, Winslow Homer, Ansel As we journey from the once- What determines art’s value? to see if today’s climate produces Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz as shocking realism of Eakins’ 1875 Some art serves the public; some new approaches to contemporary well as the Hudson River, Ashcan, masterpiece The Gross Clinic to relates to a particular site. Some art and architecture.” It has. These and New York Schools. Most of American art now, beauty may art sets world auction records. twelve artists have transformed today’s innovators don’t nod to include or involve ugliness and Historically, powerful leaders— some ways art is made and seen. Jackson Pollock or Andy Warhol. gross exaggeration. Art may be not monetary value—have been Bounteous thanks to those who This doesn’t mean that they, the daily stuff of life writ large. Art prime movers in the art world. contributed to research for this alongside generations of artists, helps us to see itself, as well as Art markets, the public, patrons, compilation. Each quotation is used with have not benefited from the ideas the world around it, anew. and some institutions liberalized its author’s permission. of others—just that each follows the art field during the late 19th Some art realized in a few years (Pictured): , Maiden & his and her own antecedents. century. Now that art markets Moonflower. Wallpaper for Studio changes the field forever: Maya have shrunk along with the rest of Printworks. Studio Printworks: Historically, art makers transform Lin’s 1982 Vietnam Veterans 212.633.6727 or studioprintworks.com.

30 WINTER 2010 ARTISTS NOW

JEFF

KOONSAlso in 2008, a solo show at the d’Honneur, nominated by French Museum of Contemporary Art in President Jacques Chirac. In Chicago exhibited 60 works. 2007, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Koons’ work is in numerous along with The International public and private collections, Centre for Missing & Exploited and he has lectured at many Children, developed the Koons distinguished institutions. His Family International Law and awards and honors include the Policy Institute for the purpose of 2009 Gold Medal for Lifetime combating global issues of child Achievement Award from the abduction and exploitation. £ , New York and the 2008 Officier de la Légion

Jeff Koons (b. 1955) has captured permanently installed at hearts—and auction records— the Guggenheim Bilbao. with monumental sculpture of Another floral sculpture, beloved icons from his ceramic Split-Rocker (2000), Michael Jackson and Bubbles to was installed at the the floral Puppy along with edgier Palace of Versailles in images including nude self- the summer of 2008.. portraits of himself and his first Most recently, the wife; basketballs floating in water Neue Nationalgalerie tanks; pristine, sealed Hoover in presented a vacuum cleaner models; and soft solo exhibition of Koons’ porn versions of Popeye and his large-scale Celebration gang. He earned renown for his , three of public sculptures such as the which were displayed monumental, floral Puppy (1992), on the Metropolitan shown at Rockefeller Center and Museum roof in 2008.

(Pictured): Above, Koons in his New York studio. Photo by Chris Fanning. Right, Jeff Koons’ Puppy at the Guggenheim Bilbao. Courtesy of the artist. inaugural exhibition at the Modern in 2000, suggests that we variously isolate ourselves and hide our “skeletons” in different ways. The potency and larger-than-life quali- ties of her images and themes is what makes her art great. Who doesn’t know the photo of Bourgeois carrying—or wielding—what appears LOUISE to be a giant phallus? What about those performance pieces and costumes from 1978? And her exacting humor? Bourgeois is a living treasure who deserves all of the honors she has received, including the French Legion of Honor medal BOURGEOISAt 98, Louise Bourgeois is, in presented by President Sarkozy many ways, the mother of us all at the artist’s Chelsea home in and seer of the past half century. 2008; the After living in the shadows of her Award in the sculpture category parents, restorers of in from the Japan Art Association in Paris, and in the shadow of her 1999; the for a living art historian American husband in master of contemporary art at the New York, Bourgeois was given in 1999; and the her due at 71 in a retrospec- presented tive exhibition at the Museum by President Clinton at the White of , and she’s been House in 1997. Her most recent knocking our socks off ever retrospective exhibition, from since. Using wood, marble, glass, October 2007 through May 2009, bronze, fabric, print, and mixed traveled to the , media, Bourgeois is adroit at ex- the Centre Georges Pompidou, ploring taboo subjects—from the the Guggenheim New York, the idea of the baby in the womb to Museum of Contemporary Art her father’s affair with her tutor Los Angeles, and the Hirshhorn and the many psychological is- Museum and Sculpture Garden. sues that involve notions of home, self, family, and relationships. “My work has its own internal Even when Bourgeois is her most rhythms, and yet the outside world literal—using her own old clothes filters in slowly in an unconscious as pale, delicate reminders of way,” The artist tells Art and former selves—she shows us the Living. “I sense that everyone is larger picture. struggling, and you feel it.” £ (Pictured): Left, Louise Bourgeois, The artist often works in series. 2008. Photo: Dimitris Yeros. Above, The anthropomorphic objects and Louise Bourgeois’ I DO, I UNDO, I images in her great series REDO (1999-2000) installed in the zero in on relations between inaugural exhibition of the Tate Modern mothers and their offspring. Her at Turbine Hall (5/12/00-11/26/00). Collection of the artist. Courtesy of large scale tower series I DO, I Cheim & Read, New York. Photo: UNDO, I REDO, installed in the Marcus Leith.

32 WINTER 2010 1. 03 ARTISTS NOW

CHRISTO &

Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeJEANNE-CLAUDE (both their projects involve networking the end of each public exhibition, ruptured brain aneurysm. Christo born June 13, 1935) began their on many levels: they use art sales the artists, along with their pro- is deeply saddened by the passing artistic lives as nomads and still to privately fund their projects, fessional team and their workers, of his wife, partner and collabora- selectively wander the globe. The which themselves raise world deconstruct the art, recycle it, tor and is committed to honoring early art of Christo is packages aesthetic and environmental and depart like ecology-minded the promise they made to each and wrapped objects. In 1962, consciousness. gypsies. Their traces remain on other many years ago: The art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude built film, in Christo’s drawings and Christo and Jeanne-Claude will Even though their reach is global, a wall of multi-hued oil barrels collages, and in the mind’s eye. continue. £ Christo and Jeanne-Claude have blocking Paris’ rue Visconti. Spot chosen to “settle” in New York. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are (Pictured): Above left, Jeanne-Claude on! Oil, cylinders, and color turn- Their lasting contributions to represented in hundreds of and Christo during the installation of ing a street into an iron curtain— The Gates, Central Park, New York American art include new ways of museum and private collections doesn’t that image foreshadow City, 1979-2005. Photo: Wolfgang Volz. documenting work; planning and world-wide. As they tell Art and the last 50 years in world history? ©Christo and Jeanne-Claude 2005. making site-specific work; and Living, “We do not make state- Above right, Christo and Jeanne- Whether they are wrapping the creating work that involves time, ments. We create works of art of Claude, Wall of OIL BARRELS - IRON Reichstag, erecting an orange seasons, and impermanence. joy and beauty.” CURTAIN - RUE VISCONTI, PARIS, 1961-62. Photo: Jean-Dominique curtain over a valley, or creating Over the River, projected On November 18, 2009, Jeanne- Lajoux. ©Christo 1962. orange-saffron gates to celebrate for 2013, will be sited on the Claude died suddenly as a Central Park’s winding pathways, Arkansas River in . At result of complications due to a

ART AND LIVING 33 JOHN John Currin (b. 1962) is a vir- tuoso painter whose work draws from a startlingly diverse inven- tory of cultural reference—from Renaissance paintings to porn magazines. His When philosopher/critic Arthur CURRIN edgy imagin- C. Danto reviewed Currin’s 2004 ings of women Whitney Museum midcareer in pneumatic retrospective for The Nation, he full bloom or dubbed Currin “one of the bright- sagging decline est art stars of the early 21st and his pointed, century.” Pointing to the artist’s iconographi- rising market value, the “political cal depictions incorrectness” of his lascivious of class are images, and his high mannerist rendered, para- aesthetics, Danto noted, “At a time doxically, with when most of his contemporaries all the technical would cite Warhol, Duchamp and refinements Nauman among their influences, and manner- Currin invokes Bruegel, Cranach isms of classi- and Parmigianino.” cal oil paint- Currin told Calvin Tompkins in a ing. In recent 2008 New Yorker profile, “I’ve compositions, always felt insecure about being a he sardoni- figurative artist and about being an cally equates American painter. To me, oil paint- women as ing is inherently European. My sex objects technique is in no way comparable with precious with that of a mid-level European porcelain ac- painter of the nineteenth century. coutrements, They had way more ability and forcing a con- technical assurance. It’s like learn- templation of ing to play tennis when you’re four the work that is or five years old—you know things as complex as you don’t even know you know. it is titillating. I suppose in the end what I do is my version of being progressive— that I thought my only chance was to regress in the face of every- thing. I wanted my paintings to be difficult—I just didn’t think they’d be difficult in this way.” £

(Pictured): John Currin, Shrouded Woman, 2009. Oil on canvas. ©John Currin. Private Collection, Fort Worth, Texas. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York.

34 WINTER 2010 ARTISTS NOW

ART AND LIVING 35 MAYA Recently, Maya Lin had large Americans and Lewis and Clark, exhibitions at New York’s is a huge undertaking that speaks PaceWildenstein and at Storm directly to America’s cultural King Art Center and a show of heritage and future. playful, smaller work at Salon 94, Lin has stated that her “creative also in New York. process balances analytic study Lin has used a range of materials based on research with, in the LIN and processes to make art since end, a purely intuited gesture.” the work that started it all—the She employs tools such as mod- Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial—in els, grids, and topographic draw- 1982. Notably, this commission ings as well as more advanced melded and reshaped several scientific technology (sonar and fields—drawing, architecture, radar mapping, satellite photo- site-specific sculpture, memorial graphs) to study and respond to art, and land transformation. regions of the natural world that are often impossible to observe What is Missing?, Lin’s latest me- with the naked eye. Among her morial, debuted at the California notable architecture projects, Lin Academy of Sciences in San designed the 14,000-square-foot Francisco on September 17 and Museum of Chinese in America at will debut online at whatismissing. 211-215 Centre Street, New York net on Earth Day 2010. Storm City, which opened in the fall. £ King Wavefield, an earth sculpture that transforms a former gravel (Pictured): Left, Maya Lin, pit into seven acres of undulating January 2009. Above, an instal- waves, opened this spring. lation view of Maya Lin’s Water Line, 2006; Blue Lake Pass, Sacajawea State Park, the site of 2006; and 2 x 4 Landscape, the newest leg of her $27 million 2006. Materials: Water Line: Confluence Project, comprised of aluminum tubing and paint. seven sites along the Columbia Blue Lake Pass: Duraflake River in Oregon and Washington particleboard. 2 x 4 Landscape: states, is about to open. The proj- SFI certified wood 2 x 4s. Art: ect, reflecting Lin’s commitment ©Maya Lin Studio, Inc./Courtesy to linking aesthetic creations of PaceWildenstein, New York. with habitat and species pres- Photos by G.R. Christmas/ ervation and with the histories Courtesy of PaceWildenstein, of Northwest Coast Native New York.

36 WINTER 2010 ARTISTS NOW

MAYA LIN

Bruce Nauman’s Topological Gardens earned him the Golden Lion at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009—the first Golden Lion for Best National Participation BRUCE awarded to an American since 1990. This mixed media, multi-site investigation into the American psyche and culture includes his famed, subversive neon work Virtues and Vices along with a series of works that center stage unlikeNAUMAN any American that had their international The artist’s personal magnetism weave in and out of the themes representative since perhaps the premiere in Venice are debuting and aura is so powerful that Juliet of heads and hands, fountains young , 45 stateside in the museum’s cur- Meyers, director of education and and neons, and sound and space. years ago.” rent exhibition Notations/Bruce public programs at SITE Santa Fe At the awards ceremony, Paolo Nauman: Days and Giorni, slated and Mr. Nauman’s studio man- Reportedly, Nauman (b. 1941) Baratta, president of La Biennale to run until April 4, 2010. These ager, tells Art and Living, “He is turned down a few previous Foundation, stated that Nauman’s two sound installations—in which a fine person who also happens offers to represent the United work “reveals the magic of voices emanate from directional, to be a great artist. Bruce is awe- States in Venice before he agreed meaning as it emerges through flat panel speakers, reciting the some in every way and his work to work closely with Philadelphia relentless repetition of language days of the week to tantalizing only gets better.” £ Museum of Art curators Carlos and form.” Michael Kimmelman effect—proved an overall highlight of wrote, Basualdo, Michael Taylor, and (Pictured): portrait by for many visitors to the Biennale. Jim McHugh. “Bruce Nauman commands Erica Battle. The two new works

ART AND LIVING 37 THE ART OF JEWELRY NOW

ROXY

dendroidPAINE sculptures North Carolina Museum of Art. are installed at muse- Upcoming installations are slated ums and foundations for the including the Olympic Sculpture Garden, Washington, Sculpture Park, Seattle; D.C. and The Museum, Wanås Foundation, Jerusalem. £ Knislinge, ; (Pictured): Left, Roxy Paine, 2009. Montenmedio Arte Photo: Jeremy Liebman. Below, Contemporaneo NMAC, Roxy Paine, Roxy Paine on the Roof: Cadiz, ; the St. Maelstrom. The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Louis Art Museum, the Roof Garden. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. April 28 - October 25, 2009. Photo: Sheila Griffin. Fort Worth, and the

Roxy Paine (b. 1966) sculpts environmental consciousness and paradoxes that intermix beauty natural and cultural disasters. His and death. Paine’s art approaches works combine the natural and Harold Bloom’s take on Hamlet, synthetic, calling attention to the being simultaneously “totally earth’s ability to handle the toxins theatrical and totally inward.” that humans create. In the 2009 Maelstrom, his seven-ton, gleam- Prestel book Roxy Paine, Eleanor ing, welded-steel, monumental Heartney links Paine’s art to cri- sculpture of wildly gyrating, tree- tiques of various art movements like forms, dominated The Met’s and examines Paine’s state- roof for a season in 2009. As ments that his machines employ Maelstrom’s metal limbs mutated, different levels of language and at points resembling everything intersecting languages. from industrial pipes to a berserk Roxy Paine’s work has been human nervous system, the work internationally exhibited and is in alluded to a range of things—from major collections such as the De the 1908 Tunguska meteor strike Pont Museum of Contemporary in Siberia to brain activity during Art, Tilburg, The Netherlands; the an epileptic seizure. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Paine uses irony and humor Garden, Washington, D.C.; the to invent forms that ques- Museum of Modern Art, New tion the languages, processes, York; the Museum and materials of art-making. of Modern Art; and the Whitney Paine’s social themes include Museum of American Art. His

38 WINTER 2010 ARTISTS NOW

ROXY PAINE

RICHARD

Born in 1949 in the Panama Canal parties; paintings of nurses; and becausePRINCE of the truth or conse- the Whitney Museum of American Zone and currently residing in sculptures of car hoods, cap- quences of a photograph. The Art; the San Francisco Museum upstate New York, Richard Prince tures less lofty American dreams ecstasy of communication. It of Modern Art; Museum Boijmans pursues his fantasies so intensely than those pursued by Hudson sounds like a bizarre game show. van Beuningen, Rotterdam; that we enter them. We know River or even Ashcan artists. His I don’t know if any of the princi- Museum für Gegenwartskunst, that Velàzquez’s Seville paintings, Upstate series shows a lone bas- pals involved recognize exactly Basel; Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg; such as Old Woman Poaching ketball hoop in a wilderness. where the heart of the darkness Serpentine Gallery, London Eggs (1610), took ordinary people is located.” (2008). A retrospective survey of Spiritual America, titled after a as their main subjects and that his work opened at the Solomon Stieglitz photo of a gelded horse, Prince exposes the hypocrisies, Chardin was among the first R. Guggenheim Museum in 2007 juxtaposes Gary Gross’s photo the fantasies, and the realities to give the kitchen maid her and traveled to The Walker Art of a naked 10-year-old Brooke of America. Curiously, Spiritual close-up. In our era, Prince has Center, Minneapolis in 2008. £ Shields with small religious and America was removed from its followed his obsessions and laid modernist statues. Regarding the Fall 2009 Pop Life exhibition at (Pictured): Above left, Richard Prince. bare their psychological trails and work, Prince wrote, “You’ve got the Tate Modern, London due to Courtesy of Richard Prince Studio. ramifications. His amazing oeu- Above right, Richard Prince, Cowboys, the management of an image, objections to its content. vre, including photos (or photos 1992. C-print. ©Richard Prince. the questions of ownership of of photos) of cowboys, topless Prince’s work has been the sub- Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. an image; finally you’ve got a big “girlfriends” on motorcycles, and ject of major exhibitions, including celebrity… And it’s all happening

ART AND LIVING 39 (Pictured): Left, Ed Ruscha, Parking for Book Soup Tower Records, 1993. Image courtesy of the artist. Below, Ed Ruscha. Portrait by Danna Ruscha. ED

RUSCHAsubstances, including gunpowder, Over the past 50 years, Edward Ruscha’s incisive portraits of blood, vegetable pigments, axle American culture have trans- grease, and grass stains on a formed American painting, offer- variety of materials. ing new signs, language, process- Ruscha has been the subject es, and perspectives. The artist, of numerous museum retro- born in 1937 in Omaha, Nebraska, spectives that have traveled lives and works in Los Angeles. As internationally, including those his official web bio states, “Ruscha organized by San Francisco has consistently combined the Museum of Modern Art in 1982, cityscape of his adopted home- Centre Georges Pompidou in town with vernacular language to 1989, Museo Nacional Centro de communicate a particular urban Arte Reina Sofia in 2002, and experience.” In paintings, prints, Museum of Contemporary Art, photographs, drawings, light Sydney in 2004. In 2005, Ruscha installations, films, and books, the was the U.S. representative artist has transparently focused at the 51st Venice Biennale. In on the ways that varied media 2001, Ruscha was elected to the deliver messages. His imagery, American Academy of Arts and ranging from street signs to Letters. In October 2009, he and busted glass to pools, parking lots, were honored gas pumps, and mountains, has with National Arts Awards by the influenced American and world Americans for the Arts. art. Ruscha’s language paint- of print and graphic media on Larry Gagosian explains, “Richard ings show us the hard edges of The artist’s current retrospective the artist’s aesthetic strategies, Prince put it as well as anybody words and how words become at the Hayward Gallery in London it also focuses on the conceptual when he described Ed Ruscha as signs whose meaning may shift (through January 10th) focuses underpinnings of his approach the West Coast Warhol.” £ in different contexts. Ruscha has exclusively on his paintings. In to painting and on his incisive also experimented with a range of addition to exploring the impact portrait of American culture. As

40 WINTER 2010 ARTISTS NOW

KIKI

“ISMITH don’t try to address any issues Smith has mounted over 150 one- in my work,” Kiki Smith (b. 1954) person exhibitions at institutions reveals. “My work has its own like the , meandering course, and I try to the Louisiana Museum of Modern follow it rather than impose any Art in Denmark, and Fundació topical directive. We are certainly Joan Miró in Barcelona, where all affected by economic and her exhibition Kiki Smith: Her global situations of the world. Home examined a woman’s life These, of course, impact our lives from birth to death. From 2005 in sometimes overt and some- through 2007, the artist’s retro- times subtle manners, but there is spective, organized by the Walker no separation between our lives Art Center, traveled around North and our work. Work is, at best, America. Smith works in a wide a synthesis or a way for me to range of media, from sculpture to understand my life for a moment.” prints; she has recently turned to stained glass and installation. Smith was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2005. She received the Athena Award for Excellence in from RISD in 2005 and the Edward MacDowell Medal and Brooklyn Museum’s Women in the Arts honors in 2009. £

(Pictured): Above, portrait of Kiki Smith, 2007. Photo by Ellen Labenski/Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York. Left, Kiki Smith, Realms. March 14 through April 27, 2002. PaceWildenstein, 534 West 25th Street, New York City. © Kiki Smith. Courtesy of PaceWildenstein, New York. Photo by Ellen Page Wilson/Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York.

ART AND LIVING 41 the Whitney Museum 25-Year His numerous awards include Survey, 1997; the Deutsche a 1989 MacArthur Foundation Guggenheim Berlin and the “genius” Award; MIT’s 2009 Guggenheim Museum, New York, Eugene McDermott Award in 2002; and Tokyo’s Mori Art the Arts; and 2009’s Catalonia Museum, 2006-2007 (one of his International Prize. £ largest, best-attended exhibitions (Pictured): Left, Bill Viola. Below, to date). Bill Viola, Incarnation, 2008. Bill Viola was inducted into the Color high-definition video on American Academy of Arts and plasma display mounted on wall. Sciences in 2000 and became a Performers: Roxanne Steinberg Commander of the Order of Arts and Oguri. Photos by Kira Perov. and Letters in France in 2006.

BILL VIOLA Bill Viola (b.1951) is interna- at Syracuse University and his tionally recognized as one of time in Florence, Italy; Southeast today’s leading media artists. Asia; and Japan. In 2005, Viola, His potent themes combine his wife/collaborator Kira Perov, Eastern and Western art and and their two sons journeyed spiritual traditions, highlighting from their home in Long Beach, universal human experiences— California to Dharamsala, India to birth, death, and the unfolding record a prayer blessing with the of consciousness. As part of his Dalai Lama. exploration of sense perception Music is an important part of as an avenue to self-knowledge Viola’s life and work; his roster over the past 35 years, Viola has of musical collaborators includes pioneered video installations, composer David Tudor, rock sound environments, electronic group Nine Inch Nails, director music performances, and flat- Peter Sellars, and conductor Esa panel video pieces that envelop Pekka Salonen (for a Wagner the viewer in image and sound opera at Lincoln Center and the environments. He developed Paris National Opera). Viola’s his taste for exotic and earth- works have been seen at venues centered images and sounds including the U.S. Pavilion at during early experimental studies the 46th Venice Biennale, 1995;

42 WINTER 2010 ARTISTS NOW

KARA WALKER Kara Walker (b. 1969) sees exhibition notably combined visual challenge within her work. “I am and quasi-literary modes, creating always partly aware of the way historical tales about the creation constructs like gender, race, of “African-America” that also class and nationality obstruct my suggest present and future eras. understanding of art,” she says. As the artist told David D’Arcy “The challenge in making and (Modern Painters, April 2006): viewing work is in embracing this “I don’t know how much I believe kaleidoscope of often conflicting in redemptive stories, even perspectives.” though people want them and The artist was born in Stockton, strive for them. They’re satisfied California and grew up in Atlanta, with stories of triumph over evil, Georgia. She graduated from the but then triumph is a dead end. Atlanta College of Art in 1991 and Triumph never sits still. Life goes received her MFA from the Rhode on. People forget and make mis- Island School of Design in 1994. takes. Heroes are not completely She is the recipient of numerous pure, and villains aren’t purely evil grants and fellowships, includ- ... whatever narratives people use ing the John D. and Catherine to construct a group identity and T. MacArthur Foundation to keep themselves whole—such Achievement Award (1997), the activity has a darker side to it, Deutsche Bank Prize (2004), and since it allows people to lash out the Larry Aldrich Award (2005). at whoever’s not in the group. That’s a contact thread that flum- Walker’s works have been exhib- moxes me.” £ ited internationally in numerous group and solo shows. Her recent (Pictured): Right, Kara Walker survey, My Compliment, My portrait by Cameron Witting. Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love, Above, Kara Walker,10 Years opened at the Walker Art Center Massacre (and its Retelling) #3, in Minneapolis in February 2007 2009. Mixed media, cut paper and traveled to the Musée d’Art and acrylic on gessoed panel. Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Whitney Museum of American Co., New York Art; the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; and the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth. This

ART AND LIVING 43

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