Columbus Museum of Art to Receive 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service

The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced the Columbus Museum of Art of Columbus, Ohio is one of 10 recipients of this year’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community, the National Medal celebrates institutions that make a difference for individuals, families, and communities. The National Medal will be presented at a celebration in Washington, D.C. on May 8.

Columbus Museum of Art strives to redefine the art museum for the 21st century. It has earned a reputation as a model for innovative visitor engagement as well as being Central Ohio’s hub for social, creative, and dynamic experiences. Every exhibit includes connectors, unique participatory elements, which invite visitors to engage with art and with each other. More than 18,000 square feet of space is dedicated to imaginative experiences for visitors of all ages, and the museum has built strong program partnerships with 30 Ohio counties as well as Columbus City Schools. Columbus Museum of Art also proudly participates in the Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens Initiative.

“Museums and libraries serve as centers for lifelong learning and as cornerstones for our communities. Columbus Museum of Art is paving the way, linking art to education in meaningful ways, and we are proud to name Columbus Museum of Art one of this year’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service winners,” said Susan Hildreth, director, Institute of Museum and Library Services. “This year’s National Medal recipients demonstrate the many ways museums and libraries alike build strong communities. These institutions are educating, inspiring, and leading lifelong learning while serving as community anchors.”

“Columbus Museum of Art is honored to be awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service,” said Executive Director Nannette V. Maciejunes. “We are committed to providing opportunities for people to cultivate and to discover the value of creativity in their own lives. Embracing this idea has enabled to grow as an institution and to better serve our community.”

Nineteen-year-old Jeffrey Tucker, who discovered video production through the Columbus Art Museum’s ArtLab program and now dreams of winning an Oscar, will travel to Washington and share the impact the museum has had on his life during the May 8 celebration.

“A great city deserves a great art museum,” said Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “I am proud that the City of Columbus now has both a National Medal winning library and museum.”

“The Columbus Museum of Art has always been one of Central Ohio’s jewels,” said Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. “By being awarded the Institute for Museum and Library Service National Medal it enhances its reputation throughout the national arts community and continues to showcases Columbus’ success.”

“The National Medal for Museum and Library Service is the United States’ highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities,” said Ohio Senator Rob Portman. “I am proud that the Buckeye State can count the Columbus Museum of Art among the handful of art museums to ever have been awarded this honor.”

“I congratulate the Columbus Museum of Art on receiving the National Medal for Museum and Library Service,” said Ohio Representative Steve Stivers. “The extraordinary programs and collections at the museum are accessible to all members of the community and Columbus is incredibly lucky to have an outstanding institution like this in our area.”

“The Columbus Museum of Art is one of the many reasons why Columbus is a special place to live and visit,” said Columbus City Council President Andrew J. Ginther.    “The Museum serves as a constant source of pride for our community, helping to celebrate our past and inspiring us to a more culturally diverse future.”

This year’s honorees exemplify the nation’s great diversity of libraries and museums and include a science center, children’s museum, music museum, art museum, and public libraries and library systems, and hail from seven states.
Earlier this year, 33 institutions were announced as finalists for the National Medal, and community members were encouraged to share their stories about their experiences on the IMLS Facebook page.

Medal winners were selected from nationwide nominations of institutions that demonstrate innovative approaches to public service, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach. After the ceremony, StoryCorps – a national nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans – will visit Columbus Museum of Art to document stories from the community.

For a complete list of 2013 recipients and to learn more about the National Medal winners, please visit www.imls.gov/medals.

Treat your mom to a relaxing and inspiring day of art, food, and memories at one of the most lovely spots in Columbus during our Mother’s Day Brunch on May 12, 2013. See our Rothko exhibition (before it closes May 26, 2013) and our Czech Puppets exhibition, and dine on stuffed French toast, smoked salmon, quiche, pork loin and more from Barcelona’s Sidecar Catering. Adults: $30 members, $35 nonmembers; Kids 12 and under, $12 members, $15 nonmembers. Reservations for Mother’s Day Brunch available from 11 AM – 2:00 PM. Reserve your time now by calling 614-629-0359.

Mother’s Day Menu:
Crepe Station, Stuffed Brioche French Toast — with maple syrup, whipped cream, blueberries, and powdered sugar, Assorted Muffins, Danish, and mini Bagels with cream cheese, whipped butter, and jelly, Fresh Fruit and Cheese Display, Smoked Salmon Display, Mini Quiche — Western, Broccoli and Cheddar, and Cheese Bacon, Mixed Greens Salad, Orzo Pasta Salad, Stella Pasta (vegetarian), Roasted Herb Chicken, Tilapia, Sidecar Pork Loin with cream Savoy cabbage, Prime Rib Carving Station with Horseradish Cream, Herbed Mayonnaise, and Silver Dollar Buns, Roasted Red Skin Potatoes, Spring Vegetable Medley, O’Brian Potatoes. Specially for Kids: Mac & Cheese, and Chicken Fingers.

(Photo by Phil Chester).

PLEASE NOTE: Our Mother’s Day Brunch is now SOLD OUT.

Thanks to everyone for participating in Art Madness, our version of March Madness for art lovers. American artists dominated the 2013 Art Madness. The Final Four matches saw Portrait of a Young Woman by Mary Cassatt vs. Sunflowers in the Windstorm by Emile Nolde, and Morning Sun by Edward Hopper vs Aucassin and Nicolette by Charles Demuth. Ultimately Hopper and Nolde prevailed to face off in the Art Madness Championship.

And the 2013 Art Madness Champion is Edward Hopper’s Morning Sun. Unlike the closely fought Louisville – Michigan NCAA match, Hopper led all the way in the Art Madness championship game. We’re glad the Hooper is back home in Columbus, and clearly so are you. Find the Hopper in our newly reinstalled American Experience Gallery.

We’re down to the Final Four of Art Madness, our version of March Madness for Art Lovers. It’s been a strong run for the Americans in Art Madness 2013. Three of the Final Four teams are works by American artists, including Edward Hopper’s Morning Sun, which in the first round took out The Breakfast by Edgar Degas, last year’s Art Madness champion; American Impressionist Mary Cassatt’s Portrait of a Young Woman, which won handily over work by fellow Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir and then art giant Peter Paul Rubens; and Charles Demuth’s Aucassin and Nicolette, which first beat work by German Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, then work by Dutch Still Life artist Carstian Luyckx. German Expressionist Emile Nolde’s Sunflowers in Windstorm is the sole nonAmerican in the Final Four.

Who will be crowned the Art Madness Champion? It’s all up to you! Vote on our Facebook page by liking your favorite from the Art Madness Match of the Day, or in person in our lobby (in person votes are worth double!). The artwork with the most votes/likes by the next day will advance to the Championship Match, which will take place starting Saturday April 6, 2013 -Monday April 9, 2013. We’ll announce the winner on Tuesday April 10, 2013.

Art Madness Final Schedule
April 4, 2013
Final Four Match 1: Portrait of a Young Woman by Mary Cassatt vs. Sunflowers in the Windstorm by Emile Nolde.

April 5, 2013
Final Four Match 2: Morning Sun by Edward Hopper vs Aucassin and Nicolette by Charles Demuth

April 6, 2013-April 9, 2013
Art Madness Championship Match: tbd

Art Madness is back. For the second year we’re pleased to present Art Madness, our version of March Madness for Art Lovers.

To put together our bracket, we selected some of the most beloved works of art from our collection, as well as a few lesser known gems.

It’s Old Masters versus Contemporary; Europeans versus Americans. Who will be a bracket buster? Who will come from behind and be the Cinderella of Art Madness? Who will be crowned the Art Madness Champion? It’s all up to you!

Here’s how to play along. During the run of Art Madness, we will post a new Match of the Day on our Facebook page. Vote on Facebook by liking your favorite from the Art Madness Match of the Day, or in person in our lobby (in person votes are worth double!). The artwork with the most votes/likes by the next day will advance on to the next round.

Want to predict the winners and keep track of the matches? Download the Art Madness Bracket.

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE 2013 ART MADNESS TEAMS

Morning Sun by Edward Hopper This standout from our American collection is back from the Grand Palais in Paris and the blockbuster Edward Hopper retrospective, which beat even Picasso in attendance figures. Our highly requested Hopper is back home in our newly reinstalled American galleries, and is considered the number one seed in this year’s competition.	The Breakfast by Edgar Degas This work by master draftsman and Impressionist Degas was the 2012 Art Madness Champion. Here Degas explores with intensity and pleasure the potential of pastel for spontaneous, sensuous expression. Will this Degas masterpiece from our renowned Sirak Collection take home the championship again?
Christian Bruce, Countess of Devon by Anthony van Dyck This work by premier British painter Anthony van Dyck remains true to the roots of portrait painting during the time of Charles I of England. Will van Dyck’s aristocratic painting rise above the competition?	Ancestral by Theodoros Stamos Stamos was part of the Abstact Expressionist group known as the Irascibles, which included such heavy hitters as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, and other hard-driving artists who really made their mark on the art world. This mutable piece by Stamos is included in our big Mark Rothko exhibition, now on view.
Aucassin and Nicolette by Charles Demuth This modernized idea of love by Demuth is based on a French love story and fable.  Here Demuth uses the clean lines of the smokestacks in his anthropomorphic telling of the tale. Will Demuth’s clever, modern take on love prevail?	Landscape at Fehmarn with Nudes by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner In this sensuous painting by German Expressionist Kirchner, you get the sense that the people and nature are one. Kirchner’s work at first may seem primitive and loose, but there is a definite game plan going on here.
Still Life with Lobster by Carstian Luyckx Dutch still life painter Luyckx depicts a neverending feast for the eyes here. Just like a clever team that can adjust its game, every time you look at this still life, you seem something you didn’t see before.	Woman at Window by William Baziotes Baziotes was also part of the Abstract Expressionist group known as the Irascibles, and this piece from our permanent collection is included in the coda to our currently on view Mark Rothko exhibition. Will Baziotes’ power riff on Picasso rule the day?
Portrait of a Young Woman by Mary Cassatt American Impressionist Cassatt was the only American ever invited to participate in the groundbreaking French Impressionist exhibitions in Paris. She represented her conference well with pieces such as this striking pastel, a nod to the techniques of her mentor Degas.	Christine Lerolle Embroidering by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Impressionist giant Renoir fuses Impressionist techniques with that of the Old Masters in this work from our renowned Sirak collection. Analysis: knows how to mix-it up in the paint.
Christ Triumphant Over Sin and Death by Peter Paul Rubens and Studio Rubens is one of the most important painters of all-time and with this powerful, positive painting of a heroic Christ figure he proves why he’s one of the top seeds.	Adam and Eve by Edgar Tolson. Modern-day folk artist Tolson remains true to the craft with this depiction of Adam and Eve in his “Fall of Man” series.  The Appalachian folk artist gained much acclaim for his work, including a “tournament invite” to the Whitney Biennial.
Sylvan Lake, SD3 from the series Lakes and Reservoirs * by Matthew Brandt Los Angeles-based photographer Brandt (whose work will be part of a solo exhibition at CMA later this year) is known for experimenting with unusual materials such as Cheez Whiz and Kool-Aid. In this new CMA acquisition, Brandt uses lake water to soak the Chromogenic print.	Venus Wounded by Diomedes, is Saved by Iris by Joseph-Marie Vien French painter Vien coined the French neoclassical style. This dramatic work by Vien is likely to deliver in the clutch. Will this piece by Vien be the Cinderella story of Art Madness?
Cornfield and Harvest by George Bellows Columbus’ Bellows, an OSU athlete and one of the preeminent artists of the Ashcan School, was known for depicting action scenes, but here he shows his softer side and Midwest roots. Like his Ohio State alma mater he’s likely to go far in the tournament. Homecourt advantage: Bellows.	Sunflowers in Windstorm by Emile Nolde One of the most recognizable and loved pieces from our Sirak Collection holds one of the top seeds. Something about Nazi oppression brought out the best in Nolde. His passion and tenacity, as symbolized here, make his work hard to beat.

(*Matthew Brandt image from the series Lakes and Reservoirs Sylvan Lake, SD 3, 2012, Chromogenic print soaked in Sylvan Lake water, Unique. © Matthew Brandt, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York)

Art Speaks. Join the Conversation.

Our Strings Attached: The Living History of Czech Puppets exhibition opens today. Thanks to our Curator Carole Genshaft, who documented the installation, you can see how the exhibition came together (from the unpacking and uncrating to putting the Czech puppets together). These rare objects are presented thanks to an international collaboration between Columbus Museum of Art, the Arts and Theatre Institute, Prague and the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University.

More than 140 puppets and set designs are included in the Czech puppets exhibition, many of the puppet designs influenced by fairy tales, literature, and art influences such as surrealism and the Bauhaus, and more.

Since the late nineteenth century, Czech artists have been fascinated by the creative possibilities of puppets. Artists in opera, ballet, dance, drama, and film— who are not originally puppeteers—have used puppets to enhance their artistic expression. The use of string puppets by contemporary artist Petr Nikl and stop-motion filmmakers Jan Švankmajer, Jiří Trnka,  and Jiří Barta (all of their work is included in the show), and many others, demonstrates the increasingly vibrant legacy of traditional Czech puppetry. These and other European artists have influenced stop-motion animated filmmakers the world over including, Americans Tim Burton and the Brothers Quay. In addition to film techniques incorporating puppetry, Burton’s The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) and his latest film Frankenweenie (2012) and the Brothers Quay The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer (1984) and The Street of Crocodiles (1986) reflect the dark, gothic quality that permeates many, popular Czech puppet and stage productions. Judging from the success of contemporary Broadway productions such as The Lion King (1997), Avenue Q (2003) and Warhorse(2007), Americans are embracing puppetry just as their Czech counterparts have done for centuries.

I expect we will see a lot of red on February 14: red boxes filled with chocolates, bouquets of red roses, greeting cards splashed with red, those delightful heart-shaped gummy red candies that grocery stores only carry this time of year.

Meanwhile, inside Studio One of the Riffe Center, actors Kevin McClatchy and Tim Simeone of CATCO’s latest production will sound off on the question, “What is red?”

Mark Rothko is the subject of John Logan’s Red, the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Play. The play explores the two-year span of time (1958-59) during which Rothko created the Seagram Murals, intended for the Four Seasons restaurant located in the newly built Seagram Building on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Rothko (played by McClatchy) and his fictional assistant Ken (Simeone) debate continually and heatedly about art, and its place and meaning in our lives.

We are most excited for museum- and theatre-goers alike to have this unique opportunity to view both CMA’s thrilling exhibition, Mark Rothko: The Decisive Decade 1940-1950, and the play based on such a significant time in the artist’s life. Red plays February 13 – March 3. Visit http://www.catco.org for Red showtimes and tickets.

(Pictured above: Tim Simeone as Ken and Kevin McClatchy as Mark Rothko in CATCO’s Red)

Guest blogger, Tory Matsos, Dramaturg, CATCO’s Red

Recently the Columbus Museum of Art acquired a number of new acquisitions including this important American Scene painting by Joe Jones, a fitting tribute to the American worker as we celebrate Labor Day weekend. Threshing No. 1 is, without a doubt, a paean to the rural, working-class laborer and his mythic connection to the natural cycles of the land, a theme at the heart of American Scene painting.  The farmer stands thigh-deep amidst a glorious golden field of wheat.  Wheat, pitchfork, and hand converge in the very center of the painting, the spray of sheathes balanced at this fulcrum with the enlarged left hand at the end of the fork.  The towering stature of the laborer and the projection of his enlarged hand wielding the pitchfork constitute a dynamic presence that does, in its way, make the rhythmic, stylized figures of Grant Wood, John Steuart Curry, and Thomas Hart Benton seem anemic in comparison.  The vigor of the composition also ties this work to the Social Realism of the era, which was not missed by a number of contemporary critics, including Archibald MacLeish, who noted that “If this picture here seems non-political to you, thank Jones’s insistence on objectivity and examine more thoughtfully the face of the farmer and his left fist in yours (a probably deliberate paraphrase of the communist salute) which bring the whole landscape into line.”

It is not an exaggeration to say that Joe Jones exploded on the national art scene in 1935, when, as a completely unknown, former-house-painter-turned-fine-artist from St. Louis, his solo exhibition at the ACA Galleries in New York City became the most talked about event of the season.  The exhibition garnered headlines in the New York Times, Fortune, Time, Magazine of Art, Newsweek, and The New Yorker.  Jones had become a Communist out of his response to the deprivation of the Great Depression, and the works in the exhibition—such as our own American Justice, 1933; Roustabouts, 1934, now in the Worcester Art Museum; and We Demand, 1934, in the Butler Institute of American Art—forcefully conveyed this intense social concern.  In fact, Jones is noted, historically, for being one of the first artists to legitimize social realism within the art world elite, and for providing a much needed model to other artists who had been struggling to push the propaganda of social commentary graphics into the realm of fine art.  As the New York Times noted, “In his case one never suspects that painting, as an art, has figured exclusively, for him, as a crude machine by means of which propaganda broadsides may be catapulted into the face of the public.  On the contrary, a spectator is pretty sure to feel the artist’s intense concern for esthetic content.”

When the art world clamored to attend the opening of his second solo exhibition the next year at the Walker Galleries, they were again taken aback and left the galleries again animated—this time by canvas after canvas that unapologetically reveled in the lush wheat fields of Missouri.  Jones was unanimously anointed “the Professor of Wheat,” and the vigor of his style was considered by critics a great improvement upon the increasingly stale productions of Regionalist exemplars Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood.  The unanimous start of this second exhibition was Threshing No. 1, and, in fact, this specific painting was the work most associated with the artist through the remainder of his career.  The strength of the art world’s adulation and confidence in Jones’s historic position was confirmed in 1937, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art bought Threshing No. 1 for $1,000 from the 28-year-old, making him one of the youngest artists, still, to enter the collection.  The work was shown in their American galleries on a regular basis until around 1950, when the rise of abstraction effectively marginalized figurative, “populist” artists such as Jones.

The work is an incredibly significant addition to CMA’s collection on multiple fronts.  Threshing No. 1 is a signature Regionalist farm scene that heroicizes the rural laborer.  Jonas’s painting is one of those very rare works that rises to the top echelon of American Scene aspirations. As the art world continues the trend of the past decade in returning attention to the country’s figurative artistic tradition, artists such as Jones have received increasing critical acclaim. In this role, Threshing No. 1 will be a cornerstone in our American Scene collection. It offers a prominent counterpoint to other signature American Scene works in the CMA collection that celebrate the urban working-class, such as Bellows Snow Dumpers. Its evocation of the power of the natural environment is a partner to Arthur Dove’s Thunderstorm. Furthermore, in its inclusion of a rural environment—grain elevator, Missouri mule, and threshing equipment—it offers a compelling parallel to depictions of the urban environment, such as Precisionist works like Charles Demuth, Modern Conveniences, or Niles Spencer, Buildings in our Howald Collection, or Edward Hopper’s Morning Sun, and Reginald Marsh’s Hudson Bay Fur Company.

(Threshing No. 1, Joe Jones, 1935. Museum Purchase).

Art Speaks. Join the Conversation.

Dominique Vasseur, Director of Curatorial Administration and Curator of European Art

“Teens need a program that will make them believe that something is possible for them.” Dyshawn Underwood – CMA Art Lab Teen Intern

You may have seen one of CMAʼs 15 member strong Art Lab Teen Collective (ALT-C) in the halls of the museum shooting scenes for video projects, asking museum patrons with help filling out questionnaires or working with visiting artists on projects in the galleries. These are the same teens that took over Columbus Museum of Art last spring with fashion shows, live entertainment, street art and other radical forms of museum engagement. See the blog post here for more information about the event.

Columbus Museum of Art is on the cusp of engaging in a transformation of how we work with, program for, engage, value, and support teens in the Columbus community. We believe that continuously developing new ways to authentically engage teens is essential to the mission of CMA and the Center for Creativity as part of our effort to become a resource hub, and catalyst for great things in our community.

How do we inspire teens? What changes do we need to make in our museum community to make teen programing even better? How do we encourage teens in our Columbus community to be involved with the CMA? These are just some of the questions we set out to explore with some insightful members of the CMA community by hosing a teen focus group.

The focus group is a dynamic and integral part of our museumʼs effort to create great new teen programming. On Thursday July 26th a few ALT-C teens gathered in the Center for Creativityʼs Innovation Lab to zero in on what CMA could do to support teens to feel connected to their community, to be eager to learn, and to feel empowered to create positive change.

Weʼll do our best to make them proud. Look as new teen programs, inspired by this teen focus group, roll out this Fall.

For more information about CMA teen programs please contact Kristin Lantz, School Programs Coordinator at kristin.lantz@cmaohio.org or (614) 270-3501.

Art Speaks. Join the Conversation.

Kristen Lantz, School Programs Coordinator

We’re thrilled to announce that the Columbus Museum of Art has acquired Lino Tagliapietra’s glass installation Endeavor, an astounding and luminous work that magically captures Lino’s love of glass.  This armada of thirty-five boats suspended from the ceiling has become an iconic part of the Museum’s collection.

The purchase was made possible through the generosity of Museum donors, with a lead gift from Geraldine Schottenstein Hoffman. Additional support provided by Tom Davis and Anonymous, Pamela and Jack Beeler Family, Loann W. Crane, Howard Fradkin and Peter Kengeter, Barry Friedman and and Susanne Cobey Friedman, Fishel Foundation, Beth Loew, D. Scott Owens and Kevin J. Kowalski, Louise and Lake Polan, Stephen and Orlene Shimberg, Nannette and Sandy Solomon, and Jane H. Zimmerman.

Endeavor, on loan from the artist, featured prominently in CMA’s newly installed galleries when CMA unveiled its renovated building to the public on January 1, 2011. Endeavor was first displayed at CMA in 2003 as part of the traveling retrospective exhibition Concerto in Glass: The Art of Lino Tagliapietra organized by the Museum.  Inspired by the annual Festival of Saints, a city-wide ceremony that symbolizes Venice’s connection to the sea, Endeavor was an instant hit with CMA visitors and has become a beloved part of the Museum’s “great experiences.”

Lino was born in 1934 on the island of Murano, a locus of glassblowing whose history dates back to 1291.  At the age of twelve, Lino apprenticed with the glass master Archimede Seguso.  Nine years later, at the age of twenty-one, he earned the rank of maestro (master).

For the next twenty-five years, Lino worked in association with a number of Murano’s top glass factories, including Vetreria Galliano Ferro, Venini & Cie, La Murrina, Effretre Int’l., and EOS Design nel Vetro.  His influence on the American art glass studio movement is primarily attributed to his collaborations with Dale Chihuly.  In 1968, Chihuly visited Murano and studied with Lino as well as other glass masters.  In 1979, Lino traveled to America to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State where he shared invaluable knowledge about glassblowing techniques that previously had been guarded trade secrets.  In the 1980s, Lino entered into the studio artist world after over a decade of traveling, teaching, and working with studio artists worldwide.  Today Tagliapietra is acknowledged as one of the leading masters of the contemporary art glass movement.

Art Speaks. Join the Conversation.