American Folk Art Museum
Executive Director
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Maria Ann Conelli September 1, 2010 Challenge Grants In June 2010, I had the pleasure to share the news of a generous new $250,000 grant made by the president of the museum’s board of trustees, Laura Parsons, and her husband, Richard. Today, I am excited to report that we reached our challenge grant goal more than three weeks ahead of schedule thanks to the generous support of members and friends of the museum like you! Laura and Richard Parsons have matched each gift dollar-for-dollar, which means the museum now has $500,000 in new funds this fall. But we are not stopping here! I am proud to announce that longtime museum trustee Lucy Danziger and her husband, Mike, are keeping the momentum going with their very own challenge grant. The Lucy & Mike Danziger Challenge Grant will match all new and increased unrestricted contributions to the museum received by December 31, 2010, up to $125,000. With your contribution, the museum has the potential to raise $250,000 in support of exhibitions and educational programs! We have only until December 31 to meet this goal, so please visit the Make a Donation page on our website and give a gift today. With your help, the American Folk Art Museum will remain the vibrant organization you have known throughout the years. Thank you for your support! What’s On at the Museum The warm months are always an exciting time for New York City museums—new exhibitions and interesting programs entice visitors and residents alike. This season, the American Folk Art Museum is presenting critically acclaimed exhibitions and exciting programs and events for people of all ages. I’d like to share some highlights with you. Exhibitions The notion of “setting” is a theme that routinely emerges as educators at the museum work with visitors in the galleries. Perspectives: Setting the Scene in American Folk Art—the first installment of the “Perspectives” series organized by the museum’s education department—reveals the richness and diversity of American folk art in the long tradition of depicting places and provides snapshots of American life in different time periods. The second installment, Perspectives: Forming the Figure, which will examine some of the many facets of figure in works from the permanent collection, will open later this summer. Approaching Abstraction, praised by the New York Times as a “high-quality, entertainingly diverse” exhibition showcasing “remarkable paintings and sculptures,” is the first exploration into nonobjective expression in the work of self-taught artists and is selected entirely from the museum’s holdings. The show highlights the work of approximately 40 artists, including Thornton Dial Sr., Hiroyuki Doi, Adolf Wölfli, and Purvis Young. Hailed by the New York Times as an “excellent” and “insightful” collection show, Women Only: Folk Art by Female Hands celebrates female artistic expression of the 18th and 19th centuries. The paintings, drawings, samplers, quilts, rugs, and other works on view were made mostly during years spent in the cultivation of skills that prepared a young woman to shoulder the many roles required of her in adulthood as a wife and a mother—yet they were displayed in parlors and best rooms and conferred status and taste upon both heads of household: male and female. The Private Collection of Henry Darger opened in April to great critical acclaim; artnet magazine picked it as one of the top 20 museum exhibitions for that month, and the New Yorker called it a “fascinating show . . . [of] raw, often lovely material.” Selected from nearly 40 densely layered cardboard collages in the museum’s collection and exhibited for the first time, the works on view illustrate another, previously unexplored aspect of the artist’s creative world. These are the images Darger displayed in his small Chicago home—the images to which he woke up each morning, returned to every evening, and retired to at night. Darger adopted countless images from popular-media sources, such as newspapers, magazines, comic strips, and cartoons, but no single source influenced him as steadily as the coloring book. Up Close: Henry Darger and the Coloring Book, an intimate installation accompanying the main exhibition, highlights examples culled from the vast archives of the museum’s Henry Darger Study Center. At its branch location at 2 Lincoln Square, the museum is presenting New York Trilogy, three exhibitions celebrating New York artistry in works drawn from the permanent collection. A New York Sampler: Selections from the Collection features lively works that speak to the vitality and variety of 18th- and 19th-century art from the Empire State. Throughout its history, New York has thrived on forces balanced between old ways and progressive ideas. This creative tension has energized the state, and it is this vigorous spirit that is captured so beautifully in this folk art sampler. Malcah Zeldis: New York Artist presents the work of the Bronx-born and longtime Brooklyn and Manhattan resident who engagingly taps into and captures the pulse of the urban landscape. Zeldis’s scenes of everyday life and biblical and historical subjects are often laced with autobiographical elements. Audacious in her color palette, her hues vibrate with rhythmic intensity in the paintings on view. Vestie Davis’s New York is a bright, sparkling place with impressive and diverse landmarks and a hub of activity chronicled in meticulously detailed pictures from the 1950s through the 1970s. Davis predicted that some of his favorite sites would not survive the evolving needs of the city, and he faithfully rendered them with this in mind. Programs Curators and educators are giving guided gallery tours on Tuesdays throughout the season. The museum also continues to offer interactive programs for individuals with Alzheimer’s that bring the world of folk art to life through conversation; Folk Art Reflections is held the first and third Thursday of every month. Families and Folk Art, interactive tours followed by artmaking activities for children and their accompanying adults, is offered the first Saturday of each month. Throughout July and August, the education department will be presenting Programs for Camps, interactive tours and workshops for summer campers and youth groups to explore themes related to current exhibitions. Also in July, the museum will host its annual Summer Teachers’ Institute, a 5-day course engaging educators with the unique qualities associated with folk art and approaches to integrating folk art into the curriculum. Events On May 15, the museum celebrated Henry Darger’s birthday with an extraordinary benefit party. Patti Smith Live in Concert: A Benefit for the American Folk Art Museum featured rock-and-roll legend Patti Smith, an aerial performance by Cirque-tacular Entertainment, dancing, a premium open bar, and delicious hors d’oeuvres; guests included Jeff Koons, Betsey Johnson, Ryan McGinley, and Edward Mapplethorpe. In June, the museum will be hosting its second Young Patrons Party: 100% Folk. The event will have DJs spinning sets in the museum’s atrium while guests can enjoy an open bar of specialty cocktails and the current exhibitions. Following on the heels of the Young Patrons Party is A Day in the Country, a tour of six magnificent homes along the country lanes of Greenwich and North Stamford, Connecticut, which feature notable traditional and contemporary art collections, antiques, interior design, architecture, gardens, and rustic barns. Experts in the fields of art and antiques, design, and collecting will be on hand to share their insight into the treasures of each home. Proceeds from all three events support museum exhibitions and programming. Don’t miss Folk Art Friends Week, from June 19 to 25: museum members receive complimentary admission for up to three accompanying guests. (Not a member? Join today!) I also invite you to come to the museum on Friday evenings for Free Music Fridays, when admission is free from 5:30 to 7:30 pm—explore the exhibitions, have a drink in the café, and enjoy live music in the atrium. It’s a wonderful time to visit the museum! |