Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect upon entering the exhibition War and Suffering. The works that fill the walls are full of suffering, passion, movement and gruesomeness. The older European prints seem delicately drawn even though the subject matter consists of hanging corpses, marching soldiers and cavalry men of the Napoleonic Wars. These works are much more dramatic and elegant than those of the modern artists affected by war.

One work that caught my eye immediately is Wars, Dread of Mothers by George Rouault. It is an image of a mother holding her child. There is concern and tension in the work that speaks to the ramifications of war; it depicts those who are inadvertently affected by war’s violence through the sacrifice of a loved one. Many of the modern artists featured were former soldiers who translated their experiences through horrific scenes of deformed corpses or bodies of the innocent.

Pablo Picasso’s The Dream and Lie of Franco, II is also moving. I instantly recognized several of the images that eventually appeared in his famous work of art, Guernica. Here, Picasso was working on a commission to create 18 works that would be formatted into postcards when Guernica was bombed, and the work exhibited has the beginning sketches of a masterpiece.

Another element of this exhibition is the Starr Miniature Collection: Military Portrait Miniatures. These elegant images serve as a heroic reflection of the soldiers proudly wearing their uniforms. The small works also provided family members images of their loved ones. I enjoyed looking at these small works very much. In every portrait, it seemed as though a little personality managed to show through each sitter’s expression.

This exhibition really took me by surprise. The works, though painful and unsettling, are a poignant reminder of the casualties of war, then and now.

Thank you to Museum visitor Lacette Price who sent me images from her recent trip to the Nelson-Atkins. I love how the lights from the Bloch Building cast a dramatic quality to the already nobel endeavor of Rodin's Thinker in the Kansas City Sculpture Park.

We would love to see more snapshots from Museum visitors whether they're artsy, funny, dramatic, interesting or just plain nice. See more images from visitors.

Welcome the Year of the Rat this Friday as the Museum celebrates Chinese New Year from 5 to 9 p.m. The Nelson-Atkins is renowned for its collection of Asian art, specifically Chinese art.

In honor of our extraordinary collection, the Museum will feature special performances, music, gallery activities, art demonstrations and projects and of course, Chinese food in Rozzelle Court Restaurant and Chinese beer, wine and liquor in the Museum Cafe.

Yesterday, we had a preview of the new featured exhibition American Horizons: The Photographs of Art Sinsabuagh. Keith F. Davis, curator of photography, walked us through the exhibition which consists of 85 photographs, one of the cameras used by Sinsabaugh and a resource area with books and a looping video about the artist.

Davis described Sinsabaugh as a truly unique artist. No one else worked as he worked therefore his prints are extremely rare. Sinsabaugh used a big camera to make small to moderate sized pictures. The camera produced a 12 x 20 inch negative but Sinsabaugh chose to crop his pictures, some as small as 1 inch in height. He maintained the full width of 20 inches in most of his pictures, emphasizing the narrative qualities of his work. Davis compared them to horizontal Chinese scrolls in that they are delicated and packed with details. You have to slow down and get up close to appreciate them completely.

As I followed the group through the galleries, I began to notice more and more in each image. One that I particularly liked is Chicago Landscape #298 from 1966. If you look carefully, you'll notice a tiny house smack dab in the middle of these urban high rises. I love the way the buildings frame the house as if the high rises were intentionally built around it. I also love that if you do notice the house, its like some secret message is revealed. Davis explained that while Sinsabugh was capturing many ideas in his work incluiding the progression of the landscape from rural to urban and the "use it and throw it away" mentality of America, he quite often chose to focus on something completely human.

It looks rather like a perpetual motion roller coaster or a suspended playground jungle gym (note the floor below). Viewed from an abstract perspective, it might even constitute a contemporary piece of sculpture. Actually, it is part of the steel framework that supports the concrete slab above, which made up the floor of the old mezzanine above the former American period rooms. It is all gone now, resulting in a cavernous and empty space. It will soon begin a process of transformation, eventually housing two of the new galleries in the renovated American wing, which is scheduled to open in spring 2009.

The Museum's collection of paintings by Thomas Hart Benton has increased to 26 with the addition of this portrait of his youngest sister, Mildred. Painted in 1913, Portrait of the Artist’s Sister (Mildred), reflects Benton’s work in a Realist mode years before his emergence as a leader of Regionalism. The painting is the earliest work by Benton to enter the Nelson-Atkins collection. It is on view in Gallery 217.

I have more Benton news to share with you. Previously, I reported ten murals from his American Historial Epic had been relocated to Atkins Auditorium. The space is now open and may be viewed during regular Museum hours (except for when there is a program in the auditorium).

The Bloch Building is wonderful and I am glad it has received so much praise and well-deserved honors. However, I found a recent article in the Boston Globe quite refreshing (sorry, the link to the full article on the Globe's site wasn't working). Yes, it had the usual praise for the architecture and inventive use of space but it went a little further to commend the reasons for the expansion. Robert Campbell wrote:

“What I like best about the Bloch was that it isn’t a stand-alone, look-at-me building. Its inventiveness isn’t employed to make some big sculptural statement. Everything about it, instead, is a reaching out for connections – to the site, to the old museum, and (for free) to the members of the public. It’s a garden piece as much as a work of architecture.”

As I read this paragraph, I felt many things. A sense of pride but also a sense of relief. Kansas City is a metropolis with a small town feel and many people were outraged by the gaul of some high flautin' east coast architect coming here to upset the natural order of things. The Nelson-Atkins made it clear from the beginning of the project that the Bloch Building (as well as renovations in the original building and a reinstallation of the Kansas City Sculpture Park) were first and foremost, a community initiative.

It is nice to have a big, shiny, new building but if it doesn't welcome and engage its visitors, then it is a failure. It's nice to know we got it right.

It has been quite awhile since I was in the space where the Spencer Art Reference Library lived for 74 years in the Nelson-Atkins Building. It took me by surprise at how small the space appeared. This room held the library's complete stacks, the Museum's archives and the majority of the library staff.

The library has always been a great place to do research, catch up on the latest art world news or read about the Museum's collection (or any artist you can name). The library's shiny, new space in the Bloch Building certainly adds a new appreciation to the experience.

Installation of the new featured exhibition American Horizons: The Photographs of Art Sinsabaugh began today in the large exhibition space in the Bloch Building. The exhibition opens to the public Jan. 26.

The exhibition of 85 photographs includes this camera used by Sinsabaugh. The exhibition is comprised completely of photographs from Indiana University Art Museum and the Museum's photography collection. Two of Sinsabaugh's best-known series, Chicago Landscape Group and Midwest Landscape Group are included in the exhibition.

It is always nice to see the Museum through the eyes of visitors. These images came from Susan Neider who visited recently and happens to be a photographer.

Here's one of my favorite architectural details from the Bloch Building.

The view from Kirkwood Hall into the Sculpture Hall with a glimpse of Atalanta and Meleager with the Calydonian Boar (or The Lovers,as we call them).

Thanks for sharing, Susan!

I've never been to Italy or France so I was tres excited when the Museum Café opened in the Bloch Building. With its outdoor seating and a sleek design (check out these fabulous salt and pepper shakers), I am transported to a life where hanging out at cafes is considered quite important.

With delicious food and the best view in town, the Café is an attractive location to meet for lunch, start the weekend or wind down after work. If you haven't been to the Café yet, make a date with friends and come for a visit. Don't forget to wear your beret!

As I was walking through the Ford Learning Center today, I noticed they are installing some new works created by students. On the northern hallway, I found some fierce dragons from the Dragons and Tomb Treasures class for 6 to 8 year olds. This class explored the exhibition Rising Dragon: Ancient Treasures from China.

Enrollment is going on right now for the winter and spring schedule of studio and art history courses for children and adults.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly (I hope there are a few of you out there), knows that I am a huge fan of our conservation department.

Even though they have to deal with all that science (ugh), their jobs include a certain amount of mystery as well. Some of their solutions are simply genius (in my mind at least). For example, I never would have thought to bury 320 pounds of finely ground manganese metal in the ground to prevent corrosion of the sculpture Rumi by Mark di Suvero.

We've just started working on a couple more conservation case studies for our website. I'll be sure to let you know when they appear.

Mark your calendar or program your DVR to catch The Architecture of Museums at 8 p.m., January 10 on KCPT, the local public television station for Kansas City. This episode of Screen Time will be dedicated solely to the panel discussion that was held on June 8, 2007, the day before the public opening of the Bloch Building.

The panel was moderated by Museum Director and CEO Marc Wilson and consisted of Steven Holl, Bloch Building architect; Jeffrey Kipnis, curator and professor of architecture at Ohio State University; Timothy Rub, director of the Cleveland Art Museum; Rebecca Young, manager of exhibition design at the Nelson-Atkins and Lebbeus Woods, architect and artist.

The panel drew a full house to Atkins Auditorium. Standing in the back of the room, I remember there was a buzz of excitement and energy about the opening the next day. Be sure to watch it tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Just as the galleries are getting renovated for the reinstallation of the American collection, so is the art. This table will be on view with its counterpart when the new galleries open in the spring of 2009.

Something interesting about this set of tables is who made them. John Townsend was a prominent furniture maker in Newport, Rhode Island in the mid to late 18th century. He was active in Newport circa 1756 to 1800 and after that his son and nephew both carried on the family business.

His furniture is beautiful but what excites collectors, curators and conservators is that he signed and dated many of his best pieces. This set is dated 1794. The tables will be stabilized and cleaned up for exhibition in the new galleries.

Here's another installment from Barb the Builder about the renovation of the American and American Indian galleries.

I'll build a stairway to Paradise
with a new step ev'ry day!
I'm gonna get there at any price;
Stand aside, I'm on my way!

With apologies to George Gershwin, we could well be singing these very words today. Certainly we’re taking lots of new steps and are on our way toward our latest construction project − the complete renovation of the American and American Indian galleries in the Nelson-Atkins Building. Seen here, standing stalwart while much around it is crumbling away, is the stair in the former collection photography studio, which led to a small mezzanine office. Days after this photo was taken, the stair itself was demolished and faded into oblivion, making way for a new gallery that will feature works dated circa 1776.