Contemporary - Pulitzer

Contemporary: Goodbyes

August is just about here, which means that my time as an intern at the Contemporary is almost over. It’s been a good summer. Jennifer has given me a wide range of things to do, from updating the Contemporary’s blog to editing and writing copy to using my graphic design skills. Additionally, I helped out with Open Studios. I got to see it from both sides – as a visitor on Saturday and as a volunteer on Sunday. It’s amazing to see all the work that goes into an event like that - even the little details like ironing table cloths. Monitoring/people watching at the Alternative Space ended up being my favorite part of the weekend.

Last week I helped find books for the gift shop that are related to Maya Lin’s exhibition, which opens in September. I hope you will all stop by to see it. It sounds like its going to be quite an exhibition - stairs and walls have to be constructed to accommodate her work! (Megan Murphy, Intern)

The Pulitzer: Schools on TV

Included in some of the press coverage we received during the week of the Water opening, was a TV feature on KETC (our local PBS station) about a program during the previous exhibition, Portrait/Homage/Embodiment.  To view the video, click on this link, scroll underneath "Recently on Living St. Louis" and click on the link in the lefthand column called "Portraits".

The show Living St. Louis covered the Pulitzer's program with Shaw and St. Michael elementary schools, and the culimating event and open house.  It's a great piece and the kids have some amazing insight into the artworks that were on view.  Some of the things they commented on I never would have thought of, and it really made me look at the artwork in a new light.  We're hoping to continue working with both these schools during Water, and I'm really looking forward to hearing their thoughts on the works in this show as well.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Exhibition Literature

Today our Assistant Curator, Education Director, and Gift Shop Manager met to discuss literature for the Maya Lin exhibition (at least I'm guessing that is what they were meeting about. . . they had books spread across the desks and it appeared to be a very passionate, involved, and fun conversation. . . ).  We offer a wide selection of literature related to the artists we show - whether the books and materials are related by influence, medium, social/cultural context - and offer these to the public in our Education Resource Center.  Many of these materials aren't available at the local library, and often not available at local colleges and universities, so the museum is a great location to visit to research contemporary art and make connections that go beyond what you see in the exhibition.  Three titles are confirmed on the list, and I'll share those with you, in case you want to have some advanced reading:  Topophilia by Yi-Fu Tuan, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond, and Boundaries by Maya Lin.

Happy reading (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Water Films, by You

With a new exhibition, also comes plans for new programming.  During the last exhibition, we launched our first film program with a screening of Warhol's Chelsea Girls.  For Water we're planning on (at least) 2 film nights -- the first of which is going to be held in September.  In collaboration with Cinema St. Louis, we're asking local filmmakers to create a short, silent piece with water as the focus.  Works that are chosen will then be projected on the exterior walls of the Pulitzer for an evening, and the winning piece chosen by Cinema St. Louis will get to be screened during the International Film Festival in November (with soundtrack provided by a live orchestra!).  I'm excited to see what all is submitted, and I think this willl be a great way to kick off our film programming once again.

If you are interested in submitting something, Cinema St. Louis has the form and requirements on their website here.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Contemporary's Updated Membership Levels

Debuting this week are our new membership cards!  Along with this, we are updating our membership levels and benefits so now there are even more ways to support contemporary art and even more benefits for our members. 

Standard Levels
Individual $45*
Family $80

*$25 individual artist or student memberships available with valid ID

Supporting Levels
Contributor $150
Fellow $250 – NEW LEVEL!
Benefactor $500

Circle Levels
Patron’s Circle $1,000
Curator’s Circle $2,500
Director’s Circle $5,000
Chairman’s Circle $10,000

Look for updates to our membership page on our website as well as a new membership brochure in the near future detailing all the additional benefits at each level.  As always, all members enjoy:
• Free Admission for a year
• Guest passes for friends and family
• Invitations to exclusive member previews and events
• Opportunities to meet top artists, curators and critics
• MESH Magazine
• eMESH
• 10% discount at our gift shop and café

If you are not already a member or your membership is about to expire, now is the time to join or renew!  Our next exhibition, Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes opens September 7th and you are not going to want to miss the Member’s Only Opening Night Preview.  Also, not to be missed will be the Hard Hat Happy Hour on August 30th from 6pm-8pm.  This is a very special behind-the-scenes look at the instillation of this exhibition.  Tickets are $25 per person and FREE for Members at the Contributor level and above.

For more information on the Contemporary's Membership program, contact Erinn Gavaghan, Manager of Donor Relations and Special Events at erinn.gavaghan@contemporarystl.org.

Erinn

The Pulitzer: Now Open

Water is now up and running, and the Pulitzer is back to business as usual.  We had our opening reception on Friday night and it went great -- we doubled our attendance since the last opening!  Here's a few glimpses of the galleries from that night:

People gathered in the Main Gallery:

 

Only 5 people are allowed in the Lower Gallery at a time.  This was the line to get in:

It was a perfect night temperature-wise -- especially for St. Louis at the end of July.  Here are some great photos of dusk over the watercourt (the part of the building that inspired the whole exhibition):

As I mentioned in my last post, we videotaped parts of the opening to put on our website.  It went really well -- Matthias had some great comments about the ideas behind the exhibition, and we got some candid feedback from gallery assistants on their favorite pieces in the show.  We're thinking about making a mini-series of videos focusing on different artworks in the exhibition.  Any other ideas that you'd like to see?  Let us know!  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Open Studios - All staff

The Open Studios event has ended, and although the majority of the work and coordination is over, the Contemporary still has a bit of work to do, including drafting a survey to go to the participating artists and one to go to the public to gather feedback on this year's event and ideas for next year.  It was an incredible weekend.  After kicking off the bike tours on Saturday and Sunday, I jumped in my car and explored a good number of studios.  I never knew what to expect when walking through the door, and each time I was greeted by an extremely friendly artist.  We talked about their work, the experience, the interesting people that had stopped by.  I heard from a few artists that they sold an incredible amount of work throughout the day - one artist even mentioned that he had sold so many paintings and drawings that he received enough to paint his rent for an entire year - allowing him to paint - and concentrate on making art.  That's quite exciting. We had a fun BBQ at the museum last night and wrapped it up with an excellent performance by local band Gentleman Auction House. If you missed the weekend, you can still see some of the artists' works at the website and otherwise, just plan to stay in town next July for the next one. 

Now, we're onto Maya Lin's exhibition, which opens on September 7.  This week, I'll share what we're planning to exhibit in our gallery spaces as well as in our teaching gallery and media lab.  Graphic Design is working on the next Mesh, the exhibition invitations, and advertising spots.  Development is finalizing funding.  We're planning several events and coordinating a lecture we are doing in collaboration with Washington University the night before the exhibition opening - with Maya Lin. Over the next few weeks, we'll be de-installing the current exhibitions, moving walls, staircases, and preparing to welcome some Wash U students to our install crew. 

The Pulitzer: Water Opens Tonight!

Everything is set and ready to go for the long-awaited opening (for us at least!) of Water tonight.  There's been some great press on the exhibition already this week --  check out a RFT write-up here, David Bonetti's preview in the Post-Dispatch here, and listen to Maria Hickey's interview with Matthias on KWMU (our NPR station) here.

Tonight, we're also starting our experimentation with video for our website.  We'll be filming Matthias as he discusses the exhibition in the galleries, and get some feedback from our gallery assistants on what they think of it all (this will be the first time that many of them will have seen it as well).   I'm (very) excited about this new development for our website, and think including video of our exhibitions and programming will add a whole new layer of information for our online visitors.  Plus, it'll hopefully give you a sense of the Pulitzer even if you aren't able to make it to St. Louis. 

But if you are in STL, stop by tonight from 6-9pm and check it all out.  And in the meantime, here's a little sneak peek for our blog readers...  (Rachel)

Contemporary: The Opening

We have 75 works by local artists installed in our performance space. On Tuesday, we opened this weeklong exhibition to the public and enjoyed a dialogue between more thn 500 artists and guests. It was a good night. Now we're preparing for Saturday and Sunday and getting ready to hit up the yART sale (yes, that's right), the alternative space, and the many artist studios that will be open. Tomorrow, I'm opening up the museum to welcome the bikers that have decided to work up a sweat with a bike tour, and then we're organizing our Education Director's ice cream tour, a community tour, and a trolly tour led by Paul. You're of course welcome to tour on your own - we encourage you to. (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Installing Bryan Hunt

When you walk into the Water exhibition this Friday, the first thing you're going to see is Bryan Hunt's work Shift Falls in the entrance way.  It's a very tall, narrow and heavy sculpture -- which presents more than one challenge in its installation.

The bottom of the sculpture has three holes which, when installed, sits on three prongs.  The prong base is installed into the concrete pavers in the entrance way:

Next, a scaffolding had to be built around the base, which would eventually help to hoist the sculpture.

Then, a chain-fall is attached to the top of this scaffolding.  The chain will eventually be padded and strapped around the sculpture so it can slowly be pulled upwards.

Here's a video of the sculpture slowly being pulled upright:

     

         

and here's the next video, of the sculpture slowly being lowered onto the three prongs and being secured.

               

And here's what it looks like now!

The photograph doesn't do the texture of the work justice, so you definitely need to come see it in person to get the full effect.  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Open Studios!

Dear bloggers,

We at the Contemporary are so pleased to present the 2nd Annual City-Wide Open Studios—a weekend-long event to celebrate the art and artists of St. Louis. Of course, we begin tonight with a soiree at the Contemporary, where we have installed a selection of works by participating artists. (From what I hear about how well the Contemporary throws down, I have no doubt we’re in for a good party.) When you visit the museum tonight or this week, you’ll have a chance to review for yourself the type of art you’ll be seeing this weekend, and a trip here will help you select those studios that interest you most. Although, wouldn’t it be a true feat to visit each of the 83 artists in two days?

Nevertheless, whatever your destination this weekend, I urge you on Sunday to visit our Alternative Space, located in the Continental Life Building, just a block away from the Contemporary on Olive Blvd. There, seventeen artists who live just outside the metro area have reentered the city limits—bringing their “studios” with them. This raw space (once a bank? check out the knockout vault in the back) offers a fitting frame for those artists who lie beyond the edges of our map.

Whatever your destination, enjoy the weekend, and thank you for helping to champion St. Louis’ local art.

Laura Fried, Assistant Curator

The Pulitzer: The Week of Water

So this week, our new exhibition "Water" will finally be opening.  I'll be providing little teasers and facts leading up to Friday night to get you in the mood.  Here's one little tease of an art work that will be on view:

Free entrance to anyone who can name the artist and title of this work.  (ok, so we're always free anyway, but if you can guess you'll get a pat on the back at the opening).  Click here if you want to cheat and read the full list of art works and their credit lines. 

In other news, yesterday we placed a pull out insert in the New York Times.  This was distributed regionally, which included the St. Louis area, along with Kansas City and parts of Kansas.  It looked fantastic and was a full page and two sided (which is more than you can get in most ads).  I had a really nice phone message this morning from someone all the way in Kansas offering their congratulations on it.  Hearing that was definitely a nice way to start the week of Water!  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Open Studios

Open Studios is just a week away. In fact, we're installing a piece from each participating artists in our Performance Space on Monday, and the Open Studios preview exhibition will open - for one week only - on Tuesday.  So you can actually see the work in just a couple days.

Open Studios is extremely focused on the community.  We're hoping to connect the artists inspired and working in the St. Louis community - with those that live around them. One of our goals is to start. . .and continue a discussion. . . and that's one of the best parts of contemporary art, right? We have an amazing opportunity to talk to the artists creating work today. No other time in history - other than the present - are you able to do that.

We've teamed up with some great partners, extending our community of reach.  Trek Bike store is leading bike tours through the city, stopping at the studios. Have you experienced the city in slow motion?  The beauty of our parks, our streets - even the ones that are abandoned and in need of care - is astounding, and often hard to appreciate, or even notice, when traveling by car.  By bike you experience the noise, (or sometimes the peaceful lack thereof), the smells, and the atmosphere and spirit of our city. It's a thought provoking experience and one everyone should be a part of at least once.

There is plenty of information online about how to get involved and make the most of the Open Studios week online. And to continue our discussion with the community, we launched our Open Studios webpage/blog. Please go and visit, and give a nod to the St. Louis community.  (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Matisse, Tahiti, and Talk About Water

As we prepare for our next exhibition we are constantly looking for statements about water by the artists in the show.  We want to know how it has affected them artistically, personally...and whatever it is about water that has engaged them.

In some cases, these statements are hard to come by.  Not so for Henri Matisse, whose Bather (1909) in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art was installed here yesterday.  Jack Flam's invaluable Matisse on Art preserves a number of references to water--at least in the context of Matisse's Tahiti trip of 1930.

We intend to reprint one of these statements in the free visitors' booklet that accompanies Water.  Another, from Matisse's 1952 interview with Andre Verdet, is here to whet your appetite for all the Matisses in the show (four works in all, including two post-Tahiti).

Verdet: Did your stay in Tahiti have a great influence on your work?

Matisse: The stay in Tahiti was very profitable...I used to bathe in the lagoon.  I swam around the brilliant corals emphasized by the sharp black accents of holothurians.  I would plunge my head into the water, transparent above the absinth bottom of the lagoon, my eyes wide open...and then suddenly I would lift my head above the water and gaze at the luminous whole.

Reading this, the meaning of one line in Matisse's Jazz comes into sharp focus for me: "Lagoons: wouldn't you be one of the seven wonders of the Paradise of painters?" (Camran)

Contemporary: Arm Twisting

I have a couple more arms to twist when securing for guest bloggers: we've recently appointed Anthony Huberman as  Chief Curator and Laura Fried as Assistant Curator at the Contemporary.  Both are phenomenal and will bring a lot to our curatorial programs and to St. Louis. Anthony joins the museum with nearly 10 years of experience as a curator, educator, and author at top international institutions including the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and SculptureCenter and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, both in New York. And Laura joins us from  MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., where she was a curatorial fellow. Laura's already agreed to write on occasion, and she assumed a lovely office in our space last week - so you'll hear from her soon

Besides sending out many press announcements (we've also recently reached our goal of raising a $5 million endowment - quite an accomplishment!), I've been working diligently on Open Studios.  We now have a variety of organized tours for those Type As that want to get the most out of the Open Studios days. One option is jumping on a bus and being led to some hand-picked studios.  Bus leaves the Contemporary at 1:00pm on Saturday, July 21, for a 3 hour tour. Hopefully, it won't end up on an island.  Since we're located in a city merely partially surrounded by two rivers, this shouldn't be a concern.  Another option is to join our resident foodie and Education Director Kathryn Adamchick for ice cream at 12:30 and then spend the afternoon strolling (and carpooling) to studios in Maplewood and UCity.  We have a third option, which also involves carpooling (however, no ice cream) and more details to come on that  later.  If you're into the 'no ice cream' option and want to work up a sweat, Trek Bike Store has organized some very scenic tours of the city that will lead you to almost all the studios between the two days.  More info on the Open Studios website. It's all free and you'll really see a lot of art in a short time - more than 80 artists are inviting you into their spaces.  It's generous of them, and an opportunity like this really only happens once a year. Join us! (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: 10 Days and Counting...

Sometimes I wish my job description included art installation.  They always have the best stories ("listen to how we craned this art work over the wall!") or they get to figure out how to install the most challenging pieces ("how are we going to install a work that weighs as much as a Volkswagen?") and so on.   

Staff members who aren't directly involved with the installation, are not allowed in the galleries until all the art works are installed.  So I have to live vicariously through those who do get to go in the galleries and pump them for information. "Oohh how did you install that one? What does this gallery looking like now?" etc. etc.  What I heard from them today was the best yet: Matisse's Bathers with a Turtle installed across from Beckmann's Fisherwomen.  So now I'm counting down until installation is finally over... (Rachel)

Contemporary: Mad Art Radio Hour

Things are starting to get pretty exciting over here at the Contemporary with Open Studios coming up next week.  However, there is another event right around the corner that is equally exciting.  The Mad Art Radio Hour returns to the Mad Art Gallery this week, with performances Wednesday through Saturday.  As you may have guessed, Mad Art Gallery and local artists create a live production of a "Golden Age" radio show.  In today's face-paced media world, it is hard to imagine relying solely on the radio for means of information and entertainment.  The Mad Art Radio Hour takes us back to those Golden Years, retraining us to rely on verbal communication alone to convey a message (which is much easier said than done).  If this strikes your fancy, please show some support and try to go see/hear unique event. For more information, visit: http://www.madart.com/eventsexhibitions/publicevents/madartradiohour.htm.  (Christine)

The Pulitzer: A Conversation with Richard Serra

The Richard Serra retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art offers us an occasion for seriously reconsidering Serra's work and its place in (or out) of our personal pantheons.  Should you be thinking along these lines--about where Serra and other modern sculptors belong within the context of art history--the Pulitzer website has a new resource to offer: the transcript of a conversation between Richard Serra, curator Carmen Gimenez (Guggenheim NY), and Pulitzer director Matthias Waschek, on the occasion of our 2005 exhibition Brancusi and Serra in Dialogue.

You can find "A Conversation with Richard Serra and Carmen Gimenez, Moderated by Matthias Waschek" under 'Events & Programs' or at this permanent link: www.pulitzerarts.org/serra-gimenez/interview.

The conversation comes at a very interesting moment in Serra's career: shortly after his triumphant installation at the Guggenheim Bibao, The Matter of Time, and shortly before his retrospective at the Modern.  It was no doubt a time when Serra himself was thinking about his position in art history.  Indeed, agreeing to discuss Brancusi and Serra in Dialogue, which literally put the artists' works side by side, made confrontation and comparison with history inevitable for Serra.   

If you watched the video clips Rachel posted of Serra talking to Charlie Rose, you know that last month, at his retrospective, he was not willing to draw many relationships between his work and the masterpieces in MoMA's collection:

Rose: How is this [your work] going to be of that import?
Serra: I don't know.
Rose: Speculate for me.
Serra: I can't.
Rose: But is it of that quality?
Serra: How would I know?  I don't know. I'm just trying to do the best I can do.
Rose: But you think you are every bit of that quality!  You do!
Serra: No, I think I'm of that effort.

In 2005, in the conversation we have preserved, it seems to me Serra had not yet decided to be so undecided about his qualitative relationship to the past.  In fact, Serra repeatedly speculates in the fashion Charlie Rose requested.  Herein lies much of the transcript's value.  It allows one to consider Serra considering his own significance--the artist inside history weighing his own work. (Camran)

Contemporary: NAN Studio Online

Okay, my friends. This website is truly unbelievable. I had to scroll through previous entries to see if I had posted on this before - and it appears as though I have not - but how oh how could I not tell you about the New Art in the Neighborhood studio online?  I'll let you explore it yourself, but here are the highlights:  high school students enrolled in our New Art program can create online portfolios they can use to get into colleges and universities, a section highlights the colleges and universities across the country that have excellent art programs, it's an online memory detailing past visits of artists that came to work with the students, it's a yearbook, it's a testimonial, it houses spectacular videos - with cool beats, no less, and it provides a way for you to not work during your day job and doodle on the website (please go explore). Most importantly, it was developed by the students in the program and serves as an outlet for them to show their projects and get others involved.  Right now we're accepting applications for the next year.  Please apply (see details on website) if you're interested. (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: Happy 4th!

For the 4th, our blog will be taking a mini-hiatus.  We'll be back to business as usual tomorrow.  Have a great holiday!  (Rachel)

Contemporary: Water

Today at our staff meeting, the theme of water was discussed.  It was brought up in relation to the exhibition the Pulitzer is now getting ready to install and the exhibition we're planning right now. Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes will be installed at the Contemporary and will open on September 7.  The work concentrates on landscapes, many of them water.  One of the pieces, 2x 4 Landscape, is described as both a rolling hill, or a rolling wave.  She is creating an edition that incorporates the Missouri River for us, and a wire piece that will be installed in our space explores the landscape of the ocean's bottom.  How's that for water for you?  It will be perfectly lovely to explore this coincidental theme this fall between the two neighboring institutions. Have a wonderful 4th of July!  (Jennifer)

The Pulitzer: End of One, Beginning of Another

Today is officially the first day of de-installation/re-installation.  Portrait/Homage/Embodiment is no more, and the dismantling has begun.  Soon couriers will be arriving, along with (hopefully) lots of good stories about installation (my favorite blog time of year).  I've also finagled my way into getting a video of one of the art works being installed soon, so be on the look out for that.

In the meantime, the first day of install for me always means the start of sending out postcards for the opening and getting the fliers and posters ready for distribution around town.  We have an amazing "street team" of gallery assistants who help spread these far and wide.  Take a look at our beautiful poster (click to enlarge), and keep an eye out for this design around town and potentially even in your mailbox in the coming weeks. (Rachel)