Heat Waves, Brain Waves

So it’s been a little while since the museum posted a blog!  Maybe this is an indication of how busy we’ve been over the summer—three special exhibits are up, we’ve been running a full slate of summer camps, plus planning fall programs and events, and more.  Or maybe it’s just harder for us to think clearly when it’s so hot outside.

That last sentence is a little joke, but it did make me start to think—about how I think, or how I come to understand things.  As someone who likes to visit museums, I understand what a lot of our visitors try to accomplish when they come to the CMA: it’s usually a special trip, and while they may have come to see something in particular, they usually want to have time to see everything.  I’ve spent a lot of time in my own life trying to see (or read, or study, or learn) everything; I read a book for pleasure and I feel pressure that I need to remember everything, or I go through an exhibit and want to read all the text and look at each object with the same amount of attention.  And while attention to detail can be great, it can also keep me from getting things done—I wait to start a project until I think I can give it my full attention, which is almost never, so I wait, and I wait some more.  How much of the joy of learning and experiencing new things could I be missing out on, because of waiting?

I went through the galleries recently to see our new exhibits, plus a few pieces that were recently added to the permanent collection upstairs.  I really wanted to engage in my usual habits—reading and studying everything—but I didn’t have the time on this trip.  So, I took a quicker tour, and lo and behold, I actually came away with some moments that made it worthwhile.  In the upstairs galleries, I finally got a true sense of the scale of a Book of Hours, after having studied from enlargements in art history courses.

In Innovation and Change: Great Ceramics, I saw the breadth of what can be made using clay (big! heavy! beautiful! wild!).  In Imperial Splendor: Renaissance Tapestries, I finally paid attention to tapestries like ones I’ve seen but never studied in other museums and palaces, now understanding their practical purposes (insulation) and what they signified (wealth).  These little nuggets of revelation kept me moving through the galleries, even though I knew I wasn’t seeing or catching everything.  The joy of having these moments makes me look forward to stealing a few more minutes in the galleries sometime soon.

I hope you’ll join us at least once over the summer to see our new exhibits.  In addition to Innovation and Change and Imperial Splendor on the first floor, our upstairs gallery 15 features SC6: Six South Carolina Innovators in Clay, which presents a great opportunity to see work by some well-known South Carolinian ceramic artists.  And if you’re able, I hope you’ll choose to come more than once to really take in all there is to see.  Listen to the audio tours, check out some binoculars from the front desk to view tapestries in detail, or come for a gallery talk with one of the artists in SC6.  All of these things can help you maximize your visit, have your own revelations, and keep you out of the summertime heat.  (We’re just trying to help you out, here!)

Melanie Neil

Visitor Services

In The Market

Ironically enough, I am actually in the market for a new chandelier.  The one in my dining room is, well, outdated.  It’s very bronze.  Not the brushed metal one I’d prefer to have.  Or the blown glass one I can’t afford.  It seems that a Chihuly chandelier is a wee bit out of my price range; as in it costs more than my whole house.  Go figure.

I noticed today that there is some serious track lighting installed for the CMA’s new chandelier.  Unlike my unattractive bronze disaster that has light bulbs inside it, Chihuly’s chandeliers are lit from the surrounding lights.  When we visited the Chihuly studios in Seattle this past January, they said that they had tried “inner illumination” (sounds like a Yoga pose, doesn’t it?) before, but the glass just ended up looking sort of muted and the colors were all off.  But when they put lights strategically around the chandelier, it glows as if it’s filled with tiny lights.  And the glass looks much shinier.

They also said that the lights are all mapped out, just like the pieces of the chandelier, and are essentially all a part of the artwork.  (I should note – we did see some pieces made out of neon at the Chihuly studio.  They are lit from the inside, but it’s a totally different look!)

Today the chandelier is about two-thirds of the way done!  I got brave enough to ask how many pieces they’ve dropped today and they reported only two.  Out of over 800 pieces, that seems like a pretty good statistic!  These guys are pros, needless to say.

-Mary Douglass, Columbia Contemporaries

First Impressions

Today I got to go to the Art Museum to check out the progress on the Chihuly chandelier.  I felt very VIP (I’m not, but it’s nice to think I could be!).

They (and by “they” I mean Team Chihuly – the guys and gals who have come all the way from Seattle to make sure it’s right!) have hung up the steel frame and have already started attaching the pieces of glass.

The steel frame sort of looks like a sea urchin with all the spikes sticking out.  But that’s okay because no one will see it.  Incidentally, it’s red.  I wasn’t really sure what color I expected it to be (gray, maybe?), but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is colored.

After the steel frame is hung, Team Chihuly starts attaching the pieces of glass.  Did I mention that each individual piece of glass is hung One. At. A. Time??  So there are two guys from the team on lifts working bottom to top on the chandelier attaching each piece.  The piece of glass has a little “bubble” on the end which has a wire wrapped around it and then that wire is wound around the steel frame.  Easy enough, I guess.  Of course, I couldn’t figure out how they knew which piece went where, but I’m going to assume they’ve got a map or something.

There are about 800 pieces to the chandelier.  When I was there this afternoon, they had about a tenth of it done so far.  And, fortunately, no pieces were dropped while I was there!  Whew!  I’m also guessing they have some back-up pieces. I can’t wait to see what sort of progress they make tomorrow!

Mary Douglass, Contemporaries member

Looking Back, Heading Forward

Permanent collection works installed in the Taylor House

Recently I took a trip to Charlotte to visit the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, which opened earlier this year.  Throughout the museum, the story of the Bechtler family is told—a story involving several generations of passionate art collectors, who formed friendships with artists and supported them through their purchases.  The museum is the product of Andreas Bechtler, who received a portion of his family’s collection, added to it on his own, and decided to share it with the public.  While the family’s commitment to collecting 20^th century art made this museum possible, I wonder if the Bechtlers could have envisioned that someday, the pieces they owned and loved would be housed in a museum of their own, to be enjoyed by others.

This year the CMA is proud to celebrate its 60^th anniversary.  This milestone provides us with an opportunity to look back on how far we’ve come, and how exactly we came to where we are now.  Our museum’s story is different than the Bechtler’s; rather than being the product of a few individuals’ concentrated efforts, I think of our museum as an example of what can accomplished by a committed group of supporters, working steadily over time.   As a newer member (16 months and counting!) of the museum’s staff, I’m amazed that we have staff members who have been with the museum for 10, 20, and even 30 years.  I’m equally amazed that we have museum members and supporters who have been involved with us for just as long.  I often hear visitors share memories of being at “the old house,” our former location in the Taylor House on Bull and Senate Streets.  I have a few memories of my own from then, of going on field trips to the museum and its attached planetarium.  It’s hard for me to imagine how exciting it must have been for the museum to have grown from its original home to our current facility—so exciting that 25,000 people visited on opening weekend in July 1998. Moreover, I’m honored by the efforts of our longtime supporters, because their past investments in the museum have made possible the place where I now work and learn.

Permanent collection works installed in the Taylor House

The museum has come a long way in 60 years, but we can’t go another 60 without the same level of support and involvement.  I hope you’ll celebrate with us by enjoying some of the great programs still to come this spring, which you can read about at http://www.columbiamuseum.org/60for60.php.  While many of these events are free, our museum members get discounted rates on other concerts, classes, and programs, plus free gallery admission for a full year and special event invitations and mailings—all for as little as $35.  When turning 60 looks this good, there’s never been a better time to get involved.

Melanie Neil, Visitor Services

From South Carolina to Washington D.C.

For the first time, a student photography exhibition, From Behind the Lens, lines the walls in Senator Lindsey Graham’s office in Washington D.C. for staff and visitors to enjoy.

“These students have really done remarkable work.  The walls of my office now showcase some of South Carolina’s best talent.” – Senator Lindsey Graham

Three SC high schools participated in a student exhibition at the Museum last fall during the Ansel Adams exhibition. Student’s work from Dorman, Gilbert and West Ashley High Schools represents an exploration of the landscapes the students are surrounded by every day.

Museum staff worked with art educators from each school, who developed and taught lesson plans based on the exhibition Ansel Adams: Masterworks.

“My students were very inspired by the photographs of Ansel Adams.  We discussed how they could use that inspiration to capture their own successful photographs of the Upstate.” -Robert Urban, Dorman High School art teacher

Behind the Chemistry: Unveiling the Show

We all have a part to play in the success of an exhibition opening, and as the saying goes: truly amazing art is resultant not only of the artist, but also of the spectator, and [of course] of…the staff at the Columbia Museum of Art. Now, those may not be the exact words, but you get the idea.

Boasting approximately 72 works by 41 incredible artists, The Chemistry of Color: Contemporary African-American Artists compels the mind, instilling inspiration through the use of vivid hues and haunting imagery – all the while chronicling numerous lives intertwined into many and yet one remarkable history.

So many resources have pooled together to create the opening experience for this exhibition. With an expected turnout of over 800 people (this Thursday’s Exhibition Preview Celebration is free to Museum members by the way), the challenge to nourish and entertain some of the greatest attendance numbers in Museum history is ongoing.

The entire Museum staff plays a grand role in making the opening an experience. We are all the faces you see encouraging you to take a second look – there is more to artwork, like the Columbia Museum of Art, than meets the eye. In order to entice this ‘second look’, we offer a multitude of diversions to draw you into the artwork before and after you’ve journeyed through the exhibition.

A tour through the Museum’s impressive Permanent Collection gears you up for the night ahead, stretching your creative muscles and preparing your eyes for the feast of artwork to come. During the opening, inventive décor, films and lectures stimulate conversation, while savory hors d’oeuvres give you the fuel to state your case and argue your point to the jungle of self-proclaimed art critics. That bar ticket in your pocket – like magic – transforms into some delightful, bubbly concoction. And a sighting of one or more of the Chemistry of Color exhibition artists mingling in the crowd gives you the feeling that history is in the making.

The Chemistry of Color: Contemporary African American Artists (On view February 5-May 9, 2010)
Exhibition Preview Celebration: Thursday, February 4, 2010 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Individual Membership admits one. All other membership levels admit two. Please bring your membership card. RSVP by calling 803.799.2810.

Become a member today to experience all the excitement the Columbia Museum of Art has to offer! We hope to see you at this Thursday’s opening, and the next, and the next…and the next…

-Brittany Gridine

Curatorial prepares for strike … and it may not be what you think

We (the finely-skilled and able members of the curatorial department) are often questioned on what it’s like to take an exhibition down.  Is it fun?  Is it hard?  Is it technical?  Is it exhausting?  In a word, YES! Taking down an exhibition (which we call “a strike”, or “striking the exhibition”) is a different experience each and every time, since every show is a different size with different materials and pieces.  For example, 3-D shows (shows with furniture, sculpture, decorative art pieces like plates or vases, etc. – such as Carolina Collects or Excavating Egypt) are usually much more complicated and time-consuming strikes than 2-D shows (those with just framed objects – such as Ansel Adams).

Still, some basic rules apply.  Here are some FAQ to help you understand a strike:

Do you have to wear gloves? Yes, and this can get tricky during the wrapping phase.  Once you’ve completely wrapped the picture back up, the tape tends to stick to the gloves, making it very difficult to work.  So we are now in the habit of taking the gloves off right after the pieces is completely wrapped, and then using bare hands to tape the wrapping securely.  Then – you guessed it – we have to put the gloves back on to carry, condition report, and wrap the next piece, then take the gloves off again…ad nauseum.

Which take longer, strikes or installations? Installations – always!  It takes much more time coming in than going out.

How much is all that stuff worth? I get asked this a lot!  And of course, there are so many reasons why I can’t answer that question.

Don’t you get nervous carrying and packing that expensive, valuable art? Well, quite frankly, no.  It’s not that I don’t care – I have to care.  But if I really stopped to think about the monetary value of most of the things I handle during the course of a strike, I’d be a bundle of nerves!  And there is no time to be nervous and unsure when you are doing this type of work.  You get clumsy that way and you can make mistakes.  You just can’t think about it.  You just have to be as careful, reasonable, rational, and professional as possible, and get the job done.

Have you ever dropped anything and broken it? No (but I am knocking on wood as I answer the question), but the very thought of it keeps me on my toes!

Are there certain things you are not allowed to lift/handle? Being professionally trained for this type of work, having worked in this field for 16 years, and working on hundreds of shows over the years, I’ve handled thousands of objects of various mediums, size, shape, and weight.  Exhibition contracts will require a certain number of professional art handlers to install or strike a show, and I fall under that category – so no, there is nothing I am prohibited from moving or handling.

And working with a professional, hard-working team (like I am so fortunate to do) makes stressful times much better.  Three of us in the department have worked together for well over a decade now, but all of us combine to make a well-oiled machine.

– Noelle Rice, Curatorial Assistant

Boston Boys Head South for the Winter

Friday night’s concert is sure to be one of the year’s most unique events at the Columbia Museum of Art!

Devil Music Ensemble travels from Boston to the Columbia Museum of Art to perform their original score LIVE at 7:00 p.m. while 1922 silent western film “Big Stakes” rolls.  Not sure what to expect? Click here to get a taste of DME in action.

Classically trained musicians, Tim Nylander (drums, percussion and analog synthesizer), Brendon Wood (guitars, lap steel and synthesizer) and Jonah Rapino (electric violin, vibraphone and synthesizer), produce a unique sound to accompany the western comedy – a true rarity from the silent era. In the 60-minute film, J.B. Warner stars as a Texas gentleman who falls for a Mexican girl and tries to win her from the Mexican general, in a contest involving Mexican jumping beans.

This programming compliments the exhibition, Ansel Adams: Masterworks so come as early as 6:00 p.m. to see the exhibition or enjoy a beer (cash bar provided by The Whig).

$10 / $8 for members / $5 student tickets available at the door.

Renew or purchase a membership at the door and get free admission! Click here to purchase tickets before they sell out!

Another Busy December at the Museum!

Filled with holiday preparations, party invitations, and end of the year calculations and reports, the month of December tends to be a busy one for almost everyone.  With special event rentals, school outreach programming, winter workshops, and booming sales in the gift shop, this is especially true at the Museum.   While it may be one of the busiest months, it is also one of the most exciting and rewarding for education department staff and volunteers as we present school tours and studios, travel to lead outreach programs at schools and in the community, and work with children of all ages in winter workshops filled with creative projects based on themes of the Winter Solstice, Holiday Baking, Sewing, and Greek Mythology.

Each year at this time the Museum’s Education Department partners with the National Park Service to present an innovative science and art outreach program to third graders at Congaree National Park.  This year’s program, Shaping the Landscape, was presented in connection with the Museum’s special exhibition Ansel Adams: Masterworks and served over 450 third grade students and their teachers.  This program promoted science literacy and resource conservation through three engaging hands-on components:

• The Mud Lab:  where students conducted experiments with water, mud, and flumes, to learn how flooding, erosion, and deposition affect different soil types and, over time, change the face of landforms.
• A ranger led nature walk spent exploring an actual floodplain environment, observing different soil types and land features formed by erosion and deposition.
• A studio art lesson where students learned a printmaking technique and created a landscape monotype visually reinforcing the concepts learned in the Mud Lab and on the nature walk.

"Shaping the Landscape" Printmaking Activity

Students participating in this all day program came away with a greater understanding of the effects of both large and small actions on the environment.  As with all of the Museum’s school programming, the Shaping the Landscape outreach program supports and enhances existing classroom curriculum providing teachers with a valuable educational resource.

Comprehensive outreach programs like this one are made possible, in part, by funding provided by the Marilyn Morgan Educational Outreach Fund.  For more information about the Museum’s outreach programs or to make a donation to the fund, please contact Ali Borchardt at 803.343.2186.

Hidden Treasures at the Museum Shop

Did you know that we have a very unique, hidden treasure, right here on Main Street? It has the “oh no, I forgot my brother’s birthday” gifts, hand-crafted jewelry, baskets, books, amazing stationary items, scarves that could float on a breeze, handbags, funky gadgets and gizmos that would entertain even the biggest kid. It has gifts that appeal to the young and the young at heart.
I know you have guessed by now it is the Museum Shop at the Columbia Museum of Art and you might be thinking that I would be biased because I work here, or they make me say that. No, it really is the first place I think of because of the variety of merchandise.
Here is a real example: My 13-year-old daughter recently handled a small crisis situation so maturely and right in line with what she has been taught that I wanted to reward her for her actions. I popped down to the shop and had problems finding just the right gift not from lack of items, but because there were so many items to choose from! I finally decided on a wire art jewelry kit and was even happier to see that it was under $20. The kit included a bracelet and enough material to make about 10 more items. I thought that was a pretty good deal so what’s a girl supposed to do? Keep shopping, of course! There were Ansel Adams prints, unique clocks, Clay Burnette baskets, David Russel blown glass ornaments, incredibly cool quill pens with ink for the writer in my (or your) family, puzzles (from easy to this might take a while) and jewelry from Caroline Hatchell and Kelly Wenner, who are just two of the local artists selling their wares in the shop. The best part? Bohumila will wrap the items for you! One less thing on my to-do list, and I didn’t have to fight the crowds, get run over by an SUV that just had to have that parking space or weave in and out of people at the mall. Anyone in the downtown area can walk to the shop, get your list completed and a burn a few calories ahead of time for when you attend those upcoming holiday parties. Unique gifts, great prices, easy location, and exercise all at the same time. Now you are thinking, yeah but what are your store hours?

Special Holiday hours are: Monday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Sunday: Noon – 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve: 10:00 a.m. – noon

Oh, and my daughter loved the wire art and I was the cool mom. Enjoy the holidays and regardless of your to-do lists, spend time with family and close friends, those are presents that last a lifetime.
– Teri Keener Mewhorter, Administration Manager