Same name, but Rose less sweet?
1
You almost couldn’t see the ele- phant in the room. There was al- ready a crowd as I entered the Rose Art Museum Wednesday night for the opening of “The Rose At Bran- deis: Works from the Collection.” I dispatched my umbrella praying I would find it again, said hello to the student handing out “Save the Rose” buttons and proceeded inside. When you’ve been to a few art openings, they start to look the same: lots of coiffed women in black couture, shiny lapel pins and name tags, too many pairs of tortoiseshell glasses to count and the requisite tables of white Zinfandel and cheese cubes that were more dressed up than the patrons in attendance. A neat jazz trio filled the museum with music as old friends reconnected and profes- sors mingled with students. Amidst the buzzing crowd and more cordial hand-shaking than a U.N. General Assembly meeting, there was the art. “There” is a bit of an understate- ment. From the moment I leave the Rose’s shallow foyer I am sur- rounded by art. There’s René Magritte on my right and Picasso on my left sharing a wall with Georges Braque and a few friends. The paint- ings wrapped the walls of the upper floor of the Fineberg Gallery and the Foster Gallery and were arranged according to period or movement from Modernism and Social Realism to Pop and Abstract Expressionism. It was a kind of populist approach to displaying the work that seemed ap- propriate for an opening attended by well over 500 people, according to the staff. As I collected a glass of Turning Leaf, a group of people parted ways just as I was looking up. Behind them, revealed to me as though by the Muses, a stunning Roberto Matta painting with bright neon pink and green in a swirling hurri- cane of grey, like a great electrical storm was unfolding in front of me. I don’t remember how many shoul- ders I nudged or how many pardons I uttered; I needed to be closer. This is the power of some of these pieces which will be on display until the end of the academic year. Later on as I talked with some friends, Office of the Arts Director Scott Edmiston approached and asked me my favorite piece. I told him about the Matta, but Edmiston prefers the social realism of Regi- nald Marsh. We asked Roy Dawes who, with Adelina Jedrzejczak, cu- rated the showing of over 120 works from the collection. Roy has a soft spot for De Kooning and he eagerly explained some of the artist’s influ- ences before other parties required his attention. Some I spoke with found the orgiastic arrangement of the work on display difficult. At times, the proximity of pieces felt harrowing or rushed. Still others were simply in awe of the vast and impressive works on display, and to be fair, the view of Ana Mendieta’s triptych “Body Tracks” (1989) with Rona Pondick’s “Red Bowl” (1993) in the foreground was surprisingly hu- morous and thoughtful. To be sure, there were as many diverse opin- ions about the art on the walls as there were about the status of the museum itself and its collection. The elephant was beginning to rear its head. Early in the evening there was a notable presence of “Save the Rose” buttons, even a T-shirt or two, but for some the message was an unwel- come guest. You can, or have al- ready, read about Prof. Shula Reinharz (SOC) and the curious case of the “Save the Rose” buttons on p. 3 of the News section. It’s worth not- ing that in responding to the inci- dent, Reinharz said “The Rose has already been saved.” For some there was a celebratory air to the evening, and Provost Marty Krauss told The Daily News Tribune, “The Rose is saved, that’s the headline for this event.” The view that Wednesday’s opening was the end of just another chapter in the museum’s history was not universally shared. Many await the outcome of a case that will be heard by the Suffolk Probate Court on July 29, a continuation of the Oct. 13 hearing in which a lim- ited injunction was imposed to pre- vent the sale of works from the collection contributed by the plain- tiffs. Some students and faculty chose not to attend the opening at all on principle. Others were simply happy to be part of the spectacle and enjoy the art. For everyone, it seems to come down to the issue of legacy. I went back to the Rose in the morning after the cocktail napkins had been swept up to take a closer look at the wonderfully assembled photogra- phy in the lower gallery. It’s always been a good museum for moments of reflection. The space invites memo- ries and frames them. What we learn from the Rose is that our gen- eration faces an increasing number of difficult decisions whose effects far outweigh the choices made by those who came before us. Regard- less of what side of the issue one takes, it is worth remembering that a university does not only exist for the students who attend each year, but for the thousands of students who came before and the many thou- sands who will come after. In June, the court will attempt to decide some of the legal issues involved, but after Wednesday night’s opening, it is left to us to resolve what kind of a legacy we wish to leave. If there is a lesson to be learned from the evening, it’s that no voice should be left out. Take a cue from the art on the walls: Each piece speaks with its own voice. In the Foster Gallery, the loud condensed colors of Gene Davis’ “Moondog” stand in defiant opposi- tion to Sam Francis’ “White Ring.” Yet there they are, side by side, hopefully for years to come. Will these paintings play a role in the ed- ucation of students in generations to come? It seems the jury is still out. Visitors to the Rose Art Museum’s new exhibit can interact with the art on display with the help of a cell phone tour conceived and executed by the students of Prof. Mark Auslan- der’s (ANTH) “Cross-Cultural Arts and Aesthetics” class. After dialing a number and entering a code for each work of art, guests are treated to the comments of the contributors regard- ing each artwork. The cell phone tour puts the Rose in good company. “Hundreds of muse- ums, aquariums, and walking tours in cities around the world are now using cell phone-based tours, and we think this technology will become more and more common,” Auslander wrote in an e-mail to justArts. How- ever, his class sought to create com- mentary that would stand out from the pack. “A lot of the tours just use a single voice that sort of lectures to viewers,” he points out. “At Brandeis we thought we’d try to incorporate as many voices as possible, in as many languages and styles as possible, so that as many people as possible would feel included and represented in the tour.” The project’s creators reflect these many backgrounds, with Prof. An- dreas Teuber (PHIL) and the artist Steve Miller contributing their disci- plines to the anthropological focus of the class. Additionally, the class was cross-listed in the International and Global Studies major, attracting stu- dents such as Daniela Modiano ’11 and Ji Yun Lee ’11 to enroll. Lee, who contributed three com- mentaries to the tour, said, “I really took to Prof. Teuber’s suggestion that we should try to ask the viewers ques- tions about the paintings—about what they see, what they feel and what they think about it. His recom- mendations served as a basis for most of my commentaries.” Modiano’s commentary on Roy Lichtenstein’s “Forget It! Forget Me!” envisions two dialogues between the characters that appear in the paint- ing, identified as Lois Lane and Clark Kent, regarding their future as a cou- ple. Lane, voiced by Modiano, asks Kent, voiced by Jonathan Turbin (GRAD), to stop talking about “ethics, humanities and the value of art,” while Kent dreams of escaping to the planet Krypton. In the metacritical second dialogue, the pair spars over whether the Rose’s collection ought to be sold at auction. Modiano, who has never been involved in scriptwriting before, says she went through three or four drafts before settling on her final product. She discarded a version link- ing Lichtenstein’s painting to the problem of anti-Semitism, which Modiano says she has encountered in her native Greece. In inspiring museum visitors to, as Lee puts it, “use their own imagina- tion and look back on their memo- ries,” the project has sought to make the exhibit accessible to members of other cultures. Two students have recorded segments in both Japanese and English. Auslander’s class is now collaborating with women in the Waltham Family School who are na- tive speakers of Hatian Creole, Span- ish, Cantonese and Lao to record commentaries on the artwork in their native languages. This cooperation highlights the importance of the Rose as a center of cultural dialogue. “Our most important goal is to demonstrate that the important works in the Rose’s permanent collection really are vital to the overall academic mission at Brandeis, encouraging interdiscipli- nary inquiry and the creative play of mind,” says Auslander. THE JUSTICE ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 21 THE ROSE REOPENS Students add art insights By SARAH BAYER JUSTICE EDITOR ■ One anthropology class has planned a cell phone tour of the Rose’s artwork to engage the community. Same name, but Rose less sweet? By AARON ARBITER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER ■ The art at last week’s gala provided a dramatic backdrop for tensions over the future of the museum. FESTIVE FLOCK: Students gather near artwork at the opening of the Rose Art Museum’s new exhibit “The Rose At Brandeis: Works from the Permanent Collection.” JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice BABY’S NIGHT OUT: An eager toddler gets an up-close view of the art on display at the Rose’s gala on Wednesday night. ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice
-
Upload
the-justice -
Category
Documents
-
view
221 -
download
1
description
Rose Art Museum reopens
Transcript of Same name, but Rose less sweet?
You almost couldn’t see the ele-phant in the room. There was al-ready a crowd as I entered the RoseArt Museum Wednesday night forthe opening of “The Rose At Bran-deis: Works from the Collection.” Idispatched my umbrella praying Iwould find it again, said hello to thestudent handing out “Save the Rose”buttons and proceeded inside. Whenyou’ve been to a few art openings,they start to look the same: lots ofcoiffed women in black couture,shiny lapel pins and name tags, toomany pairs of tortoiseshell glassesto count and the requisite tables ofwhite Zinfandel and cheese cubesthat were more dressed up than thepatrons in attendance. A neat jazztrio filled the museum with music asold friends reconnected and profes-sors mingled with students. Amidstthe buzzing crowd and more cordialhand-shaking than a U.N. GeneralAssembly meeting, there was theart.
“There” is a bit of an understate-ment. From the moment I leave theRose’s shallow foyer I am sur-rounded by art. There’s RenéMagritte on my right and Picasso onmy left sharing a wall with GeorgesBraque and a few friends. The paint-ings wrapped the walls of the upperfloor of the Fineberg Gallery and theFoster Gallery and were arrangedaccording to period or movementfrom Modernism and Social Realismto Pop and Abstract Expressionism.It was a kind of populist approach todisplaying the work that seemed ap-propriate for an opening attended bywell over 500 people, according tothe staff.
As I collected a glass of TurningLeaf, a group of people parted waysjust as I was looking up. Behindthem, revealed to me as though bythe Muses, a stunning RobertoMatta painting with bright neonpink and green in a swirling hurri-cane of grey, like a great electricalstorm was unfolding in front of me. Idon’t remember how many shoul-ders I nudged or how many pardonsI uttered; I needed to be closer. Thisis the power of some of these pieceswhich will be on display until theend of the academic year.
Later on as I talked with somefriends, Office of the Arts DirectorScott Edmiston approached andasked me my favorite piece. I told
him about the Matta, but Edmistonprefers the social realism of Regi-nald Marsh. We asked Roy Daweswho, with Adelina Jedrzejczak, cu-rated the showing of over 120 worksfrom the collection. Roy has a softspot for De Kooning and he eagerlyexplained some of the artist’s influ-ences before other parties requiredhis attention. Some I spoke withfound the orgiastic arrangement ofthe work on display difficult. Attimes, the proximity of pieces feltharrowing or rushed. Still otherswere simply in awe of the vast andimpressive works on display, and tobe fair, the view of Ana Mendieta’striptych “Body Tracks” (1989) withRona Pondick’s “Red Bowl” (1993) inthe foreground was surprisingly hu-morous and thoughtful. To be sure,there were as many diverse opin-ions about the art on the walls asthere were about the status of themuseum itself and its collection. Theelephant was beginning to rear itshead.
Early in the evening there was anotable presence of “Save the Rose”buttons, even a T-shirt or two, butfor some the message was an unwel-come guest. You can, or have al-ready, read about Prof. Shula
Reinharz (SOC) and the curious caseof the “Save the Rose” buttons on p.3 of the News section. It’s worth not-ing that in responding to the inci-dent, Reinharz said “The Rose hasalready been saved.” For some therewas a celebratory air to the evening,and Provost Marty Krauss told TheDaily News Tribune, “The Rose issaved, that’s the headline for thisevent.” The view that Wednesday’sopening was the end of just anotherchapter in the museum’s historywas not universally shared. Manyawait the outcome of a case that willbe heard by the Suffolk ProbateCourt on July 29, a continuation ofthe Oct. 13 hearing in which a lim-ited injunction was imposed to pre-vent the sale of works from thecollection contributed by the plain-tiffs. Some students and facultychose not to attend the opening at allon principle. Others were simplyhappy to be part of the spectacle andenjoy the art.
For everyone, it seems to comedown to the issue of legacy. I wentback to the Rose in the morningafter the cocktail napkins had beenswept up to take a closer look at thewonderfully assembled photogra-phy in the lower gallery. It’s always
been a good museum for moments ofreflection. The space invites memo-ries and frames them. What welearn from the Rose is that our gen-eration faces an increasing numberof difficult decisions whose effectsfar outweigh the choices made bythose who came before us. Regard-less of what side of the issue onetakes, it is worth remembering thata university does not only exist forthe students who attend each year,but for the thousands of studentswho came before and the many thou-sands who will come after. In June,the court will attempt to decide someof the legal issues involved, but afterWednesday night’s opening, it is leftto us to resolve what kind of a legacywe wish to leave. If there is a lessonto be learned from the evening, it’sthat no voice should be left out.Take a cue from the art on the walls:Each piece speaks with its ownvoice. In the Foster Gallery, the loudcondensed colors of Gene Davis’“Moondog” stand in defiant opposi-tion to Sam Francis’ “White Ring.”Yet there they are, side by side,hopefully for years to come. Willthese paintings play a role in the ed-ucation of students in generations tocome? It seems the jury is still out.
Visitors to the Rose Art Museum’snew exhibit can interact with the arton display with the help of a cellphone tour conceived and executed bythe students of Prof. Mark Auslan-der’s (ANTH) “Cross-Cultural Artsand Aesthetics” class. After dialing anumber and entering a code for eachwork of art, guests are treated to thecomments of the contributors regard-ing each artwork.
The cell phone tour puts the Rose ingood company. “Hundreds of muse-ums, aquariums, and walking toursin cities around the world are nowusing cell phone-based tours, and wethink this technology will becomemore and more common,” Auslanderwrote in an e-mail to justArts. How-ever, his class sought to create com-mentary that would stand out fromthe pack. “A lot of the tours just use asingle voice that sort of lectures toviewers,” he points out. “At Brandeiswe thought we’d try to incorporate asmany voices as possible, in as manylanguages and styles as possible, sothat as many people as possible wouldfeel included and represented in thetour.”
The project’s creators reflect thesemany backgrounds, with Prof. An-dreas Teuber (PHIL) and the artistSteve Miller contributing their disci-plines to the anthropological focus ofthe class. Additionally, the class wascross-listed in the International andGlobal Studies major, attracting stu-dents such as Daniela Modiano ’11and Ji Yun Lee ’11 to enroll.
Lee, who contributed three com-mentaries to the tour, said, “I reallytook to Prof. Teuber’s suggestion thatwe should try to ask the viewers ques-tions about the paintings—aboutwhat they see, what they feel andwhat they think about it. His recom-mendations served as a basis for mostof my commentaries.”
Modiano’s commentary on RoyLichtenstein’s “Forget It! Forget Me!”envisions two dialogues between thecharacters that appear in the paint-ing, identified as Lois Lane and ClarkKent, regarding their future as a cou-ple. Lane, voiced by Modiano, asksKent, voiced by Jonathan Turbin(GRAD), to stop talking about “ethics,humanities and the value of art,”while Kent dreams of escaping to theplanet Krypton. In the metacriticalsecond dialogue, the pair spars overwhether the Rose’s collection ought tobe sold at auction. Modiano, who hasnever been involved in scriptwritingbefore, says she went through three orfour drafts before settling on her finalproduct. She discarded a version link-ing Lichtenstein’s painting to theproblem of anti-Semitism, whichModiano says she has encountered inher native Greece.
In inspiring museum visitors to, asLee puts it, “use their own imagina-tion and look back on their memo-ries,” the project has sought to makethe exhibit accessible to members ofother cultures. Two students haverecorded segments in both Japaneseand English. Auslander’s class is nowcollaborating with women in theWaltham Family School who are na-tive speakers of Hatian Creole, Span-ish, Cantonese and Lao to recordcommentaries on the artwork in theirnative languages. This cooperationhighlights the importance of the Roseas a center of cultural dialogue. “Ourmost important goal is to demonstratethat the important works in the Rose’spermanent collection really are vitalto the overall academic mission atBrandeis, encouraging interdiscipli-nary inquiry and the creative play ofmind,” says Auslander.
THE JUSTICE ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 21
THE ROSE REOPENS
Studentsadd artinsights
By SARAH BAYERJUSTICE EDITOR
■ One anthropology classhas planned a cell phonetour of the Rose’s artworkto engage the community.
Same name, but Rose less sweet?
By AARON ARBITERJUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
■ The art at last week’sgala provided a dramaticbackdrop for tensions overthe future of the museum.
FESTIVE FLOCK: Students gather near artwork at the opening of the Rose Art Museum’s new exhibit “The Rose At Brandeis: Works from the Permanent Collection.”JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice
BABY’S NIGHT OUT: An eager toddler gets an up-close view of the art on display at the Rose’s gala on Wednesday night.ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice
