"Jackson Pollock wrote his name on Mural once, in the bottom left corner. He dated it, too. One of the significant aspects of Pollock’s Mural is the fact that it doesn’t reference the physical, external world. Many claim to see the human form, people dancing or some sort of stampede; the stampede imagery is derived from a quote by Pollock himself, but he was speaking metaphorically. Whatever people see, or think they see, says more about them than the Pollock masterpiece, and it seems to serve as an upscale Rorschach test for some. Like all great works of art, Mural takes time to reveal itself to the viewer. To turn it into a “circle-a-word” puzzle that you can find in any newspaper is to do a disservice to the work, as well as yourself."
"People seem to be uncomfortable looking at abstract art without trying to impose literal images on its surface. Pollock himself called the painting a herd of thundering animals—but we are pretty sure he meant this metaphorically. For me, I just can’t see the painting being about his name. And, I think that limits the painting’s possibilities. It is for me a limitless, all-encompassing image that completely envelops you as you look at it—I like the feeling of being submerged in the painted surface and have no need to try to find quantifiable images."
"(The theory) is reflective, I think, of what people think about when they look at that painting. Maybe some people think it's there for some reason and they are driven to find something that's literal to them, to make sense of it...I'm not going to say that it's completely out of the question."
How do you transform an old ballroom (above), used mostly for meetings, into a multi-functional, visual classroom suitable for housing museum artwork, all in five months?
As of Tuesday, Sept. 8, the University of Iowa Museum of Art's new, temporary, on-campus art venue, the UIMA@IMU, is now open to the public. Located in the former Richey Ballroom on the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) third floor, the UIMA@IMU will hold regular public hours from:
To give you an idea of what to expect from this new visual classroom, UIMA Chief Curator Kathy Edwards (shown in the photo on the left), who has been part of the planning process over the past five months, answered a few of the questions that might be on visitors' minds.
KE: There are six basic areas in the space. The entrance area; the Study Room, which is accessible by appointment only; an area for Ancient and Native arts; and areas for African Art; figurative art; and conceptual and contemporary art. People will be greeted by a volunteer and a UI student employee when they enter. Of course there will also be a museum guard for everyone’s protection! There are cubbies for backpacks and coat racks. Paper and pencils can be used (no pens) and laptops in the Study Room if space allows. The Study Room contains European and American studio ceramics, and African and Pre-Columbian art. Over 250 prints, drawings and photographs will be stored in a room adjacent to the Study Room. A selection of works on paper can be identified prior to a class meeting in the Study Room and can be viewed there on special wall easels. The area for Ancient and Native arts contains objects from Ancient Rome, Greece, Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Persia, etc.), Pre-Columbus Mexico, and the Native Americas. The objects in the African art area represent an overview from the UIMA’s renowned collection. People will also be able to view Prof. Chris Roy’s Bwa video. The area for figurative art includes Philip Guston’s “The Young Mother” and other works that are narrative in nature—that is, they tell a story. In the last area people will see works that are about ideas—what is sometimes called conceptual art.
Those who know me understand how much I crave order.
But through it all the charge remained: stay steadfast, work toward an objective bigger than ourselves.
As noted in UIMA Assistant to the Director for Special Programs and Curatorial Assistant Melissa Hueting’s blog series “From the Figge Front,” our group documented every object with condition reports and added each item to an inventory as it was relocated to its new storage place. It had been nearly a year since I had laid eyes on most of the works on paper, and it felt good to know they would soon again be under my care.
As each box-laden cart voyaged toward its next destination, I walked alongside, my outstretched hand resting atop the stack. I knew that the cart was steered properly and in no danger of accident from shifting, but something inside me felt I needed to protect the UIMA’s works on paper. Maybe it is because I started as a student security guard in 2004 and came to art history by way of my reverence to the art I was charged to protect. Or perhaps it is because I believe passionately that this collection should be shared and protected for future generations.
After a tumultuous year, the new order here restores my sense of duty and inspires me not only to resume past projects, but also to press on toward new plans—The UIMA@the Figge and the UIMA@the IMU: Richey Ballroom, to name two. These two spaces allow the UIMA to continue fulfilling its educational mission as best it can, but they do not negate Iowa’s need for a museum to provide a home for its art collection.
It’s been months since this room has been so empty!
UI officials narrowed possible sites for a new Hancher-Voxman-Clapp complex from eight to two at a public forum last Thursday.Shirley Wyrick, an Iowa City artist married to UI Foundation president emeritus Darrell Wyrik, asked about the UIMA, which officials did not discuss at the forum.
“The Museum of Art does not get FEMA funds but its entire function has been wiped out,” she said. “It needs a home.”
In Monday's Daily Iowan, reporter Claire Perlman writes:
"While the public heard two viable locations for the Hancher/Voxman/Clapp complex July 9, the Museum of Art’s future is smudged with budget problems.
"For one thing, neither the Art Museum nor Art Building West will receive federal disaster funding because they didn’t sustain damage of 50 percent or more of the property’s value.
"Art Building West will be renovated, but some see an opportunity to improve the Art Museum.
“ 'This is a chance not only to replace what we lost but to really look into the future and see how we can be better than ever,' said Pat Hanick, the museum director of development at the UI Foundation."
Read the full artilce here.
Those who would like to comment on the HVC site selection can send an e-mail to hvc-site@uiowa.edu. More information about the process, including video of the forum and documents that were presented, is available here.
Click here to read the Gazette article about the forum, here for the Press-Citizen article, and here for the Daily Iowan article.
“They’re like an army! A tiny, terracotta army all lined up in a storage drawer! You know, like that Chinese terracotta army that was discovered years ago. Only smaller. Much smaller.”
Victoria examines the terracotta army.
A drawer of Chinese jades.
A view of the work space.
Jeff (right) at work with an OAI employee.
Having never seen this television show, I’m unfamiliar with these characters and can only assume that they represent two hard-working, art-loving girls, as that’s exactly what we are.
I’m in the back seat of UIMA Exhibitions and Collections Manager Jeff Martin’s car, listening to an audio book on retired judge and military hero Buck Compton, known from the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" (the audio book is far more interesting than I originally anticipated). Looking out my window I see flashes of light -- cars zipping west on I-80, caught only by the sunlight -- and I feel relief that we’re heading east to the Figge Art Museum, where we’ll resume unpacking the UIMA collection.
We haven’t been able to unpack for over a month, but this week we finally have the OK. All hands are on deck and thank goodness: a big push is necessary because we must have everything unpacked and located before we can finalize plans for the Richey Ballroom, which is set to open in August.
Jackson Pollock, Mural, 1943, oil on canvas, 19' 10" x 8' 1"
From Left to right: UIMA Registrarial Assistant Whitney Day , Preparator Steve Erickson,
Some of the objects (like the above apron) were made from animal skins, so we repacked them in paper and then plastic bags and placed them in a freezer for a few weeks, to make sure that no bugs hitched a ride from South Africa. We located the rest of the objects to shelves in storage at the Figge.
New staffs like this are given to male initiates, usually from their maternal uncle. Each stick must cure for one year before being decorated, due to the type of wood used. This kind of wood shrinks while it dries, and it must do so before the decorative wire is added so the wire doesn’t fall off the shaft. The colorful designs are made from telephone wire, which is commonly used for sticks like this.
On Monday, June 15, the University of Iowa marked the one-year anniversary of the 2008 flood with "Remember, Reimagine, Rebuild," a commemoration at the Old Capitol Museum. A series of flood photographs taken by the UI Office of University Relations and posters illustrating cutting-edge, flood-related research being conducted by UI faculty, staff, and students will be on view at the museum through July. You can read more about some of the research online, here. Note the mention of the $30,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant that the UIMA received with the assistance of Jay Semel. In addition, digital archives of the StoryCorps Oral History Project from the Iowa Digital Library Flood Collection may be found online at digital.lib.uiowa.edu/flood. You can read more about that project here.
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