Daniel Heyman's visit

Philadelphia artist Daniel Heyman's first stop on his visit to the UI campus was speaking with Professor Julie Hochstrasser's "History of Prints" class this morning.



Daniel has incredible stories to tell -- don't forget to stop by his artist's talk TODAY at 4 p.m. in the Old Capitol Museum's Senate Chamber to hear for yourself!

More thoughts on Daniel's visit coming soon...

UIMA Store SALE!

Don't forget to stop by the UIMA store sale today until 7 p.m. at the Studio Arts Building, 1375 Highway 1 West, Iowa City!



We've got some great merchandise for sale -- t-shirts, jewelry, art posters, books, etc. Great for Christmas presents. Things are going really fast, so if you can, try to make it out today. We'll be open again tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. to sell what's left.

Some works of art return to campus

Last week, nearly 250 works of art from the UIMA permanent collection returned to campus. This broad cross section of 197 prints, 38 photographs, and 13 drawings will be stored in UI Libraries Special Collections, located in the third floor of the Main Library building. These works are the first from the Museum's collection to return to campus since the June floods forced evacuation of the building and removal of the collection to art storage in Chicago.

Instructors (UI and other) may make appointments for their classes to view selections from the group in a classroom adjacent to Special Collections. Individuals, including students, may make appointments to see specific works in the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact Nathan Popp, UIMA Curatorial Graduate Assistant, at nathan-popp@uiowa.edu, for more information or to set up a Special Collections visit. Visit the UIMA website at www.uiowa.edu/uima for a link to a list of available works.

“The Museum of Art’s top priority since the flood has been to find creative ways to make selections from the collection available for UI classes,” said UIMA Chief Curator Kathleen Edwards, who chose the works to return to the UI with input from UI faculty. “We are grateful that Special Collections can accommodate these key works and work with the UIMA on student and faculty access.”

Last week on Thursday, Edwards assisted Professor Julie Hochstrasser's "History of Prints" class with viewing more than 50 of these works. Here is a slideshow of the students taking a close look at some of these works.



The remainder of the museum’s permanent collection remains in storage in Chicago. Several members of the UIMA staff visited the storage and conservation facilities in late August and left feeling optimistic: limited access to the collection will likely be available for class use, research, and future exhibition and educational planning.

In addition, new purchases and gifts to the UIMA collections can be stored in these facilities, ensuring the continued growth and vitality of the museum’s collections during this transitional time.

Pollock 'Mural' will not be sold

Good news -- The Iowa Board of Regents will not even consider the possibility of selling the UIMA's celebrated Jackson Pollock painting, Mural (above), at their next meeting!

This news broke late last week after the Regents reviewed a report prepared by the UI in response to the Regents request for information about the painting. This report, sent to the regents on Tuesday, September 30, was prepared using information provided by UIMA Interim Director Pamela White, documentation in the Museum's records, other information in the public domain concerning Jackson Pollock and the painting Mural, as well as help from other university departments. A copy of the report is available here.

The Regents released the report publicly on Friday, October 3, along with a statement from Board President David Miles, which is available here. Miles, in his statement, says, "This concludes the Board's inquiry into this matter." Art blogger Lee Rosenbaum talked with the Board's communications director and confirmed that the regents will not even discuss the matter of potentially selling the Pollock at their October meeting because they consider the issue closed. Read her full post, which includes an Q&A with UIMA Interim Director Pamela White here.

Other coverage of the Regents' report:

• The Gazette, "Consultant: Famous painting at UI too valuable to lose."
  
• The Press Citizen editorial, "Our View: Painting worth far more than its price tag."
• The Daily Iowan, "Selling Mural discussion continues."
  
• The Associated Press, "U of I says ‘Mural’ sale would hurt museum." Article appeared in The Des Moines Register, the Sioux City Journal, The Chicago Tribune, WHO TV, and KLEM 1410 radio (Le Mars).
  
• Modern Art Notes blog: "UIMA: Sotheby's offered $150M Guarantee for Pollock"; "Weekend roundup"; "Sotheby's: UIMA approached us (updated)."
  
• Time Magazine blog, "Auction House Follies."
  
• LA Times blog, "Sotheby's called out over Pollock offer."
  

THE MUSEUM PARTY!

The Members Council of the University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) will host the fifth annual "Museum Party!" from 8-11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at hotelVetro, 201 S. Linn St. in Iowa City. The event, co-chaired by Kristin Hardy and Paulina Muzzin, will raise funds to support the museum's flood relief efforts, exhibitions and programming.

The evening will include a strolling feast of hors d'oeuvres, live entertainment by local band the Diplomats of Solid Sound, featuring The Diplomettes, and brief remarks by UI President Sally Mason, honorary chair of the event with her husband, Ken Mason.

Throughout the evening, UIMA staff members will be available to explain available sponsorship opportunities to "Party!" attendees. The UIMA sponsorship program, now in its second year, gives museum contributors the opportunity to direct their support to specific events or exhibits.

Last year's switch to this sponsorship program was a resounding success. According to museum and UI Foundation officials, the Oct. 20, 2007, "Museum Party!" and associated fundraising appeals generated a record $173,000 in gift commitments.

"These sponsorship opportunities give our donors a greater sense of ownership of museum events and activities," Pat Hanick, the UI Foundation's director of development for the UIMA, said. "This approach also allows contributors to direct their support where it's most meaningful to them, as well as to the museum."

More than 600 art patrons contribute to the UIMA throughout the year. The UIMA relies on non-university financial support, including annual gifts and its endowment fund at the UI Foundation, for nearly 40 percent of its annual budget. These gifts provide meaningful cultural programs and stimulating exhibitions, and they secure the museum's vitality for future generations.

Tickets for "The Museum Party!" are $100 (fair market value of the evening is $25). Call 319-335-3676 by Tuesday, Oct. 7, to make reservations.

"The Museum Party!" is made possible with support from generous sponsors and hosts. "Party!" Sponsors for 2008 are: James P. Hayes and Rob and Paulina Muzzin. Hosts are: Gerry Ambrose and Kristin Hardy; Lowell Doud; Gerry and Leesa Elseman, Vision Industrial Sales, Inc.; David and Jayne Hansen, Endodontic Associates of Iowa City, P.C.; McComas-Lacina Construction Company; McDonald's Restaurants; Alex, Lauren, Lily and Kevin O'Brien; Phelan, Tucker, Mullen, Walker, Tucker and Gelman, L.L.P.; Pleasant Valley Flower Shoppe; Rohrback Associates, PC, Architects; Kim Schulz, M.D., Infinity Skin Care and Spa; Shive-Hattery, Architecture-Engineering; Kristin Summerwill; Alan and Liz Swanson; Pamela J. White; and Candace Wong.

The UI Museum of Art was evacuated from its building in June due to the flood. Many exhibitions and events slated to be held at the UIMA have been moved to alternate venues. For more information on the UI Museum of Art and the latest schedule information, visit http://www.uiowa.edu/uima.

The UI acknowledges the UI Foundation as the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the university. For more information about the UI Foundation, visit its Web site at http://www.uiowafoundation.org.

For UI arts information and calendar updates, visit http://www.uiowa.edu/artsiowa. To receive UI arts news by e-mail, go to http://list.uiowa.edu/archives/acr-news.html, click the link "Join or leave the list (or change settings)" and follow the instructions.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Arts Center Relations, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 351, Iowa City, IA 52242-2500

MEDIA CONTACTS: Maggie Anderson, Museum of Art, 319-335-1731, margaret-anderson@uiowa.edu; Patricia L. Hanick, University of Iowa Foundation, 319-335-3305, pat-hanick@uiowa.edu; Peter Alexander, 319-384-0072; cell: 319-541-2846; peter-alexander@uiowa.edu.

Photo illustration by Drew Schiller: The Plaid Sweater, Grant Wood, 1944. Oil on Masonite.

Looking Ahead

Things are slowly but surely progressing here at the UIMA. As detailed in today's newsletter, the Museum staff will be moving from Macbride Hall (where we've been sharing offices with the Museum of Natural History) to the Studio Arts Building (the old Menards) in the coming weeks. That facility is currently housing the studio arts area of the School of Art and Art History.

This larger space will reunite the staff with the Museum collection files, which contain detailed information about the history of each artwork in the UIMA collection. This information is needed for research and to explore the possibility of traveling exhibitions from the UIMA collection. In addition, the space will have room for storage of materials salvaged from the Museum building, including tools, furniture, and goods from the Museum Store and Coffee Bar.

The move to the Studio Arts Building is very temporary, and does not allow access to any work from the UIMA collection. Plans are currently underway to create two more long-term temporary spaces that would provide student access to key works from the UIMA collection. First, Special Collections at the UI Libraries has provided room for two boxes of prints, a key component of many classes, including a "History of Prints" class being taught this fall. This space could be available as soon as next week. In addition, creating a secure space at the Iowa Memorial Union for parts of the African and Ceramics collections, as well as the UIMA staff, is being explored. It is unknown how long that process will take, as the IMU is itself recovering from flood damage. Until this project is complete, the UIMA staff will remain at the Studio Arts Building temporarily -- possibly a year or more.

The long-term future of the Museum is still to-be-determined, but UI President Sally Mason has expressed a firm commitment to the arts at Iowa and the Museum of Art. She has said that art will not go back into the old UIMA building because it is too risky -- instead, we can expect and look forward a new, state-of-the art Museum facility. This is a very long-term project that will require much planning, so stay tuned, and we'll keep you updated with new information as the things progress!

"Save the Pollock" group on Facebook

Tom Nixon, an Iowan living in Minnesota and attending graduate school, has created a Facebook group "Save the Jackson Pollock." Tom talks about how he feels about selling the Pollock on his blog here. He also gives a link to the Facebook group -- so if you're on facebook, join up!

Also, more coverage of the regents' request for a study on the potential sale of the Jackson Pollock:

KCRG TV9
ArtInfo.com
A Local Row blog
The Art Law blog

Before the Pollock uproar...

Wow, what a week last week was! With all the coverage of the regents requesting a study to assess the worth of the Pollock, the Wednesday media tour of Art Building West and the Museum of Art was a bit overshadowed. But in case you missed it, here are some links to the coverage:

The Des Moines Register
The Press-Citizen and here
The Gazette

To summarize: The past couple weeks, the University of Iowa has been leading the media through some of the flood damaged buildings, giving everyone a chance to see how the cleanup is progressing and ask questions. Last Wednesday, UIMA Interim Director Pamela White joined UI School of Art and Art History Professor Steve McGuire to lead the media through the Museum of Art (UIMA) and Art Building West (ABW), respectively. Jane Meyer, senior associate director of athletics, who has been on loan to UI Facilities Management to oversee the UI's building-by-building post-flood cleanup efforts, and Ann Rosenthal, a senior engineer with UI Facilities Management, joined them.

Ann stressed that the major difference between the arts campus buildings and the other buildings the media has toured, such as Becker Communications Building, the English-Philosophy Building, and Adler Journalism Building, is that the damage to the arts campus was much worse. There was more water inside the buildings -- 4-6 feet in the case of ABW -- and it took longer for the buildings to be accessible. So, the future of the arts campus is still quite unknown. "We don't have all the deadlines. We don't know how this is going to come through with insurance and FEMA," said Jane Meyer (pictured below in ABW).
Steve McGuire talked a bit about how art and art history students will be affected. Most of the studio art classes will be held in the old Menards building out on Highway 1, and art history classes will be in various locations throughout campus (mostly in Seashore Hall). Buses have been arranged to take students out to the old Menards, and class schedules have been altered to make time for transport.
Above: The inside of ABW, completely stripped down. Below: Two pictures of the outside, where you can see just how high the water was. Ann Rosenthal said that there some debate about whether the water marks should be left on the building. Some people think it should be restored to its original state, while others believe that the flood is now a part of the history of the building, and as such its marks should remain. What do you think?
Pam White (pictured below) talked about how the Museum will be striving to have a presence on campus this fall by holding events and exhibitions in alternate locations and potentially touring parts of the collection to other Iowa museums. Plenty going on nowadays!

Pollock Furor

Yesterday at a Board of Regents meeting (this board is appointed by the governor to oversee the state-run universities -- UI, ISU, UNI), Regent Michael Gartner requested a study of the worth of the UIMA's famed Jackson Pollock Mural, below. The Iowa City Press-Citizen broke the story, and Pam White, the UIMA interim director, director of the Pentacrest Museums, a lawyer who teaches the class "Art Law and Ethics," and head of Museum Studies at the UI, spent the better part of her afternoon talking to other members of the local press to explain some of the very complicated issues surrounding such a decision. If you haven't seen the stories from today's paper, you might want to check them out: Des Moines Register, The Gazette, Corridorbuzz.com.

We've also gotten quite a bit of attention nationally. There was an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, and two quite prominent arts bloggers are on the case: Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes, and Lee Rosenbaum of the Culture Grrl blog. (You might remember Tyler Green from his interview right after the flood with Pam. Lee Rosenbaum has written extensively about other museum's struggles to hold on to their collections.)

This news comes right on the heels of a great article on the rescuing of the Pollock by Michael Judge in the Wall Street Journal a little over a week ago.

If you are interested, the American Association of Museums has guidelines for museum ethics, standards and best practices, and a list of accredited museums on its website. (The UIMA would lose its accreditation if the Pollock was sold to pay for flood damages.)

We're curious to hear what you think about this issue. Post a comment (instructions here) and let us know, eh?

Michael Judge on the Pollock

Just wanted to make sure you all saw Michael Judge’s great article on the Museum and the saving of the Pollock in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal. Here's the first paragraph:

"There's nothing here but a few two-by-fours attached to a massive expanse of drywall. Then I see it, a small white plaque with black lettering that reads 'Jackson Pollock / American, 1912-1956 / Mural 1943 / Oil on Canvas . . .' "

Click here to read the full story.