Nature Unfolded: Korean Art from the Collection

Every few months the display of Asian art works on paper in the Arts of Japan Gallery has to rotate out with new works to preserve the quality of ink, colors, and paper of such light sensitive pieces. Working together with the museum’s dedicated team of conservators, exhibition designers, and art handlers, we recently completed the new installation featuring two outstanding works of Korean art from the collection, the eighteenth-century Moon Jar and the early nineteenth-century screen ink painting, Grapevine, by Choe Sokhwan. The spontaneous virtuosity of the brush that dances across the eight panels of the screen complements the quiet simplicity of the pure white moon jar. Yet don’t forget to also look closely and notice the moon jar’s imperfections, such as its asymmetrical form and the slightly bulging seam in the middle that were created during production. Rather than trying to conceal such “imperfections,” these characteristics are highly-prized for the elegant naturalness they add to the moon jar. Enjoy these new works on view on your next visit to WAM!

Learn more about Nature Unfolded: Korean Art from the Collection

- Vivian Li, Assistant Curator, Asian Art

Annual Faculty Exhibition

The Higgins Education Wing will exhibit artwork created by faculty members of the Studio Class Programs department from November 2015 – February 2016. Our Annual Faculty Exhibition presents 45 works of art by 28 artists who currently teach and assist at the Museum in the areas of painting, sculpture, graphic design, mixed media, printmaking, and photography. The exhibition features a wide range of visual practices, spanning many genres and media.

 As working professional artists and educators who balance their own art making with teaching at WAM, the faculty exhibition allows students, the community, and the public the opportunity to experience the diversity of approaches each artist employ. WAM’s Studio Class Programs faculty is a strong and diverse group, exploring a range of traditional and contemporary mediums and themes. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

The Higgins Education Wing is open Sunday–Saturday, 9am–5pm

For more information, about faculty and their classes visit worcesterart.org/classes

- Ashley Occhino, Manager of Studio Class Programs

Above: Ella Delyanis
Below [left to right]: Jill Pottle, Donalyn Schofield, Elaine Smollin, William Griffiths

Copley Portrait Reunion

An affecting reunion in the American art galleries: John Singleton Copley’s portraits of Boston-based merchant, Samuel Phillips Savage (1718–1797), and his wife, Sarah Tyler (1717/18–1764), are together at the Worcester Art Museum for the first time since 1963. Though companion paintings were often commissioned to celebrate a wedding, these portraits do not mark the beginning of the couple’s marriage, but rather commemorate its sad end. Sarah died in childbirth in February 1764, and various cues—such as her mask-like expression and rigid pose—suggest that her likeness was completed posthumously.

Copley’s portraits passed through different branches of the Savage family and have been reunited only occasionally, first at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and, later, at the 1963 exhibition at WAM. Thanks to the generous loan of Samuel’s portrait by the Wunsch Americana Foundation, the companion paintings will be together through the spring of 2016.

View more American Art in our Collection Highlights

- Justin M. Brown, Curatorial Assistant, American Art

 

Video: MY ART STORY

As part of its 50^th Anniversary, the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) commissioned a series of videos to celebrate arts and culture activities that NEA programs support in each of the 50 united states.

Worcester Art Museum was selected by NEA’s partner Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC)  as one of three institutions in the Commonwealth to be featured in the Massachusetts edition of this video.  WAM has received funding directly from the NEA or indirectly through the MCC virtually every year for the past 25 years.

Thank you NEA and MCC!  We wish you another great 50 years of support for the arts and cultural community.

Click here to learn more at arts.gov

- Trip Anderson, Grants Officer

Academic Collaboratives at WAM

In addition to curating the Higgins Collection of Arms and Armor, I’ve been teaching in the Humanities Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the past decade and a half, so I’m especially happy to announce the launch of WAM’s new Academic Collaboratives webpage. The museum has long been a destination for both professors and students, and now their work with the WAM collection has a home on the Academic Collaboratives at the Worcester Art Museum page. Check out the multimedia tour of the galleries by Holy Cross students, what Worcester State physicists learned about our Niccolò di Bartolomeo Pisano from infrared radiation, and the Virtual Joust by a team of WPI game designers!

Learn more about Academic Collaboratives at the Worcester Art Museum 

- Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Curator of Arms & Armor and Medieval Art

MCC’s UP-Innovative and Learning Network

Hard to believe, but WAM is nearing completion of the inaugural year of participation in the UP-Innovative Learning Network (ILN) program organized by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. And what an eye-opening, learning experience it has been for WAM’s UP-ILN team!

During the first 10 months of the UP-ILN program, WAM has served as host site for two UP-ILN events; participated in five all-day seminars at fellow UP-ILN institutions state-wide; been the subject of three user-expert site evaluations (two of physical facilities and one of its website); prepared a Webinar follow-up to our site evaluation; collaborated with our “partner-facility”, The Berkshire Museum, to develop Universal Accessibility protocols for our respective facilities; prepared a Logic Model of short term Universal Accessibility goals; and learned from industry experts in immersion workshops about Universal Design, ADA standards for historic buildings and landscapes, Website Accessibility and Graphic Standards for Print & Web, Inclusive Social Media and Social Stories; Technologies for Assisted Hearing and Vision; and finally Disability Etiquette.

As a result of these learning experiences, WAM’s UP-ILN team has developed a series of near-term, mid-term, and long-term objectives. Design and planning are already underway on several of these initiatives. Some will be rolled-out in the coming months. Additionally, WAM is developing a series of internal Universal Accessibility workshops for staff and volunteers. Watch for further details.

In the words of MCC Executive Director Anita Walker, “UP is not a destination, it is a direction.” One very valuable lesson learned by the UP-ILN team this year is that UP is a “state-of-mind”. It requires a new way of thinking for many “abled” people, but once achieved Universal Accessibility goals are often easily obtainable.

WAM will be conducting a visitor survey within the next two months to measure changes in perception regarding Universal Accessibility. Please help us by completing this survey.

Learn more about the UP-Innovative Learning Network (ILN) program

- Trip Anderson, Grants Officer

Hayakawa Shōkosai III

It is common for Japanese artists to master several unrelated art forms. The current exhibition in the Japanese Gallery, The Baskets of Hayakawa Shōkosai III, features an artist who was a renowned basket maker as well as an accomplished ink painter, calligrapher, tea master, and flute player. This installation includes an intricately woven bamboo basket and an ink painting of a flower basket by Shōkosai III (1864-1922).

The exacting craft of bamboo basketry was elevated to a high art by the artist’s father, Hayakawa Shōkosai I (1815-1897). An important element in Japanese tea ceremonies, bamboo flower baskets were in particularly high demand in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The bamboo artist is responsible for every step of the process of basket making. There are no shortcuts or ways to mechanize the process and artists serve long apprenticeships. Visitors to this small exhibition will appreciate the skill and artistry of these two very different works.

Image credits:

Hayakawa Shōkosai III, Japanese, 1864-1922, Painting of Basket with Fungus of Immortality and Orchids, Meiji Period (1868-1912); two-panel folding screen; ink and gold dust on paper; Alexander H. Bullock Fund, 2007.167

 Hayakawa Shōkosai III, Japanese, 1864-1922, Flower Basket with Cascading Handle, 1916; bamboo and rattan dyed with plum wood extract; Harriet B. Bancroft Fund, 2007.168

- Curatorial Department