Having been a gallery assistant at the Pulitzer, I can’t recall how many people I’ve seen glide their palms over the Pulitzer’s walls with a look of admiration. Yes, these walls are smooth, but knowing nothing about concrete, I’ve never been nearly as awed as some visiting architects. Still, the more I learn about the building, the more I appreciate the brainwork and assiduousness behind the “Ando concrete.”

Early last Friday, Facilities Manager Steve Morby explained to me what makes the concrete here special. He became acquainted with it when he worked on Ando’s first project in the United States, the Eychaner Residence in Chicago, completed in 1998. Steve had been working with concrete for 25 years, but in his paper “Constructing Concrete as an Art Form,” he explained that he had “never seen such exacting details, and the expectations of such high levels of wall quality were amazing.”

Although Ando is not the first to use exposed concrete in the way he does, as architect Thomas Daniell pointed out in 2007, the process for making an Ando wall is still unusual, and because Ando uses it consistently to affect a building’s overall environment, it has become his trademark. In the following video, Steve describes the procedures for making concrete and how his construction team altered them to create the Ando quality.

Last Wednesday afternoon, Gallery Assistant Jason Holler spoke with a visitor who had a fantastical memory to share on one of the masterpieces in the Old Masters exhibition. He asked her to write it down, and this is what the note reads:

“In the 1950s, my mother’s living room was sort of Danish Modern except for a large reproduction of Tiepolo’s The Crucifixion over the television. As a 3-year-old, the picture frightened me enough that if the room was dark, I wouldn’t enter unless I had a flashlight. I would shine the flashlight directly on the picture to make sure none of the figures had climbed down off their crosses or moved. I can vividly recall shining that flashlight on that picture numerous times, but I don’t know what became of it. We moved when I was four years old and the picture did NOT go with us.”

One thing I enjoy about this little story is it illustrates how much drama the brain can extract from just oil on canvas. No surround sound or eye-popping special effects, and still figures descending from a picture is surely as riveting as any half-hour of Up in 3D. (And can we imagine how that ghastly execution scene looked to the less culturally-stewed 3-year-old?)

Like reading a book as opposed to watching a movie, a painting leaves room for the imagination to create sounds, smells, textures. (The clopping horse, the flying dust, the wailing women-I feel chaos in The Crucifixion.) We learn about ourselves in this process of viewing. We’re active creators, and although the painter, like Paolo Domenico Finoglia with his Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, may guide our gaze through the use of shadows and shapes, the mental reel while looking at a painting is different for each person, and the uncharted territory is exciting.

A side note: When I googled “The Crucifixion reproduction,” thinking about why people buy reproductions, a link to Dali’s The Crucifixion popped up, and I recognized it as a framed poster, which I had observed in bewilderment as a 4-year-old in my Cajun mamaw’s living room.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935). Directed by Max Reinhardt. Shown from left: Mickey Rooney, Olivia de Havilland. Photographer; Mickey Marigold. Warner Bros./Photofest. © Warner Bros.

This Friday, June 26, we’ll be celebrating the summer solstice by projecting Max Reinhardt’s 1935 version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 9pm in our courtyard. Doors open at 7pm.

Since it doesn’t get dark outside until 9pm, we’ll be entertaining our guests for the first two hours in a variety of ways. The most exciting of which, to me, is a reunion of the performers from the Pulitzer’s now finished series: Staging Old Masters: Former Prisoners Perform at the Pulitzer.

Select scenes, such as the St. Sebastian, Self-Portrait with an Easel, and As You Like It - Shepherd & Shepherdess, will be performed in our courtyard throughout the night. These performances were originally done in front of specific artworks in our galleries, but by moving them outdoors, we hope to accomodate a bigger audience than was allowed indoors. In addition to these skits, we’ll be serving free refreshments and as usual, our Old Masters exhibition will be on view for the duration of the evening.

Are you excited to come? Have you circled the date and time in red marker in your calendar? Are you waiting with baited breath? I am too, but never fear, Friday will be here soon enough!

Swift as a shadow, short as any dream;
Brief as the lightning in the collied night.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1. 1

This event is free and open to the public, so bring your friends!

The Staging Old Masters weekend performances are over at the Pulitzer, and I’m feeling more rested without the hectic work week it involved. Yet, somehow I felt healthier from the energy that came with each of those shows. 

As Visitor Services Manager, I had many roles before, during, and after each performance, but my favorite one was holding the doors open at the beginning of each performance. It was at this moment I could smile and participate with my loudest “boya, boya, yo!”–joining in the procession of actors’ chant and smiling with each performer as they entered the door. 

My least favorite part of Staging Old Masters was Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite things about working at the Pulitzer is that there is often an element of the unexpected in our projects. Our current exhibition, Ideal (Dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer, provided just such an element in the form of Staging Old Masters. The program for Staging Old Masters called for small groups of actors to perform short theatrical pieces in front of the Old Master paintings that inspired them. 

This is not a typical activity in special exhibition galleries, and we had numerous discussions among the staff to establish parameters for the performances. Our primary aim was to ensure the safety of the paintings while providing enough space for the actors to perform effectively and the audience to view the performances easily. There was the additional twist of its being a mobile theatrical experience: the actors and the audience would be moving through the galleries to different paintings/performance sites during the program.

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For the last month, at varying days and times, there’s been some man raised via lift or scaffolding to the Pulitzer’s outside walls, putting something all over the cement. Don’t worry-I know these men to be part of the facilities crew and have thought nothing of it. I simply say, “Hi!” and walk in the building.

Generally, when I see things, such as Facilities Manager Steve Morby carrying a big bucket of something through the hallway, or Assistant Facilities Manager Shane Simmons sloshing through the Water Court in galoshes, or a pair of pink, man-size latex gloves (which must be theirs, right?) near my desk, I don’t ask questions. If I did, I’d be asking for shop class every day, since these guys have a big job every day.

“Can you tell me about how you’re cleaning the Water Court?” I asked Steve today.

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Kay Renner, a gallery assistant and Kansas City Art Institute graduate, told the camera last week why she loves Old Master drawings currently in our Lower Gallery. She pointed out that sketches can give insights into the art process, which aren’t always explicit in paintings. Because works on paper are light-sensitive, Kay noted, it’s rare to see such a stunning collection.

To ensure proper conservation standards, these treasures have been kept in a gallery without any natural light and where the overhead levels can be closely controlled. Plus, as Rachel announced, these drawings will be de-installed at an earlier date than the Old Master paintings, in order to limit their exposure. So if you haven’t seen the drawing room yet, get to the Pulitzer by June 20. 

For more convincing, listen to Kay:

Amy: Hannah, you’re the recipient of a Kress Interpretive Fellowship at Art Museums, a jointly shared appointment between the Pulitzer and the Saint Louis Art Museum. What exactly does this fellowship involve–who are you working for, and what are your specific duties?

Hannah: The Kress Interpretive Fellowship is for the training of a young museum professional as a museum curator or educator of European Art. The fellowship is for one year, and as you mentioned, it’s a shared appointment between the Pulitzer and SLAM, so I’ll be working at the Pulitzer from May to November before heading to SLAM.

At the Pulitzer, I’m working closely with Director Matthias Waschek, Community Engagement Manager Lisa Harper Chang, and Visitor Services Manager Courtney Henson, to implement “Exploring Art” for the Old Masters exhibition. I will not only provide the art historical context for each work, but I’m also working to create a meaningful dialogue in which participants learn through their visual experiences as a group and also alone.

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“It appears that cultural organizations, in comparison with other agencies, might be uniquely positioned to act as catalysts for community involvement and as agents for capacity building. Cultural initiatives are inclusive, and have an unsurpassed capacity to open dialogue between people and engage their enthusiasm and commitment to a shared redevelopment process.” -Richard Sandell

On my second day as a Brown School social work practicum student at the Pulitzer, I found myself in the art room at Cole Elementary working with fourth- and fifth-graders to create a light installation piece. This was a decidedly atypical social work task, but I was excited to learn things that I couldn’t necessarily glean from textbooks.

The Cole students were instructed to pour paint in glass ornament balls and swirl the paint around to create marbled patterns. The ornaments were to fill a 6-foot tall clear tube to be displayed in Grand Center. We quickly realized that we’d have to ban the glitter and strongly encourage the “less is more” approach to painting so that the balls would dry in time. Read the rest of this entry »

In this day and age, everyone is looking for ways to be more environmentally responsible. Whether it’s recycling, buying locally grown foods, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, or using mass transit, “going green” is the way to conserve energy, save money, and reduce one’s carbon footprint.

At the top of the list is investigating alternate energy sources–namely solar, wind, and thermal. The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and EarthWays Center are offering you a low-cost opportunity to take this important step towards energy efficiency. The solar panel system that once powered Spencer Finch’s The Light Project installation, and is now in use at the Missouri Botanical Garden, could soon be yours for only $100!

Throughout the month of June, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to win the entire system: eight 195 watt panels (1.56 kW), six 235 amp/hr 12V batteries, inverter, charge controller, and mounting hardware. The system is valued Read the rest of this entry »