NOVEMBER 2013
SAVE THE DATE
FRIENDS LECTURES
Thursday, December 12
Alain Gruber
“The Splendour of Table
Decoration in the Period
of Louis XV and Madame
de Pompadour”
Thursday, January 9
Eric Kandel, M.D.
“The Age of Insight: The
Quest to Understand the
Unconscious in Art, Mind,
and Brain from Vienna
1900 to the Present”
THE FITERMAN LECTURE SERIES | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 | PILLSBURY AUDITORIUM, 11 A.M.
David Garrard Lowe: “The Artists of Montmartre”
Who would believe
a cluster of shabby
taverns, old mills, and
dilapidated houses on
a hillside in Paris was
the creative heart of
one of the world’s most
enduring art movements? It was on the
slopes of Montmartre
that Picasso, Matisse,
Braque, and others shared crusts of bread, bottles of
wine, and a rare creative camaraderie.
The noted cultural historian, author, and lecturer,
David Garrard Lowe, will bring to life this amazing
gathering of geniuses. Lowe will take us on a
free-wheeling virtual journey from artist studios
to Montmartre’s decadent, often seedy, bars and
cabarets—the popular Moulin Rouge and Le Chat
Noir—where artists spent much of their free time,
drinking, debating, and sharing new ideas. What
was it about this place, outside of Paris’s city limits
and mores, that spawned an artistic revolution?
Lowe is president of the nonprofit New York’s
Beaux Arts Alliance, founded to celebrate the
many cultural links between the United States and
France, and author of numerous books, including
Stanford White’s New York; Beaux Arts New York;
Chicago Interior; Lost Chicago; and Art New. He
is a masterful speaker, who is frequently featured
in lecture series at New York’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian in
Washington, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as
well as on the high seas. He brings a deep knowledge of art history to every speaking engagement,
drawing connections between the sublime traditions
of the Renaissance and the sweeping changes
brought by French Impressionists.
Best of all, Lowe is a great story teller who is flush
with revelatory insights into the artists’ personal
lives and passions—stories that add luster to even
their best known works.
Lecture Day Tour for Friends Members
Friends members are invited to participate in a
private docent-led tour offered before or after the
November 14 lecture. The topic is Artists of the
Montmartre. Enjoy works by such artists as Van
Gogh, Matisse, and Picasso who lived and worked
in this colorful Paris neighborhood.
Space is limited, so please reserve with new
member liaison Toni DuFour (952) 994-8700 or
[email protected]. The tours are a special
benefit for Friends members; we regret we cannot
accommodate non-members on tours. Please invite
your friends to join Friends of the Institute.
10 a.m. tour: Meet across from the security desk
in the MIA’s Third Avenue lobby
Tours begin promptly, so please arrive early at the
meeting place.
1 p.m. tour: Meet in the Friends office on the
first floor
PROFILE OF JULIE HOLLAND AND KATIE REMOLE
Co-chairs of Art in Bloom 2014
In 2007 the paths of
Art in Bloom co-chairs,
Julie Holland and
Katie Remole, crossed
in the halls of the
Minneapolis Institute
of Arts. Originally from
small midwestern towns,
each has responded to
the tug of art in various
ways throughout their
lives. This year they are
combining their energy and enthusiasm to co-chair another
celebration of timeless art and fresh flowers.
Julie began visiting and supporting museums on her mother’s
apron strings in her hometown of Decorah, Iowa. In junior high
she was volunteering at Vesterheim Museum during the annual
Nordic Fest. Not unlike Art in Bloom, Nordic Fest is a celebration of art and culture, but with lefse rather than flowers!
Julie’s interest in museums followed her to college where she
worked in the Brunner Gallery on the Iowa State University
campus. While living in Tallahassee, Florida, she became
a guide at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science. In
2007 she enrolled in Art Adventure training at the Minneapolis
Friends-only Book Club
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family
Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang is the choice
for November. We will meet Friday,
November 15th at 10:30 a.m. in Studio 114.
Born in a Thailand refugee camp, Yang
immigrated to St. Paul with her family when
she was six years old. She describes her
family’s escape from Laos, life in the refugee
camps and the challenge and joy in starting
a new life in the United States. The memoir is a tribute to her
remarkable grandmother.
RSVP to the Friends office (612) 870-3045, [email protected].
We will have a docent-led tour of art related to the book, and
meet for a discussion and light refreshments after the tour. Our
room can accommodate only twenty-five members, so please
RSVP soon.
No book club is planned for December. We will resume
January 17 with Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey
by Countess Fiona Carnarvon (please note this replaces
Salman Rushdie’s The Enchantress of Florence).
Institute of Arts in the same class as co-chair Katie Remole.
With little experience, but with great enthusiasm, she became
an Art in Bloom pedestal artist in 2009. Julie is married to Peter
Torvik and is the mother of four sons.
Katie’s love of art also started very early and led her on a path
to the pursuit of studio art at the College of Saint Benedict.
Confronted by the task of a daunting senior exhibit, Katie
realized she was more comfortable in studying and sharing
art than in creating it. After her children were older, she went
back to school for a degree in special education. Becoming an
Art Adventure Guide at the MIA combined her love of art with
her desire to work with children. The Art Adventure program
brought her to the Friends. What Katie finds in the Friends is
a group of women with remarkable dedication, energy and
strength working together to benefit the MIA. Katie is married
to Steve Remole. They are parents to a daughter and son and
are proud new grandparents.
Julie and Katie are looking forward to working with all the
many volunteers who will make Art in Bloom 2014 an exciting
and memorable event.
Art Perchance a Perfect 10!
Lively music, delicious food, creative beverages, entertaining
games, chatty party-goers, generous patrons, and fabulous art
once again proved a perfect combination for a very successful
Art Perchance. Volunteers and MIA staff put together a memorable evening on October 10th for the 10th Anniversary of this
fundraiser for the Friends. Art Perchance 2013 raised almost
$100,000 to underwrite the numerous Friends’ programs at the
museum. “Thanks to lots and lots of people… it was a great
party!” proclaimed co-chairs Linda Goldenberg and Jane Mackenzie.
Discover Your Story:
Friends Behind the Chair
How often do we think about what memory loss can mean to an
individual and even to a whole family? The MIA’s Museum Guide
Program, Discover Your Story, seeks to bring back some of the joy
of old memories to those who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia
by engaging them in conversations within our magnificent galleries. Our guests are encouraged to reminisce about, reflect upon, or
compare their life stories to the stories told in works of art.
Most of our guests are elderly and all are escorted in wheelchairs
to assure their safety and comfort. Friends are needed to accompany these tours, one-on-one, and be a comforting presence as
the docent conducts the tour. Please consider participating in this
important program by contacting the Friends office (612) 870-3045,
[email protected]. You’ll be amazed at the joy apparent on faces
that have lost so much.
COLLECTION CONNECTION
A Divine Multitasker
Endowed with six faces,
six arms and six legs, the
Daiitoku Myøø, (die ē
toe ku mēø), one of the
five Wisdom Kings, will
greet museumgoers as they
enter the first gallery of the
exhibition, The Audacious
Eye: Japanese Art from the
Clark Collections, where
more than one hundred
extraordinary objects from
the newly acquired collection
of Bill and Libby Clark and
the Clark Center for Japanese
Art and Culture are on view
through January 12.
Japan, Daiitoku Myøø, late 13th
century, wood with polychromy
and rock crystal eyes, Gift from the
Clark Center for Japanese Arts and
Culture, formerly given in 2000 in
honor of Dr. and Mrs. Sherman Lee
by the Clark family in appreciation
of the Lee’s friendship and help
over many years. 2013.291
Buddhism was introduced
to Japan in the sixth century
and was embraced by its
artists, creating one of the
world’s great traditions of
religious sculpture. As the
Hein period (794–1185)
began, two great monks
studying in China returned to form new sects of Buddhism.
From the Shingon sect founded by the monk, Kū kai, came
Esoteric Buddhism, and a great pantheon of new deities.
Prominent among them were the five wrathful Wisdom Kings.
These Buddhist gods, ferocious and menacing, are in great
contrast to the saintly images of Buddha and bodhisattvas.
The Daiitoku Myøø is surrounded by flames representing the
purification of the mind by burning away material desire and
passion. He is mounted on a white bull ostensibly—kneeling,
but actually about to rise and take his rider to fight evil. This
remarkable information came from Mr. Clark, a fifth-generation dairy farmer. One of his left arms would have clasped
a missing rope symbolizing a strong love of the Buddha,
bodhisattvas and all sentient beings. It may also be used for
tying up demons. The trident in his upper left arm is a weapon
against evil, and in his right arm is the sword of knowledge to
smash ignorance. Its pommel (rounded knob on the hilt) has the
form of a vajra or thunderbolt.
This Daiitoku Myøø is one of the few surviving sculptures
representing the deity and is rarely seen outside of Japan.
Sure to be a star in the exhibition, he will also be a dominant
figure when installed in the Japanese galleries.
Friends-only Event
You won’t want to miss the before-hours lecture Thursday,
November 7, by Andreas Marks, director of the Clark Center
at the MIA and curator of Japanese and Korean Art, of the
new exhibit, The Audacious Eye: Japanese Art from the
Clark Collections.
The tour is limited to twenty, but a few places are left, so get
your ticket now! Call the Friends office: (612) 870-3045. Cost
is $15. Attendees should meet Friends-only events chair Diane
Skrien in the Third Avenue lobby at 8:50 a.m. for the 9 a.m.
tour. Coffee and treats will be served in the Friends office
following the tour.
Don’t Forget Your Friends
Friends BOGO
When you think of what enriches your life today, is it your
children, your friends, or your retreat at the lake you see?
Because you’re a Friend, we’re guessing the arts are near the
top of your list of joys. You’ve found a way to enhance your
interest in the MIA by supporting Friends programs and
events through your membership.
You are probably aware of many of the wonderful perks
associated with your Friends membership—events, lectures,
luncheons and more. We offer a special perk, just in time for
the holidays! If you renew your membership during November
or December (no matter when it expires) you will receive a gift
membership to share with a friend. Your own membership will
be extended for a full year beyond its expiration date. To take
advantage of the Friends BOGO, just contact the Friends office
(612)870-3045, [email protected].
There’s a wonderful way to continue this support into the
future through a planned gift to the Friends of the Institute.
You can include the Friends in your will or trust, or as a beneficiary of a percentage of an IRA, 401K or insurance policy.
If you are interested in learning more, contact Pam Friedland
at (612) 870-3045 or [email protected]. If you have
already made a bequest, please let us know so we may thank
you and celebrate your on-going commitment to the Friends.
NOVEMBER AT THE MIA
November floral arrangements at the Visitor & Member Services Desk are created by Bastian*Skoog.
Please call the Friends office for more information on our florists.
NEW MEMBERS
VOLUNTEERING
Mary Mortenson
Angie Seutter
We update our volunteer database on a regular basis. If
you are interested in volunteer opportunities, please email
[email protected] with your name and, if you like, any specific
areas in which you’d like to volunteer (e.g., special events,
fund-raising, greeting visitors, etc.). Or, simply check the box on
your membership renewal form indicating that you wish to be
contacted. Questions? Call the Friends office: (612) 870-3045.
ON VIEW
AT THE MIA
“The Audacious Eye: Japanese
Art from the Clark Collections”
October 6, 2013–January 12, 2014
Target Galleries
“31 Years: Gifts from
Martin Weinstein”
November 2, 2013–August 31, 2014
Harrison Photography Gallery
“Sacred”
August 31, 2013–July 13, 2014
Target Wing
Friends
of the
Institute
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Fiterman Lecture Series:
David Garrard Lowe
Special Friends Membership
Offer
Discover Your Story
R Printed on recycled paper
Friends President
Pamela Friedland
Newsletter Editors
Patty McCullough
Barbara Scott
Operations Coordinator
Faye Labatt
Friends Office
(612) 870-3045
Friends Fax
(612) 870-6315
Friends E-mail
[email protected]
MIA Info
(612) 870-3000
Friends Web Site
www.artsmia.org/friends