John Cavanaugh
In Search of Motion continues
April 4 through July 6
The exhibition of sculpture by John Cavanaugh from the John Cavanaugh Foundation in Washington, D.C. continues through Sunday, July 6, 2008. This must-see exhibition offers a look at over thirty years of this Midwestern-born artist’s work in hammered lead, bronze, and clay.
Though offering many benefits, a drawback of life in the capital was its distance from the art world’s critical circuit, so that Washington shows rarely received substantive notice or reviews. Perhaps to minimize this disadvantage, Cavanaugh continues an involvement with the Sculpture Center in New York that entails not only biennial exhibitions until 1977 but also monthly participation in cooperative maintenance of the studios and in meetings.
During the Washington years, Cavanaugh’s self-sufficiency and prodigious output enabled him to organize studio shows, which were important as both social and artistic events, around themes or techniques of current interest to him – “Horses”(1972), “Cats & Birds” (1977), “Winter Olympics” (1978), and “36 Heads” (1983) were just some of the titles.
As his mastery of the female figure developed he executed standing women, some life-size, in terra cotta, lead, and bronze. Feeling that he had at last exhausted this static subject, Cavanaugh turned toward dancers in the late 1970’s. His single, paired, or groups of figures seem to represent movement itself rather than just the individuals. They are “dancing figures” rather than “portraits of dancers”; their presence is “ethereal, almost spiritual”, Cavanaugh has stated. In the final analysis, these works are the great summation of the artist’s career – a life spent In Search of Motion.
ARCHITECTURAL RIVER CRUISE
Bus Trip to Chicago includes Navy Pier!
The first Bus Trip of the Summer takes you on the famous Architectural River Cruise on Tuesday, June 24. Born of the Great Fire, structural steel and an imdomitable spirit, skyscrapers were invented in Chicago… and we have the best way to see them. Join us for 90 minutes of genuinely tall tales and head-turning sights from the breathtaking vantagepoint of a boat’s cruise deck as we venture up the Chicago River from North Pier. There will be complimentary Starbucks coffee, lemonade, fresh-baked muffins and cookies on board.
On the second leg of our journey we will visit Navy Pier. Located at Navy Pier, the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows is a permanent display of 150 stained glass windows housed in an 800 foot long series of galleries along the lower level terraces of Festival Hall. Open since February 2000, it is the first museum in the United States dedicated solely to stained glass windows. Lunch will be on your own.
We will depart from the Midwest Museum at 8:00am and return to Elkhart around 6:00pm.
FEE: $60. includes deluxe motorcoach round trip amd entrance fees; lunch on your own.
Payment due upon reservation. Call 293-6660
Modern Images of Native Americans
The Art of Fritz Scholder (1937-2005)
The Midwest Museum of American Art will be mounting an exciting exhibition of over 50 works from the Mary Jane McClain Collection, Phoenix, by the premier contemporary Native American artist, Fritz Scholder. A Monnesota native, Scholder moved West to study. By 1965 he had obtained his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona and was subsequently hired as the first painter to teach at the new Indian School in Santa Fe. His groundbreaking imagery of contemporary Indian life in the late 1960s skyrocketed him to fame. Modern Images of Native Americans:The Art of Fritz Scholder will open on July 11 and continues through October 5, 2008. More information will be listed in the next Museum Bulletin.
29th ANNIVERSARY REPORT Jane Burns, Director
A bright future is unfolding for this American Art museum in Elkhart, Indiana. The good news and reason for optimism is the just completed, newly renovated, Overbeck ceramics gallery. New Overbeck pieces from Barbara and Douglas Grant have doubled our collection and we truly do house the largest public collection of Overbeck works in addition to new Brown County, Brown County Hills, Karl Martz and Becky Brown and Muncie pottery. Another milestone has been the recently acquired Tuck Langland sculpture “The Muse of Music”. I can’t begin to thank the people who stepped to the plate and gave us the funds to purchase this monumental work. To each of you a great big “Thank You”
The Midwest Museum has the unique position of being an American Art museum in a time when so many of the other arts are stumbling. The competition is fierce for audience and dollars, but we are prominent, we are respected, people pay attention and we are visited in large numbers. I can only hope we do not squander the moment. Our public knows we are not just a leisure time recreation center but the Midwest Museum is the heir and presence of the accumulated culture of the past and the engine of culture for the present. Because of the increasing respect for museums in America, the MMAA is able to reach out into our community as a partner with our public schools, senior centers and retirement homes, and universities to help everyone understand and enjoy the world of art and culture. I have faith in the museum’s ability and above all faith in our mission. Your interest as members of the MMAA is deeply appreciated. Together we can insure that the museum experience remains available for all ages both now and in the future.
Children’s Summer Art Camps
The Midwest Museum will offer a new series of summer Art Camps for students 5 (who have completed kindergarten) through ages 12. Enrollment will be limited to 20.
FEES for each Art Camp will be $50 (includes all materials)
ART CAMP I JULY 14 – JULY 18 (1 week)
Ages 5 – 7 yrs. 12:30pm-2:00pm; Mon-Fri
Ages 8 – 12 yrs. 2:30pm-4:30pm; Mon-Fri
ART CAMP II AUG 4 – AUG 8 (1 week)
Ages 5 – 7 yrs. 12:30pm-2:00pm; Mon-Fri
Ages 8 – 12 yrs. 2:30pm-4:30pm; Mon-Fri
Art Educator, Bonnie Elder, will lead students on an adventure in creating drawings, watercolors, mixed media works and collages, while utilizing the museum’s permanent collection of American Art for inspiration. New projects are emphasized for each session. Call 293-6660 for registration.
International Museum Day
May 18, 2008
The Midwest Museum of American Art will celebrate International Museum Day on May 18 with Free Family Admission. Come in and see the newly renovated Overbeck Art Pottery Collection on the second floor while talking with Museum Docents about the current exhibits. Take time for an adventure in YOUR museum.
The Artist’s Attic
A Sale of Unique Oddities and cast off treasures
This years sale features lots of art books, prints and puzzles.
FRIDAY, JUNE 6 from 11am – 5pm
SATURDAY, JUNE 7 from 1pm – 4pm
Cash only. No checks. All proceeds from this sale benefit the MMAA acquisition fund.
TRIBUTES
The Midwest Museum of American Art gratefully acknowledges gifts in honor or in memory of special friends. Notes of acknowledgement are sent by the Museum to those honored or to the families of those memorialized. Recent memorials and donations to specific funds include:
In Memory Of
MILLIE BETTCHER (*by Kyle & Sue Platt)
CHARLES BICKEL (*by Geraldine F. Martin)
LOIS BOYER (*by Mary Boyer)
FLORENCE A. DUFOUR (*by Mr, & Mrs. Jack Bickart, Frank Booth II & Sharon Booth, Jane Burns, Mrs. Alice Holtz”)
MARILYN GERKING HAYS (*by EHS Class of 41, Howard L. Smith, Paul & Betty Thomas)
JANE GRIMES (*by Kathy and Ken Zienty)
DOROTHY HOSTERMAN (*by Paul & Betty Thomas)
TEENER IANNARELLI (*by Richard & Anne Treckelo)
MARIAN L. INGWALSON (*by Jane Burns, Paul & Betty Thomas)
LEE MARKEL (*by Howard L. Smith)
MAX E. POYSER (*by Byron Brady, Jane Burns, Dr. William & Claire Luther)
JACK ROWE (*by Paul & Betty Thomas)
HERMAN SCHADE (*by Brian & Lisa Byrn, EHS Class of 41, Howard L. Smith, Paul & Betty Thomas)
ERNEST D. SMITH (*by Richard & Anne Treckelo)
JOSEPH C. WELLS (*by Byron Brady, Jane Burns, Paul & Betty Thomas)
IN HONOR OF PAT WARNER’S BIRTHDAY (*by Jane Burns, Kathy Zienty)
IN HONOR OF BRIAN BYRN’S 50yh BIRTHDAY (*by Joyce Cleveland, Geraldine F. Martin, Russ Riddle, Richard & Carol Ver Wiebe)
IN HONOR OF MEEGE WILLIAMS’ 90th BIRTHDAY (*by Geraldine F. Martin)