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Jacob Lawrence: Thirty Years of Prints

By heathercarroll January 22, 2018
Exhibitions, Uncategorized, Weisman Art Museum

Jacob Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an artist, storyteller, educator and chronicler African American life in America. Lawrence’s works are in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Whitney Museum of American Art, National Gallery of Art, Art Institute Chicago, and Seattle Art Museum. Locally, Lawrence’s works are included in collections of the Walker Art Center, and Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Weisman Art Museum.

In early 1996, the Weisman Art Museum shared Lawrence’s print works on paper in the exhibition Jacob Lawrence: Thirty Years of Prints. There were many events associated with this exhibition beginning with a special opening reception and preview honoring Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence on Jan 20, 1996. This event came to my attention while I processing binders of photos and slides (now foldered in box #250). One binder titled “Photos of Important People” included whole section dedicated to the Lawrence tribute.

Here’s a selection of the images from that evening:

Jacob Lawrence approaches the podium, WAM director Lyndel King applauding

Artist Jacob Lawrence holds up honorary degrees from UMN

Mayor Norm Coleman presents Lawrence with a Proclomation

Nils Hasselmo welcomes guests

Sunny Givens and Archie Givens, Jr.

Louis Bellamy with guests

Bobby McFerrin with guests

Judge Alan Page, Nancy Sims Page and Jacob Lawrence

Judge (and former Viking) Alan Page with Mia’s Evan Maurer

Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence and Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton

Phoebe Givens (left), Robyne Robinson (right)

Other archival materials related to this exhibition:

Lawrence Opening and Preview Program, front and back. Note the long list of events!

Lawrence Opening and Preview Program, inside

Postcard for a later Tribute event

—Heather Carroll is the processing archivist for the Weisman Art Museum‘s collection at the University of Minnesota Archives. This project was made possible by funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

In the Spirit of Martin

By heathercarroll January 15, 2018
Exhibitions, Uncategorized, Weisman Art Museum

Fifteen years ago this weekend, the anticipated exhibition In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. opened at the Weisman Art Museum with a full schedule of events. The purpose of the exhibition is clearly stated in the invitational brochure: “By juxtaposing accounts in Dr. King’s life with visual renderings of those events, In the Spirit of Martin speaks to the power of art to shape collective national memory.”

Although the exhibition was assembled by an outside curator, the local planning committee was comprised of over 38 individuals. Events associated with the exhibition included a preview party, choral performance, a community tribute to john powell, founder of the Institute on Race and Poverty, a talk with MLK’s friend and Pulitzer prize-winning author Roger Wilkins, Special MLK Day programs, Minneapolis Urban League’s documentary screening and a lecture by renowned artist Faith Ringold titled Art, Activism, and African-American Experience.

“Confrontation at the Bridge” by Jacob Lawrence, 1975. Included in WAM’s invitational brochure for the exhibition “In the Spirit of Martin”.

“Let Kingdom Come” by Paul Goodnight, 1992. Included in WAM’s invitational brochure for the exhibition “In the Spirit of Martin”.

“Peaceable Kingdon” by Malcah Zeldis, 1999. Included in WAM’s invitational brochure for the exhibition “In the Spirit of Martin”.

“In the Spirit of Martin was the first major museum exhibition to use the visual arts to explore the inspiring life and enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights leader, statesman, minister, and martyr, Martin Luther King is one of the most compelling figures in American history. An overview of the Civil Rights movement set the stage for the exhibition’s impressive range of artistic offerings. In the Spirit of Martin included paintings, works on paper, prints, sculpture, and mixed-media pieces by such artists as Elizabeth Catlett, Thornton Dial, L’Merchie Frazier, Jacob Lawrence, May Stevens, Charles White, and John Wilson. Some of the artworks cast Dr. King as a martyr and comment on violence in American society. These images convey the tremendous sense of outrage and loss caused by Dr. King’s death. Others examine his status as an icon of popular culture or a source of African American pride. Through its presentation of work in the visual arts, the exhibition demonstrates the extraordinary influence of Dr. King and speaks to the power of art to shape our collective national memory. A wide range of visual artists responded to Dr. King’s life and grappled with his message.”

~from Verve Editions

It wasn’t only visual artists that responded to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the archives in an oversize box, there is a black spiral bound sketchbook that was used as comment book for this exhibition. Visitors–especially children–were so inspired by the exhibition that many took the time to share their own inspired thoughts and creations.
Here are just a few:

To quote Mary from Central Senior High, “This I learned and will hold in my mind to help me see, when other’s are blinded”.

Promotional Provenance: Part II

By wilso952 July 15, 2011
Weisman Art Museum

A few months ago, we shared a University Gallery general promotional brochure from the 1970s. Just this past week, we encountered a 1990s version of the institution’s promotional materials:

I wonder what the WAM brochure will look like upon re-opening in 2011?

Promotional Provenance

By wilso952 May 25, 2011
University Gallery

A general gallery brochure, multiple copies of which were tucked innocuously into multiple folders, from those documenting grant applications to others partially titled as “PR” or “Publicity,” announced the Gallery’s features, services, and most importantly, location and hours (when and how to get there!).

A clue to the year of the creation of the brochure resides in the descriptive text on the Exhibitions panel, which provides a list of exhibits to be held in 1972-1973.

The brochure documents how the organization presented itself at a certain moment in time. Included text promotes the Gallery’s collection:

“… outstanding works of art of all media which ranges in period from antiquity to the present and which is international in scope.”

The images selected showcase selected works of art from the collection, to include Oriental Poppies (Georgia O’Keeffe) and The Pod (Harry Bertoia).

Materials initially created for the promotion of the then current activities of Gallery, when kept in archives, now also serve to promote the provenance of the Museum.

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