"Speak softly and carry a big fish" - Face Value at the National Portrait Gallery

Earlier this week, I was invited to the press preview and opening reception for the National Portrait Gallery's (NPG) newest exhibit- "Face Value: Portraiture in the Age of Abstraction."

Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this exhibit. It is one of those amazing times when everything just works: the exhibit design, the flow in the gallery, the narrative, and the subject matter. 

The gallery has two entrances, each with a remarkable statement piece. I entered the exhibit from the exhibit's main entrance and was greeted by Joan Brown's Self-Portrait with Fish and Cat (1970). This portrait is bold, not just in size and color, but in subject matter as well. It sets the tone for the rest of the exhibit. And is where the quote in the title comes from, as the Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, joked that this portrait had inspired her new mantra: "Speak softly and carry a big fish." 

Co-currator Wendy Wick Reaves beginning the tour of the exhibit with:

Self-Portrait with Fish and Cat

Joan Brown (1938-1990)

1970

Oil enamel on masonite Courtesy of George Adams Gallery, New York

In this exhibit, the art truly speaks for itself. The exhibit design works so well with the artwork. The muted gray tones allow visitors to completely focus on the portraits. The simple frames allow the works to shine, breaking from more traditional portrait exhibits, which often seem to utilize the idea that the more ornate the frame, the more prestigious the portrait. With the objects in this exhibit ranging from small square portraits to wood-cuts outs, the staging of the exhibit could have become a challenge to the exhibit's feel and flow. But the placement of the cutouts - placed on simple white circles - allows for easy flow and study. David Ward, Senior Historian at the NPG and co-curators of "Face Value,  even joked that they might seem too inviting, as he wouldn't want visitors attempting to shake Jack O'Hare's hand. 

Frank O'Hare

Alex Katz (born 1927)

1959-1960

Courtesy of the artist and Pace Gallery, New York. 

As I moved through the gallery, I let myself be drawn to different works. One of those works was Elaine de Kooning's Harold Rosenberg. At first I was confused, because it was so different from my idea of a portrait prior to this exhibit. It is loud, inexact, and informal. But it all works. De Kooning's abstraction influences are obvious, but the subject is still easily recognizable (its always great learning new art tidbits from the curators themselves). While explaining this portrait, Brandon Brame Fortune - one of the exhibit's co-curators and the Chief Curator and Curator of Painting and Sculpture - told us that the NPG would be doing an entire de Kooning exhibit next year, which should be wonderful. 

Brandon Brame Fortune explains de Kooing's influences and subject choice.

Harold Rosenberg

Elaine de Kooning

Oil on Canvas

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

My favorite piece, by far, was Chuck Close's Nancy. From the moment I saw it, I was drawn to it. There is just something about the painting. Close referred to his series of large figure studies as heads instead of portraits, wanting to shock his audience with the scale. And he does just that. The detail is exquisite, from her freckles and somewhat frizzy hair to her overlapping front teeth. She is not perfect, but she is hauntingly beautiful in this portrait. And she is an important piece in this exhibit, both as a Chuck Close piece and as an anchor for the exhibit. Whenever I looked over at this part of the exhibit, I found myself staring at her; there's something about Nancy.

Nancy

Chuck Close (1940-)

1968

Acrylic on Canvas

Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Herbert H. Kohl Charities, Inc.

In the photograph above is another one of my favorite pieces from the exhibit: Marisol Escobar's Hugh Hefner. This piece was originally commissioned for Time and donated to the NPG. I love this piece because its odd. A comment from David Ward during this part of the tour really struck me. He said that Hefner was "attempting to make sex serious" and this portrait of his kind of alludes to that. Despite his elongated head (yes, I know what I just said) and two pipes, the piece has a seriousness about it that is in opposition with Hefner's brand. 

Hugh Hefner

Marisol Escobar (1930 -)

1966-77

Polychromed wood

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Gift of Time magazine. 

As I left this gallery for the last two rooms, there was an obvious shift in the feeling of the art. As I was transitioning to art made in the late 1960s and 1970s, it made sense. This was a period in American history where the social norms and the status quo were being questioned.  And this is especially true when it comes to art. It is also more risqué art, delving into the most personal aspects of people's lives. 

From Robert Rauschenberg's Booster - the artists's de-heroization of the space race- to Robert Carston's Classical Exposure - a showing of support and solidarity with the growing women's movement of the 1970s, there is a lot of social commentary in this room. This is not simply a reaction to the post-war/Cold War era, but an in your face question of society. 

The exhibit closes with two portraits: Portrait of Andy Warhol by John Browning Wyeth and Portrait of Jamie Wyeth with Tan Background.  Wyeth suggested to Warhol that they paint each other's portraits and these were the results. The portraits are great examples of the styles the two men were know for: realism and pop. Placed at the end of the exhibit, these portraits are true statement pieces. And that statement, according to co-curator and Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings Wendy Wick Reaves, is that "portraiture was back."

On left: Portrait of Jamie Wyeth with Tan Background, Andy Warhol (1928-1987), 1976, Acrylic and screenprint on canvas, Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, Nashville, TN.

On right: Portrait of Andy Warhol, James Browning Wyeth (1946-), 1976, Oil on Canvas, Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, Nashville, TN.

As I mentioned, there are two entrances to this exhibit. The second one is located near the end of the exhibit's narrative. At this entrence, visitors are greeted by Barkley Leonnard Hendricks' Sir Charles, Alias Wille Harris.  The curators mentioned that this exhibit has a large number of pieces by African-American artists and female artists, who were held outside the "Old Boys Club" that many of the well-known mid-century portrait artists belonged to. Which allowed them to to create some truly interesting pieces, according to the currators. And I would have to agree. This piece evokes cool, which is somewhat fitting because visitors enter "Face Value" from the exhibit, "American Cool." 

Sir Charles, Alias Wille Harris

Barkley Leonnard Hendricks (1945-)

1972

Oil on Canvas

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; William C. Whitney Foundation

And don't forget to check out the gift shop for fun "Face Value" memorabilia! You know I love a great museum shop and the National Portrait Gallery has always had a great one. If you are looking for a fun Mother's Day present for an art loving mom, check out the exhibit catalogue. Its a beautiful book that starts with the poem Hand With A Picture" by John Ashberry, which was commissioned specially for the exhibit. 

It was a great morning at the museum and I was excited to come back that evening for the opening reception to see what other people thought of the exhibit. 

When I walked into the reception I was greeted with the sound of jazz, the smell of food, and the chatter of people talking all around the atrium.

Everyone seemed excited to see the exhibit, but first there were a few presentations. After cocktails, food, and jazz, we listened to Kim Sajet welcome everyone to the exhibit. Then we were listened to a reading of John Ashberry's poem "Hand With A Picture," read by Steven Schmidt. 

I have to admit that I was slightly distracted at the beginning of the reception because I discovered that they could create a shallow pool in the middle of the artium. How cool is that!

At the end of the presentation portion of the reception, we were treated to an amazing performance piece by Daniel Wurtzel called Pas de Deux. It was an absolutely mesmerizing installation, with the two pieces of fabric floating and intertwining in the sparkling air. (This is only a sneak peak, I promise there is more to come on this amazing piece.)

After the presentations ended, we headed upstairs to view the exhibit. I wandered around trying to gauge people's reactions to the exhibit and watch how the flow of people worked in the gallery space. Both were extremely positive. People seemed to really connect with the images, which is exactly what are is suppose to do.

"Face Value: Portraiture in the Age of Abstraction" opens today, April 18th, and runs through January 15, 2015. The National Portrait Gallery is open daily from 11:30am to 7:00pm. 

Look Who's Talking About Museums

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but recently there seems to be a lot of museum coverage in the media. It hit me yesterday afternoon, as I was reading the New York Times. Right there, on the front page (although below the fold) was an article about a new museum and some of the controversy surrounding it.

The article -"Civil Rights Sins, Curated by One of the Sinners" by Campbell Robertson - is about the new Civil Rights museum in Mississippi, which is scheduled to open in Jackson in 2017. The controversy surrounding the museum is not the content or the location of the museum, but the fact that it will be run by the state of Mississippi. It seems that many of the museum's critics fear that the state will attempt to sugarcoat the subject, especially concerning the state's role in this painful part of history. The article also talked about the museum's struggle to build a large collection, because many potential object donors do not trust the state, because of their experience or their family's experience during the Civil Rights Movement. It is an article that illustrates the complexities of creating and curating a museum devoted to telling a violent part of recent history. It is a complex subject, that for some is remains a part of life and not quite history. And it is a narrative that needs to be preserved and told. For all of those reasons, I was so glad to have come across the New York Time's article.

The other article I saw recently was in the April issue of  Martha Stewart Living magazine. Among the articles devoted to Easter decorating and spring cooking was one devoted to a great museum - The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

Its a fairly short article that gives a brief overview of the museum, the history of its eclectic founder, and newly completed expansion that will provide much needed room for the museum's vast collection. And while the article does mention that the museum has remained exactly the way she left it following her death, it did not go into one of the most famous stories related to that: the empty frames. If you don't know what I'm referring to, check out the story here.

If you have the chance to read both of these articles, you should. Despite the fear of many that museums will someday be a thing of the past, these articles show that there still is interest in museums. People want to know the stories behind objects and it the role of the museum to tell those stores. I am so glad that these two media sources (and many others) are helping share these stories with a national audience. 

If you have seen any other good articles about museums recently, let me know in the comments section. I would love to see what else is going on in the world of museums. 

Updating Exhibit Life

I just wanted everyone to know that I will be experimenting with the look of the blog over the next month or so. Sorry to anyone who thinks this is annoying, but I thought that I should try and make it a bit more professional looking, so please bear with me through this process. I may even end up learning how to write a bit of code by then end of all this (now that's a scary thought).

Thanks again for your patience.