Community: bloggers@brooklynmuseum

Terence Koh’s Untitled, a stack of thirty-three glass cases, is a striking presence in the Contemporary galleries.  Almost every case contains an artifact that’s been painted white. Some of these date back to the artist’s childhood while others are from friends and lovers, or flea markets. The sculpture is like a shrine that preserves meaningful relics from various chapters of Koh’s life. Unlike many artists, he embraces the effects of entropy and decay on his work, such as mold, or glass shattered in transit.

Terence Koh (born China, 1977). Untitled (Vitrines), 2006. Mixed media, variable. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Peres Projects, Inc., 2008.34.

The piece is part of a larger body of monochrome work in which Koh explores the meanings of white in different cultures, ranging from purity to mourning. With its investigation of temporality and allusions to eventual death, the Brooklyn Museum’s glass stack provides an introspective counterpoint to Koh’s flamboyant public persona. (See his website) Sex and death are themes that run obsessively throughout all aspects of his work.

As part of Performa 09, Koh will be at the Brooklyn Museum on November 7^th for Target First Saturday to perform Saaqiou. At 9:30 p.m., he will be performing and DJing in the Rubin Pavillion, incorporating the Rodin sculptures.

With the exhibition Who Shot Rock & Roll:  A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present, opening tomorrow at the museum, I thought now would be a great time to acquaint our readers with the museum’s vintage collection of psychedelic posters.  I started documenting these posters a few years ago after I noticed a wooden box high up on a shelf in the museum’s Works on Paper storage area.  In this box I found close to three hundred stunning posters.

Norman Orr (American). [Untitled] (Poco - Siegal - Schwall), 1970. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 7/8 x 28 in. (55.6 x 71.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.266. ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com.

I thought it was interesting that these were part of our collection so I did some research.  I found that they had been brought into the museum by the museum’s then print curator, Jo Miller.  At the time they were purchased, in 1972, these posters were relatively unknown outside of San Francisco, although there had been an exhibition of Fillmore posters at the Museum of Modern Art around this same time. Since their purchase, almost forty years ago, these posters have never been shown at the Brooklyn Museum.  You can view a few here and a larger selection on the Museum’s contemporary collections pages.

Left: Bonnie MacLean (American). [Untitled] (The Who / Loading Zone), 1967. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 22 x 14 1/16 in. (55.9 x 35.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.70.  ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com. Right: D. Bread (American). [Untitled] (Janis Joplin…), 1969. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 x 14 1/8 in. (53.3 x 35.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.164. ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com.

Between 1966 and 1971 posters were being produced as publicity for dance concerts, or dance parties, at venues such as the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore West in San Francisco. These concerts featured loud, live bands, colorful light shows, often poetry readings or performance art, and were mostly fueled by LSD or acid.  These unique events were part of what became known as the psychedelic experience.

Left: Lee Conklin (American). [Untitled] (Buffalo Springfield / Richie Havens / Chambers Brothers), 1968. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 1/8 x 14 in. (53.7 x 35.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.121.  ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com. Right: Bonnie MacLean (American). [Untitled] (Blue Cheer / Vanilla Fudge / Sunshine Co.), 1967. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 1/4 x 14 3/16 in. (54 x 36 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.84. ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com.

Organized respectively by Chet Helms and Bill Graham, major promoters on the West Coast art and music scene in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, these concerts helped introduce performers that would go on to become legendary Rock Stars, such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath, to name a few.  Amazingly, on these same concert bills were Rhythm and Blues greats such as Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding, and veteran Jazz and Blues musicians including Miles Davis and Albert King!  Please stop by next week for more on these posters and the artists that created them.

You better believe we are going to be watching the True Blood season two finale, which is airing on HBO this Sunday night at 9pm! If you read the blog, you saw Madeleine blogging about the discovery that our Bird Lady statue was spotted in the first episode of the season.  Soon after, the awesome people at HBO got us in touch with Production Designer, Suzuki Ingerslev, who answered our questions about why this object was selected and they gave us some subtle hints as to the significance. Throughout the season we’ve continued to see various references to our object, but things started to really heat up again in episode ten…

Here’s the character Maryann creating a “meat tree”…see the resemblance to the Bird Lady? Michelle Forbes (the actress who plays Maryann) gave an interview for TV Guide in which she talks about the tree: “It was filled with real meat and reeked as the weeks wore on. There are bobcats and coyotes roaming around that ranch where we shoot, so they had someone sit by the tree with a gun at night to protect it.”  Love that—all bird ladies warrant protection.

(Conservators please avert your eyes!)  Bird Lady is spotted several times in Sookie’s house where Maryann is squatting.  Seen here in episode ten, she’s covered in eggs and eggshells and if you watched episode eleven those eggs have even more meaning. Now, as we *try* to wait patiently for Sunday’s season finale, we’ll leave you with a few things to ponder….

…this quote we found from Michelle Forbes:

…this awesome finale still shot (!!!!!)  sent to us from the fabulous people we’ve been speaking with at HBO:

…lastly, don’t forget to stop by and see our Bird Lady—she’s 5,500 years old and waiting for you on our third floor in Egypt Reborn….

Ever wish you could remix the gallery experience?  When I walk into a museum I enjoy the structure—the information given, which objects have been placed where, the specific sequence in which the space has been designed—but I will admit, there are times when I want something else too….something that’s a bit off the charts and possibly something that is always subject to change.  I’m positive this other need has something to do with all those Choose Your Own Adventure books I was hooked on as a kid.

Today, we are launching BklynMuse, a gallery guide that is designed to complement the more structured museum experience.  In its most basic form, it’s a community-powered recommendation system for the objects that are on display here.  As visitors move through the galleries, they can recommend objects to other visitors.  Based on the  recommendations you give it, this muse will crunch the collective data and present other suggestions for you as you move from room to room.  The guide does other stuff too—it gives access to our cell-phone audio stops, our YouTube videos—but the real power in the device comes from visitors sharing their own takes in our galleries.

This is one of a series of things we are implementing to bridge both the online experience with the in-person visit.  In the case of BklynMuse, Posse members get their recommendations saved to their profiles for future reference—think of it as bookmarking your favs on the go in the gallery and then being able to access them later.  Even more than that, Posse members can create sets of objects on our website and annotate them and, if you choose to sign into your Posse account on BklynMuse, your sets will be right there waiting for you to follow in the gallery.  Those same sets can be shared and featured for other visitors to see, so your voice…your notes…your selections…may be highlighted, in all their Posse glory, for all to see.

For those of you reading the blog, you know I’ve been on a bit of a failure kick lately—cautious observations of visitors glued to screens and kiosks that drive me slightly bonkers—you may be wondering how this could possibly be different.   We designed this interface as more like a scavenger hunt than a multimedia guide.  It’s something that can guide you to objects and something you can use to help guide others, but it’s not meant to replicate the actual experience of really looking at the work, so I’m hoping this reduces the screen glue. As with everything, only time will really tell the outcome, but it’s worth a try.

In areas like The Dinner Party and Luce Visible Storage, suddenly you have a whole kiosk’s worth of information at your fingertips…right there in the space when you need, it in an unobtrusive way.

There’s even more after the jump if you are curious. (more…)

Through the generosity of Beth Rudin DeWoody, the Museum recently acquired a multiple component installation piece made by the artist Vadis Turner, which will be included as part of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The installation titled Reception addresses women’s worth as represented in dowries provided at the time of marriage. The sculpture consists of a twin bed piled high with objects in this woman’s dowry, including dishes, candelabra, jewelry, textiles, and stacks of bibles. All of this is surrounded by fabric wedding cakes, chocolate coins, ribbons, fabric flowers, garter belts, paper rose petals made from tampon boxes and plastic brides and grooms mounted on top of fabric cupcakes.

Due to the numerous components—61 fabric flowers alone—and complexity of how the components interrelate, the artist came in to assist with the initial installation of this object. The object is on view in a specially selected room within 21: Selections of Contemporary Art from the Brooklyn Museum on the 4th floor.

The install took a day and a half, but the cataloging and accession numbering of all the components took several weeks. When objects are acquired by the Museum for the permanent collection, a baseline condition report and cataloging of the parts are made. This follows the current standard of best practices, establishing a record which will aid the museum in preservation and proper interpretation of the art work in years to come. Besides the bed, the viewer will note two other major elements in the room; a sex swing and a working chandelier made from tampons. The effect is one of a riotous explosion which seems a little off kilter. In speaking with the artist as she set up the installation, she wants the whole feeling of the piece to be decadent but a little tired; kind of like a melting wedding cake.