AUGUST 2012

OF THE INSTIT UTEF R I E N DS

Volunteers Needed

The MIA’s community

arts staff is looking for

several volunteers to

assist with activities this

summer in Minneapolis

parks. Volunteers will

help with a balloon

twisting activity, share

MIA promotional

information, and

engage with the public.

Must have an interest

in sharing a love of

the MIA with families

attending these

festivals. Multiple

dates and locations

available through early

September; 1.5–3 hour

commitment per shift.

Interested? Please

contact Krista Pearson:

kpearson@artsmia.org,

(612) 870-3104.

Art Perchance is almost here! Don’t forget that on Thursday, August 16, Target Park will be trans-formed into a carnival complete with whimsical games, live music, and a chance to take home art from well-known local artists. It is sure to be one of the summer’s most fun events!

Be serenaded by the unique musical stylings of the Brian Just Band, who take their inspiration from the 60s and 70s and turn it into something to which everyone can groove.

Play to win! The Art Perchance committee has been hitting the local artist beat to secure wonderful art that you’ll want to take home. Some confirmed items include a signed book from Alec Soth, an incredible pottery vase by Richard Bresnahan, works of art from Carolyn Swiszcz, Steven Lang, Timothy G. Piotrowski, and many more talented artists in a variety of media, including sculpture and jewelry. There’s something for everyone!

By attending Art Perchance and supporting the Friends, you help the MIA provide programs, education and transportation for children to visit the museum as well as MIA exhibitions and art acquisitions. Who knew you could have so much fun supporting the Friends? Get your tickets, grab your friends and let the games begin!

Target Park Turns into Art Perchance on August 16

Be a VIP! When you purchase a VIP ticket, you’ll be invited to come early, from 5 to 6 p.m., for an exclusive pre-party reception with the artists where you can preview the art. During that one-hour reception, VIPs will have exclusive access to the “Buy it Now!” opportunity, in which works of art can be purchased without taking your chances in the drawing or silent auction.

Tickets are available at $100, $250, and $500 per person, and include drink tickets, free valet parking, and increasing amounts of free chances for the drawing! You’ll also enjoy access to a private lounge with treats and sweets throughout the evening. Reserve online at www.artsmia.org/art-perchance, or call (612) 870-6323.

APC: The BasicsView more than 60 works of donated art in the indoor Atrium.

Play the games to win fun prizes. Purchase a VIP ticket in advance (or a wristband the night of the event) and you’ll be able to win tokens for the art drawing.

Drop your tokens in the bucket next to your favorite work of art before 8 p.m.

Listen for your name to be called onstage at 8:30. You could be a winner!

As a part of Third Thursday, Art Perchance is open to the public. All are welcome to play the games for prizes, but only guests who contribute to the cause can win art!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18 The Madonnas of Leningrad By Debra Dean

Friends Book Club returns with Luncheon of the Boating PartyPlease join us for the Friends Book Club on Friday, September 21, where we’ll discuss Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. The novel describes the lives of Auguste Renoir’s friends, whom he included in his memorable Impressionist painting.

Come to Studio 114 a few minutes before 10:30 a.m. for a docent-led tour of artwork in the MIA’s collection related

to Renoir, other artists of the time, models, and collectors mentioned in this month’s book. The tour is followed by forty-five minutes of lively discussion and treats in Studio 114.

RSVP to the Friends office if you plan to attend: friends@artsmia.org, (612) 870-3045. There’s space available for up to twenty-five Friends members!

UPCOMING BOOK CLUB READS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12 Cutting for Stone By Abraham Verghese

Thanks to the generosity of Mary Fiterman, the Fiterman Lecture Series, presented by the Friends, is on its way to becoming a highly valued invitation among artists, art historians, critics, and other experts. The fall 2012 lineup will present celebrated speakers from literally around the world lecturing on a diverse set of topics.

On Thursday, September 13, the Friends welcome French-born art historian Diana Widmaier Picasso. The granddaughter of Picasso and Marie Therese Walter, Ms. Picasso has been studying her grandfather’s oeuvre, particularly his sculpture, since 2003 and will deliver a lecture titled, “Pablo Picasso in Vallarius: The Artist and the Artisans, 1954 to 1964.”

Blake Gopnik, contemporary culture critic for Newsweek and the Daily Beast, will be sure to entertain and inform on October 11, when he presents his take on making sense of the contemporary art world, “Art Without Objects: or, What to do when Donald Judd becomes Damien Hirst.”

On November 8, in conjunction with the blockbuster exhibit, “China’s Terracotta Warriors,” which opens in October, we will meet Edmund Capon, recently retired director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, who will tell the story of the First Emperor’s quest for immortality, his revolution in art

and his revolution in galvanizing a long-divided nation. To quote Dr. Capon, “And what a story it is!”

This is just a third of the lineup the Friends have prepared for 2012–2013. Join us on the second Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. in the Pillsbury Auditorium and share in the excitement as this year’s series unfolds!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16 The Other Wes Moore By Wes Moore

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Luncheon of the Boating Party By Susan Vreeland

DON’T MISS!

International Line-Up of the Fiterman Lecture Series this Fall

Special Invitation for Friends Members OnlyDon’t miss a private reception for Friends honoring Diana Widmaier Picasso hosted by another talented artist and MIA Trustee, Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad, at her incredible Georgian Revival home in Edina.

Wednesday, September 125 to 7 p.m.Drinks and Hors d’Oeuvres $75

Attendance is limited to 50 guests; please call the Friends office to reserve: (612) 870-3045.

COLLECTION CONNECTION

Pablo Picasso—Painter, Potter and SculptorBorn in 1881 in Malaga, Spain, Pablo Picasso was undoubtedly the most dominant figure in Western art in the twentieth century. According to his mother, his first word was “piz,” which is short for lápiz (pencil) in Spanish.

As a young boy of seven, he was given a pencil and taught figure drawing and oil painting by his father, a painter and professor of art. By the age of thirteen, his father felt his son had surpassed what he was able to teach him, so he was sent to the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. Since Picasso disliked the formal instruction, he set off on his own at just sixteen years of age.

Picasso was an artist who helped define Western art in the opening decades of the twentieth century with his ever evolving painting styles such as his Blue Period of somber paintings in blue or blue-green, and his Rose Period of cheerful, romantic paintings in orange and pink. One of the greatest and most influential artists of his time, he is probably most well-known for his co-founding of Cubism with his friend and fellow artist, Georges Braque.

Picasso left Paris during the late 1940s to settle in the south of France with his young mistress, Francoise Gilot, forty years his junior, and their two young children, Claude and Paloma. During what was considered one of the happiest periods of his life, Picasso, now in his sixties, began producing some of his favorite subjects in a medium combining sculpture, painting and drawing.

He began working at Madoura, a pottery factory in Vallauris, near Antibes. The ground yielded excellent clay, and Valleuris had been an important ceramic producing center from Roman times until the 1920s. Picasso’s participation at this particular time helped to revive the town’s depressed economy. He rented an old perfume factory as a studio, and produced more than 3,000 ceramic objects in a range of styles including figures,

plates, casseroles, pitchers, vases and masks. At first he simply decorated pieces thrown on the wheel by Madoura potters. He also began designing innovative pieces relating to ancient jugs and amphoras. These pieces with their fluid shapes (often reiterating his obsession with the female form) and whimsical painted decoration are a reflection of this more relaxed time in his career. In later years he would return again to print making and painting, which he had never completely abandoned. His clay forms remain simple and fresh expressing a “joie de vivre” or joy of living, the name given to a large, white plate (pictured here) which can be seen along with several other pieces in Gallery 275.

Although thousands of Pablo Picasso pieces are now held in private collections and museums across the world, be sure to visit Gallery 275 to view the MIA’s Picasso treasures. And don’t miss your chance to learn about Picasso’s sculpture first-hand this fall, when Diana Widmaier Picasso speaks to the Friends. (See article on page 2 for details.)

Pablo Picasso, Joie de Vivre, earthenware, c. 1956, Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton © Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York

New Pay-to-Park Program Debuts this FallIn mid-September, the MIA will introduce a new pay-to-park program. The lots located at 24th and 25th streets, along with the ramp, will begin operating as pay-to-park facilities. This program will allow the MIA to cover current costs to maintain parking facilities, enhance the safety and security of these facilities, and become more self-sustaining through earned revenue.

Staff, regular volunteers and interns may park at no charge, on a space available basis, in the upper and lower lots located at 24th Street and 3rd Avenue. If you prefer to park in the

ramp or in the lot at 25th Street & 3rd Avenue you can do so by paying the fee.

We will keep you updated as more details become available.

AUGUST AT THE INSTITUTEAugust floral arrangements at the Visitor Information Desk are created by Wisteria. Please call the Friends office for more information on our florists.

Friends PresidentCarolyn Dahl

Newsletter EditorsPatty McCulloughTracy Schaefer

Operations CoordinatorNicole Anderson

Friends Office(612) 870-3045

Friends Fax(612) 870-6315

Friends E-mailFriends@artsmia.org

Museum Shop(612) 870-3100

MIA Info(612) 870-3000

Friends Web Sitewww.artsmia.org/friends

Friendsof theInstitute

Minneapolis Institute of Arts 2400 Third Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55404

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Art Perchance: August 16

Fall Lecture Preview

Friends Book Club

R Printed on recycled paper

VOLUNTEERINGWe are in the process of updating

our volunteer database. If you are

interested in being contacted by

the Friends for MIA volunteer

opportunities, please email

friends@artsmia.org with your

name and, if you like, any specific

areas in which you’d like to

volunteer (e.g., special events,

fundraising, 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.

NEW MEMBERSRuth Van Vugt

Margie Desnick Rukavina and

Steve B. Rukavina

ON VIEW AT THE MIA“Layered Abstraction: Quilting

and Contemporary Fiber Art”

Through Sunday, August 26, 2012

Robert and Marlyss White

Gallery (281)

Free Exhibition

“Rembrandt in America”

Through Sunday, September 16

Target Gallery

(admission charged)

Ticketed Exhibition

(free for members!)

“Lively Edo”

Through Sunday, October 28, 2012

Louis W. Hill Gallery (239)

Free Exhibition

“Two Sides of the Modern:

Maverix Remix”

Through Sunday, March 10, 2013

Gallery 361

Free Exhibition