Last month the Pulitzer staff visited Juan William Chávez at his arts and community garden workshop space in Old North. Juan is an artist well known for his Pruitt-Igoe Bee Sanctuary Project, which Creative Capital recently honored with a grant.

When Juan first visited the grounds of Pruitt-Igoe, he was surprised to find that where high-rise apartments once stood, an urban forest now grows, home to an active community of bees.

So is Juan interested in eventually installing beehives and gardens on Pruitt-Igoe grounds? Sure, he says, but he is not waiting to take initiative. His energies are currently well spent on various social practice initiatives in his own backyard, initiatives that take root from his experience of Pruitt-Igoe but are not contained to its grounds.

At his workshop in Old North, you can find a test-run beehive, active and producing honey; several garden plots where Juan hosts community gardening workshops in the summer; and a space where Juan will soon install a pizza oven so that kids can make pizzas with the local, organic ingredients they grow on-site.

Much like his bees, Juan is finding a way to capture a natural flow of energy—project to project (think pollination flower to flower)—and directing that flow toward a community-building goal.

Philip Matthews, Programs Coordinator

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

 

Donald Judd
Untitled, 1987
Multicolored enamel and clear enamel on aluminum
30 x 240 x 30 cm
Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art
© Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

 

Pulitzer Chief of Installation Shane Simmons answers a few questions about the installation of DONALD JUDD: THE MULTICOLORED WORKS.

1.  What was the biggest surprise with this installation?

No surprises. We did our homework. We consulted with experts on the work and planned with them thoroughly and early on. We worked closely with Craig Rember from the Judd Foundation. Marianne Stockebrand, of course, curated the show and was here every day of the installation. We even had Peter Ballantine, an early fabricator of Judd's work, here installing with us on one of the works. We had all our surprises carefully planned for in advance.

2.  What was the most unusual aspect of it?

The most unusual aspect of the installation was probably the distinct lack of the type of unusual circumstances that we consider business as usual in contemporary installation circles. This was simply by the book, straight forward art installation. I had worked with Judd pieces before, so I had a pretty good sense of what to expect. I'm usually preparing for the unexpected with work by living artists, but this was very different, as I knew exactly what we were getting into. When I had questions, I had the finest experts on the subject available to me, who have been exceedingly helpful.

3.  Did you have to use any extraordinary tools or techniques to install any of the works of art?

Well, we did have a pretty interesting looking rig on our scissors lift at one point, but I think that is as much as I'd like to say about that.

4.  What gave you the greatest sense of accomplishment during the installation process?

Thanks to the ingenuity and professionalism of my crew, along with deft guidance from Jack Siman from The Museum of Modern Art, we were able to successfully install the large floor piece in an expeditious manner. I was particularly pleased with this because together I think we came up with what was both the safest and most efficient method for installing that piece.

5.  Was there any point during the install that you looked at your colleagues and said, "This isn't in the manual!"?

No, I actually handed out two manuals to my installers ahead of time and required them to read them both. One was the National Park Service manual on art handling and the other was a document of recommendations for handling Donald Judd works from the Judd Foundation. The NPS document has very well organized information on basic form and art movement procedures.  I'm sure they were rolling their eyes the whole time, but it is good information—slightly dated—but mostly solid, and the Judd Foundation document we followed precisely.

6.  Anything you want to add?

I'd just like to thank all of the people mentioned above, as well as all of our couriers, lenders, and my crew.

 

Donald Judd
Untitled, 1985
Enameled aluminum
30 x 300 x 30 cm
Tate: Presented by Janet Wolfson de Botton 1996
© Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

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INTERN@CAM+PFA

 



 

 

Studies consistently show that the heart becomes stronger as a result of exercise.  The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts’ recent exhibition, The Progress of Love, demonstrated that this can also be true after a breakup. With strength comes wisdom. And we needn’t look past university professors to see just how often wisdom comes fashioned in tweed.

April 13^th’s Art and Tweed Community Ride, a community bike ride hosted by several St. Louis arts institutions, set a path for all three—exercise, relationship, and inquiry—to occur. The works on view at each venue inspired us to stop and think. Like Sophie Calle’s, Take Care of Yourself, which fostered new relationships through the mourning of a lost one, we thought about endings as new beginnings took shape and understood our journey as a series of beginning and ending points. And in between destinations, we owned the road in a way a lone rider often cannot.



Joanna Kaminski, Assistant to the Director

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

 

Classic Modern:  The Art Worlds of Joseph Pulitzer Jr. is a recently published biography of the late husband of Emily Rauh Pulitzer, founder and chair of The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. As part of her research, the author, Marjorie B. Cohn, was fortunate to be able to interview many of Mr. Pulitzer’s friends and colleagues.  More importantly she was given access to hundreds of Mr. Pulitzer’s personal files, including his prep school and college files.  These files that were invaluable to Cohn were paper files—not electronic files but paper files that had been preserved in some cases for over 80 years.

Having worked for Mr. Pulitzer for almost 20 years, I was witness to a man who never destroyed a piece of paper, but gave instructions that every letter, every interoffice memo, every report be retained.  His grandfather’s papers had been given to Columbia University and his father’s papers given to the Library of Congress.  He foresaw that his documents, photos, and memorabilia would someday be included in a historical record.

When Kristina Van Dyke joined The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts as its director in late 2011, shortly after its 10th anniversary, she informed the staff as well as the board of trustees that one of her priorities was to preserve and properly archive the history of the Foundation.  She has asked a professional archivist to visit the Foundation and assess the state of the files.  Many of these historical files are still in paper format, while many of the current records are in an electronic form—emails, hard drives, PDF files, etc.
Although the practice of saving paper files has become inefficient and, in many cases unnecessary, the example of Joseph Pulitzer Jr. underscores the importance of properly digitizing today’s records as a means of preserving our history for future generations.

James V. Maloney

Secretary and Treasurer, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts Board of Trustees

 

Jeremy Deller, Has the World Changed or Have I Changed?, 2000. Performance, Expo 2000, Hanover, Germany. Courtesy the artist. © Jeremy Deller

I first met Jeremy Deller at his studio in London in 2000. It was my last stop in the city en route to Heathrow and had been prefaced by two recent encounters with Jeremy’s work that heightened the anticipation of our meeting. As part of the Tate Britain show Intelligence, he’d presented his collaborative “Folk Archive” project with fellow artist Alan Kane which functions as an ongoing compendium of the art and cultural production of everyday contemporary Britons. I was blown away not only by the breadth and volume of the material, but also by his redefining the notion of what “folk art” could mean and represent—as something that could truly embody the creativity of a people rather than merely signifying a particular genre of art. The other was a more subtle and subdued work presented as part of the exhibition Protest and Survive at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, titled Has the World Changed or Have I Changed? (2000). I immediately recognized the phrase from the song “The Queen is Dead” by the legendary 1980s Manchester The Smiths. Both the song and the eponymously-titled album that it opens were a staple of my musical life as a Chicago-area teenager, yet I’d never really meditated on that lyric until prompted by Deller’s intervention. The work itself—represented as part of the larger installation Beyond the White Walls (2012) in CAM’s presentation of Jeremy Deller: Joy in People (opening February 1)—features documentation of a day that Deller spent with a circus clown in and around the German town of Hanover. The droll tragicomedy of the situation fit perfectly with the sense of world-weariness of the title phrase. While its appearance in the middle of The Smiths’ song is mitigated by the momentum of Johnny Marr’s urgent guitar, placed in this new context it becomes a somewhat maudlin reflection on growing old, on the passage of time, and one’s ability to truly feel in touch with the present moment. I suspect that both Marr’s guitar and a teenaged lack of life-perspective conspired to obscure the lyric for me in 1986, but since then I cannot help but reflect on the phrase when confronted with some new cultural phenomenon, the appeal of which I cannot fathom.

The forthcoming opening of Jeremy Deller’s survey exhibition at CAM has prompted me to ask the question “has the world changed or have I changed” once again from perhaps a more affirmative and optimistic perspective. The world HAS changed since The Smiths first posed that question to me, as have I—thanks, in part, to Jeremy’s work. As the exhibition demonstrates through a range of experiences—from a re-creation of Deller’s first show in his parent’s home to an exploration of the life and times of British glam-wrestler Adrian Street—there certainly is joy to be had in the things that people do, say, make, and sing—things that in large and small ways change the world and our relationship to it.

By Dominic Molon, Chief Curator

 



We are proud to feature many St. Louis-based artists in the CAM POP shop, many of whom have created CAM exclusives—just in time for the holidays.

Amy Thompson presents gorgeous calendars, funky coasters, and unique letterpress games from her company, Paper Boat Studios. Amy teaches book design and typography at Maryville University and operates two Chandler & Price letterpress printing presses—Leona and Dolly—out of her Cherokee Street storefront.

Jenny Murphy is the founder and executive director of Perennial. Inspired by objects discarded on the side of the road, Jenny started Perennial as a way to fight back against the consumer culture that leads to such waste. For CAM, she has made amazing "do-it-yourself" kits, including one for making coasters out of wine corks.

Scarves, coasters, and dishtowels from screen printer Amanda Gray-Swain of Sprouted Designs feature natural images that Amanda photographs and then transfers to the screen.

And last but not least, multi-talented Gina Alvarez has created sweet and delicate necklaces as well as gorgeous shadow boxes with small pieces of her art. Look for her pieces under the name Fox and Whale. (I think they are a treasure and own two shadow boxes myself.)

Just for the holidays, several of these artists are making CAM exclusives. Special snow globes, paper garlands made from letterpress remnants, and scarves will be on sale starting next week.

See you at CAM!

Judy Glik, Firecracker Marketworks

One of my favorite “comfort movies”—those special films you can pop in the DVD player anytime or can’t resist finishing out if you catch it on cable—is Alexander Payne’s Election, from 1999. The many snappy lines and inspired comedic acting notwithstanding, it remains a great testimonial to the fact that one vote can indeed make a massive difference. On November 6, those of voting age who haven’t already done early voting will head to the election booths yet again to cast their ballot for congressmen and women, senators, governors, and of course, the President of the United States. While there really isn’t such a thing as an insignificant race in an election—every office signifying in some way a political decision made by the electorate—it is, of course, the presidential election that most visibly and comprehensively reflects the way the nation as a whole perceives itself and where it wants the country to go.

Rather than sit passively on the sidelines of this important election between two rival candidates/parties with often diametrically opposed visions of how the country should be run, CAM has welcomed a provocative work by New York-based artist Jonathan Horowitz--Your Land/My Land: Election '12--into the lobby as a way for our audience to reflect on, or perhaps even cope with, the forthcoming election. The basics of the installation include the division of the museum’s main entrance space into blue and red carpeted halves; suspended video monitors continuously streaming MSNBC and Fox News broadcasts simultaneously; and portraits of Mitt Romney (leaning on the wall) and Barack Obama (presented above on the same wall), set to change position or remain static depending on the election’s outcome. Beyond the implied sense of participation of being immediately immersed within the work, CAM has held debate screenings and invites the public to watch the results of the elections the night of November 6.

The event will not only fulfill Horowitz’s vision for the work to function in a “public” capacity but offers St. Louisans an opportunity to truly feel part of a larger civic collective on such an important night. I hope you’ll come join to watch the results, but first, be sure to VOTE!!!!

By Dominic Molon, Chief Curator

CAM POP is the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis’s innovative new retail space, consisting of a series of focused pop-up shops that change with each new exhibition season. One: Contemporary Design is CAM POP’s debut shop, featuring products from carefully selected artists and artisans that relate to new trends in contemporary design.

Our opening selection features artists who are creating innovative work right here in St. Louis. Tied to the current exhibition by Jonathan Horowitz, Your Land/My Land: Election ’12, and CAM’s debate watch parties, we thought we’d feature some political items to make you laugh. From Bobbi Nesladeck of Down Zipper, "Barack" and "Mitt" squeek toys for dogs are one of our best-selling items, and we love supporting this witty local artist.

We also asked Brooke Pratt from Sucre Shop make "Barack" and "Mitt" wooden spoons. Brooke's work has been featured in the national magazines Martha Stewart Living, People, and Redbook, as well as locally in Feast. Wouldn't it be fun to use these candidate specific utensils at your next political gathering? Which one would you choose? Which toy would your dog choose? Let the debate begin!

For the non-political shoppers out there, local artists Gina Alvarez, Amanda Verbeck, Amy Thompson, Amanda Gray-Swain, and Heidi Neuman lend creative twists to traditional items like dish towels, coasters, and jewelry. As their work has proved tremendously popular, we’re commissioning them to create CAM exclusives for the holiday season. Stayed tuned for fun and unique holiday gifts, only available at CAM.

National artists like Asheville ceramist Heather Knight and Minneapolis jeweler Tia Keobounpheng also bring fresh, cutting-edge design to the mix. And we have toys and items for children too!



One: Contemporary Design is only open through December 30. Afterwards, we’ll make room for our next pop-up shop concept, which will coincide with CAM’s spring exhibition season. We receive new jewelry, gifts, and toys weekly, and every purchase you make at CAM POP supports CAM and the artists we feature. Don’t miss out—come by often!

By Judy Glik, Firecracker Marketworks

This past week, CAM participated in the inaugural edition of EXPO CHICAGO, arguably the most substantial and successful attempt to bring a viable and relevant international art fair back to the Midwest. We were represented with an extraordinary booth project by Lauren Adams titled We the People, an extension of her Front Room project at CAM currently on view through October 14th. It became one of the biggest hits of the fair, including an elegantly immersive display of wallpaper that Adams designed based on a pattern from the Revolutionary War era (1775–1783) and featuring slogans from Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party protests in recent years. The artist was on site and at given times throughout the day would work with visitors to paint their own protest slogans on ceramic plates that were assembled on a shelf towards the top of the booth, for which the participants would receive a commemorative tea towel (designed by Adams) in exchange. Assistant Curator Kelly Shindler, who organized both the booth and the Front Room project, heroically manned the operation throughout and served as interpreter for the work and as an ambassador for the museum. When originally presented with this extraordinary opportunity by the EXPO CHICAGO organizers to create visibility and awareness for the institution with the booth, my initial inclination was admittedly to present something more static and less labor-intensive. I am immeasurably grateful to both Adams and Shindler for persevering with a plan that made the project more interactive and, as a result, much more engaged, exciting, and effective in translating the energy and spirit of CAM’s program to a broader audience.

I made my own contribution to CAM’s participation in EXPO CHICAGO as part of a panel discussion with my colleagues Michael Darling, Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, and Lisa Dorin, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, moderated by art critic Paul Laster. We’d agreed to focus on art fairs themselves and how museum curators relate to them, function within them, and utilize them, and so forth. Having witnessed the rise and fall of the art fairs in Chicago more or less first-hand in my 16 years in the curatorial department at the MCA, I could attest to the critical loss of collective self-identity, momentum, and urgency felt by visual arts community as it became apparent that New York, then Miami, were redefining the landscape for art fairs in America. I also spoke to a more personal shift in how I approach art fairs, having moved from a collecting institution to CAM, with the emphasis placed more on spending time with donors, working on exhibitions in conversations with gallerists and artists at the fair, general networking, and, of course, seeing and absorbing as much art as possible.

Highlights from the fair included a stunning painting by Christina Ramberg (subject of a CAM exhibition next summer) at Russell Bowman Fine Art, as well as drawings by Ramberg at both David Nolan and Corbett vs Dempsey. The latter gallery’s booth featured an incredible range of works by artists such as Albert Oehlen, Peter Saul, and new favorite Keiichi Tanaami (careful … they’re a bit naughty!!). Inigo Manglano-Ovalle’s Dirty Bomb, 2008, part of the curated show In/Situ, was also fantastic. Other hits for me included Lorna Simpson’s collages at Salon 94, Richard Hamilton’s vacuum-formed Guggenheim relief at Allan Koppel, the Philip Guston at William Shearburn’s booth, and the Paul Cowan paintings at Clifton Benevento. Front Room alumnus John Opera (January 2011) had extraordinary new work at Andrew Rafacz’s booth and forthcoming Front Room artist Anthony Pearson had a lovely two-person show with legendary Chicago painter Julia Fish at Shane Campbell’s Lincoln Park space.



Lauren Adams (R) with We the People participant.


All images above: Lauren Adams, We the People, installation views at EXPO CHICAGO, September 20-23, 2012. Photography: Clare Britt