New Gallery in Athens

Hotel Indigo, the new boutique hotel located on 500 e Dougherty Street, had its quiet opening this past weekend. The new hotel will be among a handful of other luxury hotels in Athens, such as Foundry Park Inn and Spa and the Hilton Garden Inn. The building stands out from traditional Athens architecture, and, in fact, its contemporary design has riled up Athens’ residents. Most readers on the Athens Banner-Herald site complain that the building does not fit into the classic Roman/Greek architectural feel: “This place looks terrible in downtown Athens. No historic elements in the design at all… another developer fails to recognize why Athens is called 'The Classic City'” (ABH, Carallen). Others feel the structure blends in well, and that the hotel is a vital source of jobs in a town where employment can be hard to come by, especially now: “The new hotel looks great and is an exciting addition to downtown. And the 34 new jobs within walking distance of so many (incl. Bethel residents) is also great news” (ABH, JohnCropp). Besides the hotel’s contested presence in the Classic City, the structure boasts environmentally friendly design and energy resources, one of the first buildings in Athens meeting LEED (standards for environmentally sustainable building) guidelines. Most of us probably will not be able to afford the $130 a night for a room downtown, but there is a reason for us to rejoice! The hotel commissioned a brand new gallery, which Athens’ very own Mercury Art Works will manage. Mercury Art Works will continue to be located in the Chase Street Warehouses on Tracy St. Their first exhibition at the Indigo will be in September and all the rooms in the hotel also feature local art.


Check out Mercury Art Works’ Web site.

Indigo Hotel Web site

Athens Banner-Herald article (and its reader comments!) on the new Hotel Indigo

Construction Updates from Holder

Here's the construction update from the week of Aug. 28.

Current week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Complete the Seq#2 Structural Steel
• Complete the 2nd level decking for Seq#1 & #2.
• Continued to install roof joists.
• Started roof decking.
• Poured concrete columns at the parking area.
• Poured retaining wall footings.

Existing Building Renovations
• Removed main stairwell concrete foundation.
• Completed selective demolition on the ground floor.
• 95% complete with selective demolition on the 2nd floor.
• 95% complete with selective demolition on the 3rd floor.

Storage Bar
• Ran the exterior emergency power into the mechanical room.

Next week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Install roof joists.
• Install roof decking.
• Continue to pour concrete columns.
• Continue to pour retaining wall footings.
• Form and pour retaining walls.

Existing Building Renovations
• Investigate existing MEP systems.
• Develop plan to start MEP demolition of existing systems.

Storage Bar
• Continue to relocate emergency power.

And here are the photos Holder attached:



Retaining wall footings



Gallery steels, joists and decking



Selective demolition on the 2nd floor

Starting tomorrow, staff will be touring some of the progress on the building, with more photos to come.

Just because it's raining

...doesn't mean Holder isn't working. Check out the webcam.

Weekly construction update up soon.

The Art of: Music

Here's the invitation to our next "The Art of" event, The Art of: Music, to be held at Stan Mullins Studio (thanks, Stan!) on Pulaski Street, with Art Rosenbaum and friends supplying music. If you've never been to Stan's, it's pretty magical and also very Athens. Paper invitations will go out in next week's mail, but you Internet-savvy folk, as usual, get a jump on what's what. Click on the front and back for bigger versions, and we hope to see you there Oct. 20.

Staff Art Show

We really miss having art to look at on a daily basis, so Lynn Boland, our Pierre Daura Curator of European Art, is spearheading a staff art competition, which should also fill up the blank white walls in our hallway. Each of us gets to submit up to three entries, measuring 4 x 4 feet at the most, plus an artist's statement (perhaps the hardest part). These will then be posted to our Web site for you, the online community, to vote on. The winners will then be exhibited in the old Visual Arts Building on Jackson Street, where our offices are at the moment. We're also looking for ideas for the name of this show, so please pipe up in the comments if you have any.

Art Around Athens

Tonight (Thu., Aug. 27) at 7 p.m. at the Lamar Dodd School of Art is an opening reception for PHYSICAL/METAPHYSICAL an exhibition of selected paintings by Rocio Rodriguez, Don Cooper (including the above image) and Betsy Cain, described as "an exhibition of abstract paintings that address the process and physicalty of painting--the gesture writ large or cloaked, improvisational and/or meditative. Additionally, these large scale paintings engage viewers in a physical relationship and question the nature of seeing and representation." The Dodd has a very cool schedule of exhibitions of which we'd encourage you to take advantage.



This weekend, beginning Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. with an opening reception is Perspectives: Georgia Pottery Invitational 2009, the largest pottery sale and exhibition in Georgia, at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation. Perspectives is open Saturday, Aug. 29 through Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. More than 4,500 individual pieces of pottery provided by 50 of Georgia's finest potters are available for sale at this event, which has its own Web site, too.

And on Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia is an opening reception for The Wonders of Nature, an exhibition featuring silk painting, watercolor, oil painting, sculpture, photography and more.

Mark Your Calendars

Thursday, Sept. 10, may be a few weeks away, but you should go ahead and make a note that, at 2 p.m., Paul Manoguerra, curator of American art, will be giving a public tour of Lord Love You: Works by R.A. Miller from the Mullis Collection, at the Lyndon House Arts Center. Paul ran the staff and some docents through the exhibition right after it opened (as the slideshow above documents), and while his wall text and the exhibition catalogue are wonderful, the opportunity to hear him expand (on, for example, Bireley's Orange) and the chance to ask questions are very special.

Blue Tin moves in!

Blue Tin Studio, located in the Big City Bread 393 N. Finley St. is having its grand opening celebration September 13 on the patio of Big City Bread. You’ll be able to take a look at Blue Tin’s beautiful new studio space and sign up for fall art classes. Classes for adults include painting, charcoal drawing and back-to-basics drawing. Children’s classes (from ages 2 to 18) include portfolio building, cartoon drawing, and even private tutoring for young aspiring artists. Even if you decide not to sign up for classes, you can browse the local art for sale and chat with the studio’s passionate founders (Erin Macintosh and Sarah Seabolt) while munching on some treats brought to you by Big City. Erin Macintosh specializes in mixed media and acrylic and has an MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Georgia. She has worked as an art instructor for Gwinnett County Public Schools, Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation, the City of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs’ Summer Murals Program, Camp Gwynn Valley in Brevard, N.C., the Georgia Museum of Art and the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. Sarah Seabolt has organized and directed various art programs around the country. She has a BFA in art education from UGA and has taught kids from the ages of 5 to 18. Mark September 13 in your calendars, fellow art lovers, and see the fresh, new art space in town.

Check out Blue Tin's Web site for information on classes and location: http://www.bluetinstudio.com/Home.html

GMOA in the News

Today's issue of Flagpole, the alternative newsweekly in Athens, features some familiar-looking devils...

Opening Reception Images

Bob Clements sent us a few more photos from the Lord Love You opening reception, which everyone agreed was extremely successful and fun. These dancing kids kind of capture the free spirit of the evening.

Construction Updates from Holder

Here's the update from the week of Aug. 21:

Current week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Finished decking Seq#1.
• Finished site utilities around the gallery.
• Erecting Seq#2 steel and decking.
• Installing roof joists.

Existing Building Renovations
• Finished demolition of the main stairwell skin.
• Installed dust control on the ground floor, level 2 and level 3.
• Removed the ceiling on the ground floor.

Storage Bar
• Backfilled around the campus loop tie-in.

Next week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Finish Seq#2 structural steel erection.
• Install Seq#2 decking.
• Finish roof joists.
• Start roof decking.

Existing Building
Remove the main stairwell concrete foundation.
• Start selective demo on 2nd floor.
• Start selective demo on 3rd floor.

Storage Bar
• Relocate / temporary existing electrical utilities.
• Start mass excavation under building footprint.

Another R.A.!

We got a really cute new R.A. Miller image today from Tori James, who is all the way over in South Bend, Ind. Tori writes, "A few years ago I traded one of my own mosaic outsider art creations for this RA Miller piece. I had no background information on the artist, I just liked his funky mojo."

Our R.A. Miller Flickr gallery just keeps growing. Send us your images to gmoapr at yahoo.com.

Hello from Aurelie

GMOA enthusiasts and Curator’s Corner readers,

My name is Aurelie Frolet, and from now till the end of the semester, I will be contributing to Curator’s Corner on a regular basis, which entails writing blog entries and posting on all things GMOA, art and local art happenings. Before I delve into my aspirations and hopes for this blog, I’d like to tell you a bit about myself, so you can put a face to this amorphous Internet-persona talking to you. I am a senior at the University of Georgia, majoring in comparative literature and Chinese. I spent a year in Beijing about two years ago and developed an attraction to Chinese art (specifically, pottery from the Tang dynasty). This very specific interest burgeoned into a more general love of art. Last summer, I archived, translated and researched for the Asian art department at the Art Institute of Chicago. Not only did I get to handle Tang Dynasty earthenware, but I also fell in love with museum work. My passion for art and museums has finally reignited in the form of a publications internship at The Georgia Museum of Art. This means I will be blogging about upcoming GMOA events and exhibitions, other art shows in Athens, artists in Athens and interesting contemporary art trends. I also really want this blog to establish dialogue between you and me, so please, please, please e-mail me with any questions or comments. If you ever feel like I should be addressing something in particular, I’d love to hear about it.

Feel free to email me at gmoacorner@gmail.com. Till next time!

Construction!

Wow! A lot more steel has gone up over the past few days. We'll have the weekly construction update for you soon, but for now, go check out the camera.

Evening for Educators Photos

Thanks to all who came out for our Evening for Educators this past Wednesday, and here are some photos of the goings on at the Lyndon House.

R.A. Miller Flickr Gallery and GMOA in the News

Peter Loose just sent us 20-odd images of his R.A. Millers to add to the online gallery we've been compiling. Please, if you have an R.A., send us a picture of it. His work is so widespread, across the state and the country, and he was so prolific than a full catalogue of it is impossible, so we're trying to do the best we can to show a representative range of his images online.

We also got a nice post and link about the Lord Love You exhibition here, from Detour Art Travels blog. We're sad they missed the opening reception, but we hope they come back and see the show, which is up until Oct. 24.

Ephemeral Sculptures

This gallery of photographs from the history of the Iowa State Fair is full of charming weirdness, but our favorite part is the sculptures of butter and lard, from Wendell Wilkie to Elvis to many a hearty, happy-looking farm animal. They're sort of the more cheerful flipside to Janine Antoni's work.

Daura Research Trip

We've already brought you some details of what new Pierre Daura Curator of European Art Lynn Boland was doing on his couple of weeks in Europe, but he now has a whole photo slideshow up, embedded below.



Lest you think he was gallivanting around the Continent, here are some excerpts from his report on his research trip:

I embarked on my recent research trip with a number of related objectives. Foremost among them, I sought to familiarize myself with Pierre Daura’s oeuvre through careful study of his work in person, so that I might develop an expertise in his styles and methods. Along with my survey of Daura’s artistic production, I also undertook research specifically geared toward our upcoming exhibition, Cercle and Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art, and with an eye toward developing future exhibitions that would include Daura. Another goal of my trip was to make connections with staff at other institutions with significant collections of Daura’s work in order to foster future collaborations. The trip was also something of a scouting mission to help plan a Daura-related group trip for museum patrons. I am happy to report that the trip was a success on all fronts. A brief summary of each of my visits to these institutions is below, with reflections on each of these objective following.

MACBA, Barcelona: I met with Ainhoa González (registrar), who showed me the four paintings by Daura in their collection from the Cercle and Carré period. While they have not shown them recently and have no immediate plans to do so, they are enthusiastic about GMOA using them for our exhibition, and about the exhibition in general.

Artur Ramon Art, Barcelona: I met with Mònica Ramon and Artur Ramon, who showed me most of the paintings by Daura in their gallery. Although there have not been any recent sales of Daura’s paintings, Artur recently purchased a seascape by Daura from a Parisian gallery. In addition to Daura’s paintings, they also showed me a very nice port-scene by Daura’s friend Bosch Roger. There were also some other notable works on display in the gallery, including a gorgeous pastel portrait by Ramon Casas, and a series of paintings by César Paternosto (b. 1931), a contemporary Argentine artist (living and working in NYC since 1967) who I’ve been following for some time. Paternosto came out of Torres-Garcia’s constructivist School of the South, and is represented in the United States by Cecilia de Torres.

MNAC, Barcelona: I met with Teresa Guasch (paintings) and Mercè Saura (works on paper). The opportunity to study MNAC’s Daura’s paintings and their extensive collection of Daura’s works on paper was essential to me as I move forward with our various Daura projects, especially since I’m currently lacking access to our own collection. For instance, by examining prints alongside their preparatory sketches, I was able to get a much greater sense of his studio practice. This visit was also especially helpful for me to start thinking about works to include in a future Catalan landscape exhibition, and even more so for a possible Spanish Civil War exhibition—they have a large number of very powerful prints and drawings from this period. I had little time to visit the MNAC galleries, but it was enough to bring me fully on board in support of a future Ramon Casas/Santiago Rusiñol exhibition (or even just Casas).

Museu de Montserrat: Eva Buch (curator) showed me the paintings by Daura in storage and Father Laplana gave me a tour of the galleries. I had hoped also to obtain more information about the St. Ceclia prize Daura won for his Path to St. Michael’s of 1931, but I was not able to make any tangible headway there. I do think that I’ve “planted the seed” for future findings.

Museu Diocesà de Menorca, Ciutadella: I met with Gabriel Julià (director) and Rafael Portella (General Vicar) who showed me and Teresa the Daura gallery and the works by Daura in storage. While their collection of works by Daura did not offer any surprising new discoveries, since I had gotten such a good sense of his work at MNAC, this visit proved just as important for other reasons. As you know, they have the largest permanently displayed collection of Daura’s oeuvre, but lack any art professional on staff. They are interested in changing out some of the paintings and prints on display, to offer returning visitors some new works to enjoy, so Teresa and I made some suggestions for a possible reinstallation.

Musée Paul Dupuy, Toulouse: Mireille Serniguet (registrar) spent most of the day showing me Daura’s drawings, prints, and paintings on paper in their collection. As at MNAC, the size and scope of their collection helped provide me with significant insight into Daura’s work. There are a number of images that could be included in a “Catalan Landscape” exhibition. After most of the day in the print room, I also met with Jean Penent (director and head curator) and had a very nice chat. He is enthusiastic about our Daura-related projects, and asked to be kept apprised of any Daura publications we produce. He also gave me some catalogues to add to our library.

Augustins, Toulouse: Axel Hémery (director), who is very personable, showed me the works by Daura in storage. He is enthusiastic about our upcoming Daura projects and about any potential loan of the works in their collection, but there are currently no plans at the Augustins to show them. He was apologetic about not having any works by Daura on display, but pointed out their limited exhibition space for paintings.

Musée Henri Martin, Cahors: Laurent Guillaut (director) showed me the works of art and Daura artifacts in their collection, which reveal much about the artist's life in nearby St. Cirq-Lapopie.

Maison Daura, Saint Cirq-Lapopie: Martine Michard (director) gave me a tour of the building. While much changed since the family’s residency, it was useful to acquire a sense of the place, and it was a delight to view the stairwell murals. I’m not sure if the logistical considerations would be too great to overcome, but I do like the thought of some sort of artistic exchange or collaboration with Maison Daura at some point, a possibility that also interested Martine.

The full extent of the usefulness of this trip will be revealed as we move ahead with the various planned and proposed projects—as they say, “the proof is in the pudding.” I believe that the trip was absolutely essential as we plan for the reopening of the Pierre Daura Center, to include developing the finding aid that will serve to help re-announce the archive’s availability and promote its use, and developing exhibitions that will prominently feature Daura’s work. This undertaking has already served me well, as I’ve been able to offer suggestions for Heidi Gealt‘s exhibition that I would have been unable to make otherwise. In short, it allowed me to begin embracing my role as a Daura expert. The main “take-away” for me at this point involves not only the works of art themselves, but also their relationship to their subjects. I returned with a feeling of having confirmed one of my initial theses: one of the common threads among Daura’s works in diverse styles is a sense of being true to the underlying sentiment of the subject. This is never truer than in his landscapes. Clearly, this knowledge was only possible having actually visited these places.

The most important working relationship fostered by this trip was undoubtedly between Teresa Macià and me. She was a huge help in every aspect of the Spanish portion, and Menorca would have been impossible without her assistance. It was also wonderful to compare notes on Daura and Cercle et Carré. As noted above, everyone I met with was enthusiastic about our upcoming projects, and I have no doubt that they will all continue to accommodate any reasonable requests we may have. Teresa and I also talked about how nice it would be to have the Cercle et Carré exhibition tour in Europe. Given the reactions I got, this seems possible to me in terms of securing venues.

Cercle et Carré research at Bibliothèque Nationale, Bibliothèque Kandinsky, and Centre Pompidou Public Reference Library was less fruitful than I had hoped, but I was able to confirm some facts that will be necessary parts of my catalogue essay, especially concerning the public and critical response to the 1930 exhibition. The research I undertook in the Michel Seuphor archive at the Letterenhuis in Antwerp was even more useful. Largely untouched, as yet, there is a wealth of Cercle et Carré material there (correspondence, related exhibition announcements, press clippings, etc.), which will be critical for the catalogue. There are some objects (some postcards, especially) that I would like to reproduce in the catalogue, and possibly even include in the exhibition.

Construction Updates from Holder

Holder sent over the most recent construction updates yesterday, dated Aug. 14, and here's what's up, if you've been trying to figure out what exactly is going on from the webcam. You can also click on the images above for larger photos with captions.

Current week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Finished Seq#2 concrete footings.
• Installed site utilities.
• Erected Seq#1 steel and decking.

Existing Building Renovations
• Started to demolish the main stairwell exterior skin.

Storage Bar
• Installed the chilled water valves & completed tie-in to campus loop.

Next week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Finish decking Seq#1.
• Start structural steel for Seq#2.
• Finish site utilities.
• Demo sidewalk under canopy.
• Pour connector footings.

Existing Building Renovations
• Finish demo of the exterior skin at the main stairwell.
• Start the dust control for interior demolition.

Storage Bar
• Relocate / temporary existing electrical utilities.
• Start mass excavation under building footprint.

Lord Love You Teacher Packets and Evening for Educators

One of the clearest ways in which you can see the outreach aspect of the Georgia Museum of Art's mission is in the museum's work with educators, which includes Suitcase Tours (given by docents to elementary school students), teacher workshops, senior outreach projects (we have several of these coming up associated with Lord Love You) and the packets put together by the department of education to help teachers incorporate the museum's exhibitions and/or permanent collection while meeting state-mandated educational standards. The newest teacher packet addresses the exhibition Lord Love You, with a series of full-color reproductions of images from the exhibition and many, many different suggestions for using these images to teach language arts, art and more, for grade levels from K through 12. You can read more about and download the teacher packet at this link, as well as the one based on the museum's permanent collection.

In conjunction with the teacher packet, the museum has also organized its regular Evening for Educators, to be held this Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Lyndon House Arts Center (293 Hoyt St.). Educators for grades K–12 are invited to join their colleagues for a wine and cheese reception and view the exhibition Lord Love You: Works by R.A. Miller from the Mullis Collection with curators and docents. Attendees will also have the chance to sign up for the new teaching packet in conjunction with the exhibition and browse in the LHAC shop for copies of the exhibition catalogue, posters and related materials. We hope to see many teachers, and we're sure that by Wednesday most of them could use a glass of wine.

GMOA in the News

The students are back! And that means the Red & Black is publishing every day again. Today they've got an article on the grant GMOA received from the National Endowment for the Arts to hire a curator of decorative arts, which is more than just running the press release and has great quotes from Jenny and Bill. One point that's important and that we're not sure everyone is aware of is that this curatorial position really helps further historical research within the state through the Henry D. Green Center for the Study of the Decorative Arts, one of the most successful initiatives of the museum. It's more than helpful to our mission--it's mission-centric.

Lord Love You photos

We had a fabulous turnout for the opening reception at the Lyndon House on Saturday, and some great photos are below in a slideshow.



The exhibition seems to be attracting a lot of positive reaction from a wide range of patrons, including local photographers and curators' kids. Please don't think it's over and done with just because we had the reception, though. Lord Love You will be on view through Oct. 24 at the Lyndon House, which is open Tuesday and Thursday noon to 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We have many other events associated with the exhibition, including Evening for Educators this Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. and a public tour Thursday, Sept. 10, at 2 p.m. with curator Paul Manoguerra that you really don't want to miss. Thanks to everyone who came, ate, drank and socialized!

GMOA in the News

The Banner-Herald has a very nice article today about Lord Love You, by correspondent Chris Starrs. Good quotes from Jenny, Paul and Carl! We hope this article gets locals excited about the exhibition, which runs through Oct. 24 at the Lyndon House.

Don't forget about the opening reception tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m.!

Lord Love You visual tour

Slideshow tour of the exhibition Lord Love You: Works by R.A. Miller from the Mullis Collection.

Congratulations

We like to keep track of people we've worked with here at the museum, and Art Daily had an article today on Steve Grafe, who wrote an essay for the exhibition catalogue "Real Western Wear: Beaded Gauntlets from the William P. Healey Collection," one of our most popular recent publications and an extremely successful traveling exhibition. We still have a few copies for sale in our online shop, but it's getting close to being sold out. At any rate, we enjoyed working with Steve very much, and we extend him our heartiest congratulations on his hiring as curator of art at Maryhill Museum of Art, in Goldendale, Wash.

Streaming Construction Webcam

After quite a bit of this and that, and a lot of hard work by staff members and friends, we finally have the streaming webcam of construction on our new wing available on the Web site, and you can see it by clicking here. For some reason, it's clearest when you use Safari as your Web browser, but it's exciting to see it in any browser, especially with structural steel going up. It's not quite as awesome as PandaCam, but it's close.

New Podcast

It's been forever since we last put up a podcast, but when Paul Manoguerra, our curator of American art, interviewed Carl Mullis and Durwood Pepper for the Lord Love You exhibition catalogue, we thought it would be a great opportunity not only to record the conversation for transcription, but also to put it up on our Web site for the public to download and listen to. Well, it's finally up, complete with a smooth introduction added by our intern John Keith. Click here to go to the podcast page on our Web site or here to go directly to the mp3 of the interview.

More Photos

Brent keeps taking photos inside and outside the building, and we've updated our construction photos from GMOA security accordingly.



He also took a few during the installation of Lord Love You.

And speaking of that exhibition, the rest of the books arrived at UGA Central Receiving this morning, meaning you can feel free to start ordering your copies from our Web shop.

Construction Updates from Holder

As of Friday, August 7, here's the report from Holder:

Current week - Activities/Issues:

New Gallery / Connector
• Excavated and poured concrete footings.
• Installed site utilities.
• Placed sub-grade and asphalt binder under the new gallery.
• Demolished the existing canopy.
• Steel erector and crane mobilized.
• Erected structural steel columns and beams.
• Poured the architectural concrete wall mock-up

Existing Building Renovations
• Demolished the ceiling of the main stairwell.
• Removed the existing utilities at the main stairwell.

Storage Bar
• Installed temporary chilled water piping inside the building.

Next week - Activities/Issues:

• Continue to place footings.
• Continue to install site utilities.
• Continue with structural steel erection.
• Demo exterior skin of the main stairwell.
• Install the temporary underground CW piping.
• Tie into the main campus CW loop system.
• Begin to install noise & dust control in the existing building.

Inspections/Testing:
• Soil compaction.
• Rebar inspections / concrete testing.
• Sub-grade / asphalt inspections.
• Utility / material Inspections.

And we should have the streaming webcam from the construction site up on our Web site any hour now, so you can watch the bulldozers roll around.

An Interesting Read

Lanora Pierce passed along this blog post about art magazines reducing their size and number of colors in an effort to cut budgets. We've considered printing our newsletter on a cheaper stock with budgets being tight here, and we may yet do so, but we really like our paper due to its small environmental footprint (Mohawk Via is manufactured entirely with windpower). What do you think about the potential demise of print?

Art Around Georgia

Our friend the photographer Jerry Siegel sent along a press release from the Columbus Museum regarding the exhibition "Now and Then: Snapshots of the South." The exhibition juxtaposes historic and contemporary images addressing a variety of enduring aspects of everyday life in the South, including images that speak to Southerners' longstanding connections with the land and its history, religion, and the celebration of the eccentric, and evokes a unique sense of place as projected through the lens of cameras both past and present. A diverse selection of historic images will originate from the collections of the Eufaula Athenaeum, an impressive private archive of materials assembled by Eufaula native A.S. Williams. One of the largest and most important such collections in the South, the Athenaeum's holdings include thousands of items documenting a broad spectrum of people, places and events in Southern history. Contemporary images will be provided by professional photographer Jerry Siegel. An Alabama native, Siegel is currently one of the Southeast's leading photographers. He has produced several series of fine art photography that reflect his interest in the rural South's culture and landscape. While many of the images in this exhibition are especially influenced by his upbringing in central Alabama's Black Belt region, Siegel shot images for this project during his travels throughout the South. "Now and Then" opened Aug. 1 and will run through Jan. 31, 2010.

This Thursday, Aug. 13, at 6 p.m., the Columbus Museum will feature a symposium that addresses various perspectives on southern life and culture as represented through the art of photography. The guest speakers will include photographer Jerry Siegel; Dr. James C. Cobb, Spaulding Distinguished Scholar from the University of Georgia; and Stephen Rowe, from the Eufaula Athenaeum. The symposium is free and open to the public and should make for an interesting evening. We know that both Jerry and Jim Cobb have tons of great stories.

A Week of Folk Art

Barbara Hutsell Stutz sent us images of her R.A.'s to add to our Flickr set over the weekend, and we marked a few others as favorites on Flickr.

If you're into folk art, you really should go check out Folk Fest, which is the world's largest folk art show and sale, featuring 100 galleries and dealers from around the United States, and runs Friday through Sunday in Norcross. Admission is $15 on Friday, but if you mention GMOA, you get a free T-shirt.

Our opening reception for Lord Love You is Saturday, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Lyndon House Arts Center, and is free. Come hang out, eat some bbq, see the exhibition and check out the shop, which will be carrying several of the museum's catalogues (including Amazing Grace and Lord Love You) as well as the limited-edition poster for the exhibition. We'll remind you again, but go ahead and mark it all in your day-planner.

Art Around Athens

Eek! We meant to put this up earlier today, but hopefully some of you will still see it. The wonderful Michael Lachowski has an art opening tonight at White Tiger on Hiawassee at Boulevard from 7 to 9 p.m. It's free, and it looks like a lot of fun.

GMOA in the News

R.E.M. was also nice enough to post a news story on their Web site about the opening of Lord Love You. It includes a link to the "Left of Reckoning" video, which we're working on screening during the opening reception next Saturday.

GMOA in the News

Kristen Morales has a great story about the opening of Lord Love You in the Gainesville Times that features quotes from both Paul Manoguerra (our curator of American art and of this show) and Carl Mullis (the collector).

And R.E.M., which contributed some funds toward the show and catalogue, has also been kind enough to plug it on their Web site. Thanks!

More Construction Images

Security has been taking pictures too, but a lot of theirs are from inside the building, which gives a new perspective on things.

Seven Chinese Brothers

We thought you'd enjoy seeing R.E.M.'s video for "Seven Chinese Brothers," which features the band on R.A. Miller's whirligig-filled hillside, in preparation for the opening of the exhibition this Saturday.

Construction Updates from Holder

Here's Holder's weekly update on construction, complete with identified photos (click on the image above to make it larger).

Holder Construction Company

Weekly Activity Report

Georgia Museum of Art Expansion and Renovations

At the University of Georgia

Date: Week of July 27^th, 2009 Report No. 4

Current week- Activities/Issues:

· Continued to excavate foundations.

· Continued to pour footings for the new gallery.

· Poured the large signage wall footings.

· Installed new storm water utilities and manholes.

· Demolished the interior side of the main stairwell.

· Started GAB sub-grade for asphalt under new gallery.

· Prepared crane access roads.

· Structural Steel plant visit.

· Continued utility exploration at the North Storage Bar.

o Located the domestic water line.

o Located the chilled water lines.

o Found an emergency power feed that runs under the new foundation.

o Found a sewer line that runs under the new foundation.

Next week- Activities/Issues:

· Continue to excavate for gallery and connector footings/foundations.

· Continue to pour footings for the new gallery and connector.

· Continue to excavate and install site utilities and manholes.

· Continue demolition of the exterior canopy and main stairwell.

· Cap existing utilities at the main stairwell.

· Place GAB and asphalt binder under new gallery.

· Install temporary lines for domestic water, chilled water and emergency power feed at the storage bar addition.

· Mobilize crane for steel erection.

· Receive 1st deliveries of structural steel.

· Build the Architectural Wall mock-up.

Inspections/Testing:

• Footing compaction testing.
• Stone/backfill material testing.
• Rebar inspections.
• Concrete cylinder testing.
• Sprayed foundations for termite control.
• Underground utility inspections.
• GAP Sub-grade inspections.

More R.A.'s

While our director of membership, Tim Brown, was on vacation recently, he found this bag of cookies from Immaculate Baking Co., which has an image of Blow Oskar on it. It turns out that the founder of the cookie company is a big folk art fan and collector, and each variety of cookies bears an image on its packaging by a different folk artist, including Mose Tolliver and Jimmy Lee Sudduth. We've added the images of the front and back of the bag to our R.A. Miller Flickr set too!

Museums Are Essential to Our National Heritage

That's the name of a petition sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution at this Web site. It reads as follows:

Do you remember your first visit to a museum? You may have uncovered a passion for geology as a student on a field trip. Or realized you wanted to be a pilot while gazing up at the Spirit of St. Louis. Or maybe you started visiting museums with your children, and watched as they touched a rock from the moon or stared wide-eyed at a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil.

Every year, millions of visitors pass through the doors of America's history, science and art museums. One of the principal goals of these institutions is to create lifelong memories of discovery for visitors.

Museums are an integral part of American culture. What is your favorite museum story, memory or exhibit?

The goal is 15,000 signatures, and it's currently up to 9,375. We encourage you to sign it, but also to browse through the comments left so far in answer to the last question. A surprising number of them reference the "Night at the Museum" movies, and they're pretty heavy on the exclamation points, but they show a wonderful range of personal responses to many different kinds of museums.

GMOA in the News

Both the Red and Black and the Banner-Herald have covered our receipt of the NEA grant to hire a curator of decorative arts, with more to come on the part of the latter soon, we believe.

Construction Photos/Update

Week 8 photos are below. Ronnie's on vacation this week, and the rest of Holder was in a meeting when we went over to take some shots, but we should have some text to go with these images soon, describing the plans for this week. Plus, we ran into our security supervisor Brent DeRevere while we were over on-site, and he promised some interior shots for us as well, showing the demo on the big staircase.



Update: We just talked with Holder on the phone, and here are some of the highlights of this week's activity:

• Installing the base course of asphalt for the parking lot to go under the new wing (you can see this in the photos taken from up on the hill)
• Completing the new gallery foundations
• Constructing a mockup of the architectural concrete wall that will be used in the sculpture garden
• Waiting on the structural steel frame for the new galleries (to be delivered this week)
• Continuing to demolish the main stairwell (you can see some of the materials being recycled in the dumpster photos we took; wood, concrete, steel, other metals and drywall are all being collected for recycling as part of the LEED certification)