The High Museum of Art’s fifth annual Collectors Evening, Jan. 31 at the St. Regis Atlanta, provides intimate exposure to how the museum’s curators think about and work to enhance its permanent collection, now numbering 14,000 works. And patrons who attend the high-ticket affair also will be supporting the High acquisition of at least three major works.
Curators from six of the High’s collecting departments will present pieces being considered for acquisition, making their best cases why their selections should be the ones purchased.
High director of collections David Brenneman equates the pitches to the sport of boxing, but with no physical sparring. “Our curatorial team can’t wait to enter the ring for another round of competition this year,” said Brenneman, who, as curator of European art, will be among those taking their best figurative swings.
Started in 2010, Collectors Evening begins with a 6:30 p.m. reception during which attendees get face time with the High’s curators. Then there’s dinner, the curator presentations and, finally, patron voting rounds.
Over the four years of the event, 17 works have been acquired, including four last year.
This year’s proposed acquisitions are:
- From the African Art department, a Qur'an (16th to 18th century) from Mali and and a collection of nearly 800 African trade beads. The unbound small-scale prayer book features hand-written Arabic script on Venetian paper in a hand-tooled casing of goat hide.
- From the Modern and Contemporary Art department, Lyle Ashton Harris' "Untitled (Silver Handcuffs)" (2007), originally created for a special issue of The New York Times focusing on the status of American people. This digital pigment print is from a special edition on silver foil.
- From the Decorative Arts and Design department, Jaime Hayon's "Green Chicken" rocker (2008), lacquered fiberglass with metal base. The whimsical work was a "crazy dream" creation by the Spanish artist.
- From the American art department, Robert Horwood's "Phonograph with Fedora" (circa 1934), an oil on panel in the Precisionist style that conjures the casual glamour of 1930s sophisticates.
- From the Photography department, Alex Prager's "Simi Valley" (2014), an archival pigment print that's more than 8 feet wide. Prager is known for staging scenes with the use of Hollywood sets and actors, the resulting images hovering ambiguously between documentary and fiction.
- From the European Art department, Danish artist Vilhelm Kyhn's "Girl at a Window" (circa 1880), an oil on canvas that evokes the spirit of Danish Golden Age painting. It would become the first painting by a Scandinavian artist to enter the High's collection.
Tickets, starting at $600, and additional information: www.high.org/collectorsevening. To view all six works, go to artsculture.blog.ajc.com.
ARTS
WonderRoot readies for a year of change
2015 is shaping up as a big one for WonderRoot, the decade-old Atlanta grass-roots community arts group, as it continues to fundraise and plot its move into a 54,000-square-foot former schoolhouse across Memorial Drive from its longtime converted-house headquarters.
Executive director Chris Appleton said it is on target in the seed funding stage of a $3.5 million campaign to renovate the 1922 red-brick edifice. Most of the contributions have been from individuals, but an announcement of a wider-reaching campaign is expected by summer. The arts center also expects to pursue historic preservation tax credits, among other options.
WonderRoot has selected Stevens & Wilkinson as lead designers and Gay Construction as the lead contractor for the project, which will include the construction of 7,000 square feet of space — 2,000 of which will become a gallery.
Plans include space for 45 artist studios and small office spaces for rent, for which the arts center has received 220 applications. Construction is set to begin in February, with a grand opening, barring unforeseen issues, expected late this year.
EVENT
‘Trains’ show rumbles into Southern Museum
Home to the famed Civil War locomotive the General, the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw will host the fifth annual family-friendly “Trains, Trains, Trains” event from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24.
This year’s installment will present eight model train layouts, some of which kids will be allowed to operate. Included will be the largest layout ever showcased, from the North Georgia Modurail model railroading group, filling the 3,600-square-foot Cobb Energy Gallery.
Railroad artifacts from the museum’s collection will be on display for visitors to touch and discover how they were used. There will be crafts activities for kids and an expanded emporium stocked with train items.
Southern Museum and “Trains, Trains, Trains” title sponsor the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway are partnering for a March 28 scenic train ride from Blue Ridge to McCaysville, with proceeds benefiting the museum’s education programs.
$7.50, $6.50 seniors, $5.50 ages 4-12; free 3 and under. 2829 Cherokee St., Kennesaw. 770-427-2117, Ext. 3058, www.southernmuseum.org.
EXHIBIT
MODA explores homes at home with nature
Opening Jan. 18 at the Museum of Design Atlanta, the exhibition “Sustainable Shelter: Dwelling Within the Forces of Nature” measures the environmental impact of American homes over time and explores new, eco-friendly building technologies and strategies.
Organized by the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota, the show includes more than 15 interactive components, graphics, cartoons and interactive computer games. Guests can build a model of a home that incorporates environmental features presented in the exhibit.
Through April 5. $10; $8 seniors, military and educators; $5 ages 6-17 and college students. 1315 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-979-6455. www.museumofdesign.org.
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