QMAil: January 2009
In this ISSUE:
EXHIBITIONS: OPENING: Queens International 4 | CLOSING: Reason's Clue | CLOSING: Pedro Meyer: Heresies | CLOSING: Stephen Talasnik Panorama: The Mapping of Prediction | Jane South: Deceptive Volume (QMA at the Bulova Corporate Center)
EVENTS: MetLife presents First Sundays for Families at QMA: The Future Awaits: Revisiting the 1939 World's Fair | CINEMAROSA - Queens Only Queer Film Series | Carnegie Neighborhood Concert with Miró Quartet | Opening Reception of Queens International 4 | The Healthy Taste of Corona Cookbook is available!
QMA INFORMATION: Permanent Exhibitions | Special Announcements | LEARNING PROGRAMS: Tours & Workshops | Adult Programs | Credits | Subscribe to QMAil
January masthead: Alejandro Diaz, Critics Welcomed!, from an ongoing series of cardboard signs, (2003-present). Courtesy of Happy Lion Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and artist.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Queens International 4
On view January 24 - April 26, 2009
Opening Reception on Saturday, January 24, 6 pm - midnight!
José Ruiz and Erin Sickler, co-curators
Queens International 4 (QI4), the fourth installment of this biennial, is a survey of new and on-going projects by 42 emerging and established artists, artist collaborations and artist collectives from 18 countries that now live and/or work within Queens. QI4 reflects the multiple influences, thematic breadth and broad range of traditional and experimental approaches employed by the vibrant and growing artist communities in Queens. By developing their own artistic perspective from a position on the art world periphery rather than at its center of influence, the QI4 artists explore the contradictions of the mainstream art world and the real world.
IMAGE: The Anti-Fascist Culture Club, The Undiscovered Atoll of Flushtopia, 2009, actual and virtual interactive installation in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Courtesy of artists.
Reason's Clue
CLOSING Sunday, January 4
The title, Reason's Clue, takes its inspiration from the Tao Te Ching, the Taoist classic by the 6th Century BC Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, who said "...By holding fast to the Reason of the ancients, the present is mastered, and the origin of the past understood; this is called Reason's clue." Featuring the work of eight artists from mainland China, Taiwan and the United States - Xu Bing, Michael Cherney, Cui Fei, Hong Hao, Zhang Hongtu, Lin Ju, Yang Mao-Lin and Tu Wei-Cheng - Reason's Clue fills the museum's entire first floor with contemporary Asian art that integrates past and present, as the artists meld traditional and contemporary artistic sensibilities to examine and depict their own understanding of the connection between Chinese and Western culture.
Image: Zhang Hongtu, A Complete Set of Chinese Zodiac Figures in Tang Dynasty Three Colors Glaze Ceramic Style, 2002. Ceramic, dimensions variable. Courtesy of artist. Photo courtesy of Eileen Costa.
Reason's Clue has been made possible through grants from the Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan, R.O.C. in collaboration with Taipei Cultural Center, TECO in New York; Queens Museum of Art Taiwanese Endowment Fund; and Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan.
Additional support provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and New York State Council on the Arts.
Now Available - Tours of Reason's Clue, Monday - Friday
Feel like you need further information about a particular artist or work of art? Request a 60-minute tour of Reason's Clue with a Museum Educator and have all your questions answered by our knowledgeable staff. Reduced Rate: $75 for groups of 30 or less
Additional exhibition information is available here.
Pedro Meyer: Heresies
CLOSING Sunday, January 4
Pedro Meyer's Heresies is a retrospective exhibition comprising four decades of work by one of the world's most inventive photographers in the realm of digital photography. Meyer began his career in the early 1960's, taking pictures on the streets of Mexico City. Since then, he has traveled extensively throughout the world, becoming one of Mexico's premier documentary photographers. Meyer's photographs question the limits of truth, fiction and reality.
The exhibition Heresies is simultaneously hosted by 60 institutions worldwide. To celebrate the unique nature of Meyer's work and its exhibition format, the Queens Museum of Art invited eight local community partners initiated by QMA staff educators to make their selection for the QMA presentation.
These selections will be exhibited in multiple installments, each providing a different perspective on the work of this innovative photographer.
December 14 January 4, 2009
Heart of Corona Initiative
QMA Queens Teens
IMAGE: Cheuniversitario, 1968, Mexico City, Mexico. Non-editioned pigment ink-jet print. Courtesy of the artist.
This exhibition is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Stephen Talasnik, Panorama: The Mapping of Prediction
CLOSING Sunday, January 25
Stephen Talasnik, Panorama: The Mapping of Prediction, presents thirteen architecturally inspired drawings measuring up to twelve feet in length from Talasnik's Panorama series. The exhibition captures his trademark use of architectural forms, transforming the monolithic - urban landscapes, labyrinthine transportation systems and forms from the World's Fair - into the intimate, and the structurally complex into the fantastical and futuristic. In 1964, Talasnik, then a nine year old boy from Philadelphia, was among the millions of people who flocked to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for the World's Fair. There, Talasnik was exposed to a temporary city of pavilions with modern architecture, a futuristic monorail connecting them and a vision for what the coming decades would hold. It was this experience that sparked Talasnik's fascination with futuristic design and in turn has fueled his artistic career. Juxtaposed with the model that inspired him forty-years ago, Talasnik's own musings on architecture and design will be installed in the same space as the museum's Panorama of the City of New York.
Prophecy (detail), 2005-2006. 18 x 117 in., graphite on paper. Courtesy of Marlborough Gallery and artist.
Stephen Talasnik, PANORAMA: The Mapping of Prediction is supported in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. The exhibition is organized by the Queens Museum of Art. Special thanks to Marlborough Gallery.
Additional exhibition information is available here.
Jane South: Deceptive Volume
On view through February 15, 2009
QMA at the Bulova Corporate Center
From a distance, thousands of hand-painted lines give South's relief sculptures the impression of solidity. On closer inspection, however, their resemblance to industrial devices falls away. Clinging to the wall by paper hooks and straight pins, these machines are incapable of producing anything. Using the delicate flatness of paper to mimic the apparent solidity of architectural, technological, and industrial forms, they question things we take for grantedwhat is tenuous and what is substantial, what will perish and what will stand the test of time. Once again confusing the signifiers of strength and frailty, South fools our expectations of what is fleeting and what is real.
IMAGE: Jane South, Untitled (Long Brown/Red), 2007. Hand-cut and folded paper, mixed media. Courtesy of the artist and Spencer Brownstone Gallery.
This program is sponsored by the Blumenfeld Development Group, Ltd. and the Queens Museum of Art.
Additional exhibition information is available here.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Presents First Sundays for Families at QMA: The Future Awaits: Revisiting the 1939 World's Fair
Saturday, January 4, 1 - 4:30 pm
This month we're inviting you to join us as we remember what the future looked like in 1939. Festivities will highlight artifacts from the museum's New York World's Fair exhibitions, as well as movies from the era. Participants can also imagine their own World of Tomorrow in our Family Workshop as we create fantastical water color images of what the future looks like from our perspective in 2009! Refreshments will be served. Children 5 and up with their adult companions, Free.
CINEMAROSA - Queens Only Queer Film Series: What's Love Gotta Do With It?
Sunday, January 18, 3 - 6 pm
Back Soon (Rob Williams, USA, 2007, 83 min)
From the creator of the award-winning film Long-Term Relationship comes a story of love, loss, identity and hope. Aspiring actor Logan Foster (Windham Beacham) finds himself inexplicably drawn to reformed drug dealer Gil Ramirez (Matthew Montgomery), despite their different backgrounds and the fact that they are both straight. But neither man is prepared for the true nature of their connection or the impact it will have on their lives.
Hitchcocked (David Young, USA, 2006, 24 min)
Al and Fred hook up for a little casual fun that soon turns ugly, revealing some fateful truths about Internet-dating, love and death.
Filmmakers and cast will attend the screening.
For more information, visit CINEMAROSA.
Carnegie Neighborhood Concert with Miró Quartet
Saturday, January 24, 11 am - noon
The dynamic Miró Quartet, one of America's highest-profile chamber groups, has risen to the top of the international chamber music scene in only a decade, captivating audiences and critics around the world with its youthful intensity and mature interpretations.
Opening Reception of Queens International 4
Saturday, January 24, 6 pm - midnight!
The opening will feature a gallery walk-through, screenings of the film series, A Frame Apart: Short Films on Queens, live performance by Flushing indie-rock band The Unstoppable Death Machines, DJ Witnes playing a special Queens hip hop set, DJ Juan Mapu representing Queens' Latin flavor, and performances by QI4 artists Chin Chih Yang, Ryan Humphrey and Carol Periera with Jonas Olson, and special guest Dizz Hicks in a BMX demo on artist Ryan Humphrey's custom undulating ramp.
Queens-centric food treats will be available as well as complementary drinks. Please join us!
The Healthy Taste of Corona Cookbook is available!
The Healthy Taste of Corona Cookbook includes over 30 recipes in English and Spanish collected from restaurants, elected officials, and community-based organizations in the Heart of Corona Initiative. It showcases traditional foods from a variety of countries reflecting the diversity of cultures within the neighborhood, while at the same time updating the recipes to make them healthier. Download a voucher for a FREE copy along with Corona merchant discounts! [PDF]
Public Events at the Queens Museum of Art are supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Ford Foundation Partners for Livable Communities, J. M. Kaplan Fund, and Independence Community Foundation.
QMA INFORMATION
Location
New York City Building
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Queens NY 11368
TEL: 718 592 9700
WINTER Hours
Wednesday Friday: 10 - 5 pm
Saturday Sunday: noon 5 pm
Closed Monday & Tuesday
With the exception of Learning Programs & Workshops
Admission
Admission is by suggested donation. Adults: $5
Senior and Children: $2.50
Members and Children
under five: Free
Unisphere Café
Open every weekend — featuring small plates, sushi, desserts and beverages. Lunch with a view of the Unisphere.
PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS
The Panorama of the City of New York
A perennial favorite of all who have visited the museum, the Panorama of the City of New York originally commissioned by Robert Moses for the 1964 World's Fair, is the largest architectural scale model in the world. At 9,335 square feet, it includes the 320 square miles and 895,000 buildings that comprise the city. With a scale of 1 inch:1200 feet, the Panorama offers a truly unique view of the five boroughs, one that has left the six million people who have seen it in awe. As the lights fade and night falls on New York, viewers can experience the unique view of the city at night, with the city's streets glowing with activity.
Aerial view of the Panorama of the City of New York at QMA, Queens Museum of Art, 2008, Courtesy of Nicholas Biondo.
A Watershed Moment: Celebrating the Homecoming of The New York City Water Supply Model
In 1937, New York City was in preparation for the 1939's World's Fair, the first of two in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. To celebrate the immense and intricate inner-workings of the City, various agencies were invited to produce exhibitions for the New York City Pavilion (now the QMA). After nearly 70 years in storage, the model has been restored to its original brilliance and returns to its intended home in the New York City Building where it will remain on long-term loan.
Installation shot of A Watershed Moment: Celebrating the Homecoming of the Relief Map of the New York City Water Supply System at QMA, Queens Museum of Art, 2008, Courtesy of Eileen Costa.
Tiffany: The Glass
This installation of Tiffany glass from the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass is the first to focus solely on the flat sheets of opalescent glass Louis C. Tiffany used to create the spectacular leaded windows and lamps for which he is best known. Tiffany: The Glass delves into some of his explorations into the replication of flower petals, autumn foliage, sunsets and even angels' wings.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
QMA Awarded...
We are thrilled to announce two of the Museum's education programs received prestigious awards this year:
At a White House ceremony this Fall, the Queens Teens Program was presented the Coming Up Taller Award by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. One of only 18 awardees from around the globe, the exemplary Queens Teens program was recognized for providing learning opportunities for young people outside of the regular school day. We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding Teens for their creativity, commitment and contribution to their communities. Through a combination of structured after-school activities throughout the school year and weekend work assignments, students develop a comprehensive understanding of museum education, art interpretation, curatorial process and cultural administration. As ambassadors for the Museum's Educational and Public programs, their work is invaluable. Congratulations Queens Teens!
Coming Up Taller is an initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH). The President's Committee partners with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to administer the program.
This summer our ArtAccess program received the Mayor's Award to commemorate the 18-year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This prestigious award, bestowed on individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to increasing accessibility for people with disabilities. Launched in 1983 as Please Touch to provide art education for the visually impaired, ArtAccess has since grown into a nationally reproduced model program designed to allow audiences with diverse abilities to enjoy a personal connection to works of art. We are delighted that such a valued program has received deserved recognition acknowledging our ongoing commitment to working with children and adults with varying abilities.
Call for Artists
QMA at Bulova Corporate Center
The Queens Museum of Art seeks exhibition proposals both from New York artists for one-person exhibitions and from independent curators for either one-person or group exhibitions to be held at the Museum's satellite gallery at Bulova Corporate Center in Jackson Heights, Queens.
QMA at Bulova Corporate Center (75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Jackson Heights, NY 11370) presents three changing exhibitions each year.
More information is available here.
Interested in volunteering at the museum?
The Museum Shop needs assistance Monday - Friday between 9 am - 5 pm. Please call Betty at 718.592.9700 x238 for more details.
LEARNING PROGRAMS
TOURS & WORKSHOPS
New!-Weekday Tours
Tours of QMA's Permanent and Changing Exhibitions in English and Spanish
Feel like you need further information about a particular artist or work of art? Request a 60-minute tour of any of our permanent and/or current exhibitions with a Museum Educator and have all your questions answered by our knowledgeable staff. Reduced Rate: $75 for groups of 30 or less.
Weekend Tours
Sundays, January 4 - 25, 2, 3 and 4 pm
Free, one-hour public tours in English and Spanish of the Panorama of the City of New York and changing exhibitions of art.
Drop-In Art Workshops for Families
Inspired by the Museum's permanent and changing exhibitions, weekly art making workshops are designed as creative departures for children and their adult companions to explore a variety of creative art processes and materials while developing basic art skills. Children with special needs are welcome, adaptations available. Spanish instruction is available. Seating is limited and available on a first come first serve basis.
Children 5 and up with their adult companions, Free.
Every Sunday: January 11- 25, 1:30 - 4:30 pm
January 11 Living Breathing Pipe Cleaner Critters Your attendance is absolutely required because you will certainly have a great time as we learn how to twist and bend, and tie together pipe cleaners to create critter creations!
January 18 Your Face! Inspired by the work of many great artists throughout time, who created self-portraits, we will set out to make artworks inspired by what we see in the mirror. Participants will work with paint to create a likeness of themselves on paper.
January 25 Word Banners! Inspired by the work of Karolyn Hatton a Queens International 4 artist, we invite you to explore how works of art can serve as a playful reminder of who and what we are through the use of everyday words. Participants will create vivid banners of most commonly used words from felt and fabric
FOR ADULTS
Free Studio Workshops for Adults with Special Needs
ArtACCESS is a unique program offered by the QMA designed specifically for adult visitors with special needs. Visitors to the ArtACCESS Open Studio program will explore the museum's exhibitions through sculpture, printing, collage, painting, drawing and other appropriate media. Adults with special needs and their families can participate. Pre-registration required and each session is limited to 20 participants. Please call 718.592.9700 x138 to register.
Sundays, January 11 & 25:
noon - 12:45 pm: Session 1
1 - 1:45 pm: Session 2
Educational Programs at the Queens Museum of Art are supported in part by Altman Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, The City of New York Department for the Aging, New York City Councilmembers Eric Gioia, Melinda Katz, and David Weprin, John H. and Ethel G. Noble Charitable Trust, MetLife Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Citi Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Consolidated Edison, Walter Kaner Children's Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Michael Tuch Foundation, Lehman Brothers, Astoria Federal Savings.
CREDITS
The Queens Museum is housed in the New York City Building, which is owned by the City of New York. With the assistance of the Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and the New York City Council, the Museum is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Institute of Museum and Library Services, City of New York Department for the Aging, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, New York State Legislature, New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Major
funding is also provided by the Altman Foundation, Ford Foundation
Partners for Livable Communities, Carnegie Corporation of New York,
Deutsche Bank Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, John H. and Ethel G.
Noble Charitable Trust, J. M. Kaplan Fund, PepsiCo Inc., MetLife
Foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Silvercup Studios,
Independence
Community Foundation, Citi Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, The
Greenwall Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, Inc., Madison National
Bank, Werwaiss Properties Company, American Express, Dominick and Rose
Ciampa Foundation, Commerce Bank, Roslyn Savings Foundation, The Barker
Welfare Foundation, Crystal Foundation, Goldman Sachs & Co., Hughes
Hubbard & Reed LLP, Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Pfizer Inc.,
Mathis-Pfohl Foundation, The New York Times Company Foundation,
Consolidated Edison, Goode Realty Co., The Shops at Atlas Park, Altria
Group, Inc., Blumenfeld Development Group, Ltd., Walter Kaner
Children's
Foundation, UBS, Cowles Charitable Trust, Merill Lynch, Milton and
Sally
Avery Arts Foundation, Consolidated Edison, Colgate-Palmolive Company,
Lehman Brothers, Michael Tuch Foundation, Astoria Federal Savings,
QMA's
Board of Directors and our members.
The QMA is proud to be a Cultural Arts Partner of WNYC Radio.
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