Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
5th Ave at 89th Street
New York, NY 10128
www.guggenheim.org/publicprograms
On the occasion of Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim, 1949–1960, on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from June 8 through September 12, the Guggenheim is pleased to announce the following public programs, which aim to foster a greater understanding of the works on view and a deeper engagement with the exhibition.
LECTURES
The Perils of Progress: Artists and the Atomic Age
Monday, June 18, 6:30pm
Joan Marter, Distinguished Professor of Art History, Rutgers University, discusses 1950s American sculpture, including the work of Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Theodore Roszak, and David Smith, as a rich, authoritative, and vibrant art. Just as Abstract Expressionist painting is now viewed in the context of the chaos and destructive forces of the atomic era, sculpture of this period shares a similar vision of the world in conflict.
Cobra: A Revolutionary European Avant-Garde Movement
Wednesday, September 5, 6:30pm
Dutch art historian Willemijn Stokvis discusses the radical postwar Cobra movement, which was part of the international tendency toward un art autre (art of another kind). Inspired by the art of so-called primitives, children, and the mentally ill, the group, which included Pierre Alechinsky, Karel Appel, and Asger Jorn, fostered idealistic, Marxist-inspired plans for a new folk art.
GALLERY PROGRAMS
“Tastebreakers”: Art in the Afternoon
James Johnson Sweeney, the second director of the Guggenheim Museum (1952–60), stated, “I do not believe in the so-called ‘tastemakers,’ but in what I would call ‘tastebreakers’—the people who break open and enlarge our artistic frontiers.” Inspired by those words, this daytime series invites fresh perspectives on Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim Collection, 1949–1960.
Karen Finley
Wednesday, June 20, 1:30pm
Artist and educator Karen Finley leads an investigation into notions of gesture, the elusive exotic, and the perception of place through collaborative close looking, intimate gallery conversations, and creative-writing exercises.
Jessica Dickinson
Wednesday, July 25, 1:30pm
View artwork through the eyes of abstract painter Jessica Dickinson and explore how modern painting has produced a multitude of conceptual topographies.
Agnes Berecz
Wednesday, August 15, 1:30pm
Art historian Agnes Berecz addresses abstract painting practices in the 1950s on both sides of the Atlantic through a study of individual works on view. Explore the role of gestural painting during the first decade of the Cold War and the traumatic process of postwar reconstruction in Europe.
PERFORMANCE
Composing with Patterns: Music at Mid-Century
Tuesday, July 10, 7:30pm
Listen to experimental 1950s music by composers such as Earle Brown, John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, and Karlheinz Stockhausen in the museum’s rotunda while viewing works by Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Antoni Tàpies, and more in Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim, 1949–1960. Christopher McIntyre directs an all-star ensemble featuring musicians from the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ne(x)tworks, and Either/Or Ensemble, among others. A talk by composer R. Luke DuBois precedes the performance.
COURSE
Public & Artist Interactions with Karen Finley
The Creative Act
Monday–Friday, July 16–20, 10–1pm
Taught by acclaimed artist and educator Karen Finley, this weeklong intensive inspired by works of art on view explores 1950s globalism, contemporary portraiture, and the nature of subjectivity. Daily sessions include gallery talks and studio exercises in which participants are encouraged to utilize and foster personal experience, building upon each previous session and culminating in a final reflection. Visit guggenheim.org/courses for more information and to register.
For questions e-mail [email protected] or call 212 423 3781.
All programs include a private reception. For tickets and information about FREE student registration, visit guggenheim.org/publicprograms, or call the Box Office at 212 423 3587.
