S U M M E R 2 0 1 6

In This IssueART 4 Focus on: Bellissima!

6 Women, Art, and Social Change

10 Artist Q&A with Inka Essenhigh

HIGHLIGHTS 8 The 2016 Frist Gala

9 FAQ: Frist Fridays

12 From Student Artist to Art Teacher

13 5 Things a Potter Knows about Design

SUPPORT 14 Get Involved

INFORMATION 615.244.3340

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Thursday and Friday 10:00 a.m–9:00 p.m.

Saturday 10:00 a.m–5:30 p.m.

Sunday 1:00 p.m– 5:30 p.m.

The Café opens at noon on Sunday.

Martin ArtQuest Gallery is open until 5:30 p.m. daily.

We are closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving,

and Christmas.

Our exhibitions, programs, and events are generously

funded in part by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts

Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and

the National Endowment for the Arts.

2 | A T T H E F R I S T | I N T H I S I S S U E

COVER: 1952 Lancia B52 Aurelia PF200 Spider. Collection of Linda and Bill Pope. Image © 2016 Peter Harholdt

ABOVE: Table décor for the 2016 Frist Patron Party. Photo: Peyton Hoge. Recap on page 8.

In This Issue

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Billy Frist, Chair and President

Jean Ann Banker

H. Lee Barfield II

Clay Blevins

Laura Chadwick

Karyn McLaughlin Frist

Frank M. Garrison

Howard Gentry

Bob Gordon

Claire Gulmi

James Harbison

Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr.

Melvin N. Johnson, DBA

Ellen H. Martin

Ken Melkus

Robin I. Patton

Stephen S. Riven

Luke Simons

John Smithwick

Joe N. Steakley

Gloria M. Sternberg

Deborah E. Story

Jay Turner

Julie W. Walker

Gail P. Carr Williams

Susan H. Edwards, PhD

Executive Director and CEO

Directors Emeriti:

Thomas F. Frist, Jr., MD, Chair

Kenneth L. Roberts, President

Martha Rivers Ingram

Ex-Officio:

David Briley, Vice Mayor

2016 Frist Gala Co-chairs:

Daphne Butler

Elizabeth Dennis

Advisors:

Peter F. Bird, Jr.

Jack F. Stringham II

Honorary Trustees:

Bernice W. Gordon

J. Stephen Turner

Greetings,

In some museums, photography is allowed. In others, it is allowed sometimes but not always. This can be confusing for visitors and staff alike. What is behind these mutable rules and policies is a complex network of contractual agreements, conservation requirements, and copyright protections.

Take heart. Many institutions and individuals are studying ways to streamline procedures to improve the visitor experience and extend their educational reach. For example, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation recently decided to make images of the late artist’s work widely available for free, in hopes of stimulating scholarship and expanding his legacy.

At the Frist Center, we allow photography when we can, and we encourage you, your family, and your friends to share your visits on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media. We cannot permit the use of flash, monopods, tripods, or video cameras, however, and with some exhibitions, all photography, including “selfies,” is prohibited. We post signs to make you aware of these limitations; they may include a camera icon with a slash through it.

If you miss the notices and a guard lets you know that no photography is allowed, please remember that she or he is helping us comply with lender mandates and copyright laws.

Our goal is to ensure that your visits to the Frist are enjoyable, memorable, and meaningful. We are pleased to report that the lenders of the automobiles and motorcycles in Bellissima! have allowed us to relax photography restrictions. We hope you can visit the Frist Center this summer, where you will be welcomed and encouraged to take selfies and other photos in the exhibition.

Susan H. Edwards, PhD Executive Director and CEO

F R O M T H E D I R E C T O R ’ S D E S K | A T T H E F R I S T | 3

Connect with us!

@fristcenter#FristAutos2016#InkaAtTheFrist#FoundNarratives#FristNewcombPottery

Susan reviews a photo policy sign.

4 | A T T H E F R I S T | E X H I B I T I O N S

Platinum: Supporting: Media:Hospitality:Presenting:

Barbara, Jack, Sara, and Richard Bovender

Sponsors

Focus On

E X H I B I T I O N S | A T T H E F R I S T | 5

LEFT: 1954 Alfa Romeo BAT 7. The Blackhawk Collection. Image © 2016 Peter Harholdt

The Extraordinary Alfa Romeo BATs:Italy’s Most Outrageous Postwar Show Cars

Organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts with guest curator Ken Gross

With additional support from the Tom Smith Familyand the Friends of Italian Art

KEN GROSS, guest curator

In the late 1940s, Italian carmakers led the world with styling gems like Pinin Farina’s Cisitalia 202 and Maserati’s A6 1500, but the best was yet to come. In the 1950s, Milan’s Carrozzeria Bertone presented three of the most memorable concept cars ever. Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone and his tal-ented chief designer, Franco Scaglione, a former aeronautics student and women’s fashion designer, dazzled showgoers with three stunning, aerodynamically efficient coupes.

Built on the sporting Alfa Romeo 1900 chassis and strongly influenced by the newly emerging jet aircraft industry, the showcars were named “BATs,” using the initials for “Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica.” The “BAT” moniker was perfect because the trio’s astonishing tail fin treatments were reminiscent of stylized bat wings. (The term berlinetta in Italian means “a small sporty coupe.”) Alfa authority Joe Benson adds, “The BAT acronym was so appropriate that it couldn’t have been accidental.”1

From 1953 to 1955, at the Turin Motor Show, Bertone introduced one new dream car each year. The BAT 5 was the first of the trio. Its curvaceous aluminum body featured a smoothly protruding nose, flanked by large air openings that resembled paired jet air intakes. The front and rear wheels were virtually enclosed, which helped eliminate as many air vortices as possible, contributing to the car’s ability to pierce through resistance. This marriage of style and physics is one of the reasons Italian car expert Winston Goodfellow calls Scaglione “an artist with sheet metal.”2

The BAT 5’s low panoramic windscreen and slanted side windows (raked at a steep 45-degree angle) were joined to a virtually flat roof, which tapered into a split rear window with a slender divider that separated the bold tail fins. The BAT 5’s 75-hp twin-cam engine, light overall weight (2,400 pounds), and splendid aerodynamics permitted a 200-kph (120-mph) top speed, with excellent stability.

Design and technology expert Andrew Nahum called the BAT 5 “the sensation of the 1953 Salone dell’automobile di Torino,” adding that “it was more than a sensational catch-penny glamour exercise—it had 38 percent less drag than the ‘donor’ car, meaning that a 50 percent larger engine would have been needed to give the standard Alfa Romeo the same performance.”3

The BAT 5 brought immense attention to Bertone and Scaglione, but Alfa Romeo had no plans for even a limited-production version. It would have been too expensive for the 1900 model’s already high price point. Still, Bertone’s work had just begun. Another brilliant BAT would soon soar.

Bertone and Scaglione closely studied aircraft wing profiles, resulting in more dramatically curved, even longer tail fins for the next car. Scaglione lowered the BAT 7’s nose and reworked the air intakes for better aerodynamics. The center spine, a finned flying buttress, split the rounded tail section. The BAT 7 is the most dramatic example of the wild Bertone trio.

Goodfellow says that Scaglione was “perhaps the most mercu-rial figure in Italy’s styling world,” adding that “Scaglione was undoubtedly one of its greatest artists.”4 Automotive historian Serge Bellu notes that the BAT 7 was “a true ‘dream car’” that “swung between lyricism and naiveté, with its frankly simplistic detailing borrowed from the world of aviation, its over-the-top fins, and its air intakes suggesting the power of a jet engine. Thanks to the talent of Franco Scaglione, the language became poetic, the scrolls of the rear contracting as if they were the wings of a giant bird.”5

The BAT 9 eliminated some exaggerated styling elements and integrated contemporary Alfa design cues. The air in-takes were reduced within the almost conventional-looking Alfa grille, and the tail fins were smaller than the dramatic appendages on the first two BATs. But the car is still a knockout. Had Alfa executives elected to duplicate it for production—which they never did—this design exercise could have been practical.

Design critic Robert Cumberford writes that Scaglione was “very possibly the greatest of many designers ‘discovered’ and nurtured by Bertone.” Cumberford calls the BATs “astonishing” and writes that “with their extreme tail fins, rounded windscreens and extremely low drag coefficients, they were beyond style.”6

Bertone was a mentor to Giorgetto Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini, as well as to Scaglione. Nahum wrote that “these three outstanding designers made Bertone, for a while, the center of maximum imagination for the development of the

postwar car, and their selection is a tribute to the judgment of proprietor Giuseppe ‘Nuccio’ Bertone.”7

Instead of producing the BAT 9, Bertone created the limited-edition Sprint Speciale series for Alfa Romeo, from 1957 to 1962, using styling cues from all three BAT prototypes and borrowing design elements from Alfa Romeo’s famed Disco Volante (Flying Saucer) race cars of the early 1950s. Thanks to refined aerodynamics lifted from the BAT experiments, the production Sprint Speciale could top 124 mph with a small 1,300 cc Alfa Giulietta engine.

The original three BAT 5-7-9 concept cars are still very exciting. While journalist Serge Belluwryly comments that the BAT analogy “took the motorcar into a frightening fictional universe,” he praises Bertone, saying that the creation of the BATs had propelled Bertone into “the aristocracy of the styling world.”8

A longer version of this essay appears in the exhibition catalogue, available in the Frist Center Gift Shop. Members receive a 10 percent discount.

The BATs are on view in Ingram Gallery through October 9, as are the nineteen other cars and motorcycles in Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945–1975. The BATs are from the collection of The Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California.

NOTES1. Joe Benson, The Illustrated Alfa Romeo Buyer’s Guide (Osceola, WI: Motorbooks, 1983), 160.2. Winston Goodfellow, Italian Sports Cars (Osceola, WI: MBI, 2000), 53.3. Andrew Nahum, Fifty Cars That Changed the World (London: Octopus, 2009), 46.4. Goodfellow, Italian Sports Cars, 53.5. Serge Bellu, 500 Fantastic Cars (Paris: Editions Solar, 2002), 27.6. Michel Zumbrunn and Robert Cumberford, Auto Legends: Classics of Style and Design (London: Merrell, 2004), 280–81. 7. Nahum, Fifty Cars, 46–47.8. Bellu, 500 Fantastic Cars, 26.

The distinctive and beautiful glazed ceramics crafted by the Newcomb Pottery in New Orleans are among the most critically acclaimed and sought after of all American decorative arts. An innovative enterprise in operation from 1895 until 1940, the Pottery was one of the most interesting and advanced social experiments of its time. It provided Southern women with an unprecedented opportunity to train as professional artists.

The Newcomb Pottery was founded as the South was recovering from the Civil War and the suffrage movement was changing women’s lives and social mores in America. It was part of the Art Department of H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College at Tulane University, the first women’s coordinate college anywhere in the United States (that is, the first women’s branch of an American university granting degrees to both men and women). The students developed an aesthetic informed by Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement. Their pottery exudes a strong sense of place. Decorated by women predominantly from New Orleans, the ceramics are made primarily from local clays and employ Gulf Coast flora and fauna as design motifs.

Newcomb wares, which include bowls, cachepots, mugs, pitchers, plates, and vases, are as graceful as they are practical. Although the Pottery made somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 objects in total, each is unique. Decorators were not permitted to duplicate a design. Popular early motifs included cross-sections of southern plants, such as Louisiana iris and magnolia, and winged insects circling around a light. By the turn of the twentieth century, Newcomb pottery increasingly featured sage green and cobalt blue color schemes under clear lead glazes. The decorators produced a surprising range within a limited palette. In the 1920s and 1930s, Newcomb bestsellers depict a tonal, hazy “moon and moss” motif—a moon shining through a moss-draped live oak. In general, designs became softer and more romantic. In the final decade of the enterprise, Newcomb artists shifted away from naturalistic scenes and embraced modernism.

Informed by new scholarship, this exhibition is the most comprehensive dedicated to Newcomb Pottery in twenty-five years, with works from the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane, which contains the largest and finest collection of its kind, and other Louisiana museums, along with never-before-exhibited works from private collections. Highlights include iconic pottery, such as a plate with a coastal violet design and a tall vase with a moon and pine tree design. There are also lesser-known examples of bookbinding,

Women, Art, and SocialChange: The NewcombPottery EnterpriseJuly 29–November 6, 2016

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E X H I B I T I O N S | A T T H E F R I S T | 7

TRINITA KENNEDY, curator

Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise, an exhibition created and organized by Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), was made possible in part through the generous support of Henry Luce Foundation and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.

The audio tour for this exhibition was created by The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach. Belmont University and Ocean Way Recording Studios donated recording time and professional expertise to adapt the tour for Frist Center visitors.

LEFT: Anna Frances Simpson, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Vase with moon and pine land-scape design, ca. 1925. Low-relief carving; underglaze painting with matte glaze. Collection of the Haynie Family

TOP LEFT: Margaret H. Shelby, decorator; Jules Gabry, potter. Plate with Southern coastal violet design, ca. 1896. Underglaze painting with glossy glaze. Newcomb Art Collection, Tulane University

TOP MIDDLE: Katherine Kopman, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Vase with daffodil design, 1897. Underglaze painting with glossy glaze. On loan to the Newcomb Art Museum from Ruth Weinstein Lebovitz

TOP RIGHT: Harriet Coulter Joor, decorator; Joseph Meyer, potter. Tyg with pine forest design, ca. 1902. Incised and slightly sculpted; underglaze painting with glossy glaze. Newcomb Art Collec-tion, Tulane University; gift of Mrs. Marshall Stewart

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts gratefully acknowledges the support of our Picasso Circle members as exhibition patrons.

jewelry, metalwork, textiles, and designs for bookplates and Christmas cards that were made at Newcomb as the enterprise expanded and diversified. Archival photographs of the pioneering women at work in the studio and at graduation bring the history and the objects to life.

During its forty-five years of existence, the Newcomb Pottery provided full- or part-time employment to nearly one hundred women whose accomplishments are evident in the work they made. The curriculum aimed to teach Southern women financial self-reliance, and they earned money through the sale of their wares. Newcomb pottery was sold at shops in New Orleans and cities throughout the United States and entered museums and private collections. The enterprise, however, was not entirely successful. The women received low wages for long hours of work and after graduation few were gainfully employed. Ultimately that contributed to the college’s decision to close the Pottery in 1940.

Newcomb women were as distinctive as the objects they made. Many were gifted artists whose individual achievements and contributions are recognized in this exhibition. For example, Harriet Coulter Joor, a member of Newcomb’s first class, went on to work as an independent designer; her clients included Gustav Stickley’s company the Craftsman Workshops. Sarah A. E. “Sadie” Irvine, a member of the class of 1906, invented Newcomb’s popular moon and moss motif and taught at the college from 1929 to 1952. Archival records show that many women cherished their experience at Newcomb. Gertrude Kerr Jackman of the class of 1899 said, “To me Newcomb isn’t just a group of buildings. A part of me is there, a precious joyous part of me.”

Working together, Newcomb women defied stereotypes and broke barriers. Their achievement has never been surpassed by any other group of women artists in the United States. Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise offers new insights into the Newcomb community—the philosophy, the craftsmanship, and the women who made such an enduring mark on American art and industry.

8 | A T T H E F R I S T | 2 0 1 6 G A L A

The 2016 Frist Gala celebrated the exhibition Treasures from

the House of Alba: 500 Years of Art and Collecting on Satur-

day, April 9. Co-chairs Daphne Butler and Elizabeth Dennis

(pictured above) transformed the Frist Center into a vision of

New Spain, with a streetscape reminiscent of Barcelona’s La

Rambla, stunning Gaudi-inspired floor-to-ceiling mosaics, and

vibrant Spanish floral arrangements. After toasting the ex-

hibition with cocktails in the Grand Lobby, guests witnessed

a bull run on their way to the dinner tent, where Spanish

tapas, filet mignon, roasted shrimp, vegetable paella, orzo

with artichokes and crispy olives, and a refreshing sorbet

were served. After the meal, the lobby came aglow with the

lights of chic, trend-setting Ibiza, commencing a spectacular

evening that reflected the colors and sounds of Spain.

The annual gala raises funds for the Frist Center’s many

educational and outreach initiatives. We continue to extend

our thanks to Daphne Butler and Elizabeth Dennis, as well

as the committee chairs and volunteers, for devoting their

time and efforts to the Center. We also thank the generous

patrons, patron party hosts, members of the Ladies’ and

Gentlemen’s Committees, sponsors, gala attendees, and

everyone else who contributed to this successful event.

Francisco de Goya Society PatronsDavid and Linda AndersonMr. and Mrs. Dennis C. BottorffBarbara and Jack BovenderMr. and Mrs. Richard M. BrackenMr. and Mrs. Alfred Rawls Butler VJoanne Gillespie CatoLaura and John ChadwickKevin and Katie CrumboMr. and Mrs. Ansel L. DavisElizabeth and Bob DennisMr. and Mrs. Charles A. ElcanJennifer and Billy FristDr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Frist, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Frist IIIThe Honorable and Mrs. William H. Frist, MDMrs. Kate R. W. GraykenGlenna and Sam HazenRebecca and John HowardMr. and Mrs. John R. IngramMartha Rivers IngramMr. and Mrs. Orrin H. Ingram II Mr. and Mrs. R. Milton JohnsonMr. Robert S. Lipman Ellen H. MartinMr. and Mrs. Kenneth Melkus Jan and Stephen RivenMr. and Mrs. Joseph V. RussellBill and Nancy Rutherford

Christopher Columbus Society PatronsMr. and Mrs. J. Barry BankerMr. and Mrs. H. Lee Barfield IIJudy and Joe BarkerAmanda and Thomas Beck

Janet and Earl BentzClay BlevinsMrs. James C. Bradford, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Brown, Jr.Louise and John BryanMr. and Mrs. Victor CampbellSusanne and Todd CatoRavi Chari and Sharon AlbersConnie and Tom CigarranCollie and Greg DailyMr. and Mrs. Adam DretlerSusan H. EdwardsGlenda and David EmeryJane EnglebrightDr. and Mrs. Jeffrey B. EskindLaurie and Steven EskindMr. and Mrs. James A. Fitzgerald, Jr.Jon and Laura FosterTom and Judy FosterPhyllis and Steve FridrichElizabeth and Bryan FristKaryn McLaughlin FristAmy and Frank GarrisonBernice and Joel GordonBob and Julie GordonGwen and Frank GordonClaire and Jim GulmiMr. and Mrs. P. Gregory HagoodMr. and Mrs. Aubrey HarwellMr. and Mrs. J. Michael HayesCarrie and Damon HiningerEdie and David JohnsonKent and Nora KirbyMr. and Mrs. Thomas KlaritchTrish and John LindlerMaxine and Frank MajorsMr. and Mrs. Michael Marks

Jack C. Massey FoundationRob and Jennie McCabeMr. and Mrs. Martin F. McNamara IIIMr. and Mrs. A. Bruce MooreSandra and Matt MorganMark A. O’Bryan and Bobby N. O’BryanMarty and Rebecca PaslickMr. and Mrs. Richard C. PattonMr. and Mrs. Hal N. PenningtonDrs. Jonathan and Donna PerlinMr. and Mrs. Ben R. RechterMr. and Mrs. H. Moore Rhett IIICarol and John RochfordPaul and Susan RutledgeMs. Sandra A. SchattenMr. and Mrs. James C. Seabury IIIMr. and Mrs. W. Lucas SimonsDee Anna and Hubie SmithMr. and Mrs. Scott SohrMr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Sowell IIIMr. and Mrs. Joseph N. SteakleyMr. and Mrs. John M. SteeleGloria and Paul SternbergDonald and Elizabeth StinnettJeffrey D. Stone and Sylvia RobertsMr. and Mrs. James S. Turner, Jr.Steve and Judy TurnerJulie and Breck WalkerJay and Beverly WallaceMr. and Mrs. Robert WatermanMs. Noel WilliamsMr. and Mrs. W. Ridley Wills IIIBetsy and T. J. WiltJanet and Alan Yuspeh

Presenting: Contributing

Sponsors

THE 2016 FRIST GALA

DOs and DON’Ts

DO bring your ID.

DO arrive early, especially if rain is in the forecast. If the concert is moved indoors, the auditorium can reach capacity quickly.

DO finish your alcoholic drinks before leaving the Frist Center. We’d like to serve you again!

DON’T bring coolers, as they are not allowed.

DON’T discard your wristbands. You’ll need them for re-entry if you leave the event and to receive the flat-rate parking fee if you parked in one of our lots.

C E L E B R A T E S U M M E R | A T T H E F R I S T | 9

Interview with Frist Center security conducted by CHRIS LOWE, UNCF and AAMD 2016 Fellow

The Frist Center is one of the fourteen leading art museums in this year’s United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) fellowship program, which provides paid training and mentoring to students of color interested in museum careers. Chris Lowe is a rising senior at Fisk University. For more information about fellowships, internships, and other ways for students to explore museum career possibilities, please visit fristcenter.org/experiential-learning.

FAQSo, who’s playing this year?

June – SixtyFour, the Mid-South’spremier Beatles cover band

July – The Revelers, a Louisiana supergroup, with Halfbrass, Nashville’s own funky brass bandAugust – Rhett Miller, from the Old 97’s

What’s the best transportation game plan?Our parking lot fills up early, so check parkitdowntown.com for alternatives or use a ride-hailing service. If you work or live downtown, walk on over!

Whom should I bring?The whole family and friends. The music starts at 6 p.m.—early enough for all ages.

I’m bringing kids. Tips?Packing ear protection is a good idea. If your child is small enough for a carrier, bring that too.

How much will I spend? What about refreshments?Admission for members and children 18 and under is FREE!

For everyone else: $12 for adults, $9 for seniors (65+) and college students (with ID), and $7 for active military (with ID).

You’ll find economically priced snacks in the café, such as chicken wings, sliders, corn dogs, and soft pretzels, with most items under $5. There will be full bars in the Turner Courtyard and Grand Lobby.

I need to renew my membership. Can I do it at Frist Friday?Sure, but please consider taking care of it online or on the phone (615.744.4947) instead. That will help keep the lines moving.

What about the weather and what should I wear? The show goes on rain or shine. If there is a strong chance of rain, we may move the party into the auditorium. Dress is “come as you are”—bring a hat, sun-screen, and sunglasses.

What if I need a break from the heat? Step inside to view the exhibitions! We have world-class Italian automobiles, mind-blowing Surrealism-inspired paint-ings, and elegant Newcomb pottery in our galleries, all cooled by our highly efficient HVAC system.

What else?Nowplayingnashville.com will have a photo booth, and sponsors will have giveaways.

CELEBRATE SUMMER WITH

FRISTFRIDAYS Now in its 14th season, the Frist Fridays concert series takes place on the final Friday of each summer month—June 24, July

29, and August 26—from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Turner Courtyard. Live music, dancing, food, and drinks make the event a

fun first stop for a big night out or a one-stop destination for families. Here are answers to some questions you may have.

FAQ

Frist Friday Sponsors

1 0 | A T T H E F R I S T | A R T I S T Q & A

On view until October 9 in the Gordon Contem-porary Artists Project Gallery, Inka Essenhigh: Between Worlds is an overview of the works this New York–based artist has created over the past eleven years. Essenhigh’s images evoke allegori-cal traditions in which nature and humanity are magically entwined. They feature a menagerie of archetypes—of symbolic figures that haunt the collective imagination across time and cultures. Some portray woodland gods of classical antiquity;

in others, tree spirits, water nymphs, and elves hearken back to Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, or Norse folk traditions. These mythical beings appear along with quirky phantasms that are completely of Essenhigh’s devising, all occupying landscapes in the throes of metamorphosis: rocks, clouds, trees, and water pulse with energy, while plants become chlorophyll-tinted hominids. These irrational transmutations and hybrid beings trigger memories of a time in our lives, and in the history of our culture, when mystery was allowed to stir the inner world without reason or explanation. Below, chief curator Mark Scala asks Inka Essenhigh about her sources and intentions.

What art historical or literary precedents have inspired you? We have dis-cussed fantasy illustration and Surrealism as psychologically compelling forebears.

I certainly know about such historical sources, but am also inspired by works with a strong sense of line; painters like Toulouse-Lautrec, William Blake, Botticelli. A strong outline is already divorced from nature: we don’t see outlines in real life. Already the picture is meant to conjure something unseen.

This conjuring means to me that you are both a student of art history and an advocate for the imagination—someone who participates in painting’s lineage while triggering a childlike receptiveness toward wonder and pos-sibility. Are you inventing this fantastic world or channeling it?

Sometimes I think I’m just searching for some way to make a painting where I don’t have to take full responsibility. My interest in tapping into other, perhaps pre-existing worlds is like my interest in automatic drawing, a way for something else that is purely my own to expand. My idea of a nightmare would be like the world in Harold and the Purple Crayon, a children’s book where the kid is walking around drawing his world

Artist Q&A with Inka Essenhigh

A R T I S T Q & A | A T T H E F R I S T | 1 1

but nothing ever happens that he doesn’t create. I prefer to believe that there is something else in my imagination that isn’t just my psychology. Mostly I’m interested in narrative. But not where it’s about what happens so much as it is a depiction of a journey of someone moving through a landscape/place and what it’s like there.

Certain psychologists and mystics speak of the role of the journey in myth and legend as a metaphor for an exploration of deep psychic terrain. This archetype seems anomalous in an age that does not often acknowledge the importance of the inner life or an attitude of seeking, at least not for the cos-mopolitan adults among us. How do you negotiate your desire to open wide the pleasure of the quest with the notion felt by many people that this intimate realm is less important than the social and political matters of the moment?

Before something can exist in real life, it first exists as an idea. If we don’t make pictures of, for example, peace on earth, then it will never become a reality. I have made some paintings with an intention of creating a peaceful experience for the viewer, but most of the time I haven’t. Like in therapy, it’s no use trying to see the bright side of things without first acknowledging where you really are. I believe I’m shaping tomorrow, as all artists everywhere are.

We have talked about Surrealism in the context of your work. In much of the Surrealists’ art, transformation, dreams, and unexpected juxtapositions are meant to get at unconscious hidden meanings. One thing may become another, plants seem human, bodies become elastic, sleeping brings you into a world of intuition and desire. Your work, as well, has a dreamlike quality. Is this a nod to Surrealism, or is it something else?

The agenda of the Surrealists was political and psycho-therapeutic, with trans-formation signifying conflicted states of mind and body. I don’t have a set view of the meaning of the relations between living things as much as I’m having fun with shapes and images that convey movement and animation. Things spring to life; rocks, plants, and houses occupy the same dream world as the characters. That is not to say that there is not a language of secrecy and free association in my works; like the Surrealists, they can be erotic, disturbing, and visionary all at once. But it is also fine for the viewer to take pleasure in their pure invention.

Inka Essenhigh: Between Worlds was organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. The Frist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Friends of Contemporary Art.

Inka Essenhigh. Summer Landscape, 2013. Triptych: oil on paper, each panel 84 x 51 1/2 in. Courtesy of the artist and Jacob Lewis Gallery, New York. © Inka Essenhigh

Do you sometimes wonder how much impact the Frist Center has on the lives of our visitors? This spring, one woman’s connection to the Frist came full circle: in 2007, Ashley Capps had exhibited her anime pencil drawing in the Mayor’s Art Show as a McGavock High School junior; in 2016, as an art teacher at Byars Dowdy Elementary School, she brought her own students to the Lebanon Special School District (LSSD) exhibition.

Ashley found it easy to submit her students’ artwork to the LSSD art show—as a Frist Center teaching assistant (TA) from spring 2012 through summer 2013, she had helped with four school districts’ exhibitions. “I really enjoyed the installation of the art shows. When you go to see the exhibition, you don’t know all the work that goes into organizing and planning it.”

Today, the TA program continues to provide college and graduate students an introduction to museum education. Under the guidance of Frist Center educators, TAs prepare studio lessons, develop hands-on activities, and teach in an informal learning environment, gaining a better understanding of how children and adults engage with art making and museum experiences. The TA application process is competitive and selected TAs receive small stipends for their time.

As a teacher, Ashley wanted to introduce her students not only to the excitement of seeing their work professionally exhibited, but also to the fun of

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Education Highlight

ABOVE: Ashley Capps, far left, with students from Byars Dowdy Elementary (photo courtesy of the Wilson Post )

exploring Martin ArtQuest (MAQ) Gallery. Many of the kids had never been to the Frist before, and Ashley was thrilled by their happiness: “When I told them their work had been chosen, one child in third grade began crying, she was so excited.” Layla, age 6, said, “I was really happy because I felt like the most artistic person in the world. I love painting and one day I want to be a painter.” Her classmates seemed especially captivated by the MAQ animation station, which allowed them to create their own movies—both Addyson (age 7) and Antonio (age 5) called it “cool.”

For Ashley, it has been an “exciting opportunity to be in the art show as a teenager, work at the Frist as a college student and see a different side to the museum, and then apply all I learned there to my teaching. I learned a lot about relationships with schools and museums, and how important the Frist is to the community in general. My time at the Frist gave me a variety of experiences that built my confidence and made me think ‘I can do this!’”

The 2016 school exhibitions showcased artwork by 1,250 young artists from six districts, with 4,184 visitors attending the opening receptions. We’ll be looking for the next story to share—perhaps when one of this year’s students comes back to the Frist as a TA or a teacher.

ANNE HENDERSON, director of education and community engagement,and SAMANTHA ANDREWS, assistant director for experiential learning

From Student Artist to Art Teacher

Mayor’s Art Show SponsorsPresenting Supporting

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FIVE THINGS A POTTER KNOWS ABOUT DESIGNMany of us marvel at the making of a ceramic pot. We can readily appreciate what is happening right before our eyes between the artist’s hands, but once their work is fired and glazed, we tend to need reassurance when answering the question “What makes a good pot?”

Whether you are inspecting the floral motifs of Newcomb Pottery artworks or a ceramic object in the gift shop, here is a simple guide to help you think like a pot-ter. For this exercise, look around your home for any ceramic vessel—handmade is best—to hold or touch while considering these five points of pottery design:

Texture Is the surface of your object rough or smooth? Does the texture enhance or take away from your experience?

Weight and Balance Is it too heavy or too lightweight for its size? Does the weight affect how the object sits or stands?

Function and Ergonomics What is the function of your object? If it is used for consumption, is there a handle? If there isn’t a handle, how does it fit in your hand? Is it comfortable or awkward to hold?

Handmade vs. Manufactured Has the potter left finger impressions? Does the pot display ribbing patterns from being thrown on a wheel? Or, when you run your fingers over the outer surface of the object, do you detect a continuous line? (Most manufactured objects have a continuous line from the casting process.)

Flaws Most flaws are visual. Do you see cracking, flaking, bubbling, or tiny glaze holes (known as “pocking”)? Also, gently flick the rim of your object and lis-ten: Is the resulting sound low or high? If it sounds flat, there may be a hidden crack, whereas a high pitch indicates no structural flaws.

ROSEMARY BRUNTON, associate educator and potter

Design & DecorateIf you would like to learn more, join us for “Designing the Clay Surface: Exploring Newcomb Pottery,” offered by the Frist in partnership with The Clay Lady’s Campus on October 14–16. Teaching artists Audry Deal-McEver and Kelly Kessler will guide you through various techniques you can use in designing pieces and decorating surfaces! See the Program & Event Guide for more details.

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Circle Membership The Frist Center gratefully acknowledges all of our Circle Members as of May 15, 2016. Their gifts make it possible for us to provide free admission to visitors 18 and younger, as well as funding programs for seniors and families.

Get Involved

PICASSO CIRCLEJudy and Joe BarkerClaiborne BlevinsBarbara and Jack BovenderRichard M. and Judith K. BrackenMrs. Thomas H. CatoJohn and Laura ChadwickKevin and Katie CrumboFrank and Claire DrowotaSheryl and Steve DurhamPatricia Frist Elcan and Charles A. ElcanDottie FristJennifer and Billy FristJulie and Tommy FristPatricia C. Frist and Thomas F. Frist, Jr., MDBernice and Joel GordonPatricia and Rodes HartSpencer and Marlene HaysMartha R. IngramMr. and Mrs. R. Milton JohnsonCarol and Howard KirshnerTom and Darlene KlaritchEllen H. MartinLynn and Ken MelkusBen and Joan RechterJan and Stephen S. RivenDelphine and Ken RobertsAnne and Joe RussellMs. Virginia SeveringhausLuke and Susan SimonsLaura Anne TurnerLeslie and Robert Waterman

REMBRANDT CIRCLEAnonymousDavid and Linda AndersonMr. and Mrs. H. Lee Barfield IIAnnie Laurie BerryMr. Martin S. Brown, Sr.Iris BuhlJohn E. Cain IIIMr. and Mrs. Ansel L. DavisSusan H. EdwardsDr. and Mrs. Jeffrey EskindKaryn McLaughlin FristRobert and Carol FristAmy and Frank GarrisonBob and Julie GordonMrs. Kate Ransom Wilson GraykenTracy GuarinoClaire and Jim GulmiMr. and Mrs. J. Michael Hayes

Glenna and Sam HazenMs. Nancy Menke and Ms. Sara RossonKaren and Bruce MooreMr. and Mrs. Richard C. PattonMrs. Susan D. PattonDrs. Jonathan and Donna PerlinMr. and Mrs. Sid PilsonSandy and Jay SangervasiMr. and Mrs. James C. Seabury IIIDanny and Caroline ShawJoe and Brenda SteakleyMr. and Mrs. John M. SteeleDonald and Elizabeth M. StinnettSteve and Judy TurnerNoel Williams

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLEAnonymousMr. and Mrs. J. Barry BankerPhil Bredesen and Andrea ConteBob BrodieAnn and Frank BumsteadMr. and Mrs. Victor L. CampbellDr. and Mrs. Brian R. CarlsonMr. and Mrs. John W. Clay, Jr.Anita K. CochranHarvey and Helen CummingsMrs. Annette S. EskindLaurie and Steven EskindMike and Jeanne ExnerMr. and Mrs. James A. Fitzgerald, Jr.Tom and Judy FosterMr. and Mrs. John GawaluckDr. Richard GeerFrank and Gwen GordonMr. and Mrs. J. Leigh GriffithMr. and Mrs. Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr.Mrs. Charles W. Hawkins IIIL. O. Heidtke and Cynthia H. LunaDr. and Mrs. Robert W. Herring, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Damon T. HiningerMs. Patricia Hollander and Mr. Marc HollanderMr. and Mrs. Ephriam H. Hoover IIIGail and Jeff JacobsKatherine A. Johnson and Bob P. DeBastianiWill Kendrick and Emily VerchotaMark and Kay KimbroughRobin and Bill KingMr. Neil B. Krugman and Ms. Lee PrattJeff and Andrea LaneMr. and Mrs. Fred W. LazenbyJohn and Monica Mackie

James A. McKanna and Vivien A. CasagrandeMr. and Mrs. Martin F. McNamara IIIPatricia and James MunroJana and Randy ParhamPaul and Susan RutledgeMr. and Mrs. John Claiborne SiffordJoe and Joanne SowellGloria and Paul SternbergAnne and Jack StringhamChris A. and Linda G. TaylorMr. and Mrs. James S. Turner, Jr.Julie and Breck WalkerJim Womack and Anne Henderson

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLEAnonymous (4)Mr. and Mrs. Clint B. AdamsDr. and Mrs. Jeff AdamsCarolyn E. Amiot and David B. AmiotLee Ann and George AndersonMr. and Mrs. William F. AndrewsAlexandra and James ArmstrongMichelle and Rod ArnoldKevin and Colleen AtwoodMr. and Mrs. Ray BashamMr. and Mrs. David J. BaulchMr. and Mrs. Robert E. Baulch, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Baulch IIIMr. and Mrs. David A. BerezovMr. and Mrs. Kenneth Berry, Jr.Phil and Amberly BillingtonKaren and Pete BirdMr. and Mrs. Bill BlevinsMr. and Mrs. Dan K. BorsosSara and Richard BovenderCathy and Martin BrownKathryn and David BrownLinda and Dan BrownMelinda and John BuntinSarah and Terry CalvaniMr. and Mrs. William H. CammackBarbara and Eric ChazenMr. and Mrs. Sam E. ChristopherConnie and Tom CigarranMr. and Mrs. G. William Coble IIMr. and Mrs. Neely Coble IIITeri and Alan CohenChase ColeJohn O. ColtonMr. and Mrs. Charles W. Cook, Jr.Ms. Linda G. CooperJon and Kate Cornelius

Elise and Harvey CrouchJanine and Ben CundiffMr. and Mrs. G. Thomas CurtisKim and Eddie DeMossThe Rev. and Mrs. G. Fred DettwillerMarty and Betty DickensNicholas E. Dugger Margaret and James DunnRobert and Deborah DurrettPeg and Andrew DuthieKatharin and Barry DyerAnn and Glenn EadenMr. and Mrs. Mark J. EddyMark and Deborah EdwardsJane and Richard Eskind and FamilyMr. and Mrs. DeWitt EzellJill L. FachillaJason Facio and Paul VasterlingMr. and Mrs. John D. FergusonThomas M. FinanAdmiral and Mrs. James H. FinneyDara and Craig FreibergChip and Heather FridrichDr. John C. Frist, Jr.Mr. Bruce S. GalloDodie and Carl GeorgeMr. Andrew D. Giacobone and Mrs. Krysta J. McNaughton-GiacoboneJames C. Gooch and Jennie P. SmithMr. and Mrs. C. David GriffinKathy and John GriffinBarbara and Lee GrubbsCarolyn and Hartley HallMr. Joel Hall and Ms. Amanda GrossBen and Brittany HanbackRuth Ann and Bill HarnischJonathan HarwellDr. and Mrs. Daniel A. HatefMary Jeffords HawkinsMr. and Mrs. Gary R. HaynesDr. Stephan Heckers and Ms. Christine KonradiMs. Sheri Horn and Mr. Mike CampbellAshley and Joe HowellEllen W. HudsonMr. and Mrs. Thomas W. HulmeMr. Charles Heath Jackson and Dr. Gretchen Purcell JacksonEllen and Kenneth JacobsMr. and Mrs. Clint JenningsEdie and David JohnsonMelvin N. Johnson, DBAMr. and Mrs. William P. Johnston

An Art Deco AffairSaturday, August 13

6:00–8:30 p.m.$50 per member; $75 per non-member

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit fristcenter.org/artdecosociety.

Come celebrate the glamour and luxury of the Jazz Age. Enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and live music, along with this after-hours opportunity to view Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945–1975; Inka Essenhigh: Between Worlds; and Women, Art, and

Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise. Guests are encouraged to wear black and white.

All proceeds support the ongoing care of the Frist Center’s historic art deco building.

G E T I N V O L V E D | A T T H E F R I S T | 1 5

Dr. and Mrs. David Scott JonesMarty and Roy JordanMr. and Mrs. Joseph S. JudkinsDavid KingPeggy and Randy KinnardChris and Beth KirklandWalter and Sarah KnestrickSusan Knowles and Andrew SaftelLucy and Sam KuykendallMr. and Mrs. Randolph M. LaGassePaul and Dana LatourTrish and John LindlerMr. and Mrs. Bryan LipinskiGage and Shelley LoganJane and Jim MainMaxine and Frank MajorsPat and Dave MaloneDavid and Lisa ManningMr. and Mrs. Stephen S. MathewsLeon MayMr. and Mrs. Robert A. McCabe, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Mark McDonaldMr. and Mrs. F. Max MerrellRichard L. and Sharalena MillerMr. Stephen P. Miller and Ms. Connie V. DowellMr. William T. Morris and Mrs. Debbie MorrisMr. and Mrs. Mike NacaratoEric and Amy NeffLeslie and Scott NewmanGerald and Donna NicelyAgatha L. NolenMr. and Mrs. N. Jack Nuismer, Jr.Dr. Harrell Odom and Mr. Barry CookKatherine and Robert OlsenSonny Palmer and Jean PattonHannah ParamoreMs. Autumn ParrottMr. and Mrs. George M. ParrottHal and Peggy PenningtonMr. and Mrs. Philip M. PfefferMr. and Mrs. R. Shannon Pollard, Jr.Scott M. and Carol Len Frist PortisEllen Jones PryorJan and James RamseyDr. Edgar ReedMr. and Mrs. Dudley C. RichterMrs. Walter M. Robinson, Jr.Dr. and Mrs. Charles E. RoosMr. and Mrs. John F. SaidyMark and Vicki ScalaDr. Norm Scarborough and Ms. Kimberly HewellRick and Lynn Scarola

Dr. William Schaffner and Ms. Lois C. KnightSandra Schatten Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. SchatzWalter and Mary SchatzMr. Jim SchmitzPaul ScottMr. and Mrs. Robert SewellJoan Blum ShayneMr. and Mrs. Tom SherrardNicholas and Sue SievekingPatti and Brian SmallwoodMr. and Mrs. Overton T. SmithRuth and Neil SmithJames and Leah SohrMr. and Mrs. Edward A. StackMr. and Mrs. James R. StadlerMr. and Mrs. Thomas Rye SteeleDr. and Mrs. Robert SteinMr. and Mrs. David StewartMr. and Mrs. James P. StonehockerDeborah StoryHope and Howard StringerBruce and Elaine SullivanMrs. Robert L. SullivanRev. and Mrs. Tim TaylorJulianne and Scott ThomasJackie and Dewitt ThompsonAlex and Emily TownesByron and Aleta TraugerDianne and Tom TrueSeab and Patti TuckJudy and Tom TurkMs. Linda Van AukenMs. Joyce A. ViseRobert and Nancy WahlBayard H. Walters and Rosemary Lab WaltersPeggy and John WarnerJonathan and Janet WeaverAlix and Monica Weiss SharpMr. and Mrs. Morris WerthanMr. Stacy WidelitzGail and David WilliamsJerry and Ernie WilliamsMr. and Mrs. W. Ridley Wills IIJustin and Barbara WilsonMr. Matthew W. Wyatt and Mr. William B. LylesJanet and Alan YuspehShirley ZeitlinNicholas S. Zeppos and Lydia A. Howarth

Photo: Mackenzie LaRoe

Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Inc.919 BroadwayNashville, Tennessee 37203fristcenter.org

NONPROFIT

ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

NASHVILLE, TN

PERMIT NO. 4196

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is

supported in part by

Samurai: The Way of the WarriorO p e n i n g N o v e m b e r 4 Samurai, a term that roughly translates to “those who serve,” refers to a legendary warrior class that played an important role in Japanese politics and society from the late eighth until the mid-nineteenth century. This exhibition includes finely crafted decorative and utilitarian objects related to samurai life, which provide insight into their moral, cultural, and aesthetic codes.

This exhibition was organized by Contemporanea Progetti in collaboration with the Museo Stibbert, Florence, Italy.

ABOVE: Haruta school. Helmet, first half of the 17th century. Steel, gilded copper, lacquer, gold, wood (Japanese foxglove), silk, and Japanese deerskin. Collection of Museo Stibbert

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