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Director’s MessageAs our valued members and friends, you should always be the first to know what is happening at the Harn Museum of Art. After this issue of InForm, the museum’s members’ magazine will have a new look and be smaller in scale. This change is in accordance with the University of Florida’s request that all units reduce print-related expenses by 20 percent. While helping to contain expenses, this measure also contributes to the university’s goals for environmental sustainability. We also have two new features of membership: a free subscription to MutualArt and a quarterly e-mail announcement for members (see next page). Please send an e-mail to membership@harn.ufl.edu if you would like to take part in these exciting new features.

With guidance from Alexander Haas Martin and Partners, an Atlanta-based consulting firm, and with input from many museum stakeholders, the Harn staff recently completed a new five-year strategic plan for 2008-2013. I would like to share with you the Museum’s values, five broad institutional goals from the new plan and our vision statement. As always, our mission is printed on the back of InForm. Each museum department has a detailed action plan that supports achievement of the five broad goals. The complete strategic plan will be posted on the museum’s Web site. We look forward to pursuing these ambitious goals over the next five years.

Sincerely,Rebecca Martin Nagy, Ph.D., Director

ValuesInnovation: The Harn Museum of Art exemplifies innovative leadership among university art museums, pursuing original research to develop stellar collections, engaging exhibitions, creative publications and unique programs.

Education: The Harn places education and scholarship about art at the forefront of its activities, providing visitors with engaging and inspiring experiences that enhance visual literacy and promote cultural diversity.

Community: The Harn contributes to an interconnected, international community by being accessible to all and employing art to explore and celebrate the diversity of world cultures.

Excellence: The Harn Museum achieves excellence through diligent stewardship of resources and collections, maintaining the utmost integrity and accountability in all areas of its operations.

Institutional Goals1. To weave the museum’s programs into the academic fabric of the University of Florida in order to enhance student learning experiences and support university goals for research, teaching and service. 2. To broaden the Harn’s national and international reputation and influence as a leader among university art museums.

3. To provide a welcoming environment that stimulates engaging and meaningful art-centered visitor experiences for diverse audiences.

4. To use the museum’s diverse art collections and exhibitions to facilitate dialogue about global ideas and issues.

5. To work with Cultural Plaza partners to make the Plaza a destination for the experience and enjoyment of art, culture and nature.

VisionThe Harn Museum of Art distinguishes itself among university art museums as a creative laboratory for innovation in the visual arts. Accordingly, the Harn unites the university and the wider community to make groundbreaking contributions to research, teaching and service. The Harn makes great works of art accessible to diverse audiences by using a variety of innovative approaches to the exhibition and interpretation of art.

Helen Frankenthaler, Source, 1968, acrylic on canvasLent from the Collection of Carol and Stephen SheyParadigms and the Unexpected: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Shey Collection

Featured ExhibitionCrosscurrents in Recent Video Installation: Water as a Metaphor for IdentityJune 17 - September 7, 2008

Crosscurrents in Recent Video Installation: Water as a Metaphor for Identity, was organized by curators Pamela Allara of Brandeis University and Peter Probst of Tufts University. This travelling exhibition presents recent video installations by four international artists with ties to Africa: Zwelethu Mthethwa, IngridMwangiRobertHutter, Moataz Nasr and Berni Searle. In each work, the amorphous quality of water is explored as a metaphor for shifting notions of identity, migration and memory—of fluidity and instability, of violence, of traumatic loss of life and of spiritual rebirth. Water pertains to a world where cultures are no longer rimmed by territorial boundaries but seep across given national borders and continental shores. Water facilitates passages, but also erodes solid entities; it changes character and refuses containment. Water conceptually speaks to the invisible currents that drive the dissolution of familiar categories of race, nation and identity, and to the dilution and loss of cultural heritage—all central issues today in contemporary post-colonial art and theory.

The artistic positions presented in Crosscurrents comment on these issues in ways as diverse as the artists’ backgrounds and experiences. With good reason, the artists prefer not to be identified as ‘African’, as they all come from countries rich with diverse cultures and histories. Two are from South Africa, one originally from Kenya and another from Egypt. Yet, as Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina has recently noted, westerners “treat Africa as if it were one country.” Challenging and thought-provoking, the works displayed in this exhibition are not only an invitation to reflect upon water as a metaphor for identity and contemporary experience, but also an occasion to rethink and question our own ideas about Africa, locality and the politics of violence and exclusion in a time of globalization. Funding provided by the Harn Program Endowment and The Talking Phone Book.

top: IngridMwangiRobertHutter, Down by the River, 2001Video projection, light object, red soil with text

New Member BenefitsBeginning in May 2008, Harn membership will include a site subscription to MutualArt.com, a revolutionary new online information service. MutualArt.com compiles current exhibition and event information from hundreds of museums around the world, as well as the latest art news, all on one Web site! To receive your special access code, please send an e-mail to membership@harn.ufl.edu.

Another new benefit for Harn members will be a quarterly members-only e-mail featuring special information, reminders about member events and coupons. If you would like to subscribe to this list, please send an e-mail to membership@harn.ufl.edu with your first and last name.

Come for Dinner…We invite you to Come for Dinner… and help support Harn exhibitions! Tickets are still available for the next two dinners in our exciting year long series. Call Tracy Pfaff to reserve your place for these and future events!

Glass Blast and More hosted by Peter and Dixie NeilsonMay 16, 6:30 p.m.Come for Dinner… meet local collectors while enjoying an enchanting evening in their home featuring a collection of notable works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Dale Chihuly, Hiram Williams and Jerry Uelsmann. Enjoy a glass blowing demonstration and take-home mementos by local glass artists Sky Campbell and Sarah Hinds.

Cutting Edge Africa: Art and Artists of Our Times hosted by Rebecca NagyJune 18, 6:30 p.m.Come for Dinner… join Curator of African Art Susan Cooksey for delectable North African cuisine and stimulating conversation. Learn about the Harn’s recent Ethiopian contemporary art acquisitions and current exhibition of African video art while dining at the home of Rebecca Nagy, Director of the Harn.

Exhibition Circle Hosts and hostesses of “Come for Dinner…” are the founding members of the Harn’s newly established Exhibition Circle. Another option to join the Exhibition Circle is through an outright donation. The funds generated for this “giving circle” will collectively support the work of Harn curators. Please consider hosting a dinner in 2009 or make a $5,000 contribution to the Exhibition Circle Fund. Either way, you will enjoy special privileges while making a real impact at the Harn.

Annual Fund Keep an eye out for our Annual Fund mailing, which should arrive in early May. Donations given to the Annual Fund are in addition to your membership, and go toward the greatest needs of the museum, whereas membership funds are used to provide member pARTies and InForm. A gift to either the Annual Spring or Fall appeal is 100% tax deductible and a very important component of budgetary support for the museum. Thank you in advance for considering participation in unrestricted giving.

Highlighted AcquisitionBy Dulce RománHarn Museum Curator of Modern Art

Esphyr SlobodkinaAmerican, born Russia, 1908-2002Mural Sketch #11937Oil on masonite9 ½ x 22 ½ in. (24.3 x 57.15 cm.)Museum purchase, funds provided by the Caroline Julier and James G. Richardson Art Acquisition Fund2007.36

Esphyr Slobodkina was a pioneer in the development of abstract art in America and was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists group. Born in Siberia and raised in remote industrial outposts, Slobodkina first learned design from her mother, a couture dressmaker. Upon graduation from high school in 1927, Slobodkina emigrated to the United States and the following year began studies at the National Academy of Design in New York City. In 1931 she met fellow Russian artist Ilya Bolotowsky, whom she later married, and quickly absorbed abstract styles under his tutelage. During the Depression, Slobodkina worked as a dressmaker and textile designer and incorporated this experience into her artwork. Her paintings reflect her interest in collage, with flat, layered forms and carefully constructed arrangements inspired by textile designs.

Mural Sketch #1 represents a design for an unidentified mural project and incorporates elements from Slobodkina’s work in collage and assemblage. The flattened, abstracted style with interlocking forms and pure color reveal Slobodkina’s highly refined sense of artistic style and astute sensitivity to color. Acquired by the Harn in December, Mural Sketch #1 will be included in the exhibition Esphyr Slobodkina: Rediscovering a Pioneer in American Abstraction, organized by the Slobodkina Foundation. This major retrospective exhibition opens at the Harn in June 2009 and travels to additional venues through 2010.

Support the Harn Museum

Florida Tomorrow is the University of Florida’s comprehensive campaign to raise $1.5 billion, impacting every corner of the university. The Harn is a part of this campaign, and as such has several goals specifically tailored to the museum. Campaign goals for the Harn are: support for museum professionals; support for art acquisitions and collections care; support for exhibitions, publications and programs; and support for museum grounds and facilities. In this issue of InForm, I want to focus your attention on the third goal: support for exhibitions, publications and programs.

The Harn Museum of Art consistently produces a wide variety of challenging and innovative exhibitions and stimulating educational programs. Exhibition support is at the very heart of fundraising for the museum. While state support is dwindling, corporate support is steadily growing for the Harn. In addition, a perpetual stream of endowment income is critical for exhibition planning. The ultimate Florida Tomorrow goal at the Harn is to achieve a minimum $5 million influx in endowments for exhibition support, which would infuse $200,000 spendable income annually into the exhibition budget. This represents the most important work of the museum: exhibition of the collections and of loaned artwork to benefit the visitor experience. A minimum endowment of $30,000 can add to this ambitious goal while collectively, support for exhibitions through endowments will lead to this goal’s realization. Furthermore, the opportunity to create biennial-or triennial-named exhibitions through an endowment is an example of a fitting legacy for a donor.

Catalogues accompanying exhibitions continue to be an integral priority as curators work to publish the museum’s collections and advance the museum’s presence as a leader among university art museums. Consider creating an endowment to support publications. This is another fitting tribute, as each publication supported by this perpetual stream of income will carry the endowment name.

Educational programs for all ages are another component of the museum’s work. Lectures and artist visits bring exhibitions to life, fullfilling the Harn’s mission. Endowment funds to support named lecture series, visiting artists and scholars are just a few examples of the programming possibilities that make art accessible to a diverse audience. This aspect of the museum’s work truly advances teaching and research and serves as a catalyst for creative engagement.

Consider your potential to support Florida Tomorrow at the Harn Museum of Art: an outright gift, a pledge to the campaign, or a bequest. Contact me to discuss how you can have a meaningful role in this campaign.

Phyllis DeLaneyDirector of Developmentpdelaney@harn.ufl.edu

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