EXHIBITIONS
SEPTEMBER 4–OCTOBER 14 / Reception: Thursday, September 6, 5–7:30 pm
“The Dark Side of Life”: 19th-Century Narrative Cycles by Rethel, Klinger, and Kollwitz
”The Dark Side of Life” is a compelling exhibition of works that reveal the modern world in an unconventional and oft times searing light.
“The dark side of life” is a term the German artist Max Klinger (1857–1920) used when comparing painting to the graphic arts, saying that the black and white abstraction of the graphic arts was better suited to depicting the emotional and social realities of contemporary life than the coloristic optimism of painting. Klinger’s work embodied this dichotomy as did that of Alfred Rethel (1816–1859) and Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945). During the latter half of the 19th century, all three created narrative cycles of thematically related works in print media that dealt with the realities of life directly and indirectly. They confronted contemporary society with narratives about the consequences of societies deeply divided by class and economics or with imagery that dwelled on individual psychology.
At the core of this exhibition are three folios: Rethel’s Another Dance of Death (1849), the best-known visual commentary on the revolutionary events in Europe in 1848; Käthe Kollwitz’s narrative cycle The Weavers’ Revolt (1887), which passionately shows that her sympathies were with the peasant workers; and Max Klinger’s most psychologically complex narrative tale A Glove (1881), which conveys the psychological turmoil of the protagonist who has found and kept the dropped glove of an unknown and beautiful woman.
SEPTEMBER 4–OCTOBER 14 / Reception: Thursday, September 6, 5–7:30 pm
The 46th Annual Art Department Faculty Exhibition
For artistic variety, contemporaneity and quality, the annual Art and Art History Department studio faculty exhibition excels. The media includes painting, sculpture, illustration, graphic design, printmaking, photography, and installation art. Among the thirteen faculty members from the Storrs and Torrington campuses exhibiting are featured artists Monica Bock, sculpture and installation; Cora Lynn Deibler, illustration; and Pamela Bramble, painting.
OCTOBER 23–DECEMBER 16 / Reception: Sunday, November 4, 2–4:30 pm
Taking Shape: Building The Benton’s Permanent Collection
Taking Shape: Building The Benton’s Permanent Collection offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of developing a university museum collection, acknowledging such factors as the geography, size, and mission of the collecting institution, the expertise of the director and curator, and the often unpredictable nature of donations and funding.
In the case of the William Benton Museum of Art, it began in 1933, when former Connecticut College of Agriculture President Charles Lewis Beach donated to the College many of the works that would comprise the Museum’s founding collection and a trust fund for future acquisitions. By 1967 when the University Art Museum opened, the collection had grown to include nearly 200 paintings and prints. The Museum was renamed the William Benton Museum of Art in 1971, and in the years since, generous donations and endowments have allowed for the continued growth of the collection. The Benton presently holds approximately 6,000 objects from the 15th century to the present.
Taking Shape spotlights the manner in which the Benton has emerged as a place for art, education, and culture for the University community and beyond.
OCTOBER 30–DECEMBER 16 / Reception: Sunday, November 4, 2–4:30 pm / Artist talk by Shimon Attie at 3 pm
Shimon Attie: MetroPAL.IS
MetroPAL.IS is presented in an oval configuration of eight video screens with the viewer standing within the oval. It is the creation of the contemporary artist Shimon Attie, whose intention is for the artwork to re-imagine and re-configure the seemingly intractable Middle East conflict between Palestinians and Israelis by engaging their shared secondary hybrid identity—that of being New Yorkers. In many ways, the artwork is as much about what it means to be a New Yorker, to live in the United States, and to have a layered identity as an Israeli or Palestinian as it is about conflict in the Middle East.
Each of 24 participants read a scripted part from a hybrid document that Attie created, that merges the Israeli Declaration of Independence from 1948 with the Palestinian Declaration of Independence from 1988. When a few obvious key signifiers are removed, it is remarkable how much the two documents overlap and mirror each other.
The commissioning and presentation of this multiple-channel immersive HD video installation originated with and was supported by the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT. Its presentation at the Benton is supported in part by the Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
EVENTS / All events are open to the public and are held at the Benton unless otherwise noted.
MUSIC ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON / September 9, 5 pm
A program of works by Schubert, Heggie, and Debussy performed by Music Department faculty: Meredith Ziegler, mezzo-soprano; Matthew Cimino, tenor; Jeffrey McEvoy, baritone; and Constance Rock, soprano. Free admission for museum members. $5 for non-members
THE GENE AND GEORGIA MITTELMAN LECTURE by Holland Cotter, New York Times art critic and 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for Criticism / Thursday, September 13, 6 pm / von der Mehden Hall / Free admission
CAMPUS ART WALKS: Beyond the Museum Walls
12:15 pm / Docent-led “walks and talks” highlight the University’s remarkable collection of public art. September 26 / October 10 / October 24 / November 7. If weather is inclement, please call ahead to 860-486-4520. Free admission.
GALLERY TALKS
12:15 pm / September 12, September 20, October 4, October 12, November 1, November 15, November 29, December 6. Free admission.
FRIDAY FORUMS / Free admission for museum members. $10 for non-members
> October 5, 5:30–7 pm: The Business of Art: Price vs. Value
> November 2, 5:30–7 pm: Who Gets to Call It Art?
PLEASE NOTE NEW FALL WEEKDAY HOURS
EXHIBITION GALLERIES: Fall exhibitions open September 4. Hours: Tuesday–Friday 12–4:30 pm / Saturday & Sunday 1–4:30 pm. Closed September 7, October 16–22, November 17–26
THE STORE and THE BEANERY: Opens August 28. Tuesday–Friday 8:30 am–4 pm / Saturday & Sunday 1–4 pm. Closed September 1–3, September 7, October 20–21, November 17-26.
THE WILLIAM BENTON MUSEUM OF ART is located at the University of Connecticut, 245 Glenbrook Road, Storrs, CT. 860.486.4520. www.thebenton.org. www.facebook.com/benton.museum
CONTACT: Diane Lewis, diane.lewis@uconn.edu / 860.486.1705 / cell 860.918.0525