All events are free and take place at UMMA unless otherwise noted.
The Six Senses of Buddhism is an exhibition of works from UMMA’s collection associated with different types of Japanese Buddhism. Local artist and long-time UMMA docent Susan Clinthorne will lead families on an exploration of the exhibition followed by a hands-on workshop. Designed for families with children ages 6 and up to experience art together.
The Six Senses of Buddhism is an exhibition of works from UMMA’s collection associated with different types of Japanese Buddhism. Local artist and long-time UMMA docent Susan Clinthorne will lead families on an exploration of the exhibition followed by a hands-on workshop. Designed for families with children ages 6 and up to experience art together.
Storytime at the Museum promotes art enjoyment for our youngest patrons. We read a story in the galleries and include a fun, age-appropriate, hands-on activity related to it. This month, children ages three to six are invited to join us as we celebrate Japan Week reading One Leaf Rides the Wind, Counting in a Japanese Garden. Parents must accompany children. Siblings are welcome to join the group. Meet in front of the UMMA Store.
Warren & Flick explore the nuanced textures of a two-person band. Using both original material and standards from many genres they have arranged in a personal style, the group finds new depth in the simplicity of the duo. Jacob Warren plays double bass, while Grant Flick plays violin, tenor guitar and mandolin. Currently based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, the two met at the 2015 Acoustic Music Seminar (AMS), a program accepting only sixteen young string players from around the world to participate in a week of intense improvisation, composition, and performance training. A part of the Savannah Music Festival in Georgia, AMS is led by multi-instrumentalist Mike Marshall with the help of guitarist Julian Lage.
After discovering their shared musical interests, Jacob and Grant began collaborating as a duo as well as in larger projects including The Leafless and Westbound Situation, both comprised of former AMS participants. Jacob and Grant attend University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, & Dance, where they spend much of their time arranging, composing and performing together. With Jacob’s classical foundation and Grant’s experience in bluegrass and jazz, their contrasting backgrounds give them a unique and compelling musical narrative.
Find them on Facebook.
The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene awakens us to the physical and social effects of the Anthropocene, a much-debated term used to define a new geological epoch shaped by human activity. Structured around ecological issues, the exhibition presents photography, video, and sculpture that address subjects and themes related to raw materials, disasters, consumption, loss, and justice. Join an UMMA docent tour to explore how the international artists in this exhibition respond to dire global and local circumstances with resistance and imagination—sustaining an openness, wonder, and curiosity about the world to come.
UMMA and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) welcome artist Mary Mattingly to Ann Arbor for a three-day residency, June 27–30. Mattingly, whose photograph, Life of Objects, is featured in UMMA’s exhibition The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene, is deeply concerned with our relationships to objects—where they come from, where they go, their implications for humans, and their impact on the environment. The centerpiece of the residency is a large-scale public art project titled Objects in the Round, in the Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall where festivalgoers will build a miniature landscape with Mattingly that explores relationships with objects, built landscapes, and habits of consumption.
To kick off her residency, Mattingly will be joined by thought leaders from U-M and beyond—A2SF's James Carter, UMMA curator Jennifer Friess, arts curator of the U-M Institute for the Humanities Amanda Krugliak, watershed planner of the Huron River Watershed Council Daniel Brown, Detroit-based interdisciplinary artist Sacramento Knoxx, independent film director and producer Diane Cheklich, and Christy Bieber, co-director of The Aadizookaan—for a discussion on the possibilities and challenges for artists and arts organizations creating and presenting artwork that explores sustainability and the environment. The Long Table format was born from director and scholar Lois Weaver’s exercise on participation and public engagement. Its aim is to foster civic-minded discussions on ideas and questions surrounding the city's creative culture. It’s a dinner table atmosphere encouraging participants to ask questions, make statements, leave comments, or openly sit, listen, and watch.
For more information about additional programs for Mattingly's residency and related to The World to Come exhibition, click here.
UMMA and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival welcome artist Mary Mattingly to Ann Arbor for a 3-day residency, June 27 - June 30. Mattingly, whose photograph Life of Objects is featured in UMMA’s exhibition The World to Come, is deeply concerned with our relationships to objects—where they come from, where they go, their implications for humans, and their impact on the environment.
Mattingly will lead a large-scale collaborative public art project over three evenings. Come build a miniature landscape with Mattingly and other festival goers and explore your own relationship to objects, built landscapes, and habits of consumption. Bring a household item or object you are willing to part with to contribute to the project. Objects in the Round is an exclusive opportunity for every generation to engage with arts and ecology.
Objects in the Round schedule
Thursday, June 27 - Opening 7-10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, June 28 & 29 - Workshops and Construction 5-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 - Deconstruction/Gathering 5-8 p.m.
Additional programs:
Thursday, June 27, 5:30 p.m. Long Table Discussion: Art / Environment / Sustainability
Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall at 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor
Sunday, June 30, 3-4:30 p.m. In Conversation: Life and Afterlife of Objects with Mary Mattingly and curators Jennifer M. Friess and Amanda Krugliak
University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor
Please register to attend.
UMMA and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival welcome artist Mary Mattingly to Ann Arbor for a 3-day residency, June 27 - June 30. Mattingly, whose photograph Life of Objects is featured in UMMA’s exhibition The World to Come, is deeply concerned with our relationships to objects—where they come from, where they go, their implications for humans, and their impact on the environment.
Mattingly will lead a large-scale collaborative public art project over three evenings. Come build a miniature landscape with Mattingly and other festival goers and explore your own relationship to objects, built landscapes, and habits of consumption. Bring a household item or object you are willing to part with to contribute to the project. Objects in the Round is an exclusive opportunity for every generation to engage with arts and ecology.
Objects in the Round schedule
Thursday, June 27 - Opening 7-10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, June 28 & 29 - Workshops and Construction 5-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 - Deconstruction/Gathering 5-8 p.m.
Additional programs:
Thursday, June 27, 5:30 p.m. Long Table Discussion: Art / Environment / Sustainability
Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall at 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor
Sunday, June 30, 3-4:30 p.m. In Conversation: Life and Afterlife of Objects with Mary Mattingly and curators Jennifer M. Friess and Amanda Krugliak
University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor
Please register to attend.
UMMA and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival welcome artist Mary Mattingly to Ann Arbor for a 3-day residency, June 27 - June 30. Mattingly, whose photograph Life of Objects is featured in UMMA’s exhibition The World to Come, is deeply concerned with our relationships to objects—where they come from, where they go, their implications for humans, and their impact on the environment.
Mattingly will lead a large-scale collaborative public art project over three evenings. Come build a miniature landscape with Mattingly and other festival goers and explore your own relationship to objects, built landscapes, and habits of consumption. Bring a household item or object you are willing to part with to contribute to the project. Objects in the Round is an exclusive opportunity for every generation to engage with arts and ecology.
Objects in the Round schedule
Thursday, June 27 - Opening 7-10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, June 28 & 29 - Workshops and Construction 5-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 - Deconstruction/Gathering 5-8 p.m.
Additional programs:
Thursday, June 27, 5:30 p.m. Long Table Discussion: Art / Environment / Sustainability
Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall at 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor
Sunday, June 30, 3-4:30 p.m. In Conversation: Life and Afterlife of Objects with Mary Mattingly and curators Jennifer M. Friess and Amanda Krugliak
University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor
Please register to attend.
Emily Slomovits is an Ann Arbor-based musician, actress, and teacher. She will be playing a mixture of classical violin pieces and fiddle tunes from around the world accompanied by Billy King. Emily regularly plays music with her father and uncle, the duo Gemini, as well as Annie and Rod Capps, and many other local musicians. She is a member of Spinning Dot Theatre and has also been seen with The Encore Musical Theatre Company, The Croswell Opera House, Performance Network, and Wild Swan Theatre. Emily helps to lead Spinning Dot's Youth Company and teaches violin, voice, and guitar for Manchester's Cultural Arts Strings program and the Grass Lake School of Music. She writes regular theater and music previews and reviews for Current Magazine, PULP, and The Washtenaw Jewish News.
Billy King is a seasoned performer, songwriter, and recording artist. His presence in the independent music scene brings an original blend of rootsy folk/pop with an occasional touch of country swing. Billy's versatility as a multi-genre singer-songwriter is matched by his ability on a wide range of instruments from guitar and banjo to keyboards and accordion. Some of Billy's performance highlights include performing at the The Ark, Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Detroit Art's Beat & Eats, Blind Pig and many more.
Art museums generally give primacy to the sense of sight. Religious and ritual objects, on the other hand, stimulate an array of multisensory experiences. Focusing on works from UMMA’s collection associated with different types of Japanese Buddhism, we engage all of the six senses in this exhibition. These six are integral to Buddhist devotion: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and mind (or the activity of thinking, including what is perceived via the other senses). The “Six Senses” gallery experience extends beyond vision to include: the sound of chanting and ritual implements; the fragrance of incense; the feel of bronze, ceramic, and silk; and the creation of mental images. Gain a deeper understanding of the nature and histories of objects used in Buddhist practice with a docent tour of this fascinating exhibition.
Artist Mary Mattingly is deeply concerned with our relationships to objects—where they come from, where they go, their implications for humans, and their impact on the environment. Mattingly asks us to consider how consumerist societies enact histories of exploitation in the creation of objects by mapping complex supply chains from mineral mines to store shelves.
Returning to Michigan after a 2016 residency and exhibition at the U-M Institute for Humanities, during which she travelled to the Upper Peninsula’s cobalt mines, engaged U-M students (including UMMA’s Student Engagement Council) in tracing source materials, and surfaced stories to create a time capsule, Mattingly will share how Michigan continues to inform her work. Mattingly’s photograph, Life of Objects, is on view in UMMA’s presentation of the exhibition The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene (April 27–July 28, 2019), which explores the impact of human activity on our planet through art. Join Mattingly, along with Jennifer M. Friess, UMMA Assistant Curator of Photography, and Amanda Krugliak, Arts Curator at the U-M Institute for the Humanities for a look in the gallery, followed by a discussion of the complex terrain Mattingly’s artistic practice explores.
Immediately following this UMMA program, Mattingly and the public will disassemble the project from 5–8 p.m. Stop by the Institute for the Humanities, 202 S. Thayer, to see the time capsule from Mattingly’s 2016 residency on your way to Top of the Park.
This program is part of a 3-day, June 27–30, residency with the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and UMMA during which Mattingly will lead a large-scale public art project, titled Objects in the Round, in the Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall. Come build a miniature landscape with Mattingly and other festival goers and explore your own relationship to objects, built landscapes, and habits of consumption.
Objects in the Round schedule
Thursday, June 27 - Opening 7-10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, June 28 & 29 - Workshops and Construction 5-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 - Deconstruction/Gathering 5-8 p.m.
Additional programs:
Thursday, June 27, 5:30 p.m. Long Table Discussion: Art / Environment / Sustainability
Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall at 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor
UMMA and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival welcome artist Mary Mattingly to Ann Arbor for a 3-day residency, June 27 - June 30. Mattingly, whose photograph Life of Objects is featured in UMMA’s exhibition The World to Come, is deeply concerned with our relationships to objects—where they come from, where they go, their implications for humans, and their impact on the environment.
Mattingly will lead Objects in the Round, a large-scale collaborative public art project over three evenings in which Mattingly and other festival goers and build and explore together. On Sunday, June 30, participants are invited to deconstruct the installation. Following the deconstruction, join the artist in the Grove for a gathering.
Objects in the Round schedule
Thursday, June 27 - Opening 7-10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, June 28 & 29 - Workshops and Construction 5-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 30 - Deconstruction/Gathering 5-8 p.m.
Additional programs:
Thursday, June 27, 5:30 p.m. Long Table Discussion: Art / Environment / Sustainability
Annex tent at Top of the Park on Ingalls Mall at 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor
Sunday, June 30, 3-4:30 p.m. In Conversation: Life and Afterlife of Objects with Mary Mattingly and curators Jennifer M. Friess and Amanda Krugliak
University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor
Please register to attend.
The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene awakens us to the physical and social effects of the Anthropocene, a much-debated term used to define a new geological epoch shaped by human activity. Structured around ecological issues, the exhibition presents photography, video, and sculpture that address subjects and themes related to raw materials, disasters, consumption, loss, and justice. Join an UMMA docent tour to explore how the international artists in this exhibition respond to dire global and local circumstances with resistance and imagination—sustaining an openness, wonder, and curiosity about the world to come.
The Art, Ideas, & Politics Book Club is a partnership between UMMA and Literati Bookstore in connection with UMMA's exhibition Abstraction, Color, and Politics in the Early 1970s. Surrounded by the large-scale artworks by Sam Gilliam, Helen Frankenthaler, Al Loving, and Louise Nevelson, we will read and discuss bold and critical voices—both fiction and nonfiction—guided by Literati Bookstore's Creative Programs Manager, Gina Balibrera Amyx. Books will explore visions and critiques relevant to abstract art as well as the immense social changes of the period, and include Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (Jan 10), Art on My Mind, Visual Politics by bell hooks (March 14), Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel (May 9), Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner (July 11), and How We Get Free, edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Sept 12).
Gina Balibrera Amyx is the Creative Program Manager at Literati Bookstore, and a graduate of Zell MFA Program. Her writing has been featured in the Boston Review, Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly Review, and The Wandering Song, an anthology of the Central American diaspora.
The Art, Ideas, & Politics Book Club will meet on the second Thursday of the month, 12-1 p.m. in the exhibition gallery. Pick and choose or come to all of them. Books will be available for sale at Literati Bookstore as well as after book club meetings at UMMA, at a 15% book club discount.
Families with children ages six and up are invited to look, learn, and create together during UMMA's Family Art Studio sessions. Create your own project inspired by the UMMA exhibition The Power Family Program for Inuit Art: Tillirnanngittuq (which means "sensing the invisible just beyond it" or unexpected), followed by a hands-on workshop with local artist and UMMA docent Sophie Grillet.
Families with children ages six and up are invited to look, learn, and create together during UMMA's Family Art Studio sessions. Create your own project inspired by the UMMA exhibition The Power Family Program for Inuit Art: Tillirnanngittuq (which means "sensing the invisible just beyond it" or unexpected), followed by a hands-on workshop with local artist and UMMA docent Sophie Grillet.
Aaron Jonah Lewis is a multi-instrumentalist performer and educator. He has won awards at the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Festival, including First Place Neotraditional Band in 2008 and 2015; and at the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention, including First Place Bluegrass Fiddle in 2007. He has performed at major festivals from the US to the UK and from Italy to Finland.
Lewis has appeared on dozens of recordings from bluegrass and old time to swing jazz, modern experimental, and Turkish classical music projects. He has taught workshops at the the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and at the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London. He also plays and teaches banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass. Lewis is currently based in Detroit.
Aaron will be joined by Kyle Rhodes for this Pop Up performance.
The reinstallation of UMMA’s Apse, called “Collection Ensemble” highlights the breadth and variety of the Museum’s collection and juxtaposes works of art from different artists, periods, areas, and media. The installation is organized around a very large photograph of a Baroque church by Candida Höfer. From this centerpiece, the works of art are grouped in scenes or distinctive vignettes comprised of a broad mix of American, European, African, and Asian art from across media. The reinstallation doesn’t adhere to either chronological or geographic boundaries. Curated by Vera Grant, UMMA’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Of this installation, she says: “The exhibition recasts the role of the collection as an active, creative, sometimes startling source of material and ideas, open for debate and interpretation. The arrangements remind us that works of art can change in meaning and affect when placed in new contexts.” Join an docent to explore and interpret this exciting new project.
Kathy Sample, co-founder of Argus Farm Stop, and Dave Steinhauser of Steinhauser Farm in Ann Arbor will discuss small-scale farming, food processing, and innovative models for a new kind of farmer’s market. UMMA Assistant Curator of Photography Jennifer Friess will frame the discussion in the context of works in the exhibition The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene, which explores the negative impact of human activity on the planet. This program is the second of a two-part series focusing on food sustainability, access, and justice. The first program, "Feeding the World" takes place on May 19.
Refreshments will be served in the new UMMA Cafe following the program.
Andrew Brown's Djangophonique is a musical project that performs Jazz Manouche and Hot Swing inspired by the legendary gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Quintette du Hot Club de France.
Born in a sandstone Victorian farmhouse that has been in his family since it was built four generations ago, Andrew Brown is the son of a Motown session musician and grew up listening to the sounds of his dad’s piano as he steeped in musical influences from Duke Ellington to Stevie Wonder. As a young man returning from a trip to New Orleans with a newfound interest in swing, he co-founded the eclectic Americana group Appleseed Collective, with whom he has toured 150+ dates a year. Traveling all over the continental United States, playing esteemed venues and festivals such as The Ark, Sisters Folk Festival, Wheatland, Cervantes Ballroom, Summercamp Music Festival, Schuba’s, and The Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium, he cut his teeth as a guitarist, songwriter and band leader. Since slowing down his touring schedule in 2017, he began studying and performing the music of his favorite guitar player: Django Reinhardt. Since then he has studied at various music camps with many of the genres heavy-hitting players such as Angelo Debarre, Sebastian Gineaux, and Gonzalo Bergara, and was even invited to back up Denis Chang at one of his concerts. Andrew currently plays throughout Michigan with his own project Djangophonique, his band Appleseed Collective, and his friends' projects Third Coast Gypsy Jazz, and Smoking Dandies. He also teaches guitar, both generally and specifically, in the style of Django.
In celebration of UMMA’s new Power Family Program for Inuit Art, the Museum presents a special exhibition of two incredible, intertwining stories. One traces the development of contemporary Inuit art in the Canadian Arctic from the 1950s to the present. The other relates the fascinating story of the Power family’s important role in supporting and promoting Inuit art from the outset, bringing public attention to its artistic strength and cultural importance. The Power family’s collection is unusual in its strong representation of early contemporary carvings, incised drawings on ivory and antler, soapstone sculptures, and prints that evolved as Inuit artists developed their own artistic voices and responded creatively to their changing world.
Jake Reichbart is a veteran Ann Arbor musician, bandleader, and solo guitarist—perhaps you have even heard him play at The Earle Restaurant, where he has been performing three nights a week for the past 26 years. Jake has performed for two US presidents, at the Governor's Inaugural Ball three times, and many other high-end events. Other regular, past gigs include 5 years at The Kerrytown Bistro, 5 Years at Eve, The Restaurant, 15 years at the Common Grill in Chelsea, The Whitney in Detroit, and many others.
Find Jake on YouTube @jakereichbart
Join UMMA Assistant Curator of Photography Jennifer Friess and Education Outreach Program Coordinator Grace VanderVliet for a tour connecting environmental themes shared across three exhibitions on view at UMMA this summer: The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene, The Power Family Program for Inuit Art: Tillirnanngittuq, and Jason DeMarte: Garden of Artificial Delights. In each exhibition, artists from across the globe deeply engage with their environments and the effects of human activity on the landscape. Friess and VanderVliet will tour each exhibition, drawing connections between a diverse range of artistic practices.
Literati’s Eco Book Club goes on the road. Join us at UMMA on the occasion of the Museum’s exhibition of The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene. This thought-provoking exhibition grapples with the negative impact of human activity on the planet through the art of more than thirty-five international artists such as Sammy Baloji, Liu Bolin, Dana Levy, Mary Mattingly, Pedro Neves Marques, Gabriel Orozco, Trevor Paglen, and Thomas Struth. Discussions will be led by Literati’s Eco Book Club facilitator Alison Swan.
Sunday, June 2, 3 p.m. Great Tide Rising: Towards Clarity and Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Change by Kathleen Dean Moore. Join UMMA’s award-winning docents for a tour of The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene at 2 p.m.
Sunday, July 28, 3 p.m. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Preceding the Book Club, join curator Jennifer Friess and Education Outreach Program Coordinator Grace VanderVliet at 2 p.m. for “Cross Pollination,” a tour of the environmental themes in three exhibitions at UMMA: The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene; The Power Family Program for Inuit Art: Tillirnanngittuq; and Jason DeMarte: Garden of Artificial Delights.
Participants are welcome to join us for one or both of the Book Club meetings in the UMMA Living Rooms at the entry of the Apse. Books will be available for sale at Literati Bookstore as well as after book club meetings at UMMA, at a 15% book club discount.
Alison Swan’s poems and essays have appeared in many places, including her poetry chapbooks Before the Snow Moon and Dog Heart, and the recent award-winning anthologies Elemental: A Collection of Michigan Creative Nonfiction, Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology, and Here: Women Writing on the Upper Peninsula. Her anthology Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes is a Michigan Notable Book. A Mesa Refuge alum and a Petoskey Prize for Grassroots Environmental Leadership co-winner, she teaches literature and writing at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at Western Michigan University and lives in Ann Arbor.
In the midst of the political and cultural upheavals of the 60s and 70s, artists, critics, and the public grappled with the relationship between art, politics, race, and feminism. During these decades, the notion that abstraction was a purely formal and American art form, concerned only with timeless themes disconnected from the present, was met with increased skepticism. Women artists and artists of color began to actively and assertively explore abstraction’s possibilities. The artworks in Abstraction, Color, and Politics: The 1960s and 1970s demonstrate both radical and disarming changes in how artists worked and what they thought their art was about. Their new formal and intellectual strategies—seen here across large-scale and miniature work—dramatically transformed the practice of abstraction in the 1960s and 1970s in a politically shifting American landscape.
Meet Me at UMMA invites people with mild memory loss to enjoy a guided gallery experience along with family members or care partners. This program is designed for people who live at home and their companions.
If you or someone you care about is experiencing mild memory loss, research has shown that the visual and expressive arts can be good for your mind. In addition, great enjoyment is to be found in seeking out the sights, sounds, textures, and good feelings that come with looking at, learning, and sharing feelings about paintings, music, and other creative arts.
UMMA's trained docents will accompany small groups for a guided tour and provide the opportunity for everyone to experience different kinds of art and share their responses.
In celebration of UMMA’s new Power Family Program for Inuit Art, the Museum presents a special exhibition of two incredible, intertwining stories. One traces the development of contemporary Inuit art in the Canadian Arctic from the 1950s to the present. The other relates the fascinating story of the Power family’s important role in supporting and promoting Inuit art from the outset, bringing public attention to its artistic strength and cultural importance. The Power family’s collection is unusual in its strong representation of early contemporary carvings, incised drawings on ivory and antler, soapstone sculptures, and prints that evolved as Inuit artists developed their own artistic voices and responded creatively to their changing world.
Join U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum curator Dr. David Michener, UMMA curator Jennifer Friess for a conversation in the exhibition Jason DeMarte: Garden of Artificial Delights, which features hyperreal images of local flora and fauna amid a deluge of sugary foodstuffs. Michener and Friess will explore connections between the real and imagined elements of these fantastical landscapes and the rich social histories embedded in representations of plant life.
Christian Boltanski was born in Paris in the wake of its liberation from Fascist control. Perhaps as a result of his childhood experiences, he has explored themes of memory, death, and mourning in a variety of media—film, paint, photography, and found objects. His evocative, often ephemeral installations archive and memorialize anonymous individual loss. Monument to the Lycée Chases is part of a series of works Boltanski began in 1987, inspired by a found photograph of the 1931 graduating class from a private Jewish high school in Vienna, Austria. His re-photographed images are mere silhouettes or intimations of corporal presences that together comprise a moving meditation on loss and endurance.
Through works of art spanning ancient to contemporary times, UMMA's exhibition Copies and Invention in East Asia challenges our understanding of originality, and presents copying as an act of imaginative interpretation. The exhibition includes burial goods that conjure a world for the deceased; Buddhist sculptures produced in multiples to amplify religious experience and meaning; paintings in which a master’s brushstrokes are faithfully duplicated as a way of shaping the self; and contemporary works that address multiplicity and duplication in the modern world. Join Natsu Oyobe, exhibition curator and Curator of Asian Art, for a discussion of these works and how the practice of copying has been a source of creativity and innovation within a variety of artistic practices across the region from past to present.
The reinstallation of UMMA’s Apse, called “Collection Ensemble” highlights the breadth and variety of the Museum’s collection and juxtaposes works of art from different artists, periods, areas, and media. The installation is organized around a very large photograph of a Baroque church by Candida Höfer. From this centerpiece, the works of art are grouped in scenes or distinctive vignettes comprised of a broad mix of American, European, African, and Asian art from across media. The reinstallation doesn’t adhere to either chronological or geographic boundaries. Curated by Vera Grant, UMMA’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Of this installation, she says: “The exhibition recasts the role of the collection as an active, creative, sometimes startling source of material and ideas, open for debate and interpretation. The arrangements remind us that works of art can change in meaning and affect when placed in new contexts.” Join an docent to explore and interpret this exciting new project.
Tillirnanngittuq (pronounced “tid-ee-nang-ee-took” and meaning “unexpected”) is UMMA’s first exhibition to showcase The Power Family Program for Inuit Art and presents 34 engaging sculptures and 24 striking prints. In mid-20th-century, the Inuit of Canada’s Arctic experienced profound cultural change – moving from a semi-nomadic hunting culture (one of the last hunting cultures on earth) into permanent settlements, where the Inuit came into daily contact with the technology and values of the increasingly global economy. Contemporary Inuit art first gained public attention in the 1950s and quickly attracted international acclaim for both its cultural interest and its artistic strength. Join guest curator, Mame Jackson, for an overview of this fascinating history and for a discussion of the traditional cultural values and “world view” of the Inuit as revealed in time-honored Inuit legends and expressed in Inuit art.
UMMA and Arts at Michigan celebrate Welcome Week by introducing new University of Michigan students to the Museum of Art for an evening of live music, performances, dance, poetry, film, games, prize raffle, and a variety of art-making activities. During the event, students will have the opportunity to become familiar with the Museum and everything it has to offer, as well as experience the wide array of possibilities for arts participation across campus.
The Art, Ideas, & Politics Book Club is a partnership between UMMA and Literati Bookstore in connection with UMMA's exhibition Abstraction, Color, and Politics in the Early 1970s. Surrounded by the large-scale artworks by Sam Gilliam, Helen Frankenthaler, Al Loving, and Louise Nevelson, we will read and discuss bold and critical voices—both fiction and nonfiction—guided by Literati Bookstore's Creative Programs Manager, Gina Balibrera Amyx. Books will explore visions and critiques relevant to abstract art as well as the immense social changes of the period, and include Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (Jan 10), Art on My Mind, Visual Politics by bell hooks (March 14), Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel (May 9), Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner (July 11), and How We Get Free, edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Sept 12).
Gina Balibrera Amyx is the Creative Program Manager at Literati Bookstore, and a graduate of Zell MFA Program. Her writing has been featured in the Boston Review, Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly Review, and The Wandering Song, an anthology of the Central American diaspora.
The Art, Ideas, & Politics Book Club will meet on the second Thursday of the month, 12-1 p.m. in the exhibition gallery. Pick and choose or come to all of them. Books will be available for sale at Literati Bookstore as well as after book club meetings at UMMA, at a 15% book club discount.
