2009-2010
Executive Committee
Officers
Executive Chair:
Carol Tingleff
Executive Vice Chair: Thelma Raine
Treasurer:
Peggie Rogers
Secretary:
Yvonne Dunham
Committee Chairs
Guild Meetings & Programs: Peg Case
Guild Membership:
Barbara Shepler
Guild Communications: Jackie Parsons
Museum Docents:
Carolyn Hollman
Zimmerman House Docents: Dennie Dyer
Special Projects:
Pam Parrot
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The Currier Guild in Action eNewsletter Staff
Editor: Jackie Parsons
Production Assistance:
Neva Austrew,
Flo Fitzgerald,
Michelle Pennington, Jane Seney
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Welcome to the first enews edition of the
Currier Guild "in action."
The objective of the Guild enewsletter is to report on the activities of the Executive Committee, Guild events, volunteer opportunities and other topics of interest to the guild. During the next few issues, we will continue to refine the format -- evaluate what works and what doesn't -- so we can produce the highest quality enewsletter.
A special Thank You to Neva Austrew, Graphic Designer and Communications Assistant at the Currier, for her help in getting us started!
Please send your comments or suggestions to the editor, Jackie Parsons, at: currier.guildnews@gmail.com
. . . also Welcome:
Evelyn Pennington, new baby daughter of staff liaison to the guild, Michelle Pennington. Evelyn was born November 9, 2009, at 4:36 am. She weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz., 22 inches long. According to Jane Seney, "She's doing great! I checked in on Michelle about a week ago - Evelyn's a strawberry blond and looks just like her dad!" Congratulations Michelle!
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From the Executive Chair:
Get Involved in 2010
 On behalf of the Executive Committee of the Currier Guild of Volunteers, I wish you all a prosperous and productive new year. Are you aware that the guild has an executive committee? Are you familiar with the purpose and function of the committee? If I have tweaked your curiosity, consider learning a little more about how your volunteer organization operates.
All volunteers are members of the guild and are welcome to attend Executive Committee meetings as observers. The committee meets the first Wednesday of the month at 11 am, usually in the staff conference room. If you consult your handbook, you will see that the committee is responsible for the governance of the Guild of Volunteers.
If you have constructive ideas relative to volunteer service or there are issues you feel are unresolved, the Executive Committee would like to know about them. In case you have misplaced your annual report, the Executive Committee is listed in this enewsletter (see left column).
Get involved. Consider serving on one of the committees that do the work of the guild. There is always a need for people who are willing to take on leadership responsibilities.
We are hoping the Currier will enjoy both a productive and prosperous year with the continued support of all the Guild members who fill the many diverse roles in our museum community.
Thank you,
Carol Tingleff, Executive Committee Chair
ctingleff@msn.com |
Record Volunteer Hours by January 15!
Please submit all your volunteer hours for 2009 on the computer by January 15, 2010. Hours submitted after this date will not be counted towards 2009. If you need assistance, please contact membership at: 603.472.2577 or barbara.shepler@yahoo.com.
Thank you all for a great year and Happy New Year!
Barbara B. Shepler, Membership Chair |
Photo Gallery: Semi-Annual Meeting and Luncheon, Nov 10, 2009
Fran Gordon & Dot Farley.
Photo by Carolyn Hollman
Jane White and guest speaker, Martin Fox.
Photo by Carolyn Hollman
Judy McKenna, Nancy Johnson & Sally Douglass.
Photo by Carolyn Hollman
 Marilyn Davison & Thelma Raine. Photo by Carolyn Hollman |
Special Projects Committee:
Volunteers Assist with Inventory Project
A request was received from Cindy Mackey, assistant registrar, for help in inventorying the Currier's painting collection. The project consists of recording current locations, updating inventory cards and data entry. Three volunteers have accepted this task and are excited to start on this project. The project will begin in January 2010 and can take up to three months, depending on how much time the volunteers can be available. As there are more than 500 paintings in the Currier's collection, this is a real "special project" as well as a great learning opportunity.
Pam Parrot, Special Projects Chair
(603)580-2188, pamparrot@comcast.net |
Museum Docent News:
You Make a Difference!
By the time you read this, celebrations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's will be over, and everyone will be gearing up for a New Hampshire winter. Based on the number and variety of activities at the Currier during the last several months, the winter will continue to be chock-full of docent tours, including those for student, the public, and private groups.
A quick review of November/December activities reflects the continued energy and participation of our docent corps. Meetings in November featured Learning From Each Other with presentations by:
- Jean McGiffin and Kim Tyndall, "Art and Poetry -- The Longevity Tour: Exploring the Works Made by Artists Whose Lives Span Nine Decades or More"
- Ted and Pam Parrot, "American Glass: A Closer Look at the Currier's 19th and 20th Century Pieces"
- Diane Ellis, "Cupboards and Cabinetry at the Currier: A Closer Look at Decorative Casework"
- Diane Curran, "The Musician: A Study of the Life and Work of Pauline Auzou."
Additionally, October through December included 88 public tours, 23 private tours and 64 different school group tours of the collection and of the Brett Weston and David and Barbara Stahl exhibitions.
Museum docents continue to lead gallery tours, most significantly for the over 2,700 students who have come to the Currier between October through December. Jeffrey Smith, group tour administrator, reports that docents led 241 separate tours (12 students per tour). According to a recent article from The Center for Arts Education, a groundbreaking study of over 200 New York City high schools clearly demonstrated a "linkage between high school graduation rates and availability of arts education." High schools in the top third of graduation rates fostered 25 percent more partnerships with arts and cultural organizations than schools in the bottom third.
The NYC study has implications for other communities, including ours. It is obvious, given the numbers of school children coming to the Currier to participate in docent-led tours, special programs, and art projects, that we are making a difference and contributing to the arts and general education of young people and future museum-goers.
Here are some recent testimonials from our visitors:
"Thank you for our amazing visit to the Currier Museum of Art and the Zimmerman House. We greatly appreciated the warm welcome we received. Thelma, Jane and Jim (among others) led us on memorable tours that were conducted with great knowledge, enthusiasm, wit, and commitment..." Paula Bradway, Docent Chair, Danforth Museum
"My visit to the Currier...was probably the best art museum experience I've ever had...Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will be back!" Emily Levine
"The guides were warm and welcoming, the tours were informative..." Lyell Franke, MFA Docent
"...Our enthusiastic and informative docents guided us through a new world. They helped us see beyond the obvious and into a larger view of art and architecture." Eileen Mitchell
Reading these and similar kudos certainly makes us proud and offers the perfect reward for our efforts. Such comments fuel our enthusiasm for what we do. We look forward to the coming months of continued commitment.
Carolyn Hollman, Museum Docent Chair
chollman@aol.com |
Zimmerman House Docent News:
What Does a
Committee Chair Do?
As the new Zimmerman House docent chair, I would like to take this opportunity to explain what this position entails. In addition to serving on the Guild Executive Committee and writing articles for the enewsletter, I also act as a liaison between the museum education department and the Zimmerman House docents. This includes the opportunity to have a voice in planning the Zimmerman House Docent and Mentoring Program. If any one has suggestions or concerns, please contact me.
I would like to thank Thelma Raine for her dedicated years of service in this position and look forward to my new role.
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy:
To Build or Not to Build
Zimmerman House docent attendees at the FLW Building Conservancy,
from left to right: Roslyn Block, Peter Zalewski, Dennie Dyer, Ann Milne, Judith Ransmeier, Victoria Duffy, Mary Morrison and Pat Morrison. Photo by Mary Morrison.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Meeting was held in Buffalo, New York on October 7-11. The meeting can be summed up in one word FABULOUS - the buildings, the volunteers, the entire experience. Buffalo has truly made itself a Frank Lloyd Wright must-see destination.
There are many different aspects of the conference that could be commented upon, but this article will focus on one of the discussion panels: "Building the Unbuilt." The six-member panel was comprised of scholars, architects, homeowners, directors of organizations renovating/rebuilding current buildings and directors of organizations building new sites. The focus of the panel was to discuss the use of the vast collection of drawings from the Wright Archives. Although constructing these buildings would expand the body of Wright work, at the same time it raises questions about authenticity, intentionality and interpretation. Following are just a few of the thought provoking issues raised:
Depth of design: Most of us have seen the beautiful presentation drawings of the Zimmerman House. Although the interior and exterior are shown, construction of this house required detailed blueprints. Even these were changed on site by Wright apprentice John Geiger due to building code issues, client changes, construction requirements, etc. The Darwin Martin House in Buffalo was even changed by Wright after it was built to enhance the view from the conservatory to the house. Although it was built to specifications, it did not match Wright's vision. How can we take Wright's drawing and sketches, without blueprints and without Wright influenced interpretation and expect to get an authentic Wright building?
Changes in building codes: When Florida Southern College began investigating building a Wright designed water dome, the "as designed" depth of the pool would require a fence around the fountain destroying the view of the water. The water dome was constructed with a shallower pool and a more water efficient trajectory of water spouts. Although the newly built water dome is beautiful, is it Wright? Would Wright have made these changes himself if the water dome had been constructed in his lifetime?
Brand: The Frank Lloyd Wright "brand" has value. Does erecting additional buildings devalue the brand? Would they be executed with the same quality? One has only to look at the stunning placement of Fallingwater to appreciate Wright's genius in siting his buildings. Does this genius exist today? Would it be used?
Final comment: One of the conference participants, who was clearly opposed to constructing additional buildings, commented from the floor: "I know of no state or country who licenses dead architects!" If there was one, it would be Frank Lloyd Wright!
Farewell . . .
Ann Hart passed away on November 1, 2009. Ann was in the 2004 Zimmerman docent class. She worked at the Manchester Housing Authority and she was also a volunteer at her church and the Hooksett Food Pantry. I remember her with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Many of us gave tours with her and she was a delight to work with, inspiring both docents visitors. She will be missed.
John Payne, owner of the Stuart Richardson House in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, passed away on June 16, 2009 of brain cancer. John was a longtime Board of Director and past President of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, but many Z House docents will remember his presentation during our training. He and his wife Edith talked about what it was really like to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house and humorously discussed trying to acclimate to and decorate a house built on a hexagonal grid module. Their stories have not only enriched us as docents but also our visitors' experience of the Z house. May he rest in peace.
Dennie Dyer, Zimmerman House Docent Chair
dennie.dyer@comcast.net |
From the staff advisor:
The Impact of Museums
We - the staff and volunteers of the Currier - are often so involved in our day-to-day activities that it is difficult sometimes to remember that we are part of a bigger picture. I was reminded of this when I recently attended the annual meeting of the New England Museum Association and heard Carl Nold speak. Carl is the president of Historic New England (formerly the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, or SPNEA) but was speaking as the chair of the board of the American Association of Museums. The AAM is a national professional education and advocacy membership organization for museums (of all kinds) and museum staff and volunteers.
Carl took the opportunity to talk about the impact of museums nationally - information that is particularly important to know during these challenging economic times. Here are some of the highlights, and I hope you will feel free to share this information with family, friends, and colleagues, as it helps everyone to understand how museums fit into the bigger economic picture:
- Museums contributed approximately $20.7 billion to the economy in 2008 directly (not including indirect contributions to local tourism, etc.).
- The typical museum has an operating budget of $1,166,000.
- There are more museums in the United States than there are McDonald's or Starbucks.
- Museums rely on multiple funding streams. Government support as a percentage of all support has declined since 1997 (in an average museum, about 23% of support comes from government sources; much less for the Currier).
- Collectively, museums employ about 493,000 people, generating $11.5 billion in salaries, benefits and related taxes.
- Americans volunteer approximately one million hours of their time each week in museums. The volunteer contribution to museums in one year exceeds $1 billion.
And, my personal favorite:
- U.S. museums receive more than 850 million visits every year. That is more visitors than all of the major league sporting events and amusement parks combined!
I hope this information is interesting to you and helps you to put your contributions in a bigger context. It is not an overstatement to say that you should be proud that you are part of an important industry that is a significant contributor to the educational and economic health of the country.
Note: Statistics are derived from a survey taken November 2008 and January 2009 by the American Association of Museums of 671 museums.
Susan Leidy,
Deputy Director and Staff Advisor to the Guild | |
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