Mark Your Calendars
Guild of Volunteers
Holiday Party
Tuesday, December 13
11:30 a.m.
Details to Come |
 Interested in a Short-Term project? Join the Special Projects Team
Special Projects has again provided volunteers to help out on First Thursdays LIVE programs and the Backstage Pass: Rock and Roll Photography exhibit.
If you are interested in helping at the Currier and interested in short-term volunteer work, Special Projects might be the right place for you. Special Projects volunteers help on a temporary basis when a member of the Currier staff requests help.
Some volunteers also work on longer projects in the library and other areas. If interested, please contact me.
Pam Parrot,
Special Projects
580-2188
pamparrot@comcast.net
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From the Executive Chair
Susan Leidy: Moving on But Never Forgotten
We are only now really getting our minds around the fact Susan Leidy is leaving the
Currier. The dynamic duo of "The Susans" was a winning combination we thought would go on forever. But things can, and do change, and Susan L's leaving is one of those changes we regret and celebrate all at once.
 | | Susan Leidy |
We celebrate Susan's love of life and wonderful sense of humor. Her input at our Guild executive meetings was the stress reliever and leveler we needed when she tackled a difficult topic, making it humorous and helping guide us to the right solution. Susan shepherded the Currier through the wonderful addition, a Herculean task she took on with great competence and skill.
If she had not chosen the art world as her vocation, Susan would have made a wonderful mediator. Susan is the kind of person you want for a friend, loyal, funny and not afraid to call things as she sees them. We are all better for knowing her and working with her. The regret we feel in Susan's leaving is we will not see her or hear her astute comments and funny asides at our meetings and training sessions. Susan, you will be missed in every corner and gallery of the Currier. The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., is lucky and your talents will serve them well. We will miss you and wish you every success. Let's keep in touch.
The Volunteer Service Agreement (VSA) has been a hot topic with guild members. People are asking "Why do we need one? And, why now?" The short answer is things change and insurers and museums must keep up with the times. A quick internet search confirms many museums and volunteer organizers already have such agreements and have for a number of years. The Currier Museum has been asked by their insurers to make sure every volunteer has completed the VSA and has consented to a background check. The agreement is straight forward and non-threatening. The need for a background check of volunteers is mandated by law. Teachers, counselors and professional organizations have required such a check for a number of years. We are just catching up with the times. The information you provide will be kept confidential. If you have concerns or questions, we are happy to answer them.
A special event awaits us at the semi-annual meeting. There are so many accomplished artists and crafts people in our volunteer corps and we want to celebrate that talent. We will be mounting our own Guild of Volunteers Arts and Crafts Exhibition at the meeting showcasing the talents of our very own volunteers. You will be dazzled and amazed at the talents hidden and not so hidden among us. If you would like to join in and be able to say your works have been hung at the Currier, alongside Constable and Monet, please bring along a couple of your works. We would ask you to compose a small label with your name and the medium used. If you can, please bring an easel or stand on which to display your work.
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Backstage at the Museum Shop
In anticipation of the current exhibit Backstage Pass: Rock and Roll Photography, the shop added lots of fun and exciting merchandise for all ages. We urge you to come and see what is available for purchase.
 | | 45 rpm record coasters at the museum shop |
From Nov. 27 through Dec. 4, the shop will offer a 30 percent discount for all museum volunteers and employees.
Museum shop volunteers met on October 11 for their semi-annual meeting. This gave new volunteers an opportunity to meet other volunteers and share stories of experiences encountered while working in the shop. It also gave volunteers an opportunity to get an update on coming exhibits and shop goods. Shop policies and procedures were also reviewed.
Richard Russell, Museum Shop Chair
606-2777
rrr1944@motleythebear.com
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The Book Shelf
What Jane Seney is reading...
One of the books I have read recently is The Participatory Museum by Nina Simon, the Executive Director of the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz, Calif. Simon's book has generated a lot of excitement and discussion in the museum world lately - curators and educators from all over New England, including Currier staff, flocked to Worcester to hear Simon speak in September. So, what are her ideas and why are they so compelling?
 Simon begins by referencing a major 2008 study by the National Endowment for the Arts that showed attendance at museums and performing arts venues has been steadily decreasing over the past 20 years. What's more, the audiences for these types of organizations are getting older and whiter. So what are we to do to keep museums relevant? How do you attract new audiences? Simon's answer would be "by inviting people to actively engage as cultural participants, not passive consumers."
Her book, which, incidentally you can read for free online, outlines five commonly-expressed forms of public dissatisfaction with museums and goes on to show with wonderful, concrete, and compelling examples how museums can engage people to combat these problems. The book helped to reinforce for me why discussion is so important on tours.
I hope you can read it, because I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
 Jane Seney, Educator for Tour and Docent Programs
669-6144, x149
jseney@currier.org |
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Or, use the Guild Room computer the next time you stop in. |
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2010-2011
Executive Committee
Officers
Executive Chair:
Pat Howard
Executive Vice Chair:
Barbara Shepler
Treasurer:
Ted Parrot
Secretary:
Yvonne Dunham
Committee Chairs
Guild Ambassadors:
Frances Gray
Guild Communications:
Judy McKenna
Pauline Bogaert
Guild Meetings & Programs:
Nancy Johnson
Guild Membership:
Kim Tyndall
Museum Docents:
Carolyn Hollman
Zimmerman House Docents:
Dennie Dyer
Museum Shop:
Richard Russell
Special Projects:
Pam Parrot |
The Currier Guild in action enewsletter Staff:
Editors: Judy McKenna and Pauline Bogaert
Photo Editor: Anna Zhurbey
Blog Administrator: Karin Whitford
Production Assistance: Neva Cole, Michelle Pennington |
 | | Photo editor Anna Zhurby |
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Guild of Volunteers
Annual Report
2010-2011
Click here |
Currier Guild enewsletters Archive
To view a previous eNewsletter, click on the desired link: |
Guild of Volunteers Handbook Online
Ever wonder about the history of the Guild? How the Guild board is structured? What the committees do? The Guild of Volunteers handbook is online with all the answers. To view the Guild Handbook, click here. |
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Guild of Volunteers
Semi-Annual Luncheon and Meeting
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Registration & Coffee: 10:45 a.m.
Meeting and keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. in Auditorium
Luncheon and Guild of Volunteers Arts and Crafts Exhibition*: 12:00 in Winter Garden Café
Speaker:
Dr. Jacob S. Turner
Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at Merrimack College on "Communicating Culture: How the Imagery of Rock 'n' Roll Transformed American Society"
*Please bring a sampling of your arts and crafts (painting, jewelry, pottery, fiber, etc.). Nancy Johnson, amj-art@comcast.net or 603-472-2040, is taking RSVPs for both the luncheon and exhibition. |
Rock 'n' Roll with Dr. Jacob Turner
 Guest speaker at the Guild's semi-annual luncheon will be Dr. Jacob Turner, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at Merrimack College. Dr. Turner is a social scientific researcher interested in the way mass- communicated messages affect society's super-structure at the macro level and also how mediated messages impact the psychosocial well-being of the individual audience member at the micro level.
Dr. Turner's past research includes: An examination of media bias in the New York Times in the 30 days leading up to the Iraq War; an analysis of the news-gathering processes and visual techniques used in ESPN's SportsCenter; and the examination of the portrayal of race, gender, violence and sexuality in televised music videos. He has recently taught classes in Mass Communication, Visual Communication, Intercultural Communication and Public Communication at the college in North Andover, Mass.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Turner's father was a rock 'n' roll music critic for the New York Times. He raised his son to be an avid fan of all things rock 'n' roll. From doo-wop to hip-hop to punk and pop, Dr. Turner has never met a rock 'n' roll sound he didn't like. |
Zimmerman House Docent Report
Z-House Well Grounded
The Zimmerman House's Usonian landscape reflects the strong relationship Frank Lloyd Wright designed between the site and the structure. The house is built into the landscape, not set on top of it, and every plant has a purpose in complementing the house design. The original intent of the landscape for the three-fourth acre wooded lot was to be as living architecture - a structured series of  | | Zimmerman House, around 1952 |
layers from the grass and herbaceous perennials through shrub and small tree layers to the upper canopy. It also provides controlled views of the property and moves people through the space emotionally as well as physically. In 1952, Wright would have immediately taken control of your sensory experience of the property. The "Cherokee Red" gravel drive commanded the sight first, then the sound and feel of the gravel under your feet. Closer to the house, the sound of passing cars is muffled by perimeter plantings, replaced by birdsong and rustling leaves. Floral scents waft on the breeze. Walking up the driveway today, one still experiences the compression and release of the driveway plantings, which establish the human scale and then expand to allow a view of the long line of the house. The curve of the drive and plantings draw visitors into the semi-private space, and provide privacy to the entry. The pivot rock establishes a sense of place within New Hampshire and anchors the house to the earth.  | | Zimmerman House master plan |
The siting of the house is masterful. Placing the house askew on the lot, at roughly 60 degrees, puts it on the diagonal of the lot so that the front of the house has room for the entrance drive, and the back gardens have maximum visual depth when viewed from the Garden Room windows. The back of the carport is open to the rear garden, providing a framed view into the otherwise private yard. The original plan includes a grass path that is effectively an extension of the architecture, the visible line between nature and man-made. The geometry of the grass path complements the house foundation and corners where the line turns are optimal viewing points for the house.  | | Zimmerman House construction, 1950 |
The on-going restoration of the landscape by the Currier has largely been a volunteer undertaking, supported by the New Hampshire Master Gardener Program of the UNH Cooperative Extension and contributions of time, expertise and materials of local landscape professionals and gardeners. The landscape was restored with an eye to the intent of the original garden design rather than an exact historical replication, and for many reasons: the matured plantings, increased shade levels, and how the Zimmermans implemented the design. Several of the original design features were changed or omitted as being too costly (a lily pool), too complex (the original perennial planting) or too high maintenance for their lifestyle (an additional perennial border behind the carport). Some aspects of the renovations are specific to visitors. The privacy screen around the property was enhanced to reduce the impact of tours on the neighbors while restoring the architecture of the original plantings. The lawn was re-graded to reduce damp spots and replanted with an updated shade grass seed mix. The perennial beds have additional species for fragrance, texture and sound to incorporate all five senses for visitors to enjoy. Jo Russavage 508-330-1034 joruss13@yahoo.com
I would like to thank Jo for sharing her knowledge and research in both a training session and this article. Jo is a 2010 docent graduate, NH Master Gardener, NH Natural Resources Steward, and textile artist. She owns Birchwood Urban Permaculture in Manchester, a consulting firm that helps businesses and individuals with environmental landscaping. Jo appreciates having the opportunity to research the gardens and develop the "Landscape Focus Tour." Jo says,"It was a special experience to find garden-related treasures in the archives - hand-written notes in the birding and gardening books, lists of plants to buy, of birds seen in the gardens."
 Dennie Dyer,
Zimmerman House Docent Chair
434-8794
dennie.dyer@comcast.net
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Museum Docent Report
New School Tour Themes Announced
Over the summer Jane Seney and Christa Zuber revised the student tour list available to school groups. The seven categories of one-hour tours for different ages of students include:
- Introduction to the Currier: Learning to Look (K-5th grades) and Thinking through Art (6th - 12th grades)
- Building Blocks of Art (K-5th grades) and Exploring the Elements of Art (6th-12th grades)
- New Hampshire People and Places (K-12th grades)
- About Face: People and Portraits (K-12th grades)
- You Be the Scientist! (K-12th grades)
- Stories in Art (K-5th grades) and Exploring Narrative in Art (6-12th grades)
- What is Art? Comparing Historic and Modern Works (6-12th grades; College)
 | | Joan Sheldon and Kim Tyndall pose with Gene Simons from Kiss |
According to Jane Seney, these revamped tours better meet the Currier's educational mission that states: "At the Currier, students engage in effective reasoning, make judgments and decisions, solve non-familiar problems, identify and ask questions, think critically and creatively, and collaborate and communicate with peers to reach a greater understanding of works of art on display." The guiding principles of all tours are that they should be visitor-centered, flexible and solution-oriented.
At the September 27 docent meeting Jane explained that despite their new titles, most of the "new" tours are revisions of existing tours. For example, New Hampshire People and Places is an updated version of New Hampshire History in Art, which broadens the scope of the tour and provides more flexibility for docents of the works selected and the order in which they are presented.
 | | Nancy Colageo and Liz Richter |
Learning to Look: An Introduction to the Currier is a general highlights tour for school groups focusing on critical thinking skills by using inquiry-based discussions (please note, additional training is required to lead these tours.) You Be the Scientist! replaces the Forces of Nature tour theme. Instead of focusing solely on work relating to nature, You Be the Scientist! focuses on scientific thinking for any kind of work of art. The only entirely "new" tour is About Face: People and Portraits. This tour may include portraits from Backstage Pass: Rock and Roll Photography.
At the meeting, docents brainstormed approaches to the new student tours. One group developed thoughtful and provocative hypotheses for You Be the Scientist! and all groups agreed that a large number of works from the collection could be used with any of the tour themes. If students are scheduled for a post-tour activity, docents could coordinate their art choices with the activity.
 | | Elaine McCartney, Seaborn Scott and Pam Parrot brainstorm approaches to student tours at a recent meeting |
To complement the student tours, copies of manipulatives, organized by Jane and Elaine McCartney, will be available in the classrooms along with revised tour routes. The routes remain essentially the same but, as Jane explained, each docent will receive a "personalized" schedule listing his/her order of galleries. Ideally, tour routes will have six stops so that each tour stop can be about 10 minutes.
Go to the Currier website for a listing and description of the new tour themes.
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Guild Membership Report
Docent Symposium in St. Louis
Docents are interesting, interested, and always willing to approach someone to share a question or an observation. This was evident at the 2011 National Docent Symposium Jean McGiffin and I attended in St. Louis in October. We were welcomed again and again by docents who had participated before; by docents from New England; and, because I applied to represent our New England region next term, by docents on the symposium council.
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Kim Tyndall and Jean McGiffin attended the National Docent Symposium in St. Louis |
We arrived in St. Louis Saturday afternoon in time to go to the opening reception on a rooftop in the city's outskirts. Not only were there beautiful views, but four condo owners in the building opened their homes so we could see their magnificent art collections. Each condo was designed by the owners and their architect to show their art in the best light. Sunday evening we attended a dinner at the World's Fair Pavilion followed by a tour of the St. Louis Art Museum's Monet exhibit, which included a 42-foot triptych of the Water Lilies.
I never considered St. Louis as a destination for art, but on Sunday's tour of the city I realized how wrong I was. The Gateway Arch is certainly a highlight, but the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, City Garden, Pulitzer Foundation, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Kemper Art Museum, and
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (and I know I am missing others), kept Jean and I immersed in art for five full days. In between trips, we attended eight symposium program sessions.
Our session, "Inspired Words: Art & Poetry at the Currier Museum of Art," was well-attended and well-received. Throughout the following days, many docents sought me out to exchange cards and tell me they were planning to try it in their museums. I couldn't have asked for better feedback.
Michael Cassin of the Clark Museum opened the symposium, and closing speaker was Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. She used a slide show of absurd (but very popular!) shoe styles delving into a discussion of "Why Ask Why: How Curiosity Can Transform How We See."
In addition to all the great thoughts, sites and art, I was interviewed repeatedly for one of the seven open council positions vying to be New England representative. The final interview began at 9 p.m. Monday, as each of the 17 applicants was asked to describe a favorite piece at their home institution. I talked about the Jon Brooks's True Loves Blue, but it was difficult to explain without the bench there. I did okay, because at 1 a.m. Tuesday a note was slipped under our hotel room's door welcoming me as New England regional director to the National Docent Symposium Council. In this position, I will be contacting docents throughout New England to spread the word about the next symposium in San Francisco, October 16 to 20, 2013. If you would like to be a presenter at the San Francisco symposium, the deadline for submitting session proposals is in autumn 2012. You do not have to be a presenter to attend a symposium. Any docent wishing to attend a symposium can, and I hope more Currier docents will consider going.
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Museum Seen
The Scottish National Gallery
 | | The Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh |
While in Edinburgh recently I visited the Scottish National Gallery and benefited from an excellent guide - Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, New York. Not in person, of course, but in spirit. In his book, Art for Dummies, Hoving suggests your first stop at any museum should be the postcard shop where "you can assess the strengths of the place." Selected postcards, he says, give you an easy, portable guide for getting around. You'll "never get lost, feel trapped, or silly," writes Hoving.
Following Hoving's advice, I purchased 10 postcards and headed off to find those works in the museum. I approached a guard and displayed my first card - Rembrandt's Self-Portrait, aged 51. He kindly directed me to a magnificent painting placed above an ornate, velvet chair. The location made it appear as though Rembrandt sat in that chair, looking me square in the eye. It was riveting.
 | | Lady Agnew of Lochnaw by John Singer Sargent |
The National Galleries of Scotland collection, dating from the early Renaissance to the present, is housed in three museums across Edinburgh. We (including my husband, Jim, and son, Camden) limited our visit to the Scottish National Gallery which showcases the collection up through pre-modern art. It is a nicely-sized, three-story neoclassical building at one end of Edinburgh's Princess Street Gardens, an easy walk from Edinburgh's Old Town and Castle. Here are works from Raphael, El Greco, Titian, Tintoretto, Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Degas and Gauguin. The museum rightfully describes itself as "one of the very best in the world."
For a Currier docent, this museum offers a look at notable works by some of the artists in our own collection. John Constable is represented with The Vale of Dedham. This hilltop view of the countryside places the lock and mill in the middle ground with the church in the distance. Due to this painting, Constable was elected, in 1829, to the Royal Academy of London.
John Singer Sargent's exquisite Lady Agnew of Lochnaw depicts an elegant lady informally posed on a chair and wearing a billowing white gown with translucent sleeves and long lavender sash. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1898, the portrait "made Sargent's name" says the museum's website. It is one of three Sargent portraits in the collection.
 | | Niagara Falls, from the American Side by Frederic Edwin Church |
The most surprising moment for me was encountering Frederic Edwin Church's Niagara Falls from the American Side. The tiny postcard did not do it justice. Standing before a stunning 9 foot tall by 8 foot wide canvas, I could practically feel the spray from the torrent of water crashing over the falls. This masterpiece is the only example of Church's work in a European museum.
The museum showcases Scottish art with an entire floor of paintings. Camden's favorite was Sir Henry Raeburn's Reverend Robert Walker (1755-1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch, one of 17 paintings on display by the Scottish portrait painter.
 | | Reverend Robert Walker (1755-1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch by Sir Henry Raeburn |
The Scottish National Gallery is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays until 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Judy McKenna
If you have visited a museum recently and would like to share your experience, please contact either Judy McKenna (judith.mckenna@comcast.net) or Peeps Bogaert (peepsb@comcast.net). |
Once more for the record...
At the recent opening of the latest exhibit, Backstage Pass, Barbara Shepler noticed a gentleman taking a photo of the Rod Stewart photograph with digital camera, and recounted this story at a docent walk-through of the exhibit.
"When I told him photographs were not allowed, he said he was the photographer of the original image. His name tag - Joe Stevens - indeed matched the attribution on the placard. I informed him that we were protecting his copyright by not allowing any photography of the images in the exhibition.
"Joe then very pleasantly explained his story to me. This was the only print from that negative, he said, which he had sent to a London publisher, along with several other prints taken at the same celebrity event. Although several other prints were used in publications, this one had not been. The original was never returned to him and subsequently came into the possession of the anonymous collector.
"Joe said he just wanted to prove to his mother that the photo he had taken still existed."
Barbara B. Shepler |
Picking Pink
In the docent walk-through of Backstage Pass: Rock & Roll Photography in October, there was a bit of background given by Assistant Curator Nina Gara Bozicnik into the hot-pink color chosen for this exhibit. The Portland Museum of Art had a saturated salmon color, but Currier organizers "wanted to try something different," says Nina. "The goal was to create a fun, but elegant installation. Currier Preparator Jeff Allen and I decided on a black and white palette with selective splashes of hot pink to satisfy our goals."
Their intention was to use pink paint, but they could not find a hue that had the punch they were after. The available pinks "were too rosy, pastel and muted." Jeff found a perfect alternative in fabric distributed by Rose Brand. It was the first time the Currier used fabric as a wall covering.
"Jeff created a system to stretch the fabric over the free-standing walls that created a seamless surface," Nina says, adding "the fabric worked successfully with exhibition lighting and complimented the photographs. Together, Jeff and I chose to wrap the exterior walls of the 'pods' in the gallery with the fabric. The resulting effect adds just enough color to create a fun environment that doesn't overwhelm or compress the gallery space." |
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