Exhibition Of Large-Scale, Immersive Installations to be Highlight of the Newly Expanded Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA)

The Museum of Modern Art will inaugurate its latest transformation on New York City’s Wesr 53^rd Street with Surrounds: 11 Installations, opening in The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Center for Special Exhibitions, in The Peggy and David Rockefeller building, on October 21, 2019. The presentation, spanning the entire sixth floor, presents 11 watershed installations by living artists from the past two decades, all drawn from the Museum’s collection and on view at MoMA for the first time. Each installation will occupy its own gallery, providing an individualized, immersive experience.

Surrounds is organized by Quentin Bajac, former Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Chief Curator of Photography, Christian Rattemeyer, Harvey S. Shipley Miller Associate Curator for Drawings and Prints, Yasmil Raymond, Associate Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Sean Anderson, Associate Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, and Joshua Siegel, Curator, Department of Film, with the assistance of Lucy Gallun, Associate Curator, Department of Photography, Erica Papernik-Shimizu, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance, Arièle Dionne-Krosnick, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, and Taylor Walsh, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Drawings and Prints.

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. The Killing Machine. 2007. Pneumatics, robotics, electromagnetic beaters, dentist chair, electric guitar, CRT monitors, computer, various control systems, lights, and sound (approx. 5 min.). 9′ 10″ x 13′ 1″ x 8′ 2″ (118 x 157 x 98 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Julia Stoschek Foundation, Düsseldorf, and the Dunn Bequest. © 2019 Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. Photo: Seber Ugarte & Lorena López. Courtesy the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York.

Surrounds includes work by Jennifer Allora (American, b. 1974) and Guillermo Calzadilla (Cuban, b. 1971), Sadie Benning (American, b. 1973), Janet Cardiff (Canadian, b. 1957) and George Bures Miller (Canadian, b. 1960), Sou Fujimoto (Japanese, b. 1971), Sheila Hicks (American, b. 1934), Arthur Jafa (American, b. 1960), Mark Manders (Dutch, b. 1968), Rivane Neuenschwander (Brazilian, b. 1967), Dayanita Singh (Indian, b. 1961), Hito Steyerl (German, b. 1966), and Sarah Sze (American, b. 1969).

Mark Manders. Room with Chairs and Factory. 2002-2008.Wood, iron, rubber, painted polyester, painted ceramic, painted canvas, unpainted canvas, painted wig, chair, and offset print on paper. 125 1/4 x 94 1/2 x 159 1/2 inches; 318 x 240 x 405 cm (factory and figure), 29 1/2 x 57 1/2 x 36 inches; 74.9 x 146.1 x 91.4 cm (chair and newspapers).The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Painting and Sculpture Fund. © 2019 Mark Manders, courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

Each work included in the exhibition was conceived out of different individual circumstances—as a contribution to a biennial, as an element of a larger ongoing body of work, as a response to a classic work of art history, or as a stand-alone work unrelated to others—but the installations are united in their ambition and scope, marking decisive shifts in the careers of their makers and the broader field of contemporary art.

Allora & Calzadilla. Fault Lines. 2013. Ten metamorphic and igneous rocks, live performance by two boy soprano singers. Dimensions variable. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Bob Rennie. © 2019 Allora & Calzadilla. Installation view: Allora & Calzadilla: Fault Lines, Gladstone Gallery, New York, September 13 – October 11, 2014. Courtesy the artists and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels. Photography by David Regen

The exhibition is made possible by Bank of America, MoMA’s opening partner.

Generous funding is provided by Agnes Gund.

Leadership contributions to the Annual Exhibition Fund, in support of the Museum’s collection and collection exhibitions, are generously provided by the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Eva and Glenn Dubin, The Sandra and Tony Tamer Exhibition Fund, Alice and Tom Tisch, The David Rockefeller Council, Anne Dias, Kathy and Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Kenneth C. Griffin, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, Anna Marie and Robert F. Shapiro, The Keith Haring Foundation, and The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art.

Major contributions to the Annual Exhibition Fund are provided by the Estate of Ralph L. Riehle, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Brett and Daniel Sundheim, Karen and Gary Winnick, The Marella and Giovanni Agnelli Fund for Exhibitions, Clarissa Alcock and Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Agnes Gund, and Oya and Bülent Eczacıbaşı.

MoMA Audio is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Art Preview: SFMOMA Announces 2018 Exhibition and Programming Schedule

SFMOMA to Debut Major Vija Celmins and René Magritte Exhibitions in 2018

The Train: RFK’s Last Journey, Susan Meiselas, John Akomfrah and Alexander Calder Among the Highlights of SFMOMA’s Ambitious Exhibition Schedule

Museum Takes Its Popular “Send Me SFMOMA” Initiative Global with Partnerships in the U.S., Europe, Asia and New Zealand, Enabling Other Institutions to Share Their Collections in New Ways

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced details of its 2017–18 exhibition schedule and cutting-edge digital initiatives. One of the world’s foremost museums of modern and contemporary art, the newly expanded and transformed SFMOMA opened in May 2016, with nearly triple the exhibition space and a greatly augmented collection. Since then the museum has broadened its activities serving artists, scholars and more than 1.2 million visitors in its first year.

“We are committed to presenting an expansive spectrum of art from the 20th and 21st centuries, revisiting the innovations of modern artists — including René Magritte and Robert Rauschenberg — and introducing our large audiences to the important and timely work of contemporary artists such as Vija Celmins, John Akomfrah, and Susan Meiselas,” said Neal Benezra, Helen and Charles Schwab Director at SFMOMA. “Since our opening last spring, we have welcomed more than twice the number of visitors the museum received historically, with more families and youth visitors than ever before. In the coming year, we look forward to engaging visitors with seven floors of dynamic art and design exhibitions, while connecting a devoted body of online followers to the riches of the collection.”

Looking Back on the Opening Year

Since its May 2016 opening, the expanded and transformed SFMOMA, designed by Snøhetta, has served as an engaging gathering place for diverse audiences, enabling the museum to foster deeper ties with its community.

The museum can now display a greater breadth of its 34,000 works of architecture and design, media arts, painting and sculpture and photography, as well as postwar and contemporary art from its groundbreaking partnership with the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection. Currently on view at the museum are Julie Mehretu’s site-specific painting HOWL, eon (I, II) (2017), created as part of a new art commissioning program; a major Walker Evans retrospective, for which SFMOMA is the only U.S. venue; Soundtracks, the museum’s first large-scale group exhibition centered on the role of sound in contemporary art; and New Work: Kerry Tribe, the premiere of the artist’s immersive video installation, commissioned by SFMOMA, which offers insight into the world of Standardized Patients — professional actors trained to portray real patients in a simulated clinical environment as part of medical students’ training.

In support of SFMOMA’s mission to engage with the art and artists of our time, the museum has made two major curatorial appointments since opening, including the appointment of Eungie Joo to the newly established role of curator of contemporary art. The role cements the museum’s commitment to new generations of artists across all mediums, as well as new thinking and scholarship on a local, national and international level. Clément Chéroux, entering his second year as senior curator of photography, has brought a global perspective and deep expertise in the realm of modern and contemporary photography.

The new SFMOMA has become a place of conversation, collaboration and learning across disciplines, as nearly 50,000 K–12 students have been brought into the museum to explore the arts since the building’s opening. Public dialogue has flourished in the SFMOMA community through more than 100 events and programs, including Public Tours and Artist Talks. Coinciding with the 2017 FOG Design+Art Fair, the symposium Yours, Mine, and Ours: Museum Models of Public-Private Partnership brought together international museum leaders and visionary collectors to discuss the current and future state of collaboration between museums and collectors. Also in the past year, the Performance in Progress program brought three groundbreaking commissioned live works to the museum, and the new Modern Cinema film series, established by SFMOMA and SFFILM, presented more than 50 film screenings. In September 2017, the museum launched Public Knowledge, a two-year initiative in partnership with the San Francisco Public Library that aims to promote public dialogue on the cultural impact of urban change through artist projects, research collaborations, public programs, and publishing. Participating artists include Burak Arikan, Bik Van der Pol, Minerva Cuevas, Josh Kun and Stephanie Syjuco.

SFMOMA’s digital offerings also expanded greatly in the past year, with the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, offering pioneering digital experiences to visitors at the museum and online. The SFMOMA app, a 2017 Webby Award honoree with over 100,000 downloads, reinvented the museum audio guide with location-aware technology and unique gallery tours voiced by Errol Morris, Philippe Petit and the cast of HBO’s Silicon Valley. Other popular interactive elements include the digital photogram kiosk Self Composed, developed in partnership with Adobe Design, in the Pritzker Center’s Photography Interpretive Gallery and touch screens and digital tables in the galleries that allow visitors to explore artworks and the careers of artists more deeply.

SFMOMA’s restaurant In Situ also received rave reviews for its innovative concept and menu. It was awarded the San Francisco Chronicle’s Restaurant of the Year in 2016, named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America in 2017 and became a finalist in the prestigious James Beard Awards’ Best New Restaurant category.

Coming Soon…

In 2018 SFMOMA will present major exhibitions of René Magritte and Vija Celmins, each of whom redefined the boundaries of art with their very distinct practices.

René Magritte, La chambre d’écoute (The Listening Room), 1952; The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Fariha Friedrich; © Charly Herscovici, Brussels / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

A global exclusive presentation, René Magritte: The Fifth Season (May 19–October 28, 2018) will focus on the latter half of Magritte’s career, a period of remarkable artistic transformation and revitalization. Featuring more than 50 paintings and a dozen works on paper, the exhibition will reveal Magritte as an artist who subverts our expectations of the world around us. The Fifth Season will open with the artist questioning the modernism of his youth, experimenting with elements of Impressionism, Fauvism and Expressionism, and follow his developing strategies for illuminating the ways that paintings both create and expose the gaps between appearance and reality.

Vija Celmins, Untitled (Ocean), 1977; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, bequest of Alfred M. Esberg; © Vija Celmins; photo: Don Ross

Spotlighting the work of one of the most important artists of her generation, Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory (December 2018–March 2019) will be the first North American retrospective of the artist’s work in more than 25 years. In a continuation of SFMOMA’s commitment to exhibiting and collecting artists who emerged in the 1960s, the exhibition will highlight Celmins’ “re-descriptions” of the physical world through art as a way of understanding human consciousness through lived experience. SFMOMA will present the global debut of this retrospective, which will feature 140 works including paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

The Pritzker Center for Photography, the largest space dedicated to photography in any art museum in the United States, will continue to highlight SFMOMA’s dedication to the medium with The Train: RFK’s Last Journey, examining a historically important event from different perspectives; Selves and Others: Gifts to the Collection from Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein, looking at the complexity of identity through portraits; and Carolyn Drake: Wild Pigeon, presenting a recent acquisition.

The Train: RFK’s Last Journey, March 17–June 10, 2018

Paul Fusco, Untitled, from the series RFK Funeral Train, 1968, printed 2008; © Magnum Photos, courtesy Danziger Gallery

On June 8, 1968, three days after the assassination of Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, his body was carried by a funeral train from New York City to Washington, D.C. for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Just two months after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and five years after President John F. Kennedy’s death, Robert Kennedy’s passing united diverse communities grieving the loss of a politician who had represented hope for much of the nation during a tumultuous decade.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of his death, The Train: RFK’s Last Journey looks at this historical journey through three distinct artists’ projects shown together for the first time. Presented in three rooms, each dedicated to one artist, the exhibition features approximately 80 photographs, a video installation and a 70mm film projection.

“This multidisciplinary exhibition shows how art can inform and expand our understanding of history through photographs, videos and documents from different points of view,” said Clément Chéroux, senior curator of photography at SFMOMA. “By bringing historical and contemporary works together in dialogue, we aim to demonstrate a fresh approach to photography at SFMOMA.”

Major Gifts To Academy Museum Of Motion Pictures Advance Fundraising Campaign Above $300 Million Mark

Far-Reaching Contribution from Bloomberg Philanthropies for Digital Engagement, and Naming Gifts from Netflix, the Charles V. Roven Family Foundation and the Thomas Spiegel Family Foundation

Kerry Brougher, Director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, today announced three major gifts toward the creation of this institution, bringing fundraising to more than $300M, nearly 80 percent of its $388M campaign goal. When it opens in 2019, the Academy Museum will be the world’s premier film museum—located in Los Angeles, the acknowledged moviemaking capital of the world.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, the Academy Museum will restore and revitalize the historic Saban Building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The Academy Museum will feature six floors of exhibition spaces, a movie theater, education areas, special event spaces, conservation areas, and a café and store. A new spherical addition will connect to the Saban Building with glass bridges and will feature a state-of-the-art 1,000-seat theater and a rooftop terrace. The Academy is currently raising $388 million to support the building, exhibitions, and programs of the Academy Museum. The campaign was launched in 2012, headed by chair Bob Iger and co-chairs Annette Bening and Tom Hanks.

When it opens in 2019, the Academy Museum will be the world’s premier film museum—located in Los Angeles, the acknowledged moviemaking capital of the world.

Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company and Chair of the Campaign for the Academy Museum, said, “We’re enormously grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies, Netflix, the Charles V. Roven Family Foundation and the Thomas Spiegel Family Foundation for their generous support, and are thrilled to welcome them to a growing community of extraordinary donors who share our vision and are helping us build an Academy Museum as dynamic and vibrant as the art it celebrates.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies has provided generous funding for the development of the museum’s wide-ranging digital engagement platforms through its Bloomberg Connects program, a global initiative that helps cultural institutions innovate and engage audiences. Designed to enhance the on-site visitor experience and provide access to an off-site global audience, the digital platforms will enable the Academy Museum to inspire a deeper understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of motion pictures.

Academy Museum Aerial Facing South

Brougher said, “The Academy Museum is going to be the permanent home for the art of film in its storied past, amazing present, and fast-evolving future. Film has always been at the forefront of technology, which is why it’s so important for us to have the digital platform that Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support is allowing us to create. For visitors to the Academy Museum, the creativity and innovation of the museum’s digital engagement will provide a unique experience only the Academy can offer.”

Netflix, the Charles V. Roven Family Foundation and the Thomas Spiegel Family Foundation have contributed gifts to name spaces within the Academy Museum’s Saban Building, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Spaces named in recognition of these gifts are the Netflix Gallery Terrace on the second floor and the Charles V. Roven Family Foundation and the Thomas Spiegel Family Foundation Terrace on the fifth floor.

Ron Meyer, Vice Chairman of NBC Universal and Chair of the newly established Board of Trustees of the Academy Museum, said, “We are fortunate to have the support of our new donors. They understand our aim of enlightening the public as no other museum can about the art, science, and history of the world’s motion pictures.”

Celebrate The Holiday Season At The New-York Historical Society With the Annual Classic Toys And Trains Extravaganza

Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection On View Through February 26, 2017

Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection returns to the New-York Historical Society this holiday season to delight and inspire children of all ages. On view now through February 26, 2017, this vibrant and sweeping display of spectacular antique toy trains, toys, and scenic elements celebrates the beauty and allure of toys from a bygone era. Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

A 360‐degree mountainous landscape showcases toy trains, miniature figures, and model buildings evoking the 1890s. The Jerni Collection, New‐York Historical Society

Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection is curated by Mike Thornton, associate curator of material culture at the New-York Historical Society. The display was designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (LHSA+DP), an integrated architecture and exhibit design firm that also designed New-York Historical’s DiMenna Children’s History Museum. Other consultants for Holiday Express include T W TrainWorx, a nationally recognized model train specialist and designer of custom toy train layouts; and exhibition media producers Batwin + Robin, renowned “media storytellers” with more than 20 years of experience in the theater, museums, and other venues.

A crawl‐through space leading to a popup semisphere allows children to get an up‐close‐and‐personal view of the display, suggesting an early 20th century toy department. The Jerni Collection, New‐York Historical Society

R. Bliss Co. U.S. Cruiser, 1906. The Jerni Collection, New‐York Historical Society

Holiday Express unfolds over a broad swath of New-York Historical’s first floor, featuring 300 pieces from the Jerni Collection that transform the space into a magical wonderland. Theatrical lighting, an ambient audio “soundscape,” and other visual effects immerse visitors in an enchanting holiday experience. The exhibition begins at the West 77th Street entrance, where trains appear to roar through the Museum with the help of four large-scale multimedia screens. A 360-degree mountainous landscape, on view in the Judith and Howard Berkowitz Sculpture Court, showcases toy trains, miniature figures, and model buildings evoking the 1890s.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Presents New Art from Greater China That Explores the Concept of Place through Storytelling

Second Exhibition of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative Features Works Commissioned for Guggenheim Collection

Exhibition: Tales of Our Time

Venue: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York

Location: Tower Levels 4 and 5

Dates: Now through March 10, 2017

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presents Tales of Our Time, an exhibition featuring nine newly commissioned works by artists born in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. This is the second exhibition of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative, a long-term research, curatorial, and collections-building program at the Guggenheim Museum.

The exhibition’s title refers to the 1936 book Gushi xin bian (Old Tales Retold) by the influential Chinese modernist, social activist, and literary giant Lu Xun. In the book, Lu reinvents Chinese legends, as he considers these tales to be not only a literary genre, but also a strategy for critiquing social conditions and reconstructing history through storytelling.

Though diverse in subjects and strategies, the works are united by the artists’ use of storytelling to propose alternative ways of looking at place. Working in drawing, animation, video, photography, sculpture, installation, and participatory intervention, the artists in the exhibition address the concept of geography and territory in ways as specific as where they are based or as big as China itself, which they see as a concept constantly being questioned and reinvented. These artists freely cross divides to examine the tensions between past and present, myth and fact, reality and dreams, rationality and absurdity, and individuality and collectivity.

The artists represented in Tales of Our Time are Chia-En Jao, Kan Xuan, Sun Xun, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Tsang Kin-Wah, Yangjiang Group, and Zhou Tao.

Tales of Our Time is organized by Xiaoyu Weng, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art, and Hou Hanru, Consulting Curator, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. Kyung An, Assistant Curator, Asian Art, provides curatorial support. The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative is part of the Guggenheim’s Asian Art Initiative, directed by Alexandra Munroe, Samsung Senior Curator, Asian Art and Senior Advisor, Global Arts. All commissioned works will enter the Guggenheim’s collection.

“Curators Xiaoyu Weng and Hou Hanru have taken a dynamic and collaborative approach, as they worked closely with the commissioned artists to explore the questions and insights that drive these art practices. We hope that these works will inform new understanding of global contemporary art through the lens of Chinese culture today,” stated Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. “The Guggenheim is grateful to The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation for its sustained commitment to this effort.”

Ted Lipman, CEO of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, congratulated the commissioned artists and noted, “Contemporary Chinese art, along with the dialogue around it, is a dynamic and increasingly important force shaping the global cultural landscape. The Chinese Art Initiative at the Guggenheim is designed to offer a fresh perspective on Chinese culture and its relationship with contemporary society. The Foundation hopes the impact of this initiative will be a lasting one.”

Chia-En Jao (b. 1976, Taichung, Taiwan). Arms no. 31, 2016. Cast aluminum, textile patchwork, display case with fabric swatches, and paper handout with text. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection. © Chia-En Jao. Installation View: Tales of Our Time. Photo: David Heald

“The artists represented in Tales of Our Time vary greatly in their practices and viewpoints,” says Xiaoyu Weng. “But they share a broad perspective, one that places China’s culture, history, and social reality in the context of the wider world. And like so many artists today, they register acute discomfort with the tension between the personal experiences of regular people and the dominant narratives and conventions of power.”

Sun Xun (b. 1980, Fuxin, Liaoning Province), Mythological Time, 2016 (details). Two-channel color HD animated video, with sound, and ink, graphite and acrylic on mulberry bark paper. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection. © Sun Xun

Tales of Our Time is installed on two Tower Levels of the museum. Visitors may enter Tower Level 4 through a passageway lined with fantastic visions inspired by the natural world, drawn in the classical Chinese style on traditional bark paper by Sun Xun (b. 1980). Sun’s installation Mythological Time (2016) centers on his hometown of Fuxin in northeastern China, a coal-mining town that was once the pride of modern-era Chinese industrialization, but which the artist portrays as merely a fleeting scene over many millennia. A second monumental wall-size painting by Sun Xun depicting a surreal prehistoric landscape is also on view. Two video streams are projected onto its surface, sending animated creatures cavorting next to those drawn on paper with ink and acrylics.

Chia-En Jao (b. 1976, Taichung, Taiwan), Taxi, 2016, Color UHD video, with sound. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection. © Chia-En Jao

Taxi (2016), a video installation, presents conversations conducted by the artist Chia-En Jao (b. 1976) with taxi drivers in Taipei. The artist asked drivers to take him to historically contested destinations in the city, such as a branch of Chang Hwa Bank where a mass protest was suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek’s military regime in 1947, the Presidential Office Building, the Grand Hotel, or the National Taiwan Museum. Recorded documentary style, the conversations meander through difficult memories of the Japanese occupation and martial law to present-day concerns. The artist has also created a flag for the installation, a traditional coat of arms representing many aspects of Taiwanese society, including its aboriginal communities. Through this investigation into the powerful connection between history and storytelling, Jao creates a mental map of Taipei that honors individual memory and experience.

Zhou Tao (b. 1976, Changsha, Hunan Province), Land of the Throat, 2016 Installation with two-channel color HD video, with sound. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collection. © Zhou Tao

Nearby Taxi on Tower Level 4 is a futuristic, pod-like video installation by Zhou Tao (b. 1976). Land of the Throat (2016) evokes a phenomenon characteristic of China’s urbanization today: the construction of the new and the consequential transformation of the land. Two synchronized videos composed of footage recorded in Guangdong, China and Arizona are projected onto opposite sides of an enclosed structure in the gallery space. A cow chained to an abandoned industrial washing machine moos in an otherwise silent, desolate landscape; workers pour out of construction sites; children play aimlessly; dogs and rats roam near fishing holes; and rescue workers in Shenzhen care for survivors injured in the city’s 2015 landslide.

Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection Returns to the New-York Historical Society

On View October 30, 2015 – February 28, 2016

Enchanting Display of 300 Toys and Related Programming Will Enthrall Visitors of All Ages This Holiday Season

The New-York Historical Society will again be transformed this holiday season with a vibrant and sweeping display of spectacular antique toy trains, toys, and scenic elements. On view October 30, 2015 through February 28, 2016, Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection celebrates the beauty and allure of toys from a bygone era. Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Lutz Toy Company  Floor toy train set, 1884. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Märklin 5-gauge locomotive, 1905. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Since its acquisition by New-York Historical Society last year, the Jerni Collection has become a highlight of the Museum’s holdings. Assembled over the course of five decades by U.S. collectors Jerry and Nina Greene, the Jerni Collection is considered one of the world’s leading collections of antique trains and toys and includes unique, hand-crafted and hand-painted pieces dating from approximately 1850 to 1940, featuring prime examples by the leading manufacturers that set the standard for the Golden Age of Toy Trains, including the German firms of Märklin and Bing, as well as the American firms Lionel and Ives.

Gebruder Bing Leviathan ocean liner, 1920. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Toy Airship, 1920-1930. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

“This exhibition will engage visitors in the thrill and joy of trains while conveying the important history of American industry—for example, how train tracks replaced waterways as the most popular mode of transport for people and goods,” stated Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “With the pounding of the golden spike in 1869, the First Transcontinental Railroad was complete, spurring migration across the continent and forever transforming the American landscape. Locomotives rapidly traversed the terrain, connecting the U.S. heartland to East Coast factories, shipyards, and piers. In urban centers such as New York, local railways, both elevated and underground, allowed for the first rapid, public intercity transport. ”

Märklin 5-gauge locomotive, 1905. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Gebrüder Bing Carousel, 1880-1890. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

The Holiday Express exhibition will unfold over a broad swath of New-York Historical’s first floor, featuring pieces from the Jerni Collection that will transform the space into a magical wonderland. With the aid of theatrical lighting, an ambient audio “soundscape,” and other visual effects, visitors will be engaged in an immersive experience. The exhibition begins at the West 77th Street entrance, where movement and sound from four large-scale multimedia screens will make it seem as though trains are roaring through the space. A 360-degree mountainous landscape will be on view in the Judith and Howard Berkowitz Sculpture Court, featuring artifacts grouped into ten scenes.

Los Angeles LGBT Center To Honor Jane Fonda, With Award Presented By Lily Tomlin at 46th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards

Screenwriter Ron Nyswaner to be Presented Award By Frances McDormand

Los Angeles LGBT Center’s 46TH Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards Saturday, November 7, At The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is proud to announce that two-time Academy Award winner Jane Fonda and Academy Award nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner will be honored at the Center’s 46^th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards on November 7 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Fonda will receive the award from the incomparable Lily Tomlin, her co-star in the hit show, Grace and Frankie. Nyswaner’s award will be presented by Frances McDormand.

Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s more than 500 employees and 3,000 volunteers provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy.

Frances Mcdormand

Lily Tomlin

Ron Nyswaner

One of the nation’s premier LGBT charity events, the Center’s Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards will bring together more than 1,200 LGBT people and their allies to enjoy cocktails, dinner, and entertainment, while celebrating inspirational honorees who exemplify courage, compassion, and a relentless tenacity for creating positive change in the world. The evening also features an extensive silent auction that includes high-end items, packages, and experiences.

“This honor means a lot to me. The work that the Center does for the LGBT community, its children, and extended families is profound and essential,” said Fonda, who will soon appear in director Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth.

Fonda became a friend and ally to the LGBT community at a time when celebrities advocating for LGBT rights was almost unthinkable. She campaigned with Harvey Milk against California’s anti-LGBT Briggs Initiative, fought Anita Bryant – the notorious activist who demonized LGBT with a campaign to repeal an anti-discrimination ordinance in Florida – and has been a lifelong supporter of the LGBT community and champion for human rights.

“Since long before I worked with Jane, I was in awe of her energy, activism, and generosity,” said Tomlin. “Three decades later, I am still in awe of her and feel truly privileged to bestow this well-deserved honor. She has earned this over and over and over in her lifetime.“

Nyswaner is an openly gay writer, producer, documentary filmmaker, activist and pioneer in LGBT-related films. He’s the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Philadelphia, the first major studio film to address homophobia and AIDS, and is the winner of a Peabody Award for his film Soldier’s Girl, which tells the true-life story of transgender heroine Calpernia Addams. More recently he wrote Freeheld—starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page—the groundbreaking story of a woman’s struggle to win her lesbian partner’s pension benefits after she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is also the co-creator of the Nyswaner/Salzman Film Archive, the fourth largest LGBT film archive in the United States.

Sponsors of the Center’s Anniversary Vanguard Awards include DIAMOND SPONSOR: Wells Fargo; PLATINUM SPONSORS: AT&T DirecTV and The Palette Fund; GOLD SPONSORS: Anita May Rosenstein Foundation, American Airlines, Comcast NBCUniversal, Nordstrom, Bloomberg Philanthropies, General Motors, U.S. Bank, Van Fletcher & Skip Paul, Southern California Gas Company, Barry McCabe, PacFed, Greg Fullmer/Danny Hawkins/Douglas Dyakon, Curt Shepard & Alan Hergott, and Lionsgate; SILVER SPONSORS: The Huntington, Ralphs/Food4Less, Union Bank, Target, Out@WB, The David Bohnett Foundation, Johnson Controls, The Hyatt Regency Century City Plaza, LabCorp, Rose Greene, Nihon Kohden, UTA Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.; IN-KIND SPONSORS: Pride.com & The Advocate, LA Pride, Stoli, Pasquini Coffee, and Lesbian News; and OFFICIAL WINE SPONSOR: Kobler Estate Winery

Additional participants and attendees will be announced in the coming weeks. Please visit www.lgbtvanguardawards.org for additional information including details on how to purchase tickets.

Fall 2015 Art Preview: “Walid Raad” Career Survey at The Musueum of Modern Art

Special Exhibitions Gallery, Third Floor And The Donald B. And Catherine C. Marron Atrium, Second Floor, October 12, 2015–January 31, 2016

MoMA presents the first comprehensive American survey of the artist Walid Raad (b. 1967, Lebanon), whose work in the last 25 years investigates distinctions between fact and fiction, and the ways in which we represent, remember, and make sense of history. The exhibition brings together over 20 bodies of work across various mediums—including photography, video, sculpture, and performance—identifying Raad as a pivotal figure in contemporary art. Dedicated to exploring the veracity of archives and photographic documents in the public realm, the role of memory and narrative within discourses of conflict, and the construction of histories of art in the Arab world, Raad’s work is informed by his upbringing in Lebanon during the civil war (1975–90), and by the socioeconomic and military policies that have shaped the Middle East in the past few decades.

Walid Raad. Hostage: The Bachar tapes (English version). 2001. Video (color, sound), 16:17 min. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Jerome Foundation in honor of its founder, Jerome Hill, 2003. © 2015 Walid Raad

Walid Raad. My Neck is Thinner Than a Hair: Engines (detail). 1996-2004. One hundred pigmented inkjet prints, 9 7/16 x 13 3/8″ (24 x 34 cm) each. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Fund for the Twenty-First Century. © 2015 Walid Raad

The exhibition focuses on two of the artist’s long-term projects: The Atlas Group (1989–2004) and Scratching on things I could disavow (2007–ongoing). Under the rubric of The Atlas Group, a 15-year project exploring the contemporary history of Lebanon, Raad produced fictionalized photographs, videotapes, notebooks, and lectures that related to real events and authentic research in audio, film, and photographic archives in Lebanon and elsewhere. Raad’s recent work has expanded to address the Middle East region at large. His current ongoing project, Scratching on things I could disavow, examines the recent emergence in the Arab world of new infrastructure for the visual arts—comprised of art fairs, biennials, museums, and galleries—alongside the geopolitical, economic, and military conflicts that have consumed the region in the past few decades.

Walid Raad. Scratching on things I could disavow: Walkthrough. 2011. Performance, Kustenfestivaldesarts, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Brussels, 2011. Photo © Piet Janssens

Walid Raad. Civilizationally, we do not dig holes to bury ourselves_Plate 922. 1958-59/2003. Pigmented inkjet print, 10 x 8” (25.4 x 20.3 cm). Courtesy the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. © 2015 Walid Raad

Walid Raad. Section 88: Views from outer to inner compartments. 2010. Single-channel HD video (color, silent), 14:36 min. Courtesy the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. © 2015 Walid Raad

Third Annual “CityLab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges” Convenes City Leaders and Global Mayors in London, October 18-20

Mayors from London, Jerusalem, Atlanta, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Bangkok, Athens, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Christchurch among participants

The Aspen Institute, The Atlantic, and Bloomberg Philanthropies will convene the third annual “CityLab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges” in London Sunday-Tuesday, October 18-20. The summit will bring together global mayors with a diverse group of urban experts to collaborate on real, scalable solutions to the most pressing challenges facing cities around the world. CityLab will take place at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel with trips to various London locations in the midst of vibrant and substantial change.

The CityLab summit is an expansion of The Atlantic‘s longstanding partnership with the Aspen Institute, devoted to the exchange of ideas of consequence, which established the Aspen Ideas Festival in 2005, the Washington Ideas Forum in 2009, and New York Ideas in 2012. CityLab was honored as Best Conference in both 2013 and 2014 at the Folio: FAME Awards.
Across the summit, a global group of presenters and participants will engage in dozens of plenaries, breakout sessions, and roundtable discussions on such topic areas as: affordable housing, urbanization in India, the future of work in cities, climate change, global perspectives on community policing, urban analytics, and unleashing innovation from the front line of government. As CityLab’s first international host city, London will play a key role in the summit. Field trips will take participants to visit projects that have transformed the city: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; Kings Cross Redevelopment Area; Clapham Underground‘s Zero Carbon Food; and Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project.
CityLab speakers and attendees are drawn from a diverse global roster; last year’s 550 participants represented 127 cities and 26 countries. This year’s summit will host an expanded roster of mayors from cities across the world, including Accra, Addis Ababa, Athens (Greece), Atlanta, Austin, Bangkok, Christchurch, Denver, Hamburg, Jerusalem, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Washington, D.C., and others.
Confirmed speakers to date include three-term New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Mayor Giorgos Kaminis of Athens, Greece, and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes; architect Jan Gehl; Executive Director of Digital in the Cabinet Office Mike Bracken; Project Row Houses founder Rick Lowe; Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey; former New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan; Tel Aviv Global CEO Hila Oren; Nesta Chief Executive Geoff Mulgan; Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology Chief Information Officer Brenna Berman. Aspen Institute President Walter Isaacson, Atlantic Media Chairman and CEO David Bradley, and James Bennet, editor in chief and co-president of The Atlantic, will also speak.

The presenting level underwriters for CityLab are General Motors and JPMorgan Chase & Co. McKinsey & Company is a knowledge underwriter. Airbnb is a supporting level underwriter. Bechtel and Waze are contributing level underwriters.

Further details about the program agenda and speakers will be released in the coming weeks. Media interested in learning more or attending the program should contact Anna Bross (abross@theatlantic.com).

New-York Historical Society Mounts First Annual Holiday Express Exhibition Featuring Antique Trains and Toys from the Museum’s Jerni Collection

The New-York Historical Society will be transformed this holiday season with a vibrant and sweeping display of spectacular antique toy trains, toys and scenic elements. On view now through February 22, 2015 (Presidents’ Day), Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection is a dynamic exhibition that appeals to all ages, showcasing the beauty and allure of toys from a bygone era. The Holiday Express exhibition is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Stated Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society: “This collection will provide a wonderful new way for young visitors to understand how railroads supplanted canals as the favored mode of transport; how dozens of lines competed to funnel the raw produce of the American heartland to New York’s factories, shipyards, and piers; how the United States rail system experienced phenomenal growth not only upon the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, but also with the development of elevated railways in American cities; why, in 1865, New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley famously took up the longstanding appeal for the poor and unemployed of New York City to ‘go west and grow up with the country.’”

Lutz Toy Company Floor toy train set, 1884. New-York
Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

The New-York Historical Society, one of America’s pre-eminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research, presenting history and art exhibitions, and public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, New-York Historical is the oldest museum in New York City and has a mission to explore the richly layered political, cultural and social history of New York City and State and the nation, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history.

Detail of Lutz Toy Company Floor toy train set, 1884. NewYork
Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Brianne Train Station, ca. 1900. New-York Historical
Society, The Jerni Collection

A highlight of New-York Historical Society’s holdings, the Jerni Collection was assembled over fifty years by U.S. collectors Jerry and Nina Greene and is considered one of the world’s leading collections of antique trains and toys. It includes unique, hand-crafted and hand-painted pieces dating from approximately 1850 to 1940, featuring prime examples by the leading manufacturers that set the standard for the Golden Age of European toys, including the German firms of Märklin, Bing, Ernst Plank and Carette, as well as the American firm Lionel.

Märklin 5-gauge locomotive, 1905. New-York Historical
Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Ferris Wheels. New-York Historical Society, The
Jerni Collection.

Holiday Express unfolds over a broad swath of New-York Historical’s first floor and the DiMenna Children’s History Museum on the lower level, featuring more than 300 pieces from the museum’s Jerni Collection that transform the space into a magical wonderland. Holiday Express displays designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, Batwin + Robin Productions and Big Show Construction Management, Inc. feature theatrical lighting, an ambient audio “soundscape” and other effects to engage visitors in an immersive experience. Antique trains move along more than 400 linear feet of railroad tracks that twist and turn overhead, winding throughout the first floor.

Doll & Co. Ferris Wheel, 1904. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection

Märklin Post Office, 1895, with other toys. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Märklin Post Office, 1895. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

The exhibition begins at New-York Historical’s West 77th Street entrance, where movement and sound from four large-scale multimedia screens will make it seem as though trains are roaring through the rotunda. This space also features a circular display case with the Boucher “Blue Comet,” a rare toy train from the 1920s-30s that mimics the real Blue Comet, which ran from the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City during the Great Depression. Other highlights in this case are a one-of-a-kind Märklin Post Office (1895), a large Doll & Co. Ferris wheel (1904), a Gebrüder Bing carousel (1880-1890), and aircraft flying overhead.

A 360-degree mountainous landscape on view in the Judith and Howard Berkowitz Sculpture Court features artifacts grouped into ten scenes, including a tunnel, train station arrival structure, fairground, harbor with a lighthouse, and an airplane fly-by.

Toy Airship, 1920-1930. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Gebruder Bing 4-gauge dining car, 1900-1906. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Gebruder Bing Carousel, 1880-1890. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Märklin 5-gauge locomotive, 1905. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Detail of Kinder & Briel Café kiosk, 1905-1910. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

Gebruder Bing Leviathan ocean liner, 1920. New-York Historical Society, The Jerni Collection.

An expansive display in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History features a variety of trains, stations and other buildings, aircraft, and ships and boats of all shapes and sizes, including the largest example of Gebrüder Bing’s Leviathan toy ocean liner (1920). The display in the Leah and Michael Weisberg Monumental Treasures Wall Case is highlighted by a subtle palette of lighting effects to evoke a time-lapse transformation from dawn to dusk.

Several illuminated cases in New-York Historical’s hallways feature thematic displays from the collection. A dramatically lit display along the Central Park West corridor showcases large-scale American pieces, including moving trains within an abstract landscape, as well as interactive elements like a crawl-through space and a pop-up semi-sphere, so kids can get an up-close view of the display.

The exhibition was curated by Mike Thornton, Assistant Curator for Material Culture at the New-York Historical Society. Consultants on Holiday Express: Trains and Toys from the Jerni Collection include:
• Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (LHSA+DP), an integrated architecture and exhibit design firm located in New York City responsible for the overall Concept and Design for Holiday Express; LHSA+DP is the designer of the New-York Historical Society’s highly popular, DiMenna Children’s History Museum.
• Batwin + Robin, renowned “media storytellers” with over twenty years of experience in the theater, museums and other venues, were the media producers for the exhibition.
• Big Show Construction Management, Inc., a company that bridges the entertainment and construction industries, provided the comprehensive project management services.