Object Labels Speaking Parts Final 9.15.08

Mark Tobey Born Centreville, Wisconsin, 1890 Died Basel, Switzerland, 1976 Movemento, 1954 Oil on composition board Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Col. and Mrs. A. H. Hooker, 1964.16 This unique style of painting by Northwest artist Mark Tobey is called “white writing.” It identifies works where light-colored marks overlie an abstract field of color, creating a dense pattern and playing with spatial depth. The marks grew out of Tobey’s interest in Persian and Arabic scripts and Asian calligraphy, each with distinctive cultural histories and beautiful and fluid energy.

Robert Motherwell Born Aberdeen, Washington, 1915 Died Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1991 Open No. 176 (in Crimson with Orange and Black Line), 1970 Acrylic on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1971.44 The abstract expressionist painters, like Robert Motherwell, believed that abstraction had the power to evoke deeper personal, social, and political responses than realistic images could. They stripped works down to their essentials to better focus attention on the work’s underlying meaning and to showcase the dramatic power of pure color, line, and gesture. In this painting from Motherwell’s “Open” series, the vibrant crimson field supports a single line and part of a square, suggesting fragments of windows and doors, openings into other dimensions.

Artist unknown Butterflies (Kōcho), 1836 Woodblock print Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. James W. Lyon, 1971.143.2 This beautiful image illustrates a scene from Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji), an eleventh-century Japanese novel about the life and many loves of Prince Genji, an emperor’s son. Here the women of Genji’s household enjoy his new pleasure boat and view the spring flowers. This work is a surimono print, a type commissioned by wealthy patrons as greetings or announcements of special occasions such as tea ceremonies, poetry competitions, or holidays. They were elaborately printed using special materials. In this print, gold leaf has been used for the clouds.

Guy Anderson Born Edmonds, Washington, 1906 Died La Conner, Washington, 1998 Circle of Life, 1972 Oil on paper Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Aloha Club, 1974.3 Guy Anderson often used symbols in his work, such as the embryo form that suggests birth in this painting. He also regularly drew upon motifs found in Northwest Native American and Asian art. Anderson was one of the group of artists called “The Northwest Mystics,” who were prominent in the mid-20th century and whose work often carried social, moral, and philosophical messages woven into their abstract or symbolic compositions. Other members of this group represented in this gallery are Mark Tobey and Morris Graves. Many of Anderson’s paintings reveal his fascination with the structure of the universe and the never-ending cycle of birth, growth, and death.

George Luks Born Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1866 Died New York, New York, 1933 The Immigrant, circa 1904-06 Oil on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1980.10 George Luks was part of a group labeled “The Ashcan School” for their gritty images of the immigrant communities and street life of New York City. Their works, such as this portrait by Luks of a tough, yet vulnerable child of the streets, represented a dramatic shift in subject matter. Western art previously had been dominated by landscapes, formal portraits, and historical and mythological scenes. The artists of “The Ashcan School” who represented urban life and social issues were some of the first to bring these new subjects to American art. This work relates to one of the themes explored in this exhibition—the way in which the definition of painting has changed over the last 150 years.

Hugo Kauffman Born Germany, 1844 Died Germany, 1915 Flirtation, 1904 Oil on panel Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Hilding Lindberg, 1983.1.23

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Born Limoges, France, 1841 Died Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1919 Têtes de deux jeunes filles \ Les Deux Soeurs, 1890 Heads of Two Young Girls\The Two Sisters Oil on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Hilding Lindberg, 1983.1.35 For 19th-century audiences, one of the more startling aspects of impressionist painting was the visible brushstrokes. In the more traditional works to which they were accustomed, like the Hugo Kauffman and Karl Spitzweg paintings in this gallery, traces of how the artist had constructed an image were carefully covered so as not to interfere with the realistic illusion. The impressionists, with their dots and slashes of paint, left the underlying process visible so that how a work was made was as prominent as its subject.

Karl Spitzweg Born Munich, Germany, 1808 Died Munich, Germany, 1885 Landschaft, 1885 Landscape Oil on panel Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Hilding Lindberg, 1983.1.40

Paul Horiuchi Born Oishi, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, 1906 Died Seattle, Washington, 1999 Weathered, 1956 Collage on board Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Paul and Bernadette Horiuchi, 1988.1.1 Paul Horiuchi was a master of collage, the use of small objects and fragments of paper to create artworks. He created his first major collage in 1954 after seeing shredded layers of notices on a wall in Seattle’s Chinatown. For him, the layers suggested fragmented messages or memories eroded by time. As well, he used the long columns of calligraphic text and the spiky, linear characters as abstract design elements. This work relates to two of the themes you will find in this exhibition: the use of text and symbols in art, and innovative use of materials.

Hilda Morris Born New York, New York, 1911 Died Portland, Oregon, 1991 Guideposts, mid-1980s Sumi-e on rice paper Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Carl Morris, 1992.13 Sumi-e is an ancient, traditionally Asian, form of painting with ink. Sumi-e artists try to distill the essence of their subject into the fewest possible strokes, creating simple but eloquent compositions. Sumi-e also echoes the fluidity and expressiveness of calligraphy as uniquely showcased by the Paul Horiuchi work in this exhibition. Hilda Morris is best known for her abstract sculptures that reference organic forms and rhythms. However, delicate sumi-e images such as this are equally powerful gestural works.

Mark Calderon Born Bakersfield, California, 1955 Deva, 1992 Sugar palm twine over Styrofoam Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1993.9 The title of this work, Deva, refers to a good spirit or supernatural presence in Buddhism. Mark Calderon’s use of palm twine for this sculpture suggests the Buddhist ideals of simplicity and freedom from materialism. Its shape also references other aspects of the tradition, echoing the forms of temple bells, stupas (shrines), and the topknot of Buddha himself. The work’s organic form and rough texture make it seem alive, as if inhabited by the benevolent spirit of the title.

Sally Haley Born Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1908 Died Portland, Oregon, 2007 Untitled (Eggs and Lemons), 1973 Acrylic on linen Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Michele Russo, 1994.6 Still lifes—groups of objects—historically were often meant either as displays of wealth or subtle lectures on luxury and vanity. One popular form is the trompe l’oeil (trick the eye) painting, so detailed that viewers believe the objects are real. Portland artist Sally Haley’s still lifes are usually understated arrangements of domestic objects or foods, set against quietly colored, minimal backgrounds. However, Haley’s subtle use of trompe l’oeil techniques and spatial illusions often give her works a slightly surreal quality. Another unique example of a still life in this gallery is the brooch by Susan Ford.

Harry Bertoia Born San Lorenzo, Pordenone, Italy, 1915 Died Barto, Pennsylvania, 1978 Small Bush, circa 1965 Welded bronze with verdigris patina Tacoma Art Museum, Anonymous gift in honor of Alice Mailloux, 1997.8

William Ivey Born Seattle, Washington, 1919 Died Seattle, Washington, 1992 Untitled (Green Landscape), 1984 Oil on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Margaret and Richard Aiken, from the Margaret Aiken Collection, 1997.27.1 William Ivey studied painting at the California School of Fine Arts under Mark Rothko (1903–1970) and Clyfford Still (1904–1980), leading members of the newly emerging abstract expressionist movement. This style is defined as art that is abstract but also expressive or emotional in effect, and it deeply influenced Ivey’s own work. Ivey’s personal style is characterized by lyrical abstractions drawn from his surroundings and built from layers of color. Work by abstract expressionist Robert Motherwell and other types of abstraction also can be found in this gallery.

Ambrose Patterson Born Daylesford, Victoria, Australia, 1877 Died Seattle, Washington, 1966 Bathers, 1931 Oil on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Bellevue Art Museum, 1998.26.2

Kiff Slemmons Born Maston, North Carolina, 1944 Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1990 From the series Hands of the Heroes Sterling silver Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Flora Book, 1998.35.1 Kiff Slemmons makes jewelry that is rich in historical, cultural, and literary references. Like a number of artists in this exhibition, she uses symbols to add layers of meaning to her works. This brooch is from her Hands of the Heroes series and represents each subject’s contributions to the arts, humanities, or science. Leonardo da Vinci, the “hero” of this work, is recognized for both his art and his inventions, as symbolized by the paintbrush and wheels at his fingertips.

Kathryn Glowen Born Seattle, Washington, 1941 Dress of Years, 1997 Mixed media Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2002.19 Kathryn Glowen’s Dress of Years memorializes her friend Mamie L. Rand. Each element of the work reflects an aspect of Rand’s life. For example, Rand was christened in the white cotton dress, and the 101 butterfly tags that adorn it stand for each of the years of her life. Glowen’s composition summarizes Rand’s personal history beginning with an infant’s garment and accumulating a century of experiences. Dress of Years is one of several works in the exhibition that is an assemblage, a group of objects brought together to suggest a particular story or idea.

Howard Kottler Born Cleveland, Ohio, 1930 Died Seattle, Washington, 1989 Layed Back, 1973 Earthenware with ceramic glazed decals Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Howard Kottler Testamentary Trust, 2002.41 Over the course of his career, Howard Kottler dramatically changed his approach to ceramics abandoning the traditional forms he had learned as a studio ceramicist. In the mid-1960s, while teaching at the University of Washington, Kottler began incorporating humor, art historical and social commentary, irony, satire, and wordplay into his ceramics. He also experimented with form, adding glazes and decals to ready-made objects. Here he satirizes conceptual art, an art movement where text or ideas are substituted for objects, creating his “wood” sculpture from earthenware and wood-grain decals.

Sally Finch Born Barnet, England, 1954 The Wasteland Revisited I, 2001 Paper, dye, book text, graphite, and thread Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland, 2003.18

Dennis Evans Born Yakima, Washington, 1946 Writing Lessons, 2002 Mixed media and encaustic on canvas on board Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Woodside-Braseth Gallery, 2003.34 A-O Dennis Evans’s work was chosen as the touchstone for this exhibition about the museum’s collection because it has many voices. His works weave together aspects of art history, linguistics, science, spirituality, and philosophy. He sees and explores how things are interconnected. The relationships between works in a museum’s collection are equally complex and multilayered. Writing Lessons offers both a visual and intellectual map for exploring and understanding some of these connections. As a starting point, all other artworks in this gallery are grouped under three broad topics which relate to the Evans: What is a Painting? Materials and Process, and Texts and Symbols.

Nancy Mee Born San Francisco, California, 1951 Hanging and Bound Spine, 1997 Glass, steel, and rope Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Woodside-Braseth Gallery, 2003.35 A-C

Sarah Ellen Taylor Born Denver, Colorado, 1970 The Tarot Cards, 2003 Etching, aquatint, and drypoint Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Elizabeth Ingraham, 2003.70 A-EEEE

Robert Yoder Born Danville, Virginia, 1962 Mather, 2002 Painted wood Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of David Lewis in honor of Clinton Williams, Donald Williams, Eileen Lewis, and Jane Ramm, 2003.73.3 Robert Yoder’s works call into question the definition of painting. This artwork is part of a series created using recycled road signs, which he cut and reassembled to create the desired combinations of lines and colors. His final compositions often mimic the contours of the landscape where the signs used to stand. Yoder did not further alter the painted surfaces of the signs but left their distinctive colors, scrapes, and marks as reminders of their former history.

Donald Hazeltine Born Portland, Oregon, 1950 Povera Bowl, 1994 Acrylic, pastel, and plaster on panel Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2005.26

Terry Toedtemeier Born Portland, Oregon, 1947 Died Portland, Oregon, 2008 Untitled (Hidden History), 2004 UltraChrome inkjet print on Epson Photo Rag Paper Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Dr. Lester Baskin Memorial Fund, 2005.28 Photographer Terry Toedtemeier is fascinated by the marks of time. Much of his work documents the geologic landscape of the Northwest and the visible record of its formation and destruction by the steady, implacable forces of nature. This image depicts the worn leather spine of an 1867 album of Columbia River photographs by the legendary American landscape photographer Carleton E. Watkins (1824–1916). Inside is the word “history” written by renowned calligrapher Fulgencio Seraqui (active 19th century), who later collaborated with Watkins on other projects. Why and how the word was written inside the book’s spine is a mystery.

Russell Day Born Mead, Washington, 1912 Moon-Sand-Forever, 1970s Silver, pebbles, black pearls, moonstones, and agate Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Russell and Marjorie Day, 2005.31.4

Morris Graves Born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910 Died Loleta, California, 2001 Untitled, circa 1935 Oil on burlap Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Donald and Ann Frothingham, 2006.11 The large black bird in this image, constructed with thick, rough swirls of paint, radiates drama and intensity. Birds were important symbols for Morris Graves, representing his consciousness, and in that role revealing his own emotions and spiritual concerns. This type of intensely personal painting is called expressionism, an early 20th-century art movement that emphasized the expression of the artist’s inner experiences. Graves was one of the group of artists called “The Northwest Mystics” (including also Mark Tobey and Guy Anderson whose works are on view in this gallery) for the philosophical and spiritual content of their works.

Sarah Hood Born Seattle, Washington, 1968 Malden Avenue East, 1999 From the series Structural Series #1: Decomposition Sterling silver and Chinese lantern pods Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Donna and Ralph Briskin, 2007.34 Sarah Hood’s jewelry combines traditional jewelry-making materials with everyday objects, from doll arms to leaves. Her art examines the natural world, its shapes and designs. This necklace is part of her Decomposition series that explores the transient nature of organic material and the delights and risks of building objects from fragile natural substances. The resulting works are elegant paradoxes—solid and ephemeral, structured and in flux.

Susan Ford Born Fort Worth, Texas, 1951 Beetlemania, 1990 Engraved oil painting on prehistoric mammoth ivory, 14k gold, mixed media Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd Herman, 2007.43 A-B

Maude Kerns Born Portland, Oregon, 1876 Died Eugene, Oregon, 1965 Yang and Yin, 1943 Oil on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Leslie Brockelbank through Bill Rhoades, 2007.51 The geometric shapes in this painting are part of the vocabulary for a particular form of abstraction called non-objective art. The style originated with the artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), who believed abstractions should make no reference to the physical world but instead express spiritual concepts. Maude Kerns was one of the few Northwest artists who practiced non-objective painting. Through her ties to New York’s Museum of Non-Objective Art (now the Guggenheim) and her decades as a teacher at the University of Oregon, she helped bring avant-garde artistic ideas to generations of Northwest art students.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Born Edo [Tokyo], Japan, 1797 Died Edo [Tokyo], Japan, 1861 Lion Dancer, 1847–48 Woodblock print Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Al and Betsy Buck in memory of Alfred Eliab Buck and Ellen Baker Buck, T2006-30-48 A-B Woodblock prints such as this one are known as ukiyo-e (images of the floating world) because they document everyday life in Japan—its streets, markets, festivals, and pleasure districts. The actors of the Kabuki theater are some of the most popular subjects for ukiyo-e. These images are carefully coded with symbolic meanings: the actor’s posture and expression, clothing, surroundings, and other details can identify a particular role or even a specific performance.

Whiting Tennis Born Hampton, Virginia, 1959 Blue Tarp, 2007 Acrylic and collage on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase in honor of Shari and John Behnke with funds from Edie Adams, Cathy and Michael Casteel, Janet Wright Ketcham, Aileen and Ben Krohn, Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom, Janice Niemi and Dennis Braddock, Grace Nordhoff and Jonathan Beard, Lucy and Herb Pruzan, Carolyn and Kevin Reid, Kim Richter, Laurie and George Schuchart, Rebecca and Alexander Stewart, Virginia and Bagley Wright, 2008.2 The surfaces of Whiting Tennis’s works are complex collages of found objects and images, paint and pencil, glue and tape— whatever comes to hand. They often are illusionistic, resembling one material but actually made from another. The marks on the surface of Blue Tarp and other Tennis works suggest the random dings and scrapes that come from wear and tear, reflecting his interest in the neglected and discarded. Blue Tarp also brings together a variety of other styles and techniques represented in this exhibition, including

assemblage, trompe l’oeil (trick the eye) painting, and abstraction.

Thomas Haukaas Born San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1950 Sicangu Lakota, enrolled on the Rosebud reservation, South Dakota More Time Expected, 2002 Handmade ink and pencil on antique ledger paper Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom in honor of Rock Hushka Thomas Haukaas blends the historical with the contemporary, linking his art to his roots as a Sicangu Lakota. This work references a form of Native American art known as ledger drawing. Plains Indian tribes used buffalo hide for paintings and drawings until the buffalo herds were destroyed in the late 19th century. Artists adapted by transferring their flattened, colorful images to paper and cloth. Haukaas depicts a band of Lakota moving to a new territory, a periodic event that ensured survival of the tribe. The riderless horse at the center is a reminder of new threats to the Lakota—HIV and AIDS.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Born Limoges, France, 1841 Died Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1919 Pommes sur un Plat, date unknown Plate of Apples Oil on linen Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Hilding Lindberg, 1983.1.36

This painting is hung in an unusual way because it is double-sided and cannot hang flat against the wall. Below is an image of the painting on the other side.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Born Edo [Tokyo], Japan, 1797 Died Edo [Tokyo], Japan, 1861 Tawara Toda and the Dragon Maiden, mid 1840s Woodblock print Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. James W. Lyon, 1971.129.14

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Born Edo [Tokyo], Japan, 1797 Died Edo [Tokyo], Japan, 1861 Sakyô-no-dayû Akisuki, 1840–42 [The poet, Sakyô-no-dayû Akisuki, on a palace veranda on a windy night viewing the moon] From the series Hyaku-nin isshu [The Hundred Poets] Woodblock print Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Al and Betsy Buck in memory of Alfred Eliab Buck and Ellen Baker Buck, T2006-30-20 Woodblock prints such as this one are known as ukiyo-e (images of the floating world) because they document everyday life in Japan—its streets, festivals, landscapes, and pleasure districts as well as celebrities such as actors and famous poets. This work is from an album called One Hundred Poets that pairs a portrait of each poet with one of their poems.

Woodblock prints are carefully coded with symbolic meanings, details that help identify the subject, place, or setting. Here, the flowers on the poet’s kimono and the flowering grasses identify the season as autumn as mentioned in the accompanying poem: See how clear and bright Is the moonlight finding ways Through the riven clouds That, with drifting autumn wind, Gracefully float in the sky.