Category Archives: Permanent Collection

Linda Besemer Resources

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Linda Besemer (b. 1957), Fold #84, 2002, Acrylic on aluminum rod

The Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum in Long Beach, California, created a publication entitled “Linda Besemer: StrokeRollFoldSheetSlabGlitch,” named after Linda Besemer’s 2022 exhibition by the same name.

“StrokeRollFoldSheetSlabGlitch is the first survey of works by Los Angeles-based artist Linda Besemer. This exhibition emphasizes Besemer’s ongoing commitment to exploring alterity through conscious “othering” of abstraction and reflects upon the artist’s search for new meaning in painting over the past thirty-five years. Featuring twenty-three works produced between 1993–2021, the exhibition showcases key moments in Besemer’s career, taking visitors on a journey through the evolution of their practice, starting with early traditional gestural abstraction, exploring their “detachables” works, and culminating with their most recent glitch series. Visitors are also invited to delve into Besemer’s process and explore a collection of the artist’s maquettes, annotated drawings, and gouache color studies.”

The Nerman Museum has this publication in their Art Education Library. If you are interested in further exploring her body of work, schedule a time to stop by via email at [email protected], or, if you are JCCC Staff or Faculty, or a Nerman Museum docent, you can also check out the book for up to two weeks! You can also learn more about her artworks on Besemer’s website.

A different work by Besemer was also featured in the Nerman Museum’s queer abstraction exhibition, which was named one of the top 16-thought provoking exhibitions to visit in 2020.

Ding Shilun’s work in the museum lobby

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Since Ding Shilun’s work, The Expulsion, was placed in the lobby a little less than a month ago we’ve been enjoying exploring the many intricacies and nuances of the painting. It is a great piece to spend some extended time with!

For more information about the artist, there’s an interview in W Magazine: Artist Ding Shilun Makes His Own Mythology (wmagazine.com)

and the gallery website features lots more information, including some videos of the artist speaking about his work: Ding Shilun – Video | Bernheim (bernheimgallery.com)

Ding Shilun (b. 1998), The Expulsion, 2022, Oil on canvas

Joel Daniel Phillips’s work in Kansas Focus Gallery

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We were so pleased to have Joel Daniel Phillips come speak at the museum on Aug 9th, and video of his talk is now available:

 

In his talk he mentions the book that is associated with his Killing the Negative series, a book he worked on in collaboration with another artist, poet Quraysh Ali Lansana. I have a copy of this book available in our Education Library now, volunteers may check it out!

Artist Website: JOEL DANIEL PHILLIPS

“Killing the Negative: A Conversation in Art & Verse” – this is the book in our library

Edgar Heap of Birds sculpture in Kansas Focus Gallery

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It is very exciting to have Edgar Heap of Birds’ work on view now in the Kansas Focus Gallery – what could be a more appropriate location for this work than a gallery that is itself named for the land that we’re situated in.

The works in Kansas Focus Gallery do not always relate specifically to the Kansas landscape or anything thematically associated with Kansas, rather the artist have an association with Kansas in some way (they were born, raised, went to school or lived in Kansas at some point).

In this case however, the exhibition currently on view in that space is drawing our attention to our relationship with the landscape itself, with the environment and peoples who have existed in this place and continue to do so. Learn more about Edgar Heap of Birds’ Native Host sign series:

 

Edgar Heap of Birds | (eheapofbirds.com)

Art Vision tour program continues to serve JCCC healthcare students

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Katherine leading JCCC nursing student tour

We had a blast leading tours for JCCC Nursing students yesterday evening, continuing our tour programming specifically designed for healthcare professionals to help them hone their observational skill through looking at art.

We’ve hosted many Art Vision tours and programs over the years, if you haven’t had a chance to attend or lead a tour, here is some additional information you can check out:

Art Vision symposium guest speaker M. Jordan Love: watch video

University of South Florida, Contemporary Art Museum: watch video

Yale Center for British Art and dermatology: watch video

Artist Bridget Stewart: Observation Mindfulness PDF

Art21 Video Resources

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Did you know that the popular series Art21 features numerous videos about artists in the Nerman Museum’s collection? There are videos about artists Louise Bourgeois, Nick Cave, Do Ho Suh, Keltie Ferris, Kerry James Marshall, Arlene Shechet and more.

Amy Sillman: To Abstract | Art21

New this week there is a video about Amy Sillman, an artist whose work, Elephant, is often feature on tours at the museum. Check it out!

Dyani White Hawk video online

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When Dyani White Hawk visited fall 2023 (just before she won the MacArther Genius grant!) we were able to sit down and chat about her work in the museum’s collection. A video of her speaking specifically about Untitled (All the Colors), and the transcript, are now available online:

All the Colors Dyani White Hawk video transcript (PDF)

New Installation of Artworks in Museum

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Hallway installation 2024 May (PDF of Labels)

Just outside of the museum’s studio classroom and administrative offices there is an installation of works on paper and a small weaving from the museum’s permanent collection now on view! These works take the place of the Prairie Printmaker works that had been installed in that space since last fall. Stop by and take a look sometime soon, as these works will likely only be on view through summer, getting swapped out in early fall (TBD).

There is also a new work on view in the adult classroom space, a work on paper by Dylan Mortimer (this takes the place of the Emmi Whitehorse). If you missed it back in 2017, we have video of Dylan speaking at the Dazzling Decade exhibition opening (he speaks second, starting at about minute 23).

 

Fun fact: the hallway is one of the best places to install these smaller scale light-sensitive works in the museum because it has almost no natural light exposure. It is also an area that gets a lot of foot traffic.

Zielinski sculpture on campus fully installed once more!

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You may have noticed that in the last year the Andrzej Zieliński sculpture on campus, ὀμφαλός (Omphalos) Syndrome (2017), was incomplete – the wooden slab at the top and center of the sculpture was missing. This was due to an ongoing restoration effort to install the wooden portion such that it will be highly resistant to wind (this is something we need to be mindful of in Kansas!) The museum’s preparatory team re-installed the wooden portion of the work with a new system securing it to the stone base so that it will now stand the test of time – and 50mph winds!

Check it out next time you are over on that side of campus, near the sports fields and just outside the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) building.

The title here ὀμφαλός (Omphalos) Syndrome references the belief (perhaps misguided) that a place of geopolitical power is the most important place in the world. Among the Ancient Greeks, it was believed that the city of Delphi held this central significance. According to myth, Zeus placed the sacred omphalos stone at Delphi, designating it as the center of the Earth. In this sculpture, the wooden slap is placed perpendicular to the large stone base that is perched atop a tangle of bright green metal zigzag lines. Technology is a common theme in Zielinski’s work, and here the arrangement of the parts of the sculpture could suggest a laptop with the screen open and the green maze of lines representing the electrical signals conveying information to and from the device. Is Zielinski suggesting that our devices have become portals to the most significant ‘place’ in our current moment – the online world?

For more information about Zielinski and his inspirations, check out the exhibition page from his 2015 solo exhibition at the Nerman Museum:  Andrzej Zielinski · Open Sourced | Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art