21 – BKM TECH

An Adventurous Painting

Thu, 14 May 2009 13:44:17 +0000

One of the things that I love about museums that have blogs is how easy it can be is to get a hold of counterparts when you need something. In the most recent instance of this, we were able to film Valerie Hegarty talking about her work in 21 and her piece, Fallen Bierstadt, takes its inspiration from another work, Bridal Veil Falls owned by the North Carolina Museum of Art. One quick comment on the NCMA blog and we had a high resolution file to incorporate into our little video, yay!

If you read our blog, chances are you will really like the NCMA blog, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the goings on direct from staffers—it’s definitely in my own feed reader and I love the opportunity to get to know the people working there. Chad is no exception—though we’ve never met, I know him well enough through his blogging to not be surprised at all when he, after seeing the above video, sent along a note that said “I’m now imagining our painting out in the wilderness, having adventures.” Nice : )

[edit! Valerie is taking questions via our blog. Leave a comment and she’ll answer when she checks in!]

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A visit from artist Seher Shah

Mon, 04 May 2009 15:11:17 +0000

Seher Shah recently stopped by the Brooklyn Museum to see her large drawing Jihad Pop Progressions 5 – Interior Courtyard 2, 2007 on view in the fourth floor Contemporary galleries.

Seher Shah (Pakistani, b. 1975). Interior Courtyard 2, 2007. Graphite pencil on white, medium weight, wove paper, 80 x 120 in. (203.2 x 304.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Dr. Margaret Hammerschlag and gift of Donald T. Johnson, by exchange, 2008.4. © Seher Shah. Photograph courtesy of Bose Pacia, New York.

Part of her “Jihad Pop” series, the layered imagery merges private imagery, iconic Islamic spaces, and universal geometric forms. Seher’s visit provided a wonderful opportunity to hear her insightful−and impromptu—comments about the piece.

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Re-making the mess

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:16:31 +0000

Have you ever had one of those days where everything falls into place? When Eugenie Tsai blogged about Valerie Hegarty’s Fallen Bierstadt back in October, she mentioned we needed to do a follow-up post with our paintings conservator, Carolyn Tomkiewicz. Eugenie said we needed get her to explain the process of arranging the debris. This piqued my interest, but I got a little busy and forgot to follow-up with Carolyn. Last Monday, I was touring a couple of friends around the Museum, which was closed for the day, and as we entered 21: Selections of Contemporary Art from the Brooklyn Museum, I spotted Carolyn on the floor with the debris:

Luckily, we all had plenty of cameras to document the moment and Carolyn was gracious enough to give us a quick on-camera video interview about what in the world she was doing. So, now, meet the conservator:

Having trouble viewing the video? It’s also up on YouTube.

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Contemporary Take on Landscape Painting

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:10:25 +0000

Valerie Hegarty (American, born 1967). Fallen Bierstadt, 2007. Foamcore, paint, paper, glue, gel medium, canvas, wire, and wood. Gift of Campari, USA , 2008.9a–b. Photo courtesy Matt Verzola via Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

Hanging off kilter in 21: Selections of Contemporary Art from the Brooklyn Museum is Valerie Hegarty’s Fallen Bierstadt (2007). Looking like a charred painting that’s disintegrating, one corner of the ornate gold frame appears to lift off the wall while the lower half of the canvas and frame appear to have crumbled into pieces of debris that lie in small piles on the floor. What appears to be a painting is in reality a highly illusionistic facsimile crafted by Hegarty out of ordinary materials including paper, foam core, and wood.

Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, about 1871-73. Oil on canvas, 36 1/8 x 26 3/8 in. (91.7 x 67.0 cm.). Purchased with funds from the North Carolina Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest) and various donors, by exchange, 87.9

Fallen Bierstadt refers to a painting entitled Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite (in the collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art) by Albert Bierstadt, the renowned 19th century American landscape painter. I was gratified to learn that Hegarty, who lives across the street from the Museum, has frequently visited American Identities on the 5th floor where our own examples of Bierstadt’s paintings can be found. The title, Fallen Bierstadt, seems to refer both to the physical appearance of the piece and to the end of a heroic tradition of landscape painting. By mimicking the high degree of illusionism found in Bierstadt’s paintings, Hegarty’s fabricated object reveals her own skill as virtuoso.

While Patrick Amsellem and I were installing the exhibition, we invited Hegarty to place the debris on the floor as she wished and the placement was documented by our conservation department so that we can replicate it whenever the work is on view at the museum.

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