Museum Profile: David Little and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

When a well-respected and long sitting curator is replaced by a new face (especially when parachuted in from the outside), there is an inevitable mix of excitement and trepidation. Will the new person continue on the same trajectory as the old, or chart a new strategic course for the department? How will the priorities for the collection and the exhibitions calendar change?

Regular readers here will know that I am interested in how collectors can better connect with museums, particularly those that are outside one's own specific geographic region. I am fascinated with the question of what's "hiding" in museums around the world, and how collectors who have affinities for certain types of work can connect with like-minded curators wherever they may reside; in my view, this is currently extremely inefficient or next to impossible (i.e if you are passionate about Photographer X, how can you discover which museums hold lots of this artists work and are excited about it, which ones have substantial holdings but are focused on other things, and which ones have small holdings now but would like to own more?). In pursuit of making the photo collector-museum relationship more transparent, I began a series of museum profiles a couple of years ago, where I outlined the details of the photography residing in smaller venues, complete with concrete collections data and acquisitions priorities. In my view, if museums don't communicate what they're interested in, how can collectors (beyond the local acquisitions committee) hope to get involved?

When David Little took the job as Curator of Photography and New Media at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in late 2008, he was stepping into some big, empty shoes. Ted Hartwell had founded the photography department in 1973 and been with the museum for decades. He had put on many ground breaking exhibitions and nurtured generations of photographers from the Twin Cities and further afield. And he had built an encyclopedic collection of approximately 11500 images, focused on American photography from 1900 to 1960 with breadth and range across all periods, and particular depth in documentary work, photojournalism, and pictorialism.

I contacted Little last summer and asked him if he'd be willing to talk a bit about the status of the collections (even though the MIA couldn't remotely be called a "small museum"), and more importantly, how he was thinking about the challenges that lay ahead. Little's background includes stints at the Whitney and MoMA, with a particular strength in education and new media. I'm happy to report that Little was willing to provide some detailed information on the collections, as well as to answer some pointed questions about his going forward plans. So let's start with some quick background.

Currently, the MIA holds approximately 11500 photographs, with a solid mix of all periods of the medium (5% pre-1900, 60% 1900-1980, 35% post-1980). A decent portion of the collection is up on the website (4600 images from more than 400 photographers) and can be easily searched here. Major holdings include works by Gilles Peress, Walker Evans, and various Magnum photographers. Details on key contributors and supporters over the years can be found here; in particular, there are permanent venues at the museum designated for both the existing photography collection (Harrison Galleries) and contemporary work (Perlman Gallery). As such, a broad set of photographic imagery is always on view at the MIA, a claim not many museums can actually make.

The Photography department is staffed by Little and Associate Curator Christian Peterson, who is a specialist in Pictorialism and in the MIA's collection. Elizabeth Armstrong, Curator of Contemporary Art, is also involved in the photography program. Recent photography exhibitions have included:

• Southern Exposure: Photographs of the American South (on view now)
• Josef Sudek and Czech Photography (2009/2010)
• New Pictures: Noriko Furunishi (2009/2010)
• Tom Arndt's Minnesota (2009)
• Masterpiece Photographs from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts: The Curatorial Legacy of Carroll T. Hartwell (2008/2009)
• Friedlander: Photography (2008)
• Peter Henry Emerson and American Naturalistic Photography (2008)
• Alec Soth: Sleeping by the Mississippi (2008)
• The Search to See I and II: Photographs from the Collection of Frederick B. Scheel (2007/2008)

Several hundred photographs have entered the collection in the past few years; works are typically acquired via donation or through a dedicated acquisitions budget for photography. The museum also has a Photographs Study Room that can be reserved on weekdays by appointment (call (612) 870-3183).

Given that Little's expertise is grounded in contemporary art and theory since 1960, it's clear that he is interested in photographs that address the larger themes and issues that circulate within this broader artistic field, rather than in the internal debates rooted inside the traditional photography community. With a "classic modern collection" as a backdrop, and a larger institutional context that spans thousands of years and multiple cultures across the globe, he wants to build on the photo collection's strengths in documentary and photojournalism, but "with more of a contemporary twist". Little feels "we can articulate visual and intellectual connections that are difficult to do in museums focused on art of the last 100 plus years". This boils down to a near term focus on acquiring works from 1968 onward, in both photography and new media, and extending outward "in relationship to our encyclopedic collection as a whole".

Several brand new initiatives are already heading in this direction. The Art ReMix program is based on a simple, but extremely powerful, idea. Take contemporary art (mostly photography) and juxtapose it with art in other parts of the museum - literally, hang the pictures in the midst of the other permanent collection exhibitions. Works by Thomas Struth, Marco Breuer, JoAnn Verburg, Alec Soth, Lorraine O'Grady, Kota Ezawa, Sharon Core, and Cindy Sherman (among others) are now spread across the museum (out of the photography ghetto), challenging visitors to "think about ideas that they never considered". This effort is paired with a new exhibition, Until Now, Collecting the New (open through August 2010), which focuses on recent work in a variety of media. The New Pictures series is another show of commitment to and engagement with fresh and experimental work. This solo series began last year with Noriko Furunishi, and Marco Breuer is the featured photographer right now. Both Art ReMix and New Pictures have their own websites/blogs (here and here) to draw out further discussion and interaction with their audiences.

In the fall, yet another nod to contemporary photography will be on view - a group show entitled The Embarrassment of Riches: Picturing Wealth, 2000-2010. It's clear that Little is focused on ramping up the engagement with visitors. In his view, "I want the shows to be relevant to the experiences of audiences. The great power of photography is the way in which it circulates in the world, and even more so in a networked global culture. I will capitalize on this."

An interesting question for the future is how an MIA with a renewed focus on contemporary photography will balance the efforts of the Walker Art Center across town, in terms of their respective roles/"brands" in the community/region and their relationships to the cadre of talented local artists. Little says, "there are many narratives and positions to articulate in contemporary art and there is plenty of room for both institutions to stake a claim for the most important art. New York is proof of that, with the Whitney, MoMA, the New Museum, the Guggenheim, and the Met, each with distinctive programs."

All in, Little seems energized by the concept of taking a deep and important collection of photography and recontextualizing it for the current times. He seems open to engaging with local collectors and those from further afield, and bringing exciting and complex photographic work to Minneapolis. It's a tough job to take over for such a well-liked figure as Ted Hartwell, but David Little seems to be hard at work, leveraging the past while making the job his own.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404

Small Museum Profile: Berkeley Art Museum

Many years ago when I was just out of college, I worked in a start-up software company on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, CA. As a break from the action, I would often take a walk up the hill toward campus to see what was on view at the Berkeley Art Museum. The quiet of the museum was a welcome respite from the frenetic craziness of entrepreneurship.

Founded in 1963 as part of the University of California at Berkeley, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (website here) remains a vibrant location for art viewing in the Bay area. And like many museums, it is in the middle of its own transformations; a new building by Japanese architect Toyo Ito is scheduled to open in 2013 (background on the project here; take a virtual tour of the spectacular building here), the eerie poured concrete walls and ramps of the current galleries (installation shot at right, from the museum website) to become a distant memory.

Currently, the Berkeley Art Museum holds approximately 3600 photographs, with a solid mix of all periods of the medium (14% pre-1900, 70% 1900-1980, 16% post-1980). Much of the collection is up on the website and can be easily searched (here). Highlights include large bodies of work by Lewis Callaghan, W. Eugene Smith, Ant Farm, Bruce Connor (Mabuhay Gardens punk series) and Andy Warhol (part of the Photographic Legacy gift program). Jan Leonard and Jerrold Peil gave a major gift of photography to the museum in 2002 -a total of 848 vintage prints from across the medium's history. Overall, the design of the collection is centered on Bay area photography, Conceptual art documentation, and 19th century travel and portrait photography. The museum does not have a full time photography curator, so photography is bundled under the larger collections department.

While portions of the permanent collection of photography are not always on view at BAM, the exhibitions calendar has always had a solid share of photography. Recent photography exhibitions have included:

• Bruce Connor: Mabuhay Gardens (2008) (here)
• David Goldblatt: Intersections (2007) (here)
• Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker (2007) (here)
• Time's Shadow (2004) (here)
• Roger Ballen (2004) (here) (his first museum show in the US)

Approximately 100 photographs enter the collection each year, with more than 1600 coming in since 2001. This is quite an accomplishment given that there is no dedicated acquisitions budget for photography; all works are acquired via donation or through battling it out for the general acquisition funds.
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Unfortunately, collectors can't easily access the museum's collections at this point (perhaps this will change in the new facility). Researchers/students with an academic project can contact the BAM/PFA Academic Liaison to arrange a viewing session, but there isn't currently any viewing room or other space that can be reserved by appointment for the general public.

Overall, BAM remains a surprisingly good place to see photography given its broad mandate, and will likely become even more so with the construction of the elegant new space.

Berkeley Art Museum

2626 Bancroft Way

Berkeley, CA 94720

Small Museum Profile: Kresge Art Museum @Michigan State

If we play a word association game with “Michigan State”, you might first think of college basketball, given the Spartans' exciting success at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year. But equally exciting is all the activity going on at the Kresge Art Museum housed at Michigan State University (home page here). The museum was founded in the late 1950s and contains a large and diverse collection of 7000 items (including photography) appropriate to a teaching museum.

Anchored by a large gift from MSU alumnus and well known contemporary collector Eli Broad and his wife, the university will be breaking ground on a new Zaha Hadid designed building (The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum) in 2010 with 18,000 square feet of new gallery space, scheduled to open in 2012. On a going forward basis, post-1945 art will be the focus of collection growth and new acquisitions, so the visibility of the photography collection will certainly increase in the future. Images of the new museum and other related information can be found here.

Currently, the Kresge Museum holds approximately 1070 photographs, with 20th and 21st century imagery making up more than 90% of the holdings, so it’s a small but actively growing photography collection. The entire collection is up on the website and can be easily searched (here). Highlights include a group of Warhol photographs (similar to the ones recently exhibited at the Neuberger Museum, here), stock photographs by Ewing Galloway, many important portfolios, and significant direct donations by the artists/estates of Ruth Bernhard, Yousuf Karsh and Ralston Crawford. Collectors can access the collection in person by making an appointment in the print viewing space with the Registrar, Rachael Vargas.

Portions of the permanent collection of photography are always on view at the Kresge, and the exhibitions calendar has had a solid share of photography, given the museum’s broad mandate. Recent photography exhibitions have included:

• Yousuf Karsh, Photographs, 2007
• Ewing Galloway, Photographs, 1920-1950, 2007
• Marion Post Wolcott, Photographs, 2007
• Luke Swank: Modernist Photographer, 2005 (a monograph was also published on this show)

Photographs were also a significant part of the Kresge’s recent 50th anniversary exhibition (installation shots of the gallery spaces at right, provided by the museum). This show included works by Essaydi, Burtynsky, Meyerowitz, Winogrand, Weston, Weegee, Levinstein, Levitt, and others. Later this fall, Dawoud Bey’s Class Pictures will be on view.

The museum does not have a full time photography curator, but Dr. Howard Bossen, Professor of Journalism, is devoting part of his time to the photography department as an adjunct curator. Bossen is now in the process of putting together a major exhibition entitled World of Steel: 160 Years of Photographs, encompassing approximately 225 works. In addition to the exhibition, two books will be produced: an exhibition catalog with extended essays, and Voices of Steel, a compilation of oral histories, first person narratives and photographs. The project is in partnership with the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, and is slated to open in 2012 at the Carnegie, followed by the Kresge and two additional venues.
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For a small program, the acquisitions activity at the Kresge has been fast paced in recent times, with approximately 200 pictures entering the collection in the past few years, via both a dedicated acquisitions budget for photography and by donations from patrons and artists. On a going forward basis, the short term collections focus is on broad-based hole filling: ensuring the collection has at least one representative work from historically significant photographers, with diminishing focus on the 19th century. Given the increased budget coming from the Broad gifts (for acquisitions and operating costs as well, not just the new building), this is a collection that will clearly continue to grow in the coming years, particularly in its contemporary holdings.

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This museum is an example of an art institution on the rise (even in tough times), with a new building and new acquisitions just over the horizon. It's one for photography collectors to keep an eye on.

Small Museum Profile: Cantor Arts Center @Stanford University

If you have ever been to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford, my guess is your memories are full of the astounding Rodins. Stanford has a massive collection of Rodin sculptures, displayed both inside the museum and outside in the garden, including The Gates of Hell, which is the epitome of a monumental work that is 100% more awe inspiring in person than via reproductions. What you might not remember is that this museum has a strong collection of photography, anchored by its collection of images by Eadweard Muybridge.

In what is now one of the most famous stories in the history of photography, Leland Stanford wanted to definitively find out whether a running horse had at least one foot on the ground at all times, and hired Muybridge to make a series of stop motion photographs to determine the truth. Muybridge went on to make studies for his book, Animal Locomotion, at Stanford’s farm in Palo Alto, CA, which later became Stanford University. Those pictures are now housed in the Cantor Arts Center.

The museum does not have a full time curator for photography, so the job is split between Betsy Fryberger (Curator of Prints and Drawings) who handles the 19th century work, and Hilarie Faberman (Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art) who handles the 20th and 21st century images. In general, photography is housed within the Prints and Drawings Department.

There are approximately 4000 images in the photography collection, with roughly 1650 of the images from the 19th century and the remainder (2350) from more recent times. Beyond the collection of Muybridge images, the Cantor Arts Center has strength in works by Robert Frank, Bill Brandt, Ansel Adams, and 19th century travel photography. On a going forward basis, the curators would like to develop the early modern collection, specifically German and Russian photography (so collectors out there, here’s where you can help).

In the past 10 years, the Cantor Arts Center has acquired approximately 700 images, with the bulk of those coming the past few years. The collection is being built via a combination of donations by patrons and artists and dedicated funds for photo acquisitions.

Unlike many smaller museums, the Cantor Arts Center always has a portion of the permanent collection of photography on view, often upstairs in the Contemporary galleries. The exhibition schedule for photography has been consistently active and of high quality. Here are a handful of the most recent shows:

• Andy Warhol Photographs (2008)
• Private and Public: Class, Personality, Politics, and Landscape in British Photography (2008)
• Bare Witness: Photographs by Gordon Parks (2007)
• In the American West: Photographs by Richard Avedon (2007)
• Yosemite's Structure and Textures: Photographs by Eadweard Muybridge, Carleton Watkins, Ansel Adams, and Others (2007)
• Beefcake: The Physique Photography of Dave Martin (2006)
• Manufactured Landscapes: The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky, 1982–2002 (2005)
• Time Stands Still: Muybridge and the Instantaneous Photography Movement (2003)

The museum has also produced two solid publications in conjunction with recent shows: Bare Witness: Photographs by Gordon Parks and Time Stands Still: Muybridge and the Instantaneous Photography Movement.

Visitors can access the photography collection at the museum via direct contract with a registrar or curator/curatorial assistant. There is a print viewing room that can be reserved by appointment to look at specific works.

Overall, the Cantor Arts Center’s photography program seems to be well run and the collection merits your attention during any visit to the Bay Area. In the spirit of full disclosure, I did my graduate degree at Stanford and both our children were born at Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, so we are perhaps less than perfectly objective. That said, 4000 images, a strong exhibitions calendar, and a historic relationship with one of the masters of the medium speak for themselves.

Photography in Smaller Museums

When the firestorm around the proposed closing of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University started to swirl around (admirably led by Modern Art Notes), as a photography collector, one of the first questions I had, which I didn’t see asked anywhere else in all the discussion, was what exactly does the Rose have in its collection in terms of photography? The only mention photography got at all that I could see was a protest letter from photographer David Maisel, whose work is in the collection.

Of course, there is no easy way to get a simple answer to this question. Like many smaller museums, the Rose does not have its complete collection digitized and up on the Internet, nor does it have a stand alone photography curator who can be contacted. There have been few photography exhibitions at the Rose in the past years, so there is not much of a trail that can be followed in this way either. The only real way to answer this question is to button hole the Director (not practical in this situation), or perhaps find a willing trustee or accessions committee member who is excited about photography and has some information.

This got us thinking in a broader way about the photography housed in smaller museums. In the vast majority of cases, photography is one of many disciplines represented for these institutions, and so images that are in the collections are often stuck in the black hole of storage, rarely seeing the light of day. Even when photography is seen as a crucial part of the exhibition and education plan, and photographs are part of the normal rotation of shows, they still may not get the kind of focus we would like to see. As collectors, we are, of course, fascinated by what any individual museum might have in its storage boxes. Who knows what treasures are hiding there, underappreciated?

With this in mind, we have begun a process of reaching out to various smaller museums (in American and all over the world) to ask these very questions about their photography collections. We’ve designed a simple set of routine questions (sent via email) that cover the following areas:

Curators/Staff
Photography Collection Facts
Photography Collection Design
Acquisitions
Exhibitions/Publications
Accessing the Collection

Our goal here is to develop profiles of the photography collections at smaller museums and to bring those profiles to you, our audience of collectors. We think this benefits everyone. The museums get the word out to a targeted group of people who are interested in their collections and can be supporters, patrons, and even contributors on a going forward basis. (One important question we ask is what the museums are looking to add to their collections on a going forward basis; this information can help match potential donors with museums that want their prints.) On the other side, the collectors get a better view into museums that hold works or have programs that they are interested in, so they can visit or get involved as appropriate.

Later today, we will begin this series with a profile of the photography collection of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. If you are a museum curator, trustee, or accessions committee member out there (anywhere in the world), or simply a supporter of a particular museum and would like to see that institution profiled as part of this series, just send us an email (info@dlkcollection.com) and we’ll get the questionnaire out to you. We hope everyone will find these profiles as interesting as we do. There are literally hundreds of small museums out there with amazing photography collections, and we want to be a strong voice in getting the word out about what they’re up to.